Back to school...

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Where have the last ten days gone?! Time really is flying by here in Mexico.

Managed to enrol at a Spanish school on Monday 10th April and started straight away. Had four lessons a day, each 55 minutes from 10am til 2pm. These were great times as it meant I could have a bit of a lie in and still have time to do my own thing in the afternoon. As it turned out, I would use the free internet at the school for an hour after class and then head for the rooftop terrace of my hotel to do my homework. The school is pretty quiet at the moment due to the Easter holidays and so there were only two of us in the beginners class last week. Monday was a bit of a shock to the system as they use the "total immersion" method of teaching i.e. they only speak Spanish and not a word of English is muttered. I've only ever learnt languages at school before where you're taught using English explanations and it seems much simpler. The guy in my class knew a little Spanish and so could follow what was going on, whereas I was at a complete loss. How are you supposed to learn when you don't understand a word that is being said?! The next couple of classes went more smoothly as they were grammar classes so I could kind of follow what was going on, although it did get a bit technical with terms such as conjugating verbs, pronouns, subjunctive, infinitives, etc as I couldn't tell you what half of those mean in the English language let alone in Spanish! In spite of the difficulty I did find myself enjoying classes and it's been a long time since I actually looked forward to having homework. My French is getting in the way a bit though as there are words which are the same as French as in Spanish but which are pronounced completely differently and I keep pronouncing them the French way. After the first three days in Guanajuato, before starting school, of not being able to speak to anyone it was a great feeling just to pick up on the odd word here and there. It's quite addictive that once you start to learn some words, you want to understand more. The owner of the hotel that I'm staying in talks to me in Spanish in return for me teaching him the English meaning which is a great help. After week one, I decided I wanted to make the most of my time here and so I signed up for an extra class this week, so I'm now in school from 9am til 11am, have an hours break and then have three classes from 12pm til 3pm. These are made up of two grammar lessons, two conversation classes and one practical class. The extra hour is quite draining, but it's paying off as I can now understand more of what's being said although I'm still struggling with being able to speak in sentences. I have three different teachers and they're all great.

Blimey that all sounds really boring doesn't it?! It's really not that bad when you're in a beautiful city, with fantastic restaurants and nice people to socialise with. Have made friends with Maura from London and Jill from the US, who are also students, and we usually all go out for lunch or dinner, and a few beers. There are also different people coming and going from the hotel and it's great to meet so many people and hear their about their travel experiences.

Went to the theatre last Tuesday to see a performance of contemporary dance. Didn't understand a word of the Spanish introduction so didn't really know what was going on, but the dancing was ok and it was supposed to be 80 pesos, but as there was hardly anyone there it ended up being free! We went to the theatre again on Sunday afternoon for another performance which was a brilliant show of traditional Mexican dance and music. The numerous costumes were amazing and the dancers were fantastic.

Am trying out different restaurants most days and have discovered a couple which do fantastic savoury and sweet crepes. I am trying the Mexican food too and so far am liking it. Did have one brief bout of Mehico Belly, but fortunately it was short-lived. All of us have had it and apparently it's just expected here! I am steering clear of the food stalls which are on the corner of every street though!

It's very hot here at the mo and it's actually too hot to sit out in from about 11am til 4pm! There's been the occasional rumble of thunder and short shower, but that's usually in the evening and during the day it's sunny.

Most language schools shut down for Good Friday and Easter Monday, but ours decided to stay open so we had lessons as usual. I had been planning to go away for the long weekend, but didn't mind not going as it meant I got a full week of lessons. Instead, one of the teachers took us to San Miguel del Allende on Saturday for the day. On the way there we stopped at La Gruta where pools have been developed and are fed by the natural hot springs in the area. There are a couple of outdoor pools and then there are tunnels which lead you into a grotto type cave which is lit by one shaft of sunlight and contains really hot water. I had heard a lot of scathing comments about San Miguel, mainly that it was overrun with tourists who had turned it into their own community and so it no longer retained it's traditional feel. However, I was pleasantly surprised as it's still a beautiful city and we had a great day wandering around the streets lined with brightly coloured houses and lovely plazas adorned with beautiful trees and flowers blooming in an abundance of reds, oranges, pinks and purples. (Yes this is still the same girl who was jumping out of planes in New Zealand, I'm just in the calm phase of my travels!)

Had only planned to stay and study in Guanajuato for two weeks and then explore some of the surrounding area for a week before then going to the Yucatan Peninsular for my final week. Have deliberated over the last couple of days on exactly what to do and have spent ages surfing the net for flights and trying to work out the best deal and most sensible route. From the Yucatan it actually would have made more sense to bin my round the world ticket from LA to New York and buy a new ticket from Cancun to NY. Taking all this account, I was in a real quandary as to what to do when. Finally came to the conclusion today that I'm not going to go to the Yucatan on this trip after all. I'm really enjoying being in Guanajuato and would really like to continue with my Spanish lessons for another week. It's also really nice to have put down roots for more than just a couple of days, rather than dashing from one place to the next. So the plan is now to go to Guadalajara this weekend, study again next week and then go to Morelia, Patzcuaro and Mexico City the following week. From there I can then get a flight back to LA and use my RTW ticket as originally planned. As much as I would like to visit the Yucatan Peninsular, I reckon it would be silly to squeeze it into a week and rush around. I would rather go there at a later date and explore it at leisure. So if anyone's up for a holiday to Mexico next year, let me know! Of course, these plans all may change again!

Hasta luego!

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