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Published: September 23rd 2008
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San Miguel de Allende
The church in the centro of the city Hola! Time is still flying by - I can't believe it's been almost 2 weeks since my last entry - and I have done a lot since then! Two weekends ago was my long weekend, as I had Monday and Tuesday off from school for Independence Day. That Saturday I went to a nearby city called San Miguel de Allende. It's smaller than Guanajuato so there wasn't a whole lot to do. We walked around, ate some amazing Mexican food called gorditas - which are really thick tortillas stuffed with meat of some sort. (Most of the time I'm not quite sure exactly what I'm eating...) We also ate some amazing ice cream. Here in Mexico I have eaten some of the best ice cream I have ever had in my entire life. And that was pretty much the trip to San Miguel. Oh - we also went to a cantina - because the guys wanted us girls to see what a cantina was like. (If you don't know, it's a type of saloon that traditionally were only for men, and some today are still only for men.) But it was definitely different, but now I can say I've been to
La Cantina!
With my friend Mariana a Mexican cantina. (Fun fact: If you've seen the movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico - it was filmed here in Guanajuato and also San Miguel de Allende - I watched it this weekend and recognized lots of places around Gto and the church pictured here. Now I can say I have been to some of the same places as Johnny Depp, Antonio Banderas, and Enrique Iglesias... oh but I wouldn't recommend the movie...)
On Monday the festivities for Independence Day began. I went to a very traditional, Mexican fiesta at a ranch of a friend of Jesús. After spending so much time in a city it was refreshing to be out in the country with wide open spaces. And being a ranch, of course there were lots of animals - especially goats and horses. And of course lots of cowboys. I'm talking cowboy hats, chaps, boots with spurs, the whole works. The best part was all of the authentic Mexican food - made by the friend's mom. I tried lots of new things - one being chicharrón - which is difficult to explain - but is made from pig skin. There are two types - one type
is fried, and the other time well I don't really know how it's made but it's really chewy - kind of like fat. I didn't mind the fried kind - as it's crunchy and salty. (I also tried a type of sandwich the next day called a guacamaya which has this fried chicarrón in it) I also tried lots of different kinds of appetizers - types of chips, fried tortillas, diff kinds of nuts, etc that were all really good. She also made us sopa which is like a type of thick fried tortilla (I think) with different kinds of meat and fixings on top. But the enchiladas were definitely the best food there. The best enchiladas I have ever had. So amazingly delicious! I had a really great time at this fiesta, because it was very traditional - the food, the music (country/ranch Mexican music), the tequilla, and the cowboys. Very Mexican, and I loved it! The next day, the actual Independence Day, we went back to the ranch to eat more enchiladas and go horseback riding. After my last experience on horses, I wasn't sure I ever wanted to get back on one, but after it all I
chicarron
this is the non fried kind - I didn't really like it because of the chewy texture was so glad I did! We rode for about 2 hours through the country side - and it was just beautiful. We stopped at a different ranch to rest for a while and by the time we left it was dark. But there was a gorgeous full, yellow moon. I had never rode at night before, and with the full moon it was so peaceful and relaxing, and I loved it!
This past weekend I went to a couple different states with my group. First we went to Tula, which has remains from an ancient city of the Toltecs. The city was the largest city in central Mexico during the 9th and 10th centuries. The Toltecs are an ethnic group, however, some say it is not certain that they were actually a distinct type of people, or were rather a product of Aztec myth. The ruins are also very similar to the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza located in the Yucatan. It was definitely very interesting to see the ruins and explore the area. However, because I went to Chichen Itza, Teotihuacan, and Uxmal in High School, Tula wasn't quite as amazing and interesting as those three. From there
we went to the city of Querétaro, which is much bigger than Guanajuato. It was founded in the mid 1500's - and so had many beautiful buildings, especially churches. We basically just walked around the city, ate, shopped, and took a trolley tour. But by the end of the day we were ready to head back. We left at 6 in the morning and returned around 9:30 at night - so definitely a long day.
Not much else going on - I've had lots of homework lately, and have been trying to work more outside the classroom on my Spanish. Almost every day I get together with a Mexican friend to practice Spanish. He is so helpful and I learn so much more with my time with him than I do in my classes. I finally feel like I'm starting to improve, but there are still some frustrating days when I feel like I don't know anything and I'm not improving. People I know assure me that I'm learning, but I guess it's just hard to tell, and it's frustrating because I know there is still so much more to learn.
I am looking forward to this Saturday,
as my group is going to La Bufa - which is a rock formation in the mountains here in Guanajuato. After hiking up it, we are going to rappel down! I am super scared but very excited at the same time!
Well that's all for now. Hope everyone is doing well. Thanks again for the comments and messages. I'm sorry that I don't often respond to them - but I always appreciate them all. Love!
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hdnn in uk
Huong Nguyen
drool!
Sara, you have amaaaazing food. I'm so jealous. Fish and chips are really not that cool anymore. I really love the photos in this blog, especially the one of you wearing a sombrero and waving a Mexican flag "to look more Mexican" - hahaha. And the nightclub looks like so much fun - is that girl in the middle...you!?? ;)