Estoy mejorando mi español

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Sorry there are no photos. I forgot the cord I need to download. I'll add them when I get home.

While the rest of the world, especially Jackson, worries about a drop in tourism, Chiapas, Mexico is experiencing a tremendous surge in the number of visitors it welcomes. It's true. I read it in the paper today (in Spanish). Their paper also prints a lodging barameter. Or they did yesterday. Occupancy is at 92 percent, up 17 percent over last year.
And you can feel the swell in the streets here. Estan llenos. There are tourists from everywhere, but especially from other parts of Mexico.
I chose to come here because I thought I might run into fewer extranjeros. And that's been the case. I went to the bar with mi maestra last night. There were some foreigners, but few enough that they still stuck out.
The family I'm living with is amazing. It's a family of almost entirely women. Ines, 67, is the head of the house. Her daughter Betty came to greet me at the school Tuesday after my classes. It was her birthday. She has a son, Coil. Ines'other daughter, Patty, lives on the other side of town but always comes for meals with her two daughters, Ariana and Neuli.
The house is big and opens into a courtyard. I have a room with my own bathroom. So does Sarah, another student from England.
The family has a visitor, Marsha, who was a student eight years ago and comes back to visit often now that she's retired. She has a project collecting money to buy bikes for people who need them when she travels.
I expected that I might find another student, someone who speaks English, to team up with and hit the town. That hasn't happened. But Ines has been more than willing to be my partner in crime.
We went with Sarah to see a concert at the fair Wednesday night. The group, Juaguares (hog-war-ays), sing original songs in Spanish. The fairground where they performed was stuffed with people and they all knew every word to every song. The concernt didn't start until 10 p.m. But there were many families there together, bringing even the youngest children.
Last night Ines and I were going to salsa dance, but the cover charge was too steep. We watched a battle of the Meringe groups in the town center instead. Her energy is incredible. I admire her and want to be just like her when I grow up. Mostly.
She has six children. Three of them live in San Cristobal. She has a son in Mexico City, a daughter in Monterrey and another son in Denmark. In a country where families are tight and tend to stick close to home, her children are big adventurers.
So is she. She started having students stay with her about 10 years ago. And she loves it. There is so much to see and do here and near here that she had never done before the students came.
She told me her life started when she got divorced about 18 years ago. Her daughter Patty confirmed that for me.
San Critsobal is a beautiful city. The streets are narrow cobblestone and the buildings are well-maintained and painted various bright colors. It's cool and sunny in the moring and has rained the last couple afternoons.
I have four hours of Spanish class each day and usually speak very little English the rest of the day. I'm meeting with Ana this afternoon for an intercombio. She's a lawyer and wants to improve her English vocabulary. She's thinking of applying to schools in the U.S. for her doctorate.
So far, I've mostly learned that I've been screwing a lot of things up for the last few years and I have some nasty habits to break. Here's hoping one more week will have me fluent!

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