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Published: April 6th 2009
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March has been a very busy month for us here in San Miguel. It seems like our adventures rarely slow down for very long and that is something I am grateful for everyday.
One of our most amazing adventures was the invitation from our maid, Maria Luz, to come out to her family’s rancho for an afternoon of carnitas. Our friends from the east coast, Aaron and Beth, were visiting at the time, but she said they were welcome to come along too. And so the four of us took a trip with Eleanor, another client of Maria’s, about 45 minutes outside of town to visit a rancho.
The ride took longer than we expected and we were instantly shocked just how far Maria travels to get to town to work. She says in total, it takes almost 2 hours to walk to the bus stop and then to ride the bus into town. We continued down the bumpy dirt road until we came upon an old beat up red truck that we were told to use as a landmark. Maria came out and greeted us as we climbed out of the van. She helped us carry
items we brought along such as soda and beer. She introduced us to her adorable family and then showed us to the outside table where we were to feast. The family had already eaten so they mostly went to work to get our meal ready. They had carnitas (pork), pico de gallo (tomato salsa), ensalada nopales (cactus salad), and blue and corn tortillas. The carnitas also had pork skin mixed in and it was strange to be able to still be able to see some stiff hair folicals sticking up from it. We didn’t touch much of that part.
For some of our party not speaking Spanish at all and the family not knowing English, we got on pretty well. We all tried our best to understand one another. This never stopped the father from telling jokes and dichos (little sayings like, “The early bird gets the worm.”) Out of nowhere, it started to rain and so we all grabbed the large table and moved it under a covered part of their front yard. As the rain fell heavily, we watched school children run by and stop under a tree to hide from the rain before continuing on
home.
A little while later, the rain stopped and the family wanted to lead us on a hike up the hill to show us the family’s land. We climbed up a steep hill, past boulders and cactus until we came to an old crop of corn. The family told us that they used some of the corn from that field for the tortillas we had with lunch. We continued upwards until we reached the very top of the grade. Looking out, we could see all the way back to San Miguel de Allende. It looked so small compared to the regal land that was presented before us. After looking at the vista and different kinds of cactus, we walked back down to the house. As we said our farewells, Maria’s brother-in-law gave us each stalagmites that he had found over time in the dried up riverbed. The children played soccer while we said our thank yous and good-byes. We headed back to town exhausted from the day.
Over the next few days, we showed our friends all around San Miguel. We took a day at the hot springs, went shopping, rented ATVs to go off-roading and we took
a day trip to the state capital, Guanajuato.
One of the cutest things that happened in the jardin during their visit, was the parade for Spring. On the first day of spring, children dress up as animals to walk in a parade with their schools. Little girls are usually cute animals like cats, bumblebees and ladybugs. Boys seemed to like to dress as more dangerous creatures. What a neat way to welcome in the springtime.
The day after our friends returned to the states, was my 29th birthday. At night we celebrated by inviting all of our closest friends from San Miguel out to a casual restaurant. Just about everyone showed up, even on the last minute notice, and we had a great time. The evening made me sad to be leaving this little colonial town and the wonderful people, but I am sure many our the friends we have made here will stay in our lives. Afterwards, Ronnie, our friend Jason and I went to play pool at a nearby bar and then went to a friend of Jason’s departamento to play board games. It was a wonderful birthday.
The last few days of March have
been very busy. We have been preparing for our gallery show at Ave Maria on April 11th. Both Ronnie and I have been making more pieces and organizing things to get ready for our opening night reception. It is exciting but tiring.
Each day we feel our time running out here in San Miguel. It is a strange feeling because we are looking forward to Bucerias, but SMA has become our home. Our familiarity. Each day is being cherished before we say our fond farewells.
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