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This time last year (I can't believe it was a year ago!), as we drove out of Cambridge with a car full of accumulated rubbish, I really thought my time at univeristy was over; and yet this week I find myself back there, only this time I´m teaching. The really scarey thing is that I´m not teaching anything to do with science - with an engineering degree I´m teaching English! Admittedly it is as a second language, but I never thought I would be teaching univeristy professors anything! The classes have been very different again to the two different schools I was in previously. Firstly, the classes are voluntary which means that all the 'students´(aged 18 to 60) actually do want to learn - this makes a big difference to productivity in classes, and we have already covered a lot of gramar, vocab and discussion topics. I am teaching 1 beginner, 2 intermediate and 1 advanced group and they are all quite good fun, occasionally I am teaching these with Anne, but she is also teaching a few German classes. We also have a new volunteer working with us, James, who is just starting and we swap classes around a bit
too for a bit of variety. The worst bit, as with everything else here, is just that things are so disorganised and there is only so much effort we can expend fighting the system before it's too tiring. So now we just arrive 15 minutes late and have stopped trying to keep records of who and what and where, and the whole thing is a lot less stressful. Believe me, it's a wonder this country gets anything done!
Zacatecas: Last weekend Anne, Ernesto (our 'brother'), Beto (our 'cousin') and I all drove to Zacatecas, a town in the mountains about 3 hours from Guadalajara. It is a really beautiful city with a special red stone from which most of the important buildings in the city centre are built. We took a trolley tour, which was interesting - the bits we could understand anyway, and then took the telefèrico cable car accross the city to the hill over-looking it. The view was lovely and being up in the mountains there was a nice cool breeze which made it relly fresh.
This was also the day Mexico got knocked-out of the world cup (again) this time by Argentina.
The end of another national dream, this one all the more sad because while everyone here would desperately love Mexico to win (or at least make it into the quaters), there is a kind of resigned belief that they never ever will. If only it really were only a game!
A walk around town in the evening took us to the musical dancing fountain and a look inside a beautiful hotel built in a old bullring where some unlucky couple were about to get their gorgeous wedding reception rained on. After gorditas (maize patties with mexican spicy meat and beans inside), we first headed to a bar, out of the rain, where I proved that whether or not I am wearing my glasses makes no difference to my pool-playing ability, and then went to a really cool club. The club was inside the old silver mine and after our paying an extortionate 10USD entrance we boarded a little train which trundled us down deep into the earth and the concealed dance floors within. Unfortunately it wasn't really our type of music and there was way to much Shakaira but it was pretty different!
The next morning after eating
Hotel in a bull ring
What a beautiful place to have your wedding reception. my home-made scones on the hostel's terrace overlooking the cold Zacatecas morning and Anne and Ernesto had satisfied their desire for art in another museum (I don't think I will ever look in another museum again after this year!) we drove to Aguas Calientes.
Aguas Calientes: As Beto rightly pointed out, Aguas Calientes means 'hot waters', it was unfortunate therefore that the water in the pools we visited was so cold that after 40minutes it was definately time to hit the centre in search of some lunch. After fajitas and watching Portugal knock-out Holland, we visted the Three Centuries Park, where buildings from the 1800s, 1900s and 2000 can all be seen side by side. There is also a small railway museum which had some lovely photos of the old town and railway.
Then it was time to jump back in the car and sing all the way home.
Uruapan: This weekend it was time for another road-trip. This time by bus as Anne and I and 8 other volunteers headed for the town of Uruapan, sound to Jalisco.
Uruapan doesn't really have much to do, although we did visit the small but pretty
national park and buy some traditional laquer wood articals in the artisan market. We also visited (wait this is exciting!), the world's narrowest house!!!! alothough the one in Amsterdam is apparently narrower.
The main reason for our trip was a treck to the old village of San Juan about an hour outside Uruapan, a village which was completely covered in lava when the nearby volcano errupted 60 years ago. All that is left is the church tower sticking above the lava. It's a pretty impressive sight with just the towers and the alter remaining. The whole area is really beautiful, very very green due to its more foot-hill-like climate and the village of Angahuan nearby from where we started the hike was very interesting too. A lot like being back in the South American Indian villages I visted earlier on in the year. This was also the day of the Mexican election and here in Angahuan in their traditional dress and in Urupan in their business suits Mexicans were queing to vote for their local representatives and president. Actually, although one party is claiming victory a recount has started as it's within 1% and the ral winner wont be
announced until later in teh week. The papers though are claiming the most important vistory for Democracy, this is only the 2nd free vote in Mexico's 300 year history and it's very close!
Misc: This week has also been a social week for us. With loads of new volunteers here I was half dragged half pushed to a Heavy Metal Rock concert, in which one of the members of staff who works here was playing. Needless to say it wasn't my thing. We also went to the cinema, were reunited with Thursday night salsa after quite a few weeks off, quite a lot of time hanging around in bars and a curry. I have a feeling my last 2 weeks here in Guadalajara are going to race by, and probably a good job too - I seem to have deveopled itchy legs and Anne and I are convinced I have an allergy to inefficiency - it´s driving me mad! Also, the bank has just stolen my bank card so please keep your fingers crossed for me that I can get it back!
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