When you are surrounded by Spanish and thus forget all Spanish

This past week was a big one: I visited my future site and met my new host family and the people I’ll be working with over the next two years.  I was a wee bit nervous about traveling cross country and being immersed in Spanish all the time.  My fears were allayed when I met my first future coworker who was super kind and patient, and led me through Guadalajara on my first “autobus” experience.  For a very affordable price you can travel in more comfort than on an airplane, enjoy precious air conditioning, and watch or listen to just about anything you want, including Miley Cyrus, REM, Guns N’ Roses and my new favorite Shakira song, Gitana.

 Mountains surrounding my new town!

Horses and rock streets.

The rest of my team was also warm and welcoming and the office has a great backyard with both an orange tree and a mango tree in view.  My new host family is also super nice and they have an amazing home with a beautiful center garden and open ceiling where you can view lots of stars at night :)

Backyard at the office. 

Outdoor living - I love it! But maybe not the mosquito bites.

My town has around 8,000 residents and is a “pueblo mágica” in every sense.  It’s surrounded by beautiful mountains and every Sunday night a different band plays music in the gazebo.  People walk around the square or sit on the benches listening to music, talking, eating from the street tents and people watching.  My host family and I walked around and sat for an hour listening to the great music and people watching.  It was perhaps my favorite moment during my week long site visit and something I hope to replicate every Sunday once I’m in town.  There were also men out and about riding their horses through the streets and at night I could hear horses riding along the rock streets from my bed, which was pretty magical.

Downtown square 

 Downtown streets

 I love this fountain with frogs!

Street view

 Ruinas de la Presciosa Sangre

Famous raicilla - I have yet to taste this but will eventually. 

I was feeling pretty good about powering my way through Spanish until a) I had to ask my boss how to say “I am here” which is essentially as basic as “hola” and b) after 7 days, my brain stopped understanding any Spanish and I perpetually had a puzzled look on my face whenever anyone said anything to me (including “hola”).  Even with the language challenges it was a great visit and I saw all kinds of fun things like people riding horses down the street, dogs wearing disco ball lights, a woman riding a bike with a bird in a cage on the back, and cows strolling down the road.

Oh, and since I’m only two hours from the beach, my family graciously offered to take me so I got to experience some real heat and humidity and enjoy my beloved Pacific Ocean for a full day! It was a little surreal being surrounded by so many English-speaking people and to see mainstays from home (like Wal-Mart), but the beaches north of the downtown were really lovely.  The main thing I miss from home is seeing water every day so a full day walking in the water was good for my soul. 
  

The next five weeks of training are going to be pretty intense, but it’s great to know that when it’s finished, I have a great place and great people waiting for me in Jalisco!