Marcos Witt

Last night 7 of us girls went to the Marcos Witt concert here in Guadalajara at the Plaza del Torros (a big, round, bullfighting stadium). I didn't know anything about Marcos Witt, but some of the girls did and liked him. I wasn't going to go originally, but some girls ended up changing their minds so a ticket opened up for me. I am glad, because I had a really good time! Marcos Witt is amazing! He is apparently American-a Missionary Kid, but his music is totally Latin, all in Spanish. He never spoke English and I wouldn't have known he was American if no one told me. His music is very upbeat, fun, Latin praise songs. Some of the churches that I've been to in town use his songs during worship.
Our tickets were the cheap, nosebleeds... but they ended up being just fine because it rained during the entire concert, and our seats waaaay up top were the only ones with cover!
After the concert (at 11:45ish or 12:00... we were hungry so we walked around the corner with Quetzal and his 80 friends to the little bitty restaurant run out of the house of a friend of his. It was so cute! There were only a few seats out in the restaurant area so Quetzal went and talked to someone and then we ended up inside their living/dining room. About 10 minutes later all the Mexican friends showed up and their house was filled with us! The dad and brother were running around and very graciously waiting on us and trying to meet our every need! I had a wonderful chicken mole tamale for $1. Yay for true Mexican hospitality! It is almost embarrassing how well Quetzal and his friends treat us-- making sure we get tickets for what we want, driving us home when the buses stop running or we don't know where to go... showing us around the city. I must say it's quite useful, but I feel bad being totally helpless and unable to return the favors.

So, I went to bed late and really looked forward to a nice long morning of sleeping in. But, no. Apparently the garbage men bang a cowbell really loud to let you know they're outside... so at 9 a.m. I was not-so-gently awakened to the lovely clanging of a cowbell right outside my window! wow. Lately I've been getting more sleep during the schoolweek than the weekend.

Well, if you have iTunes you should check out some of Marcos Witt's music!


Another great one is Danilo Montero. I may even like him better.

Tlaquepaque

There are a lot of words here that begin, or contain, the letter T followed by L. I'm pretty sure it is from the indigenous Mexican people and their language's influence on Mexico, because it is not a Spanish sound. Tlalpeno is a really yummy soup. Tlaquepaque is a neighboring Artisan town where I went on Thursday with Jenny and our friend Quetzal (remember- the guy who set up the amazing fiesta at our house). It was such a cute place, with a beautiful downtown area, cathedral, gazebo, artsy stores, streets with no cars. It was cleaner and much less crowded than downtown Guadalajara when I went a month or so ago.
We ate sugar cane (all cut up in a bag)... you just chew it for the sweet liquid it has and then spit out the stringy remains. It was good!
Rainy season is almost over, I think. I can't decide how I feel about that because apparently the dry season gets pretty miserable. But after Tlaquepaque we ate dinner at a really cute place, but it started to pour halfway through it. The result was that the streets were completely flooded and, since this particular street was on a hill, the water came rushing down it and the sidewalk. In the dark, it looked like a mudslide you would see on the Discovery channel! So, we tried to wait it out but it lasted a long time, so we waited until is slowed down before we left.
I'm now on a search for shoes b/c some of the few I brought are ruined now from the water, or they dye my feet brown since they've been wet so many times.
However, like I said, I can't decide if I want the rain to end just yet... because there is always such a refreshing change of weather after the rain comes. A hot day turns breezy and cool enough for jeans and a jacket. It's nice. I'm afraid that after October, when the rain stops, it will just be hot. And this being a dirty city... well, there will be nothing to wash away and temporarily drown out the exhaust and smog.
We'll see how it goes.

(pictures will come of Tlaquepaque... since my 'rechargable' camera batteries have decided to hold a charge for about 32 minutes...I haven't been taking pictures with my own camera and must rely on others. no fun. so I will look for new batteries today)

Package Update!

Ok, I don't know what I've posted here in the past, but here's some scoop: The Texas address can only be used to send me letters or magazines. I was told in the past that little manilla envelopes with small things would be fine, but they neglected to tell me how much it would be taxed---a LOT. so I've gotten some packages to that address which I will now have to just decline and leave there for someone to take to their daughters, neices, and nephews, because the amount they want me to pay (either for the tax, or to ship it back to the sender) is more expensive than the total value of the items inside.
so sad.
SO, here is the new correspondance information for me:

FOR LETTERS OR MAGAZINES USE THIS ADDRESS, IN TEXAS:

Tara Peterson
413 Interamerica Blvd. WH1
PMB 070-329
Larendo, TX 78045

FOR PACKAGES (I posted the school's address previously, which is fine, but here is my house address, also fine)

Tara Peterson
Circunvalacion Sur 44
Las Fuentes Zapopan
Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico 45070

Fruits and Veggies!

I love little markets! I started shopping at this little mercado down the street where there are different stalls selling different types of food. There were a couple fruit/veggie people, a cremeria which sells cheeses and tortillas and bread, and some meat places (yuck...), also there are little shops around the edges selling cheap plastic/household items/toys. Saturday morning I walked down and came back with two bags and a purse full of food, for about $9. I bought Panela (a soft, mild cheese), tortillas, lettuce, carrots, fresh green beans, strawberries, a pear, green pepper, apple, orange, and peach.
Saturdays are turning into my domestic days. After I buy the fruits and vegetables I have to soak them for 15 minutes in water with this disinfecting solution. So I end up spending a good portion of time in the kitchen. Saturday was, "hey...Why don't I make soup", "Oh, I should cook some of my brown rice for the soup", "Why don't I make some of these green beans to eat with the rice"
Yay for having a job! I love the feeling of not having papers, reading, projects, and tests looming over me. Although I definitely have "homework" as a teacher, it's not the same. I feel much more free.

Ninos

Today was one of those days when I just couldn't help but smile when I was with my class. I am not even sure why--they weren't being particulary well behaved or sweet.... but they are just incredible. I love them.
I hope to take more photos of them soon, so someone remind me if I forget!