Mariachi Weekend

After we finished Friday, the school threw us a graduation party. It was catered with all sorts of tacos (I said no thanks to the cow tongue) and was an all around good time. It was great for all of the classmates to spend one last night together before we all moved on with our different jouneys. After we had dinner at the school, we went salsa dancing! It was SOO much fun. We spun around the dance floor until our feet ached and our heads were dizzy. We took more pictures than you can count to make sure the night was properly documented. :) After we went dancing, Frank took us to this really good hot dog place and then we headed home. Jade's shoes were hurting her feet so, Frank, being the gentleman that he is, switched shoes with her for the walk home. don't worry, I've got a picture to prove it! He couldn't handle the heels, so he just walked home in his socks, which happened to be decorated with a man who had a big afro wearing blue sun glasses. ha only Frank!

Here's some pictures from the party:

Jade, me, Mike, Frank



Azucena, Palloma, Jade
Roomies!

Some of the class

(After being all sweaty from dancing) Mike and I were quite pensive

Making fun of Frank's signature pose!

Sarah and Andrew, the cutest couple ever

Me and Frank

Me and Myk

me and elliot

Jade and I with momma Rose!

me, Sonia, Jade, sarah and elliot

haha told you i had proof!

The annual Mariachi festival started this weekend, so on Saturday we went to the Mariachi Parade. It was pretty cool. That kinda music isn't really my thing, but the exposure to the culture was really nice. It's apparently a really huge deal; there were thousands upon thousands there and professional news crews covering the event. Check out some pictures:

The first float

Confetti is apparently really popular in Mexican parades

Cutest mariachi ever!!

This guy was just passing a bottle of tequila around the crowd.. Only in Mexico!

Surely if a horse can learn salsa, I can learn salsa.

Sunday, we went to church and then just had the taxi drop us back off by the parque de revolution. The city of Guadalajara does a pretty amazing thing on Sundays; they close down some of the streets downtown from 8 to 2 for bike riding, skate boarding, roller blading, jogging, or walking. It's so nice! It's pretty amazing if you think about it. They shut down one of the busiest streets every week so their citizens can enjoy some recreation. Could you imagine if they shut down the boulevard in brookhaven for six hours every week? Guadalajara has a population of 6.5 million, but they have time to slow down and enjoy the outdoors. It's pretty cool. Sunday night we went to a big Mariachi concert. Again, not really my kinda music, but it was really awesome.

The infamous Wing's Army
Today I started my Spanish classes. They will hopefully help me to atleast be able to order at a restaurant without always having to point at pictures. Living in a country without knowing the language is like being a toddler all over again. My ability to communicate in Spanish is so pitiful, but I'm continuing to learn. After class, I grabbed lunch with Mike by a quaint little fountain he had found on one of his journeys through this big city. We parted ways and I headed to the huge, famous cathederal in the center of downtown. (The one in the pictures above with all the confetti) I went in, found an empty pew and read my devotion book for a while. People are constantly coming in and out of the cathederal, snapping tons of pictures of the amazing inside, but it's still so quiet and peaceful. I enjoyed the quiet time and took the chance to sort out all the things floating around in my head and my heart. I took some pictures before I left, but I promise you, it doesn't do any justice to the true beauty.

This was taken in the grotto under the church.