4-19-10, Guanajuato, MX

hola!

i'm in a pensive mood . . . my thoughts are whirling like one of the little dust devils one occasionally sees here. this will probably seem disjointed to you, but i need to write down a few short stories for my own sake. later i can refer to them for book writing purposes.

#1
i was in a shop on a busy street (foot traffic, no cars) when i heard dogs barking and some shouting. out of rude curiosity i stepped out on to the sidewalk to see what was happening. a man, who had been sitting on the sidewalk next to his little table of chiclets-for-sale, had his arms wrapped around a backpack. a young
backpacker was also holding onto the same bag. both were repeatedly shouting "¡es mio!" or "it's mine". another young man joined the fray and tried to pry the old man's hands off of the bag. this was all taking place in slow motion, as though the youths didn't want to hurt the old guy. the crowd grew larger. another dog joined in the barking. finally the three grapplers lost their balance and slowly toppled to the ground. it was the strangest site, because it lacked the sense of it being a fight. it was simply a battle over the backpack. as the old man, still wrapped around the bag, rolled toward me on the ground, i recognized him. he was the blind man who walks around town with a red tipped cane and a sign around his neck saying "i'm blind, help me". the police arrived and pried everyones hands off of the coveted backpack and seperated them to get a their stories. much care was taken with the blind man. as they helped him back to his sidewalk spot he said "he took my bag". the officer then gently placed his hand on the bag that was still next to his table. "oh i'm so sorry, i thought he had mine." "it's okay, i understand." and all was well.

#2
it can get so hot here! i have started dreaming about water. i miss swimming laps at home. the other day our room mate (who i now think is a cutie-pie), said "we went to the pool today". what? what pool? he smiled and said it's a secret pool that no one knows about. so saturday we went with them to the secret pool. it's at a 4 star hotel ten minutes out of town. we all jumped into taxi's (6 of us) with
our swimsuits and towels. when we got there i thought 'oh no, this isn't going to work'. a bunch of scruffy foreigners, toting towels and swimsuits, walking through the massive marble entry area . . . but we weren't sneaking in! they greeted us as though we were honored guests and pointed to the back doors. we followed our fellow students out to an enormous pool area. the pool was about 25 meters long, plus a childrens wading area. a rock wall at the other end proved to have a slide winding through the rocks into the pool. there were 4 guests besides us. they brought us our beverages and big beach towels. it was fantastic and free . . . other than the 3 dollar taxi ride and beverages. this has got to be the best kept secret in guanajuato!

#3
i love coffee. everyone who knows me knows this fact. there are tons of coffee shops here with frappaccinos, mochas, coffee etc. recently a lot of various observations coalesced, and the light came on. first i noticed a yummy smell emitting from a dumpy looking corner cafe. i also noted a popular tattoo here: a cat on top of a coffee cup. then i realized that this tattoo is the logo on said yummy smelling cafe. i thought this was taking coffee love a little too far! at about
the same time, the daughter at our house told me to go to 'cafe tal' and try the beso negro . . . the black kiss. ah hah! the corner cafe is cafe tal! a student in class showed up with the tatoo. what is happening here? i must try this beso negro! so off we went to explore the cult of cafe tal. i ordered a beso negro and checked out the pictures pasted all over the walls while i waited. 30 or 40 of them were pictures of people with black smudged mouths. just picture my 6 year old friend, calab, after eating a dark chocolate truffle. i recieved the most awesome tiny cup of melted, liquid dark chocolate. unbelievably delicous. the only thing that could be better would be if it had caffiene. the next day i ordered a chocolada (or something like that). it was a shot of espresso and the melted dark chocolate. definately not a drink for laughing and talking unless you want everyone to see your brown teeth :) as it turns out the tattoos are henna and they grant you free coffee until it wears off. it costs 35 pesos . . . i think i will get one. admit it dan lynch, you'd get it too! the coffee is perfect. i think i'll put it on my shoulder. we'll see. right now i am sipping on the best frappe mocha i've ever had.

well i gotta go and eat lunch at home. lots of love, heidi