Seis - el primero sábado - y Siete - el primero domingo

Day 6 - the first Saturday - and day 7 - the first Sunday

We got to sleep in this morning! Woke up 15 whole minutes later. Today was supposed to be our Sayula trip but there were some changes to the schedule & some confusion... but we did end up on a bus going somewhere. That somewhere was more of Jalisco: an hacienda & some pyramids.

We rode for an hour and I slept until our huge charter bus started bumping along on the tiny dirt road to the hacienda. Haciendas are like plantations, ranging from 500 to thousands of acres. Because they are so large and are so far from each other, haciendas have their own chapel in them too, which was neat. This was a smaller one (though still large) that used to produce tequila and sugar, but now primarily focuses on horses; they even have an arena for showing them. They also have chickens, many different and strange bugs (but they still have mosquitos... and they bite just as badly here), and a peacock (that makes noises like a dying cat). The whole place was covered in mud too, so that was fun to walk around in in flip-flops :)

Next we went to Guachimontones. It's right outside Teuchitlan and just up a mountain (I'm sure you know where that is). When I first got off the bus I thought, how pathetic, one little pyramid. But nooo, there was an amazing view of Teuchitlan below and its bright blue lake too, and not just one pyramid but 16 and a temple too.

Before I go any further let me describe my UAG tour guide: in her 50s, chin-length gelled red hair, skin-tight mom jeans, and a stylish fanny pack.

Back to the story, mom-jeans told us (she spoke in English the whole day) that Guachimontones means "pile of pumpkins" and it used to be the center of government so they could look down on the Teuchitlan people below. Pre-Hispanic pyramids were built to honor the gods, not to bury the dead, and these were for the god of wind. They would have hours-long ceremonies there where people would lay with their stomachs on upright poles to imitate flying, ouch. They also had a little court or mini-stadium for ball games.

We went down to Teuchitlan for lunch. Blanca had packed ham sandwiches for Daisy and I because the only food there is at sketchy little Mexican kiosks that can make you sick... but after my sandwich and after Chenoa & Anna didn't throw up after a bite of their food, I decided to risk it and get a taco. I told myself before this trip that I wanted to risk it once, and that was my one and only experience at a sketchy little Mexican food kiosk: Chenoa and I were fine but Anna got pretty sick that night (and no, the ham sandwich did not make Daisy sick either). The university did a really good job arranging this trip, so hopefully DF (Mexico/ Mexico City/ the capital) will be good next week.

When we got home, Alfredo the Elder told us about a safe, reliable bus to the beach (not Puerto Vallarta, it's only bars not for swimming, but one close by it that's much quieter, prettier, and swim-friendly) that leaves at early in the morning, we could spend all day there on the beach, and then catch a late night bus back. We have 3 weekends on this trip with no excursions, so that's probably what the 4 of us will do sometime (I hope!).

This was such an American weekend. Saturday night after our trip, Daisy & I visited Chenoa & Anna at their apartment, which is a little bigger than ours but a little farther from school. We watched The Hangover and ate chips & dip. Sunday morning, Daisy & I got Starbucks (because Blanca doesn't cook on Sundays and it was Father's Day so the family was off doing stuff) and went to church with an American missionary family here, the Roys. They have a little church that meets in a Holiday Inn meeting room. There aren't many families there but I really liked the service. It was contemporary and all in Spanish, but I understood the songs (based on hymns and other songs I've heard in English) and the gist of the sermon. Afterwards the family took us to El Pollo Pepe, which is almost a KFC (I had chips & guacamole, really good chicken in tortillas, mashed potatoes, and pasta salad). The one new thing I tried was rice water, which is popular here. Then we drove to the top of a mountain where we could see all of Guadalajara, it stretches out so far! It was so strange though to drive past polished multi-million dollar mansions, then while returning into the city seeing homeless people and graffiti and trash.

Daisy & I got home around 4 and hung out for a bit, then at 7 we headed to Applebee's with Chenoa and Anna... where we got burgers and fries and the English-speaking waiter had to help me. I hardly spoke any Spanish this weekend (though I did listen to some) which was annoying because that's what I came here to work on, but I did get to see some historic and cultural things Saturday morning.