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It would have been nice to have a free day after traveling, but with work schedules and all, this is going to be a busy trip. And we are here to study Spanish, so our first morning we get up bright and early and head off for school (which is down the block and across the street).

Academia Falcon (pronounced fal-cone) is in an old Victoria building up a steep flight of stairs. (Side note: other than a slight headache the day I arrived, the 6000 foot elevation hasn’t been noticable – at least not until we climbed these stairs). Once you get inside, the compound is much much larger than it appears from the street. It’s a veritable labyrinth of rooms and courtyards and even other buildings in the back. In fact, the classrooms are in the back, in a three story building that hold 18 classrooms.

At present, there are about 30 students, but that swells to about 100 in the summertime. Although the students are mostly from the U.S. and Canada, there are students from around the world. We were told that a lot of Japanese students come during the summer. My classes, which have me and 3 other students, have people from Oregon, San Fransico and Bristol England (Ingleterra in Spanish).

I’m taking 2 grammar courses and 2 conversation courses. The conversation courses are a first for me and I really enjoy one of  them. It’s good practice for speaking and listening, and it’s a confidence builder because I can hear other people, with abilities similar to mine, struggling and succeeding. I had a conversation with another student about rap music. We were both able to express our opinions, all in Spanish, which, considering that this is a beginners class, was great.

The school has an activity every evening. Thursday night they are showing the film Y Tu Mamma Tabien (And Your Mother, Too).

After classes, we explored. It’s about a twenty minute walk (and an interesting walk) to El Centro. Typically, there are no traffic signals here, so you’re on your own crossing streets. Most of the day the traffic isn’t fierce, although around four it got pretty heavy. It’s a little hilly, so the streets tend to go at diagonals, and are curvy, so it would be easy to get lost, but that’s not a big deal.

We asked about a good cafe con leche or latte (yuppies to the bone) and were told that Santo Cafe was nice. It is. It’s the picture of the cafe on the small bridge. We ate lunch and I had a latte, which was as good as any back home. I had Crepa #3, which was a crepe with mushrooms, black olives, red pepper, garlic and cheese on the top. Excellent. Sherry had a pasta that was a cross between Italian and Chinese in that it had soy sauce on it. It was good, actually. I wouldn’t have thought so, but it was. The bill came and it was $98. Whoa. But wait. That’s pesos. It was $7 U.S. That’s right. $7 at a nice cafe in the center of town. True, Sherry’s pasta was only a half order……

Later in the evening, we asked about a good place to have a beer and sit. They suggested Mexico Lindo Y Sabroso, about a ten minute walk (they said). They must have been slow walkers, because it was on the next block. It was lovely. A patio, a couple of court yards with nice music. I had a flan, which we both agreed was the best flan we had ever had, period. And Sherry had a chocolate cheesecake, also good. And three beers between us. Total $145 pesos (about $10 U.S.).

So what do I think of Mexico, and what do we think of Guanajuato? So far, I like it. Once again the phrases “elegant decay” or ” faded elegance” comes to mind. It’s dry here, so there is a certain amount of dust that settles on buildings, etc. That gives the town a look not unsimilar to what you would see at a city on the beach in the U.S. Weather can be hard on buildings. In the U.S. north, the snow and ice leaves a mark year round as well. So. Guanajuato is lovely. There are narrow streets and wider roads. It has the feel of a small city rather than a large metropolitan area. People are very friendly. We feel safe. It’s lovely really. The goal of a traveler isn’t to judge a place by his own home. If you use home as a standard, with everything home being good, and everything different being bad, then every place but home will fail the test. The goal of the traveler is to try to understand, to accept and appreciate and see a new way. On those terms, Guanajuato passes with flying colors (based on one day, you understand). Would we consider living here? Absolutely. It isn’t as warm as I had hoped. In the mornings, I wear a sweater and a light jacket, but by noon I’m in shirt sleeves, so it isn’t bad. Not at all. The elevation, I think, is what cools it off at night. At home, we like to sleep in a cool room anyway, and we haven’t needed heat in our apartment. Most buildings here are stone or cement, so they stay cool even during the heat of the day.

Yes, we like Guanajuato. Yes, we would consider living here during the winter. But we’re going to keep looking. And exploring Mexico.

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