Morelia

my favorite plaza



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me and my girls in morelia
view of patzcuero from our roof
lunch in the market
Our party!
Preparing dinner in our little kitchen before the party!

Our house!
The Study room...

We finished Spanish school last friday and are now in the town of Morelia, the capital of Michoacan. This city is so beautiful and has a very romantic European feel to it, plus the traditional churro, chips and Salsa Valentina twist to it!!
The last week of school was my favorite. We moved out of the expensive family house we were staying in and rented a small apartment for the week. We were just a 20min walk from school and lived up a small hill in something like a compound filled with artists! We had a fireplace and a small kitchen and twice had big dinners for our neighbors and friends from school. We went to the market everyday for fresh verduras and frutas and had 2 tacos for ten pasos for lunch. It was a great experience. I feel like I learned so much in school and need a little time to process it all (four hours a day for two weeks!) I am going to do my best to continue learning and practicing.
Tomorrow we are taking a bus to Cuernovaca where we will drop Carlee Ann off with her midwife for about 6 weeks. From there Vita and I are going to continue to explore Mexico and more.
As for now, in Morelia we are completly enamored. We are staying in the historic district and love walking through the beautiful plazas. I am writing and it feels wonderful! Enjoy the pictures and I love you all!

Mexio!!!

our new wool socks to protect us from the unexpected rain and cold!!!

My school, CELEP

mmm... they taste even better than they look

Playing around with my new fancy camera on the peacocks in our yard.

A pagan festival that took place the day before Ash Wednesday.

Well, here I am again traveling. This time Mexico, and then Central and South America. We arrived Sunday night and are staying in a home with an older couple. We are in a small town and will be here for another week learing Spanish. I have three goals or intentions for this trip- first to work on a book project which is a combination of journal entries, poems, and drawings. The second is to practice yoga (maybe not everyday, but frequmente!) And third to learn Spanish!! Below is an excert from my journal-

16 Febrero, 2010

Patzuuer is a small pueblo centered around 3 small plazas. We live in an old colonial style casa surrounding 2 courtyards divided by an unused formal dinning room. We stay in a room upstairs at the end of a long balcony. There are at least 5 other empty room but of course we prefer to stay together. So far on this journey everthing feels strangely familiar. Living out of a backpack has lost all novelty, the plave busride and 2 taxies to get here lacked any sense of impatience to arrive. To remind myself that I am traveling, that I am excited , that i am tasteing an exitic land I repeat Micheocan to myself. That word is strangely romantic to me, somehow it encompasses the sound of the language here, the taste of enchilada suezas, and the two peacocks roaming just below us in the courtyard. I miss nothing from home.

Over the past few days we have made a simple life. Rising for desayuno at 9, escuela at 10, home by three for comida. In the afternoons we study espanol, expolore the cobble streets and (try to) practice yoga. It is a good begining to establish and meet intentions for teh rest of this trip. Still Im waiting for a moment, a recognition, an escape into uncontrolable excitement.