Then, to the Bonanza mini mart. You really CAN get anything there. It just goes on & on.

Then to the library, where Kathleen caught me & put me to work (I’d skipped out 2 wks running, so I owed her.)

Then rushed to LifePath Center for an Intro to Enneagrams class.

Then to the dentist, to find out he had some sort of emergency & can’t see me for 2 wks??? (Ayyy!)

Then to Mega, to get some wine, cheese & coffee filters…

Then home w/a crazy cab driver who gave me his cell # so he can come teach me to make Margaritas. (He doesn’t speak English, I don’t speak Spanish, but we both speak Margarita.) He’s #1 son’s  age, so no worries.

Tomorrow: Tues market, where I really need to find some sweatpants. Then a class in “How not to fall down & break your ankle.” by a Feldenkrais practitioner (seriously) Then, Women’s night out @ Wooly Kabis (whatever that is) with 2 for 1 national drinks (whatever those are.) and free botanas (don’t even ask.)

Chocolate Johfrej in San Miguel

Last night was the only time it’s rained since I’ve been here. In fact, there was quite a nice thunderstorm rolling thru the valley.

There was even a little rain today & some mist on the mountains, so a lot of people seem to have just stayed home.

For me, it was the perfect day to go exploring. The rain had stopped, but the temperature was great. So I took a taxi in to Centro & started wandering.

One thing I found was a wonderful chocolate shop. I was kind of peering in & a very suave Mexican gentleman on his way out told me to go on in- I wouldn’t regret it. He was certainly right! It’s not the sort of thing I could do every day, and thank goodness I’m not a chocolate fanatic like some. This was the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had.

All the cocoa used comes from nearby Tabasco (where our friend Cain is from) or Chiapas (which is where my favorite coffee originates.) There is just a hint of cinnamon, and maybe some vanilla as well, and it’s not overly sweet. The colorful bowl  has raw sugar for those who like it sweeter. Notice that the table has a glass top, and there are cocoa pods under it!

The same shop also has counters of chocolate candies & ice cream as well (The usual ice cream flavors plus tequila, coffee, and fruit of the day.) Here are more pictures.

I should mention that there’s a bookshop across the street. I have a feeling I’ll be haunting Calle Jesus quite a bit.

Dinner is served

“All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.”  Martin Buber

For as long as people have been asking me why I wanted to go to San Miguel, I’ve been giving unsatisfactory answers. For the food, for the climate, to practice my Spanish. All of those are true of course.

But the answer that is the most true is also the least satisfactory to the people who care about me: I don’t know. I just know that I’m supposed to be here, and I’m going on instinct.

I have a feeling that it will be important to my future to have been here, and to be able to speak Spanish. But I think the real reason(s) will unfold as I’m down here, if I put one foot in front of the other.

Today I got a taste of that. I was waiting in the library’s gift shop to speak w/Michel, who coordinates volunteers for the Biblioteca here, and noticed a whole section of Barbara Kingsolver’s books (one of my favorite authors.)

I recalled an article in the paper about her latest book, The Lacuna, & asked the shop’s director about it. “Oh, yes,” she said (she speaks better English than I do Spanish.) “Here it is. You know she’s coming here?” No, I didn’t.

So then she pulled out a “San Miguel Writers’ Conference” form. Barbara Kingsolver will be the keynote speaker, 2 wks before I leave. Hmmm….

Can you say “synchronicity”? I knew you could.

Pinata store

It’s 6 AM, and big fireworks are going off, (either that, or it’s a revolution) and church bells are ringing all over the city. What on earth? So I checked the paper, and sure enough, it’s the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. OK… Anyway, fireworks (even if I can’t see them from here) is a pretty cool way to start the day.

According to the paper, next up is Dec 12 – the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe- one of my favorites. On that day, all little girls (and big girls!) named Guadalupe (Lupe, Lupita, whatever) get to lord it over the rest of us. OLG is omnipresent in Mexico and I expect this will be quite a celebration.

Then comes Posada, Dec 16-24, which is celebrated a bit like trick-or-treating, but also w/a little Mary & Joseph & a burro. I’m hoping that in my n’hood, the tradition is observed. (I did see 2 burros on the street yesterday, but they were working.)

Then Solstice/Yule on the 21st (I’m not sure how/if that will be celebrated here?)

And of course Christmas, followed by Epiphany…

So this is an excellent time of year for the family that runs the pinata shop down the street. The whole shop is filled with all kinds of wrapped candies to go in pinatas, as well as the pinatas themselves. Most of the candies are completely unfamiliar to me, so I got a couple kinds to try. So far, I’m not a fan. But maybe they taste better after they’ve been beaten out of a pinata?

Here’s hoping your December is full of things to celebrate.

Casita Garden

Yes, dear readers, I finally made it! Got in last night after dark, and have set a new record for sleeping.

What am I doing in San Miguel? Here’s an article that explains it. And here’s where I’m staying. I’ll be adding more pix of my own here.

But mostly, I’m getting away from the snow, and experiencing a different culture. The kind where my landlord’s brother comes to fix the heater & stays to drink tea & tell me about his adventures in OK, being mistaken for a Choctaw Indian. And then goes back to work, across the street b/c that was his lunch break. (He’s a very fine artisan, with his own shop, who did a lot of the metalwork & furniture in the casita.)

I did get to the tienda (little store) down the street. My street is mainly dirt & cobblestones w/little narrow sidewalks. There are lots of open warehouses w/people working very hard. Very much a middle-class working n’hood. Lots of people out walking- students, moms & babies, grandmas. And lots of little stores- laundries, butcher shop, etc. There’s a bus that goes from my front door to downtown for 5 pesos, and taxis go by all the time ($2 to downtown.)

But I’m sheltered from all this by the cutest courtyard in the world! In side 10 ft brick walls, I have a fig tree, pomegranate, two papayas & a peach tree. Most have little brick walls (like wells) around them, and I’m to put my fruit peels there. They kind of compost around the tree trunks. Then there are all the flowers. So far, I’ve identified geranium & impatiens, but there’s also a neat herb that I don’t know. Most of the courtyard is little pebbles, and then the plants are in pots, at all different levels. The effect is very aesthetically pleasing & I’m sure it also saves water.

Anyway, I spent a good part of the morning just sitting there enjoying it. The n’bors were getting ready for some kind of little family fiesta & playing really good music. The sun felt so good! And I met a little hummingbird who likes all the red flowers.

So far I’ve eaten 2 avocados. Gosh, they were good. Absolutely perfect. I’ve also tried 2 kinds of white cheese & developed an addiction to guavas. (yes, that was fast.) I have a papaya in the fridge that’s as big as my head. Life is good! (And yes, I disinfected all of them.)