2014.07.20

Day 27

This morning the whole family woke up and we all went to 'the club' together. 

What do you think of 'the club'? Nice, eh?

Olga and I wanted to do some yoga so we picked a sunny spot outside. Olga put her mat behind mine so she could see what I was doing since she has not done yoga that often in her life. I started with the sun salutations. After the first cycle another older lady came and asked if she could join us. We allowed her and this is how it came about that I 'taught' my first yoga class. It was a nice experience. The lady thanked me and complimented me on my posture. Can you believe it..... my posture! I think my father would be so happy because he always tells me to sit up straight. :) After we went to the steam room and exfoliated our faces and feet. We had the regular buffet breakfast. It tried a flauta. It is a grilled tortilla rolled up like a Hungarian palacsinta with chicken inside, and cream, cheese, and lettuce on top. It was very good. I also tried a bit of menudo. Last time that we were there, I was hesitant to try this but this time, I had to. Who knows when I will have this opportunity again. I tried it. It looked really gross. In reality, menudo is a tripe soup. It was edible but I would never want to eat this again. My host sister also told me to try another type of meat. I ate it without asking what it was. The taste was horrible. It was cow tongue. I am never eating this again either. Today was an experience for eating. My stomach is probably going a bit crazy. I also tried from new types of pan dulce. 

After breakfast, we went to mass. Then my host family decided to take part in the Mexican past time of going to the mall, so that it where we went. It was one that we had already been to, and I was a very bored. The family decided to have lunch at the mall at an Argentinian restaurant. We had a type of Argentinian cheese that you grill with pesto as an appetizer, which was something new for me. For dessert with had palacsinta with cajeta. I think that this is my new favourite type of palacinta. It was delicious! 

During lunch, I was able to ask my host father about his career, and his interests. He seems like a very intelligent man. He works two jobs, he teaches a couple of times per week, and he works in a union fighting for better rights for healthcare workers. He is very busy. He fights for universal healthcare in Mexico. He was telling me that in the Americans, Canada is the only country with universal healthcare. I was not aware of this, but I am even more happy to call Canada my home. My host father was fighting to implement a Canadian-type of system in Mexico as well. Before, he was involved in politics and lived in Mexico city. While there, he initiated a nation-wide strike for which he received death threats and had to retreat for the time being from politics. Instead, he works at two different hospitals working with labour rights for hospital workers, and helping those that have had workplace accidents in other industries. I find this to be very interesting. 

After lunch, we went to find me some cajeta so I can bring it home with me. We also bough the Mexican type of flour so I can bring it home and make tortillas for my family. I have just a couple more things to get and then I will be all ready for my trip home. 

In the evening, I met up with a new friend to plan our weekend trip to Puerto Vallarta. I am very much looking forward to it. We met up and micheladas, which I love so much. Guadalajara has the perfect weather for this drink. I hope to be able to make it at home as well.

Observation:

When listening to the radio in Mexico, often there will be a short silence followed by someone in a deep voice saying, "en red nacional". Today I discovered that what follows after this is a national message for the entire country. I think I like this system. What do you think?

Have a lovely week ahead,

Cs.

PS. Sorry for the wordy post.