Mi Ultimo Dia en San Miguel de Allende

So, it's my last evening here in SMA. Time, as usual, has flown by. I feel like I just arrived! After school today I went to a knitting (crocheting, and quilting too) group with Brianne and finished the sweater I started in June. It's a good thing, because it is actually really cold here, especially in the evenings and in the morning. When the sun comes out, all is grand. In any case, the knitting group is a group of women who live in SMA, including one woman from Mexico City. I even got to practice my Spanish a little. It was good to meet some people who live here. I think they are all really interesting and have great stories to tell. When I come back, I will definitely be in touch. I guess I feel at home with other "artists."
This morning was interesting. I woke up at 5am, before the sun rose, to the sound of really bad singing through a mega-phone, with acapella accompaniment. They were singing about Santa Maria Ava... at least that is what I remember from the fog of my brain at dark o'clock. I tried really hard to ignore it, but wasn't successful. Although I have earplugs with me, I find it hard to fall asleep with them because I can hear my heart beating in my ears. So, I didn't have them in. Not that it would have mattered! Eventually I fell back to sleep. Then at 7:30 or so, I am wakened again by a big marching band coming down the street. I threw on a sweatshirt and ran outside to check out the action. It was a much smaller group than I expected. And I didn't take any photos because I have seen that the people from more rural areas ("campesinos") really do not like having their photos taken. Although it was a small group, there were even some dancers.

Yesterday, after a trip to the inaugural opening of the department store "Liverpool" there was a group of campesinos marching down the street in the afternoon at around 3pm. It is amazing to me the contrast between the have and have-nots here. Liverpool was a glittery place like Macy's with REALLY expensive clothes, shoes, makeup, and everything else you can think of. There were mostly rich Mexicans shopping, although we didn't see many purchases happening. On the other hand, the other typical life lived in Mexico is that of the people who are extremely poor. They work hard. They live out in the ranches and rural areas seemingly in the middle of nowhere. (You will often be in a bus that will stop to let someone off in the middle of the highway, maybe at a crossroads, or maybe not. They will disappear into the shrubs.) And they are very very religious. According to my Spanish teacher, there are pilgrimages all throughout the year such as the ones I have seen (or heard). The one I am really bummed that I missed was the caballeros marching through town on their horses. I had heard about it, and seen some of them on the way back to the house from Liverpool. But, they marched through while I was on my way home and I missed them! I really would have loved to see them. I heard there were at least 500 of them. They make a pilgrimage to be blessed (maybe here at the Parroquia, the big church in town - there are numerous churches of course) and then go on to the next blessing. I will have to do more research on the event.
I have met so many amazing people down here. I am really sad to leave.
I would highly recommend the Academia where I took my Spanish classes, and my teachers Aida (group) and Ezequiel (private) in particular! I really got to know Ezequiel pretty well, because a lot of what we did was converse. He has a lot in common with me in how we look at the world and also what kinds of things he has done for a living. Before teaching, he worked at CASA which is an agency for battered women and he did groups with people regarding various gender issues. I gather he did other things more administrative as well. Now, in addition to teaching he works with a non profit agency that gives loans to people (mostly in the campos/rural areas) so they are able to start little businesses. I believe he helps them with all of the processes involved with starting a small business. And he is a great teacher too!
Well, for now, that's it. My hands and wrists are getting sore.
Hasta mas tarde. Besos.