Sunday Funday

... No not the kind that includes boozing during brunch & beyond, but a different kind of fun! Every Sunday in Guadalajara the city closes down Avenida Chapultapec & Avenida Vallarta from 8-12 so that people can enjoy the streets freely. I was at a hostel where my buddy stays on Sunday, so I decided to borrow one of the bikes and enjoy the beautiful day.

 Aren't the tree lined streets pretty?

Most people ride bikes but there are also joggers, roller bladers, walkers, and skateboarders. 

I was really surprised to see so many roller bladers here. I thought that fad died down in 1998....

I took the picture while cycling, so please don't judge how crooked it is.

















There are quite a number of parks along these two main roads, and on Sundays they are filled with people. There are also government sponsored groups that promote physical activity and wellness... I laughed when I saw this group promoting exercise with hula hoops

After biking for about an hour I was pretty thirsty so I stopped to quench my thirst with some refreshing fruit. This watermelon really hit the spot. It was prepared exactly how my nanny growing up prepared it: chili powder and lime juice. So good!

The little square where I sat & ate my fruit.

Pretty sights along my ride. Overall, I biked for about 2 hours. If you started at 8 in the morning you really could make a whole day out of this by stopping along the way for an espresso, a stroll through the park, some pan dulce, a visit to the street markets and so on. It also makes for great people watching! Hopefully I can do this again this Sunday, but maybe with some buddies so I have someone to talk to, ha.

Vamos a cocinar!

Mi escuela nos ofrece algunos talles que podemos tomar para aprender mas de la cultura Mexicana. It was a close decision between the salsa class or the cooking class, but I decided I would enjoy the cooking class more (and avoid awkward moments with my male classmates). Ayer empiezó nuestra primera clase.

La cocina





El primer plato que hicimos fue Chiles en nogada. Esto es un plato muy tradicional, especialmente durante de la patria en Septiembre. En un momento vas a ver porque lo es un plato para celebraciones. También hicimos arroz con leche, que es una postre muy común en Mexico.

Los ingredientes

Mis compañeras limpiando los chiles después de asandolos.

Picando los nueces.

















Estrella cocinando el pica dillo (carne molida de cerdo, jitomates, cebolla, nuez, acitron, pasas, y piñon). No te preocupes; tuve mi propio versión sin carne :)

La crema en la licuadora (crema leche y nuez).














 Rellendo los chiles.

El producto final! Chiles bañados con la nogada (la crema) y adornado con los granitos de granada.

Notan los colores; el chile es verde, la crema el blanco, y los granitos son rojos... los colores de Mexico!

Disfrutando mi creación delicioso.














It was really funny to take this class with the two girls from South Korea. Each time the teacher let them try an aspect of the dish along the way, they reacted as if it were the coolest thing they had ever tried. They were blown away by the whole process, haha. I could also tell they didn't enjoy the arroz con leche because they didn't eat any of it. I found this interesting because I'm pretty sure Asian cuisines incorporate rice in their desserts as well. I'm excited to make a vegetarian adaption of this dish. I think the walnuts are going to be very helpful as they take on a meat-like consistency when ground very finely and then cooked.
Anyone else eating Mexican food this week? Cody, Chipotle doesn't count....

Lo que hacen los Mexicanos

Yesterday I explored beyond the city limits of Guadalajara and visited el Lago de Chapala. This lake is a hotspot for Mexican travelers due to the fact that the climate stays so nice all year round. The village that surrounds the lake itself is quite picturesque with the huge lake in the background.

Chapala: Rinconcito de Amor
               little corner of love :)
















To be honest, there isn't much to do in the village other than walking around or having something to eat. I have found though that Mexicans are happy just finding a nice bench in the shade and talking with the family while taking in the sights in sounds. There were a number of vendors selling helado (ice cream) and all sorts of little snacks. The weirdest one I saw was selling dried little fish. El lago de Chapala is a really nice place to spend a day just admiring the view of the lake and enjoying the fresh air.

The city in the background

Front view of el Fuente Pescadores

La iglesia













After my buddies and I walked around the village and had una cerveza, we headed to the nearby town of Ajicic. This pretty little town is a very popular retirement destination among Canadians and Americans. You can tell its a pricey area code because the hills are lined with large, beautiful houses.

Emma trying some complimentary tequila... don't worry, I tried some too.

My lunch at the Iguana de Piedra.... fish stuffed with shrimp and then fried. yum!













When we returned to Guadalajara I wanted to walk off lunch (it was a bit heavy since it was fried) so I walked down Avenida Chapultapec for a little bit. This is probably my favorite street so far in Guadalajara. There are ton of shops, cafes, trees, benches, and statues. On Saturday nights this avenue is closed down so as to facilitate pedestrian traffic. Its very charming! There are tons of families and couples that just come out onto the street and sit around talking. It is very interesting to me to see people so content to simply sit and talk! I, and I'm sure many other Americans, always feel the need to be "doing" something. I could read a book or grab a drink with friends, but I'm not sure I'm patient enough to just sit. I can sit fine by myself because there is a lot of good people watching, so I did as the Mexicans and just sat!

There were many tables set up with free activities, such as drawing for the little kids or chess for the older ones.

















Great day overall :)

Are you ready for the dance?

Last night I realized I was tired of staying at home every day (besides the day I visited el Hospicie Cabañas) & that I had barely experienced the city. I decided to attend a spanish conversation club even though I wouldn't know anyone there. The club is held every Thursday at a bar called Arles. The people who work there are young & really friendly so it was the perfect spot to meet new people and chat with the locals.

La vista arriba del bare; que bonita no? A la izquirda es el Templo Expiatorio y a la derecha es la Universidad de Guadalajara original.












After chatting for a bit, I went to meet my friend Emma at the hostel where she works. Let me just say, this hostel was awesome! Very clean, nice design, lots of rooms, and tons of young people. We sat out on the patio for a bit and chatted with other travelers. I met some people form Holland, London, and Mexico City.

Esas chicas son primas y son de Mexico City. Estuve hablando con las dos, pero la niña no pudo entenderme! Pienso que ella nunca ha oiste un acento como mio... no la pude entender tampoco.











More pics of the hostel:

After chatting for awhile, we decided it was time to check out the local dance scene so we went to a salsa bar.

On the way to the bar with my international friends....












I love this salsa bar!!! I wish I could salsa like the the girls that were dancing there. Actually, I'm fairly confident I could if I had a bit more practice but they were "muy suave." The guys were awesome too. I love Latin culture because the men take great pride in their dance skills. If they can move they aren't afraid to show it! I danced a little bit with some dude named Salvador. But don't worry, in Latin culture the men just want to dance with everyone so asking a girl to dance is just about having fun and not about making any moves.

The salsa band took a little break and that's when the party really got started! They put on pop music (a lot of Shakira, Juanes, Enrique Iglesias) and the whole crowd gathered together to form a circle. The next part was the best: the guys each took turns going to the center of the circle where they would display their dancing skillz (think Dirty Dancing style), then grab a girl, and form a circle around her with other guys and shout "hey! hey! hey hey!" while everyone else clapped. It was a ton of fun and really hilarious to see men dancing this way because I'm so used to girls dancing like that in America.

Everyone dancing & clapping....












.... this is where things got crazy hahaha. I was never pulled in the circle, gracias a Dios!

Me, Emma, & Sara taking in the sights & sounds

This guy said he was going to cry if Sara left him without a dance partner... HA!

















We worked up a pretty decent appetite after dancing, so we stopped at a little taco stand on the way back to the hostel. I just had two little quesadillas but my more adventurous friend tried a little of this....

See that on the chopping board.... can you guess what it is?

A quesadilla, a taco de carnitas, and a mystery taco...

Ipe with his taco de lengua (tongue)!! He said it was really good... even if I ate meat I'm not sure I would try this :-P

















It was a great evening overall & I'm glad I ventured out of the house!

Enfrijoladas

Cada día después de clases, vuelvo a casa para almorzar. Esto es lo que comí hoy en el comedor:

Spaghetti, pescado, y verduras mezclas

Y después, helado. No lo pedí, pero es costumbre comer el postre con el almuerzo (y no me quejé porque me deleita el postre).










He mostrado un almuerzo tipico, pero mi plato favorito que he probado aqui es las enfrijoladas. Me lastima que no saque una fota cuando las comí.
Esto foto te puede dar una idea....

Basicamente, se hace con frijoles líquidos (como una salsa), tortillas colocados, y queso. Es muy semejante a las enchiladas, pero nunca ha visto enchiladas hacen como esos en EEUU. Muy simple, pero muy rica.









Ve otra vez el foto de mi almuerza arriba; hay un platillo de limones, un de aguacate, y un recipiente de salsa. En la mayoría de las comidas, se puede añadir cualquier cosa que te gusta. Normalmente, pongo las tres (salsa, limón, y aguacate) a mis enfrijoladas. Los limones son de un árbol afuera de la casa así que siempre están frescas. Eso si que es bueno!

Si tu estuviera comiendo las enfrijoladas conmigo, que añadías a tus enfrijoladas?