One week in...

Well, I made it, I'm doing well, I'm settling in.

My mood has been up and down and all over the place, which is probably to be expected. I've felt intensely happy, extremely guilty, delightfully busy, simply carefree, unbelievably worried, horribly lonely, unbearably excited... sometimes all in one day. At some point, the ups and downs will become less severe, more level, I know. Until then, I'm doing my best to enjoy riding the waves, both the swells and the crashes.

What have I been up to?

I started classes at Academia Falcon, a private tutorial to review tricky grammar points, and Pre-Hispanic Art. My mind is spinning from what I learned in just a short week in my art history class... I don't feel ready to write about it now. For now, a quick preview: el quinque.

Next week, I'll be in a writing workshop, and also taking classes in Mexican history and music. Haha, I got a tutorial last night, from one of the brothers in the family with whom I'm staying, on Mexican music. We'll see what Falcon can add!

Something new: I've decided to teach English classes at Academia Falcon as well. The school was in desperate need of teachers for their Saturday classes, and I was in need of a little cash, and so, I taught my first English class yesterday! The pay isn't much, by American standards, though Falcon's English teachers are also compensated with the opportunity to earn free Spanish classes as well; so, all in all, a good deal for everyone. Not to mention that the class could be a good way to meet people, and a way to gain teaching experience that I'm sure will serve me in the future, of course.

Something else new: I met some volunteers working with a group called Centro Las Libres, a sexual health information provider, working to advance and defend reproductive rights in Mexico. However, they do much more than that, offering workshops to rural communities around Guanajuato in whatever subject or technique the community members want or need to learn. One of their newer projects is a series of classes for the children of the women who come to Las Libres' workshops, because of course they bring their children with them. One of the volunteers is hoping to teach about subjects such as self-esteem, cooperation, friendship, and family through the arts. She doesn't have teaching experience, and when she heard about my work with Theatre Action Project and the Teen Arts Puentes Project, I was soon roped into helping to lesson plan and teach. I'll be heading out to San Jose de la Luz with her on Tuesday afternoon, to meet some 6- to 8-year old boys, and play theatre games with them! I'm excited to see more of this area, and to see a side of Mexico that I most likely wouldn't as only a tourist/student. I'm also happy to have found a group of people with similar interests and values as mine; sitting in Las Libres' office, I felt at home.

I've made some plans for October; at the end of this month, I'll move from the house where I'm living now to a hostel: Casa Mexicana. This will be a bit cheaper, and I'll be closer to the center of town, which will make my life easier during the Cervantino festival. I'm hoping to soak up as much as I possibly can!

I also bought my tickets to several Cervantino events: Noche de Campeche, The Aluminum Show, La Orestiada, Poema silencioso, Manon Lescaut, and Makossa and Megablast - Instituto Mexicano del Sonido. Holding my tickets in my hand, and seeing that I was really going to see ballet folklorico from Capeche, an Israeli modern dance troupe, the Theater Berlin, Japanese puppets, the opera, and one of my favorite DJs, all in a matter of weeks, I couldn't help but feel truly blessed.

My plans for November are still nebulous. I'm hoping to get things a bit more figured out this week, sort out what I can afford, what is safe, fun, do-able. But, more or less, it's looking as if Guanajuato will be home base, and I'll venture out from there to Oaxaca, then, a few weeks later, the Yucatan, and finally Monterrey on my way home. I would like to visit Chiapas as well, but I'm not sure I know anyone there... anybody reading this have any connections in Chiapas? I'd like to see Palenque!

And, with a heavy head, drooping eyelids, and tired-of-typing fingers, I head to bed. Tomorrow I start a new day, a new week. You do too! I hope you all are well. And thank you for taking the time to read this. :)