2012-12-30

A morning in Silao

Sunday morning we went down the hill to catch a bus downtown. We waited, and waited... Then we took a cab. A brother from the congregation was waiting for us to drive us to Silao, so we couldn't wait forever to catch a bus. It was time for my brother to have his talk in an english congregation. At nine in the morning. Ouch! It was a very small congregation. I think that in the end we were around 13. Lovely brothers and sisters!!

Silao is not a pretty town. It's well known. It's rundown and there's really not much to see. Actually nothing. What is truly amazing is to see the Kingdom hall. You drive by blocks with houses in bad shape, and you don't expect to see what you see when you arrive to Kingdom hall. It's like its own little paradise.

My brother did really well. It's his first talk and he had it in Swedish for the first time just a few months before. He then had it in english two times before he left Sweden and then one time in San Diego, one time in Guanajuato, and now in Silao. I'm so impressed with him! The grammar, pronunciation and well all of it. It's impressive! Especially how new this is for him and that he's far away in a foreign country. It was very special to be a part of this. We were there with him on the other side of the world hearing him give his talk to this grateful small congregation. For me that was very special!

I don't want to raise my brother to the skies here. He's humble and I don't want to change that. I'm just saying it's impressive to do so well with a second language and in a new situation, and to be a part of that was a great experience. That's that!

After the meeting we went back to Guanajuato to make the most of our last full day there...

 To be continued...

Guanajuato part 3 - The list


The last few days in Guanajuato we tried to enjoy it to the fullest. And we had a lot of  things on our list of things to do.

Saturday we went out in the service. This time from door-to-door. It was a nicer area with a lot of grand houses. All with big fat gates and big barking dogs. A bit different than in Sweden. We all paired up with a spanish talking sister, because even if we're looking for people that speaks english you need to introduce yourself in spanish. To just ask "hablas ingles?" works in the street service, and that I can pull off. But when you walk up to someones house and knock on their door you can't just ask if they speak english and then walk away if they don't... And to politely ask and explain why is a little over my league. Suprise, surprise! The sister I teamed up with was really nice and we talked a lot. The weather was lovely and I loved feeling the heat of the sun on my face. It's funny though, because for them it's winter and they dress up in warm clothes. They wouldn't survive a day in Sweden ;) We didn't meet a lot of people that day. But it was still a really nice time, getting to know the sister. Who I - am embarrassed to say - can't remember the name of right now :( Very frustrating, because I do know it. I wanna say Angelica...but maybe I shouldn't guess... I'm hopeless sometimes. I do have a photo though!

House wall
Two lovely sisters
Door-to-door service


My brother, Jonathan and I went downtown for lunch after the service. It's a very lovely café where the tables are on a little brigde/ledge. It's nice to sit there and look at the people walking on the street below. Also there was this musician under the bridge playing some music. That, combined with the sun shining, a good meal and a cold beer made it the perfect lunch! And guess what we had? Thai food. In Mexico. Huh? Well they did make it in their own way. Delicious!






That was the perfect recharge of energy that we needed and after that we took a stroll through Guanajuatos streets. My brother lead the way. This was another thing on our to-do-lost. Walk around and take photos. So yes, I took a lot of photos! Some of them you find here. Enjoy!







Tunnels are very unique for Guanajuato





After a day in Leon (friday) and a busy saturday I needed some rest again. The medicine I got was really good, but I was still fighting an infektion. So I went back to our lovely apartment to snuggle with the cat and get some rest while Jonathan and my brother continued in the service. Actually they had a bible study! They went to a café to study with him. We sure are in Mexico.

Later that evenening we had plans with our Swedish friend Pelle! He invited us home to his really nice apartment, decorated in a nice style with some of his lovely photos on the walls. He made a delicious dinner for us and then we talked all evening, trying out different tequilas. After 3 weeks we finally started to warm up to the most popular drink in Mexico. My favorite was the one with the worm in the bottom :) Yum! I forgot the name though so when I went looking for it in the stores I couldn't find it... I guess I have to go back one day! :)

One and a half day left in Guanajuato and still a very long to-do-list. So of course we work our way from the top to the bottom.

First on the list: Hiking in the mountains and watch the sunset from the top!

Pelle had some tips for us how to get there by foot. Unfortunately he couldn't join us. But it turned out to be a very fun adventure for 3 swedish tourists :)

Stay tuned!

2012-12-29

Leon - shopping time

Leon is an hour from Guanajuato by bus. Those very comfy buses where you can lay down, and you get these really great chickpeas snacks. Yum! I was half asleep all the way to Leon, being sick and all... And when we got there I was feeling pretty sleepy. Not a good start to a shopping spree. Because that's why we were there. To shop!

  
Shoes, shoes and more shoes
Bags and food carts
Lamps

They make leather there, so shoes and bags are the big thing! It's everywhere! Street after street... My plan was to buy many bags and a few pair of shoes. I had a long list of things that I need. I got one bag. And one pair of shoes. (pic of my purchases will come later) Oh well...i'm not the biggest shopping girl. Jonathan got two bags. We didn't have much room in our luggage anyway ;) ...and I was happy we didn't get home empty handed.

A sunset can make any city look nice...















Leon isn't the prettiest city. I didn't know that when I dragged my somewhat heavy camera to this place. Jonathan and I took turns carrying it. And I was determine to get a few shots. Just because...

I did. But I should remember not to bring my camera when the main event is shopping!

Thank you Jess for coming along to guide us to the best stores, translate - even when we're bargaining and offering fashion opinions :) Glad you found some shoes too!

I really wanted to go back one more time, but there wasn't any time for that!

...until next time!

Over and out!

2012-12-26

Gunajuato part 2 - pAsta pArty and a worldwide family!

pAsta pArty
After fighting a cold for a few days Jonathan finally got better, but I unfortunately got worse. I went from having a sore throat and no energy to coughing so much and blowing my nose all the time. Not really how I had planned to spend my days. I tried to find balance by resting one day, and then doing something fun the next day. A way to get my rest but still be able to enjoy our vacation.

First thing on our list: attend a party a couple in the congregation had - a pasta party!

Robert & Jonathan
Some of the view
Apparently they love italian food. So that's what they had. And it was delicious. Italian food in Mexico? Yup, that works! They had a very nice apartment with an incredible view from their balcony. I had my 50mm lens on so I couldn't quite capture their view in one photo... It's not good for landscapes. But I did catch a bit of the beautiful, colorful sky! And I got to play around with bokeh because they had a lot of lights hung up on their terrace and in the background you could see all the houses lit up, so that was pretty cool.

After eating (a lot) and talking with everybody there, including my friend that I haven't seen in 10 years or so, it was time for a game. Yay! I love games.  But what should you not do when you have a bad cough? Talk. And talk very loud. And get overexcited and talk, talk, talk. So what game did we play? Tabu. If you know that game you know it's about explaining words and guessing them. Which means talking. A lot. And getting excited and talk too loud so everybody can hear you! Did I have any voice when we left? Barely. Did I cough less after that night? Um no... Did I have a lot of fun? YES! Did I regret going? NO! :) :) :)



So many amazing new friends that I look forward to get to know better!

Snuggling
Breakfast
The next day was my resting day. I can't remember exactly what I did now (as I write this from Sweden)...but I guess I snuggled with the sweetest little cat and had some breakfast in the sun with the incredible view. And maybe my brother came over and made us delicious quesadillas for lunch. And maybe we had a nice evening playing cards and watching a movie (that I fell asleep to). Because that's how I remember the relaxing days in Mexico.



Pancakes
Soup = Azteka
Thursday included time out in the service. But I had to start late because of my cold. So I sort of missed the best part. And that is walking the streets of Guanajuato asking people "hablas ingles?" and hopefully finding some people to talk to. I joined the group when it was time for lunch and we found a very nice place. And I had a delicious Mexican soup, Azteka. Yum! After that we continued the service a little while, then we checked out Guanajuato. 

Out in the service
Later in the evening we sat down at Kingdom Hall for the second time on this trip, and I was happy to be back! Unfortunately I spent the meeting running to the bathroom all the time blowing my nose :( But the very great thing about the meeting was that all our closets friends participated in the program. That was very special!

After the meeting we were invited home to several people which warmed our hearts. But the offer we accepted was something I really needed. Brenda, a sister in the congregation offered to take a look at me and my cold. She's a pediatrician. And she drove me to the other side of the town, examined me, took me to a pharmacy and then back home. And she wouldn't let me pay because we're family. 

That's us. A worldwide family!

Over and out!