When I went to pay my rent, my Sra. Villalba and I spent nearly an hour and a half talking about different places in México, various festivals, and what like was like for her growing up in Hidalgo de Parral, which is the southern part of Chihuahua.

She has family in Guanajuato and said that they own a couple of small apartments I could rent, or possibly even stay with them. She said the Festival Cervantino during the month of October shouldn’t be missed.

San Miguel de Allende is another one high on my list. It has a lot of artists and galleries and used to be a bohemian hot-spot back in the 60’s and is also located in Guanajuato state.

Queretaro is a another place I’m very keen on visiting. It’s full of baroque architecture and is one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites.

Morelia is the capital city of Michoacán, in which many of the buildings are made from a rose-tinted stone found in that area.

Many of these towns sprung up because of their rich mineral deposits, primarily gold and silver, which Spain wanted to extract. The wealth generated from exporting gold and silver gave Spanish colonists in México the ability to build grand cities to rival those back home in Spain.

Much of Sra. Villalba’s family were mineral engineers; her father died in a mine. Nowadaya, many mines have shut down and a fraction of others are owned by US and Canadian companies. A great number of others aren’t producing, but instead are maintained by staff and are awaiting funding to reopen once more.

México is a world leader in the mining of silver, but other minerals such as mercury, agate, opal, topaz, and hematite can also be found here. Nearly 60 minerals are mined in significant quantities in México, several types are only found here, and it’s estimated that between 1/5 and 1/3 of the silver mined throughout the word has come from México.

In other news, Sra. Villalba also gave me a nice futon and side table for my apartment. I have furniture! She also gave me a lovely cactus. In return she asked me to burn her some CD’s, particularly with Matt Cannon’s stellar marimba work, and anything else I liked. I also suggested I cook dinner for us one night soon and she liked that idea.

Wheee! I just used the iSight Shari bought me for the first time! It was so nice to see her face, her smile, and her reactions to my gross jokes. I didn’t think these things had any other use than below-the-waist shots, but oh how wrong I was. It’s weird… I actually felt closer to her, just like the ads say.

Tomorrow is rent day, which means a trip out and about in the burning sun. The ATM is only a couple of blocks away, so it’s not a big deal. I was reviewing my bank statement the other day and noted I had $30 in international ATM fees. From now on, I’ll be withdrawing the maxium each time.

I can’t get a bank account here unless I have a visa. I spoke with my friend Miguel about my fears of being deported since I have no visa and he shared with me a case in which his father represented a Russian family. I don’t remember why they were brought to court, but the judge stated that anyone who comes to Mexico has the right to live here as long as they don’t break any laws or cause trouble. That seems to jive with my experiences so far. When I went to the courthouse to solidify my rental agreement, no one blinked at my California ID or asked my visa status. When I signed up for Internet service, my California ID was accepted without hesitation. It seems that as long as you’re contributing to México, she welcomes you with open arms.

¡Viva México!

The angelitos from Cablemás visited me today and I’m happy to report that I’m writing this entry from home. Oh happy day!

I had a really beautiful Saturday night. After Iván’s show, we went to a birthday party to offer a happy birthday serenata and ended up staying until 8AM. The tolerance of neighbors here is astounding… The street where the house was is private and gated. We sat in the little park drinking and singing all night and received not a single complaint. Afterwards, a few of us went to a graveyard to visit the grave of one of the girl’s grandfathers.

The graveyard hadn’t yet opened and the sun was already radiating an intense amount of heat as we scaled the wall, with guitar in tow, and made our way to the grave. Sergio (yet another one) and Iván played a couple of songs, the girls cried, and then we held hands and prayed. These same three girls had the most energy throughout the party and as their energy changed from joy to sorrow, I felt it and and shed a few tears myself.

Afterwards, Sergio pulled me aside and thanked me for coming along and mentioned that he saw me cry and that he thought it was cool. He gave me a long, love-filled hug and told me he was glad to know me. Later in the car, he told Iván that I was sensitive and perceptive, two words I aspire to. Then we picked up some more beer and came back to my house for some french toast and more guitar-playing and singing.

Iván and I had our “I love you man” talk that night, too. He’s been such a good friend to me… He’s invited me in to his family, biological and chosen, and puts me in situations where I can both observe and interact without feeling uneasy. Had I not met him, I probably would’ve gone elsewhere by now. I told him that it all feels like destiny… A random Google search led to a random message board posting, and the next thing I knew I had found a cool place to hang out and a group of like-minded friends that continues to expand.

Life dishes out some good stuff sometimes.

Mari rocks so hard! She took me to Sam´s today and I got 2 bottles of Liebfraumilch (where´s Nathan when you need him to spell check) for $5. After that, we went to Cablemas to get me signed up for Internet service. The lady on the phone told us we needed a copy of my rental contract and copies of utility bills, but when we arrived the only thing I was asked for was my ID. I should have service within 10 days, but probably by the end of the week. I can´t wait!

Sergio´s apartment is almost finished and looks great! His little sister, Lupe, arrived this past weekend and she´s cute. I gave her basic knitting instructions the other night while frying some fish and she picked it up quickly. She´s here for two months, so I´m going to lend her some needles and yarn and give her some more lessons. She really liked the scarf I made for Sergio and since she lives in LA, she´ll have a huge assortment of yarn available to her.

My apartment is still as spacious (read: empty) as ever. Miguel and Arenna want to sell their sofa and loveseat, so I might buy those off of them. They´re comfy, nice-looking, and cheap… kind of like me.

On Tuesday, I went to the courthouse and got to test out my Spanish in an official setting. Don´t worry, I didn´t get in to any trouble. I have a very professional landlady who has the courthouse keep a record of her contracts, so I had to go there with my ID and tell them what my name was, where I was born, and confirm that I had indeed signed the contract she presented to them. They wrote up a document stating that we had executed a contract which we signed and had stamped by the courthouse.

My landlady, Sra. Villalba, is cool. She loves to talk and we have many common interests. She´s 70 years old, but looks like she´s in her early 50´s. She exercises everyday, including lifting weights and has no tricep flab and tons of energy. When she goes out, she wraps herself up like a Muslim woman but goes a step further and wears a hat and uses a parasol. At first it seemed a little odd, but after she told me her age it all made sense. Her skin is flawless! She told me she isn´t and doesn´t want to be dependent on anyone for anything. She´s got 7 apartments and is thrifty, although I think she´s sitting on a big nest egg from some things she’s said. When we returned from the courts, she invited me inside for a beer and told me that I could borrow any of her books and to let her know if I need anything, day or night. I´m so fortunate to have someone so nice as my landlady as opposed to that frigid bitch Frank and I had in San Francisco.

On Monday, I went to a little birthday barbecue for one of the guys who plays guitar at Spazio, César. Spazio is like a little family. Actually, it is a little family. César is Sergio´s, the owner´s, brother in law. I think Iván must be the only person with no blood ties. While I had met most of the guests, I got to meet some new folks, too. I talked with Taco´s girlfriend for a little while and he later told me that she thought I was really cool and enjoyed talking with me. There were also two guys who teach at Juan Gabriel´s performing arts school who had recently gone on vacation to Sonora and returned with a bunch of crabs - the kind you cook and eat. That was such a treat! Sergio is a grillmaster and cooked up some fantastic carne asada, salchicas, cebollitas, and also made this delicious sauteed shrimp dish. He´s now mentioned three or more times that he wants to try my shrimp creole and now I´m much obliged.

I know I mentioned this already, but I´m so thrilled to finally be getting Internet in my house. I hate not working… I was kind of in the middle of something when I left Sergio´s house and since my work tends to straddle my computer and stuff on the Internet, there´s a gap which has kept me unable to accomplish my tasks. It´s also been hindering my Spanish studies. I have a big bookmark list with grammar and translation exercises that I had been using daily, but now I´m stuck with a few books. Last night, I wrote a little journal entry in Spanish that I want to pass on to Iván to correct.

Iván and I spoke briefly Monday night about my feelings about my progression and he assured me that I´m doing fine and not to be too hard on myself. All the people I´m in contact with regularly here have given me compliments recently on my improvement, but as usual, I´m my own worst critic. I´m afraid of what will happen if I go easier on myself… I´ve always been this way.

I don’t yet have internet service in the new apartment, but I discovered a little internet cafe a block away from my house and that’s where I’m writing from now.

The new apartment is nice, if not a bit empty. I like living alone, but it’s admittedly a bit boring at times. The lack of furniture paired with the tiled floor creates a nice reverb and I’ve been singing an awful lot lately. The guitar is really loud when played with a pick, so I’ve been playing with only my fingers.

Speaking of the guitar, things are going really well with that aspect of my little adventure here. I’m using this software from Emedia to teach myself and it’s really an outstanding example of music pedagogy via computer. I’m playing 6 chords now and double-strumming. Last night, I learned the 5-string of the C chord which had my left hand moving in to positions I never thought possible. My wrist was killing me, but within an hour I was able to transition to it from other chords without hitting other strings. Guitar is cool!

My ability to communicate in Spanish is also improving! I’m a lot more brave venturing out on my own and talking to people in stores, ordering food, etc. One of the big helps in overcoming that shyness is having folks here speak broken English to me. We’re all just trying to communicate and be understood, after all.

I have experienced my first quinceñera… what a spectacle that was! It’s very similar to the debutante balls we have in New Orleans with a few differences. This one in particular was also paired with a wedding. I’m not quite sure if the bride was also 15, but she did look a bit young. It took place in a town called Villa Ahmauda (or something like that) which is about two hours south of here. Their claim to fame is a cheese made only there. It’s delicious, but easy to choke on. When melted, it stretches for yards. During the breaks of Iván’s Dad’s band playing, the DJ was spinning reggeton booty music and I ventured out with Iván’s brother to shake my ass a few times. We made friends with one of the quinceñera girls, Karyn, and she told me I danced really well. So did she! People seemed quite a bit more reserved than they are here, but she was shakin’ her ass all over the place. Pictures are coming soon!

I had a bout of homesickness earlier in the week, both for my friends in San Francisco and my Mom and Dad. I want to find some work here soon so I can save up some money for a plane ticket and go visit.

Yesterday, I spent the day with Mari and we went to one of the art museums here. It was all very modern stuff and only a few pieces really stood out to me. Admittedly, I don’t have much of an eye for that type of art so I can’t offer a valid critique. We attempted to go to the anthropological museum in Parque Chamizal, but her car broke down. We made it back in to the busy part of the city, but it died on the street as we were trying to make it to a gas station. Luckily, it broke down right in front of Chamuco’s, a sports bar. After pushing the car in to a nearby parking lot, we went inside and had some food, beer, and played pool for a couple of hours while waiting for her mechanic to come. He didn’t show up, but Sergio did and he joined us for a game or two.

Some recent “firsts” I’ve experienced are drinking tequila from the bottle at 7:30AM and eating a lengua burrito. For those of you who don’t know, lengua is cow tongue. Iván insisted that I try it and we went to three different places before we found one that was making them that early in the morning. I must say, it was very good! It’s all chopped up like any other meat, so you can toss those visuals of a big tongue hanging out of a tortilla out the window. And for those of you who live in San Francisco, I suggest you try one out. I believe the El Farolito on Mission and 24th has lengua. And besides, who doesn’t like a little tongue once in awhile?