Abrumado

My departure date to Mexico quickly approaches, October 1st, when I leave for five weeks in Guanajuato.

Guanajuato? Careful readers will remember that I actually couldn’t think of the name Guanajuato when I decided to register and go to Mexico for five weeks, so I signed up for classes in Guadalajara instead. “Sounds like” often gets it for me.

It’s complicated, but never mind. Guanajuato is Ashland’s sister city, and its university is the sister institution to Southern Oregon University, at which I completed my nine-week intensive course in Spanish last summer. I might even meet some people I know from Ashland so I’ll have an opportunity to speak English and not have to suffer the humiliation of trying to get by in Spanish all the time.

My goal is to speak as little Spanish as possible. Off hand, I realize I don’t know how to say “off hand,” or “short latte,” or “Pardon me, but that’s my umbrella,” or “I’ve always been strongly opposed to American policy in Latin America. It’s not my fault!”

(Actually, I could say that last one now that I think about it, but it wouldn’t be pretty.)

Surprisingly, I’ve met and talked to a few people who’ve been to Guanajuato, and they said it’s their favorite destination in all of Mexico. We have a guide book, and of course, there’s plenty of information on the Web. I think I’m going to love this place. And Mary is joining me for ten days mid-month October.

Still. . . . Remember that the only good travel writing involves calamity. I’m sure I’ll be posting fairly regular updates here, so let’s hope I don’t have anything interesting to say.

I’ll be attending the Escuela Mexicana:

http://escuelamexicana.com/