Day 3

Los sonidos de Mexico (The sounds of Mexico)

Buenos Dios!

I have noticed several things already about Mexico, but something that distinctly stands out to me already is what I am hearing all around me. It is true that I am hearing lots Spanish, but I am also hearing sounds that are not spoken.

The first thing that I hear in the morning is not my alarm clock. I am often woken up by los gallos (roosters). I lay in my bed and think “not again”. I cannot see them from my house, but they definitely let me know that they are not very far away. They do not crow in the mornings only, but one can hear them basically all day long.

The next sound that I hear is the drip, drip, drip of the water from my ceiling. It is the rainy season in Guanajuato and it rains todas las dias. I was astounded when I asked the taxi driver if it had rained a lot lately and he said “right now it rains everyday”. However, they do not get much rain throughout the year, so the people here are thankful for the weather. I know what they mean though after last summer’s miserable drought! What started as a little drip in my room, turned into somewhat of a problem. I came home from school yesterday and Martha had rearranged my room so that the water would not get on my bed.

The next sound that I hear comes from happy little birds outside of my window. It is mixture of high short chirps mixed with the long and painful crowing of the roosters. I think that they are in competition with each other.

The next sound that I hear is the pedicula (movie) that is on the TV. It is a Spanish film from the early 1950’s. It does not have color and although I cannot understand much of it, I can tell that it is a love story gone wrong. It kind of reminds me of the movie where a couple falls in love and they meet at the tower…help me out here if you can remember the name of it ☺

Finally, Right now I am hearing the sound of Martha’s footsteps. The floor is made of tile throughout the house, so I am currently listening to her mop the kitchen floor. In the mornings I hear her getting the desayuno ready to eat. She has a website for her house www.eljardindemartha.co.nr because she runs it like a Bed and Breakfast. If you are ever in Guanajuato you should definitely stay at
El Jardin de Martha (Martha’s Garden). She has a garden complete with lime trees and a terrace on the top of the casa with an awesome view of the city.

Before I leave though I want to share with you a picture from yesterday when I looked out the café window after hearing the sounds of a young boy playing the acordian. I was just interested in seeing who and where the music was coming from. When I looked out the window I saw several donkeys pulling bags of dry cement. It was a sight to be seen!

Tonight I am going to meet up with some Birmingham friends who are studying at a different school in the city. It is my first time to see them since being here so I am very excited!

Hasta Luego!

Katie