Tonala

Tonala was really cool. There were stands lining the sidewalks (a lot like the Chiang Mai night bazaar) with everything from clothes and cooking utensils to sculptures and jewelry. There was a lot of stuff to look at and I don’t think I even really saw half of it, but I made some good purchases I think. I’m definitely going back.

I took at taxi there with Cassandra and Elan. Nikiya has been a-wall since last weekend when she went home for her law school scholarship interview so she wasn’t there. The taxi took 30 or 40 minutes to get from CEPE to Tonala (I took a nap so I’m not sure). Before we started shopping we went and had lunch at a table next to a bunch of screaming kids. The kids were annoying but the food was good. I had the plancha de res (beef cut in to strips) with beans and a salad.

After eating we watched some guys in a glass blowing workshop just down the street from the restaurant. They weren’t wearing any protective gear or anything. I didn’t even really think about it until Elan pointed it out. This is what Mexico has done to me. They weren’t even acknowledging that it was hot. When we moved on to the actual tianguis we kind of split up and caught up with each other, stopping to buy things and wandering around. After a while I ran into Elan again and we walked to the end of the market together. The booths near the end were closing down by the time we got there so we crossed the street and made for the bus stop. We had to take different buses home so I said "Hasta manana" and got on the bus Cassandra told me to get on, the one that said Plaza del Sol.

After a loooooong time the bus went past Plaza del Sol and around to one of Guadalajara’s many round-abouts. The street right in front of us was Lopez Mateos (the street I needed) and I remember thinking, “I’m almost home!” Little did I know. The bus ended up going around the circle and in the opposite direction of where I needed to go. It took me a minute to figure out what to do, so when I got off the bus to walk back to Plaza del Sol and catch a bus there I was already pretty far away. It took me 20 minutes to walk back to the mall and then the bus ride from there took another half hour or so. I left the tianguis at 3:30pm and didn’t get home until 6pm. Better luck next time, I guess.

No one was here when I got home, so I just went to my room and watched 500 Days of Summer with Spanish subtitles. After a few minutes I got out my notebook and started writing down new words. I got a few good ones. Then I ate some of the guacamole we made last night. Now it’s time for bed!