June 8, 2014

Today was a relaxing day.  We didn't have to be anywhere or do anything.  It was nice to get up and around at a relaxing pace.  Brandi and I decided to go to the Zocalo.  It is in the main plaza in the center of town and has lots going on--music, vendors, etc.  There is one in every Mexican city.  They have the cathedral on one side and the government building on another side.

In order to get to the Zocalo, we checked with our host mom on which bus to take.  We decided to find a Starbucks first.  There is one near the house but we've been to busy to go.  I've been making due with instant coffee.  :-(  We didn't find Starbucks but saw the bus we were supposed to get on.  We jumped on and headed for the Zocalo, or so we thought!  We kept getting further and further from the city.  Brandi and I discussed our options--we didn't have any.  My thought was that a bus route probably ran in circles.  So if we stayed on the bus, we would eventually get back to where we started and could get off and find another bus.  As we went along more and more people got off the bus.  I noticed the bus driver kept glancing at us.  He eventually pulled over and basically told us he was done.  We needed to get off.  We were in a really, really bad part of town.  We tried to ask for help but no one wanted to talk to us.  We stood on the corner and tried to figure out what to do.  Finally another bus came along and we decided we were going to take it, regardless of where it was going.

The driver said there was a stop close to the Zocalo but it was far.  Eventually we started picking up more people.  A mom and young son sat next to Brandi and me.  You could tell everyone, including the mom, was interested in what we were doing in the area.  The mom started a conversation with Brandi.  Brandi explained what happened and the mom said she was going to the Zocalo too.  We could follow her.  She told us several times that we needed to be very careful in the place we had just come from!  It was interesting that the mom was a preschool teacher.  :-)  Those caring, empathetic, traits of preschool teachers are world wide.

Poblano Telavera

We finally made it to the Zocalo, had some coffee, and relaxed.  We then met up with the other person in our group--Nicolas.  We ate lunch at an Italian restaurant and talked for awhile and enjoyed the atmosphere.  Then Brandi and I went in search of the shops that line one of the streets.  We found them and found Poblano Telavera--the pottery that is famous in this area.

We walked around and saw many different works of art on display and heard musicians playing.  It was very "tranquilo" as our host mom would say.  We tried calling a cab again and still didn't understand what they wanted.  We gave up and just grabbed one off of the street.  We made it home for a nap and then dinner.

Tomorrow is another adventure.  We visit another school and then head to Cholula.  This is the town next to the volcano!  I will let you know what I think about the visit.  Buenas noches!