Today, we slept in until about 10pm. We woke up, smashed some rich, Mexican breakfast prepared by Rosi, and then proceeded to sit around for an hour before las chicas 
(Korey, the twins, and Janell) arrived at our house to depart for El Centro yet again, this time with the intention of familiarizing ourselves with the wonders of the market of San Juan de Dios. En camino (en route) to our destination, we experienced one of the most trying bus rides of our stay--the most trying. Homer himself could not have invented a more chaotic, twisted, unending, dramatic series of events. Unfortunately, all the photo documantation of this was recorded with Laurnen's camera, so I will wait to describe it in detail. After we got off that God-foresaken camion (bus), we had a short journey 'de pie' (by foot) to the market. On a catwalk over a busy street, we saw another incredible panorama that captured the look of Guadalara, pictured here. The market itself is said to contain a multitude of thins typical to Guadalajara: leather goods, pottery, other artwork, apparel supporting local athletic teams or rising luchadores, and dulces (sweets.) The aisles were narrow and the shelves were high, and we were constantly hounded by salespeople with a talet for persuading people to buy useless crap. It was easy to pick out the artisans from the plebian employees, because the 
artisans were very relaxed, confident that their beautiful goods would sell themselves to all eyes that fell upon them, while the employees sought commission like hounds. The market created the illusion that there were many independent merchants in massive conglomerate of tiendes (shops), but actually it was one giant store with many of the exact same tiendas in several different locations. From the crowded aisles of the lower level, it's hard to imagine what it looks like from above, but here it is. I will also attempt to upload a video 
narrative of this view, but in a different entry to avoid losing an entire blog entry (it's happened.) There was also a great deal of fresh produce being sold that only the locals seemed to be buying. The reason for this was very clear after we approached the food--it was covered with hornets, especially the sweets. We later encountered 
the same problem at the restaurant we ate at, as we were under constant attack from bees trying to
artisans were very relaxed, confident that their beautiful goods would sell themselves to all eyes that fell upon them, while the employees sought commission like hounds. The market created the illusion that there were many independent merchants in massive conglomerate of tiendes (shops), but actually it was one giant store with many of the exact same tiendas in several different locations. From the crowded aisles of the lower level, it's hard to imagine what it looks like from above, but here it is. I will also attempt to upload a video 
narrative of this view, but in a different entry to avoid losing an entire blog entry (it's happened.) There was also a great deal of fresh produce being sold that only the locals seemed to be buying. The reason for this was very clear after we approached the food--it was covered with hornets, especially the sweets. We later encountered 
the same problem at the restaurant we ate at, as we were under constant attack from bees trying to We bought a few movies at the market, along with a Chivas t-shirt (local soccer team.) The movies are clearly pirated, but every time we asked "como se hacen?" or "como las hizo?" (how are these made, or how did you make these?" they told us, "compro copias originales." They were roughly $2 a piece, so we figured we would take the risk. They are actually very high quality, we found out, but unfortunately for Korey, she purchased one of the worst movies ever made. We watched about 15 minutes of it before abandoning
our efforts to enjoy it and doing homework. After leaving the market we went to get lunch. In the main plaza, we came across some really unique--freaky even--copper or bronze furniture. Here were are pretending to not be in pain from the 200-degree, solar heated artwork. As we ate, we "enjoyed" some live performances by authentic Mexican musicians and dancers. The coolest thing they did was dance around with fifths of Tequilla balanced on their head, but only Lauren got a picture of that. The food was delicious--all seafood (the place was called Mariscos Chidos or "cool seafood), but the prices were a little crazy. We will probably not return. 
We found relief from the intense heat, which has left Richard a little lobsterish, in this fountain, in which public swimming is permitted. It's larger than the pool in Korey's neighborhood, so we will probably visit it in the future for cooling off. There was even once little kid that stripped down to his whitey-tighties, but we didn't want to take a picture and be prosecuted for child-
pornography. Just take my word for it.Pictured here are some of the dancers, and the musician that boarded our bus on the return trip. Remembering the last time we shared a bus with aspiring musical artists, we all were a little disappointed to see the driver allow him to board. He got on, spotted Korey, and immediately walked to stand directly over her
and stare at here intensely while he played three songs...beautifully. We was a talented musician with a voice like a lion, but gentle. He followed us off the bus and gave Korey his number. His name is Alex. We would be chillin out tomorrow if we weren't boarding the train to Tequilla in the a.m., and coming back full of our destination in the p.m. Look for entries about Tequilla, the peril of buses, and classes and apicture tour of UAG in the near future.
OLA! Check email.
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