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 Vallarta Living | February 2006 
Viviendo en México - Instituto Cultural de Guadalajara
 Korah Winn - PVNN
This past week I went through my first set of finals for my spring semester here in Guadalajara. Finals themselves normally signify a week of torturing myself late into the night. I struggle between wanting to stay up and write papers and study for tests, or exerting my right to curl up in a ball on my bed with all the lights on and then promise myself I am only going to take a fifteen minute nap.
The pattern is that I take my "so called" fifteen-minute nap around 2 am, and I usually end up waking up to the sounds of morning. It is terrible to do this to myself several nights in a row, but I find that writing essays in Spanish takes me inordinate amounts of time, so this becomes a routine.
I say all that as a precursor to the fact that all my essays and final exams were due this past Thursday. After my tests, I straggled home and collapsed into my bed for one dearly appreciated nap.
After getting a full night of sleep Thursday, I woke up Friday and was ready to recommence living. I had put a stop to all extra activities during finals, so I gladly accepted an invitation to go to the Instituto Cultural with my friend Kathy.
The Instituto Cultural de Guadalajara used to be an orphanage, but was transformed into a cultural center within the past couple decades. In the 1940's, the famous Mexican painter José Clemente Orozco painted numerous murals in the main chapel of the orphanage. These murals have become incredibly well-known and are considered to be artistic treasures in Mexico.
Kathy and I were relieved to find that tours of the chapel were offered in English. We were told a guide would be available in thirty minutes to give us an overview. While we were waiting, a large group of kindergartners began ambling into the main courtyard of the Institute. They were a joy to watch as they swung back and forth in the air the arms of their assigned buddies. They were also going to go on a tour.
Their guide did an excellent job coming down to a level of Spanish that they (and fortunately myself and Kathy) could understand. Kathy and I looked at each other and decided that we would tag along with the kindergartners and learn about Orozco.
The tour was fantastic. It was just long enough to give an overview of the murals without losing the children's attention. It delighted me to watch the children's necks tilt backwards as they gazed up at the pictures on the ceiling.
After the students vacated the building, Kathy and I went on a second tour in English, which was also well done. We both agreed later though that the first tour was our favorite.
We finished out the rest of the afternoon by going to a giant tianguis (market.) It was an endless maze of sneakers, clothes and pirated DVD's. There was also a terrific selection of food in the center of it, so when we realized how hungry we were, we stopped and ate Tortas Cubanas.
Kathy and I took a bus back to our school and there, we parted ways. I went home and rested for a bit, but then got a phone call to go out again in the evening. My language partner took me downtown so that I could see the main cathedral lighted up at night. I took so many pictures that day I decided to put together my favorites on my webpage: www.dovewithin.com. |
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