Bursting streets

Happy Thanksgiving! I didn't exactly have any turkey this year--instead I had some creamy sort of pasta and fried fish.

They aren't kidding when they say Guadalajra is an internaional city. The wealth of different types of restaurants and different businesses. As I ride the city bus to and from school every morning, I try to pick out landmarks in order to make sure that I did, in fact, get on the right one and that the driver is not, in fact, kidnapping us. But every street is so abolutely crammed with stuff--different types of stores, restaurants, residential sections--that it's impossible. While the sights are pretty distinct--one street is likely to have a flashing video billboard, a posh little internet cafe, a run-down hole-in-the-wall restaurant all in a row--they are also extremely easy to forget when you see the next sight--some painted advertisement on a brick wall. LIke any city, every inch of street space is fully utilized and functioning. And unlike other cities I've been to, the strong character of one sight rarely matches its street, or even its neighbor. It's like looking at a painting of a million smaller paintings, each one its own jewel. If you can get your eye to zero in on one part, it's very pretty, but without a focal point, the eye usually just falls amidst the rubbles.

The world is one big ball of newness--new language, new words, new opportunities. There are guitar lessons, yoga classes, kickboxing lessons, bars to go speak Spanish in, new books, litereature festivals, museums. The list goes on. Gotta love the city. I suppose, to end this on a cliche note, I do have a lot to be thankful for.