A Quinceanera and Broken down Blazer

Busy as usual in San Miguel. I just got back from Leon, and San Francisco where Lauren, her parents, and I went to a Quinceañera for someone their family knew. At this particular moment, I am completely exhausted. My brain is drained from speaking and hearing practically only Spanish, and being social at the Quinceanera. I had so much fun, and it really was interesting to watch the ceremonies. We all ended up getting back to the hotel about 1:30 in the morning to get up and drive back to San Miguel in the morning from San Francisco.

Getting to Leon was a trip in itself…but we met some very interesting and helpful people. Victor lent Lauren and I the Blazer- and Carmello and Jorge looked over the car and made sure it was going to work well for us. All was well until we had almost passed the airport in Leon- there was traffic. We stopped and the car would not go any faster than 16 kilometers per hour. When we tried to accelerate the transmission made a horrible sound and the car lurched. We pulled into a hotel- three bus drivers came out and helped us- and Victor’s brother eventually came as well. It was actually quite an interesting ordeal. We met a lot of interesting people. The hotel desk manager kept coming out and checking on us, and when Mario finally arrived he came out to double check that he was indeed our friend, and to explain what was going on with the car. The bus drivers offered us a ride to Guanajuato with them, but we needed to head in the complete opposite direction. Sadie kept us entertained and was not phased one bit. Several hours later we finally got into Leon where Lauren’s parents were waiting for us. The original plan was to meet and then drive from Leon to San Fransciso and stay that night before the quincenera.

A short synopsis:
-Car breaks down
-Stop into Hotel and on the side of the road
-Bus Drivers look at car- tell us the transmission is dead and it is not going anywhere. (Actually it is a sensor that failed….)
-Call Victor and wait for Mario
-Call Parents
-Mario Arrives, fiddles with car
-He Calls mechanic in nearby town.
-Mechanic comes
-We all drive back to the mechanic shop
-Mario negotiates with the mechanic
-We get dropped off in the bus station- Mario talks to the bus driver, and we put Sadie in her crate underneath the bus …..
-Finally get on bus to Leon- a 25 min ride. Entire time we get stared at by guy- more like glared at. I guess it was strange to see gringas in a town that has none.
-Arrive in Leon
-Walk to hotel
-Hotel said they allowed dogs, then said no when the rooms were already bought and arrived with Sadie.
-Dispute ensued with the manager being told “ If you want us out you are going to have to kick us out yourself. We paid for the rooms and you said you allowed dogs….) It was a great day for American-Mexican relations.
-Snuck her into room…end of story.

The next day we drove to San Francisco and got ready for the event. I met Juan (the ex-boyfriend) and his family. Juan still seemed tense- and out of the loop- like he wanted more from life. Which seemed accurate since his family won’t truly let him “go”, and he is not ready for it. Everyone in the family was incredibly humble and very welcoming. It was easier to pick up on the Spanish when compared to the very beginning of my stay. I’ll have to post some photos when I get them ready from the event. The event was long, but I had a great time. It included:
-Meeting with the family
-Back to the hotel for a bit
-Church service
-Reception (6 hours with four separate traditions)
-Music and dancing
-More traditions
-Dinner
-Music and Dancing

We got back late, and left the next morning for San Miguel. Arrived several hours later and spent the next few hours sleeping and catching up on things. Basically decompressing my brain from the overload. Dropped Sadie off at the dog-sitter, she is getting her spay stitches out and the last of her shots. Monday (Today) I spend some time at Casa Ayuda and working on the resume, getting some other things in order for sending in another set of applications. The work I have been doing with SPA has been interesting in a sense of seeing home a small organization deals with an overwhelming issue of abandoned dogs and do well with it. It is clear that they lack as much funding as they need, but are still staying afloat. The volunteer supervisor has been helpful in answering my questions about the shelter and helping me gain a better sense of how the place works. The employees get a kick out of my Spanish. Three of the gentlemen that work there are my buddies- they are always keeping me on my toes and making fun of me- in the best sense. They are also helpful correcting my inaccurate Spanish and telling me about some of the backgrounds on the dogs there. Lucy got adopted today- I’m very excited! I’m surprised that there are so many large breed- pure-breed dogs. Some get abandoned, and some are street dogs.