Enjoying Some Beach Life, Reflecting on Events, and Looking Forward

It has been too long since we last posted! We apoligize. As you may have guessed we have been quite busy. There are 5 bimesters at the school we teach at and we are now a little more than halfway done with the second. Teaching and planning take up much of our time, which is not a bad thing. We both enjoy our students and all the joys and challenges of teaching.

Since out last posting we celebrated Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). It feels like so long ago because we are so busy but it was really only three weeks ago. We were reminded how fun celebrating holidays at school can be! In the States it seems like fewer and fewer schools are allowing students to dress up anymore. They do this because they want to show respect and equality to all students; therefore, no one can dress up. What ends up happening for the sake of fairness is that we miss out on a lot of fun at school. Before we get too upset about this, we should probably realize that it would not be very fun for those students who don't celebrate Halloween. If the political correctness still angers you then come to Mexico! In Guadalajara two things are much different than in the States: 1. There is VERY little political correctness, and 2. There is very little diversity of thinking when it comes to things like dressing for a holiday. At our school, most of the students are Mexican and I would estimate that about 95% of them dressed up.

We live close to a cemetery and we have noticed that on any normal Sunday afternoon it will be crowded with hundreds of people coming and going; sometimes with mariachi bands, barbeques, food, beach towels, and dozens of flowers. On Dia de Los Muertos the cemetery looked like a giant grass park in a patriotic all American USA town on the 4th of July! Everything that I mentioned before (mariachi bands, food, etc.) in the cemetery you can multiple by ten! There was a line of about 15 cars waiting to get in and inside there were probably 200 cars in line. It was full of color, music, altars, children playing, and adults eating at tables and on blankets. It truly seemed like a celebration of life and not so much death. The altars are very special. Sadly I did not get any pictures, but Google “day of the dead alters” and you’ll see the stuff I mean. I was looking through a book I got Tenaya for her birthday on ancient Aztec and Mayan symbols, art, and words, and in the “death” section it described how even to this day the indigenous traditions live on in Mexico. Even some of the decorations on the altars stretch back to Aztec times. One major difference between the States and Mexico is how death seems to be perceived. From our humble observations it seems like here in Mexico people take more time and effort into remembering their deceased. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cemetery in the States as crowded as the ones in Guadalajara are on a typical Sunday.

Since our last posting we also got to do some hiking. As I have expressed before in previous posts there is so much natural beauty in Mexico. And much of it is even yet to be explored. We got to hike in the Bosque de Primavera. It is a protected wilderness area right outside of the city. While it not Yosemite National Park it is still a beautiful natural refugee with volcanic rock strewn about on the surface, the largest pumice stones- think in the world- lovely green trees, and hills. We hiked a few miles in to a fire station post and got a GREAT view of the city and the forest.

I cannot finish this post without sharing a little bit about our trip to the beach. We went to the lush town of Sayulita which is about 1 hour north of Puerto Vallarta. It is a town that still has lots of small-town charm and the most diversity I’ve seen in Mexico. I heard Spanish, English, Chinese, German (I think), and one or two other languages. It is also one of the most well-known surf locations in the world :) I got to do some surfing on the last day and it warmed my soul. Naya and I swam A LOT because we don’t get to swim at all in Zapopan, we ate out at some tasty places, watched some luchador fighting, explored the beach/cliffs, and overall really enjoyed our time. It is a place we definitely want to return to. The time we go I think will stay at the same B and B, but this time with a room with AC. It was HOT! Lastly, I think it's funny how we arrived in Sayulita. We took a bus from Zapopan, which is about a 4 hour bus ride. The driver is not allowed to drop us off in Sayulita even though it is on his way. He told me three times that he's not permitted to do it. However, when no one else was around he called me over and asked if I had 100 pesos. I responded, "Si por supuesto!" (yes of course) (I kind of already knew what he was going to ask), and he replied with something like, "Nos bajo en Sayulita por cien pesos" (I'll drop you off in Sayulita for 100 pesos). My final thoughts...Oh Mexico, you can be SO fustrating sometimes with very late timing and unorganization, but sometimes you're great because you bend the rules in fantastic ways.

We only have about 5 weeks until Christmas break and we are looking forward to spending some good time with family and friends! We miss you all and we hope you're blessed.

There is always more to say, but for now, adios!

Con mucho amor,

Adam and Naya Nuñez

ps. Keep Tenaya in your prayers because she's not feeling well. She got sick on the bus ride home last night :( It is a long a winding road

#bosquedeprimavera #ethnicity #zapopan #beach