A small town in Michoacan

One Sunday this month I decided to visit the small town of Cuitzeo which is only about 30 min north of Morelia. This puebla is situated on a lake of  the same name which is promoted as the largest in the state of Michoacan and the 2nd largest freshwater one  in the country. Actually by Canadian standards the lake ,while picturesque, appears very shallow and not too clean. However, there were scenic vistas along the shores, many birds and several restaurants, cabanas and even small hotels and camping areas. The main part of the town is uphill, a bit to the north and it's a perfect colonial gem with tiny squares filled with shade trees. The day I was there I found the  jacaranda trees in bloom particularly striking. ( I have since found several large ones in Morelia and I read that they often bloom for months.)

Cuitzeo has the most beautiful churches and monasteries...and all within about 5 min walking distance of each other. The Augustinian monastery  aka convent  next to the church of Mary Magdelana was particularly amazing as it is so well preserved. Walking around inside and outside on the grounds you can easily get an idea of day to day life as it was only a short while ago. One of the workers there told me that it still in use till fairly recently (either 80 yr ago or in 1980. He only spoke Spanish) and that at the end there were 20 nuns in residence. The nuns`s cells in particular were fascinating, as each had a window and each had different wall paintings inside. The nuns' convent also has a tiny jewel of a capilla abierto (open chapel)inside where you can still make out murals all around the edges and also read in Latin about the last judgement. Inside the main church cheerful cherubs on serpents ride the walls! Here's a photo of one and also a view from the nuns' floor to another church across the plaza.

The prettiest sight of the day was the tiny Franciscan Hospital Church where the grounds were filled with a garden of blooming daisies. The town also has a fairly large city park where the lampposts are a melange of serpent heads!

So after a busy few hours spent trekking around the city I headed down for a snack of tacos con charales ( tiny salty fish) at a family run spot on the water. Here`s a photo of the waterfront table (didn't sit there) and also a mural that Coca Cola probably hasn't paid them for and should!!

The school that looks like a hotel

I finally remembered to bring my camera to school so here are a bunch of photos I took last  week. 

B-P Institute encompasses 2 buildings and includes a bookstore, a cafe-type restaurant, a computer lab, outdoor conversation areas, about 24 classrooms ( most hold about 8-10 students comfortably) and around 16 teachers. BP stands for  Baden Powell but there were some legal issues with the name last year. The owners were boy scouts in their youth (Scouting is very big in Mexico.) and wanted their school to be inspired by the same ideals as Lord Baden-Powell. 

So far I've taught in the main building and have had some classes on the upper floor which is wonderfully sunny, but was chilly at 8 am on Feb. mornings. The lower floors are quaint too and a bit warmer.....probably cooler too in May which everyone says is the least bearable month as it is so hot and dry. ....but there are 5 legal holidays in May! Last week I conducted some of my students' individual oral exams outdoors on the upper patio. One of the pictures is a view over to the other building where you can see another teacher conducting an oral as well. The view to the north of the school is of a small church called the Chapel of the Columns. I've been over to check it out and it's set on a lovely small plazuela, but never seems to be open, not even on Sunday. 

The main patio in the school is decorated with small statues. I asked if they were a particular saint of scholars or anything, but no one knows ....so I assume they're just for effect. 

I've met quite a few of the Spanish students. Mostly they seem to be retirees from North American who come down for a a few months and sign up for the 3 weeks of conversation and courses. The school provides home-stay accommodation and also offer cooking courses and small day tours. So far I've met people from San Franciso, Washington DC, Montreal and Nebraska in the US. They all seem very pleased with their courses and love the city of Morelia. There also seems to be a group of high school students from the US who arrived this week. The flags on the building across the street are changed to sychronize with the countries of the current students.