Fireworks & Hand Grenades

An unexpected downpour last night lasted all of an hour, but the accompanying thunder claps were the loudest I’ve ever heard. They shook the house and rattled the glass in all the window panes. It sounded like hand grenades and molotov cocktails were being thrown at the house. My face looked EXACTLY like the one above. Lightening & thunder rocketed through the sky. I wanted desperately to hide in the closet and throw a blanket over my head, but I had to dash up to the terrace to fetch some cushions & blankets dodging lightening bolts the whole way there and back. Oyvey. The worst part was gripping the IRON railing on the way down the water slicked stairs. In my mind I saw myself splayed out at the bottom one leg pointing west the other twisted up above my head.
AT 4:30 this morning Semana Santa started with a bang. Fireworks were set off across the city in preparation for the arrival of Nuestro Senor de la Columna – an enormous statue of a beaten and bloodied Christ that is carried into San Miguel de Allende from a small village 12 kilometers away. The statue is carried in silence during the early morning hours to the Church of San Juan de Dios and the streets are bedecked with purple and white papel picado, paper flowers, streamers, and all manner of decoration. I headed out early this morning in search of the church and like yesterday found myself walking through a neighborhood I had not visited before. I was nearly alone on the streets, but when I descended an extremely steep cobbled street there at the bottom were hundreds of Mexican families. I found a cement ledge to sit on and watched the goings on. Men dressed as Roman soldiers were acting out something on a stage far from where I was sitting. Several priests in purple robes were at the front. The entire scene was very cool. I will go back tomorrow or the next day to get a better look at the statue when there aren’t throngs of people gathered.

Breakfast was next on my agenda: Pan de Frances El Correo style served with cinnamon sugar & syrup, fresh squeezed orange juice, strong coffee with a pitcher of hot milk. Ahhhhhhh after such dramatic activities and walking I enjoyed sitting in the cool dark cafe to write in my travel journal.
By 11 am I was back home for a siesta of couryard reading.
The maniacal look in my eye is a result of the vigorous walking, booming thunder from last night, and the morning sugar rush.
Tomorrow I begin my Spanish class from 9-12 for the next 2 weeks. Last year on my first day of class I showed up with my shirt on inside out and didn’t notice until a couple of hours had passed. I looked down and noticed the buttons on my blouse were missing. No they weren’t, they were on the inside. I will do my best to wipe the crazy look off my face, comb my hair, dress myself correctly, and appear in class looking like the serious student I am. You can only make a first impression once after all.