Thunderstorms and Tequila
Hopefully the storm won't knock out the power before I've written this: it's blown up in the last few minutes whilst I've been sitting in what has already become my 'regular' internet café, just three blocks from my house. Still, it doesn't seem to be as bad as the storm we had last night, and we didn't lose the power then.Yesterday was actually a pretty nice day, weather-wise. No rain at all, and quite a bit of warm sunshine - perfect for doing laundry and lounging about on the roof, which was what I did most of the day. Headed off in the evening to meet Phil, Vere (his girlfriend) and a bunch of other people at a place called 'Der Krug'. Not the most welcoming of places - whoever heard of a bar where you had to make reservations? - and very obviously not pleased to have a large party in. As Phil said, you'd think they'd be glad of the money. Anyway, we only had about one drink each (I had sangria, which was very nice) before we got tired of the attitude of the staff and headed for another bar. I think someone left a 10-peseta (1c US) tip just ot make a point.
Anyway, after that rather unpromising start the evening thoroughly took off at Maestraza, where any party of eight or more receives a free bottle of tequila on a Saturday night. We just had to buy the mixers. Vere did ask whether, as we were sixteen by that stage, we got two bottles, but apparentely not. The free nibbles were also flowing, thanks to the very attentive wait-staff, and if the music was a bit loud it was worth shouting yourself hoarse to converse with the other people there. A real ex-pat mix, with Americans, Latin Americans, a lady from Finland, Mexicans and, of course, a Kiwi!
Anyways, it was while we were there that the storm started, and boy, was it something! I get the impression it isn't all that uncommon here, but the rain was pretty torrential, and there was a LOT of thunder and lightening. Thanks to Guadalajara's somewhat lacking surface drainage system the roads also turned into shallow rivers in short order. Fortunately Phil and Vere were willing to drop me home!
I got a couple of numbers of people I might get together with later, especially Christine from Oregon, who seems like a thoroughly good sort (a self-describled hard-core socialist and very politically and socially aware: just the sort of person you can have some really meaty conversations with), and also got Phil to sign as witness on my absentee-ballot form for the upcoming New Zealand election. Well, I guess he counts as a 'business colleague', and who the heck else was I going to ask?
Speaking of business, it looks like I'm up to between 12 and 15 hours teaching work a week, hopefully starting tomorrow. I estimate I need about 20 hours a week to cover costs and a little extra besides, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic - although that may not last after the first class!
posted by Paulette @ 3:52 PM
2 Comments:
Good luck with your new teaching positions!
Glad to see you managed to vote and also keep yourself out of any danger. Good luck with the weather and the new job.
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