Another Beautiful Day: Food, drink and Spanish class

Breakfast was fun to day. I cut up a pineapple and a mango that had been ripening for several days. The mango produced a syrupy liquid that coated the pineapple causing it to taste sweeter than by itself.

There is a funny thing for me, and several classmates, about the intensive learning Spanish class. At times when I am out and about I often handle the language fairly well. Yet sometimes in class we are learning so much new stuff so fast the brain freezes up. Trying to integrate the new with the old seems to clog things and even what I think I know becomes a fuzzy panic inducing flow of sludge. But, in the end the learning overcomes those moments. The pace and quantity of learning is quite satisfactory by the next day – until we get back in the classroom. Four hours a day is a curious combination of too much and just right. The bottom line is that I am learning Spanish quicker than I ever have in the past.

After class today we went on an exploratory walk. The Spanish-English Biblioteca (read library) was our destination. We ended up leaving without any books, but got lists of classes and events. We stopped at a couple of galleries. San Miguel is known as an artist’s city. This is in large part due to a post WWII offer from the US government. It made an art  school in San Miguel eligible for returning soldiers to go to on the GI bill. A lot of them stayed and the art scene slowly grew. Today there an impressive number of galleries in the city, run by both natives and anglos.

Every afternoon we have been here has been warmer than expected, temps from 76-86 degrees. Walking in the sun in the afternoons does make one thirsty. Today Sheila suggested we needed to either go home, or get a beer. We walked down an unfamiliar street until we saw an inviting establishment. Pictures follow. It is a bit of paradise with all of the greenery ,and the ancient stone and stucco walls were hung with unique and very good art. They also brew six of their own beers. Sheila had an IPA and I, a Porter. Both were excellent and refreshing.

That is going to do it for tonight. Homework calls, and the learning definitely goes better when the homework is done.