Another couple days

Another couple days in Leon and the place is starting to feel more like home. Yesterday, my friend and I went to the Zona Piel (literally translated = skin zone). Since Leon is the leather capital of Mexico, this is THE place to come for shoes, jackets, and purses. I have never seen so many shoe stores in my life – there were hundreds of them both inside and outside – and high quality too! I was expecting cheap quality, but I will definitely be returning there to make a purchase or two (I was too overwhelmed the first time!).

The most surprising thing here is still the weather – I never expected it to be this cold. At night it has been dropping into the 30s and I’ve had to borrow gloves, a jacket, and sleeping bag to put as an extra layer over my bed (since home heating doesn’t exist here). My friend and I keep hoping that “tomorrow” it will get warmer – we want to wear all the cute clothes we packed!

One interesting thing here in Leon is that a lot of the women dye their hair gray. Just like American women put blonde highlights in their hair, Mexican women are fans of the gray look. I should ask one of them why they want to look like an old lady…

Not too much new cuisine lately (although today I did eat the best tacos I’ve had since I’ve been here). The other day my friend and I had Nutella and strawberry crepes, and I also tried some freshly squeezed OJ – which they drink out of a bag with a straw (that is, if you order it “to go”!)

Tomorrow it’s back to teaching and hopefully it will be warm enough later to go to la Feria (annual Fair in January that celebrates the founding of Leon). “Esparky” the pet Chihuahua that lives in my apartment says hello (People who speak Spanish always add an “e” to the beginning of English words that begin with an “s” – like Sparky.)