San Miguel de Allende: wonderful and Safe

The school resides in a 300 yr. old building.

My teacher Jorge.  

Mexico always surprises me in ways both delightful and terrifying. (i.e. husband falling into oil pit)  Thirty years ago when I lived in Mexico City for several weeks  I vividly remember walking down a busy street in the Zona Rosa district when I looked to my left and saw the ruins of a gigantic Aztec pyramid being excavated well below street level.  It was then I knew I had to come back to this country.  It was well over three decades before I did return to Mexico and each time I return I understand why I love this country so much. 

The classrooms are all off this courtyard.

The surprises this time include the fact that my Spanish is improving and most importantly, there have been no near fatal accidents so far.  This is major considering the treacherous and exhausting stairway to our apartment and the narrow sidewalks and cobblestone streets everywhere here.  I came with moderate to low expectations with regard to Spanish because I know how difficult language learning is but, I feel I have made progress.  

My school, Academia Hispano Americano began here in 1959. The setting and the staff are fantastic.  My class size has never gone above six, so you get a lot of attention.  Our teacher, Jorge, is a native of San Miguel and started in a bi-lingual school as a young child.  He really knows his stuff!  My class goes from 8:30 to 11:30 each day with two breaks for coffee and homemade sweets served up by Jose (below).  I have met people from all over the US, many of whom have lived abroad for extended periods of time.  All have an interesting life stories to tell and interesting reasons as to why they are studying here in San Miguel.                                        

Jose serves us coffee and homemade treats each day at break-time.

We would like nothing more than to come back here in the near future, if we are lucky enough to be able to do so.   Living in San Miguel makes you feel like you have gone back a few centuries to a life that is more simple and meaningful.  San Miguel can also be a good place to lose a couple pounds and stay fit just by the mere fact you have to buy groceries.  You walk a lot of blocks to get your groceries and you sure don't want to have to carry very much.  I also love being able to communicate in another language.  Lastly, there is something about the Mexican people; their wisdom, their joy, their creativity, their fatalism, that make you want to return to this country.  Mexicans seem to know things about living that people in other parts of the world have either forgotten or never knew.