Es muy "FUNKY"

Guanajuato is unbelievably rich in art and culture. The University of Guanajuato has an arts program that attracts many talented students from theater arts to all types of music. As you can imagine, there are many guitar players – classically trained musicians by day, friendly mariachis by night – no joke! (Granted, they all don´t look like Antonio Banderas and play sexily on bar tables like in the movie Desperado, but close enough.) Since June is their semester end, the students' final recitals for parents, patrons of the arts, and locals in the community highlight most evenings' agendas.

One evening I attended one of the student musical performances. Although the technical elements were still amateur, the passion behind the music was unmistakenable. This was entirely evident through their selections of music and arrangements of songs. It´s always so refreshing to see such tremendous support for the arts!

The above is a picture of a three cats doing an incredible jazz trio (a piece, I regretfully, don’t recall the name of.)

Where the Magic Happens!

I couldn’t have dreamed of a more breath-taking location to teach a health education course. Our room is conveniently located on the top floor in University of Guanajuato’s outstanding administrative building (the campus, like most universities, is spread out around town). I, of course, encourage my students to take the stairs, but as you can see, this can be quite an overwhelming challenge – even for me. Despite our intimate classroom setting, the view from the window into the city is an absolute vision (and often is the cause of my losing a train of thought while I’m lecturing…lol). There aren’t enough minutes in a day to soak up all of the colors in this panoramic sight.

I am delighted to note that U of GTO implements a recycling initiative across their campus. As you can see in the picture, they have designated containers for plastics & glass, paper & cardboard, trash, and biodegradable items (like apple stems, banana peels, and flowers).

Down the hallway from our classroom is a patio overlooking the east side of town – once again, breath-taking! Twenty minutes before the end of class, I’ll take my students to el patio to practice breathing techniques, engage in mindful meditation, incorporate movement through chair yoga and tai chi. The students seem to enjoy this portion of the class… so I’m told (perhaps it’s a chance for them to enjoy a brief siesta after a night of fiesta.)