On Thursday, I called the number I had gotten several weeks ago about a yoga class. Turns out it's hot yoga! It's the exact yoga I do. It's $10 a class which seems hefty for Mexico, but I'm willing to pay it to get back to feeling like the aligned version of me again!
I left the house at 6 to make sure I was there by 6:45. Mabel had considered going with me, but then didn't, so I wanted to leave enough time for my two-bus trip. I got downtown and did the bus change without a problem (I'm a pro now, you know!). I arrived exactly at 6:45. I walked in and no one was there. I saw the sign in sheet: a notebook. I waited for a minute or two and the owner/teacher came in from out back. I signed in. She showed me around. My first class is free. So I got my mat where I wanted it, eager to see what the Spanish version of my daily ritual would sound and feel like.
I came back out into the lobby and there were many more people all of a sudden. I sat down and Cecilia looked at me and asked if I usually came to the morning class. I told her I was from the States, here on exchange yada yada, and that this was my first class here. From there we had an extensive conversation about her friend from high school who was in Culiacán on exchange who is her good friend to this day. Then we talked about yoga (There was a picture of Kenny Chesney from an article where he cited that he does hot yoga, so I name-dropped, not that she knew who he was). Then it was time to begin class.
We walked in and everyone was talking which is very different from my studio in Nashville. But then it settled. The floor was a harder floor than I'm used to, and my body is way outta whack from my 6 week hiatus, but it was a good class. Every teacher is different, and of course I miss PJ (my favorite in Nashville), but I really enjoyed being back there. I could tell it had been a really long time.
On the way to yoga, I had noticed a line that wrapped around the block of a plazuela (plah-SWAY-lah), another version more or less of plaza. I couldn't figure out what was going on.
When I left yoga, I promptly caught a bus right outside the studio. (The owner graciously let me leave my mat there since I take the bus and don't live near. She also said that the man who works for her would wash it with her others. Wow.) I got off where I needed to and bolted for my next stop in case my bus was rounding the corner. It wasn't. Nor did it in the next 15 minutes. Finally, I walked up to the people eating in the alley (in a make-shift restaurant of sorts that Mexico is famous for-carts with food and benches to sit on make for a perfect dinner) and asked them if the buses had stopped running. I had seen loads of other buses, just not mine. After a lengthy discussion about where the bus stop would be (I already knew this!), they told me that yeah, it had probably stopped at 8 or 8:30. It was now 9. I asked how much a taxi should cost me from there to my house so I wouldn't get ripped off. One thing you learn in the culture part of a Spanish class is that you get the price of the taxi before you get in, or else when you get there, you'll have to pay whatever they say and it'll be too much. They said 50 pesos so off I went. Well, I had to walk through the plazuela and saw the signs for the boxing match (or game? or fight?). Boxing. That's what had drawn 2/3 of Culiacán out of their homes to stand in line (which they don't seem to do anywhere else!). Interesting.
I hailed my cab and noticed a free yoga class at the botanical gardens (don't get too excited- we're not talking Cheekwood here) this Saturday.
The taxi driver had great conversation- asking what I was doing here, where I had been, and suggested places for me to go. Then when I got home, Mabel looked relieved to see me. It had been over three hours, after all, since she'd last seen me. I told her about the buses. Then I told her about the free yoga. She said that this is the 475th (I think, not remembering the number so well right now) anniversary of Culiacán's founding, so they were having all kinds of famous people to the city. I plan on going. Should be fun!
Thursday, Mabel is going to go with me to class. I'm interested to see what she thinks!
She will also be taking me to the airport on Thursday to exchange my ticket to come home in December. Apparently the ticket changed and since I have a paper ticket, I have to physically go to the AeroMexico booth and get it changed. I'm totally willing to do that for Christmas!
And that's all she wrote.
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