The News

I'm in the same boat with Karen about the news. I try to read the NY Times and BBC online as much as I can (during the week it seems to be more like a quick skim of the headlines) and we buy El Publico every Friday because it contains a supplement magazine called El Ocio, which is kind of like Time Out and lets you know what's happening in the city that week.

Sadly, I find that I’m not yet really able to understand the political section of the newspaper here and I usually can understand almost all of the celebrity gossip section. So, I’ve been keeping up with the latest Britney Spears scandals as a way of improving my Spanish comprehension for only 7 pesos a week and the knowledge that I’m poisoning my brain with this useless information.

But, in the last couple weeks, the big news in town has been the unholy traffic mess that the city has planned and implemented on the major road about 4 blocks from my house. Not construction so much as trying to create an “expressway” on the weekends by turning all the lights green for most of the day in front of a major shopping mall. Hmm…

No one can enter or leave the mall parking in a safe or legal manor, and the pedestrians (like me) who want to cross the street to get to the mall – well basically tough luck. The options are walk an additional 2-3 city blocks in either direction to get to a pedestrian overpass or the one functioning crosswalk (while passing about 3 formerly functional crosswalks). Or, what many people do instead, cross halfway into the four-lane road and wait at the yellow middle line for the other side of the traffic to clear and then cross the other half of the road (very dangerous).

If you look at the headlines for today (October 12th) you will notice that there is a big procession taking place. Today is the saint day of the Virgin of Zapopan and she’s being moved from the Cathedral in Guadalajara to the Basilica of Zapopan, and all the followers go with her on the road.

(I’m off work today for the Founding Day of the U, so three day weekend for me!)