While I’ve only started chronicling my journey recently, my Sabbatical officially started on September 9th, 2022 when I stepped on my flight to Guadalajara, Mexico. The month leading up to my departure was such a roller coaster, that I was holding on by a string by the morning of my flight. After leaving my job in May, most of the summer proved to be quite uneventful, but August said “Hold my beer” and proceeded to rip through my life like a series of unfortunate events. So saddle up kids, because you’re in for a long ride. If you want to just fast-forward to the good part, just click here – I don’t mind.
August quite literally started with someone crashing, full speed, into my car while it was parked in my driveway in Atlanta – thanks to my outdoor camera, I caught it all on film. While my car was being traumatized, I was sleeping soundly in Toronto and about to get ready to head to a Caribana party. I never did make it to that party but I did go through months of car repairs, insurance company headaches, and a lot of money for a car that I had planned to sell the very next week. (:
Before I left Toronto, I was also given another gift from the universe – Covid. I was sad about this because I took many precautions and managed to dodge Covid for 2.5 years but we were very much so in the Caribana streets, so this wasn’t that shocking. While my case of Covid was very mild and I felt pretty good, I did develop long Covid and had a lingering cough and high heart rate. Now, I will go to great lengths to avoid getting Covid again – I am still masked up, and unbothered by the opinions of others who think I shouldn’t be.
I am thankful that I was able to quickly recover (no longer testing positive), as I had an important surgery scheduled for mid-August. My doctor and I decided that I should have surgery and a biopsy done to address some health problems that had been worsening over the last year since I had some abnormal test results earlier in the summer. Due to my medical history and family medical history, the “wait and see” approach was not the best route to take. Thankfully, the surgery was successful and my biopsy came back clean. I’m extremely grateful for that and my friend, A, who took me home after surgery and kept me company. While I do still have existing health problems to contend with, at least I could go into my Sabbatical with peace of mind.
However, peace of mind wouldn’t come until the very morning I left Atlanta for Guadalajara. Oh, did I forget to mention that I was also packing up my entire house and life in Atlanta while all of this was going on!? Yes, that’s a thing I was doing. Before starting my Sabbatical, I made the decision that I wouldn’t be returning to Atlanta and there was a strong chance I wouldn’t be returning to the U.S. – at least for a while. So, I put my house up for rent and pared my life down to what would fit into a 5’ x 5’ storage unit. Decluttering with no car while sick and recovering from surgery was a headache, but, thankfully, I was fortunate enough to find long-term tenants very easily.
Now, let’s get to the good part! I always knew that I would start my Sabbatical in Mexico, but I didn’t know which city until a friend, J, suggested that I look into Guadalajara. This proved to be an excellent choice and I immediately fell in love with GDL and its vibe. I wasn’t so sure that I wanted to start in such a big city as Mexico City or a touristy place like Playa del Carmen or Cancun, but I still needed the comfort of knowing that there was an expat community that I could “lean” on while I was there. The things you need while traveling for short periods of time are completely different than what you need when you’re traveling long-term – I cannot stress to you how much having people like D, T, and C in my circle were in making my first month comfortable.
If you’ve never been to Guadalajara, some people describe it as “the most Mexican city in Mexico” and that’s a pretty fair assessment but it can be hard to verbalize exactly why. Guadalajara and the Jalisco state are rich in culture and history, and the people are friendly and welcoming. Guadalajara is the birthplace of many things that we associate with Mexico – tequila, birria tacos, charreadas, mariachi, sombreros, and many more. Guadalajara is still a large city though, so there are some unsavory things you may encounter like crazy drivers, petty theft, and just a hint of crazy, possibly cartel-related, occurrences. Nevertheless, it will always hold a special place in my heart and I look forward to visiting again.
During my first week in Guadalajara, I spent my time settling in and getting acquainted with the city where I’d spend the next six weeks. As I was beyond exhausted by the time I got to Guadalajara, I treated myself to an amazing massage and facial at Manassana Spa in the Providencia neighborhood – I still think about how good that massage was. A few days later, I was able to check out the Van Gogh Immersive Experience at Centro Comercial Plaza Patria before the exhibit. Van Gogh is one of my favorite artists and I was so happy to be able to catch the exhibit. I kept missing it so I made sure to check it out before it was gone – I highly recommend it if you have a chance to check it out.
My second week in Guadalajara provided me with several truly Mexican experiences and traditions. Mexican Independence Day is September 16th, but celebrations start the night before with the Mexican President’s Grito de Independencia (traditional scream/speech to mark the beginning of Mexico’s Independence Day) in Mexico City – the governor of Jalisco also did a Grito at Guadalajara’s Palacio de Gobierno. This was the first year since the pandemic started that crowds were allowed to gather, so I chose to watch Mexico City’s Grito on TV instead of being in the rain and crowds in downtown Guadalajara. On the actual Independence Day, I enjoyed a nice view of the annual parade – I completely fell in love with the horse/charreada procession that closed out the parade. My night ended by watching the fireworks downtown from my apartment.
Some new friends and I went to the Lady Chivas game the following Monday at Estadio Akron and had a great time until the game got rained out. This is the night I realized two things about Mexico: 1. Crepes are really popular in Mexico even at futbol matches of all places and 2. Mexicans love to party no matter what is going on. I’m convinced the more it rained the more hype the crowd got and the energy was infectious. The game almost made me forget that there was an earthquake earlier in the day – almost.
Unfortunately, September 19th has become synonymous with earthquakes in Mexico, with two of the deadliest occurring on September 19th, 1985, and 2017. 2022 was no exception as there was an earthquake in another state, Michoacan, that was felt all the way in Guadalajara and Mexico City which sadly left two people dead. I was laying down and thought I was going crazy because I could feel the building swaying from the 10th floor – I was definitely a bit terrified and confused when I realized what was happening but thankfully not injured. However, the aftershocks in the following days really made me question if I should just go “home”. Note: I’m not a fan of the earth moving, I’ll always pass on that. While I did learn a lot about earthquake safety, I’ve been a bit paranoid about earthquakes since then.
One thing I absolutely love about Guadalajara was how walkable it was. On more than one occasion I walked to visit friends and around the city just because I could. Of course, I would make sure to get some street food on my walks because did you really go to Mexico if you didn’t enjoy some delicious food from a street vendor!? Guadalajara has absolutely no shortage of street vendors and I wish every city had someone on the corner selling cups of fresh-cut fruit – that’s actually my dream. In between eating, I worked on improving my Spanish, taking care of a few things back in Atlanta, and decompressing.
The last Sunday in September, a friend and I ventured over to the neighboring town of Tlaquepaque and accidentally ran into yet another parade, which of course, I loved. Tlaquepaque is a must-visit if you’re visiting Guadalajara – the vibe is immaculate and the Sunday Street Market is not to be missed. We walked around taking in the sights and sounds, then enjoyed a nice buffet brunch at El Patio Tlaquepaque before checking out some of the local wares. My favorite stop was at Galeria El Dorado which I believe is an art gallery, but also a furniture and decor store. I’m not sure what it actually is, but they had these beautiful stained glass pinatas and live edge tables!
At the very end of the month, I started a trip to Los Cabos and La Paz, but for the sake of brevity, I will have to detail that in a future blog when I recap October 2022! Here’s a little teaser of my favorite day of that trip. 🙂
