A week of lasts

It has come down to the final week of our time living here in Guadalajara and I can't help but think of things in terms of lasts. Today was the last time I will ride my bike to Colomos Park, and the last time I will ride my bike period... ahhh that lovely bike, which I will donate tomorrow. Today was also perhaps the last time Josh and I will eat at the fish taco stand. I went to the tianguis market for the last time on Sunday. I visited the coffee shop for fresh roasted Mexican coffee- for the last time. In the coming days we will continue to have more lasts as we make sure to visit all of our favorite food joints and see good friends to say goodbye.
We are sure to return to this city, yes. So maybe it is not totally correct to reference my experiences as lasts. Though when I return, I know it will be different.

We have been packing our things, transforming our place back the way we found it. Tomorrow we will borrow a truck and drive out to the brickyards, where we know people who have very little, and we will give them clothes, linens, kitchen items... and my bike. Then we plan to leave on Thursday to travel to see our friends Jose and Naomi who have been living in Queretaro. We will all travel down to Santiago Mezquititan where there will be a large festival to honor Saint Santiago, and many of the Otomi CODENI families that we know will be there.

Our departure date is July 29 and the big question is what to do about "Guadalajara Year?" One thing is for certain, I cannot stop blogging at this point, as many moments every day now filter into the "this would be good to mention in my blog" part of my brain. But a new name? And topics to focus upon? I am thinking them through, and you will be the first to know when I come up with something. For now, I will focus on letting you know how the rest of this final week wraps up. Thanks for tuning in.