Breathing and falling in love in Guadalajara

I breathed, studied, ate, danced, cried, slept, played, and loved in my four years in the beautiful city of Guadalajara Jalisco. This city doesn't have a beach, but it does have the sun that gifts us with these inspirational landscapes, both during the day and the night. It's a place where people are full of smiles and embraces to give you. It's a city that a lot of tourists visit, and some even decide to stay here forever.

I studied in the University of Guadalajara in the headquarters of the visual arts department, which is located in the centre of the city (Calle Belen #120). It's a small historic building with three floors and several murals that reflect part of Mexico's history. It's surrounded by beautiful churches, theatres, plazas brimming with tourists and locals; "guanatos". My favourite was the Teatro Degollado, and not only for it's exterior aesthetic, but for what it was like inside. I had the opportunity to sit inside and watch a group of the city's folklore dancers, and see the paintings on the walls and ceilings at the same time. Right outside this theatre you can find the theatre billboard for what's going on each month, presenting dance, theatre and music. Some are free, and the others are affordable.

If we're talking about prices, we can relax as everything is very accessible and cheap. Everything, from food, transport, rent and even to fun trips and activities, for example:

Transport:

-BUS: $7/student discount which is $3. 30. You can get this discount with your student card that you'll receive in your school when you pay the registration fees, and afterwards go to Prepa 1 González Ortega 225 which is where you can buy your transfers.

-TRAIN:$7. It's important that you always have the exact change as they don't give you any change back. There is a 50% discount with a special card that you can get easily. The train is another quick and accessible mode of transport. You arrive at the different destinations quickly, but during certain hours of the day it can get excessively full, and you have to be very careful.

-MACROBUS:$7 pesos exactly. They don't give you any change to it's important to have the exact price. This bus has a very good service. It goes down the whole of Calzada Independencia, which is a very important avenue in the city. It has 27 stations, and there's a stop in each one of them.

-MIBICI: The service "mibici" is a public service that costs $365 pesos a year. There are various stations all across the city. You can easily take a bike and then leave it at another one of the stations that's nearer to your destination, although there aren't many. In Guadalajara they have special routes for bicycles specifically, and it's important to respect them.

GENERAL COMMENTS: The public transport in Guadalajara isn't the best in Mexico. The buses aren't safe, the majority of the drivers don't care about their driving and do it recklessly, just like the rest of the drivers in the city. However, the more positive side is that there are a lot of bus routes that take you to whatever part of the city you need and people will help you a lot when you ask for it.

FOOD

Food in restaurants:

Restaurants: You'll need approximately 100-200 pesos. This obviously depends on where you go.

Weekly shop in the supermarket: You'll need approximately $350-450. This price is referring to a big shop, something that will last for a little over a week. It's lovely to say that in Guadalajara, mainly in the centre, there are loads of markets coloured with fruit, vegetables, grains, meats and more where you can do an 'expensive' shop for $100-200. I always went to the markets, taking my fabric bag for life and doing my nutritious and very cheap weekly shop. The markets are open from 8am until 7 or 8pm.

Some M A R K E T S:

- Mercado Corona, Av. Hidalgo (central zone).

- Mercado Alcalde, Calle Pino Suarez #291.

- Mercado San Juan de Dios, Javier Mina 52.

RENTING ACCOMMODATION:

I don't know much about this as I only lived in one place over my four years in Guadalajara. I lived very close to the centre of the city, in a flat with two bedrooms which I shared with another girl. In total we paid $4000. This didn't the extra bills which honestly wasn't very much at all, approximately $300, for water, electricity and gas. I lived in a pretty area, and close by there was a park and a few grocery shops, which I benefited from a lot.

FUN:

In Guadalajara there are a lot of places where you can enjoy yourself, from bars, dive bars, Latin dance rooms, concerts, parks, plazas and the rest. I spent a while in the bars in the centre of the city or in Chapultepec (a very well known avenue in the city, full of bars, cafes, dive bars, independent markets, and more). I will know make an approximation of the prices from these places:

Beer: $20-35.

Snacks: $50-100.

Covers (entry to bars or clubs): (only in some places) $50-100.

Theatre: $50-100. You can get discounts with your student card.

Cinema: $70-90. During the week the cinema is cheaper and you can also get a discount with your proof of being a student. There is a "cineforo of the university of Guadalajara" where they screen independent, art and foreign films. I went a few times and I saw some great films. The price of a ticket is $45.

Places you have to visit:

Centre of Guadalajara:

Unarguably, you have to visit the centre of Guadalajara where you can appreciate the beautiful architecture, with temples, the Cathedral, theatres, plazas, fountains, museums, etc. Near to these buildings you can see a little of the history of Guadalajara, from its distinct heroes all the way up to the Spanish arrival to America.

Bosque Los Colomos:

You'll find this place on the outskirts of Guadalajara. It's a very stunning forest, where there are fountains, lakes, small bridges and the most eye-catching zone is the Japanese garden. This is somewhere you can take some magnificent photos. You can spend the day here with friends or family and have a picnic.

Avenida Chapultepec

I spent a lot of time on this avenue. It's full of bars, food and good parties. On the weekends they put an independent market on the pavement and people come and sell all sorts of things. From food, clothes, accessories to things that they make themselves, and they all go for a great price.

The majority of bars close at 2 or 3 in the morning, but then there's a dive bar called Américas. In Guadalajara it's a tradition that after partying in the other bars, they continue the party in this bar. They have great DJs and electronic music. Sometimes you have to pay a cover charge of $50 to get in.

Templo Expiatorio

This was one of my favourite temples in the city. It's designed in a gothic style, and at night it's even better as it's lit up and the little plaza just in front of it is full of people. Around it, at night, there are various Mexican food stalls that are waiting to be devoured by you. Especially the "nieves de garrafa" (sorbets made with salt and ice) which are right on Av. Enrique Diaz de León, in the same place as the temple.

If you visit Guadalajara you will never feel alone. The people there are warm and friendly. You can ask them anything without feeling nervous, they want to help and welcome you like family.

In Guadalajara you'll experience both the heat and the cold, and of course a lot of rain mainly in the months of July and August. So now you've been warned, you can enjoy them with a warm coffee.

Its food is full of soups, bread dipped in milk, well that's how I see it. The main dishes are its tortas ahogadas (a sauce filled sandwich), sugar churros, birria de chivo (a dish made of lamb), pozole rojo (a meat and vegetable soup) and rico birote salado (salty baguette typical of Guadalajara). All of these are very easy to find in whichever market or stall you go to in the city.

I was very happy in this city. I learnt a lot about its people and their love. I would really recommend you visit, to enjoy and love it. And don't worry about going there alone, I assure you, that you'll leave more than well accompanied.