By Amanda Nielsen

To read more about Amanda's experiences in Travel Writing Mexico see her blog at http://amandanielsen.vox.com/

In a small Guadalajara café, each day begins with a rendition of "Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)," a song based on a column by a Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich.

One of the owners of the café, Myriam Vidriales, had a fellowship at the Tribune for four months in 1999, and, through a series of coincidences, later discovered the column interpreted in song by Baz Luhrmann.

While people all over the world identified with the column as it mistakenly spread across the Internet as a commencement speech given by Kurt Vonnegut, it has become especially significant to Vidriales and her husband, Eduardo Castaneda, both former journalists.

By Beth Palmer

To read more about Beth's experiences in the Travel Writing in Mexico class, see her blog at http://bethpalmer.vox.com/ 

In Guadalajara, where the local paper El Informador has reported over 80 deaths by public transportation vehicles this year alone, patrons run the chance of receiving worse than an experience equivalent to the 45-cent bus fare.
  
Bus drivers in this city are notoriously inconsiderate; and their jolty stick-shift driving can leave bruises, passengers say. But the labyrinthian layout of Guadalajara’s bus routes – once mastered – can successfully deliver riders to nearly any destination desired.
   
Since moving to Guadalajara 11 months ago, Los Angeles native Angela McCracken, 28, has repeatedly had horrible experiences with the bus that passes in front of her house.  

“Line number 101 is the worst line in the city – and I know this city,” said McCracken, an ethnography Ph.D. candidate at University of Southern California.

McCracken became familiar with the Guadalajara buses while traveling throughout the city and its surrounding areas, researching her doctoral thesis on globalization and its impact on quinceneras, the Mexican ritual 15th birthday celebration.

By Christy Fleming

To read more about Christy's experiences in the Travel Writing in Mexico class see her blog.

   A new tourist in Guadalajara has much ground to cover. One way to learn the way around, or take a look at the beautiful architecture, is to take a horse and carriage ride.

   Horses are lined up on Hidalgo Avenue across from a plaza called Rotonda de los Jaliscienses Ilustres awaiting their next voyage through Guadalajara. When approached, the drivers kindly ask if you would like to take a ride.

   It’s inexpensive enough for nearly any young tourist to enjoy. The $20 U.S. price covers up to five people that can fit in the carriage. No two carriages are alike. They range in all colors of the rainbow. Many of them have heart-shaped windows on the back, because carriage rides tend to be romantic.

By Jessica Rosenberg

To read more about Jessica's experiences in the Travel Writing in Mexico class, see her blog at http://jessica213.vox.com/.

GUADALAJARA - Lupe Najera has been reading tarot cards and performing “limpiezas” – a ritual that cleanses the body of evil spirits – for 15 years. Everyday, the peaceful-looking middle-aged woman comes to the Mercado de Corona and works at her stand selling medicinal herbs, teas and of course, tarot card readings.

   Originally from Guadalajara, she said an older, male herbalist taught her everything she knows, and for around US $10 she will read your tarot cards and share her knowledge.

By Silvana Tabares

To read more about Silvana's experiences in the Travel Writing Mexico class see her blog.

   Walking through Guadalajara's main market, one can find stands full of pirated copies of movies still in the theaters in the United States and Mexico, like “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix,” "Ratatouille" and even "Sicko" by Michael Moore.

   Known as Mercado San Juan de Dios or Mercado Libertad, this massive market features vendors selling knock-off compact discs and DVDs, as well as counterfeit Baby Phat clothing and Nike shoes. Other vendors sell authentic items like hand-painted ceramics and woven blouses and there's an array of fresh food stands.

   There are more than 300 vendors offering hundreds of copies of pirated films, and in many booths the films are scattered on the floor, disorganized and in no particular order.

Columbia College journalism faculty Teresa Puente is teaching a Travel Writing class in Mexico this summer (2007). Five students are with her reporting and writing about Guadalajara and other cities, including Guanajuato and Puerto Vallarta. The five students -- Christy Fleming, Amanda Nielsen, Beth Palmer, Silvana Tabares and Jessica Rosenberg -- are spending three weeks on location in Mexico.

They will file stories for Creating Community Connections and you can see link to their blogs at http://teresapuente.vox.com/  or see a selection of their blogs at http://cms.colum.edu/mexico07/