Im a Brown baby

June 12.

Hoy fue lo mas difícil. Last night the Little one got a bit sick. He went to the cine with our family to watch Madagascar 3 in español and then just played futbol with the children all night. By the time I got home at 9 pm, he was puking. I think he just needs to adjust to the heat a bit, I think we all do. (fun fact numero 1: When traveling to places like Mexico, your ability to “hacer un poop” is lessened. ie: constipation) The night ended with many tears and began the same way, but I’ll get to that.

Last night we visited Palacio Cortez and Al Centro (sin Noah, who was at the cine). We rode the bus again, and our host papa came with to make sure we made it okay. During the busride we all had to stand and hold on to the seats, and if you have ever been on a bus in Latin America you know how difficult this is. The bus ride was about 30 minutes because it was a high traffic time. Things I noticed along the way: You have to pay to use public bathrooms (4 pesos) Cuernavaca es much bigger than I thought Mexicans don’t wear sunglasses (which made us stand out like a sore thumb) Giving Parker 3 pesos made his night Bus routes have no signs (i asked my host papa how he knew where the bus was gonna stop and he said to me something along the lines of “ because this is where it stops.”) Once again, people drive crazy here, there arent many stoplights, and no lines on the road.

We finally arrived to Palacio Cortez and it was packed. The Zocalo is the center of Cuernavaca with street venders and dancers. We walked the market and then stopped at a restaurante for refrescas y jugo. Parker was a bit uncomfortable because he was stressing about being in a different country, not knowing the language and complaining that everything was different. Pretty much then it started to rain. When it rains here, it rains. It doesnt last too long but you will get soaked. We got a taxi for 50 pesos and made it home dry.

As a side note. I am learning where I live, for some reason, the taxi’s never can find it, and the host father and I have gone for walks a few times and now I can get around, at least a little.

As a second side note, I have not met a taxi driver that wasnt friendly. All have talked to me about Cuernavaca, about the United States, and about the school. Y por eso, I feel more safe.

Well the night ended about how I described earlier, with a late evening, and very hot rooms.

Family.

I mentioned earlier about the morning beginging with tears. Parker had a really hard time accepting that we are in Mexico and that he has to go to school. He has a really hard time accepting anything that is different, diferente, and doesnt like to be uncomfortable. The family here is sooo nice, they really just want him to be happy. They told him (with my translation) that he is home here and they are his family. If you know me, this was very touching and the tears were overwhelming. They said, “Nosotros somos tus abuelos aquí, y este es tu casa.” They invited him to attend a football practice after school and that perked his interest. Something familiar. Then they headed off to school, and all my strength left my body, I sobbed, but Kendra was there to console and off we went to school.

Our classes today were fun because we got to meet different teachers. We also met students from other colleges. Our classes in Cuernavaca are in the middle of what looks like a jungle, una selva, with huge banana trees, aloe plants, butterflies, birds, and well, mosquitos. Today I stopped in our café and the cook made me taquitos de papas and café. It was sooo delicious I wolfed it down since I couldnt eat this morning. I think I forgot to mention that we have another student that lives somewhere in our estate, Corrina. Corrina is in her fourties and lives in Philidelphia. She is a Professor de Francés. She also speaks German, French, Spanish, and English and is an avid runner. Her children are in Philly, and her daughter is severely handicapped. I imagine its very difficult for her to be away, but it would have been just as difficult to bring her. Corrina impresses me, she has such an energy about her and maybe she is just very ‘worldly’ but I like her.

After school, we recieved a taxi and headed home to find two happy boys. Parker had a great time at school today, and finally ate his dinner!! (oh dinner is actually around 3:30 here, with a snack around 9 pm) He played futbol and smiled at least three times.. which is a great improvement.

Kendra and I are headed into Plaza Cuernavaca por autobús to purchase some things. A regalo for Noah (his birthday is on monday)

Benedryl(because kendra is allergic to everything)

Bottles for water

And… dum dum dum..

Painting supplies

I have been so inspired to paint while ive been here. The colors, the people and the differences sparked a creative desire to paint in the country of gran pintadoras like Diego, Frida, Siquieros, Orozco, and Guyasamin.

Im finding out more about my family little by little or ‘poco a poco’ as they always say to me. They have five children. Their daughter died two years ago from Leukemia and that is why there are so many children in the house. One of their daughters never married, and stays home to take care of those who lost thier madre. The abuelo of the house spends the most time taking care of the children and me. They are so friendly, and care very much about us being happy.

Today I learned:

Some escascaletors do not have stairs. So when you try to step on stairs you look like a silly foriegner.

Taking the bus isnt so hard, even for gringas

Mosquitos suck

Sign language Works well when you dont know the Word for toothpaste.

There are insects/lizard that make kissing sounds and eat scorpions

I have a lot to learn

This concludes your daily broadcast.

Ciao!!