A few weeks ago, when we still had a car to use, we drove to work at the orphanage. Upon driving home, I noticed there seemed to be some confusion in the street ahead...a couple of guys were running around pulling cable or power lines or something, from the power lines overhead. We slowed down and noticed that another couple of guys were holding a ladder while a third guy climbed it...the ladder was leaning AGAINST the power lines, in the middle of the street! Some other guys were trying to set up a similar situation on the other side of the street...so basically we had to drive between these two ladders that were precariously perched against the power lines while the guys were trying to climb them....we laughed all the way home, saying "only in Mexico!!"
Then, the other day we were walking home from work at the pre-school and this big, shirtless, hairy man with a cigarette hanging out his mouth came running after us! We were thinking "what on earth!" when he approached us with a handful of oranges...he wanted to give them to us and to tell us how he had picked them himself from a tree in Oaxaca and how they were really sweet! Again...only in Mexico!
There is this older couple who live down the street. They must be in their late 80's. The woman is quite debilitated and bent over. Every single day the old man takes her on walks to get her moving a little bit. Sometimes he takes her out in her wheelchair, and they ever-so-slowly make their way around the block. Sometimes she walks behind him, holding onto his belt for support as they (even more) ever-so-slowly walk up the street and back. It is the sweetest thing to see them together and makes me sad that I have no one to grow old with. Sierra says she'll take care of me when I'm old and debilitated, and that's such a sweet thing for her to say! She really does have a heart of gold.
Right now Jazmin is asleep on the couch next to me. She loves to come to my house and just hang out. Sometimes she throws her hat in the air and catches it for entertainment. Sometimes she just sits on the couch on watches. Sometimes she likes to take naps. She starts to throw a fit sometimes when her mom or grandma come and tell her it's time to go home...but I tell her
if she wants to spend time with me she has to obey her mom and grandma; then she bucks up and puts on a brave face and obeys. She's so cute.
Sierra has started to collect stamps...they are Disney stamps and you put them in a little book. you get a pack of stamps for 3 pesos. She does this with her friend Samadi...they are having lots of fun going to the centro for the packs of stamps, and then coming home and going through their stamps and putting them in their books, bartering and trading with the doubles. Sometimes Sierra gets mad at Samadi because he is always trying to get her to pay for his stamps. We talked about being able to set boundaries and saying "no" without feeling like a heel...a hard thing for us!
One thing we really like here in Mexico is the juices...you can go to these juice shack types of places and for about 7 pesos they will make you any concoction you want. And they do have the concoctions! We like orange, strawberry and lime with a little bit of honey and vanilla. They use every kind of fruit imaginable, plus vegetables and herbs. All made fresh for you.
One this we really DON'T like here in Mexico is the coffee...it's terrible! And they don't sell cream! So, I don't drink much coffee anymore. Sigh. I miss it.
Another thing we don't like is how EVERYONE uses their horns for EVERYTHING!!! It's a regular horn cacophony! We still jump at the sound of horns, but everyone else just tunes them out.
Seatbelt laws do exist in Mexico, but they are not enforced and most people do not pay attention to them. It is not at all uncommon to see kids 2, 3, 4 years old having complete control of the steering wheel! Our neighbors taught their daughters to drive at 12 so they wouldn't have to drive them all around...although the legal age to drive is 18.
It's very common for people to approach us and ask if we are from the US...and they love to share their stories about how they lived and worked in the States (usually California), and how they were deported...they love to practice their English with us and everyone wants to learn to speak more!
Well, those are all my thoughts for today...now I'll be completely empty-headed for the rest of the day! Haha.
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