méxico: week four

[Veronica and Abel: sister and brother]
[Mariela and Fernandito: sister and brother]
[Roxina and Rosalina: twins. Chuy: Rosalina's son]

[Miguel with Mariana and Grace]

[Rosalina riding Estrella]

[Jesús "washing dishes"]

[Roxy and Essie during home ec]

[Chuy hitting the piñata]

[The Children's Day celebration at the orphanage]

[Rach and her coke]

Sunday, April 25, 2010.
Marcela got "mad" at me for showing her my yogurt/granola combination. She called me "enfadosa" (annoying) for the rest of the day. Ana came to the gate because she was afraid she'd miss her ride to church. I tried to keep Essie and Rosalina straight during the service. Okay, not really; they were angelic. Ana and I went out back to watch the volleyball game after the service until I got tired of watching a certain person trample the rest of his team as he fought for the ball that wasn't his. Lunch was ready and waiting when we got home. After lunch came naptime. After naptime came supper (well maybe not right after naptime). After supper Rach and I let Maria Inez and Roxy take pictures with our cameras. Wow. Lots of pictures. Rach and I stayed up to watch The Sound of Music. Long movie. Late night. My favorite quote comes from Uncle Max: "I like the way rich people live. I like the way I live when I'm with them!"

Monday, April 26, 2010.

The bathroom door was locked and we couldn't find the key. That meant 20 people for 1 bathroom; the ratio was not good. I helped with breakfast cleanup, did corrections, and then did school with Mariela. She loves to count as far as she can in English (which is to five) before switching to Spanish: "Wan, Tooo, Sree, Far, Fife.... uh-uh... CINCO, SEIS, SIETE!" I took "time off" by sitting in the kitchen and reading to Brittany selections from Great Expectations so we could both laugh at Dickens' characterization. Chuy talked all during lunch. School went long today; Essie and Roxy were scrambling to finish up before the soccer game. Brittany and I watched the game. Seeing a bunch of the neighbor boys made me realize how long I'd been away; some of them have grown up (at least in size) so much! Santos hasn't changed; he's just as annoying and cute as ever. After supper, Abel and Fernandito raced Chayo and I around the soccer field. Chayo and I lost until I made the other boys run backwards. Maria Inez, Kyle, Miguel, Abel, and I played keep-away... but not all at the same time since Miguel and Abel have attention spans the size of marbles. I had responsible plans of going to bed early, but the girls workers stayed up late with interesting discussions including (but not limited to) "chocolate marshmallows" and modesty. And then Rhonda tore apart the bathroom doorknob and we have two bathrooms once again.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010.

Rosalina took me horseback riding after breakfast. I hadn't been on a horse for years, but Rosalina was very patient with me. First, I didn't have anything to wear... so I wore my pj pants under a skirt while thinking "No one will see me way out on the property." But first we had to chase down the horses, and they weren't in the mood to be chased down. Rosalina finally saddled Estrella and I clambered on. I didn't realize that the boys were working out on the property or that "out on the property" is actually in clear view of the road. Thus my lack of expertise was in plain view of practically all of Mexico. Such is life. I had a lot of fun... but painful fun; I now realize why cowboys walk bow-legged. I did school corrections when I got back. Then we had lunch and cleanup and I did home ec with the girls. We made cinnamon rolls for tomorrow's breakfast. Mariela and MariChuy fought over how much they could do and Essie and Roxy fought over how little they could do. Every time I explained something, Roxy would rush to say, "¡Ya sé! ¡Ya sé!" (I already know! I already know!) even when she didn't know. The rolls turned out nicely despite all of the debate. Mariela was fascinated with the yeast when I told her it was alive and would grow. "It's growing! Look, MariChuy! It's growing!" Then it was suppertime. The kids went to bed early so we could have Bible study and [*guilty chuckle] cinnamon rolls.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010.

I took my time off right after breakfast. Roxy was missing two math books so I had to do some copying as well as do school with Mariela. Rach made chicken pot pie for lunch (by request); it was delicious. During school, I was blessed to see Rosalina helping her sister with her schoolwork and Roxy actually letting her. Rhonda ordered the kids to straighten up their rooms but some of the kids volunterily house-cleaned instead. They did a wonderful job. Around 5:00 p.m. people began trickling in from Mochiqui, church, and the neighbor's house for the Children's Day celebration put on by an adult education group (I think). I got tired of hearing everyone chant: "¡Dále! ¡Dále! ¡Dáaaale!" while each kid took a few wild swings at the piñata. Then the group passed out coke and candy. I was tired of people by then and escaped to the kitchen to help with supper. Rach and I went to the taquería by the plazuela. The food was delicious as always. After eating, we walked around town and took some crazy pictures... and some good ones too.

Thursday, April 29, 2010.

Rach and I took Rosalina with us to get groceries this morning. Rosalina's way of talking makes me laugh and I think I laughed for most of the shopping trip. While we were picking out watermelons from the back of a vendor's truck, I made a comment about the corn he had mixed in with the watermelon. Rosalina said, "Let's steal it," with a giggle. While I was hauling the first watermelon back to the van, Rosalina came up behind me with the second watermelon and an ear of corn. "He gave me this corn!" Chortle. "He probably thought we were going to steal it anyway so he might as well give it to us!" Giggle. She's so crazy. So she went home and made some sort of soup with corn in it. Rodriz from church caught a ride out to the orphanage and helped in the kitchen with lunch prep. I played with Chuy and had a blast; I love the way he talks both English and Spanish. After Cinncinati chili and cornbread for lunch, I helped with cleanup and got the girls started on their schoolwork. Rosalina dictated spelling words for Roxina after Roxina told me, "You speak good Spanish, but you have a HUGE English accent!" I laughed (if you look closely you'll see a compliment wrapped in the insult). I helped to cut up veggies for supper and helped Rosalina with her math homework. I had to feed Chayo while we ate, but I still managed to eat lots. Rach and I went to bed early for once.

Friday, April 30, 2010.

Children's Day: a way over-celebrated holiday in Mexico. I helped Rebecca make pancakes for breakfast. I took my time with school corrections to be as organized as possible on Monday afternoon. I didn't do anything all morning... even waited to do laundry until lunchtime. I took a nap after lunch before I headed over to Mochiqui. I never got far into the village, however. Two elderly ladies sitting in the front yard of a house on the outskirts of the village invited me in for a visit. The ladies struck me as relatively harmless busibodies who pinned all of Mochiqui under a strict gaze. They told me that Ana was in Choix, so after a short visit, I walked home to get ready for the girls' night on the town. A big THANKS to Christa and Janessa who made it possible for Rebecca, Rhonda (and Mariana), Brittany, Rachel, and I to go shopping and out to eat. Because it was Children's Day, town was packed and a parade was filing down main street. We picked up hotdogs and then went to Rod and Christa's empty house to hang out.

Saturday, May 1, 2010.

I tried to be organized and plan my day, but alas, my day was unplannable. I left Saturday school to get groceries with Rachel because we had such a huge list. After class, Mariela told me she was sick. In Spanish, they use the expression "the sickness hit me." I misunderstood Mariela because she was talking so quietly: "The spsdfsf hit me." "Who hit you?" "Hjfdjfe!" "WHO?" Janessa and I went out to eat at Pollo Mayo. As we were devouring grilled chicken, the owner's wife, Gladys, came by with two pieces of cake for us to "try". "There are some advantages to knowing the owner," Janessa remarked dryly. I walked Janessa home and then went up to the plazuela to read and write. I used the phone at Rod and Christa's, and then Rach gave me a ride home on the moto. We had delicious pizza for supper, a real treat! Fernandito dropped his plate and I cleaned off the pizza and handed it back to him. While he was eating the piece, I pointed to it and gasped, "Look! A dog hair!" He paled and scrutinized his pizza before taking another bite. Speaking of Fernandito... Veronica asked to be excused (the kids usually ask in English). She said, "Scoozs?" Before I could say "yes", Fernandito butted in with, "No, Veronica, it's like this: Beh, bih, scoozed?" (May I be excused?). We had dessert and then the kids took a stick to the piñata.