Lisa n Tom (n James n Joseph)

I follow a bunch of Spanish reels on Facebook because, honestly, the things to learn about a language are literally infinite. Back when we first arrived, I called something " chevere " which meant (and continues to mean) "awesome" 30 years ago in the Dominican Republic. A younger person we were with laughed and explained that it sounds like calling something "groovy" nowadays, i.e. I am old. So, for any other oldheads out there, here's the new, cool way of calling something awesome: We had a meeting at the boy's school an hour after dropoff and it's clear across town, so we went to a nearby restaurant to have breakfast and wait. This is some nice thick toast with eggs Benedict on top and a blueberry salad. It was all good, but the standout was the drink. It's dragon fruit lemonade. Try this at home sometime. Peel and blend a dragon fuit with lemonade. The color is spectacular. (And all the little seeds at the bottom help you poo. (Sorry-not...

God bless Primary teachers. Honestly. They are the most angelic people on earth, in Mexico and everywhere else we've ever been.  Our loyal troop of Primary leaders and teachers organize activities almost every Wednesday, on top of lessons and singing time every Sunday. This week's activity was a cooking class. They mixed up ingredients for no-bake cookies and then rolled them in sprinkles.  It wasn't quite as messy as you'd expect.

On Tuesdays, the Museo de la Luz in Parque La Plancha is free and Joseph and I were looking for something to do in the rain. The exhibits are largely designed and staffed by local college students and they rotate every few months.  The current one is about emotions. We were directed upstairs to the General Office of Fears, where a uniformed attendant helped Joseph fill out a questionnaire about things he was afraid of. Then Joseph was directed to a private table to draw a picture of his fears (which he didn't have to show anybody). And then it was time to carefully slide the completed form and picture into a big, very securely locked trunk where the General Office of Fears would keep it locked up forever so Joseph never has to worry about it again. And then we went to the crafts room and drew and tried on people-sized paper doll clothes.

Background: Joseph's middle name is Manuel. His classmates have started calling him by his middle name because it's easier for them to pronounce and he's fine with it. Mexican's tend to shorten names, so "Manuel" becomes "Manu." Fast forward to the Sunday morning bike ride downtown. The first Sunday of every month, they close off a bunch of streets and you can rent bikes to ride around. It's called the Biciruta.  I was riding behind Joseph when a woman called out "Pasando izquierda mano." We let her pass, and Joseph slowed down to comment to me, in an awed voice, "How does EVERYBODY know my name?"

 It rains also most every day in September, which means we see a lot of these:

This Tesla: These pants. I was sorely tempted to pick them up for Tom. Along with this shirt. This Joseph. James's muscles, yes, but read the description on the "Gringa" sandwich at Subway. This is what they think of us. (And they're not wrong.) Milo, the neighbor's puppy, has twice just come over and invited himself in. It's maybe not the best manners, but it's always a delightful surprise. They're fixing up one of the roundabouts ( glorietas ) we frequently pass. Read the sign. "Chula" is slang for "cute" so "Enchulando esta glorieta" means they're "cutifying the roundabout." File "enchulando" under the category of "not really a word, but it should be." Ran across a whole store full of Chinese knock-off Pokémon stuffies. Joseph was in heaven.

Joseph has really gotten into skateboarding lately. He got a board and has been figuring it out on his own for a couple of weeks and this past week we found a class for him to join. The name of the training group is on on the board below, right above the chicken:  Here's the scene outside of the skate shop: He is VERY excited about his new board. "Mom, take a below and after." Before:  After:

23 Sept: Ward Independence Day party on a Wednesday night (???)  Photospot Games and prizes: Tacos (these ladies are serving up the cochinita) And comradery   We left a little after 8 p.m. because they boys have to be up a 6 a.m. for school, but pics sent out on the ward chat afterwards showed that it turned into a dance party around 10 p.m.! 24 Sept: Neighborhood celebration. We live in a section of town called Chuburná de Hidalgo which used to be its own city. As part of the general patriotic goings-on of the month, they had a history celebration in the town square tonight. Dancers, music, people selling treats, and a slideshow by a local historian. This is also the park where Joseph's parkour class also sometimes comes out to do outdoor practices. So imagine Joseph doing flips off that blue wall. You can share in some of my heart attacks. 25 Sept: And as long as we're celebrating, it's my birthday! 26 Sept: Merida is about 20 minutes away from Progresso beach. The big ...

13 Sept: Ok, this is a long story to make a small point about trying to communicate in a foreign country: In church, Joseph was supposed to bring a bunch of little pieces of paper for some kind of class activity. Neither of us remembered until right before the class and the only paper I had was a sheet he'd been drawing on earlier. I quickly tore it into squares and sent him into class. Somehow, the teacher misinterpreted this as "Joseph brought a puzzle for the class to assemble" and THAT became the class activity. The author Bill Bryson describes living in a foreign country as living in a constant state of bewilderment. He's pretty much dead on. 14 Sept: Hey, there's a Krispy Kreme in Mérida. We checked out the donut conveyor belt and then bought a dozen (and kinda made ourselves sick eating them all). One donut didn't get flipped as it went through the cooking oil and came out white and underdone on one side. Joseph observed, "Hey Mom, that one's y...