¡Viva México!

By -

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 you in Mexico." Thanks, kid.


15 Sept: Día de la Independencia. We went downtown for El Grito (just like last year). There are vendors selling stuff and music playing, then the governor come out on that balcony in the lighted red, white, and green area behind us and yells the Grito.
 

Here's the wiki summary: 

"The Grito de Dolores occurred in Dolores, Mexico, on 16 September 1810, when Roman Catholic priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla rang his church bell and gave the call to arms that triggered the Mexican War of Independence. The Cry of Dolores is most commonly known by the locals as El Grito de Independencia (The Independence Cry).

"Every year on the eve of Independence Day, the president of Mexico re-enacts the cry from the balcony of the National Palace in Mexico City while ringing the same bell Hidalgo used in 1810. During the patriotic speech, the president calls out the names of the fallen heroes who died during the War of Independence and ends the speech by shouting "¡Viva México!" three times, followed by the Mexican National Anthem."

The same thing is reenacted in every town square all over Mexico. I can't speak for all of them, but in Mérida it's followed by a pretty impressive fireworks show that scares the bejeebers out of all the sleeping grackles. 

Also, the Mexican National Anthem slaps:


17 Sept: Independence Day is more like Independence month. The boys' school had an homenaje de la bandera ceremony this morning. James had a part, marching around a poster his class made.




19 Sept: There's a running joke that for September birthday parties they bring in the cake singing the National Anthem instead of "Happy Birthday." There have also been THREE terrible earthquakes on September 19th (1985, 2017, 2022). Thus:


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Independence Month party continues

By -
Image
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 ...
Read more

Our soul-destroying bathroom remodel in excruciating detail: Nearly done

By -
Image
Lisa writes: Home stretch! I am so confident that this project will be DONE soon that I went ahead and sent out invitations to all our neighbors for our annual block party (May 22, 5-8 p.m. You should come!) Would a person with a non-functioning bathroom do that? I think not. All that's left is this here vent cover... And the bathroom mirror. The countertop, she is lovely, non? As is the unusually high faucet. All the better for Tom to stick his head under as part of his daily ablutions. Please note the one-handed toilet paper holder, and the tiling on the side of the vanity. Yes, Earl tiled the side of the vanity to match the walls. This is because Earl is (a) a perfectionist, (b) cwazy, or (c) Earl has too large a gun collection for me to comment. Light fixture. The hole in the wall is the previous location of the old light. Everything in this bathroom is high and tall: high vanity, extra thick counter top, extra tall shower doors, extra high mounted light fixture. The overall ef...
Read more

"If I had known, I would have become a locksmith." Albert Einstein

By -
Lisa writes: We had friends visit for lunch yesterday, and while we boring grown-ups talked and talked at the table, the 5 and 3 year old explored the house and found the stationary bicycle. Moments later, the 5 and 3 year old began fighting and crying over the stationary bicycle so I, in my infinite wisdom, pushed the "lock" button on the doorknob of that room and closed the door. Problem solved ... until later that night when we wanted to open the door. There is a little hole on the exterior knob which, presumably, you stick some sort of implement into to unlock the door, but we lack this implement and nothing else in the house -- and I mean NOTHING, 'cause we tried EVERYTHING -- will work. Tom loves me anyway, and we will both love whomever we find at Home Depot tonight who can point us to the right tool.
Read more