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.