Farewell, Youth Ambassadors!

Hiiiii! today was the goodbye-breakfast with all of the 46 youth ambassadors, culminating the youth ambassador exchange program for the summer. ;(( I had a wonderful time these past two weeks with the new friends I made from the lovely 10 sister cities, and I will miss each one very dearly. Thanks to misty + all the parents who helped out and to all the ambassadors for giving me a new perspective on everything...and always a great laugh! I will always keep these memories true to my heart, and I hope we can keep in touch and someday be together again! again, if any prospective YAs have questions, email me at raeraeaaron@cox.net or text me at 6023218409 and I will do my best to help you out. bye !

here are a few photos from these last two weeks and the top one is our last group one from today:)

city hall

disneyland

mexican food

halloween celebration

adios from méxico

I'm here to say my final goodbye from Mexico. The sun has set on day 21, our last day as Youth Ambassadors to Hermosillo from Phoenix! these past three weeks have been unbelievably, incredibly awesome, and I am so beyond lucky to have had this experience. 

Before I jump into my last post/update of this afternoon, I want to say thank you. First, to everyone reading this...there's no way I would have updated it if it were only for myself (lazyyyy), and I hope you enjoyed it and were able to get a feel for the experience I was having, from sitting on the couch complaining about how bored I was, to raving about the food, people, and fun activities in which we participated. Sorry for typos and confusing posts...I never proofread, so it may have been dyscombobulated at times! Next, I would like to thank Phoenix Sister Cities for giving me this opportunity to immerse myself in a fabulous culture in a welcoming sister city that is not only close literally, but that has a strong bond with phoenix respect the usa as much as we respect our neighbor to the south. Thanks, Laurel and Haley, for being the most funny and all-around best friends I could have met this summer (LOVE YOU GUYS). Lastly, thank you to the Silvas, my outstanding, caring, and hilarious host family who accomodated me and made these three weeks the best and best and best ever. Zyanya, I don't know if you're reading this, but I could not have wished for a better counterpart, and I can't wait for our program in phoenix to start next week! 

Here it goes: This afternoon, when Zyanya woke up (well she was never really sleeping), Luisa opened a bag of chips and put them on the table. I have always criticized smokers and such for voluntarily doing something that hurts them, but now I sort of understand. The chips they buy are SUPER PICOSO (super spicy) like reaalllyy spicy my head is on fire hot. But somehow they taste good, and I continue to eat them, slowly of course, and then go running across the kitchen to the water jug to chug some water, which never helps, but distracts me. I really just need to not eat those so I don't have to suffer ugh. Anyway, then we went into the family room and turned on a movie called Wake Up, which was the weirdest movie I have ever seen. It was about a man who was seeing the supernatural and spirits so weird my gosh. So then luisa of course opened a bag of non-spicy chips! Why couldn't she do that before when I was dying?? Oh well, it all worked out. We watched for awhile, and then luisa's mom picked up luias and haley. Zyanya and I hung out for a few hours, until we left to eat (I can't call it lunch it was 5pm) at Chilli's (yes, the chain there are a billion chain restaraunts here, and they have BLOCKBUSTER it still exists!! I even took a picture but then realized how silly that was). Anyway, after we ate, Luisa's mom took us over to a friend's house (I remember him from zyanya and pamela's party) where we met laurel and pamela. It was super fun, we hung out for awhile the three of us americans, and then went swimming and talked to all the other kids. They give us a bunch of attention, and are all super fun and nice. And the home was beautiful, right near the park where we ran last week, and everyone was having a lot of fun. They enjoy asking us to pronounce words, and like to test our vocabulary. They always expect laurel to speak spanish, and then are surprised when I know the words...it's so weird, since we told them she doesn't speak it and i do! Some kids I can understand perfectly and some I can't understand at all. Also, when they make jokes, I'm completely clueless, so we just try to laugh along and see if they explain it. They could literally be saying anything ahhah. At 10:45 we left, which was super early for us compared to usually, but we had a good time. 

It was kind of nostalgic that the national soccer team finally lost on our last day, but it was a blast watching the games with them. I definately have a permanent place in my heart for the Mexican soccer team, especially Ochoa (the goalie, so cute). I hope they do better next time, but now I can still cheer and hope for the USA to win on tuesday...oh gosh. 

I had many highlights of this adventure, and I will say this trip accomplished everything it was designed to, and for me personally, it accomplished even more. I expected to have fun, share american culture while learning about mexican culture, and build friendships that will last forever. We definately accomplished all of that, but I learned so much more. First of all, people are people. No matter what culture and nationality they associate with, the color of their skin, their sex or age, we all have feelings and expression, and can relate to and communicate with one another. Each person I spoke to was different from every other, and what I've realized is that it is ultimately the individuals who compose a city and a nation, but that no single stereotype or description can capture the spirit of a people. What I have found, in this beautiful culture, is that what matters the most is that we each be the best we can be and enjoy what we have, because there is no best culture or best land, but there are great people in many places...the ones who embrace life and enjoy spreading happiness to others. This program has shipped American teenagers, 23 of my favorite people, all over the world, and by the end of this summer, each of us will have new friends, new stories to tell, and a new realization of what it means to be a citizen of this earth, connecting globally and thriving locally. 

Thanks, again, for reading my blog and hopefully learning/experiencing this great city of hermosillo with me! I am trying to get zyanya to keep a blog, which would be fun for you to read, but it would be en español haha. future ambassadors, if you have questions about yaep or hermosillo, please feel free to contact me raeraeaaron@cox.net ;)

Signing off from mexico for the last time. Adios!!!!

ps I always say I will try to post pics, but I never do, so if I get around to it, maybe I will next week when I'm home. but then again, don't count on it. 

¡el ÚLTIMA día!

WOWW TODAY IS OUR LAST DAY IN HERMOSILLO!!! It felt like three weeks for sure, but I can't believe it's actually over. We made so many great memories and learned so much through our immersion ! 

Well, why stop now—I still have today and anoche to cover! Yesterday, in the afternoon, Macrina, Zyanya, and I walked to the Soriana (mega grocery store outside their community) so I could buy a mexico team shirt (and one for laurel), but they only had men's XLs, so we ditched it and tried two other stores, too, but neither of them had what we were looking for, so we bailed and went home. Zyanya fell asleep in the car, so I felt bad that she had to come! Also, at the third store we tried, we parked right across from a yogurt place called Joy Cherry and I really wanted to go because it was so hot out, but I obviously wasn't going to ask that would be so rude ahh. Afterward, we went back to the house and hung out until 8:40 when luisa's friend came with luisa and haley to take us to Cristina's surprise going-away party. The party was really fun, and I love cristina, so I will miss her. Her mom is the german one I was talking to at the prom, and cristina is moving to germany where her mom's family is for a year (I may have already said that oops), which is going to be such an awesome experience! 

i spent most of the night hanging out with haley, since neither of us recognized many people that we knew, but it was a small gathering, and no one was really dancing (which was fortunate for us!). They played mostly american music (miley cyrus and bieber and other pop), which is comforting, but funny that we're the only ones who know the lyrics to some of the songs! We ate nachos and pizza (well I didn't eat pizza since it was pepperoni), but I wasn't very hungry anyway. We left at 12:30 to make sure we wouldn't be too tired for a run to raise awareness for something—I think drug abuse?—but we didn't go becaue it was so early this morning, and it's our last day. 

This morning, we have just watched soccer. Mexico should have won, but unfortunately it was a loss, and we all ate breakfast at 11am and now are just moping around and hanging out. We don't have any plans for today (OUR LAST ONE), so haley has been hinting around that we should see a movie or go somewhere, but zyanya is sleeping on the couch and luisa is watching vines, so maybe later? I hope! Okayyyy well, here are some general thoughts about the trip for fun, and I will compose my last post tonight. 

Also, I wanted to mention the fact that when we pull up to a stoplight, homeless (maybe just very poor) people and children are performing tricks lick juggling, or just selling food to make money. It's crazy, I've never seen that before! Zyanya always gives them coins, and when Luisa's mom was walking past two homeless men after the factory, she gave them each a pastry, which is so kind. Some people are ignorant, but not our host families. 

Some Mexican things I'm going to miss:

-speaking spanish and spanglish (zyanya and i have mastered spanglish), all of their adorable and amazing friends, Rhon (the dog), Macrina's awesome food, running in the beautiful park across from Regis Prep, family fútbol games (even though mexico just lost WAAAAH), the kiss on the cheek (people here actually acknowledge each other with more than an awkward wave or handshake), getting away with being a clueless foreigner, getting in the car and having no idea where we're going (not that I have anything against surprises), and no scorpions (somehow they don't have them here but there are tons of cockroaches idk). 

Some things I'm looking forward to in the usa:

-hot showers (and water pressure), american dessert (brownies specifically), speaking english (love spanish, but yeah, I miss it), cold soda and drinks, air conditioning (surprisingly, I miss the cold front that overcomes me when I step indoors in the summer in the us), eating three meals a day (no more morning feast and lunch at 4 haha), data roaming, being reunited with delilah, and food without spice (yes!)

HALEY IS AWESOME

bye for now! ciao! 

zyanya and sahroma were just a bit disappointed at the end of the game :(

mario sent me this of rhon haha

from last night! cristina is on my right, then haley, luisa, and zyanya !

just because ;) zyanya is sleeping beauty 

Friday continued

Whoops, I meant to finish friday earlier, but I became distracted and ended up doing my laundry and packing my suitcase (which wasn't too hard, since I never really unpacked)! Now, we're watching Up in spanish while waiting for the pizza we ordered for lunch (yes, it is 4:40), which actually became a bit of a hassle, since they're used to piling meat toppings on, and all I can eat is cheese with vegatables. Apparently it's uncommon here to just eat cheese pizza, so Mario compromised by adding tomato and pinapple with extra cheese. I guess I will have my first pineapple pizza now! It was nice of them to order that, I never knew pizza-eating norms were variable from country to country!! 

Now for yesterday: we started off the day early, leaving for a flower factory, La Fama de Molina (i think), at 8:50 for our info session and tour. The factory is the oldest in Hermosillo, and is the largest flower-supplier in the area. We learned that it even supplies flour to Cali and Az. Anyway, the whole experience from start to end was amazing, and I think it definately ranks at the top of the list for my favorite activities here. We met the Hermosillo committeman whose family is an owner of the company, and who is friends with Anna Elena. We took a tour of the whole factory, and were able to see the old machinery that will become a museum in 5 years, and the new machinery as it was producing and refining, packaging and wrapping the flour. IT WAS SO COOL! And hot, super hot and embarrassing how much I was sweating ahh! The tour ended in the school where the factory educates people to work in the bakeries of supermarkets and employs adults with down syndrome and women who are either abused...darn I can't remember. There, we didn't get to see anyone baking the pastries that they use the flower for, but they allowed us to try different pastries that had just been baked, and we also took some back with us. I have definately not tasted many pastries quite as amazing as those. 

When we got back, we hung out for awhile, and I did some work, until we left the house at 5:30 with Laurel and Pamela, to head to one of Luisa's mom's friend's houses on a ranch to go swimming and hang out. We drove out of the city the same way we did to go to Ures, the pueblo where we ate lunch last week, but when we were turning off the highway onto a dirt road that leads to the ranch house, Macrina accidentally turned too early, and we unfortunately edned up driving down the dirt road into a ditch! It was actually a wash, with a steep dirt road cutting across it, but it was too steep to drive out, so after trying to push it for awhile, and then again with the help of Luisa's mom and her friend, they finally took laurel and me to the ranch and waved down a tow truck! What bad luck! It was funny, though (not so much for macrina ;( or for her car), and we were joking that it builds character and creates some funny memories, which it definately did! 

Laurel and I were still able to hang out with Haley and Luisa's family at the ranch home. It was very beautiful, house and pool, and they had a newborn horse and an adorable dog. It was a really nice time, and I'm so glad we were able to go! 

Luisa's mom then dropped Laurel and me off at Zyanya's to change for the going-away party Zyanya and Pamela were throwing (zyanya to cuernavaca and pamela moving to Chihuahua). It was really fun, and sad at the same time, as their high school chapter is ending and this is their last party all together:(. Although, tonight, there might be a surprise going-away party for Cristina, who is moving for a year to germany! I can't believe it! WEll, that's it for yesterday, and today was pretty relaxing, not much happening. We may head to Liverpool so I can buy a mexico shirt. Adios, amigos :)

this is the beautiful ranch home

dos días de divertirnos! t-3 to PHX :(

I have been way busy for blogging, but I'm now devoting this time, and I'll start with Thursday, then Friday!

Throwup Thursday (it's a good thing!)

We started off the morning watching usa come centimeters from elimination from FIFA. This time we actually in every way lost, but the funny part is that a loss somehow was still a win, because we're advancing! WOO USA. I've been unsuccessfully looking for a MEX team shirt this whole month, and now that Cris said he found one in Israel, I think I better start looking harder! hahaa anyway, I was still happy and it was nice that the silvas were watching it with me and cheering for the usa...Zyanya even got up early with me, even though she fell asleep on the couch, which I don't blame her for. 

At 2:30pm, Macrina drove the bunch of us over to la Econectura, which was a super blast. I'm still honestly not sure what it is myself, but I'll do my best to explain. After driving out of HMO and down some dirt roads that wove through farms and ranches (what's the difference?), we ended up at a beautiful red-orange building, which was a hotel. By then, I was practically asleep from the ride, and when i got out of the car, I was so dizzy I probably looked so confused! In the vicinity, there were cows, sheep, horses, and two ponds. We ate lunch at a beautiful little table by one of the ponds, which was really delicious. everyone had chicken and I had fish, and both were great! We then went into a pool that looked like a water fountain, but that actually had a slide that funneled into the pond. We all hung out in the pond (it was a big pond, but I always kept my feet in close, because it was so murky that we practically couldn't see our hands right under the surface) for about two hours, which was a blast, because the water was warm and there were paddle boats, a floating trampoline that we catapulted off of, and paddle boards to keep us busy. Laurel and I tried to get onto sarhoma's paddle board, but once we were all on, it started sinking (maybe fewer burros for me), and when laurel and I tried to get off, it flipped and we all fell in...pobre sarhóma! 

At 6pm, we all changed and were able to horse-back ride on two horses that they brought from the barn. I love horses they were so cute and sweet!! We each rode the horse down a little trail by the pond and back. The guy who was leading my horse was really nice, and he tried to speak english to me, even though I was speaking spanish. I think a lot of people have trouble understanding my spanish, while others want to practice their english. 

We hung out after that in a little playground area and on a field until about 8:40 when we packed up and headed back. Haley was doing backbends and tried to teach us, but I really think my back would have snapped in half I'm so inflexible! We were eating some chips we brought, but they were so spicy that my mouth was burning like crazy oops maybe I should have taken a hint from the big chillie on the front of the bag. I don't have any pictures of that because my camera was broken, which is really a shame, but I will try to steal some from laurel and haley's phones. The good thing is that now my camera is fixed (thanks to LUisa's sister and mom!), so if we do anything exciting today or tomorrow I will document it. 

I will start a new post for friday (yesterday) just in case it deletes this :)

día 18! Muchas actividades en la ciudad hermosa

I'm blogging and watching the usa-germany game, so this may take awhile! If we give up another goal, we're eliminated oh no! GO USA! Speaking of soccer, I really want to buy a mexico soccer shirt, and macrina said she knows somewhere that we can get one yessss. 

At about 5pm yesterday, the six of us and Macrina headed to the plaza saragosa for the trolleybus tour. Our tourguide was very nice, and spoke in english for Haley and Laurel. She tought us a lot of history about the city and the plaza! she also asked us some questions about phoenix, which I thought was cool, since she was also wanting to learn. Fernando, the young man who lead us around in the morning, also came, and was very nice. It's weird, because sometimes it doesn't even occur to me which language people speak, since I'm getting used to speaking in spanish! At first, I was nervous to speak in spanish in fear of embarrassing myself or in fear that they wouldn't understand me, but I think I'm improving. 

We rode around on the trolley for awhile, and the tourguide made sure we stayed ingaged by giving us periodic quizzes—she wasn't about to allow any afternoon siestas on that tour ;). it was a great activity for the last week, because we drove past many places that I had already visited, but hadn't completely understood and I was able to get a sense of the layout of the center city since I'm very location and direction-oriented but haven't been able to use GPS (I always go back to the house and try to locate everything on the map by where we drove, but things don't exactly look the same from above and street-view, so it hasn't been a success). 

At one point, we jumped off the Trolleybus at a shop in a skinny, old-looking street with the word "Coyotas" written on the walls and store signs. That part of town retained a lot of history from the people who originally inhabited parts of hermosillo, at a time when there was actually water flowing through the city! One of the rivers used to mark the border of the city, but once it became easier to cross, the city expanded. Anyway, when we got out, I was not prepared for the delishous smell and sight of the cookiies (ahh don't remember the name) that they cook there! She showed us the huge oven where they cook them (up to 10000 a day during the holidays when they use all 3 ovens), and we had a chance to buy some to try. We were all sweating as if we had swam in a river (we apparently came 20years late for the river), so most of us tried the ice cream one. I had vanilla, and it was the best thing I have ever tried from a bakery in a long time. It was pretty big, but I pretty much had no choice but to eat it all, or else I would have had melted vanilla ice cream on my arms (so much for that cross country diet, but it was totally worth it)! 

Once we finished the tour, we had 40min to kill until our dinner reservation at a patio-restaraunt scheduled for 8 (which we were actually on time for!!). We walked around and went up into the plaza that commemerates hermo's 200th anniversary (the one macrina and mario took me to a few days ago). We ended up spending most of our time in the gift shop, which is the same one as before, so I had another chance to observe the crafts after learning about the history some more. I bought a dream catcher with beads the mexican colors (red, green, white) and a small drum key-chain for my bro louis (hi, louis, if you're reading this, but I kind of have a feeling you're not!). I also helped Laurel buy hers, since the employee didn't speak english, but the lady told me 60pesos and of course I totally butchered it and told Laurel 70pesos, so that was super embarassing! The other day, a friend accidentally said his daughter was 80 instead of 18, which was funny to me (well we were all laughing) especially because I always confuse my nubers in spanish haha. Then, we went back to the top to take pictures during the sunset, which happens to be one of Misty's challenges yay! Sunsets here are pretty like phoenix's. 

Dinner was fun, also. It was more relaxing, because we were just eating and hanging out. We were so thirsty! I definately need to remind myself to stay hydrated ugh. I sat between haley and laurel, even though I was really hoping we would stop segregating ourselves at meals between the phoenicians and hermosillians! It's tough, though, with the language barrier. We were joined by pamela's family and zyanya's family, plus Anna Elena who organized it (I believe!) and a committee member who is going to bring us to a factory next week. He was very niice and had good english, except I tried to make a joke, and I don't think he understood it, so that was awkward for me and confusing for him ahah! Later, at like 10, a man started to play live music on a stage behind us, which was nice. He was actually quite talented! Anyway, today we are going somewhere for many hours, so I'll talk about it when I get back :).

I uploaded my photos to z's computer so I could take pictures yesterday, but my hard drive said the card was full, but then said there were no photos when I tried to empty it, so I might not be able to take any more photos with the storage issue on my phone:(. I was thinking about getting a disposable camera, but then again, mine wasn't able to get developed last time because the machine messed up, so maybe i'll just enjoy the memories for the last few days! 

okayy bye hasta la vista! 

I forgot to talk about lunch yesterday, which was delishiously amazing as always, but here is the dessert of carrots and apple! it was interesting (good, just new for me) and Macrina kindly told me how to make it at home. I think I"ll try, maybe with Zyanya's help ! 

conocimos el alcalde!!

Best luck! Two days ago, I didn't get to take a picture of lunch because I didn't have storage on my phone, but when we ended up eating the same thing yesterday, so I took a pic that time, one of my lunch with chicken and one of Macrina's with beef and sour cream. 

I can't remember the last post I did...I guess I should check on that so I don't skip or repeat! Ok so after lunch yesterday, at about 5, we met the crew at the art museum of sonora to see the art and so Edith (luisa's mom) could photograph Luisa and Haley since she's a professional photographer. I'm not sure which was the main reason;). 

The museum was not at all what we had expected. First of all, it was HOTHOTHOT in there...I thought museums were supposed to be cold!! And, the art was very modern, mostly sculptures and some sound effects with videos. Macrina and I for sure didn't appreciate the art, I mean I may be missing something, but a pile of sand on a table with more sand in piles on the ground just doesn't do it for me like a great painting does. At one point, Zyanya and I walked into a room that looked like it may have been under construction, but then again, the broom and trash on the ground may have been art work I guess I will never know. It was nice of them to take us, though, and I hope they took some cool photos! As we were all heading into the last exhibit, I was walking at the back of the group with Luisa's sister. Right before we passed through the door, the old woman working there shut the door in front of the two of us (without bothering to say anything)! So I said, in spanish, excuse me may we please go in? And she said no, since they were closing in 10 minutes. It was so weird...we were all in a group and she cut off two of us ! It was kind of funny when the woman was standing there outside the door with us while everyone else walked around. Finally, she left (clocked in, I guess) and another employee let us in, which was nice haha. 

Then, we stopped off at a shop for tea. It was good tea, but there was stuff floating in it, so we weren't exactly sure why and just drank it. I guess some tea is made that way? We were all a bit tired, and it was already 8:40pm when we headed back. We were going to swim in Luisa's pool, but we were tired and decided not to. 

Macrina took me to the park again today! I had a great workout, and it was nice and peaceful, since the parents who drop off their children at school across the street are no longer there at that time. I ran for 30min and started to stretch in the middle as I waited for Macrina, and on our way back, she said we only worked out for 30min, which surprised me, because I thought she was trying to get back to make Mario's breakfast. Maybe I'll run for longer next time now that I know! I'm glad we got to go, though. 

As usual, I shower and wait a few hours until Zyanya wakes up around 10:30, and we go eat breakfast. Today we had our fruit and yogurt with pizza. I was SO hungry, because last night I only had a piece of bread for dinner, so I pretty much hadn't eaten since 5pm until breakfast :(. We watched a really cute movie last night in spanish! I surprisingly understood most of it...movies definately help me learn the language. 

During breakfast, Macrina was looking at her phone to find out the plan for today (the activities that were planned for most of the trip were canceled or pushed back), and she recieved a message that we would be meeting the mayor at 12!!! So, we changed and I wrote a card in spanish to accompany the gift (suns signed Dragic jersery). SpanishDict is a loyal friend of mine, but I thankfully didn't need to rely on it very much, since my spanish has improved. I hope he likes the card it was pretty nice;). Anyway, we were in the car running super late, but by the time we got there it turned out to be fine. We met up with anna elena, who is very sweet, and showed us around a bit and explained the situation and what would happen. we took a bunch of pictures (ahahh im so un photogenic!!) with and without the mayor. He was super nice, but I think he was sad, because someone from his department had died yesterday and the mayor had just met with his son :(. He was a VERY nice and genuine guy, and anna lena translated his words to english as best she could for haley and laurel, since they don't know spanish. i'm so so glad I do, though, because it was and has been a huge help here (and lots of fun) to be able to speak and understand conversations...and understand the mayor directly. We saw the statue that the phoenix committee gave to hermosillo as a sister city gift, and it was pretty, so we took a pic next to it! I had a chance to wear my new, favorite white shoes, so that made up for the fact that we were all sweating in the heat. It was a reallly fun and cool time. the mayor complimented my spanish! I guess all those spanish sessions have been worth it, finally! Yay! He did speak some english, but wasn't very confident and was limited, so he stuck to spanish, which was probably a good idea, especially since the only english-only people were laurel and haley (there were other employees in the room who probs didn't speak english). 

After, we walked around another government building for about 30minutes, taking pictures and exploring. it was GORGEOUS! the building was white and ancient from the outside, and had outstanding murals that related to Sonora on the exterior walls and ceilings of the courtyard, done by a famous artist who has passed away. We explored the room where the mayor's large meetings are, which was adorned with detailed decorations and portraits lined the walls with the faces of previous mayors (I believe). We also walked onto the balcony that the mayor waves to the people from (I'm guessing, I mean what else would he do up there!). That was it, and it was a nice time! 

Now, we are back at the house. Zyanya is sweeping the floor, and macrina and sarhoma are cooking. Maybe they will let me help, but I think I would get in the way and mess up the food haha we'll see:). Tonight we will head back to the plaza at 6pm to ride the trolley. 

Fun stuff! Stay cool! 

view from the church at the park where I run 

letter i gave to the mayor. Hope there aren't too many mistakes omg

días 15 y 16!

I didn't get to post last night, because it was late! Here's a synopsis of what happened:

Yesterday morning: I read but was very very bored. Everyone was working and cleaning, but they don't let me help!!

Yesterday 1pm: mexico soccer game came on. it was a really frustrating first hour after a few hand-balls from croatia that weren't called! But then mexico scored three goals in a row, so the silvas were super hyped! Right after the third goal, the electricity in the house cut out and so did the tv signal! it was crazy, but super fun. We were all laughing about how animated the mexico coach is compared especially to the plastic croatian coach. 

Yesterday 4pm: we ate a delicious traditional mexican meal that Macrina cooked for lunch that she wanted me to try. I unfortunately didn't have enough storage on my phone to take any photos, but it was a tostito cracker of about a 2cm radius smeared with beans, to which we added lettuce and meat (chicken in my case) and sprinkled cheese. They also added chilies and sour cream! So good oh my gosh...I hope she knows how much I liked it, because I didn't eat a second one since the soup was also filling. It was a super rich chicken broth with rice! Lunch was nice, and it's fun to be with the whole family. Even though she doesn't speak english, macrina always makes an effort to explain jokes and conversations that I don't understand. 

Yesterday 6pm: zyanya and I left with her parents to go sightseeing at sunset (well we would have gone earlier if it weren't for the heat!!). We went first to Mario's workplace, which I believe is the federal courthouse, but we were just there so he could pick something up. We stopped at a number of government buildings to look around and take pictures. Much like phoenix, most of the buildings here were built within the last 100 or so years, so it's not like we were visiting ancient castles, but it was cool and fun anyway (cool as in neat not as in cold). We also stopped in an old church, and since they are catholic, they gave me a tour and explained the different saints and pointed out ceremonial items. We talk a lot about religion, which is fun and awesome to learn about new religions while teaching others about judaism. Macrina is familiar with a small fine arts college in the federal area, so she showed us around there. Afterward, we grabbed some respados (icies) from the place we always go to get food and snacks (and those bags of tostitos!). There, we ran into christina and her friends. They were all very nice. 

That's it for yesterday! We just hung around with some friends last night, which was fun, because some of them I hadn't met yet, even though it is cool how we've become closer with some of their friends. 

Today, all we have done is eaten breakfast! Instead of a sandwitch today (thank goodness I was feeling so guilty about not eating the meat and couldn't bring myself to complain), Macrina made a traditional mexican dish called nevermind I don't know, but it was made of something nevermind ahh I have no idea it was just a bit spicy and had a mushy texture but delicious flavor. If i had to guess, I would say it was soggy chips with salsa and tortilla and other stuff? She said she only put in 3 chilies, but for mario she adds 10 holy cow. I would probably choke! That would be an easy way to assassinate me! 

After we ate, instead of cleaning up right away, Macrina and Zyany and I chatted about all sorts of things including the program and differences between mexico and the usa. We laughed a lot, and I learned some interesting things. Macrina loves to tell me about Tasco, the town she is from, which is a touristy tropical area near cuernavaca, where Zyanya is from. They wish I could have stayed in Cuerna with them, since there are apparently sooo many things to do! I feel bad that they feel bad because they think I am bored since there isn't much to do here in Hermo. I hope they know what a great time I'm having when we are doing things, even just chatting. I hope someday I can visit them in cuernavaca!! Zyanya will be attending the university there next year, and will stay with her grandma while helping to watch for her younger cousins. I'm very excited for her, and I can't wait to hear about it. The girl I mentioned a bunch of times, Kristina, who ran with us and whose mother I spoke to at prom, is going to Germany (woah almost wrote Alemania) next year to study, which I think is hard for zyanya, knowing she will be away from her friends. But they're great girls and will make friends fast I'm sure! On our way to the park this morning, Macrina said it makes her sad to go that route, because it's the way she would drive zyanya and sarhoma to high school and then walk in the park which is just directly across the street. I definately know that feeling, and I think she will miss Zyanya. Anyway, we spoke about a bunch of other things, and if I remember something interesting, I will then try to remember to mention it. Oh, yeah. Ok so we were talking about Hermosillo's close proximity to the USA and phoenix, and how the us has influenced hermosillo and the difference between hermosillo and the heart of mexico. Macrina explained that Hermosillo is more of a sleepy little city, and that I must go down south to the corazon of mexico to really get a sense of the land and the people of this great country. After Mexico's futbol victory yesterday, we saw hundreds of fanatic citizens storm the central plaza in Mexico City in celebration from the television. I think they wished we could have been there to celebrate, too, and so did I, but we had a fun time, and I could feel the patriotism in hermosillo, too. 

Now it's 1pm! OMG! I am going to do something productive now, and I'll post my pics once I upload them, but I might wait until I get home to avoid inconveniencing sarhoma or zyanya. Hasta luego!

Fotografías de mi teléfono

Park at ures

Sunset on way back from ures!

Graduation ceremony from Mario's phone

Mario is a great photographer when his fingers aren't covering the lense

Pre-prom but we were rushing so Zyanya isn't smiling (don't worry she was happy!)

Lunch yesterday! 

Pear dessert

field trip!! 2/3

The USA lost today. It was awful (like any loss). I was sitting next to zyanya on a bench at a table in front of a flat-screen tv (which must have been the most technologically-advanced piece of equipment within 50 miles, beside Mario's camera) in a tiny but adorable pueblo 49min away from Hermosillo when Portugal tied the game 2-2 in the last minute. First of all, it is tough already being the only American, since it feels like everyone is watching me to see how I react to this and that, and ontop of it, I think other people in the restaraunt were rooting for Portugal. I mean they pretty expect me to be gung-ho about this soccer match my country is playing in when I don't even know all the rules to a game that's totally out of my control! They don't realize we aren't soccer fanatics like mexicans are. I was kind of glad to have only seen the end, because watching sports stresses me out. And, they kept saying that it was fine that we tied, but if we didn't win, we lost...so I guess both teams lost. Pessimistic, but true! 

Here's some background. At 2:45pm, Zyanya's parents, zyanya, family friends, and I left for Urus to grab lunch. The pueblo was adorable, and the drive through the desert looked just like the drive to Tucson (well we are in the same desert right), except there seemed to be a slight difference in the brownness of the bushes from SoAz (if they have SoCal, we can totally have SoAz) that only a phoenician would detect. The drive was a little bumpy at times... note to city officials: if you desperately want to slow down traffic, construct 50 speed bumps in a row each 10 feet apart (it works!!). Plus, it can even make the passengers feel sick!

When we pulled into the little restaraunt, I was glad Macrina had suggested I bring my camera! It was so cute and traditional-looking. We took a few pictures together, and I took some of the restaraunt (but they're on my camera still). I ate a burro with chicken (burrito) which was delishous it also had guacamole and vegetables yay so good! Before my drink came, I tried the salsa, and had to repress my tears as the chilllies stung my throat. We were with two thirteen-year-old girls, and I was already embarassing myself by trying to speak to them in spanish! It was fun, though. Zyanya always asks me for words that are hard to say in english, but it was so hard to think of some! 

After that, we stopped off at a park where a band was playing. There were games and bounce-houses for kids, so we hung out and ate popsicles. It was nice and really fun. I was going to dance with Macrina, but we didn't, which was probably for the better. Then we drove back and watched Clueless, which was cute. Mario asked why we were watching a movie in english since that wasn't exactly giving me a feel of Mexico, but it was pretty realistic since they really do watch movies often with spanish subtitles! 

Later, I read a NYT article on the futbol game that I literally watched and acted like I didn't care about (I need to stop telling myself I don't care) and looved the article itself. It was written by Sam Borden, and I just have to include this cool sentence as a part in remembering my mexico experience (sorry!!). "It was a thunderous strike, the ball whizzing over Dempsey—who wisely ducked—and curling devilishly in a way that even the Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo would have to admire. Jones sprinted to the sideline as the ball nestled into the side netting, pounding the U.S. Soccer crest on his jersey as his teammates erupted."  Ahah such great writing! andd he finished the article with this quotation from one of the usa players, "I think we like to do things the hard way. It's the American way." On the other hand, I feel like the point in my opening the times was to read something meaningful about the world, but I guess the Times is always biased one way or another, so when I agree with the bias (toward the US), it is fine to read about sports. If that made sense. But it does seem wrong that I and so many others pass over the news for FIFA. 

Well, that's it for tonight, and this took so long, because I'm working on only pushing the spacebar with my left hand, since I'm accostumed to using my right thumb. I don't know why I enjoy frustrating myself, but I was surprised how it disoriented my other fingers! i feel like I should proofread, which I never do when I'm tired, so I just hope it all makes sense. Anyway, here I go, into the last week! Goodnight from Mexico!  

El Última Semana en Hermosillo! :)

It's past noon, and I woke up at 11 today! No 6am run, I guess, and anyway, the rubbing from the straps on the back of my heels revoked any progress my blisters had made :(. I organized some of my clothes, and now I was working downstairs until Macrina came in to make breakfast. Well, I still am working, because she doesn't want help with breakfast. Each morning, Zyanya will ask, "do you want to break fast," and although I'm we're supposed to correct each other, it was always too early for that, so I would just say yes and go downstairs. Finally, yesterday I told her it's "do you want brek-fist," because I think she sees it as breaking our fast haha. I really hope they are correcting my spanish!!

Sarhoma just came in—i didn't realize I was the first one up! It's hot downstairs, but Zyanya is still upstairs, so I guess the air has to stay on up there. I let Rohn in when I came down, and he was super excited to see me, because it is so hot out there! I like to bother him when I'm bored. 

Macrina said were leaving at 2:30 to eat lunch somewhere 45min away. Well, she said a lot more than that, it was a full conversation, but that's all I understood!! i think it's just our family, since Luisa's mom is working and Pamela's mom didn't respond. I don't know if we're meeting Ana Elena or what, but I guess we'll find out! That seems to be the theme: just grab some clothes that pass for casual and nice, see where you end up, and hope you don't embarass yourself! 

My plans for today were to watch the usa soccer, but apparently our one activity will be overlapping with the game. Darn, I've been waiting all this time for a soccer game I care about (like I've ever really cared about soccer though) and for once we leave the house! Anyway, Mexico plays tomorrow, so I'm sure there will be no leaving the house then. Actually, I think we're meeting the mayor tomorrow, but then again, what do they tell us anyway? 

From afar, I saw the photographer last night whom I had talked to at the Mass. He has been traveling the world for 20 years, going to a different Mass each month, and I suppose he works at other events like prom, too. That's so neat! I guess if he's single and employed, he can go wherever he wants. He asked me how I was so skinny—if I exercised a lot or didn't eat very much. I wasn't expecting that, because according to American standards, I'm not that skinny (which makes sense because I feel like I don't exercise that much and I eat a lot!). But it does seem like the optimal weight here isn't 90pounds with anorexia. 

Two random points: it's so funny, because when we're in the car (or at home sometimes), they play songs in English, and sing to them, that we don't know!! It's so funny to hear them singing it, but I guess it would be weird if we knew every song ever sung in english. Also, when we were driving to prom, we drove through at least three drunk-driver police checkpoints! I had never seen anything like that before, but it was nice to know they're checking.

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We just ate breakfast! It was the usual, but I feel reallly bad, because I didn't eat the chicken, but I just can't...I should probably just ask Macrina to have the sandwitch without it, I'm sure she would like to know :/. During breakfast, we chatted all about the prom and the dresses. Mario jokingly asked me if Americans do that too, but of course I said no, Americans never gossip. Now, Mario, Zyanya, and Sarhoma are watching a show where people fight in a wrestling ring with no rules. It's so barbarian!! I guess some people can enjoy that! 

ONE WEEK LEFT! Ciao! 

FIESTA!

Tonight was the school prom! It was super fun, and I'm so glad we were here to experience it! The actual party is held by the school at an off-campus location—the same place as the ceremony—from 9pm-2am. To be casually late, one would arrive at 9:30. Not the Silvas!! 10:15pm: Zyanya is finishing Sarhoma's makeup upstairs, Mario is getting dressed, and Macrina is preparing sandwitches and food for dinner. Well, we weren't exactly early, but better late than never,  right?! Typical. 

As we all fumbled with our belongings and somehow were secure in the car, I nudged Zyanya to move so I could buckle my seatbelt, jokingly (but honestly) saying "I don't want to die." In response, Sarhoma said, "you don't have to worry about dying with my dad driving." To that, I told her I completely trusted her father, but that I was actually wearing my seatbelt because of the other reckless, drunk (or not) drivers on the road on a Saturday night. She acknowledged my point, but I think that was the first time she had ever considered that the biggest threat came from the uncontrollable variable on the road. And it seems like being in a foreign country has made me impressed with American drivers'-safety awarness education! 

Anywayyy, when we arrived, the scene was a mixture of chaos and glamour. There were parents filtering into the building with bags-full of food and flowers, and there were students in BEAUTIFUL dresses floating around the lawn with their adorable dates, taking photos and greeting friends with hugs, kisses, and laughter. I mingled with Kristina and her date for awhile while Zyanya was in the bathroom, which was fun (hanging out, not going to the bathroom!). Kristina decided only to speak to me in spanish to help (MAKE) me learn, and her boyfriend was super nice even though we couldn't understand each other very well. We met up with some other friends, which was fun, but also awkward when I didn't know what to say to people I would be introduced to. They were generally super sweet and fun, though. But, I did receive a few "what are you doing here" glances with my light skin and short dress. 90% of the girls were wearing long dresses, which were crazy beautiful and classy (I can't even explain!!!), and one would think the model agency organized the event. 

After I sat down with Macrina and ate for awhile, Macrina took Laurel and me to dance with her and mario. It was so much fun!!! I am so lucky to have such a kind and fun host family. We danced there with them for about 10 minutes (it was terribly embarassing I'll be honest we can't dance to their music) before we headed outside to avoid further humiliation ahhh! We ran into haley, pamela, and luisa in the bathroom, and haley, laurel and I hung out for awhile after. They're such great girls, and I'm also so lucky to be in Hermosillo spending these three weeks with such amazing friends. After awhile, we went back to Zyanya's family's table and chatted. I went over to the other side ot the table to meet Kristina's parents, who were also adorable. Her mom, who I was talking to, is German, and we had a really nice conversation before they went back to dance. It reminded me of a huge bm party! 

Laurel, Haley, and I tried to go blend in on the dance floor, but I'm just going to say it didn't work out, and I'm not a super shy person, but we ended up practically running back to the table. OH MY. And yes, they all danced in rows. The music was American at first, but then changed to traditional Mexican tunes, attracting parents from all across the room lol. But the kids danced anyway, which was nice! Kristina's mom said there are some schools that have the proms with the parents, and some without them, it just depends. 

Well, I'm really tired. I guess I could finish this now, but it will probably get progressively more boring as I fall asleep, so buenas días, since it's technically sunday now! I'll post again and put prom pics soon!! after i sleep :)

continued from yesterday! sorry! and today actually...FELICIDADES !

After lunch, we finished the movie and cleaned up. Then, zyanya and I finally decided to make the cake mix. We had a few problems (to be expected with me in the kitchen), but the cake turned out fine...yay! We needed to mix three ingredients total: the mix, water, and butter. The measuring cup she gave me for the water was measured in increments of cups, starting at 1, but the recipe only called for .5 cups. So that's where it started off, with my tilting a huge jug of water over on my knees on the floor into a measuring cup, at which point I was guessing the amount. By the way, none of the families drink tap water, they only buy the huge jugs and use them for drinking and cooking (but it was still full on the floor). Then, when we took out the butter, we realized we were short 1.5 tablespoons and  hadn't yet buttered the pan ooops. Then, after we finally finished, Macrina walked in. Idk if she didn't realize the point of the cakemix is that you don't have to add ingredients or if she likes to get creative, but she began running around the kitchen and handing us stuff to add to the batter. Well, whatever, because it turned out fine!! 

Then, we were late. We're always late. We sit around all day taking our time, and the next thing I know, were making a cake and the Mass for graduation starts in 20 minutes lol. I don't care about being late here, since I don't know anyone, but it is stressful to walk into events that have already started and not be able to find Laurel and Haley ahh! It was a nice ceremony, though. I understood about 40% of it when I was listening, which was about 5% of the time. So, in other words, it seemed like a nice ceremony, because I don't really know what was happening. I just caught key words out of those two hours like 'family, parents, thank you, jesus, graduation, opportunities, god, lucky, school' you name the rest. Poor laurel and haley seemed so bored...Haley gave me a mint that she was stashing from Laurel's purse, and every time I looked over, one of them was opening a new mint. They were good mints, at least, maybe I'll eat an altoid now. 

ANYWAY, it was totally dejavu (spelling whatever) because I was wearing the same dress that I came here in and Zyanya was wearing her school uniform that she wore on the first day, and we went to the same ice cream shop (the patio) after the Mass! Laurel, on the other hand, was underdressed, because Pamela sometimes decides to with hold important information...like the fact that we were going to a nice service (jk love you, laurel;)).  On our way to The Patio, Macrina picked up Kristina, the one who runs with us, and we all went together. I had two scoops of vanilla ice cream, which was delishous, especially since we didn't eat dinner yesterday (it's so random and confusing!). The title of the last post refers to the fact that we made that cake and never tried it :/. all I know is that whenever I bake at home, half the batter is gone before it enters the oven (that includes fending charlotte off), and the other half is gone within the 5 minutes after it comes out. It's fine, though, because I'm sure we'll get to try some. Actually they offered it to me for breakfast, but I had already eaten the regular fruit/yogurt/sandwitch (which I don't like but I can't bring myself to tell her I'm don't like the sandwitch with the weird cream because I feel bad!), so I wasn't hungry. 

This morning was the graduation ceremony. We were late, of course. Pamela called to ask where we were sitting, and we were still in the house! Everyone was freaking out, but after a rollercoaster car ride, we landed safely at the graduation (which was well underway) and found seats. It was a really nice tradition that the parents sit on either side of their senior, and the other relatives sit apart. When the student is called up for the diploma or for an award, the parents go with, only they wait off-stage for their child to shake hands with all the administrators. I found the ceremony to be wwayyyy too long, but it was very nice, and I'm sure it would have been nicer had I understood more. Well, that's not quite true, ceremonies are boring even in English...especially in english. Sarhoma immediately took out her cellphone to text, and laurel and haley were playing a stupid game for awhile. Most people seemed pretty bored, but it was truly nice, and the speeches were great. 

Then, we took more pictures and split off from the others to head to lunch. THIS WAS THE MOST AMAZING FOOD I HAVE HAD IN MEXICO! We pulled up, tired, hot and hungry, to a tiny vegetarian restaraunt and were luckily able to get a table. They served us juice, which they always call water, which was more like a fruit smoothie it was so delicious. I finished mine as to not waste it, but they kept refilling it, so finally I gave up. First, we had a salad. Mexican food that looks boring is authentic, and mexican food that looks authentic is outstanding! The salad seemed boring and drab, but I ate it all right away, without seeming famished (well, that's what I thought but I probably did look famished). We were then given pea and barley soup WHICH WAS SO AMAZING!!! And I didn't have to worry about it having meat, because it was a vegetarian restaraunt YES . That's when I was full. But, next came a veggieburger which had lettuce, sprouts, and sauce. Ok, here's the thing. In america, people are obsessed with sauce..they drown everything in sauce until it is disgusting (in my opinion, sorry dad). Here, on the other hand, they smear on not mayo. not mustard, no. But a flavorful mixture of ingredients that just call out 'healthy' and 'delicious' as it's being chewed. Also, they brought sides of hummus which was super-delish. I really appreciated that food. I was so full at that point, that it was crazy, but we're probably not eating dinner, so it was either be sick of food or of hunger. They brought a small dessert (by the way, there are only like two options for each course) that I didn't really like, but the other one looked better. It was a pear slice in pear juice, and the other one that looked better was a rice mix, but I wasn't hungry so it didn't really matter anyway. Well, enough about food. 

We went back to the Silva home, and everyone took a nap. Sarhoma helped me upload my photos, and zyanya slept a lot. I didn't really sleep, but it was a relaxing afternoon, anyway. Zyanya and Macrina just left for zyanya's hair and makeup appt. Wait, nevermind, she just walked in with her hair curled, so the stylist must have come here.  I should go down, because the air is off, and it's getting hot!! ughhh summer. Zyanya's neighbor (omg i think I forgot to mention that hmm) made her a necklace for prom (well she bought it) which zyanya is now doubting to wear. I honestly agree with Z and think it's too big and bulky, but I bet she wears it, which will be pretty, either way. 

I'm so excited for prom! the whole family is going, and I can't wait to see how it will be. I better get ready, byeee :)

hicimos un pastel y no lo comimos

It is almost exactly 12 hours since my last update woahh! I'm super exhausted right now. It was a long afternoon, and we're sitting in Zyanya's room with Pamela and Zyanya on Zyanya's bed and Laurel and I on my bed. I just finished curling random pieces of hair out of boredom, and laurel watched me, falling asleep intermittently. We're quite the energetic bunch!!!

After the last blog post, I gathered all my things and peeked into Sarhoma's room to tell Sarhoma and Z that I was going downstairs, but Zyanya reminded me that the AC was off, so I turned back around and sat back down on the bed. Majorly exciting moment. Then, after Zyanya mopped the house, her mom came home to cook lunch. We watched Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (which has always displeased me but they love it) and we helped set the table. Macrina made a delicious meal, and I can't believe I forgot to photograph it...darn. It consisted of mac-n-cheese, salad, and a beef cake (i don't know what to call it). The mac-n-cheese, which I had to eat first to keep kosher, was an extremely flavorful light/whitish cream-covered pasta. I can't even explain the flavor, it was so good and something I had never tasted before. The beef was also good, and even though I wan't hungry, I was pretty much obligated to eat it, so I did... it was great, don't get me wrong! 

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That was last night, but I accidentally (well, it wasn't really an accident) fell asleep in the middle of it, so I will pick up where I left off, but I'm going to post this and continue on another one. :)

friday bunday

Usually it would be Sunday Bunday or Monday Bunday, but today is Friday, and my hair is in a bun; therefore, Friday Bunday. When I went to Costa Rica last year, it was so hot that my hair was always in a bun, but when I was looking at the pics, I looked crazy, so I haven't worn very many buns here, but now i am because it is so hot. Here they call a bun...oh gosh I can't remember but they taught me, but we have been playing a lot of "repeat after me" with each of us trying to learn the other language. It's fun for us to say words and ask them to pronounce it, or the other way around. they always ask me to day 'Ferrocaril' which means railway/train/something like that because I can't trill my 'r' in words, which they find ammusing (really, it's not.). I blame it on my braces. I have them say words that sound alike in a row because they find it fun. EX: bird, beard, band, bed, shepherd, etc. I can't remember them all, but Zyanya says them really fast for fun while acting each one out to make sure she knows what it means. When she asked me what kind of dog I have, I said australian shepherd, so she always throws Shepherd in haha. 

Maybe it should be Friday Cryday, because I'm sort of bored. Or Friday Lieday, because we're lying around the house. Ok, I'll stop! This morning, we ate our fruit with cereal and yogurt mix with half a sandwitch like usual. I love yoplait, and the fruit is muy rica, so we're good. Zyanya is for sure going to study in Cuernavaca, which is super exciting. She will live with her grandma, so her parents aren't too sad, but Sarhoma never studied away from home, so I don't think they realize how different it will be when she is actually gone. She also asked me if i wanted to make a cake, because she has a box of cakemix. I said yes of course I love cake. I didn't run this morning, because every time I run the blister on my ankel from my shoe gets worse, and I just want it to go away, even though I'm a super impatient person sometimes. I woke up today, and my phone was still cracked, so that was disappointing—now I know it definitely wasn't a dream (not that I thought it was!). I just wanted it to be :). Also, I think Kino Bay waves really turned the second-hand on my swatchwatch back, because each morning I have to wind it forward an hour, which is fine because I enjoy changing the time, but not so great when I need to know what time it is. But then again, when do I really need to know the time? 

This morning I was working on different things I need to get done, and I suppose I will go play piano so I can be ready to compete in the fall. The AC just went on yay! execpt that means it's off downstairs, so maybe I will just play piano later since it's downstairs. Bad excuse. Tonight pamela is coming at 5, which means 6, and they will go to church with their classmates at 7. I hope laurel and I can join them, but only if they want us to, but I hope so because I like their friends. I read some other blogs yesterday, and it sounds like everyone is having a wonderful time and is keeping super busy! I can't wait to hear about the adventures..they all seem so different than mine. 

Alrightt, well, I will blog again tonight, and maybe in these next 12 hours I will have gained an insight into Mexican life and culture. Just kidding ;) 

hasta la vista!

meet me halfway: día 11 woo!

We're halfway through—I can't believe it!! in 11 more days, we will again be on an airplane, but this time we will head north back to our beloved Phoenix. Anyway, we are still busy soaking up the Hermosillo culture and experience every day. Actually, I wouldn't call us super busy, but we're having a great time. 

This morning, we ate breakfast as usual of fruit with yogurt and cereal, and today a quesadilla instead of half of a sandwitch. Then we headed to Zyanya's school at 11 to buy her cap and gown (which they call their toga, always makes me laugh to picture them graduating in togas). We met up with friends, and I hung out in the shade with Haley, since Laurel slept in and Pamela left her at home haha. Afterward, we went home with Pamela, even though her mom was frustrated that no one asked her if we could come, and we hung out all day long no kidding. We watched a movie I didn't appreciate (I'm so picky, too, but it was pretty bad sorry) and pamela and zyanya took a nap for awhile while Laurel and I complained to each other how hungry we were ahah what losers! Later, around 5, we ate lunch, which was delicious, and hung out some more. I plugged in my camera, so hopefully I will be able to post the photos even though they're not super impressive since I'm not in them. Just kidding, they're nice, I'm just not in them since I took them :). 

We went swimming in Pamela's neighbor's pool at 8 something pm, and stayed there until 10pm when Macrina picked us up. I hoped the neighbor would bring us cold grapes again, but he didn't! We had a fun (but boring) day, and we are definitely more comfortable with each other now and our communication is better both ways (Laurel can now pronounce "hola"). When we went back to Z's house, Zyanya tried on her gown for Macrina and Sahroma (which she of course had originally forgotten at Pamela's house!), and we ate pancakes for dinner. I thought they were kidding about the pancakes, but apparently not! They were good, and I found it amusing to see all the different toppings they poured on: jelly, weird carmel glaze, syrup, etc. Also, I was already pretty full, because Pamela's mom was trying to fatten me up or something (the last thing I need) by forcing me to eat tortillas...seriously. she is so funny but I wasn't hungry! I almost attempted to slip one of the tortillas into my backpack, but I knew someone would notice and that would be so humilliating I can't even.

The pancakes were good, though, and I ate mine cold, because she was putting them into the microwave in a plastic bag, which I worried would emit chemicals into the pancakes. Now that I think about it, instead of eating mine cold and telling them I like them that way (which is partially true but more just impatience), I probably should have explained the posibility that the plastic could be harmful to their health..oops. 

Well, that is literally all I have! I'll be honest, today was very boring and I hope tomorrow is more fun. I know Saturday's prom will be great, though, and that sunday is the usa fútbol game and monday is the mexico fútbol game, so we will at least be busy doing something until tuesday, by which time we will hopefully have plans to meet the mayor, for whom we brought a gift of a Suns jersey signed by Dragic. I don't know who that is, but he sounds like magic and the mayor apparently loves the Suns (yay, thanks, Sarvers!). If we don't meet him, maybe they can pass on the gift and a note. We'll figure it out :). Buenas nochess y hasta mañana! xo

cactus from Kino Bay!

finally uploaded from Kino!

not in these, but it's cool. Just "picture" me behind the camera;)

Zyanya, Macrina, and Sarhoma before Macrina's party

Pamela and Zyanya were adorable trying on their togas! 

laurel and I at the beach after lunch!

from today it was delish

eating pamela's mom's sushi at lunch yesterday yumm nom nom