¿Qué? –Día 11–

Today, well, yesterday, technically, (woah too many commas!) seemed pretty monotonous—I don't think we did anything special. BUT, I do have some anecdotes to share.

Short recap of today: We started out at zyanya's but when Pamela's mom came to pick up Laurel and Pamela, she took us with her (what a thief) and we spent the day at pamela's. For awhile, we just hung out, but then we went downstairs to eat homemade sushi that her mom was preparing. It was so delicious! Afterward, we just hung around more in P's room. 

As we got ready for the movies, we wandered into the common room (don't know what to call it) upstairs, where I stuck my phone ontop of the backrest of a fluffy armchair. Before I knew it, Laurel slide-tackled the chair, landing on it with such great force that my phone flew into the air and shattered on the floor. Little did I know, as I was laughing it off with complete confidence in my seemingly invincible phone (jk the back is shattered and none of the buttons work whooops), the front of my phone was shattered everywhere :(((. I am so stupid for putting it there, and I was kidding about laurel, she just sat in the chair and it slipped ahhhah. noo how am I supposed to read the nyt now to become informed on all the positive, uplifting world news? Now my phone and watch are broken...my watch gets two hours slower every day, which I take as its trying to adjust to my mellow lifestyle on "mexico time" (or maybe it couldn't handle the kino bay waves not sure which). But to make it better, I am wearing a cute friendship bracelet that I bought at Kino Bay for Charlotte. I tied it around my wrist to not lose it, but accidentally tied it too tight and can't get it off...sorry, charlotte! I'll get you something else. 

Anyway, we went to the mall to see a movie, during which time Haley and Luisa came—it's crazy that we hadn't seen them for a whole day, as the 6 of us have been together all of the time. We wanted to see The Fault in our Stars (english with spa subtitles), but the times were inconvenient, so we went shopping instead. I love being with my friends, but that is definately top of the list of things I have not liked so far, because I truly deplore shopping of most kinds, especially in cold, indoor malls with no windows or fresh air. It's also exhausting even when I'm not spending money. 

Then, we went to grab some yogurt (this was 10pm...still not dinner time) still in the mall at a place similar to one in America. I filled my bowl 3/4 high, (like everyone else, just saying) and Zyanya was making me feel bad for wasting it, so of course I had to eat the whole thing to prove her wrong! Honestly, it was so refreshing and delicious, and I knew it was my dinner, and didn't eat it to prove her wrong that would be soo weird. ya. 

We went back to pamela's house and hung out more. One of her dogs, Lucky (IRONIC) attacked me and started biting my legs, but it was so small that it didn't hurt me, and it's not like I could just kick her dog across the room, so I tried to calmly step away. Crazy animal! I love the other dog, Niña, though! Makes me miss delilah!

Something that is different here is that before the stoplights turn yellow, they flash green: green, flashing green (three times), yellow, red. I like it, because it's just a forewarning that the light will change. Maybe this is odd, but I always get so nervous when the light turns yellow, and wouldn't mind having it flash green first! Also, there are soo many speed bumps, it's insane! They also use the yellow metal round semi-sphere barricades (like at Arcadia and Indian School) to direct cars, but it seems so Big Brother to me, and people drive over them sometimes, anyway. 

I'm sleepy now, and want to run tomorrow, so buenas noches de hermosillo! xxo

Algunas photos😊

In no particular order, these are from the past few days!!!

6 horas de fútbol, peliculas, y comida!! DÍA 9

Last night, I finished my post, and when I went to upload the photos, the post disappeared ahhh! So here it is :).

Definition of a fanatic: a person motivated by irrational enthusiasm (as for a cause)

Example: the silva family during a Mexico World Cup soccer game

I meant to wake up early to run around their gated community because Macrina couldn't go to the park, but ended up deciding to run in the evening instead. umm...LAZY! But it's summer, I'll survive, and it was a good workout in the end. 

We ate breakfast of sliced fruit (except no mango, pear, and papaya this time :( ), yogurt, and cereal in a bowl and half a sandwitch at about 10am. It sounds like a lot, but we really don't eat again until 4pm, so it's then or never! Here they don't snack, so it's more of a fasting/feasting schedule, which I am not used to. We had a nice breakfast...we're getting better at communicating, but as Zyanya's english improves, I don't get to practice my spanish as much! Selfish, yes, but I reallyy do want to be fluent when I leave in 1.5 weeks!! After we cleaned up, well after Zyanya cleaned up (she never lets me help) and I shuffled around trying to make myself useful, we hung out for awhile on the couches and I did some math.

We were soo bored, and couldn't come up with anything to do in the house until the Mexico v Brazil game. When I woke up that morning, my naive self was unaware of the importance of the day, but as Zyanya gave me a Mexico soccer shirt and face paint, I soon realized this was no regular match! As we watched the program leading into the game, the house started to fill up; first came Sarhoma from school with 10 friends and popcorn, then came her dad, Mario, from work (he misses work for this!), and lastly came Macrina from work, all of us (14 hyped up Mexicans and one confused american) packed into the kitchen-family room of their townhouse with our eyes darting back and forth across the screen, and ocassionally to the popcorn bowl. Mario gave Ron (the dog) a handful of popcorn! He loved it, of course, and is so cute. I still miss delilah, though. 

The game was great. Mexico held its ground, and ended in a tie, which was weird for me, since I didn't think that could happen. Mexico's goalie was amazing and so adorable, and I loved to see all the camaraderie of the players and the fans. It's awesome how a soccer game can be such a heavy influence in a whole country's patriotism. When we went out later, one in every 5 people was wearing a mexico shirt! I have so much respect for the athletes who love the sport and who come together to represent their country. 

After the game, the house became quiet again, so in the spirit of fútbol, we watched Bend it like Beckham (one of my favorites!), and I couldn't believe sarhoma and zyanya had never seen  it before. We paused it to eat lunch, the whole family together, which was a delicious meal of meat schnitzel, salad, and DELICIOUS pasta soup! We had a really fun time, and I am so lucky to be living with such a welcoming, kind, funny, and generous family. When Zyanya was cleaning the dishes, she was singing (well, she's always singing) and we were all  laughing about it. Then we finished the movie; we were all watching, but I think mario wasn't understanding, because he fell asleep. Or maybe he was so relieved about and exhausted from the mexico win.

If you were wondering, we didn't have any avocado for lunch, because when Macrina sent us to the store for meat, beans, and avocado, we came back with meat, beans, and popsickles. oops! 

By then, it was 6:36 (but my watch is late so maybe + or - 20 minutes) so I went for a run around the neighborhood. The complex has about 50 houses in the formation of a loop and a cul de sac. The loop slopes up on each side to a huge hill,  with one steep side and one winding side. I ran for awhile around the loop and then in the cul de sac, and then just ran the hill. When I first stepped out, I thought ron was the only dog in the neighborhood, barking by himself at nothing, but as I ran past each house, dogs came running out from under cars and trucks, and were barking at me from behind gates. I think I woke up all the canines in the neighborhood, and some even followed me part of the way! I guess they don't usually see runners. Anyway, it was nice to see the other streets, and I took some pics of the pretty view. After about half an hour, the sun had set, and my ankles started to bleed again (ughh) from my shoes even though I was wearing better socks, but I really wanted to run up the hill one more time (i have no idea why it mattered), so I did and then had to run on my toes. But to get back down the hill, I had to run backwards, to avoid killing my ankles. I can't even imagine what the neighbors were thinking of me at that point...hopefully they didn't notice the gringo running backwards down the hill. 

As soon as I walked back into the house, Macrina pointed out that Luisa and Pamela had pulled up, so I went outside to say hi before showering. as i was halfway down the driveway, i realized it was a guy, and not knowing who he was or if he was coming to our house or a neighbor's I awkwardly turned around and went back inside, because when I get nervous, my spanish faulters, and I didn't want to end up embarassing myself more than I usually do! It turned out to be sarhoma's friend, who later took us to the market and to the plaza. Pamela and laurel were there when I came out of the shower, and we all hung out for awhile before we went for dinner at about 10pm. We had the same thing that we ate for lunch before Kino Bay, and had the same really refreshing grape drink. Sometimes, when I'm in the house, it gets so hot that I think I'm going to faint, so I really enjoyed that cold drink!! 

The plaza was really fun, and much quieter than it was on sunday night. We took a picture and hung out. We walked to a quieter corner, where we saw a face in the window of a dark building, so we went over and were laughing, because it was only a smudge in the window hahaa. There were a lot of dogs there, and they were making fun of me for not wanting to pet them. they were really cute and all, but I don't know where they've been, whatever. 

Anyway, this morning, we ate and watched a cake-making competition on the tv for a few minutes before pamela's mom picked us up and took us to their house. today will be fun, I will post tonight!! Tenga un buen día!

usa and cinema

Yesterday was a very relaxing day! In the morning, Zyanya went to the dentist to get her braces off (I would have gone, but didn't understand that she was getting her braces off haha), so I was at the house alone for a few hours. It was great, though, because I was able to practice piano and do some work. 

When she came back, Zyanya, Sahroma, and I watched the USA beat Ghana in the World Cup, which was fun, but at one point, when the US scored, Macrina made a comment about Ghana being the underdog which I didn't expect! We won, anyway, which was great, not that i'm all gung-ho about soccer :). By the way, Zyanya's smile looks AMAZING and she was so happy all day about having the braces off! 

The four of us ate a lunch at 4.45 (i was sooo hungry) of chicken, a salad, and rice, which Macrina considered "take-out food" since she was too busy working to cook, but she actually cooked most of it and only like the salad dressing was premade! Lunch was nice—we talked about some funny stories, like how a bird flew into Sarhoma's classroom in high school and died on her desk.

After that, Luisa and Haley came in a friend's car (the friend was driving) to bring us to Pamela's and then to the movies. We hung out at Pamela's for at least 2 hours (everything is so sloww) and then went to the movie. The girls knew the guys working at the theatre, which reminded me of how it is in Phx, too. They were very nice, but we should have been rushing, because after waiting so long for the movie, it was 10 minutes in when we got to the theater! We saw Malificent, and we all enjoyed it. Pamela's mom and her sister, Fernanda, came to watch the movie with us, but I didn't seem them arrive and had no idea they were there!! 

After we went back to pamela's house, we went back home at 11:20 (actually we were all literally sleeping in her room it was weird but we were tired!) and went straight to sleep at Zyanya's house. 

I also forgot to mention that yesterday morning we went running at the park, but I ended up doing exercises on a wall outside the church, because my sneakers were making my ankles bleed since my socks were too short. There weren't any runners, just walkers, because I think the runners go earlier. We meant to , but Zyanya was running a little late, because she's not a morning person and couldn't find her shoes, and then when we got to the park, she stayed in the car and took a nap haha! AFter that was when she went to school to get a prom table, which her fam is sharing with Christina's family (the one who runs with us), and that was when I was at home working.

Ok, well that's it for yesterday! Today we will watch the Mexico fútbol game and do something else probably. I was going to take pics at the movie theater, but my storage was full ahh! 

Hasta luego!!

Photos from today!

Here are a few photos that we took at the plaza...I will write about it in a minute! Also, I still will upload the photos from my camera just too lazy today! 

el restaurante y la plaza magnifica !

For dinner tonight (we actually left at a reasonable hour of 6:20pm), we pulled a typical Aaron family food hunt in which we drove all over town looking for a place to eat that 1) everyone liked, 2) was open, and 3) had a table (which wasn't much of a problem). The ride was slightly too long, though, since I was starting to doze off—gosh how embarassing. 

we finally landed at a casual restaraunt called The Butcher, but that should've been called the Lumberjack, because the logo was a man hauling a bundle of wood on his shoulder. There were lots of kids there which was fine, except they were loud and I don't like loud kids. But the place was cuute and the food was delicious! They ordered horchata for everyone, which is the most amazingly delicious rice-cinnamon-water one could ever make and it was only 91 calories! and it was cold...bonus! Anyway, they ordered a family-style dinner of a variety of meats and chicken and quesadillas, all of which was very flavorful. Mario and Macrina explained to me before it came that some say Hermosillo has the best meat in the world, and I'm not a major carnivore, but it was good. Louis, you would be jealous, but I know you probs don't know about this blog so i'll tell you when I get home. 

Also, they wrapped the meat in tortillas and ate it with beans and guac and salsa. As much as they say it's not the sane as american-mexican food, some of it honestly does seem similar, but then again, they know their food better than I. We talked and laughed all throughout dinner, especially since Mario kept dropping things on the floor. Afterward, we went to Dairy Queen, which made me happier than one can ever understand hahaha even though I rarely go there at home. Mom, I was telling Zyanya about how you never get ice cream but then try everyone's, and as I was saying that, Macrina motions to Z from outside to grab her an extra spoon...it was so funny! I took a pic of the soft serve to send to Laurel and Haley which was mean, but I'm sure they'll go, tooo. 

From DQ, we headed over to the Plaza, which is a plaza with crossing paths, yards, and plants surrounded by the Governor's building on one side and the old chapel on the other side. They are both georgous buildings that shoot up into the night sky, and the chapel has purple lights on the exterior. The whole plaza was filled with local vendors of traditional mexican items and jewelry, food vendors (spicy food of course), bands and dancers, and people enjoying their Father's Day evening or walking dogs. There were two cute puppies for sale that Z and i held, and they fell asleep in our arms. We took tons of pictures, and they showed me all around the plaza. I will post the other photos when Mairo sends them to me, since my phone ran our of storage and couldn't take photos. I have deleted so many apps to free up storage!!

This family is way to sweet. Not only do they not let me pay for anything including food, but also they insisted on paying for a gift I was buying for my Aunt! Ugh I felt so bad because they are just too kind. We finally came back and searched for Zyanya's phone, but later found out it is at Luisa's house ughh but I'm glad we know where it is! Alrightt that's all I can remember, and we're running tomorrow morning! Sorry, I looked up spanish greetings but was unsuccessful, so bye!

1/3 through!

It seems like we just got here, but it has already been a whole week!!! Today we woke up at 11 (no 7am run but whatever it's sunday!) and ate breadkast at noon. Pamela and Haley slept over, which was fun, but it still is hard to have any group conversation with the language barrier. but zyanya is starting to speak english more and is asking if she is saying things right. It's funny when pamela corrects her english, because it reminds me of when Charlotte and I try to speak to someone in spanish and combine our vocab to form a sentence! I am really surprised by how many teens speak english, and also by the amount that have been to the us...mainly to AZ Mills to go shopping :). 

I am starting to get more used to the meal pattern here! This is my feeling: the breakfast can be any time from 8-1, lunch is 1-4, and dinner is 8-11. I also think lunch is the biggest meal, which is usually my smallest meal, and we skipped dinner last night, which is unheard of in the US! I thought I was getting acclimated to the spicy foods, but I actually think they are adjusting to me by not feeding me spices haha.

For breakfast, Macrina had prepared a bowl of fruit (apple, banana, papaya, and something orange, chopped up for each of us with yogurt and cereal/granola on the table. She also pours hand-squeezed OJ into the bowl which is really good! I mixed it all together, even though I usually eat everything apart. They all had eggs with chicken sausage, but zyanya made me a sandwitch instead since I don't like saussage...she is so nice! We also had chocolate milk, which I didn't think was  athing here, but idk why I would assume americans are the only ones who drink chocolate milk! 

After pamela and laurel left, we watched France win a World Cup match and they (of course always so sweet) offered their phone to me to make a Father's Day call because I wished Mario a happy Father's Day. 

I think we are just hanging out today. We are all downstairs, because the AC isn't on upstairs (they really know how to conserve!). It is seriously so hot out though (108º today) that I might melt and had enjoyed looking at Emma's blog (LOVE YOU EMMA!) from Ireland because the climate and lushous landscape looked lovely. I also like reading the other blogs to see what everyone is up to!! I can't wait to meet all the counterparts. 

Anyway, I don't think there are many Jewish people in Hermosillo. Some people ask me about my religion, and it is fun to share when I have an answer, but today, Mario asked me if the Jewish people are originally from Israel (which I should probs know) but I told him where my family is from in europe and that I would check. It's cool to be able to share and learn about other cultures. 

Speaking of that, I meant to post this awhile ago, but Mario (z's father) and I just spoke for about an hour and half, and I just learned so much about the culture here and his experience in Canada. This family is so nice! alrightt I probs won't post again tonight after dinner unless something miraculous happens that I need to document in five hours! 

Miss you guys, 2 more weeks! Give delilah a kiss for me when you guys get home;) 

buenas tardes!