Live Turkeys, lots of Salsa and adorable smelly kids

So, thanksgiving in Mexico. well what can I say, it was different. The roomies invited nearly the whole parish, so it ended up being super packed. Im not sure I would have made it through the day if I hadn't stayed home from work because I was fighting a horrible cold. We spent most of the week preparing for it and all day cleaning..but that seems natural for T-Day. Apparently you have to be very careful when you say that you want a fresh not frozen turkey because again, like last year father bought two live turkeys which were slaughtered the day before thanksgiving. I didn't even see them but somehow I had no desire to eat them after they were cooked... What can I say friends, Ignorance is bliss... The dinner was pretty standard, except of course there was the salsa, and tequila included. very enjoyable... It was a decent time, but I must admit I was wishing I could see my family and friends. After it passed and I heard what everyone did, I have been wishing I could be home for christmas just for a smidge of time..but I knew before going into this that I would not be coming home. So Im not super sad but I have a feeling Christmas will have a few tears.

Again, im fighting a cold..but I suppose that is pretty standard these days. The kids are all pretty sick with colds. Not surprising considering they still don't cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze... but they are learning that slowly. Also, we've had a small chicken pox outbreak... Sadly my favorite little amigo Paco has unfortuantely not been in school for weeks... Id be lying if I didn't say I seriously missed him. He's the one always crawling on me and hugging me. Ari and I joke about him being my son. Speaking of kids, btw, I had a dream a week or so ago that I had an foster home for kids and my entire class was living there. One kid in particular, Alexis, I wanted to adopt as my child... haha. that was kinda the extent of it. but, I think my whole motherly instincts are starting to kick in... or something. Although still not looking to having any children yet... Today was a good day, although had another poop in the pants incident, that definitely helps to not want kids for the next 5 years or so.

Thats kinda all I have for today. I just wanted to throw a little love out in blog world. This week wasn't super interesting. But let it be noted- I miss you all, and I wish I could visit and party with you all for the holidays.

Todo mi Amor.

I am alive.

So, I am officially a slacker at this blogging situation. I said over a week ago that I was going to post about Dia de los Muertos but unfortunately everytime I am on the computer something more pressing takes my attention and I feel the need to do that first. Basically this post is to say, I am alive and well.. Fighting a cold per usual.

Oh! Also, I had my first friend in town this weekend. Okay, so she wasn't technically here to visit me, but Maggie, a fellow social work major from Loyola came to Mexico in order to give a presentation and I was able to meet up with her and go out one night! It was really nice to have my Mexican life and my Chicago life connect and finally seem real to one another. It was also nice to catch up on people and Loyola social work life. What a great fun visit!

Lisa and I are starting a conversational English class in order to help some people in the community with actually being able to speak in English. I am a little nervous but we will see how it goes. Tomorrow will be the first class and hopefully just start out with the basics and getting to know each other. Who knows, it might end up being like most things where people say they will come and just don't show up...

Funny story of the day: my co-teacher Ariana got married last week and the kids have caught on to her calling her husband esposo. So today the kids decided to ask me if I was married. And why not? And then one boy Alexis starts telling me that I should marry his dad... Then it irrupted with multiple kids arguing that I should marry their dads. (Not only is this mildly uncomfortable because I have never met their fathers, but also because many of the kids have variations of divorced, separated, cohabitating or married parents...) None the less, it was funny. I can't lie, some of the kids are so cute I wouldn't mind having them as a step child.... Not that I'm planning on marrying a Mexican man with a kid. ha.

Ok, this is all I have for today. Its starting to get pretty cold here at night. I need to go home and put on another layer. You should be expecting a Dia de los muertos post soon.

I love you and miss you.

Halloween and Dia de Muertos

So, the long awaited Dia de los Muertos explanation... thanks for your patience.

Our Church's offerring:

Well just a quick mention of Halloween. We decided to share our holiday with Santa Fe and throw a halloween party. Although I must admit, after seeing Dia de Los Muertos, we are seriously lacking on our holiday traditions. We did manage to find pumpkins to have for carving but Im pretty positive these pumpkins were not made for carving because we literally had to use a piece of wood to beat the knife into the tough pumpkin. Either way I think everyone had fun with this project. I made some dirt pudding and we had lots of drinks and dessert and it turned into a fun night. Lots of people wore costumes and it was a fun night.




As for Dia De los Muertos... Well I am now a huge fan of this holiday. I must admit prior to living here I found the skeletons and skulls a little morbid and freaky, however after experiencing my first Dia de los Muertos in Mexico I know realize what a wonderful holiday it is. Immediately upon realizing its arrival I was intrigued by the idea of the holiday. Mexicans put out an offering of different things so that on November 2nd when their deceased family members return to earth to visit them they can once again enjoy the food and things they enjoyed in life. The 1st is the day the deceased children come back to visit and the 2nd is the day adults come. Jess mentioned that they had put out an offerring in the chapel last year and I decided that I wanted to put out an offering for my mom. Actually not really until the day before did I really decide I was going to do it but I think it turned out well. This is what it entailed:




1. a glass of water


2. Salt- signifying the spice of life and enjoying life.


3. Candles- to honor your deads memory.



4. Flowers.


5. Dia de los Muertos bread- which is a certain kind of bread only sold around this holiday that is round covered in sugar and sort of looks like it has an octopus on top...


6. Any special kinds of food or dishes that this family member liked. Sometimes people will put out their favorite kind of beer or drink as well. (yes I wanted to put Diet Dr. Pepper but they don't have it here in Mexico...it was there in my mind).


7. Many people place chocolate, sugar or paper machey (no clue how to spell that) skulls in order to remember those living and left behind.


8. Papel Picado- paper cut-out decoration... not sure why we include this but its cute.






Anyway, many people go to the cemetary and decorate the graves with tons of flowers and candles and have parties to celebrate the days. Thanks to the influence of the US many kids and some adults dress up in costumes to celebrate the day as well. Lisa, Caro, Josue and I all went to this college UNAM and were able to see their offerrings made by student groups. They had bands playing and theater skits and it was a lot of fun...minus the cold. brrr..



Ok well Im not sure if I left anything out or even if I got everything right. but these were the important parts of the day. It really is great way to honor your dead and feel happy about your passed away loved ones coming to visit you on earth again. I spent a good amount of time gluing flowers to this little arch and decorating my offerring for my mom, it felt nice to put all my love and effort into something for her again. And I felt very happy to take time to remember her living and what she loved in life. This holiday brought me a lot of joy and I may even consider doing it again when I return to the US.

In Memory of My Mom, Jess's Grandparents & Lisa's Grandpa

All my Love.