I keep having to learn the same lesson over and over. The only consistent thing in Mexico is inconsistency. Zumba is out the window....some days they are out there with that huge speaker, and some days it even works, but they never seem to start the class. Some days they just don't come. I'm ok with walking around the ovalo (track). It can be consistent if I am consistent about it. I like walking alone and yet with so many people. I hear my music and I beep bop around the ovalo. People are running by me, jogging by me, walking faster than me, and even some slower. The game that's always going on in the center, and the various practices going on off to the sides. I don't know if it's the same people on the ovavlo every day, maybe after a while some faces will be familiar- ha ha I'm sure I'm the one who stands out. Not just my "walkin' to the music" swinging of my arms, but the only American...for now anyway. Everardo chats with people as he works out in the corner. Push ups and pull ups, a sit up station...in groups or individual but always stopping to watch what each other is doing.

The parents and girlfriends, friends & families who watch their kids, their spouses, their loved ones playing soccer; chatting and eating & drinking. Vendors on both sides...yes everything in Mexico has food involved. There are vendors everywhere, selling everything. Hot dogs and pina coladas, tacos de pastor, chiva, fish....burros longos. Churros, cotton candy...you name it, somebody is selling it.

Oh and my surprise the other day when I opened up our fortune cookies and they were in Spanish! Ha! What language did I expect? English of course- but silly- not of course....we're in Mexico so they were in Spanish...and more stale than even the ones in Calif.

So one thing here, don't expect anything to be the same twice. Yesterday there was no water in the house until afternoon. I heard they were working on some pipes down by the immigration office. Nice suprise when I went to flush to toilet- yeah it had water in it, but the one in our bathroom in the bedroom has a square "button" to push to flush, ya gotta hold it a few extra seconds to make sure it will finish the process. Of course my hand slipped off as it often does (altho after 6 months I'm much better at it..) and the water was gone but the process not completed. I said oh crap, and Everardo walked in just then (yes a silly joke about crap) and then uh- we have no water. So of course all morning I kept having to go to the bathroom- my crazy brain- if it hears "no" it thinks oh better say "yes" over and over. The water came back around noon so that was good. But this is nothing like Playa Ventura where we lost some service every day, something different every day. But still- make an appt, and if the other party shows up...maybe on time (probly not), but usually within a few hours.

We have a lady cleaning the house, and last week we agreed her new schedule would be to come at 2pm, at her request. This morning I received a text in Spanish telling me she would be late and was that ok, and to pls leave the key where I did last time. Hmm, ok, what time will you come? I asked...and she texted back- at 2pm. uh ok- I thought that was the the new regular time...so what time will she come next week ha ha? At least it's not boring. Everardo will drop by today to let her know to pls not touch the bed or laundry, that I'll take care of it. And he will not say "don't put plastic bags in the oven as storage" because it's already been done and she might be offended! ha ha. Well at least I know to check the oven. He also came yesterday before I left for the center to talk to the neighbor for me. Truth was I was anx'ting over it. I was waiting for her to come outside or was gonna knock before I left. She works at nite so I don't want to wake her up, and really my issue was I didn't want to come off like a bitch telling her to be sure the gate is properly closed with the bolt going into the ground at the bottom. Otherwise it swings open. That happened twice while I was home- luckily I was here so I could close it. Sam will stay in the yard, unless a very arrogant cat walks by, tail swishing and daring him to chase it. Then he will be out like a bolt of lightning. He could be hit by a car, or the dog catcher......etc. Anyway Poppi came back yesterday morning to talk to her. I appreciated that very much.

He's a good man, my Poppi. He came back because he knew I was worrying about talking to her. That I was going to do it, but was anxious. Last nite after walking for 40 minutes while he ran, he questioned me to see if my arch was aching at all; he knows sometimes I just keep going. And of course the result is a bad foot or leg and then I can't exercise for a couple of weeks. The other day I was complaining that I had no independence and that I had to look to him for so many things because of my lack of fluency, and how that...well totally pisses me off! But honestly, that's a problem in my pea brain. He is a caring thoughtful guy, who tries to help me, to be there for me, we take care of each other. Gotta give him kuddos for this.

 Oh- and HUGE news! We're gonna get a puppy! There are always puppies being dropped at the center, and I usually steer clear because I tend to fall in love with all of them. I've been wanting a dog, but Everardo's has NOT being wanting another dog, and so we were waiting. It really needs to be a mutual decision. Now he's working with the dogs every day and maybe that's what melted his heart ha ha, but yesterday I broke down and looked at these tiny puppies, probly only 3 weeks old, just thrown into the street- breaks your heart, right? Later Everardo showed up after running errands for the center, and said, why don't you pick one? I was stunned (ha ha) I said "WHAT"? Karen looked in in surprise as well. Later she told me he said, well she'll just keep bugging me...which I was not...and I told her- he doesn't do anything he doesn't want to..and she said that's what she thought. But he will do things to make me happy. What a guy! So stay tuned to hear about the puppy I choose...even now I worry about a puppy- Sam was hell and I remember saying I'd never have another puppy, better to get one 6 months old or older....hmmmm

Ok I leave you with a Mexico fun fact:

The largest wildcat in North America is the jaguar, which can be found in Mexico's southern jungles.

I remain thankful for the wind! It's getting hotter and hotter, we sleep in sweat, but the nice thing here that we didn't have in Playa Ventura is that we can sleep on top of the bed here. Down there the bugs ate us alive, nite or day. Here the mosquitos, at this point anyway, come out in the late afternoon. And, the bites do not create huge welts like in Guerrero. Of course, all this is "yet". Because we have yet to experience the real heat here, the humidity. It's coming, but so far this wonderful beautiful wind takes off the deadly edge of the heat.

Poppi got the bedroom window open and although we usually need the fan most of the nite, in the wee hours, or about 4am, it's actually cool enough to turn off the fan. Yes I lay in bed and dream of a remote for it. We had a remote for the bedroom fan in Playa Ventura ha ha. Anyway the window is on my side of the bed. I open the curtain when I turn off the lites and get into bed. There's a gentle breeze, but I just like seeing the shadow of the branches, and also about 4am, there's these birds tweeting, I really LOVE hearing birds when I wake up. You probably don't even notice it, but try sleeping next to the ocean for 6 months; it's sooo loud you hear nothing but the waves, and in the middle of the nite it sounds like static, like white noise. And sometimes I think I hear voices when I hear continued static. Oh how I love the silence! Yeah, I don't even like the noise of the fan, and will sometimes choose sleeping in sweat rather than have the fan noise.

The other thing is when I wake up, really early and see those same branches, they're green right now, and "willowy". It doesn't matter to me that if I got up and looked out the window, saw the street and the houses there, that there's trash that has blown down the street and is up against walls and/or caught in shrubbery. That the road is dusty and dirty, and that the houses are shabby and old, some put together sort of haphazardly. Like when you get a little money, you build another room or start another hallway, so many houses have funny shapes. That there are beat up cars parked around and skinny dogs that may or may not have a home. No, when I wake up, I see floating thin branches with long thing green leaves, sometimes little yellow flowers blooming on them, blue sky peeking thru, or maybe it's earlier and the sky is a soft gray that lightens into blue. Some mornings I hear the train in the distance. It's nice, it's peaceful...at least for a couple of hours before the day begins ha ha.

Then, no later than 9am, and usually earlier, the constant horn honking of the water guy, assorted engines in different stages of having a muffler(!) start up...this morning a guy pounding on the door of one of the houses thru that window. Some houses are right next to each other, some closer ha ha! Many have a fence with a gate, all have bars on the windows. Ours, too. I don't even see them anymore. They're skinny, and on some windows "decorative", meaning maybe every other one has a little shape in the middle or at the tops & bottoms.....Around here all the houses are made of these cement blocks and then I guess they put cement around them. As much as I think our house is a piece of shit- it does have insulation in the roof, and that makes a huge difference as it gets hotter.So for now, we stay. But of course I drive around and look for empty houses or houses with for rent signs. The new neighbor is ok enough. She doesn't talk to us at all, isn't here much. But her kid (5yr old boy) is afraid of Sam so that kind of sucks. I wish she spend a little time outside with him and let him get used to Sam, he'd like him. The other problem is that she doesn't close the gate right; this morning was the second time she just swings it shut and then takes off. No way she didn't see it swinging open as she left! There's a bolt at the bottom that slides into a hole in the ground, that's how it stays shut. But she doesn't make shut it's in. But now I have to wait for Everardo to tell her, because I want to be sure she understands it's important. I don't want her to leave the gate open when Sam is in the yard and we're gone. He'd stay here, but what if a kitty cat goes arrogantly by his yard? Will he run out? Will he get hot by a car or grabbed by the dog catcher? I'm not confident enough in my Spanish to be able to relate the importance but not offend her. So he'll tell her.

But that's one of my issues here. Lack of control. Having to ask my husband to talk to the neighbor. Asking him to call the Sky TV company cause the bill is wrong. I'm a pretty independent person, I can take care of things, of stuff, of people. He's like "don't worry about it, I'll talk to her"...but today was the second time. The tv thing, well the bill shows on the tv, you don't get one in the mail, and he got on the phone with them, but (like the US) it takes forever to talk to a human voice. Then what they told him he related to me, then I thought it sounded like bullshit, but I gave in. But then I wanted to know what this other line item was...oh that's for the equipment, really? Then what are these other 2 line items? All for the same equipment? So he promised to ask as he sat on hold waiting to cancel this 24 peso a month magazine they send us that never comes in the house- straight to the garbage can...and they out waited him- meaning they put you on hold and NEVER come back. And we are stuck with them until Dec, then I want to try Mega cable or the other one (I forget the name).

Anyway I know my frustration is my problem. Hello Terry- it's the language and you knew it when you moved here! Ha! I know I know. And now I'm diligently putting in my time every day with Rosetta Stone- at least an hour a day. Cause in a much smaller but still happening way, I have to ask Everardo what was said or would he say/do this or that, and sometimes it feels like then he decides the importance of it and then acts accordingly. Yes it's human nature, but if I ask for translation, pls translate without judgement. We totally had a fight over the lady that's now cleaning out house every week. We pay her 150 pesos, about $12. And the problem is me- I need to be clear about what I want. And I thought I was clear, pls don't do any laundry- and that includes pls don't take the sheets off my bed and put them in the dirty clothes basket, or the towels or any clothes that are not in the closet or drawers! I said the bed was fine, needed nothing, it's made when she comes- I put the blanket only on the bottom half of the bed, really just to keep the sheets flat, and the sheets nicely turned down right below the nicely put pillows. SO THE BLANKET DOES NOT NEED TO BE PULLED UP ALL THE WAY AND THE PILLOWS STACKED DIFFERENTLY.....oh sorry did I just lose it? So she's only come about 4 times and I come home and blow my stack. So last week I came home and the blanket wasn't on the bed...hmmmm, then I notice it was folded to a narrow rectangle and was sitting under the pillows- I further noticed they were different  sheets than the ones that were there this morning....aarrggghhhh!!

Ok and WHO stores plastic bags in the over??!! Ok so people here don't use their ovens- weird but true. So she just needs to know- specifically- what it is I want and do not want, oh including, pls just clean, don't rearrange and put things away somewhere out of sight if I have them IN sight..Yes I know I sound like a bitch, but I want things the way I want them. Sooooo,  I have to ask, yes ASK my husband to talk to her. aarrgghh did I say that already. And he thinks none of it is a big deal! That belittles me...to decided what is important. I do minimize the things he tells me about working down at the beach...I am not even clear about how some of what he does makes sense, but he is happy and so I'm happy. Ok anyway, he now knows how I feel, and we have talked it thru. He does have to be the one to have all three conversations- tv, neighbor, cleaning lady. And I have to remember that I am powerless of people places and things...have a little acceptance and give myself a break. Work on becoming fluent! At some point I'll be able to do these things. Ha ha my friend Karen told me her last cleaning lady rearranged all her furniture in her living room and bedroom, so maybe my lady is not so bad ha ha ha ha ha

This weekend was that huge moon and it was so beautiful here. Friday nite we had dinner at some friends of the community center who were renting a tiny place on the beach and it was nice. I actually was sporting a bad sunburn on my back cause earlier in the day I laid on the beach and read, for just 20 minutes and got a hell of a burn! Usually we go down to the beach around 6pm when it's still warm enough to go swimming and look for shells, but we went early Friday cause there weren't many tourists on the beach and we weren't needed at the center. Ouchy ouchy won't make THAT mistake again. It's feeling a little better now. Last nite we went to another couple's place for dinner and that was nice too (yeah we ate around this weekend...food whores). This lady I know from the center as well, but they have a business in Tuscon and are trying to wrap it up and live here full time. They are trying to figure out a business here and they were telling us about a few ideas they've been kicking around. Ooooh I like business, and was very interested. And I like that they want to start something and try to put some people to work, and hopefully people from out in the San Rafael neighborhood- that's where the community center is where I volunteer. One idea was about solar, another about this tiny pepper that could be harvested, bagged and tagged, and exported, but man, needs the due diligence done. How much money do you want to make. How many tiny peppers make how much money? how much land do you need to grow x amount of tiny peppers, I mean all the questions have to be asked and answered...but this guy seemed very savy and he and I were on the same page there. So I like getting to know them, and hey, wonder what's going to come next?

A lot of people seem to think that things are turning around here and that the future is bright. I try to read a lot of local stuff, to kinda try to see who's bumpin' and grindin'.....I believe there's a lot of opportunity, and maybe I can jump in somewhere.....of course I want (I need, for me) to keep up my teaching out at the center. It's a win win, and a few people are really putting me thru my paces; figuring out what to teach next, putting together conversations, reviewing what we already did...and the music of course! Everyone has fun with that! Ok well time to do my Rosetta Stone....so I'll leave with a Mexico fun fact:

A Mexican tamale called the zacahuil is three feet long and weighs about 150 pounds.^c