Wednesday 11 July
I learned how to make tortillas. I asked if Lolita could show me. It is quite simple. This is my last day here and I am kind of sad. It has been an amazing experience. I have really appreciated being able to get to know Olga and Pepe much better. I have been able to do so much. A very productive summer if you ask me ☺
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Tuesday 10 July
Tuesday 10 July
I went with Olga to Sams club and and the store and other errands. We went downtown because Olga needed to ask for something at the hotel they had stayed at when they were looking for an apartment. We came back to the house and then ate. After that we went and walked around Polancito. It was a really nice day. We sat for a while in the huge playground and watched all the little kids playing. It was cute. I got basically everything packed up. I am quite proud of myself for that.
I went with Olga to Sams club and and the store and other errands. We went downtown because Olga needed to ask for something at the hotel they had stayed at when they were looking for an apartment. We came back to the house and then ate. After that we went and walked around Polancito. It was a really nice day. We sat for a while in the huge playground and watched all the little kids playing. It was cute. I got basically everything packed up. I am quite proud of myself for that.
Monday 9 August
Monday 9 August
I went with Olga on her errands. As we were in line, Olga’s friend called and said that she was at the house. Olga had forgotten that she had made a date with her friend. So Olga called Lolita to offer her something, then we just rushed back to the house. He name is Shamama. She is from London, but originally Indian. Her husband is Indian. Her husband also works for Slumberger. There is a group for the spouses of the people who work for the company. She and Olga are a part of it. We got to the house then walked to a small café in Polancito. I love that English accent. Just hearing it makes me want to talk like that. She gave me the names of some schools in London. I really enjoyed talking to her. And I was glad to have a relief to speak in English. Then we gave her a ride home. Olga then wanted to go to visit her mom, but I think she preferred to go alone. So she dropped me off at the house. I goofed off for a bit but my head started to hurt so I laid down and fell asleep. I don’t really know how long I slept. I woke up because Pepe got home. He then told me that I should have gone out. I talked to him for a while. Then Olga got home. Pepe gave me a whole lesson on how American’s are wasteful and how to cut a pineapple to use every part. We had merienda together then I had to say goodbye to Pepe because he was going to Costa Rica until Thursday night.
I went with Olga on her errands. As we were in line, Olga’s friend called and said that she was at the house. Olga had forgotten that she had made a date with her friend. So Olga called Lolita to offer her something, then we just rushed back to the house. He name is Shamama. She is from London, but originally Indian. Her husband is Indian. Her husband also works for Slumberger. There is a group for the spouses of the people who work for the company. She and Olga are a part of it. We got to the house then walked to a small café in Polancito. I love that English accent. Just hearing it makes me want to talk like that. She gave me the names of some schools in London. I really enjoyed talking to her. And I was glad to have a relief to speak in English. Then we gave her a ride home. Olga then wanted to go to visit her mom, but I think she preferred to go alone. So she dropped me off at the house. I goofed off for a bit but my head started to hurt so I laid down and fell asleep. I don’t really know how long I slept. I woke up because Pepe got home. He then told me that I should have gone out. I talked to him for a while. Then Olga got home. Pepe gave me a whole lesson on how American’s are wasteful and how to cut a pineapple to use every part. We had merienda together then I had to say goodbye to Pepe because he was going to Costa Rica until Thursday night.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Sunday 8 August
Sunday 8 August
I was woken up by the bells from a near by church at about 7. It felt like someone was clanging a gong right next to my ear. It just kept going and going and going. Rosalia knocked on the door to see if I had woken up yet around 8. I took probably the quickest shower Tanya will probably ever have in her life. I was ready by 8: 45 and we were going to leave at 9:30. I sat in the kitchen drawing and listening to my iPod (no one else was in the kitchen). Rosalia and Jose built a small building with two apartments right next door. Their son is using the one on the second level and Pepe and Olga stayed in the one on the lower level. It is very small but nice. Then there is a tower that is on the roof so we took a trip up there. It was like a gazebo. Then we went back to downtown. We went to mass at the cathedral. It was a mariachi mass so it was beautiful. The cathedral is a different cathedral than the ones we have seen. It seems older. The inside is a lot simpler. The walls are still painted with the original paintings. We got very good seats, in the fourth row. Something I found interesting is that they sang the creed. I had never seen anyone do that before. Then we went to breakfast at Los Colorines. There were 3 men playing live music. Two were playing different guitars and the other was playing the violin. I really enjoyed the folk songs. I had enchiladas with chicken and it had beans on the side. I think my spicy tolerance is growing. I realize that I do really like spicy food. Olga gave me some soup that was made from a bean like legume. I think it was called haban or something like that. Then we drove to Tepoztlan, a small town near Cuernavaca. We walked on the main street to the market. It was packed with people. It felt like a lot of people come from Cuernavaca for the weekend. Olga and I walked down the main street and the cerro just kept getting bigger and bigger. The colors were beautiful. Then we drove back to Mexico City and got to the house.
I was woken up by the bells from a near by church at about 7. It felt like someone was clanging a gong right next to my ear. It just kept going and going and going. Rosalia knocked on the door to see if I had woken up yet around 8. I took probably the quickest shower Tanya will probably ever have in her life. I was ready by 8: 45 and we were going to leave at 9:30. I sat in the kitchen drawing and listening to my iPod (no one else was in the kitchen). Rosalia and Jose built a small building with two apartments right next door. Their son is using the one on the second level and Pepe and Olga stayed in the one on the lower level. It is very small but nice. Then there is a tower that is on the roof so we took a trip up there. It was like a gazebo. Then we went back to downtown. We went to mass at the cathedral. It was a mariachi mass so it was beautiful. The cathedral is a different cathedral than the ones we have seen. It seems older. The inside is a lot simpler. The walls are still painted with the original paintings. We got very good seats, in the fourth row. Something I found interesting is that they sang the creed. I had never seen anyone do that before. Then we went to breakfast at Los Colorines. There were 3 men playing live music. Two were playing different guitars and the other was playing the violin. I really enjoyed the folk songs. I had enchiladas with chicken and it had beans on the side. I think my spicy tolerance is growing. I realize that I do really like spicy food. Olga gave me some soup that was made from a bean like legume. I think it was called haban or something like that. Then we drove to Tepoztlan, a small town near Cuernavaca. We walked on the main street to the market. It was packed with people. It felt like a lot of people come from Cuernavaca for the weekend. Olga and I walked down the main street and the cerro just kept getting bigger and bigger. The colors were beautiful. Then we drove back to Mexico City and got to the house.
Saturday 7 August
Saturday 7 August
I got up around 7 because Pepe said to be ready by 8:30. We didn’t leave until after 9:30. Traffic was pretty bad coming out of the city. It went by really fast. I didn’t realize that we were going to stay with some of Pepe and Olga’s friends. To get to cuernavaca you have to go into the mountain. So right above Cuernavaca we were in the clouds. You could not see very far and occasionally where there was a break you could see above the clouds. It was an incredible view. Then all of a sudden, you come down the really steep hill and just keep going down and down. Apparently it goes down hill all the way until Acapulco. So we got lost coming into the city and it took a while and many stops to ask people to find the area where their friends lived. Pepe and Jose were in the engineering school together at UNAM. Both of them and another guy were inseparable when they were in school. So we went to the house and I was starving. They talked for a while then we went to downtown. We went to the cathedral and a wedding was going on. It was a Zoo. It was full! So we snuck in and watched the newly weds walk down the isle. I think they must have been famous or well to do or something because they had some crazy paparazzi. As they walked down, a mob of people was in front of them just taking pictures. And with the heavy duty good cameras too! Then we walked through downtown and made our way to a castle where they had a museum. We were in there for at least an hour and a half. My allergies were set off like crazy. The sun was really strong and I was burning. I really liked the museum though. They had a really cool collection of the pictures from the Mexican revolution a century ago. Then we drove to the restaurant where Rosalia and Jose’s daughter and husband met us. I got a cocacola do drink because I saw they had the glass bottles. They got tostadas with cheese for the appetizer. None for me though. I got enfrijoladas with chicken. They were really plain but I was starving. I finished every last bit. I also tried agua de guayaba. I liked the flavor better than that of the guayabana. Then we made a quick stop at the house. We made our way for a tour of Cuernavaca. A few months ago, the narcos put a message online saying that there was going to be a fight between the different drug lords and the military in Cuernavaca on a certain day and it was better if everyone stayed inside their houses. The whole city shut down and no one was on the streets. Rosalia and Jose showed us the upscale side of town where two major drug lords lived right behind a senator! Then we went back to downtown. There was a big market and mariachi festival. Pepe bought me one of those bracelets that has my name on it. I was really grateful for that. Now I have that bracelet on that hand and the esclava on the other. If anyone saw that, they might think I forget my name often! That was really cool to see all these people in their mariachi outfits. Then there was this little square where there was people dancing a Danzon. It was soo cute because they were mostly old couples. Then there was a group of women dancing folk dances. Right by there, there was a huge stand selling bread. It smelled intoxicating. Then there was a group of people performing this indigenous ceremony with incense and all. I really enjoyed it. I felt at ease. We stopped by a restaurant next to the danzon outside called Los Arcos. I got a limonada with agua mineral. The wind was blowing and my allergies were driving me insane, then my face was itching really bad, but I was really trying not to touch my face. So by the end I was really restless. (Probably a long conversation about the various insects residing in Cuernavaca did not help either). We went back to the house and I stayed in an extra room that had a bunch of storage. The first thing I see is an enormous spider on the wall in the corner. I asked Jose to kill it. Then in the bathroom I found 3 spiders. I just did my business quick and got out! I decided not to let it bug me (no pun intended). And I went to sleep. It started to rain and it seemed extremely loud to me.
I got up around 7 because Pepe said to be ready by 8:30. We didn’t leave until after 9:30. Traffic was pretty bad coming out of the city. It went by really fast. I didn’t realize that we were going to stay with some of Pepe and Olga’s friends. To get to cuernavaca you have to go into the mountain. So right above Cuernavaca we were in the clouds. You could not see very far and occasionally where there was a break you could see above the clouds. It was an incredible view. Then all of a sudden, you come down the really steep hill and just keep going down and down. Apparently it goes down hill all the way until Acapulco. So we got lost coming into the city and it took a while and many stops to ask people to find the area where their friends lived. Pepe and Jose were in the engineering school together at UNAM. Both of them and another guy were inseparable when they were in school. So we went to the house and I was starving. They talked for a while then we went to downtown. We went to the cathedral and a wedding was going on. It was a Zoo. It was full! So we snuck in and watched the newly weds walk down the isle. I think they must have been famous or well to do or something because they had some crazy paparazzi. As they walked down, a mob of people was in front of them just taking pictures. And with the heavy duty good cameras too! Then we walked through downtown and made our way to a castle where they had a museum. We were in there for at least an hour and a half. My allergies were set off like crazy. The sun was really strong and I was burning. I really liked the museum though. They had a really cool collection of the pictures from the Mexican revolution a century ago. Then we drove to the restaurant where Rosalia and Jose’s daughter and husband met us. I got a cocacola do drink because I saw they had the glass bottles. They got tostadas with cheese for the appetizer. None for me though. I got enfrijoladas with chicken. They were really plain but I was starving. I finished every last bit. I also tried agua de guayaba. I liked the flavor better than that of the guayabana. Then we made a quick stop at the house. We made our way for a tour of Cuernavaca. A few months ago, the narcos put a message online saying that there was going to be a fight between the different drug lords and the military in Cuernavaca on a certain day and it was better if everyone stayed inside their houses. The whole city shut down and no one was on the streets. Rosalia and Jose showed us the upscale side of town where two major drug lords lived right behind a senator! Then we went back to downtown. There was a big market and mariachi festival. Pepe bought me one of those bracelets that has my name on it. I was really grateful for that. Now I have that bracelet on that hand and the esclava on the other. If anyone saw that, they might think I forget my name often! That was really cool to see all these people in their mariachi outfits. Then there was this little square where there was people dancing a Danzon. It was soo cute because they were mostly old couples. Then there was a group of women dancing folk dances. Right by there, there was a huge stand selling bread. It smelled intoxicating. Then there was a group of people performing this indigenous ceremony with incense and all. I really enjoyed it. I felt at ease. We stopped by a restaurant next to the danzon outside called Los Arcos. I got a limonada with agua mineral. The wind was blowing and my allergies were driving me insane, then my face was itching really bad, but I was really trying not to touch my face. So by the end I was really restless. (Probably a long conversation about the various insects residing in Cuernavaca did not help either). We went back to the house and I stayed in an extra room that had a bunch of storage. The first thing I see is an enormous spider on the wall in the corner. I asked Jose to kill it. Then in the bathroom I found 3 spiders. I just did my business quick and got out! I decided not to let it bug me (no pun intended). And I went to sleep. It started to rain and it seemed extremely loud to me.
Friday 6 August
Friday 6 August
I went with Olga to her zumba class again. I got up at 5:40. Then she warms up for thirty minutes before the class in the gym. So we were on the elliptical. I tried not to push myself too much because one time I did and I almost threw up afterwards because I was not in good enough shape. Tim went SOO slowly. I hate that you constantly see the time on the machines. Then you just stare at it the entire time. Then I did one arm machine and then stretched. I was not feeling all that motivated. Then we walked to the Zumba class. It was so fun. I really enjoy it. It wasn’t as exciting at the first time, but it still was. He just used a different set of music that was a bit slower this time. We went back to the machines to now cool down. I stretched for what seemed like forever. Then we went back to the house. I got ready and I made myself some delicious eggs with turkey. Then we went to the house of Olga’s mom. She had Polio and diabetes and just old so she does not have very much movement left. She can only be in a wheel chair. So we were going to take her to the Basilica of Guadalupe. We had a hard time getting her into the front seat. Her two servants went with us. One was named Irma, but I don’t remember what the other one’s name was. It took us a while to find the right parking lot. In the end, we still got in the wrong one. The parking attendants were being completely unhelpful. Even though they knew we needed a handicap parking space, they would not let us in. Finally a nice attendant let us in. They let us go to the first level where there was a handicap elevator. Esperanza (Olga’s mom) went with the two ladies and Olga and I had to go all the way down to the fourth level to get the car parked. We then got out of the building, but then we couldn’t find them. Finally we did and we went in to the church. There was a bunch of people. We got there right on time for mass. We sat in the front row on the very side. A man was the cantor who was pretty good. I was impressed. Then after Mass, we walked below the cloth. You know how they have the conveyer belts so nobody stops for too long. Instead, people just stop at the end of the conveyer belts. All of the people from the mass crowded in. People were pushing from behind while there was just a wall of people in front of you just avoiding getting their feet stuck in the end of the belt. We were all freaking out. With the wheel chair it was horrible. There really was no way of stopping it. So we rammed the shins of the wall of people in front of us because we couldn’t even budge the chair. It was really scary. Finally a lady pushed forward yelling “silla de ruedas!” People got out of the way. Finally we got off the belt and went to the corner where it was not as tight. Then we had to wait for at least 10 minutes for the crowd of people to diminish. We went to the car and had to go through the whole ordeal of getting back to the first level again. While Esperanza and the two ladies were in the elevator, it broke down. The man managed to fix it quickly, but still that is scary. Then we drove back to the house of Esperanza. Getting her out of the car was easier. Olga and I left and walked a few blocks from there to a repair stand. She needed to get a different blade, top, and seal for her blender and a seal for her pressure cook pot. We drove by and picked up Pepe from his work. Then we went back to the house and ate. Then some workers came by to drop off a shelf that they had repaired. I was playing piano, but they asked me to stop. I had thought I would be out of the way in there, but I guess the noise didn’t get out of the way. Then I thought we were only going to get ice cream. We ended up going to the mall and seeing Inception. Olga really liked it too, but Pepe thought it was Mafufada like On the way there, they told me that we were going to Cuernavaca for the weekend. So that is why I didn’t give you guys a warning because I didn’t get one. Abuelo thought. While we waited for the movie, we got ice cream. I got a paleta de guayabana. It had huge seed stuck in it, so I was walking through the mall, struggling to keep a hold on all the black seeds that I had sucked off the paleta. Then we just sat on a bench in the middle of the mall for quite a while. We didn’t get home until midnight. Then I tried to figure out what I needed for the little adventure.
I went with Olga to her zumba class again. I got up at 5:40. Then she warms up for thirty minutes before the class in the gym. So we were on the elliptical. I tried not to push myself too much because one time I did and I almost threw up afterwards because I was not in good enough shape. Tim went SOO slowly. I hate that you constantly see the time on the machines. Then you just stare at it the entire time. Then I did one arm machine and then stretched. I was not feeling all that motivated. Then we walked to the Zumba class. It was so fun. I really enjoy it. It wasn’t as exciting at the first time, but it still was. He just used a different set of music that was a bit slower this time. We went back to the machines to now cool down. I stretched for what seemed like forever. Then we went back to the house. I got ready and I made myself some delicious eggs with turkey. Then we went to the house of Olga’s mom. She had Polio and diabetes and just old so she does not have very much movement left. She can only be in a wheel chair. So we were going to take her to the Basilica of Guadalupe. We had a hard time getting her into the front seat. Her two servants went with us. One was named Irma, but I don’t remember what the other one’s name was. It took us a while to find the right parking lot. In the end, we still got in the wrong one. The parking attendants were being completely unhelpful. Even though they knew we needed a handicap parking space, they would not let us in. Finally a nice attendant let us in. They let us go to the first level where there was a handicap elevator. Esperanza (Olga’s mom) went with the two ladies and Olga and I had to go all the way down to the fourth level to get the car parked. We then got out of the building, but then we couldn’t find them. Finally we did and we went in to the church. There was a bunch of people. We got there right on time for mass. We sat in the front row on the very side. A man was the cantor who was pretty good. I was impressed. Then after Mass, we walked below the cloth. You know how they have the conveyer belts so nobody stops for too long. Instead, people just stop at the end of the conveyer belts. All of the people from the mass crowded in. People were pushing from behind while there was just a wall of people in front of you just avoiding getting their feet stuck in the end of the belt. We were all freaking out. With the wheel chair it was horrible. There really was no way of stopping it. So we rammed the shins of the wall of people in front of us because we couldn’t even budge the chair. It was really scary. Finally a lady pushed forward yelling “silla de ruedas!” People got out of the way. Finally we got off the belt and went to the corner where it was not as tight. Then we had to wait for at least 10 minutes for the crowd of people to diminish. We went to the car and had to go through the whole ordeal of getting back to the first level again. While Esperanza and the two ladies were in the elevator, it broke down. The man managed to fix it quickly, but still that is scary. Then we drove back to the house of Esperanza. Getting her out of the car was easier. Olga and I left and walked a few blocks from there to a repair stand. She needed to get a different blade, top, and seal for her blender and a seal for her pressure cook pot. We drove by and picked up Pepe from his work. Then we went back to the house and ate. Then some workers came by to drop off a shelf that they had repaired. I was playing piano, but they asked me to stop. I had thought I would be out of the way in there, but I guess the noise didn’t get out of the way. Then I thought we were only going to get ice cream. We ended up going to the mall and seeing Inception. Olga really liked it too, but Pepe thought it was Mafufada like On the way there, they told me that we were going to Cuernavaca for the weekend. So that is why I didn’t give you guys a warning because I didn’t get one. Abuelo thought. While we waited for the movie, we got ice cream. I got a paleta de guayabana. It had huge seed stuck in it, so I was walking through the mall, struggling to keep a hold on all the black seeds that I had sucked off the paleta. Then we just sat on a bench in the middle of the mall for quite a while. We didn’t get home until midnight. Then I tried to figure out what I needed for the little adventure.
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