La rata

So....new adventure, a rat. We have known there was a rat in the house since last Wednesday. Nadine was putting laundry into the machine from the sink (Like the big ones most people have in the wash room). I was in my room and suddenly heard the loudest scream I'd ever heard. It happened four more times as I was coming from my room to the kitchen (passing the laundry room on my way). Nadine was standing by the window screaming bloody murder and would not tell me what had happened.
Finally she stopped long enough to say, "Una rata, una rata." She calmed down over the next minute, and told me the story. As she was putting the laundry into the machine she felt something furry move beneath her hand. She looked, saw a "huge, furry rat" and ran screaming from the room. Soon the neighbor came to see what had happened. I was surprised no one came sooner, as I had really thought she was hurt or in pain or saw something horrible. But, it was just our friendly rat.
Throughout the week we heard him a few times, rustling around in the washing room, which just happens to be located in the same area as my bedroom. So one morning I was not surprised to see the rat run across my path as I walked to the kitchen. It ran from behind the garbage to behind the washing machine. I just went about my day and told Nadine about it when I saw her again.
A few times in the last week we have found holes in some of the clothes in the laundry room. We also found droppings (or poop) in the kids bathroom upstairs. I even though I heard it running around one night. Although Nadine was concerned, we weren't quite sure how to go about getting it.
So last night I'm on my bed watching a little tv on my computer before I turn out my light when I hear a little noise. I thought, "the rat." Then I convinced myself I was being silly. I went back to watching, but I heard it again. I very bravely peeked my head behind my dresser, and sure enough, there it was doing it's little ratty things. I quickly but quietly moved from the room, climbed the stairs and called to Juan Carlos. I figured at least it was trapped in my room and maybe they could use that to remove it from the house. I felt a little bad, as I really didn't want the little guy dead, but he was ruining clothes and possibly furniture and there is the other issue of the diseases they carry and the biting and all.
So, after taking everything out of my room and me making a trip to the gate for one of the guards, asking in my nicest Spanish, "Puede ayudarnos, por favor. Hay una rata en la casa." (Ok I actually made a mistake and said Habia instead of Hay, but he understood rata). So we went back to the house and I let him in my room. After a lot of thumping around finally the door opened and out came the guard carrying the rat, bluck. Anyway, it was an exciting night, I guess.
I leave at 4:30 for Acapulco!!!!! YAY!!!

Jenn

Can't wait for tomorrow....

Tomorrow I go to Acapulco to see my friends!!! Yay!!!! I'm excited. It's been kind of a rough week and I think this will be just what I need.
I'm going to skip the apology for it being so long and just go right to what I've been up to. Saturday the kids had swimming in the morning. Afterwards I walked over to the Starbucks and enjoyed some time to myself. I was only going to do a little shopping afterwards but ended up doing a lot more.
I followed signs from Starbucks to try and get to the pyramid that's in town. I got really lost and ended up at the Super. I bought a few things for the kids and then walked across the street to the outdoor mall. I looked around for a while but clothes are very expensive here and I don't really need anymore anyway.
After the shopping trip I tried again for the pyramid, this time with success. It was actually really cool. It's in a big cleared out field in the middle of the town. It is a double pyramid, the people were in the process of building a bigger pyramid around the original small one when the Spanish came and took over. I thought it was much more impressive than the one I climbed nearly a mile to see. I'm just sorry I didn't have my camera, so I might have to visit again.
After the pyramid I made my way to the center because I know that a cab can find me there (I always call from the same place because I know I'll see the cab). At the Zocolo(or town square) there was a concert going on of like reggae music. There were people drawing pictures on large pieces of paper and a lot of people all around watching. I had a great time listening and then I realized it was getting late and I should head back to the house.
Sunday we didn't do much. Nadine left for a business trip so we went to the mall to eat. And then she was gone until yesterday night. I guess I'm still having a little trouble getting used to what the family wants from me and how they want their children taught, because Juan Carlos and I had a talk. But I don't really want to go into details. It's not that important and I will be trying my best to do what they like. I'm just glad that the children are so great, although I do really like the whole family. All I can say is Yay for tomorrow!!!!

The Center

I've wanted to blog about this weekend since it happened, but I have been busy. I taught the kids to make clay and we baked a few figures. Yesterday I was a little tired and right when she got home Clemence started acting out and I lost all patience with the kids, which in turn just makes them act worse.
But anyway, I had a great weekend. Saturday I was thinking about staying near the gym where we take the kids swimming, but Nadine didn't feel well so I wanted to stay and help her with the kids. So Sunday I was ready to go.
The family gave me a rid into the center and Nadine gave me a few suggestions on where to go. I started at the Jardin Borda. It is a large colonial period garden. I started by going to the two art room they have and then I entered the garden. It is very large and very beautiful (as you can see in the pictures I posted). there is a museum with pictures and other colonial relics. There was also a market to buy handmade crafts, paintings, and snacks. The handcrafts were some of the best I've seen anywhere in any market in the world. They weren't the same old same old that you get at all the Mexican markets, but actually well thought out crafts. I ended up buying two photographs as well as a bunch of things from one stall which I can't talk about because they might become presents for some of you.
However, at this stall I stopped and talked to the woman who had made the crafts. She had dreamed up the idea and figured out how to do it all on her own, which if you know what it is it's amazing she wasn't trained. She lives out in the forest between Mexico City and Cuernavaca and comes to the market int he garden every Sunday. She knew a lot about different things and even did my Mayan astrology for me (I'm Mano, the Hand). I had a good time talking to her and hope I can go back and see the new things she's made and get a chance to talk to her again.
After the garden I went to the coffee shop in the center that I have been to with the family a few times. I got a frappucino and sat and read my book for a while. It was a nice relaxing time by myself. After I had sucked my coffee dry I headed across the street to the Cathedral complex. There are three churches within the walls, two of which you can go inside. The third is very beautiful from the outside, though I really was curious about what was behind the heavy wooden doors.
I wandered around for a while and then thought I'd go to the supermarket I saw down the street for some craft stuff for the kids. I walked down there and around the air conditioned store for a while (however, Sunday was actually very nice out with a nice breeze and just enough sun). I didn't find anything I was looking for, so I headed back toward the center to look for the museum Nadine had mentioned. On my way I saw this sign for the Robert Brady house, so I went in.
Robert Brady was a man from teh United States who moved to Mexico and collected many Mexican art items, as well as items from around the world. It reminded me a lot of the house of Jim Thompson in Thailand who had a great affinity for Thai arcitecture. Many of the things in the Brady house were very interesting, and his garden was so beautiful I would have loved to live there just for that reason.
After finishing in the Brady house it started to look cloudy and ready to rain so I decided to call a cab. I walked to a little spot in front of the Cathedral where I could easily tell the cab company where to pick me up, called and waited. The cab came without fail and we headed home. And after I got there, it did rain. And the raind didn't stop until yesterday afternoon. It was my first rainy days in Mexico....bleh, let's not have that again.

Photos

Hacienda: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2193770&l=b209e&id=7804820

Tepotzlan (the pyramid): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196608&l=aeda0&id=7804820

Around the Center (I will post about this soon): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196610&l=95595&id=7804820

Raton...

So, the pests have grown larger. Yesterday there was a rat in the laundry. Well at least this is what Nadine managed to tell me after screaming bloody murder. I never saw the rat, thought there were a few holes in a shirt left as evidence that she did not make it up. I thought she had been bit by a scorpion or something. A neighbor even came to see what had happened.
I had a cucaracha climb in my bed one night. I woke up and thought I felt something, but I decided it must have been a hair or my imagination or something. But then I felt it again. I jumped out of bed, turned my light on full blast and took all the sheets off the bed. You never know, it could be a scorpion. I saw it scurry up the wall and, now fearless me, smushed it and left it on the floor to deal with in the morning.
Last weekend I went to Tepotzlan. It is an old city that brags a museum, a few churches, a market and a pyramid. I took a bus from Cuernavaca center, a small dark bus, through the bumpy roads and into Tepotzlan. I am not sure how the bus stops worked. None of them made any sense. There were just magically people waiting in certain places to get the bus. Having seen this on the way there at least I was warned and knew to start looking for the bus earlier than I might have, which in turn helped keep me from getting poured on by a sudden thunder storm. Turns out the bus ends at a bus station a little out of town. It took me three policemen and a little bit of exploratory walking and stopping before I figured this out.
But back to the day in Tepotzlan. I started out looking in a few shops after I jumped off the bus. I found the Zocolo, or market, and walked a lap around that before going in search of the pyramid. It took a little bit of walking and faith that I was not missing any of the signs, but I finally found it. You have to walk through a little market before reaching the bottom of the mountain that you must climb to reach the pyramid. I bought watermelon and sat at the bottom of the mountain and enjoyed it.
I thought I should go to the bathroom before the climb, but when I headed back to the place I had seen the bathroom I realized you had to pay and I didn't have a lot of change. So I walked all the way back to the base of the mountain to start my climb.
The climb started with stairs and then degenerated into stair like rocks and then just random rocks. As you climb the mountain you realize that anytime anyone ever wanted to go to the pyramid they had to make this climb. The sign said it was about 2 kilometers, so it wasn't too much, just very steep. The Indians must have had horrible knees.
It was a hard climb, in the heat, with no one to talk to, but it was nice. Having no one with me meant I could take breaks when I felt like it and go for as long as I felt I could before collapsing onto a rock to take a rest. I did talk to a few people on the way up, but it was nice to actually look at the things around me rather and take my time rather than just being concerned with getting up the mountain to see the pyramid. Honestly, if I had done that I would have been severely disappointed.
The pyramid was neat, but very small and mostly fallen down. There were a few carved rocks but the best thing was the view from the top. I guess that's why people bother climbing mountains instead of doing the stair climber in the gym. The view is always so cool and is almost as good as if you could fly. The breeze up there was nice too. I wanted to stay longer, but the sunscreen I had brought ended up being empty and I knew I was getting burned so I headed down.
On the way down I heard these people playing drums. They were on their way up so I fell in behind them and climbed up behind them a little bit. However, I finally looked at my clock and realized if I wanted to do anything else I'd have to get down because I had decided to look for the bus at 5ish.
I went down and went through the market. I found the entrance to the museum but decided I'd save it for another day because I didn't have much more time. As I said before I'm glad my schedule was what it was, or I would have been drenched. I got on the bus just as the first drops began to fall.
This week has been mostly uneventful. I have played with the kids and done my thing. I don't know what I will do this weekend, but we will see.

Cuchillos

So it's hard to cut through things without a sharp knife. No, this is not some sort of metaphor for life, though I'm sure someone could make it one. And then I'd be the famous sayer of a saying. But really people, it's hard to cut things without a sharp knife. I never wanted for sharp knives in my life, since my dad is the king of the sharpener. So I never really understood those commercials, "It even cuts through a tomato." But I just tried to cut a tomato with a dull knife. NOT EASY.

Ok...

So here goes, since I know I owe a post of last weekend, last week and this weekend, I will try my best to get it all done before the kids wake up. Last weekend wasn't very eventful. We went to the City of Mexico on Saturday for a birthday party. It took 3 hours to get to the house because it took almost an hour or so to get to the city, an hour to get across the city and an hour to find the house. We got very lost, which was find with me cause I got to see all the pretty houses of the city. There are many houses there where rich people live that are very beautiful. Nadine got very worked up about being lost and wanted to get home. She gets very worked up about everything, I mean EVERYTHING. I think that's the one big problem I have, because she is always asking "I'm right, no?" and what am I supposed to say. She's also very critical. It makes me sad to know the kids will most likely grow up just as critical as her.
It's hard watching kids who are not yours for the majority of their time at home. These kids are the spoiled kids you see throwing a fit in the supermarket with no one trying to do anything about it except the nanny and the parents kind of just stand there waiting. And then they buy them chocolate cokies and the yogurt drink they want and the flan and a toy and wonder why their kids are always throwing fits and never eating. Maybe it's because the minute they cry you give them what they want, so they don't even bother asking, they go straight to whining, except with me cause I won't let them. And maybe they'd eat better if you weren't constantly giving them sweets and bottles of chocolate milk. But that's just an observation. Maybe it's not that at all.
Anyway, this past week was ok. The kids were home from Wednesday on and Nadine went on a trip to Costa Rica Thursday night to Saturday morning. We didn't do anything too special. Wednesday after school we met some of their classmates parents and classmates at a restaurant. It was a little boring because no one was really talking or anything, so I went and played with the kids. At least they were having fun on the playground that looked like it might fall and kill them, but hey, fun...right?
This Sunday I went out on my own for the first time. I got a new cell phone at the mall last weekend, so I had all the numbers I needed. I headed out of the plaza where we ate breakfast and went across the street to the Muros cultural center. They had all this really cool modern art. I really liked it, especially the art that was there from the Down Syndrome initiative. I can't remember the name of the society, but a man decided to teach Down Syndrome patients to use art to express themselves, and they are really good drawings. Especially the ones in linoleum.
I really liked looking at all the art, but I still don't really understand it. I mean I understand it expresses something. But I feel that a bit of that expression is taken away hanging it on a white wall devoid of creativity. In the room with the Down Syndrome paintings there was a large mural done by Diego Rivera. That was really cool. It covered the whole ceiling and halfway down the walls. I felt that that helped me appreciate the art more. there were also two really nice photographs in another room but I can't remember the artist's name. However, the museum was free so perhaps I will go back at some point.
After the art museum I went to the grocery store to get a few things and then headed off to walk to the center of town. I got really lost, and ended up walking into the big market that they have in Cuernavaca. I bought a pair of flip flops cause my others smelled really really bad and then I went to look at the other things. It reminded me a lot of the market in Thailand that we went to, although it was a bit smaller and more confusing. It took me an hour to find an exit, although I got to see a lot. The people there were not too pushy. They called to you to ask about prices, but if you ignored them or said no they left you alone.
Finally, I found my way out of the market and walked some more until I sort of came upon the center by accident. I got myself an ice cream because It was really hot and I was kind of tired. I went to the old palace which was filled with a museum. It was $3 so I went in and looked at the things. they had really cool stones carved by the different Indian groups from before the Spanish conquests. I had seen many pictures of stone like them, but never one in real life. I really wanted to touch them, but I think it's prohibited.
In the upper half of the museum they had colonial artifacts. I looked at them, but not well because it was like an oven upstairs in a brick building with wood floors and no air conditioning. So I breezed past most of the things, but I got the idea. I've seen colonial things anyway. But it was sort of interesting seeing Spanish vs. British colonial things. The Spanish things were, well, very Spanish. And I can say that cause I've been to Spain and seen their things.
I took a taxi home. You have to call for a taxi, which intimidated me for a minute, but it was ok. My cell phone is clear and I can hear what they are asking well. Sometimes when I talked on Nadine cell phone I couldn't hear anything anyone was saying. But on mine I can, so everything worked out ok.
I came home tired, but they hadn't even eaten yet. So I helped with the kids and the food and the kids bath after that and finally got to bed at 10 o'clock or so. Now I'm just waiting for the kids to get up to start my day.

Much love,
Jenn

Cucarachas Disaperecen

So, just a quick little story while I have a little time. I have killed two cucarachas in my shower- on separate occasions. I hide them under the drain so that I don't have to deal with them until they are dried out, cause squishy bugs are yuckier then dry ones. So anyway, the next day when i go to deal with it, I pull up the drain cover and the cucarachas are gone. Now I have no clue how tey disappear. I know they were dead. Maybe their friends come for them. Or maybe they dry up and fall through the drain. However, they do it, it is a nice surprise because it makes it easier for me.

The kids don't have school until next thursday, so I will be pretty busy. I will try to keep you updated.