Ready for a little vacation...

So, I figured I should write. Tomorrow I'm off to Mexico City to meet with Mom and Dad ! I'm excited to get to see them and to get to see a little more of Mexico. I have Friday through Monday morning with them and then I come back Mon and Tuesday and go to Puebla to be with them again until Sunday. I can't wait to write about it.
I have been very busy this past week. This weekend Nadine didn't feel well, so I had to spend the weekend with the family. I was happy to help, though I had thought about going to the center. However, I feel like since I am trying hard to be with the family and help them with things they are more willing to go places with me. It is nice because I feel a little bit more like family now, and I also feel that if I had the time I would stay for longer...but now there are so many things possibly filling up my time after Mexico that it is not really a possibility.
The kids are both doing well with their English. It is really awesome when they speak a word or a whole sentence without prompting. Clemence has gotten very good at the basic English things and both of them can name countless things when asked. It's neat that I taught them that, and it's also really cool watching the connections they make with the other languages they speak. Often, they structure sentences how you would in Spanish (I don't know about French), but it shows that they have a connection with the Spanish words and the English words.
The kids are also better behaved now. At least with me. I think often I can get them to do things with no more than a no or a change in tone. It's very rewarding, but often I think that the parents see this and bo even more into their way of doing things. It makes me sad to see the lack of patience they have, but I think it has helped me learn a lot about how I wish to relate to people and life.

Jenn

PS. Dr. Phil is a great guilty pleasure...specially when it's about teen pregnancy. It's actually really sad. Some 14 year old girl wants to be pregnant so bad she goes around lying about it. I hope Dr. Phil gets her counseling.

I don't know when I got so perky...

...but I was watching HI-5 today with Clémence thinking how overly energetic and annoying these people are, but that the kids love the dramatic expressions and songs about everything, and then I realized that is me now. I am now one of these:



people. I never thought I could be so even-tempered. Sure I'm still sarcastic with the kids, and talk to them in a realistic manner most of the time. But I sing, A LOT. Like I know I did before, but now I'm going back into all those girl scout songs and camp songs that I only remember like half of. It's funny how you turn on yourself. But really, it's not so bad being perky. It beats sad and gloomy, or yelling and angry or something like that.

So here's what I think about the word 'no,' in case you wanted to know.
No, in essence is a very stupid word. It is useful, probably my most used word daily with the children, but there are problems with it. Problem #1: No is short. When someone is not listening well, one no simply will not get them to listen. So you end up sounding like you are singing some little no song, no no no no no no no. It's tiring, and definitely repetitive. Problem #2: There are different strengths of the word no. This mostly leads to Problem #3: Sometimes you start out meaning no, but something convinces you (or wears you down) into meaning yes. This is a problem because then kids learn that no isn't always no, and this makes them try to hard to turn a no to a yes. Maybe this is also the reason people mostly disregard when people say no and they want a yes. The last problem, Problem #4: When a kid says no, if you want it to be yes, it is always yes. Kids don't get to say no and mean it. This is a large problem.

Tengo un lugar

So today Clemence calls me from the living room out onto the patio:

Mira, Jennifer, mira. El vaso de las bubuhas quedo un corazon. It's magic.

This means: Look, Jennifer, look. The cup with the bubbles left a heart. It's magic. And it was:


I mean it's perfect right.

Today was a good, no strike that, great day. I talked with Mom for like 2 hours. I got a late start on lunch and wasn't really ready on time, but no one said anything. I made chicken and some kind of salsa, which they ate, but I'm not sure liked. No one threw up. I guess that's a good sign.
After lunch I convinced Clemence to make cookies with me. We made sugar cookies with blueberries. It was the first thing I ut in the oven that came out tasting good, really good. I ate like 10 million.
The rest of the day was really nothing special, but it was good. I know that.

This weekend was also good, although I had a huge stomach ache thing the whole time. We went to the center on Saturday morning after swimming and looked around. There was a book fair at the Jardin Borda. Then we ate pizza at this little Italian place that has a GREAT view of the cathedral. I may just have to convince Mom and Dad to have some pizza there just to see the view.
Sunday we went to this market that was just starting up. It was a beautiful drive through a part of Cuernavaca I had never seen. There are so many beautiful houses and viveros (greenhouses). It was a gorgeous drive and less filled with the falling down buildings and garbage filled streets than most drives through the heavier populated center.
The market was not much to speak of. There was not much there. Granted it is just starting, but it is in an out of the way spot. It's supposed to be a place for organic growers to sell their things, but there was very little you couldn't get in another market. Nadine thinks it will fail because of the location and it does not seem to have very good organization. It's sad really. She was telling me how many growers here could be certified organic and sell their products on a large market if only some would come and organize a way to get it out there. They just don't have the money or knowledge to develop it into what it could be.
Sunday afternoon we had a nice lunch together at the house and then I went and had a little swim in the pool by myself. I love having a pool so close, and having the weather be nice enough to go in it.
Speaking of weather it's been gorgeous. The rains have made everything green and made everything clearer. The haze has lifter so you can see the mountains so clearly. I am in love with the mountains here. I will miss them. they surround the whole city and you can see them in the skyline wherever you look. It's beautiful.

Jenn

PS more pictures to come in some near future.

Warning: This may be a little sappy

Well as sappy as I get anyway. So I was really sick yesterday and that made me a little nostalgic and homesick. I really just wanted to curl up in mom's bed and sleep all day. But I did my duties the best I could. Today I'm much better, thanks for asking, but I just wanted to post these thoughts.
I know I have said this before, but this experience has made me appreciate my family a lot more, and on the scale of appreciating families I was already pretty up there. You see, my family is cool. I'm not just talking about Mom, Dad, Sister here. I have had two grandmothers live in my house, one who :) is still there. Aunt Mel also lived with us for a time, and my family, though they live hours away, has always made the effort to be there for holidays, important occasions, and at times, just because we haven't seen each other in a while. In my opinion, this is very rare for a typical American family, and is becoming increasingly rare around the world, especially in westernized cultures.
We have been to visit the family once while I've been here in Cuernavaca. The funny thing is, they complain about going to Mexico City (an hour drive with maybe an hour or two of traffic) when we often drove 6 hours to get to New Hampshire (ok, usually the NH people drove the hours), but the family from Mexico City won't even come down for birthday parties in Cuernavaca. It's just a very different philosophy, one that I think many people have, but I am not accustomed to.
Also, I have so many people in my life I call family or consider family who are not blood related. The many other mothers I have and the amount of people who care about me and how I am is overwhelming seeing how little people these kids are surrounded with. They have their parents and Amelia and the occasional au pair, and that's it. In a way I guess it works, but it's just so sad to mae because I know how great it can be to have all those other people there for you. You feel safe, because there will always be someone there.
So I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for making family important in our lives. If you don't realize how special that is, then at least it is there for you to take for granted. But really, our family is special. And I didn't even need to leave to know that, I just had to leave to know I'd miss it so much. But then I also miss my piano terribly...

Love,
Jenn

Cabello Oscuro

So I bought this shampoo because it was the cheapest. Translated the bottle says:

Shampoo "Organogal"
Blacker-More Brilliant-Silkier
Base of Cactus and Walnut
Better Formula
The Specialist in Dark Hair

So we have dark hair shampoo at home, and though I don't have black hair, shampoo is shampoo. Well, I guess "blacker" should have struck me, because it comes out of the bottle looking like this:

So I freaked at first, but so far my hair is no blacker than it was before- which was zero.

Jenn
Sorry about all the posts, I was hit by the blogger bug.

New Look

So I've been meaning to change the look of this blog since I made it, but it's taken a while. I know sometimes it's hard to get used to change in a website, so I tried not to move around too many things.
On another note, I had a wonderful day. I just wanted to let you know that since some of the last few have been a struggle. I made some couscous lentil salad for lunch and everybody loved it. I realized somewhere around 7 that I had probably been on my feet for about 8 hours or something like that. But I can tell that putting in the effort has made them more comfortable and made them feel like putting in some effort. So all lessons learned I retired to watch tv, change my blog and eat this:



YUM!
Jenn

Cucaracha

At this point I've killed so many cucarachas that if there is karma I'm coming back as one.

Lessons

So I'm taking from this the fact that I have learned to step up my game. I know how to work hard when I like it, or when I like the person I am doing it for, but I ahve trouble motivating myself when I feel that it is a pointless or graceless effort. However, I have always known sometimes we have to do things we don't want to and sometimes we have to do things for people we don't want to. The last few days have been tough, but rewarding, at least to myself. I have tried to put more effort into being part of the family, although I still feel they don't treat me as a member. And I have tried to do extra little things, even though instead of a thanks I usually get, "You see how easy it is?" Sometimes I want to scream. So this is me letting go. I cannot change the people or circumstances, but I can be happy with knowing I have done my best. Well most of the time I can.

Gas

So every time I read the newspaper and read that gas prices are at $4 a gallon I am relieved I am not driving at this moment in my life. I think I've spent as much on plane tickets as I would have on gas in the last 7 months. I don't know how you all do it. Get a bike!

It's gonna be a good day, just wait and see...

So, for anyone still reading...first things first....Acapulco. Friday I had a great day. Amelia and I talked all morning. I helped her make some kind of meat dish with green tomatoes and chilis and it was so delicious. The family didn't come home for lunch because they got invited to a birthday party so I was able to leave a little early for the bus. It ended up being good that it worked out this way, since I didn't get the bus until the next hour and who knows what it would have been like if I had left any later.
The bus ride was long, especially since I was looking forward to getting to the other end. However, the country is beautiful. There were plenty of mountains and little towns to look at in between Cuernavaca and Acapulco. The one thing I find completely strange about the buses in Mexico is that you can ask to get off anywhere, as long as you have paid to the stop past it. The bus will just pull off at the side of the road and drop people off. Also sometimes they stop at the side of the road in the middle of no where and a man gets on with a clipboard. The door closes and the man goes up and down the bus as the bus takes off. He looks at the seats and at the clipboard, and a little while later the bus stops again and the man gets off. Strange. Really, it's how it happens.
So finally I got to the bus station. I had to pee and didn't want to go on the bus cause I knew we were probably close. So I was like dying to get my luggage and get woff. I peed and then found my way to a taxi. It happened that their hotel was on the complete opposite end of the town, about a half an hour drive. I talked to the cab driver and he told me about the town and what was good to see. The hotel was in a quieter area, which was nice, and was very beautiful. Well the pool was beautiful, the hotel was unimmpressive, but the rooms were nice.
It was great to see my friends. We spoke English, fast. I never realized how fast we speak. I also was able for the first time to speak to people without having to censor what I was saying...not in the matters of curse words or anything, solely the fact I could say whatever I wanted about whatever without anyone getting mad. It was glorious.
The first night we went over to another hotel in the Mayan complex and met up with some guys they had befriended during the week. After pregaming a bit in their hotel room, we headed out to Paladium, a discoteque that the taxi driver had actually recommended. It was a lot of fun. Open bar, lots of people, lots of dancing. They even had this weird guy painted silver with a feather headdress the color of the Mexican flag come out and dance to a very inappropriate lyriqued techno song. We had a lot of fun and headed in at like 3 or so.
Saturday we all were up by about 11. Melissa, RJ and I went to the market across the street and got some food to eat. Then Melissa and I went to the fort that is in Acapulco from the Spanish. She wanted to see some historic things, which hadn't been anyone's focus as they all have real jobs, so I was happy to go. It was a nice museum and had some interesting things to say. It was also very nicely laid out and had some cool things I had never seen before. There was also a great view from the roof, of course, because it was used as a fort.
After the fort we hung out at the hotel for the afternoon. At 5ish we started getting ready for dinner and we hit the buffet at the other hotel. It was a bit expensive, although the food was ALMOST worth it. I ended up mostly spending all my pesos in Acapulco, except for the few I exchanged with Melissa for some USD.
Anyway, we missed the sunset on the beach we had wanted to see, but we did get some nice after dark pictures. And then we went back and changed and went to some club that I can't remember the name of. The music there was a lot better than the first night. There were a lot of people and an open bar, although when we got there we weren't sure about the people part so we sent in a scout to find out (a guy from not our friends so none of us would have to pay). I started a dance party on the platform . No one was there but the crazy people the club hired to dance like the Mexican NSYNC. (This part wouldn't really be that important, but it comes into play later, the me starting the dance party, not the Mexican NSYNC).
We got back to the hotel at like 4 something and went to the beach to say goodbye to the ocean. My friends left at 5:30 to go to the airport and as the door closed behind them I got sad for a minute realizing I was again alone and if I wanted to do anything Sunday it would be solo. But the sadness got overridden by my need to sleep. I had to wake up at 10 and I hadn't felt like calling the wake up call so I had an alarm I wasn't sure would work and kept waking up. I got up at 9:30, took a shower and checked out of the hotel. I walked across the street towards the taxis still unsure what I was going to do that day and when the taxi driver asked if I wanted a taxi I just asked him where was good in Acapulco to see. I ended up negotiating a tour with him for $18 an hour, a little expensive, but it was a great way to see things.
First we went to the Capilla de la Paz (Chapel of the Peace). It was built by a rich couple whose sons had died in a plane crash. It was a beautiful spot and had a beautiful view. The mass was going on so we couldn't go inside, but I've seen the insides of churches. We stopped at a lot of places with great views. One was a hotel called Hotel Flamingos where many famous people have stayed. I recognized Sybil Sheperd, John Wayne and Roy Rogers. It was a nice little place and there were many other hotels in the area with equally nice views, but they are losing business because most people want to be on the beach front.
He also stopped so I could see the murals done by Diego Rivera and some other interesting things. We went to a market where I spent the rest of my money. I found some great little things I hadn't seen anywhere else. I also had a great time talking to him about himself and Acapulco and got to practice my Spanish a lot.
Last we went to see the divers of Quedabra. It was really cool. There are little kids there who are learning to dive and then the older ones who jump from the top. While I was watching on the platform some guy who had grown up in San Diego started talking to me. He is now traveling throughout Mexico as a construction worker on Mayan Hotel buildings. Apparently he's also in some trouble with the US law, though I didn't ask what it was.
I left Acapulco at 3:25 or something and was excited to be getting back to routine and all. I didn't get as warm a welcome as I thought, but it was ok, the kids and I played and I went to bed early. I knew I had to talk to Nadine about stuff, but I didn't want to ruin my trip feeling so I waited until yesterday.
And now for the next part of the story. For those still reading I know I have talked some about a problem I had with Juan Carlos. Basically, he told me he didn't trust me with the children. Most of it was because of one incident with Louis where I grabbed him too hard and he got a scratch.
So I decided to talk to Nadine about it to make myself heard a little. I apologized for things I felt were my fault and asked for further guidance on some things. I feel like she turned a lot of things into my problem and mostly a problem of my character. There were many little things we don't seem to agree on, but we talked it out and I felt a bit better. I felt at least I could try to do things right and make some changes and everything would start to run smoother.
I was just praying yesterday went perfect and I could prove to her that I had listened and heard what she said and was going to try and make it work. Everything was going great until Clemence hit her head. I had everything under control and Clemence had almost stopped crying when Nadine came flying down the stairs yelling, "What happened?" I explained and then Juan Carlos came down, yelling as well. I couldn't say anything in Spanish after the accusing look he gave me and (have to admit) lost it and yelled that Clemence had lunged for some candy and I purposely had her slam her head into the chair. Not my finest moment, but sometimes you just lose it, especially when you are under pressure already. Everything ended up ok, but I went to bed tired and a little defeated.
Today I woke up iwth a positive attitude. I made a pasta salad for lunch, which is something new (I apparently wasn't trying hard enough with the cooking). I was a little annoyed when Nadine came down and saw me cooking and said, "Oh, you're cooking," in that tone of voice that you use when someone hasn't ever really done something and then just decided to do. I wonder what I've been doing all the other days they ate. Apparently it was magically showing up from somewhere. Ok, end bitterness. I ignored it and just politely said yes. They ended up liking it and I felt much better that they actually seemed to appreciate something I did.
Sometimes I feel maybe I do things they don't see, because I just do them and decide not to flaunt it to anyone. But if she wants more effort I will do what I have to to make this work.
However, today was good and made me feel much better. The kids have really started speaking in English. Clemence can form fully formed grammatical sentences. It's really cool to hear and know that I taught them that.
I have a job when I get back to the states. Sorry for all of those who have been waiting for me to come home, but I will only be home a few days again before I head to Lake George to watch Hannah and Rachel. I am excited to see them again and to go to Lake George. Their house sounds very nice and Janice is very excited (she hasn't told the kids yet just in case something happens). So you better start filling up my week home (or maybe few days) before I get there or you get no time.

AMANDA- if you read this I need you to help me pack. Cause you know I'd get nothing done without you.

Sorry for the insanely long post, I just had an insanely lot to say. I have left out a lot of the stresses and things because I feel it is too long and boring to read, but I feel it is unfair to only show the happy times...

Jenn