Walking with donkies

So I get off the combi (a large volkswagen van that is the main trasportation system) today and start to cross the street. I looke over to my left and a donkey is walking along with me. I look around wondering where its owner is. Finally she appeared, with about 20 sheep to go into the fields to eat. Sometimes I wished I carried a camara with me everywhere. It is interesting to see something like that, while crossing a busy street with cars.

Which reminds me - have you ever heard a donkey? I think that they must be the loudest animal alive. I have been pleasantly surprised this visit. The neighbors donkey must have died or something, because it isn´t waking me up at all hours of the night with its noise.

There are some baby sheep that live next door. They sound like a baby crying. The first time that Edith heard it, she asked me where the baby was.

Some say that there are more dogs that people in this town. At night I can believe it, because they are all howling. It isn´t too bad though. It is amazing how you start to filter things. Like when we first arrived, I thought the stench of cow manure was going to kill me. But now I don´t even notice it. We don´t have pigs though, so everytime we pass by someones house that has pigs, it makes me want to gag. I am not sure that I could get used to that smell. It is really horrible.

I haven´t really heard from anybody in a few days, so I am feeling a bit disconnected. The computer is my link to home. I am glad that I get along so well with my sister in laws. They are a lot of fun to hang around with.

childrens comments

Okay, so I just interviewed my children. It was funny, sad, and surprising at the same time. I love kids answers to stuff.

Edith´s all about mom tag

1. What is something mom always says to you? be quiet while you´re doing school
2. What makes mom happy? if you go in the room and stay in the room forever
3. What makes mom sad? when I do nothing
4. How does mom make you laugh? tickle my armpit and neck
5. What was mom like as a child? she had fun
6. How old is your mom? i don´t know
7. How tall is your mom? um, like this tall (she finds a chair to stand on)
8. What is her favorite thing to do? eat and laugh at jokes and go to the computers and play, and go to our cousins house
9. What does your mom do when you're not around? maybe just go somewhere
10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? for not doing the right things
11. What is your mom really good at? playing cards - the memory game
12. What is your mom not very good at? playing soccer
13. What does your mom do for her job? the hospital
14. What is your mom's favorite food? pizza and spagetti and noodle soup
15. What makes you proud of your mom? because she does stuff for me
16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? a queen
17. What do you and your mom do together? we play cards
18. How are you and your mom the same? we are brown
19. How are you and your mom different? she´s peach and I´m brown
20. How do you know your mom loves you? because I eat my food and then I get to watch tv

Balthezars about mom tag

1. What is something mom always says to you? turn off the computer and Let´s go to so and so´s house

2. What makes mom happy? when I give her lots of hugs and kisses

3. What makes mom sad? when dad leaves

4. How does mom make you laugh? giving me tickes

5. What was mom like as a child? I don´t know, you had glasses

6. How old is your mom? 31

7. How tall is your mom? I don´t know

8. What is her favorite thing to do? wash clothes

9. What does your mom do when you're not around? go to my cousins

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for? making pies

11. What is your mom really good at? making mistakes

12. What is your mom not very good at? fake crying

13. What does your mom do for her job? nothing, she doesn´t have a job, she goes to school.

14. What is your mom's favorite food? Taco Time

15. What makes you proud of your mom? I can´t think of anything

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be? I don´t know

17. What do you and your mom do together? go out with my cousins

18. How are you and your mom the same? we like to eat meat

19. How are you and your mom different? she´s fluffy and I´m skinny

20. How do you know your mom loves you? she says so

Trip To Tepeaca

today my sister-in-law Delia and I went to a nearby town called Tepeaca. They have a huge outdoor ´plaza´which is where people sell stuff. She needed to buy new uniforms for her kids (all the schools have the whole catholic school girl look going on) It is an experience. The people are packed in like sardines. People are yelling everywhere - 5 pesos, 10 pesos, get your ------ here!!! I bought a couple of pair of footless leggings for Edith ($3 each) a hat for me and the kids - sunscreen isn´t enought, I still get burnt ($4 each) a little back of homemade baby donuts ($1), new socks for Balthezar ($6) 3 tacos ($1.80), orange juice fresh squeezed while I was standing there (70 cents) and some cute miny pots for Gens classroom ($2) --- all paid with cash - no one here takes visa!! (as I was describing that, all I could think of is those commercials) And yes, the experience is priceless.

Which brings me to the fact that yes, I am doing well. The week I was sick all I could think of was coming home. Now I am in the swing of things. I have two hours of english class from 2-4 in the afternoon. I usually make about 8 dollars. It isn´t much, but it is enough for basic stuff during the day - ie, my coke addiction, and the donuts that the kids love, oh, and I am embarrassed to say this, so I will write it down, my twinkies.

Okay people. When is the last time you tried a twinkie? They are so freaking good!!

I had plans to study a bunch over the summer, and have the kids do more work in their summer workbooks, but that hasn´t really happened. The kids aren´t speaking as much spanish as I would like, but I have to remind myself that they have a great start, and I can´t force them. If I could learn it as an adult, they can pick it up in bits and peices as kids.

Our border is safe from ´Terrorists

So I got a call late last night from Moises. He had spent the weekend on Orcas Island with his boss and cousin/coworker Juan, working on a house. All went well, until Moises and Juan came back to Anacortes on the ferry. Everyone getting off the ferry was stopped, and you guessed it, it was Border Control. Juan was taken into custody. We don´t know how long he will be there, or where he is at, or where they will take him. Moises is beside himself. He wishes he had thought about it, and had Juan hide in the back of the truck. His boss will probably get fined too -although he didnt know that Juan is illegal. Moises is also worried about his residence being in trouble since he has helped Juan. Hopefully, Juan will not say where he has been living, and he will be okay.

Juan or Juanillo as they call him, is a really nice kid. He is 22 and they oldest of 8 or 10 children. He has been working with Moises for almost 2 years now. Making 10 dollars an hour, he has been able to support his entire family, plus save for himself and his future. He paid taxes, medicare, and social security on each check. When he gets back home, he will probably find a job working about 60 hours a week and making around 120 dollars. It is enought to scrape by on here. The food prices have gone up dramatically here too, and other necesities cost about the same as at home.

This isn´t a political rant of mine. It is just basic facts.I know that Juan broke the ´law´by crossing the imaginary border that we put on our countries. That is how it works. I wrote a really good research paper winter quarter, which I thought was as unbiased as I could possibly be, looking at all the options and the positives and negatives of the immigration issue.

I have been a little preoccupied lately with poverty here. I know they are lucky here, it could be like Africa where people are starving and living with an AIDS pandemic, but I haven´t been there and actually seen it. It would probably be too hard for me. Everyone here is doing well and happy. It is just hard sometimes to see how hard people work, and what they have to show for it. I have 4 sister in laws here. Delia, Leticia, Martha, and Maricela. None of their husbands have ever left to go to the US. A lot of the time though, in order to make better pay (200 or so a week) they will leave for work in other parts of Mexico. They go for months at a time, but it is nice for the families to have some extra money. Right now, all are working near home, so things are tight. Leticia´s family eats black bean soup almost every day for lunch and dinner. They come over often to eat with us, since right now my mother in law is getting 400 dollars a month to live on from her other two sons, Aaron and Antonio. I buy bread or fruits and vegetables and always have it available to the kids when they come over. If I go to visit, I make sure that I bring something extra along with me. It is interesting for me to be ´rich´here, because at home, I scrape by on 400 dollars a month plus 300 in food stamps.

mexico phone number

011-52-249-103-1012