Ensenada Adventure

Theo Speaks Spanish

2009-06-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Theo is a modest person. He doesn't always like to draw attention to himself. So it was a surprise to most of the parents--and a couple of administrators, too--that Theo actually has learned a lot of Spanish this year. On the next -to-last day of school he gave a presentation for his "Clase Abierta" for parents. The assignment was to integrate themes or bodies of knowledge he had learned throughout the year by using these themes to analyze and present a particular topic.

Theo chose to present on the jaguar. I took a video of the presentation. The light is bad, and I was sitting too close to show his PowerPoint slides (I wanted to be sure to get the audio). So here is Theo speaking Spanish after a year of immersion at Colegio Argentino.

(Obviously I'm a proud father).

Surfing in Sausal (haha that sounds like a magic treehouse book)

2009-06-21T12:38:00.000-07:00

Today I went out with the coach to a harder surfing area in Sausal (a city north of Ensenada) with some really nice waves. It was just us two and we got on our boards and went out pretty far. I caught some nice waves, even a 5 footer (which is pretty good considering this was only my 4th time surfing). Anyway I had a really good time and I'll probably will be going again.
Here are some pics, and I hope next time I'll be able to say I caught a wave over 6 feet.

SURFING!! (again)

2009-06-20T17:58:00.001-07:00

We went surfing again today. We had a lot of fun, and even improved some.
Here are some pics of the day:

SUCCESS!!!

2009-06-15T16:37:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a successful year for this reason: I got 10s on all of my exams! All meaning 6 different subjects and 10 meaning perfect scores! This means that I actually have learned a little Spanish this year. The school year is almost over, and I have taken my last exams. I still have a big project that I have to present in front of parents and students and my teacher Mr. Martín. It's a big part of my part of my grade, but I'm almost done. I'm sure that the next two weeks will go by fast.

Here are a couple of pictures of me at school. You'll see me and Mr. Martín and the Olmec head I made for a different project a couple of months ago.

SURFING!!

2009-06-14T16:08:00.000-07:00

Since we arrived in Ensenada, I've been wanting to try surfing. I've been swimming three days a week for the past 10 months so I could become a better swimmer and be more comfortable in the water.

Today we got out to the beach at about 9 a.m. with a this cool surfing instructor who calls himself "The Coach." He had all the equipment for us, including surfboards and wetsuits in various sizes. He and his wife, Americans who have been living in Ensenada for about 15 years, also prepared lunch, hot chocolate, and made a fire on the beach. It was great. We surfed for about 3 hours and had a awesome time, such a good time that we'll be going again next weekend.

We have very few pictures because my mom was surfing too so there was nobody to take pictures, but here are some we got:

Still Having Fun

2009-05-31T10:01:00.001-07:00

Our life is Mexico is basically back to normal after a break in action due to swine flu precautions. A couple of school events had to be canceled, but otherwise everything is back to normal. Or, perhaps an intensified "normal" because we feel like we are making up for lost time. Teachers are scrambling to finish up everything before the end of the year, soccer teams are having multiple games on Saturdays, and that sort of thing. For us, it is a very intense time of trying to enjoy all of the friendships we have made here and squeeze every last pleasure out of life in Ensenada before we move back to Denver in July.

To be honest, we won't be able to experience everything in Baja before we leave. We have had an extremely full year, but there is lots to explore here. I think our trips to our local "Michoacana" popsicle and ice cream stand represent our experience well. Everytime we go to Michoacana we try to taste something new -- such as mango, guava, cantalope, strawberry, hibiscus, chile pineapple, and tamarind popsicles (to name just a few) -- but we still haven't come close to tasting every treat. So, we will leave Ensenada with flavors left to try . . . I think that means we will be back to visit before too long.

One of Theo's friends had a birthday in May and we all had a wonderful time at his birthday party. Here are some photos of us at Baja Mar resort celebrating Marco's birthday. The kids tried golfing for the first time and had a blast. Actually, it was one of two birthday parties and a lunada (an evening campfire party) that weekend, so our social calendar has been packed with fun.

BOOKS!!!!!!!!

2009-04-29T17:35:00.000-07:00

Who would think that my source of Spanish books is in Burlington, Massachusetts? But, it is. When my Uncle Eric, the superintendent of Burlington schools, came to Mexico he delivered two books in Spanish. They were a gift from Ms. Hayes' class.

Ms. Hayes' class has been commenting on this blog for a really long time. I met with them on Skype and they asked me questions about Mexico. They always have good comments.

Now that schools are closed because of swine flu, and I have lots of free time, I am going to start reading Tuck Everlasting in Spanish (Tuck Para Siempre). This should be more fun than those ENLACE tests (the Mexican national standardized tests).

I'm glad I have something to do other than homework. THANKS!!!

La Paz

2009-04-29T09:55:00.000-07:00

On our big Baja trip we stayed for 8 nights in La Paz, in Baja California Sur. There we met up with my uncle Chris, aunt Kaki, and cousin Marco for a relaxing vacation.

We rented a house in the center of town, it was quite big and had a nice view of the ocean. In La Paz, we spent many days going to some cool beaches, along the Sea of Cortez there are some really beautiful beaches and the water is really pretty. The town is very walkable and very pleasant. Along with going to beaches, we explored the town, ate good tacos (and some really great seafood), and had lots of fun hanging out with family.

While we were in La Paz my cousin ruptured his timpanic membrane (membrane inside the ear) and he needed to see a doctor. After looking all over town for an open hospital we finally found one and with me acting as translator we made an appointment, (it only cost about 100 pesos, which is around 8 dollars), we then saw the nurse. Only my cousin, uncle and aunt and I were allowed in and I had to translate everything. The nurse diagnosed him, gave us the medicine we needed to buy, and we were on our way. This was my first important translating job and I think I did pretty well.

We also went down and explored a small town called Todos Santos, we walked around to some artisan shops (not my idea of fun but whatever) and went to a deserted beach.

I really enjoyed our stay in La Paz, it's always fun to travel to new places, and sharing it with a four-year-old who had never been to Mexico before was great.

Here's some pics:

Us eating tacos

When we were in Todos Santos we bought some Mexican wrestling masks for all of us, that's me on the right, and my cousin on the left. We're being super heroes

All of us at the beach

Me, my dad, and Theo at the beach in Todos Santos

Chasing pelicans in Todos Santos

My mom at Todos Santos

Me, Theo, Marco, and random Mexican kid that walked into the picture

Marco and my uncle Chris building a volcano

Our family at the beach

Theo and my mom at the beach

There was no bathtub at the house, only showers, so we had to think of other ways to bathe marco

The Easter Bunny came to Mexico!

Theo and Marco

CRAZY!!!!

2009-04-28T10:12:00.000-07:00

School has been crazy for the past few weeks. It started out as just an exam week. I took my Spanish exam and that's it, because the next day government testers surprised us and came to our schools with standardized test for us to take. These tests were like the ones in the united States but since they just showed up at our school with the tests, it completely messed up our schedule. The tests took two days for us to take. I did the test with a lot of effort and I think I did very well. I was last person to finish both times. While I was still doing my test the other kids went to recess. It was hard for me to concentrate with all the noise so it took me extra time. After these tests were finished the exams had to be rescheduled to the next week. On Monday I didn't do an exam I only did a presentation on an indigenous culture called the Chavin. ( I had no idea what it was before I did the project.) Just after I did the presentation I found out more crazy information.

I found out about the swine flu. It has not reached Ensenada yet, but everyone is being very cautious. We are doing our part by washing our hands frequently and not getting to close to other people. My gymnastics place was closed because of it, and some people are already wearing surgical masks. After the flu had spread all over all of Mexico the government decided to close all schools in Mexico. This made things even crazier because it was going to be a long weekend anyway, but it turned in to a eight day vacation. The teachers gave us homework for the weekend that count as our exams. So here I am on a spontaneous eight day vacation.

San Ignacio

2009-04-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

As you know, during our road trip we stopped in the town of San Ignacio. Despite being in the middle of absolutely nowhere, San Ignacio is actually a very nice place. A small town, with a nice town square, restaurants, and the usual tourist shops. We stayed in a little bed and breakfast owned by a Canadian couple. We stayed in a yurt right next to a stream. There were kayaks and you could swim in the river whenever you wanted to.

The weird thing about San Ignacio is that it looks just like a town you would see in a movie. It's set in the middle of a large desert with a river bubbling up from beneath a volcano, it's very pretty and picturesque and has a nice feel to it. The Missionaries planted a small grove of date palms in San Ignacio when they lived there, since the river floods every once in a while it carries the dates everywhere and now the valley is covered in palm trees. It's like an oasis, you are seeing cactus for hundreds of miles and then wham! palm trees, It's really weird.

San Ignacio is a very nice town and I really enjoyed our stay there.

Here are some pics of our trip:

view from the mesa

our yurt

the town square

other view from the mesa

on the mesa

the mission

my dream car

fishing

Theo kayaking

all of us kayaking

Road Trip

2009-04-20T20:24:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of our 2 week spring break and decided to pack up, hit the road, and see the sights of baja that were yet unknown to us.
Obviously we started in Ensenada and headed south, we stopped for the night in El Rosario. From there we drove to San Ignacio and stayed there for 2 nights. We drove 2 hours on a high clearance road to reach the San Ignacio Lagoon to see the gray whales, we stayed there for 2 nights.
We headed on and stopped for the night in Loreto. We then came to our final destination; La Paz and we stayed there for 8 nights before heading back to Ensenada, stopping in Guerrero Negro on the way.
Here's a road map of baja so you can see where we went. Just click on it if you want to enlarge it.
Our later posts will be about our trip in any random order.

My Birthday

2009-03-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was my 14th birthday and I had a very good day.

To start off it was a Friday and we had only a half day of school cause the teachers had meetings. I hung out with some kids after school, went home to chill and play guitar for awhile.

Later some of my friends picked me up to go to the movies, bringing with them the biggest sombrero I've ever seen. We drove downtown to the movie theater where another friend was waiting for us and we ran into someone else later. We saw a very corny Mexican film that was funny and just fun too watch.

Afterwards we walked around town and ran into 2 other friends (as you can see Ensenada is a small town so you always see people you know). They were having pizza, so we sat down and had some pizza and talked for a while.

We walked around some more until about 10:00 and a friend's mom picked me up and brought me home.

I really had a great time celebrating my birthday in Mexico.

Me with my birthday sombrero, pretty sweet huh

MORNING MEETING!!

2009-03-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

A few days ago I met with a class over the internet. My uncle Eric is a superintendent and he hooked me up to talk about going to school in Mexico with this class. It is a fourth grade class from Burlington, Massachusetts. I talked with the whole class during their morning meeting. They asked me a lot of good questions about what I have been doing here in Ensenada and my experiences at school.

I was nervous at first because I've never actually met these people. But, I sort of know them because they leave so many great comments on this blog! After the first few questions I felt more comfortable. Meeting with them and seeing their classroom made me miss an American school.

I hope that Ms. Hayes' fourth grade class can meet the fourth grade class at Colegio Argentino. We are going to try to set up a Skype meeting so the two classes can talk to each other.

Me talking with the class

Flashbacks

2009-03-08T12:40:00.000-07:00

We have added some photos to previous blog posts. We lost our camera charger sometime in our travels and were not able to post photos for a while. We've got a new charger and I'm adding in the photos of our trip to Sonora (to Alamos, via Hermosillo) during Christmas break. Check out Mark in a cowboy hat (when in Sonora ...).

I think that Nathan wrote about us exploring another state to look for the "real" Mexico -- as if Baja were not traditional or authentic enough. But, what we are discovering by traveling and by making friends here who hail from all parts of the nation is that there are many "Mexicos" -- with each region contributing something valuable and beautiful to this very complex and varied country. We look forward to doing much more exploring.

One I-want-to-go-home Night

2009-03-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

I've written lately about how well we are doing here, with the kids making great progress in Spanish, making great friendships, and having fun with visitors from home. But, we had a set-back this week. It was a rough week for all of us, but especially trying for Nathan. Poor Nathan had his first bad case of Moctezuma's revenge. He missed two and a half days of school because he had to stay home and stay close to the bathroom. (He really would have had more fun at school.)

In addition to all of the stomach discomfort, he had to deal with the minor discomforts of our apartment. Perhaps we haven't filled you in our apartment news lately. We live in a very small but cheerful apartment in which most things function most of the time. The electricity usually works, but sometimes only the wall sockets work and the ceiling lights don't. Last week, our toilet -- which had been rocking on its base since we moved in -- finally started to leak. Another problem is that we sometimes don't have running water. The water just stops running in our building for a few hours and then comes back. We have become accustomed to this and I always store water in extra bottles for our dry spells.

This past Tuesday night was our night for suffering from all problems simultaneously. The water stopped running in the evening and didn't start again until 7:00 am. The electricity in the ceiling was out. The toilet had just broken. So poor sick Nathan spent most of the evening in a flashlight-lit bathroom, flushing with buckets of water into a leaking toilet. He was miserable.

Although we all have had I-want-to-go-home moments during our year, we just crashed on Tuesday. Nathan and Theo's great-grandmother had just died on Tuesday. So, we were sad and thinking about family a lot, even before the great waves of nausea rolled in. It just all added up to one I-want-to-go-home night.

We have bounced back. Nathan is just about back to normal. He had enough energy to go to swim practice on Friday and he even scored a goal in a soccer game on Saturday. So, his spirits have improved. I am proud of myself for taking a day off on Wednesday to keep Nathan company and handle household problems. I looked up a few words in the dictionary and called the plumber myself. By the end of the day both plumbing and electricity had been fixed. Theo is just happy that we all are in better moods now.

Granny used to say that "getting old isn't for sissies." And, since she lived to be 100 years old, she knew what she was talking about. Perhaps living away from home and learning a new language isn't for sissies either. And, we have not quit yet. We are back in the game.

Fun with GrandBob and Nancy

2009-03-08T10:22:00.000-07:00

GrandBob and Nancy came to visit last weekend and we had a great time together. We tried to squeeze a little bit of everything Ensenada has to offer into one weekend -- and still have some to time to just hang out. We had fun in the city, at the beach, and in the Valle de Guadalupe (wine country). For a bit of "sophisticated" culture we enjoyed Ensenada's mini history museum and a fabulous classical guitar concert performed by a professor at the local branch of UABC (Universidad Autónoma de Baja California). For a bit of street culture we ate plenty of tacos and tamales, and explored neighborhoods well off the tourist strip. We didn't have enough time for much wildlife watching. . . maybe next visit!

Turning Points

2009-02-21T17:21:00.000-08:00

February has been a good month for us. It seems that we are all making some positive transitions in our experiences here. It is our sixth month out of the eleven we will spend here in Ensenada, and right after our half-way mark we are really noticing some changes.

This week was exam week for us and I noticed that Theo can study for his exams independently and without panic . . . and I'll bet he aced them. He loves to read his world history book. He occasionally has to consult a dictionary, but for most of his study time he just studies like a native Spanish speaker. It's amazing to watch. He also started going to a gymnastics class in January. All of his new buddies in class have introduced him around the gym as their new friend "who speaks Spanish and English." No one speaks to Theo in English at the gym or calls him a gringo. They just refer to him as the new bilingual kid. Now that's progress.

Nathan woke up early this morning. Instead of turning on the computer and rushing to find out some news from home, he sat on the couch and read a book. This is not new for Nathan -- he reads to relax. What's new is that he just sat and read The Witches by Roald Dahl in Spanish ("Las brujas" en español). In typical Nathan fashion, he just "inhaled" the whole book in one sitting. That's another sign of progress.

Then, we got a phone call mid-morning from the principal of the middle school, who also happens to be our neighbor. Her husband invited Nathan and Theo to go to the beach with him and his kids (their son Aldo is in Theo's class at school and appeared with Theo in this blog in a cute Halloween photo). They were surfing, boogie boarding, skim boarding, wave boarding, and skate boarding for a good part of the day. (Nathan was very exciting to try surfing for the first time. Theo hopes to try when the weather gets a bit warmer.)

What was remarkable to me is that it just felt like such a "normal" Saturday for us. Nathan was reading. Theo was making pancakes. We got a call from the neighbors and the kids went out to have some fun. The rhythm of life here seems more natural to us now and we are developing some good friendships. Those are definite signs of progress.

What big turning point have I had? That's harder to say. My progress in Spanish is slow. The kids are sprinting ahead while I take baby steps -- but we are all heading in the right direction. My reading has improved a lot. I can read school notices and the newspaper and I feel like I know what's going on around me. I don't have that "completely in the dark" feeling anymore! I can say that I feel much more relaxed and confident here than I did in the fall. I am even much more comfortable driving (a bigger challenge than you might think!). So, all in all, even I can feel the change.

Now that we are feeling so at home here, I think that the spring will fly by.

El Dia de San Valentin

2009-02-17T21:04:00.000-08:00

So for Valentine's day one of the 6th graders threw a big party. It was very fun, and I got to hang with 6th graders, which is a class I really like. The house was huge, a mansion, with a huge yard, panoramic views, and a grass yard (which is very rare in Mexico).

The party lasted all day and fun was had all around.

Here are some pics:breakdancing "on the rocks"

Luis kicked some major butt in pool

Me and Luis

Me and a few of my friends

Abril and Hayat, you can see the house too

the guys

some of the girls

PROJECTS!!

2009-02-11T18:48:00.000-08:00

During the past two months I've been doing tons of projects at school. I've been really busy and too tired to write blog posts. I had to do a group project on cells for Natural Science class. My group got together at my team member's house. We planned our presentation and created a power point. I did a lot of the work because I can type better than everyone else in my group (even though I am not very fast). It was hard to work in a group, but overall it was a productive meeting. The next project was a play. My group did the Three Little Pigs. I was the littlest pig. I was in the same group so it wasn't that hard to work together. We met at someone's house at 11:00 and prepared what we were going to say. We worked for a long time preparing it but we did it. After that I was tired and ready to go home but we ended up staying until 4:30. It was a long day. After that, we had to get together another day to make the set. I spent a long time making the straw house. After all the work, I think our play was a success.

After that project, I was assigned a project in Catholic class. We had to find information about what you do when you are a priest. It wasn't the most interesting project, but it is done.

With all these projects I've gotten a lot more comfortable speaking in front of the class. It's a good thing because I have another project that I have to do on my own and present in front of the class. I have to study more about cells.

A coldblooded school

2009-02-09T15:31:00.000-08:00

I find that our school functions a lot like a coldblooded reptile. On sunny days everything functions well but on the occasional day that it rains, well lets just say it's hard to function and hard for the teachers to control the students.

Our school has no gutters and no eaves so the water has no place to go but run down the walls and leak through the windows. The classrooms are indoor but when you step outside the classroom, you're outside. We have a big cement courtyard that gets totally flooded, perfect for young children (or adolescents for that matter) to splash in. Which is one of the reasons they don't let the elementary out for recess so it makes it very hard for them to buy food (because the snack bar is outside). We also have a dirt field for soccer and big dirt lot where they will be building some more classrooms. None of it is quite level so there are plenty of nice spots for lagoons to form. Not that that's all that bad. During recess you can skip stones in the swamp, but you have to be careful you're not pushed in by anyone.

Some schools in Ensenada do close on especially rainy days but we're a private school and the parents don't see any reason for our school to close. You know they might have a point, but who wants to walk through the rain to go to the bathroom? Not a lot of people, so on rainy days many students are not too motivated to take school seriously.

They did let out school at 2:00 today but if it rains any more I swear our school might flood.

Person of the Year

2009-01-27T17:55:00.000-08:00

Since the beginning of the year the 7th grade has been having a big contest called Person of the Year (since we call ourselves a bilingual school we have many activities and clubs with English names; our soccer team is called The Sharks). This has been a series of contests between different teams of students. Our class has been broken up into 4 teams. The contests have been:

A writing contest
A bike race
A pumpkin carving contest
Highest grade point average
A singing contest
A basketball tournament
A kickball tournament

We have had about 1 contest every month and the scores are tallied up at the end. My team was lucky enough to win and as a prize we got to take a day off from school and go to Legoland.

We made the trip last Friday and I had a pretty good time. Legoland itself wasn't the best, I mean it's cool that everything is made out of legos and stuff but it's all for younger kids. There are some slow rides, and a few "rollercoasters" that were pretty lame. Nonetheless I had a great time hanging out with my group and not going to school. The drive up was especially fun. 2 adults and 5 kids in a van for an hour and a half, it was great. We listened to music, talked, goofed off (mostly me cause I'm a little mental sometimes) and made some prank calls to telephone numbers on random billboards in Tijuana. (One of which was a conversation with a women in English to my fake girlfriend named Monica to whom I was apologizing for something that had happened the night before, I told her that I hoped she forgave me and that I loved her.) It was pretty sweet, the lady was pretty confused.

As I said I was goofing off cause I was in a really good mood so just a day of running around, hanging with friends, and starting up random conversations in Spanish with the confused gringos was very good to have.The claw, that's me with my friend Mario, better known as Puga
Me and my classmates

I am superman

on the right we have the principal of the middle school and on the left we have one of the three directors of the school

Oh baby, that is beastly

Assignments

2009-01-26T17:46:00.000-08:00

Today I got a homework assignment for math that said I had to go to a glass cutter and buy some mirrors in some specific dimensions (along with some other supplies) and they are due in 2 days. One of my geography teacher's previous assignments was to bring specific colors of tissue paper, poster board, markers, and hot glue to school. We had one day. I've also been asked to make a paper mache pig at home. Now think about it; would anyone ever ask you to do that for homework in the U.S.?

Mi cochinito teletón

Sure I mean you might make some paper mache in class, but not for homework where you have to provide all the materials yourself and pay for them. And you might do an activity for math with mirrors, but the mirrors would be provided. Or, if you did need to provide the material you would get more than 24-hours notice.

I've also been asked to make a math geoboard at home. I didn't do it (because we didn't even have a hammer at that time), but that's beside the point. I just took a low grade on that assignment.

A lot of times here you're supposed to pay for and provide materials for school activities, simply because our school doesn't have any school supplies for the students, we have to provide ourselves with our materials. The weird thing is, is that the school has the money to throw these huge parties, or give their students big expensive prizes for contests, but they can't provide pencils for the students, our places to store school supplies. We have to bring all our materials to school everyday (and if we forget something you might get in trouble with some of the teachers). For me, being pretty disorganized, it's hard sometimes, and I miss having all the materials at school ready for use.

The Inauguration

2009-01-20T15:45:00.000-08:00

Today as you all know, was the inauguration of our nation's first black president. A very historic day for the United States but also for the rest of the world. Today as our principal addressed our school she talked about what an important day it was and talked about racism and how this is part of the fight against it. Later at 9:00 our time they suspended classes for 4th grade and up, and we all crowded into our small library and watched as Barack Obama became the 44th president of the United States. The internet wasn't very good so the live stream we were watching was stopping and starting so it was very hard for the non-english speakers to understand. Nonetheless they were clapping for him, and all stood for the national anthem.

After school we went to our landlady's house to pay our rent and she was watching the parade. She told us what an important day it was for the world and how happy everyone was. She also told us that this morning she was praying with her Virgen de Guadalupe (like the Mexican Virgin Mary) for Barack Obama's safety and hopes that he will be able to support the weight of the task, that as of today, has been placed upon his shoulders.

Today was a historic day for everyone.

FRIENDS????

2009-01-16T18:51:00.000-08:00

Today was a weird day with friends. After having an okay day, I overheard the people who I consider my friends saying that they were going to the movies together. This made me feel bad because I wasn't invited. So, it made me feel like I didn't have any real friends at school. It is really hard to make friends here because conversations are all in Spanish. Even though I know a lot of Spanish I can't communicate everything I want to say, which makes it hard. I was becoming friends with these kids, but being excluded really threw me off. It may have been that one of the moms organized everything and didn't know to invite me. Or, maybe they thought I wouldn't be able to understand the movie (but I would because I understand just about everything now). Or, the worst case scenario could have been that they just did not want to invite me. The good news is that I went to gymnastics practice instead, and I had a great time.

SICK!!

2009-01-13T18:28:00.000-08:00

I was sick this weekend with a bad cough and fluid in my ears. I missed school for two days (which isn't all that bad). With my ears clogged up it was like my ears had to pop but they wouldn't. Plus with me not being able to stop coughing my mom brought me to the doctors office. We just walked right in without an appointment and sat down. It was just a tiny house made into a doctors office. It had everything a doctors office in the states would have except it was tiny. I met with the doctor and he gave me some medicine. He gave us his card and he said we could call him directly on his cell, work, or home line and we would be able to talk to him. So now I am feeling better and amazed how easy it was to go to the doctors office.

The Culture of Alamos

2009-01-07T16:09:00.000-08:00

During vacation we packed up our bags and decided that we should travel to "real" Mexico. We drove from Baja to Alamos, Sonora. When we arrived we we were happy cause it was exactly the place we wanted to go to. The streets were small and quaint; the two plazas bustling with activity. It was great. As we got to know the city a little more we compared it to Ensenada. We discovered that even though the city was cooler, the food wasn't as good and there wasn't a good selection of restaurants. We found a couple (probably some of the best enchiladas of my life) but the food from Ensenada is much more delicious and there are more options.

Everything seemed much more Mexican, and in the obvious way it was. There was a traditional market, it was a small town with small streets, and it had a main plaza like most Mexican towns. But, as Theo observed, Alamos is really more American then Ensenada. Though the raw population of Americans in Ensenada may be higher, in terms of percentage Alamos has more. There are about 350 American families, mostly rich old ladies, that live in Alamos, and they have a big influence over the community. Much more than in Ensenada. The Mexicans even have to turn down their music when the Americans arrive in the winter. Though Alamos wasn't as "real" Mexico as we thought we still had a great time.

Tourist Fun

2008-12-31T01:00:00.000-08:00

We have family and friends visiting for vacation. In addition to enjoying holiday celebrations together (including Lisa's birthday), we have been having fun as tour guides for the bunch. Until now, we haven't spent too much time as tourists here -- our arrival was filled with intensive Spanish classes and setting up house and then we jumped into a very busy school and work schedule. For the past few days we have been tourists, enjoying everything from boat rides to wine tastings . . . and lots of taco tasting (perhaps our favorite activity).

Tomorrow our friends and Uncle Eric will head back "to the other side" (as our local friends call the U.S.) and my dad will join us on a road trip to Sonora, where we will be tourists for a few more days. Here our some photos of the tourist scene in Ensenada and the neighboring Valle de Guadalupe.

Santa Brought Skim Boards

2008-12-30T23:56:00.000-08:00

Santa seems to have known that we were spending Christmas in a different climate zone. No snow boards this year for these Baja boys. Santa left skim boards under the tree! So, Nathan and Theo have been learning how to skim board with Rachel and Jessica, friends who are visiting from Massachusetts.

All four of them looked a bit out of place today on the beach in bathing suits. They played in the water for hours while their parents (and all of the locals) walked the beach in jackets. But, the weather was beautiful and the kids insisted that the water was warmer than the water off the Massachusetts shore in summer. I didn't check it out myself, but I do know that that these four have spent many days together playing in frigid ocean water and on snowy mountain tops. They had a great time.

Enjoy the photos of our December beach day.

THE REASON!!!

2008-12-23T12:43:00.000-08:00

The reason none of us have blogged in a long time is because we went back to Denver for my grandmother's funeral. She died after a long and hard sickness of Alzheimer's. I really never knew her very well until after she was diagnosed with the disease. Alzheimer's is a disease when you begin to forget everything. From how to talk to how to eat. Partially I think that it's good that this happened because she had no life what so ever sitting around not being able to do anything. During the service I learned about my grandma and who she really was. I learned that she was a very fun person and she won awards and she loved to sing songs. While I was there I saw my family and I hung out with my cousins. I even got an early Christmas present of heelys.Besides the reason it was great to come back and visit. Or journey back wasn't so good though. After the plane from Colorado we took a trolley to the border. Then we walked across the border on foot (while it was pouring rain)to a bus station to take the bus back to Ensenada. Our trip was over.

El Festival

2008-12-03T16:45:00.000-08:00

Okay I'm sorry this post is late.
As you know last week there was a big talent show at our school. Not only that but it was a big religious festival called El Dia de Cristo Rey (The day of Christ the King). First there was this big mass. It was a very looooong mass. The choir sang songs, and students read passages, and it went on for quite awhile. After the mass we had to do these stupid dance things (rhythmic movements they called them), that we learned from our gym teacher who can't dance. Nobody was enthusiastic, therefore our classes "rhythmic movement" sucked pretty bad. After, we got food and there were games for everyone. I really just hung out with my class and other kids from a different school who had come over. Personally I thought the party had plenty for the kids to do but nothing for the parents. After all the socializing came the talent show.

All in all the talent show was pretty sick. Except for me only younger kids participated, but that was okay. Supposedly you had to demonstrate some trait in Catholicism (like honesty or generosity or something). Theo and I kind of skipped that part (which is one reason we didn't win). The whole show was also a fundraiser to raise money for an organization called Teleton. It is an organization that helps kids with disabilities. We donated money but apparently each team had to raise money separately which we didn't do (which is another reason we didn't win). Anyway my piece went really well and so did my brother's. Afterward I went to grab my backing track and two of the d.j.'s pulled me over and asked me to participate in this huge 80's music festival they organize every year. It's gonna be huge! with lights, and huge amps, I am officially psyched. Actually I'm just about to call and confirm.
Here's a video of my performance sorry about the sound quality, but I left my bigger amp in Denver:

The School Flag Ceremony

2008-11-28T19:04:00.000-08:00

For quite a while now, Laura and the boys have been talking about the weekly flag ceremony, at which they watch a presentation of the colors (red, white, and green), recite the Mexican version of the Pledge of Allegiance (to the flag of the United States of Mexico), and sing the national anthem.

This is the version I witnessed on Monday, November 23. I am told that everything was fairly standard, with the exception that the recording of the national anthem wasn't working. So fortunately the second and third graders sang their little hearts out. Theo, as you will remember, was singing "watermelon watermelon watermelon," and Nathan...well, he wasn't singing much at all.

Have a look.

Nathan's Classical Recital

2008-11-27T22:25:00.000-08:00

Tonight Nathan gave his first classical recital in Ensenada. As is usual, the date was announced relatively far in advance, but the actual time of the recital was not communicated to us until 2 days ago. Five students of Nathan's teacher, César Marmolejo, performed. Here is a video of Nathan's performance.

TALENT SHOW!

2008-11-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, there was an event at school, called the Dia de Cristo Rey. There were a lot of fun games and events, but the one I worked the hardest for was the talent show. I played piano, and the song I played was called "Agent X," which I played in two concerts before. There were probably a couple of hundred people in the audience, and I think it came out really well, even though I was so nervous before the concert.

My dad taped it on video. Here it is!

HOMESCHOOLED!

2008-11-24T17:29:00.000-08:00

Today I was homeschooled by my dad for part of the day. He took me out of school and for two hours, and I studied Spanish intensely. My brother was jealous, but it was really just studying the whole time. I learned the future tense, the preterite, the present progressive, and another form of future. I think that it was a productive day in Spanish!

TAREA!

2008-11-24T17:22:00.000-08:00

Today I am proud of myself for starting the fifth grade homework. Before I had been doing the easier fourth grade homework ( I attend fourth grade classes when the fifth graders are having English class). All of this means that just maybe, only maybe am I learning a tiny, tiny bit of Spanish!

Running on the Race Course

2008-11-23T18:26:00.000-08:00

The biggest problem with running in residential areas of Ensenada is that I attract the attention of many dogs. Since crime is a problem here, people have dogs . . . big, vicious-sounding, mean-looking guard dogs. Most of these dogs are not on leashes. Some are locked behind the ornate fences of gated homes. But others run and chase freely. Since dogs can't tell the difference between innocent exercisers and "narco-traficantes," I have been chased by many furious furry beasts as they try to protect their turf.

After a bit of searching, and with help from Mark the Map Man, I found a workable running route from my apartment. (It is always possible to drive to the beach and run there, but I also wanted a place to run from home.) From my little condo in "Zona Centro" I can run 3 or 4 blocks east (away from the ocean) and into the hills. In just a few short minutes I can be off of the pavement and onto dirt roads in the dry hills that surround Ensenada. There are few homes in this area, thus few dogs. There are many off-road cyclists who love these dirt roads and paths, so I have enough company to feel safe and secure. I'm never really alone.

Yesterday, Mark accompanied me on my run. We noticed some police barricades near our route, so we inquired about getting through. After I asked in Spanish if we could continue up into the hills, the police officer responded in clear English, "Yes, just stay on the side." So, we did. We ran up and up and wondered what all the commotion was about. Finally, after a mile or so of dirt road, we ran into a man who wanted to make conversation. He pointed out a helicopter circling overhead and said that the helicopter was probably following a pack of cars, so we should see some action soon. . .

So, as it turns out, Mark and I were running on the actual race course of the Baja Mil. We had no idea that the racers were using MY running route yesterday. In fact, we thought that the Baja Mil was a race that started in Ensenada and ended in La Paz. But, apparently they change the route all the time. This year's course started and ended in Ensenada. So, we stopped to catch our breath, moved as far to the edge of the dirt road as possible, and waved to the motorcycles, ATVs, dune buggies, souped-up SUVs, and VW bugs that came careening by. Luckily, there wasn't really a pack at this point. So, we had plenty of time between cars to run down to the wider city streets.

It just seems awfully strange to me that we were allowed to run on the actual race course. The police officers never would have guessed that we didn't know the race was happening -- I don't think they were withholding information. They just assumed we were die-hard race fans who wanted to be the first to see the cars come out of the hills. But no, we were just oblivious foreigners living in a land where you run at your own risk.

We didn't have a camera with us to document our run on the race course, but we went home and got the boys and watched a few more cars from the safe sidewalk of our neighborhood. Here are a few photos:

Baja Mil

2008-11-22T12:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday one of our friends took Theo and me downtown to see some off road vehicles that were getting ready to race in something called the Baja Mil. The Baja Mil is an 1000 mile off road race all around Baja California. It's been happening annually for about 35-40 years and is pretty big around here and with racing fans around the world, (there were many Gringos there). There are motorcycles, pickups with extra big shocks, and big off road vehicles with shocks so huge I could sit in between the wheel and the wheel well. Even though I'm not a racing fan of any sort I still had a good time.

Here's a picture I got off the internet of the race.

Things Happen

2008-11-18T17:48:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days when you just want to go hide in a corner and be alone. The day started as a normal okay day, with my classes going great. I even got a big Hershey's dark chocolate candy bar in math for getting a good grade. The bad kicked in when I went to the fourth grade. I started to get a little off my good day when I needed to get a copy of my homework assignment sheet. I went in and everything was just fine except that the teachers were saying something about me and I didn't know what it was. That was just a small thing but things do get on your nerves sometimes. The next thing that happened that just got on my nerves was that I seemed to be saying a lot of things wrong today. People were laughing at the things I said wrong and not telling me what I said wrong just leaving me wondering. The thing that just finally pushed me past my breaking point was another small thing. It was when my class was practicing for a presentation when I had to say my line. All I had to say was a name ("Limantour"). I thought that I had said it completely wrong because everyone was laughing. I just couldn't control myself and I just sat down and cried. After I pulled myself together I thought how stupid it was to let that happen and I am writing this to try to feel better.

Water Woes

2008-11-07T18:55:00.000-08:00

I must have angered Poseidon in a past life. And now he is getting back at me, not with a tidal wave of trouble, but rather with drips or droughts at the most inconvenient times. Right now there is no water at all coming out of the faucets, but there are soaked towels all over my kitchen floor because when I do have water it leaks from the pipes. Our running water "dries up" about every two weeks for a few hours and then magically returns. The water often stops running on Friday afternoons for some reason . . . I think it's because I often want to do laundry at that time. The leaking problems started with our boiler. It started leaking just before our first house guest arrived from Denver -- of course. We've had the boiler replaced, but the plumber who installed the "new" (used) one didn't seal the pipes well. The bottom line is a kitchen full of puddles and many befuddled telephone conversations with el plomero. We still have plenty of water to drink, since we buy that from a convenience store across the street. So, perhaps I only irritated Poseidon and didn't infuriate him. We'll see . . .

"TOYS"

2008-11-02T11:31:00.000-08:00

Here in Ensenada I have no toys, not one and sometimes on the weekends I get bored with nothing to do. Recently I have found some "toys" to play with. One of them is not a toy it is called, cats. If you met these cats you would be amazed because they are the nicest cats in the world and I'm glad to finally have a pet. There are two of them, one is black and the other is white. Both of the cats like each other and like me.I'm not sure if they have owners or not but I never see them with any one so they are now mine. Having cats to play with is fun but not enough. So the answer is paper airplanes. My mom packed a paper airplane kit for her students because it had an article on flying. I realized it would be fun to use. Now it is the best thing ever. So far I think I have made twenty in two days. I've been experimenting with my own and using the book.. My Brother and I have been throwing them of the top floor of our apartment building. Since some of the airplanes are bad they ended up on peoples' balconies, and I now only have fifteen planes. I am glad I thought of paper air planes and met these awesome cats or else life would be quite boring on weekends. Here are some pictures of my new "toys" here in Ensenada.

Halloween

2008-10-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

Well, it's Halloween. Or Day of the Dead. Or both if you're in Ensenada.

Today different classes at the school made altars to the dead. They had to negotiate among themselves as to who would be honored by the altar. One class honored the husband of their teacher who died a year or so ago. Another honored the grandmother of one of the students who died last month. Another honored Walt Disney.

Theo is in fifth grade, and his class got into an argument that ended with the fifth grade being banned from participating. One girl suggested that they build the altar to her father, who died in a scuba diving accident when the girl was only ten months old. Several of the boys berated her for her suggestion, saying they never knew her father, and neither did she, so why suggest someone so silly. Of course the poor girl was beside herself in sadness, and cried, and the principal had to come in and tell the kids they were mean and hateful and did not deserve to participate. Some of the boys, especially, were non-plussed, though we are learning that a few (besides Theo) were more than a bit upset by the whole affair, thinking that these dominant, alpha-dog boys were really horrible.

But that was only a small glitch, in part because Theo swims between both fifth and fourth grade, and when he gets tired of one group, he can seek refuge in the other.

Tonight both boys were invited to Halloween parties. Nathan did not dress up for his (he's too mature now, of course, even though many of his classmates did put on costumes); Theo went to his party as a vampire.

So Laura and I had a few hours off. We asked the hosts of Nathan's party for a suggestion of where to go out for drinks and a light supper. They suggested a place called Ophelia', which was not too far away (though it took us a while to find it). Wonderful little restaurant. Ordered a nice bottle of wine from the local vineyards (we are living in the New Napa, after all). and an appetizer of scallop ceviche (wow) and an entrée of lasagna (comfort food). And a pear tart for dessert.

We had a very nice date. We talked about all manner of things, including how our lives are finally becoming more international in scope, what with Laura scheming about how to stay involved in this school even after she finishes the year, and what with my business probably expanding to serve clients in Hong Kong and South China.

Right now, I'm waiting for a parent to drop off Theo at the apartment; Nathan is still at his party, and Laura is drinking (more) wine with the parents at that party. It seems that every time the kids have parties, the parents hang out, too. So our social lives are pretty darned great down here. Everyone is über welcoming and friendly, and happy to pour the wine or open more beer.

Oh, and did I mention it was in the high 80s today? Delightful.

Here are some pics:

The Best Weekend

2008-10-28T21:34:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was probably my best weekend yet.
Friday we had a big book fair, and everyone in my class had presentations on either books or countries. Mine presentation was on Harry Potter 1, but the Spanish teacher says I was supposed to talk in English (ironic huh?). It was a little weird speaking English, but I thought I did well and I have passed Spanish. After that I went to my friend's birthday party until 8:00 and we all had lots of fun. When I got home my friend from Colorado was there, he had come to visit for the weekend during his fall break.
The first thing Michael (my friend) and I did was head down to our favorite taco stand, El Paisa for dinner. Of course Michael loved it and we all had a great night of eating and catching up on news. The next day we got up and walked down to the panaderia (pastry shop) to get breakfast for everyone. After we had our breakfast we all decided that we would all go to the beach to hang out. Of course we needed a lunch, so Michael and I walked down to El Paisa again. We got some delicious tortas (large sandwiches) to go and brought them home, got all our beach stuff ready, and left. Everyone had a great time at the beach and we boogie boarded and looked for sand dollars. While there we also found the best skipping stone in the world (which we named Dom). With this rock you could skip 13-15 times, easy. The waves weren't that amazing for boarding but we had fun and I worked on my technique with help from Michael (who's a surfer). After the beach we went home and relaxed for a while. After a long day we all went to a seafood restaurant for dinner and walked around the center of town. We relaxed more afterword.
On Sunday we had a very lazy morning. We pretty much just hung around until 12:00 talking, playing soccer, hacky-sacking, playing guitar, and fooling with Michael's fancy camera. Later we went downtown to explore and hang out. I got some pretty sick shoes, too. We all then went to a family friend's house, with some other friends of ours. It was a great night and we had lots of fun hanging out with all the kids. Everyone was very welcoming and we had lots of great food.
Monday I stayed home from school in the morning. We hung out and went and got our last tacos (they were mole, delicous!) and passed the time until we had to drive Michael to the bus station. His bus left at 9:30 and I had to go back to school.
Thus ended the best weekend ever.

Picture time:

Michael and me at the beach

Theo digging a hole

Theo in his hole

Some sealions we saw close to shore

Some of our friends (Scott the professor on the left, Luis the orthodontist on the right)

Berenice cooking amazing food

Everyone together Sunday night celebrating the birthday of Luis (white and maroon striped shirt). Sorry I blinked.

Security Breach

2008-10-16T21:23:00.000-07:00

Today we had to be extra clean and organized. Why? Because we had our backpacks checked today. Yes, I’m serious. I felt like I was going through airport security. First they checked your pencil case, your cubby thing, your backpack, and then they kind of did the hand check all around your pockets and jacket. It was really weird. They checked your hair and your fingernails too. The principal thinks I need to cut my hair. Everything that does not have to do with school is taken away, small toys, discs, even books for pleasure reading!

Some kids hadn’t cleaned out their things beforehand so there were many attempts to hide things. One girl hid her things tucked in the waistband of her skirt. Another hid hers in a shelf in the corner of the classroom. Some of the guys took of their jackets, put their E.O.s (Expressive Objects) in them and sat on the jacket. One boy barely got away with his phone, they were patting all around him and they cane within an inch of where he had hidden it. Another boy had a very good idea. He had a broken chair, so he rigged up a secret compartment under the seat, it worked quite well. It was actually a good thing we cleaned out Theo’s backpack, because he had a two-week-old rotten banana in one of his side pockets. I can just picture my principal’s manicured nails reaching into his backpack, it would have been hilarious.

At school you’re not allowed to wear bracelets or paint your nails or anything. If girls are caught with these things they have to scrape of the polish and their bracelets are confiscated. If anyone is caught with any toys or keychains they’re confiscated also. They don’t allow any make up, lip gloss, or hand sanitizer. It’s insane.

This is one thing I don’t like about our school, there’s no freedom of expression. Everyone just looks the same and has the same school supplies with the same school logo on them. No one can wear jewelry or anything. Everything is so controlled; no one can make a statement or show who they truly are. I mean you wouldn’t want to express your personality at school! It only takes up more than half of your life! It’s a very frustrating thing.

Here are some random pictures of me and my fellow compañeros getting ready for our Monday flag salute:

Today

2008-10-11T16:18:00.000-07:00

Today was Saturday, and it was one of my best days yet. The weather was great, we had no school, and we had a nice walk around town. After a small lunch we went to pay the cable bill (we didn't know that my dad had already paid it). After that we paid the gas bill. We then went to the cultural center of Ensenada and just looked around. They had some art to look at and some books. We also found out about some free concerts that they have. We then walked to a small store that sold handmade crafts created out of aluminum. The artist showed us how he made them and let us help him with one, which he then gave to us. We ended up buying a cool picture frame. By then it was about 2:00 pm so we rented a movie for the night and went to try a new taco stand. It was amazing. It was the best one we've ever been to, and that's saying something. We then got some paletas. These are like popsicles but a million times better. And now it is now and we can only hope the day gets better from here.

Us at the cultural center.

The best Tacos in the whole world. The other kid goes to our school.

There were two cruise ships in today and it got me thinking, Papa you need to have a take-your-grandkids-to-work day.

OCTOBER!

2008-10-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

The end of the month has finally passed! September was the hardest and slowest month of my life. October has come and things will be much easier now that I have suffered through September. I have gotten to know people in my class better which is going to help tons. Every day at recess I play tag with my two best friends (who are both named Marco) and other people. I am starting to get used to my new school. We have discovered that the food served at school is way too expensive. You can buy two pancakes and nothing else for a dollar fifty. If you want some fruit that's another dollar and if you would like a drink that is another dollar. (get what I'm saying?). So now I usually bring my lunch. Also there are no computers or projectors or screens in the classrooms. There are no hallways. All of the classrooms open up on a courtyard. The classrooms are small and the floors are concrete and filthy. There are no novels to read, only textbooks (even in the library!) But, the teachers are nice and learning still goes on. With only one hundred thirty students in the school every thing is smaller. Every Monday we have to salute the flag and sing the national anthem. I just mouth "watermelon, watermelon, watermelon" over and over again. Every day in the morning we have to say prayers and I mouth "watermelon, watermelon" some more. I do still try to learn the words but it is all too fast for me to get. I am glad it is finally October! (Happy birthday papa!)

The Class of the Class

2008-09-27T11:45:00.000-07:00

Students always have interesting reasons for not doing homework. I've heard many excuses and explanations over the past few years and I thought that I had "heard them all," but this week I was actually surprised by an explanation. One of my students told me he could not do Monday's homework because he was at the Chargers' game on Monday night. Since when is Monday night American football a distraction for Mexican students? Since now. Some of my students here in Baja California seem to be more enthusiastic about American football than about Mexican fútbol. How strange is that?

The fact is that San Diego is much, much closer than any big city in central Mexico. So, people here are very connected to the US and completely tuned in to US culture. Well, I should clarify -- the upper and upper-middle class students who attend my school are very familiar with all things "San Diegoan" and they are eager to show it. It is very common for my students to hop over the border for the weekend (or for Monday night football game) and come back with lots of cool stuff. Most of my students have skateboards (or surf boards or boogie boards) that were purchased in San Diego. Many have relatives in the San Diego area. Sometimes Ensenada feels like a suburb of San Diego -- at least for those privileged enough to cross the border with ease. The other funny thing is that almost everything my students' families buy in San Diego is cheaper than they could find it in Ensenada (even everyday goods, like toilet tissue). These Mexicans go north of the border to find bargains!

So, one among the several things I am getting adjusted to in my new job is "the class" of the class. In Denver I teach many new immigrants whose families are struggling to improve their lives in the US. I spent much of my time at Merrill Middle School working with newly resettled refugees whose families were working very hard to completely rebuild lives shattered by civil war or other violence. In Denver I was often considered a rich teacher by my students. Here, it is just the opposite! I am the "poor" teacher struggling working with very privileged students.

I guess if I want to change my image here, I'll have to make sure that Nathan and Theo wear Patriots or Broncos shirts around town, rather than the Chivas shirts that they like so much!

Here are some of my 6th grade students playing during recess. (Hey Ben-you would love recess at our school!)

Soccer Practice

2008-09-26T20:08:00.000-07:00

Here are some photos of Theo at soccer practice today.

My Week

2008-09-25T20:56:00.000-07:00

Well this week has been my best week in Mexico. School has gone well and we didn't get loaded with homework, in fact I didn't have homework Wednesday or Thursday. On Tuesday we finished our group project in Spanish, which was to create a book of myths and write some stuff about myths and legends. We then had to study all our myths. In class our teacher picked a random story and you had to summarize it in front of the class, not rehearsed. This was hard for me because first I had to read them all, and then summarizing one on the spot was hard. Luckily, she let me pick which myth to summarize so I picked one I already knew in English. Then I summarized it on the spot. It took about 15-20 minutes to get it all out, but I did it. Everyone was patient with me and they all clapped at the end (probably out of relief that I was done). Of course on Wednesday we had a fist fight in the middle of math class which makes the second one this year, so that wasn't amazing.

I now swim because I want to start surfing and my mom says I need to be a stronger swimmer before I start. I was just transferred into a different swim class with older kids. Of course my new class meets only three days a week and I was doing four in my other class. So I went today and they had me swim for an hour with the team. I swam 1950 meters without rest and 400 were butterfly. I suck at butterfly, I've been getting better but I can only do it when I'm rested, I almost died in the swimming pool. This is a little bit ironic because I've always said I never wanted to be on a team but now I am. Guitar has been going great and now I'm working on some classical pieces by Fernando Carulli, and some instrumental metal by Joe Satriani. I'm having lots of fun. Anyway my week has been very good.

The Check Is Not In The Mail

2008-09-20T12:32:00.000-07:00

I tried in vain to make pancakes for the boys this morning. The stove wouldn't light. Hmm . . . could it be that the gas bill I had been ignoring finally caught up with me? Yes, indeed. I had to face the challenge of paying bills in Mexico. Today was the day. I managed to call the gas company and get an address for their nearest office (and yes, I spoke Spanish, without any help whatsoever -- a definite sign of progress!). So, I paid in cash and we now have a functioning stove, dryer, and hot water heater. Ta Da! A small success today.

After a bit more hunting, I also found the offices where I needed to pay for electricity and water. Also cash transactions (although I paid cash to an automated bill collection machine at the electric company). There may be an easier way for me to pay bills, but I haven't figured it out yet. To pay the rent for my apartment I put cash in an envelope and deliver it to my landlady's house. The only bill I know I can pay online is the cable bill -- it's good to know that the cable folks trust their own connections.

Perhaps I could pay some bills with checks, but I wouldn't trust the mail delivery system. I'm posting a photo of the mailbox where I receive my bills. One single, overstuffed, open mailbox for eight apartments. Yup, 8 families receive their mail in this box. Some bills stay in the box for weeks, I've noticed. Many people have bank statements gathering dust in this mailbox. I wonder if identity theft is a big problem here? In any case, since this little mailbox has lowered my confidence in the Mexican postal system, I will continue to pay bills in person and in cash. Now that I've figured out where to go, I may even pay on time!

Beach Activities in San Quintín

2008-09-19T21:01:00.001-07:00

Boogie boarding on the beach was a success, even in the morning hours before the sun came out. Wet suits would come in handy, however, as the Pacific is pretty cold. BUT not as cold as the North Atlantic for all you Cape Cod lovers!

We watched a clammer dig for clams. He got 3 dozen pismo clams the size of a large fist. He can sell them for $5 a dozen. If you buy them in a restaurant, you pay at least $6 a piece. The fisherman tossed the small ones that he couldn't keep to the boys to see. They amused themselves by watching them dig into the sand in the holes that Theo dug for them.

Notice the nicely dug holes with clams in the center.

Clams...small ones.

San Quintín is an important clamming area--what with this huge beach. We also watched fishermen fish in the surf. One guy had a surf net that he caught perch in. Another couple of kids about Nathan's age had lines with 5 or 6 hooks on them that they just dragged into the waves, walked around for a while, and then came ashore with 6-inch fish attached. Don't know what they were. They took them off the lines and then whistled for their little brother to collect them and toss them into a bucket.

No, Theo did not try to eat the clams on the beach. He just got a bit messy.

More about San Quintín in another post. Too many photos to upload!

San Quintín--Beach Weekend

2008-09-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went down to join the family for a few days. They had Monday and Tuesday off for Mexican Independence Day, so we all had a long weekend. After some hemming and hawing, we reserved a room at a beach side hotel in the town of San Quintín, which is about 120 miles south of Ensenada on the Pacific coast.

I'll share the pictures here, mostly, with a bit of commentary thrown in for good measure. It was a very relaxing weekend--not a lot to do in San Quintín, as it turns out, but that was fine. Everyone needed a bit of down time.

La Playa Santa Maria de San Quintín at sunset.

The beach of Santa Maria is gorgeous...wide, gently sloping, natural beach that seems to go on forever...the ends of it fade off into the haze. The sand is a marbled black and white, and the wind and waves form beautiful patterns, probably because the grains are different densities. Then there are the shiny, golden flecks of what look like pyrite.

Shorebirds at sunset (Robert: $50 if you can name the species from this photo).

The beach from our hotel balcony, with dunes in foreground.

Another view from the balcony.

The boys on the dunes--they're bigger up close than they seem in the distance. Jackets in the evening are a good idea--it's the desert, and it gets cool when the sun goes down.

Another view of the beach.

Oh, and did I mention that you can drive your car onto the beach? Seems to be the thing to do around here. Why walk a few hundred yards, when you can unload your cooler at the high tide line?

A view of the hotel from the high tide line. Notice the tire tracks in the sand.

Laura and I took long walks on the endless beach--when the beach was its most deserted. We saw pelicans diving, many varieties of shore birds poking their bills into the sand, sea gulls dropping clams onto the hard sand and eating the broken remains, and porpoises feeding offshore. No boats. Maybe a fisherman or clammer or two. Then a pickup truck with a bad muffler roaring by.

One final view of the beach, with the white hotel in the distance, one of the six volcanoes of San Quintín in the far distance, and scads of sand dollars on the sand in the foreground.

More about San Quintín in a subsequent post or two.

The Pay off of Combing your Hair

2008-09-18T19:43:00.000-07:00

A weird thing happened to me today. You see in Mexico how you look is very important, so in my school they started giving out cards that say Sin-Uni-Pass, in other words It gives you one day without a uniform. That is pretty cool. They give these out to people who always look nice at school. Today four people got them, including me. My mom said the teachers gave it to me because supposedly my hair looked nice. You must know all I did was brush my hair for five seconds this morning. But it's pretty cool because I don't have to wear my uniform. Here's a picture of me in my uniform.

Flexibility

2008-09-17T20:02:00.000-07:00

So far success in Mexico for me is entirely dependent on my ability to be flexible. Most of the time I’m able to “go with the flow” without too much anxiety. Due to my own Spanish-language deficiencies, minor cultural misunderstandings, or just plain old mistakes, I am often the last person around to know what is going on. My first blunder was showing up exactly one week early for my faculty meetings. Although the Mexican teachers started formal meetings on August 11 at 9:00 am, the American faculty had the week to get set up in new apartments and get oriented to Ensenada. I needed much more set-up time than I anticipated, so that free week was a blessing. When my meetings did start I showed up on time and ready to roll at the designated time each day and waited anywhere from 30-40 minutes for others to appear. I expected start times to be flexible (before classes began), but I thought that I shouldn’t be the one to be late. I still haven’t figured out how late is appropriate and how late is late. So, I was happy to sit and read. Then, when we had a really important orientation day with students, I arrived an hour later than I was supposed to be there. My American supervisor had sent me a text message late in the evening to communicate my report time. Oh dear. Yet another language to learn! I’m not fluent in texting. I had never even received a text message before (and this one I received too late!). Despite the language gaps, generation gaps, and general goof-ups, I am feeling successful. My goal is to survive September. Almost done. I plan to thrive in October . . .

SOCCER!

2008-09-12T18:38:00.000-07:00

I started soccer a few weeks ago and I love it. I've had a few practices but today was the best one yet. Before today I didn't have any real friends but today I made friends with some people and I even scored two out of the five goals scored in the scrimmage. Today I played really well and I juked out the best ball handler and even the coach, the other kids were impressed. Right now I'm loving soccer and I think I will really improve my skills. Plus I'm on the Chivas which is my favorite team!

Viva Chivas!

MASS!

2008-09-06T13:29:00.000-07:00

It is the weekend again and I am happy it is. The the week was the same, hard but a little fun. Life is good now even without my dad we are still making it through. On Friday there was a mass/official opening of the new school. It was kind of a crazy day. The mass was huge even the bishop came, it looked like there was going to be a wedding. First, for lunch a resturant came and set up a tent. We could just walk in an ask for food. The food was awesome. Next is that we got a fifty minute recess because of the mass. Even though the day was crazy it was worth it. Here are some pictures of it.

The three priests

The Bishop

The fancy dining area

Valle de Guadalupe

2008-08-31T09:46:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Valle de Guadalupe. Theo's friend from school invited him because his parents were hosting. It was hosted by a kids catholic club for kids 5th grade and below. Good thing for us, there were plenty of people who weren't part of the club so we weren't the only ones. There was a mass, food and lot's of games. It was a fun day. One of my friends from school was there because her little brother had been invited too so we hung out together. Here are some pictures:Theo in a pyramid with his team.

My team.They decided to have a breakdancing session, luckily I know how.Me in the three legged race.
We filled paper plates with whipped cream and chucked them at people who volunteered.
Theo volunteered to be a target.
Me and my friend Zulema, sorry I blinked.
Theo and his friend Rodrigo, the boy who invited him to this event.
"First Communion" for Theo
A game in where you have two teams and everyone is numbered off 1-8 on each team. When they call your number you have to try and get the hat and bring it to your side before the person on the other team does.
This is my favorite picture.
Again.
"First Communion" for me.

Photos of Colegio Argentino

2008-08-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

Here are some preliminary photos of Colegio Argentino. These were taken on the Friday before school started. The workmen were still completing work on the school, and there was still no electricity that day. The plumbing worked, however, to everyone's great relief.

Theo in the library. Not many books here. At least not yet.

On the patio, looking toward the playground. The Pacific Ocean is off to the right. The school has a flag ceremony every Monday.

From the very small soccer field toward the school. The offices are in the back (which is actually the front of the school...the road is on the other side of the buildings in the back).

Looking into the bathrooms on the left, and down the main row of classrooms. Nathan's class is the first one past the bathroom.

This is the lunchroom, looking out toward the playground and the ocean beyond. It's too warm here to need to enclose the eating space .

The Pacific is in the background, with the Isla de Todos Santos in the distance.

The school's construction started last April. They've come a long way in a few short months, but still have some things to accomplish. Parking lots are not paved, the lunch room (or lunch area) has no place to really serve the kids yet, and the fields are smaller than they envision. The administrators also plan to build a two-story middle school on the same property to open next fall. So the place may still feel like a construction zone for quite some time.

But it is certainly spiffy, and you can't beat the view!

Laura in the Classrom

2008-08-30T23:17:00.001-07:00

Here is photo of Laura teaching her 7th grade (a.k.a, Primero de Secundaria). This was the Friday before school started in earnest this past week.

Valle de Guadalupe

2008-08-30T22:32:00.000-07:00

Today we spent the day in the Valle de Guadalupe, which is northeast of Ensenada on the route to Tecate, perhaps 25 miles or so. It is the major wine producing region of Mexico, and apparently there are about 50 wineries in the area. There are also a lot of olive groves. The valley is surrounded by relatively bleak hills that look a bit forbidding. But for about 150 years since the valley was first settled by a few Russian families, the people have made a living from agriculture pulling a bit of water out of wells.

We were invited by the family of a boy in Theo's class (his name is Rodrigo) to participate in a Catholic youth group. I'll let the boys tell you more about the activities, but I'll post a few photos of the valley and the ranch where the festivities were held.

A view of the valley from one of the houses on the ranch.

The olive grove surrounding the property where we hung out for the day. It rained in the morning--just enough to make things muggy.
Laura at the rancho where the patio met the olive grove.

A Productive Week

2008-08-29T21:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm about to head back to Denver on Monday. Today was sort of my last day to get things organized before leaving the family to enjoy things on their own, while I go back to work.

Here's what happened the last couple of days:

The appliance man came today at noon (he said he'd come around nine--some things remain the same across the globe) and hooked up the dryer. So now we have all appliances in good working order (and finally some clean clothes!)
After driving all around town, I found a place for the boys to take private music lessons--four blocks from our house. Nathan starts guitar and a music history class on Tuesday. Theo also starts piano on Tuesday with a teacher who is a native of Russia.
Theo has started soccer at an official Chivas training school (the Chivas is the professional team from Guadalajara). The drills are tough, and he will be working his little fanny off every Wednesday and Friday. If he makes the traveling team, he'll be going to Guadalajara sometime this year with the team.
Nathan has found a place to take swimming lessons. He settled for this because he really wants to surf, and his parents insisted that he cannot take surfing lessons until he is a stronger swimmer. So he'll be tested on Monday to see what level he should be in; if he's good enough, he'll train with the "pre-team." The pool is at a swishy, country-club sort of place...very close to where we live.
After looking at about five places and taking a complimentary class at one, we found a gym for Laura that is not very far, but too far to walk. Aerobics, yoga, cardio machines, and weights, if she wants. I'm hoping she can get there 3 times a week.

And tonight was the real score: we found a taco stand at the corner of Juaréz and Gastelum (easy walking distance) that sells absolutely amazing roasted meat tacos for 50 cents a piece, as well as the most amazing chiles rellenos I have ever eaten. They are served piping hot between two warm corn tortillas, and you eat them with your fingers with a bit of lettuce and guacamole. We stuffed ourselves for $5.00. Then we splurged and bought "paletas Michoacanas," an excellent popsicle or ice-cream bar sort of thing, which come in one zillion flavors. Strawberry was the hands-down favorite (four for $4.40).

We also ran into two families from the school that the kids know: one at the pool, and one along the street as we walked home. This is a town of 400,000 people, but it's also pretty darned small. Laura has now vowed not to go much of anywhere in town without looking half-way decent, in fear that she'll run into the very wealthy parents of her students. (Compare this experience with the parents of the students she teaches in Denver, who are mostly illiterate and have only a couple of changes of clothes themselves.)

Anyway, it was a productive week. I even managed to get some of my own work done!

WEEKEND!

2008-08-29T15:36:00.000-07:00

I'm so glad the first week is over! It was the hardest week of my life! Hopefully the days and weeks will get better. I'm thinking they will as I learn Spanish. During this week I was so frustrated. My teachers would would be talking and I would have no clue what so ever about what they were saying. When my teachers tell me to write something I don't understand until someone explains to me. Here's how the week went, Monday and Tuesday were the hardest Wednesday got a little better because I made friends, Thursday was the same as Wednesday and Friday was better because it was Friday. I'm so glad it is the weekend!

VIDEO OF OUR APARTMENT!

2008-08-28T21:17:00.001-07:00

This is a video I took of our empty apartment the day we moved in. I'll make another one of our apartment as it is now.

WILL I EVER LEARN SPANISH?!

2008-08-26T19:14:00.000-07:00

What I have to say after two days of school is "OH MY GOD I'LL NEVER LEARN SPANISH!" And that is all I thought after school today. All of my classes have been really hard. I have history, math, Spanish, geography, Catholicism, and maybe some other subjects I don’t know about yet. During the day I go nowhere. All the teachers come to me and I don’t have to go anywhere, which is kind of nice actually not having to go anywhere. My favorite class surprisingly is math, because the math problems are exactly the same, which makes it simple. Although not all of it is simple because of word problems, which are obviously in Spanish. History is my second favorite subject because of the teacher. The teacher is really nice and is easy to understand. Next in line is Catholicism just because all I have to do is try to understand what she is saying and copy what I have to write. Still, I don’t understand anything I have write or do until my friends tell me. My least favorite class is Spanish because most everything is written down on a piece of paper. So far I have had to read two stories. I had no idea what the heck they were about. To top it all off I have to do questions about the story that I didn't get plus I didn’t understand the questions. Even if I did I wouldn't be able to answer them. So I think Spanish is going to be the most stressful and frustrating class, which isn't saying much because every class is going to be and already is stressful and frustrating. It helps that my teacher, Miss Cindy, is really nice, which takes some of the stress off. What helps the most is my friends who can explain it to me. So far I have made two good friends. Both who are really nice. One speaks pretty good English and the other speaks barely any English at all. This is good because one can help me learn Spanish and the other can help me not feel stupid during class, which still is going to happen tons of times. My ratings of my classes will probably change as I learn Spanish (if I ever do!).

More Appliance Nightmares

2008-08-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

Well, Theo and I bought a fridge, a washing machine, and a dryer last week. Easy as pie. Just pay money, and it's delivered in a matter of hours.

Fridge is new: few scratches and dents. Works great.

We hooked up the dryer. The faucets leaked like fountains. Water all over the place. Need to be replaced. Great.

Laura plugged in the dryer to dry some hand washables. After 20 minutes, she checked on them. No heat in the dryer.

It's a gas dryer. No gas line to hook it up to. Went back Sunday to see if I could exchange for an electric one. "No hay." They sell only gas dryers. So we're stuck. Turns out most people in Ensenada prefer gas ones that can be hooked up to an LP tank. After a trip to Home Despot, I now have a regulator and hose to connect dryer to tank. Still no tank, but I have scoped out the guys who drive by every morning--two or three times, honking their horns--selling the tanks off the back of their trucks and who will tote them upstairs for me.

Plumber is supposed to come tomorrow. At least the landlord will pay for this little problem.

After five days, several stuttering phone calls, and a lot of new vocabulary (e.g., "water leak," "portable LP tank," "faucets," and "return policy"), maybe we'll be able to do laundry tomorrow.

REAL UNIFORMS!

2008-08-24T09:33:00.000-07:00

I wrote another post on my sports uniforms but here are the real ones.

It's a lot different the the sports uniform, huh? The blazer I'm wearing is too small, so we have to get a new one, which stinks. On Mondays, I have to wear the blazer, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I wear the sports uniform, and on Wednesdays and Fridays, I wear the vest and no blazer.

BEACH!

2008-08-24T09:15:00.000-07:00

The beach that we went to yesterday was the best beach I've been to so far. The first beach we went to was okay, but the waves weren't very big. The second beach we went to had a rip tide, so we could barely go out past our knees.

But this beach, called La Misión, had huge, huge, huge waves. The water was colder, because the other beaches were in the bay near Ensenada, which is called Bahía de Todos Santos (All Saints Bay). Even though the water was cold, we got used to it pretty fast. We bought a boogie board, and we rode the huge waves. The waves we rode on were not even the biggest waves--they were the second break, and they were still over our heads. Riding them was awesome.

The beach was pretty crowded, but not too crowded. People were selling stuff on the beach, from kites to ice cream to coconuts. Lots of other people drove their cars right onto the beach, so that they could bring more stuff onto the beach, like tents, barbecues, plastic furniture, and lots of other things. And I saw one car that was stuck in the sand, and they were trying to dig it out.

On our way home, we stopped at a pizzeria and ordered a pizza to go for cena (that's "supper" in Spanish). Next door to the pizzeria, there was a panadería (which means "bakery" in Spanish). We got lots of stuff for last night for dessert and stuff for this morning. It was all great, including the pizza.

I'm looking forward to going to that beach again.

Cultural Observations

2008-08-24T08:48:00.001-07:00

Just as there are regional cultural differences in the US, Mexico's culture is different from one end of the country to the other.

Baja California is the spot in the country that is furthest away from the capital and the center of Mexican culture. Laura's school principal told her that when she was growing up, the only TV stations available were in English. Now with the digital revolution, everything is completely in Spanish (which is, perhaps, having an effect on Baja culture). In any case, Ensenada is only 100 kilometers (60 miles or so) from San Diego. Some people go up there all the time. Some people live in Ensenada an work in San Diego. Many of the elite here, especially, are professionally entwined with southern California. Many American companies do business with the "maquiladora" factories here (we're in a special economic zone along the border that encourages US companies to invest down here). So in many respects, Ensenada is much more connected to San Diego than it is to Mexico City.

Also, keep in mind that there are many US retirees in Ensenada, as well as many Americans (many of Mexican descent) that have vacation homes down here. We see tons of California license plates--I've seen three or four in the parking lots of our apartment complex.

So what seems to be the impact? We see more boys--and men--in shorts than we saw in Cuernavaca a few years ago. Coffee houses abound, and there is even a new Starbucks on the Boulevard near the cruise ship terminal. There is an Applebee's next to WalMart. The grocery stores are full of American products. The second-hand stores are equally full of American products. (Ever wonder what happens to your old washing machine? it is auctioned off to Mexicans who drag them down here by the truck load and sell them to people like me looking for a cheap Kenmore). There are not as many Indians here as there are in most other parts of Mexico; instead most of the people look fairly "white" or southern European (Laura blends right in).

That said, Ensenada is definitely Mexico. It's not Phoenix or San Diego.

As a government wonk, I see much of the difference in terms of government regulation, zoning, and political structures. In our neighborhood, right in the Zona Centro, you can have a dilapidated house or business right next to a beautiful mansion. The kindergarten of the Colegio Argentino where Laura teaches is sandwiched between a beautiful home and a used car lot. We looked at one house that was a complete wreck, but it was located right behind a very attractive strip mall. There doesn't seem to be much regulation of who can build what where, or governmental priorities about zoning. (That said, it's clear that the Avenida Reforma, which is the main north-south artery and part of the Transpeninsular Highway, is strip-zoned for commercial, and the residential neighborhoods are off the side streets). The boys noticed that the WalMart and HomeDepot are just steps from the beach. As a casual and uninformed observer, this sort of civic decision is jarring.

I know that one of the most difficult reforms that successive Mexican governments have tried to push through have been land reforms. Land ownership in this country has always been a little screwy, with some land privately held, and some held in common by the "ejidos." I haven't really figured this out yet, but land tenure is part of the problem. So government regulation has to deal with these separate land tenure structures.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is that despite the fact that Ensenada and Baja California, in general, are cultural and economically much more tied to San Diego and northwards than to Mexico City, the fact is that Ensenada is a Mexican city.

I'll write more as I begin to understand this place better.

School: First Impressions

2008-08-23T12:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had a half day of school. I came early with my mom at 8 and waited around until the kids came. All the teachers came into our room and talked with us for a half an hour. Some teachers I can understand, and some not so much. First we met our Orientation teacher, she was nice I guess except for we all had to say our names and what school we went to last year. I messed up and everyone laughed at me. I still don't know what the class Orientation is. Then we met our Biology teacher she is French and married to a Mexican. She has lived in Mexico for 8 years and speaks spanish fluently. I think I will do okay in that class. Then we met our Spanish teacher, I am 100% sure I'm going to flunk that class. She speaks very clearly so I can understand most of what she says but I still don't know exactly what she's talking about. She talked about how we were going to find out why we spell different words different ways. She is very strict and likes to have us stand up when she enters and exits the room.
After that we got a break, I was ready for it. That whole time I felt really crappy, I felt like I didn't fit, and I would never be able to communicate, and how I just wanted to go back to the states. The break helped a lot. After that we met another teacher who teaches catholicism and other stuff. I didn't understand one word she said. First we were talking about catholicism, then we were talking about ipods, and then people who didn't have homes and enough to eat. I got pretty confused.
Then came our geography teacher, oh man. We had snack outside while she talked to us. The other guys were talking a lot and she was getting pretty pissed at them. Then she called my friend Mario (who wasn't talking) ninito, which means little boy. We all laughed a little and then she looked at us and got angry. She said: Is it funny?! Is it a joke?! No laughing! So I was trying extra hard to stay on her good side when some of the guys started talking, and they all start saying some funny stuff and everyone starts laughing. She was getting pretty mad, and I was stuffing my face with a granola bar to keep myself from just losing control and start cracking up. Anyway after that we went back in to our classroom and she told us something along the lines of; if you step out of line your dead.
Then it was my mom's turn to talk. I was kind of embarrassed but she didn't do anything bad, and she wasn't mean. Overall it went well, I am very nervous for Monday.

Orientation

2008-08-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today was orientation day at school. It was very fun but I was a little nervous. My morning was a little rushed because we thought we had to be at school at 10 but we had to be there at 9. My mom's colleague had texted my mom about it the day before but my mom sent her first text message yesterday and by the time she got the text message it was 8:40 and I had only been awake for 5 minutes.
So when we got there, everyone had to check in their stuff, I didn't have my stuff because I didn't have time to grab it. My dad brought them at 10 when the younger grades came and he checked them in for me. There are 19 people in my class and only 6 or 7 guys. I met them all and I am good friends with two of them and I hang out with the others. One of my friends name is Mario, he speaks no english but he speaks slowly and doesn't mumble so I can understand him pretty well. My other friend speaks a little english, is kind of weird and not athletic at all, but he's nice and helps me understand things. I also made friends
with a girl named Geneva, she is half Mexican and half American and is bilingual.
After our teacher talked to us we played games like dodgeball and pass the water balloons, (It was kind of lame). After we had a snack and me and the other guys played soccer until it was time to go. It was a very fun but tiring day. I look forward to tomorrows half day and Monday, when school actually starts. Until then, we have lots to do.

ORIENTATION!

2008-08-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

Today I went to the orientation of my new school. The kids in my class are nice but I can't understand them, they do speak a little English which helps me understand. Even though it wasn't even class it was hard. I still have the adventure of school ahead of me.

Drinking Water

2008-08-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

None of us has had even a twinge of Montezuma's Revenge since our arrival. We've even eaten tacos on the street and seafood tacos in the seafood market (right next to where the fishing boats come in--there is a healthy commercial fishing industry in Ensenada). No problems.

Still, we drink bottled water. We finally got a "porta garrafon" yesterday, which is an Rubbermaid apparatus upon which to turn a big water jug upside down. We can keep it on the counter. I was told that I can buy the "garrafones" (jugs) in the convenience store across the street, and you can fill them up for 10 pesos (1 dollar). Or there are trucks that deliver them...they just drive around honking their horns hoping you'll come out of your house with your empties.

So today's the day to get the garrafon. A red letter day.

NEIGHBORHOOD!

2008-08-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

Our Apartment

Our neighborhood is awesome! Everything is nearby. There is a bakery a taco stand, a laundromat, a convenience store (abarrotes) and a few blocks away there is a language school that we went to. And there's lots of tasty restaurants. Here are some pictures.

The convenience store

The Laundromat

The Bakery

Our language school.

The taco stand

UNIFORMS!

2008-08-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

The first thought I had when I heard I had to wear a uniform was "AHHHHHHHH!" but then it might not be so bad. I was right. Our uniforms aren't so bad, but I wouldn't wear them any time else other than at school. Here are some photos.

I know what you're thinking: those are your uniforms? Well actually those are our sports uniforms. We haven't gotten our real uniforms yet. When I get pictures I'll show you.

The Cheap Stove That Wasn't

2008-08-19T13:10:00.000-07:00

Most apartments here are rented unfurnished. No stove, no fridge, nada.

So we have been shopping in the "segundas" for used appliances. We bought an old stove for $130 US which was delivered yesterday. They had a really difficult time installing it. So difficult, in fact, that it had to be installed in the center of the kitchen. At least it worked so we could prepare our first hot meal in the apartment: penne with marinara and a tomato and cucumber salad. Mmmm...

Then today I called the landlady to ask her who she knew who could fix a stove. She gave me a number. I called, told them the best I could what was wrong (the copper piping was not flexible, and I feared that I would break it if I bent it too much). Two men arrived in 30 minutes, completely reinstalled it as it should be done (with a flexible hose) and they cleaned and regulated it properly. Now it works like a charm.

And it cost me $70 more. So the stove cost $200...for which we probably could have bought a much newer stove. Oh well.

At least I had the presence of mind to ask the men how to resell stuff at the end of our stay. Apparently there is a radio station in Ensenada that does nothing but classified advertisements in Spanish. They said that if I wrote up an ad and gave it to the radio station, I'd get calls within minutes from people who wanted to buy stuff cheap.

So now I'm feeling more confident about buying a decent fridge and probably a washer and dryer.

While the whole process is a bit frustrating, it's also a good way to learn vocabulary. How else could I have learned the words for "tools," "drill," and "copper pipe"?

The Transition

2008-08-18T22:29:00.000-07:00

We left about 12 days ago, and we crossed the border 8 days ago.

The thing I'm most proud of? The way the boys are adjusting so rapidly. They are wild about the food. They don't want to hang in the tourist zone or in restaurants where gringos usually go. They tried the birria stew of goat, and loved it. They are settling into the apartment, which is a bit cramped, but in a nice, central neighborhood (you can find a yoga studio down the street and a couple of plastic surgeons on the next street over). Nathan and Theo are just rolling.

Their only real complaint is that they have to do too much shopping. Walmart. Home Depot. Dax (the equivalent of Walgreens). Waldo's (the dollar store). And the "segunda" where you can buy second-hand furniture and appliances. All this shopping takes a ton of time and energy, and understandably Nathan and Theo lose patience. But they do understand that the intensive shopping is about to come to an end (we need a fridge next). And they are excited about school starting.

All in all, the transition has been fairly smooth. A few surprises. Several glitches. A couple of wacky moments.

But our landlady is nice (her grandkids go to the school where Laura will teach). Most of the people we have dealt with have been very helpful. We have figured out how to drive from one end of town to the other. And we found the nearest beach (and the roadside taco and tamales stands).

It's going to be a very full year.

FOOD!

2008-08-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Yummmmm! The food here is awesome. Each day since we arrived here we have had tacos, enchiladas, chili rellenos and much more. During the Spanish school that I took; every day I would have a delicious taco. My favorite kind was the taco de Nopal con huevo (Otherwise known as cactus with egg.)

Yesterday we ate at a restaurant called................. some Aztec name that I can't pronounce. Anyway the food there was great we had lamb and beef tacos. Plus we had a great vegetable that I don't remember what is was called but it was great . A few nights ago we had lamb, beef and goat. I liked the goat the best. Overall I'm exited to have this food all year.

The Trip

2008-08-18T20:09:00.000-07:00

Now that I have finally gotten around to it, let me tell you about our trip. Our trip was long. It lasted four very extremely long days. We could usually find something to keep us occupied but sometimes we got extremely bored and grumpy because we had nothing to do, we were hungry, and we were driving through a freakin' dessert in the middle of nowhere. We went to two national parks, they were Painted Desert national forest and Petrified Forest national park. Both were very beautiful, especially the Painted Desert. The thing is we didn't have a lot of time to see them because we were rushing to get to Phoenix, Arizona, to see some friends of my parents, (we needn't have rushed because it's one hour earlier in Arizona, we just forgot to set our watches back). We had a fun night.

We also explored Santa Fe, New Mexico. It's a very cool, artsy little town. We visited a museum there about the history of Mexico. Also in Santa Fe, we took a tour of St. John's University with my dad. It's a cool college but my brother and I decided that we didn't want to go there. So here's an overview of our trip. First day we drove from Denver, Colorado, to Santa Fe, New Mexico. The Second day we drove from Santa Fe to Phoenix, Arizona. The third day, Saturday the 10th, we drove from Pheonix to El Centro California, and on Sunday we came to Ensenada. Here's some pictures of our trip:
The car all loaded with stuff.

My parents at Petrified Forest National Park.
On the road in Santa Fe.
Me, my brother and my dad at Painted Desert national forest.

Photos of Our Apartment--Empty

2008-08-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

We moved into our apartment last Wednesday. It was bare. We slept on air beds the first night, because the workmen were painting and still cleaning around us. Anyway, we didn't have any furniture or appliances.

So here are some photos.

This is the master bedroom. Theo and I will sleep here.

Here's our claustrophobic bathroom!
This is my mom's room and my dad's when he comes. Do you see the train on the wall?
The house is sold!

This is the kitchen.

This is our main room and there is nothing in it.

This is our laundry room (without a washing machine and dryer)/garage/basement. There is no real wall so bugs and dirt can come and go freely.

This is our small balcony looking onto that beautiful wall.

Our apartment has no air conditioning though it does have fans. All in all it's starting to feel like home.

The Internet's Up!

2008-08-18T15:41:00.000-07:00

The cable guys just left our apartment 10 minutes ago so I'm online for the first time in a long time. Life has been weird and very, very busy. First there was packing for our trip, then there was being stuck in a car for four days. Then there was arriving at a hotel (because we didn't have an apartment) Then there was going to a language school to study Spanish. It was pretty much everything I learned in Challenge and more in one week. We found an apartment and we've been living in it for 4 or 5 days. We borrowed a couch, a toaster, a mini fridge, two lamps, 4 tables, and four chairs, and we have bought a lot of stuff so it seems more like home (which is good because a couple days ago it looked dingy. Right now we have no water for some reason. This is the second time this has happened, and the guy from the flea market should be bringing the stove we bought soon. The food here is nothing short of amazing (tacos are my favorite food now). Overall everything has been totally different and I'm having lot's of fun.

We Haven't Left Yet

2008-07-04T08:27:00.000-07:00

Today is the Fourth of July. I haven't gone to Ensenada yet. I leave on July 30th.

I am really excited about learning the language and having the experience of being in Mexico.

Next I need to learn how to add photos to the blog.