La Gringa Mexicana

I am slowly becoming more and more Mexican.

To begin with, I am proud to report that I made my first joke in Spanish the other day, and it went over very well. I was explaining to a group of ladies that I wear contact lenses when someone comented that it must be difficult for me to see "hombres guapos" (handsome men) without my contacts, and I responded that without my contacts, all men are handsome! They thought it was pretty funny.

Second, I am beginning to conquer my fear of large insects, out of necessity I suppose. A few nights ago, I opened my bedroom door and found a cockroach in the hallway, much to my horror. Since then, I have had several cockroaches in my bedroom, and one in my bathroom- all of which I have handled myself with courage that should be commended. In the fray of one of these battles, the hunted cockroach decided to seek cover in one of my tennis shoes that was on the floor. Luckily, I discovered where the nasty little thing was hiding, but it still makes me gag to think that it was in my shoe. My host family's house is well-kept, but I think it is pretty much impossible in Mexico to avoid a few cockroaches here and there.

Third, I have now hand-washed my clothes! My host family has a washing machine, but for some reason they hand-wash their socks and underwear so when I did laundry yesterday, I learned to use a scrub board. :) It seems that Sunday's are a big day for family in Mexico so Lupita's daughter, Dora, was over yesterday with her two boys, Geranimo (3) and Sebastian (2 months). Geranimo has become my buddy so when I went wash my unmentionables, he pulled a bucket over to stand on and went to work right next to me. It was pretty funny to see a three year old boy washing my underwear, but I'm pretty sure that he was better at it than me (see picture).

Fourth, my Spanish speaking skills are quickly improving. I need a ton of practice still, and a lot of instruction from my teachers, but it is encouraging to be able to communicate a little bit better.

Other than that, I have really been enjoying spending time with the people here, and I really like my school. My teachers at my language school teach entirely in Spanish, but they are really good at communicating the lesson in a way that we can understand. I have also had the opportunity to see my friends from Pueblo Bonito (the resort that I have stayed in), so that has been fun, and I made a new friend from my school- a Canadian girl who is studying Spanish while she is here with her husband for his job. Although I have been having a lot of fun getting to know people, I am really looking forward to Gitta's arrival this Thursday. It will be nice to explore the city with a good friend.

Thanks for the comments everyone! It is fun to hear from you all.