My Alarm Clock!

The GAS Man...

I did it! I have been trying to catch this on camera for a while, and I finally got it. This man drives by my window several times a day, he drives around all of Tehuacan actually. But his rounds in my neighborhood begin at 7am!! He passes my window every morning during the 7 o'clock hour and wakes me up, I haven't needed to set my alarm clock even once thanks to him. I remember the first few days I was here and I heard it, I was like "What the...." Then it moved from the weird stage to the annoying stage, and now I love it! I love that gas man and his lovely musical truck, I'm going to miss hearing it every morning.

WOW. I can't believe that I only have a few more days here! I only have two more days of classes, then two days later I fly away from Mexico and my life here. I'll be back to visit though.






This is really random, but I think it's SO funny! A perfect depiction of how my kinder class goes on most days. I love this class though, one of my favorites.

LAST Saturday in Tehuacan


Some of the other teachers and I spent our last Saturday in Tehuacan together, it was a really fun day! We just walked around the streets of Tehuacan, going to places we had been wanting to go to, getting pictures of places we go all the time, and visiting little stores and shops! We found this store that sells leather sandals, a store with really cute shirts for just 50 pesos, and even a little icee vendor, ymmm. Oh and you can't forget the wonderful PANADERIAS that are everywhere here, I LOVE them. We stopped at one and all got pastries (above), SO good. I think I might have withdrawls from them when I'm back in Utah. Seriously.
The picture below, NO, we're not flashing a gang sign or wishing the world peace. :) We went to the TWO PESO store!! Everything, and I mean everything, in the entire store is yours for just 2 pesos. That's less than 20 cents... and I thought the dollar stores at home were cool.






I hope you aren't eating while you are reading this, because these two pictures might have just ruined your appetite... sorry! We saw a man wheeling this into the market, to do who knows what with. They make tacos with them, BRAIN tacos. I found out this week that I have been eating them the whole time I've been here, and my host mom just hasn't ever told me. I've learned not to ask what I'm eating... :) Most Saturdays, I go with my host mom to the Saturday Market, and at the place we buy chicharron at, we always get tacos. They are such good tacos too, I loved them from the first day we went - some days I'd eat 3 or 4 because they were so good! Never thought to ask what they were made of. Well I found out this week! BRAIN. Made from cows like you see on this man's cart. YUMMM!! :)


Fiesta with the fam

I went to a party with my host family, it was a luncheon type deal for the baptism of one of their friends little girl. It was a huge party, tons of people, even more food, and lots of dancing! Someone gave me this hat and orange shaker thing to dance with, so funny. It was really fun though, and fun to hang out with my host family!

WEEK OFF. Because of the change to summer semester, we had to remake the schedules, and because of the decreased number of students enrolled in our summer program, we don't need as many teachers everyday! So each girl got a week off, we could either choose to take our days one by one throughout the 2 months, or to take the whole week at once. I took mine all at once! It was fun to be able to be with my family more, and be able to see more of what their lives are like during the day. And I was so lucky, I got to go to 4 or so new cities and places, and got to meet a lot of Sandra's family in the town they grew up in.


Puebla. We went to Puebla one of the days, to the mall there! HUGE. Sandra and Christian did a lot of shopping for the family, and then Emilio got to go to a store called Bear Mountain (I think) which is SO similar to Build-A-Bear Workshop like we have at home! He LOVED it. He made a black and white tiger, and dressed it in a superman outfit.

Baptism Lunch. One of the cousins child had their baptism, so they had a big party and lunch for everyone. Their house and yard were really pretty, it was a lot of fun! They ate mole and barbacoa and chivo, which are very traditional dishes. The first time I tried Mole... I thought it was disgusting! But it has grown on me, I love it now. It's such a distinct and unique flavor, I really enjoy it. After we ate I hung out by the pool and watched the kids swim.



This picture (above) is one of my favorites from ALL of Mexico, I love it, and Emilio. Below is miss Luciana, the daugter of mi tia! She's so cute and so much fun! She's one of my best friends here in Tehuacan. :) I love how she says my name, "...Jes-KA!" I am going to miss her and her family - Ana, Juan, and Rodrigo - so much when I go.



Above - here's all of the kids playing in the pool! Emilio, Rodrigo in the back, Arturito, and Luciana. Below is cute Rodrigo! He is seriously thee sweetest, most caring little guy that you'll ever meet, love him.


Huautla. I'm SO happy that I had the opportunity to go to this city, it was such a neat experience. It is about 3 hours away from Tehuacan, and is really high in the mountains. A lot of Sandra's family live there, and it's the town that Sandra and her family grew up in! It's a pretty small town, and SO beautiful.






COOLEST bread store that I've EVER been to! It was more of a bread factory. That dome-looking thing in the back is a huge oven, heated by two big fires on each side, and they put the dough right onto the cement inside, then pull it out with the long spatula he's holding in your hand. All of the walls were lined with shelves, ALL full of freshly baked bread, it smelled delicious in there. We brought some bread home with us, and ate it for days after.


Above is an example of a type of the traditional dress! They are all handmade, and are so intricate and beautiful. Below is one of Sandra's aunties I believe, Susana. She was really nice, and kept calling me Güera. :) In my hands is a cup of Atole agria, it was really tasty! I've tried a lot of different kinds of atole while I've been here, and there's so many different tastes and flavors of it, I love that stuff.


Cholula. This city was near Puebla, so only about 2 hours outside of Tehuacan. There are ruins there, some of the coolest ruins that I've seen here in Mexico! It's a very large ancient pyramid, most of which is still covered. But on the top of the huge covered pyramid, they've built a church, it's really pretty! In the picture below, the guide said it was some kind of stadium, and when you stand in the middle of it and clap your hands, it echos so loudly right back to the center. It's amazing how they built back then - even with out the technology of today they still managed to have perfect acoustics.



Family. I can't believe that I only have a few more days left with my familia. This summer has flown by so fast, like someone hit fast forward. If it were up to me, I'd hit the rewind button and live this whole summer over again. So many amazing experiences and so many wonderful people.


Above is Yola who works at the house, and sweet little Valentina! The thing she has tied around her shoulders is called a reboso, they are really popular here to carry children in. Below is Abuela Martha, Sandra's mom, holding Valentina. Just a couple of the MANY many people that I have grown to LOVE. So much!



Of ALL of the pictures that I have so far from here in Mexico, I think this next one is one of my absolute FAVORITES. I have grown to love these kids so much in the last three months. Before this experience, I wouldn't have thought that it was possible to grow to love someone SO much in only 3 short months, but I have definitely proved myself wrong there. I love these kids and my host family and all of my students SO much, I am sure going to miss them.

From left to right is Emilio, Arturito, Rodrigo, and Luci.