This is where I go to school. You are jealous.

Does this work?

Isabel and Me

Yep.

Mich.Mex

Just thought I´d do a little update, as I haven´t written anything since Il Peccato, I guess. Things are just fine here. We´ve visited Sta. Clara, Patzcuaro, Janitzio, and Guanajuato since I last wrote. I have lots of pictures and I intend to put some up as soon as I have some clever captions and stuff.
Things are going well at the Casa Hogar. The kids are great, even if it is hard to get them to clean or study. I don´t have pictures of them. I figure I´ll do it on the last day.
I´m about to leave for Tzintzuntzan and Quiroga, so I´ll try to update more once I get back.

The Mexican Way

Adriana called at about 9:30 and invited Victoria and me out to a little bar close to her house. I thought why not, and I got ready to go. I had no idea what I was getting into.
First off, nothing bad happened. It was just… interesting. Victoria and I took a taxi there, and we found the place completely full, with Karen and Adriana nowhere to be found. Victoria and I left for a moment just to walk around and maybe find them, but we eventually just walked back in and found them.
I was very nervous. I’m not a drinker, mostly because in the US, I can’t. But I really didn’t have a reason not to. So, I ordered a Cerveza Victoria, while the three others ordered Tequilas. I was feeling pretty calm at that point, until the waiter came back to ask what kind of tequila they wanted. It was really loud in the bar, making Spanish comprehension very difficult for the girls. In the confusion, they ended up ordering an entire bottle of tequila. That got my order canceled, leaving me to enter the world of alcohol with tequila. I got really nervous again. When Adriana found out that I’ve never really had anything, she felt bad but joke that I’m being introduced the true Mexican way.
I soon found out what the true Mexican way really is, and let me tell you, it doesn’t have much to do with drinking. Out of the blue, a guy appears between Adriana and Victoria and asks us in mildly broken English where we are from. Then, as if my magic, four more appear around us, and the pursuit began. They were like sharks, circling around the girls. They were all very distinct people:

• Leader: Wearing glasses and dressed a little better than the others, Leader was the one who first spoke and asked us who we were. He was clearly the smoothest, but he had the habit of leaning on the shoulders of two people around him. It was odd, and uncomfortable for those who were his supporters.
• Hat Guy: Wearing, obviously, a hat, Hat Guy had to be 15 years older than any of the others. He was old enough to be Karen’s father, which was disturbing considering the amount he hit on her.
• Lizard: Lizard was mostly quiet at first, but he had strategically positioned himself next to Adriana, and she soon had his full attention, and he hers for the night. He was clearly interested in her. She…. not so much. His name is Lizard because of his vague resemblance to one.
• Luis: The only one whose name I caught, his nickname is High Five. Imagine what he did. Yes, he high-fived each of us at least once, and several times instigated a “Salud” drink clinking.
• Last, but not least, is WIIILD: WIIILD is so named because he said certain words loudly and slowly, particularly wild. For the first half, WIIILD stood in the background, clearly shafted by his buddies. He came in full force, though, telling us to get WIIILD. What happens in Il Peccato, he says, stays in Il Peccato. He was an alcohol commercial, if alcohol commercials were a bit more obvious and a lot more off-putting.

It was interesting to see how they operated. They really did circle like sharks. One appeared, and the rest swarmed quickly. They made sure to talk to Victoria, who was identified at the friend who will quickly cock-block. They took shifts between Karen and Victoria, to hit on Karen, and then to appease Victoria. Lizard was on his own with Adriana. They even talked to me, to make sure I didn’t get mad, I suppose. They offered a few times to find me a girl. In the end, Lizard gave Adriana his phone number, but on our way home, we just laughed at how ridiculous they were. I guess that’s how it’s done, though.
As for the tequila, it didn’t do much. I didn’t feel much at all. It’s probably because I’m still rather scared of alcohol, even more when it’s tequila. So I didn’t have much. Nothing really happened to me, which is a good thing. I still don’t see what the deal is. It doesn’t really taste very good.
Victoria and I took a taxi home, and I waited outside my house and watched to make sure she got in okay. It turns out she was locked out of her gate. I offered to help her up to jump over, but we didn’t make it. We tried keys in the lock, but they didn’t work. Right before she gave up and used the doorbell, I reached over and opened the gate. It was unlocked.
Yeah, lack of common sense. That’s exactly what I want when I go out.

A New Friend

My second day at Casa Hogar was a little different from my first. I arrived much earlier than last time, going straight to the Casa Hogar without going to the school. The kids were sitting in the dining room, with the asst. director telling them the wonders of Christ (the Casa Hogar is Baptist Evangelical, something rare in what is basically a Catholic nation). Right after they were let go, Javier, Raul, and Omar came up to me. I tell you, they attach so quickly. I got them to do the walkways much slower this time. I had to help Adrian step by step in mopping one walkway. I met a few more boys, Juan Luis, maybe 3 or 4, and Edgar, who could not be more than 2 years old. I sat with the kids as they ate breakfast. I sat between Omar and Raul, who were competing to see who would finish first, but they were so distracted that the girls beat them both. Sulivan, who was sitting on the other side of Omar, kept grabbing my arm and holding it against his face.
After oatmeal, Julio passed out cups of orange juice. Juan Luis was at the end of the other table, and they ran out just before him. He started crying, and I felt really bad for him. Later, though, I think I saw him with what used to be Julio’s glass of juice. Good kid, that Julio.
I made a new friend today in Isabel, 4. She’s just about the most adorable a kid can get, and she has attached herself to me fully. Javier and I played tag, and I contracted Isabel to help me by sending her to ask him to carry her. It worked a lot; he’d forget we were playing and I’d catch him. I played lots of games with Isabel. I swung her around, and picked her up so she could fly like an airplane. Since Adriana and I don’t have watches, we ended up staying late 20 minutes. I told Isabel I had to go, and she just started bawling. I’m not entirely it was because of me, but I think it was. Augh. I feel so needed. It’s going to be so hard to leave at the end of the month.