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“Friends”

We went to a very yummy restaurant for lunch with our friends, Valerie and Clay. It's one of their favorite places and after eating there, it's one of my favorites too! The food was really fresh and well prepared. I had carrot soup, followed by chicken breast with veggies and rice. The restaurant is one of the cutest I've been in. I really want to hang piñatas in every room of my house!

We really love having a bunch of kids living in the same apartment building as us. The family above us has 8 children, and while most of the older kids work, the younger three are home a lot because there's no room in the public schools. The are three very happy, very energetic boys and my girls love to play with them! The youngest, Carlitos, has my heart. He is so cute and has the biggest grin! Whenever Maeve hears him, she says, "friend, friend," and wants him. For so many people living above us, we hardly ever hear them. In fact, I think we are noisier than they are!

Last week, the kids had a little play time together. We had our friend, Santi (in the olive shirt), with us too. The girls blew bubbles and the boys smashed them all. It was a really sweet and tender moment for me. 

One evening this past week, we enjoyed a little outing with our friends from our first week of Spanish class. We met them at a bakery for pastries, hot chocolate, horchata and juice and then we walked to the Zocálo to enjoy the live music and the fun. We bought bubbles for the kids and they had a great time! 

Conor and I have talked extensively trying to put to words what it is that we loved so much about living in Ecuador and what we love about living here. I'm still not entirely sure of what all the reasons are, but I do know a few. The people are so kind. In Ecuador and Mexico, I've fallen in love with humankind. There are so many good people in this world and my life has been blessed immensely. The people that we've met here in Mexico are so generous, sincere, and friendly. I love walking and saying whichever version of "hello" is appropriate for the time of day to those I pass by - buenos dias, buenas tardes or buenas noches, or sometimes, simply, "hola," (because the culture here is less formal than Ecuador). Because we live in a regular neighborhood and are outside of the tourist sector, we are very memorable. There's something about these daily interactions, of saying hello to someone and looking in their face, that allows me to feel connected to something larger than myself. It is so rewarding. Because of the daily interactions we have with those we know and those we pass by on the street, I feel a connection and I don't feel isolated and maybe I do at home in Washington. Still processing what it is about this, so don't judge me to harshly, however, quite often where I've lived in the US and Canada, people will pass each other by and they are so busy and self involved that there is no connection. Instead there is loneliness. I too am guilty. I think walking more really adds to our experience! 

I also really enjoy being on the receiving end of people's generosity. We feel incredibly grateful for the families we met in Ecuador and we feel similar about the families we've met here in Mexico. While, we are at Spanish school, a woman named Claudia watches Maeve. Claudia picks up Maeve and drops her off. And Maeve likes her home so much that the past couple of days, Maeve has said, "no," when Claudia says it's time to go home to Mama. Maeve is so loved by this family! Claudia's husband works from home half the time and he adores Maeve in the same way. My heart is so full knowing that my daughter is so well cared for and so well loved. Maeve continues to be our ticket in Latin America!

On Saturday, we went to Claudia's house to swim in their pool. My girls love the water. I would say that Holly's favorite things are snow and water. Greta was very happy to be in the water too! We got to know Claudia and Sergio's children. We visited. We had a great time. Claudia and Sergio are originally from Guatemala and have lived in Oaxaca for a year. Claudia made us a traditional Guatemalan meal that was so yummy! 

I now remember that when I was in Ecuador, I really wanted my time there to change me. I hope that change did happen and I hope that I continue to change here in Mexico. Poco a poco. 

I love being here. I love feeling cared for and like people have time for me. We aren't passing each other by in our busy lives, and even with a language barrier I am finding true connection. It's beautiful! 

Downtown, there is a huge square where there's lots of vendors and all sorts of things to see! We went on Friday night with a family we had met at Spanish classes. We bought the kids bouncy rubber balls with streamers and an elastic rope with which to send it flying. It was very exciting. There were lots of other children playing. And there was live music. We ate ice cream before dessert, played some more and ate tacos for dinner. And then took a taxi home because we absolutely had to pick up our laundry from the lavenderia before it closed (at 8pm) because we were all out of underwear, minus 1! 

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