Farewell to Tepoztlán

What a gift this journey has been. It has been so much more than we had anticipated. What we have learned here goes far beyond language or food. We've learned how certain priorities that we had when we got here just don't seem to matter so much. We've learned to let go of "the plan" and go with the flow (as if we had a choice!). We've learned that there is always time to chat with whoever is passing by and that it just doesn't matter if you're late because of it. We've learned that some people who have so little in terms of things and money, are rich in spirit, connection, pride, and love. And we've learned that we can come to a new place and be welcomed as if we were long-lost family. Seriously. And that we can feel the same way about the people we've just recently met.

We have particularly learned this from our dear friends José and Aurora and their kids who live two doors away. They have no running water and live in two rooms, yet have opened their home to us and cooked a Mexican feast for us over a wood fire.

Our relationship with our friends has only deepened, and we've had wonderful time with them and as a family. Kimberly made some tamales recently for them. Brian helped José put up a barbed-wire fence. And Lea spends nearly every waking moment with their kids Josecito and Lisset. In fact, they joke that we're not allowed to take Lea home with us and that they plan to adopt her!

José daydreamed with Brian today, that maybe in a few years they will add a couple rooms onto their house, so that we might stay with them next time we visit. We have asked them about the possibility, in some years, of their coming to spend some time with us in Madison.

We don't know what the future holds, and in some ways it's not something to be concerned about (we learned that here too!) but we look forward to maintaining contact with our dear friends here in Tepoztlán and seeing what comes next.

Meantime, we are also looking forward to our return to Madison and to seeing many of you soon.

Sending our best wishes,
Brian, Kimberly & Lea

More pics from Tepoz

This is our street. The entrance to our house is outside the frame on the left and our good friends' home (José, Aurora, Josécito and Lisett) is on the right corner. Can you see the Jacaranda tree in the top right? (Hint, it's purple!)

These shrines are all over Tepoztlán and México in general. The Catholic religion seems to be part of the fabric of daily life here.

These are the women we buy tortillas from. They make homemade tortillas on a large, flat, circular grill in a thatched hut. They're particularly delicious when they're hot, and they've replaced bread during our stay here . These women are lovely. They're extremely friendly and warm. This photo of them doesn't do them justice; we've noticed that Mexicans typically don't smile for photos.

Josécito is hanging upside down in the center. The kids seem to have so much fun here!

Lea is with a couple of teens we meet with on Wednesday nights for what's called an "intercambio." All of us are trying to learn a foreign language. We speak Spanish to them and they speak English to us. It's been great!

The kids taking a quick break from playing on top of the church in our neighborhood. They have been like a gang--always together. They have brought Lea in and accepted her like a sister or a cousin. We know it's going to be particularly hard for her to say goodbye.

Kimberly helped make adobe bricks with Don Miguel, a man who helps out at the school. These are handmade bricks that are going to be used to build a room for students to stay in.

Here is Feliciano in front of his family's tienda (store) right up the street from us. Feliciano is Aurora's sister's husband. Many of the family's here seem to have stayed closeby to each other, which we realize is very different from home.

March pictures from Tepoztlán

Here is an assortment of the luscious fruits sold at the market. Every day we appreciate how fresh and ripe the food is. We especially love the mangoes, papayas, coconut, fresh figs, and pinapple, in addition to some other rarer fruits such as guanaba and mamé that are so rare at home.

Here we are eating dinner at Jose's family's home. Their extended family was there, in addition to Kimberly's mom and sister who were visiting. It's absolutely amazing how generous they've been with us. We're eating a traditional Mexican corn soup called posole. Absolutely delicious. They even made it vegetarian in honor of Kimberly being there. Often, the extended family gets together for grand meals. How wonderful to be considered a part of their family for a time!

Here's José junior and Lea in front of a painted gate in our neighborhood (barrio). Lea seem so happy with the kids here, especially her close friends who she's practically living with. She's learned Spanish very quickly. We're so proud of her.

Here's Brian working with a couple of the guys (Don Miguel y Don Juan) at our language school. They are making adobes (homemade bricks) that will be used to build a couple rooms for students to stay in overnight.


Here we are with Jose's family again at their house in the country. It's not a house in the country as we would typically think of one; it's one concrete room that the whole family lived in before they had to move in to the village to live with Jose's aging grandfather and care for him. They work out there on the weekends, in hope of moving back relatively soon.

Jose and Aurora! A picture of love... Here they are laughing because Brian was taking a series of photos as if they were movie starss. Which they should be. A warmer, more loving and welcoming couple we could never find.

Kate and Antonio at their tienda (small store) down the street from where we live. They have been incredibly generous with us since we've lived here. We love stopping in their store daily to have some time with them, and to buy food for the day. One of us cracked a joke here which made them laugh!

With Gracia, Kate, and Giovanni at our home in our living room. We had a lovely dinner with them. (Gracia and Giovana are Kate and Antonio's children. Unfortunately, Tono couldn't make it for dinner).