We hope this note finds you doing well. It is hard to believe that in three weeks we have settled into a life here that feels comfortable and safe, yet still exciting and invigorating.
When we arrived in Tepoztlán we felt like we had landed in a very good place. We got settled in our house, and within a few days Lea started her new school and Kimberly began intensive Spanish lessons. Although the language barrier has made things somewhat of a challenge for Lea, the school is a sweet and nurturing environment. Poco a poco, she seems to be picking it up. Recently the kids took a field trip to a nearby ranch. Lea had a horseback ride and enjoyed wearing a cowboy hat!
Kimberly enjoys her Spanish lessons. She goes to her school, which is also her teacher's home, four days a week. It is mainly outdoors overlooking a mountainside. Her teacher is wonderful and is not only teaching the language, but also the culture. For example, the other day they made tamales and then wrote out the recipe in Spanish. Brian goes one day a week for Spanish class and spends time exploring the village & taking care of details like making sure we have enough filtered water and propane for the house. He enjoys hikes in nearby hills, making friends with our neighbors, and frequenting the incredible outdoor market.
Our house is well located for us. We are uphill from the center of town (about a 10 minute walk) and only a few blocks from Lea's school. So far we have made a great connection with two nearby families.
The first family lives a few doors away. José Sr. is a metal worker. Lea goes to school with José Junior and we've really enjoyed getting to know the whole family. We've gone out to Jose Sr's fútbol game and have had the family over for dinner. On José's request, we will start English classes from our home for him and his friends and family!
The other family that we've gotten to know pretty well runs a tienda on the way to Lea's school. We make daily stops there and the family has really taken to us, and us to them! The son (Giovanni) drove Brian to Cuernvaca (a closeby larger city) to line up our internet, and the parents are always so happy to see us, and us them! The mom (Kate) invited us to join her for a first communion celebration at another neighbor's home. That was sure a close look at the local life! We enjoyed a traditional dish of molé, which is eaten on special occasions. And mentioning special occasions, wow, does this town know how to celebrate!
We've already participated in two local fiestas. The first we mentioned in our last note. Lots of fireworks, food, music, and simply being out and about. The other fiesta was in another nearby neighborhood. Everyone painted their faces with charcoal (based on a historical story) and the kids threw confetti eggs on each other. You can imagine what that was like to clean up! We also watched one of the biggest firework shows of our lives from our roof. And there's one more celebration I have to share with you. We were out walking the other night and saw children outside a home celebrating a birthday. They were about to break a piñata. Next thing we knew, the birthday girl invited Lea in to join the party! That's just how people are here--very helpful, warm and inviting.
A couple other interesting things to mention--a truck goes by a couple times a day (at random times, as far as we can tell) sounding a siren to indicate that propane gas is being sold off the back of the truck. The garbage and recycling trucks play loud music from a speaker. The carefree attitude also means there is lots of garbage in the streets, the air is smoky from countless fires, and there are loose dogs (and lots of poop) everywhere.
Overall, it's WONDERFUL to be here. Not only has it been an incredible cultural and language sabbatical but it's also been really special time for our family to have together. A highlight of our days is sitting down together for an early dinner which usually consists of rice, beans, homemade tortillas, guacamole, tomato salad and ripe, luscious fruit for desert. After dinner we usually take a long, relaxed walk together, which sometimes involves playing tag with Lea in the town zocalo.
If the trip ended tomorrow we'd have felt like it was all we'd hoped for, and we still have another two months to dig into the relationships we've built and get to know this town and culture that we've already grown to appreciate. What we do hope to take home with us is this way in which the people seem to really enjoy being alive, and cherish simply being in the moment.
Some of you have asked for photos, so Brian took the plunge and started a blog with photos of our journey that we thought you'd enjoy. Visit http://brianlavendel.blogspot.com/
Know our thoughts are with you from afar. If you'd like, we'd love to hear back from you. Please reply via email, or comment on our blogpage.
Abrazos y besos,
Kimberly, Brian and Lea
Hola! Que pasa? That is very nearly the extent of my Spanish. It sounds like you all are having a wonderful immersion into this new and different culture. My time abroad (in Germany) in high school forever changed how I looked at the world in a myriad of small and seemingly insignificat ways. Well, and one big way: I fell in love with beer.
ReplyDeleteYou are missing a long stretch of cold, cold, cold weather. Even people who like winter are getting pretty sick of it and are talking about spring. The days are noticably longer already (we're almost half way to the Vernal Equinox!) and crows are starting to flock. A friend with sheep mentioned shearing will start in a week (Feb 1). I didn't mention it to him, but that is right on schedule with the Pagan calendar of the year. I noticed that insolation has pushed the snow away from the south side of some houses (not ours!) so we'll see crocus sprouting a few weeks after the weather eases up a bit. No motorcycle rides since Thanksgiving! Too long, by far.
Be well, and savor...
Hi You Guys,
ReplyDeleteWow! What an amazing trip. I enjoyed reading your blog, viewing your photos and watching your video. Thanks so much for sharing this part of your amazing adventure. What you are doing is so important for all of us. Thank you. Your family is very inspirational. Thank you. Kathy Mazur