Heres some pics that I just took on our walk on the beach! I could get used to this..

This world here has confirmed every mexican cliche I've ever heard.
Yes, we eat tacos almost every day. Yea, we have tortillas with every meal. Yeah, I sit on the top of my roof and just chill. Yep, theres more orange peelings laying around this town than people. I've learned how to bargain. I've learned to check the forecast so that my hanging clothes dont get wet. I've learned that ketchup and lemons do indeed go with anything you want it to. Ive learned that when they say were having Orange Juice, we are seriously having Juice squeezed right out of an orange. I've realized that I cant eat any kind of sauce, even if they say its not spicy. It's still flaming! Yeah, I buy coconuts and pinacoladas when I'm thirsty. haha! If i just sit back and look, I realize how different it is. I'm getting used to it though and I dont know how I'm going to handle moving back to the states.

And yeah, we eat lots of beans and rice!

And seriously, dont drink the water in mexico!

The other day after church we went to eat at this restaurant that we usually go to, the one with chickens running around. I was outside pushing charlotte on a swing and a little boy came up to me and asked me if I'm from California. And thats not the first time. People here seem to associate all americans with Hollywood or something.

The sidewalks and streets here are also pretty crazy, it looks like they poored the concrete and then had a party on it! Its all so uneven and bumpy. I've tripped so many times lately!

What a beautiful day

This morning while me and Eva were eating breakfast we were talking about how we need to lose weight. haha.. and Don was out running while we were being lazy. So we decided to go walking on the long pier where people like to walk. We went down by the ocean and theres lots of whole sand dollars, its so pretty here! Along the pier theres always fishermen in the morning hoping to catch enough to sell. The fishermen dont use fishing poles, just string. And then theres also some swimming in the water with spears that they made.

The other day when we were at the hotel picking Joel up I went to the coke machine and I wish I had my camera. There was an assortment of cigarettes and beer! For anyone to buy! things sure are different here..

I do believe that I have learned to sleep through anything, under any circumstance. Back home I had to have my big comfy bed, quiet room and fan.. Here I share a twin bed by an open window, but I've learned to sleep fine. Last night the carnival started its advertising. I was walking my friends out to their car and I saw fire breathing guys and shiny costumes across the street. . . Oh, and it was 10:00 at night. Only in Mexico! Then the rest of the night it was really noisy. Music and people outside on my street. I think the carnival starts next week.. Should be interesting. Here in Mexico theres music everywhere. I usually like it, if I'm not trying to sleep. It has a salsa-mexican feel, even the church band. Yesterday I went to band practice with Daniel (pronounced dan-yell) and Gabriela. He's one of the drummers and she's one of the singers. The band is really good. They sing some of the same church songs we sing in the states, but with a tropical feel. The pianist is amazing. After practice we went and got snow cones. Here the snowcones are soo good, they have fruit in them.

Well I hope I'm all rested up because church is today, which can be an all day event. I think theres gonna be some soccer and volleyball matches afterwards, I'll try and not put them to shame. (haha)
I'm going to try and snap some pics if I can.

Heres some pictures of us girls taking a walk the other night.

This is some kind of monument thing at an intersection close to our house.

I do believe that Charlotte is the most beautiful baby ever..This is across the street from our house, just starting out on our walk.

Internet was down yesterday and today, so I need to update!

I think I've adjusted a lot better, I dont feel like I'm in shock so much today.

Yesterday, Wednesday, we went to the fruit market. Its cheaper on wednesdays for some reason. There must have been fruit stands half a mile long. We bought some sugar cane and mangos, mmm! We eat a lot of fruit here, that and tacos. I just had some beef quesadillas that Eva made- shes the best!!!

At the fruit market there was a huge store that sold meat and stuff, I wish I brought my camera, because no one will believe me if I describe it. There was a huge area with chickens for sale. But they still had their head and feet! I guess you take it home and deal with all that stuff. Then theres some other kind of animals hanging from those hanger things- and get this- they sell the stomach, it looks like a big deer skin or something. Don said it tastes like rubber. It was pretty gross.

Yesterday me and Ashley went on a walk down to the ocean, and I bought something thats like a pinacolada snowcone, but so delicious!
Then yesterday evening we went to another town where they have another church that branched off of the one here. Pastor Joel is in town and so he preached there. (kinda like Pastor Dino going to other campuses) The area there was so pretty, rivers and mountains.

Church lasted about 3 hours, and then we went to eat at someones house. It was really nice. They had prepared tables for us Americans (it has its advantages haha) and served us right there in their living room. It was really good, but too spicy for me. I asked them what it is and they told me it was "carne de caballo" which means horse meat. I wonder what my face looked like. It was actually pork..they like messing with me. We didnt get home til around 1 am. The girls skipped school today and we all just chilled.

The streets here are filled with all kinds of people, from beggars to shoe shiners, barbers and bread sellers. Today there was a guy selling cute little baby turtles on the side of the street. People will do anything for money here. Today I passed two beggars, both of which I think were blind. One was whistling and beating on a pan, hoping his talent would be the next 'big thing.' The other was a little further down the street and just sat there. I don’t know his condition but it looked like he had been burned. Its a hard life here for lots of people, its not fair. The government could raise the minimum wage and still make millions.

Today we hung our clothes out on the roof line. From there you can see the city and its so beautiful. I wish I had a hammock or something to sit in up there.

I'm trying to put more pics on here , but its slow..

me on top the roof

Culture shock: term used to describe the anxiety and feelings (of surprise, disorientation, confusion, etc.) felt when people have to operate within an entirely different cultural or social environment such as a foreign country. It grows out of the difficulties in assimilating the new culture, causing difficulty in knowing what is appropriate and what is not. This is often combined with strong disgust about certain aspects of the new or different culture.

Today was a busy day. First we walked the babies to school and then when we got home I started school. I couldnt stay awake though, because.. well, I'm addicted to diet dr pepper, and I went cold turkey when I moved here. There is a store across the street from our apartment but it only has pepsi and coke, dr pepper is rare here. So we took a taxi to the big grocery store and I bought 4 dr peppers. The taxi driver that we rode with on the way home played american music in his car, I guess he thought I would tip him or something? He played James Blunt &some other american bands, we just laughed at him.

Then at noon we went and got the kids from school (school only lasts from 8 to 12:30 here) and then a bunch of americans came over to the apartment that they know and they speak english so it was nice to talk to them. We went to eat at applebees at the mall, which is considered a very nice restaurant here...Mostly people with money go there. Good american hamburger, mmmh. After that me, eva and the girls walked around the mall. We went to the pet shop. Stuff is cheap there. Like the iguanas. I had been looking at getting an iguana last year but they were kinda expensive, here theyre kinda cheap. Then we went to a jewelry store that is called "La tienda de dolar" which means Dollar Store. It had stuff for girls like jewelry and makeup. I told each of the girls that they could pick something out, they were so excited.

We just took a taxi home and now I'm about to do some more school, (ok mom? :)

This is Charlotte in the taxi.

coconuts

Rightnow I'm sitting in my hammock. I love napping here. Here we keep the windows open and I can hear the city. There are workers on the roof making lots of noise two stories up.. Earlier in the bathroom I heard something out the window and looked up and see a mexican working on top of the building parallel to me! I can also hear the trees and the wind. Theres lots of wind because we live so close on the coast. And then theres the barking dogs, and the honking taxis. At night its weird how the people stay out and eat so late and most of the stuff is open so late.

This evening we went for a walk down the pier that goes over the ocean about a half mile. Its made of concrete and lots of people go walking on it. When you get to the end there is a lighthouse and an area to stand and watch. When the waves are big it splashes really high onto you.. I was scared to bring my camera though, I didnt want to get it too close to the waves. We played in the water for a while then walked back to town. I bought a coconut from a coco stand.. was very good. First they cut it open and give you a straw to drink it and then when you finish drinking it the girl chop it up so you can eat the solid food. Then you can put lemons and spices on it.

I like the life of a mexican. All we do is..Chill. Yeah, chill. Everyone is so laid back and relaxed. No worries. And everyone looks so happy.

new tastes, new smells, new sights...

Dogs poop on the sidewalk. Its normal. We take the dogs for a walk and theres plenty of grass, but its normal to go on the sidewalk.

Wherever theres a good restaurant, theres chickens running around...again, just the norm.

When we go to eat somewhere, its normal for us to all get the same food and drink..

The private school here is around 50 dollars a month.

Theres no air conditioning where I live, but its one of the nicest and spacious apartments in town.

No hot water, we take a bucket of cold water and heat it, then use a cup to bathe.

No washer or dryer ... my undies are hung out for the world to see. haha.

People are allowed to smoke in the mall and lots of other public places-yuck.

So far I've had a taco for atleast one meal of the day. Some how I always end up at a taco stand.
Ive never seen so many different spices and salsas. I have to be very careful. The least spiciest to the people here is the guacamole, but it made my eyes water.

Last night I went with my new friends to the movie theatre and saw "I am legend", or "Soy Leyenda". The movie theatre was so packed. Sunday night is just another saturday. We had to wait in line a longgg time for the movie.

Church is a whole different story, I'll post later.

Today I saw a lady with a big basket on her head with fruit. Theres lots of fruit stands here. During the day theres so many people out in the city, its kinda crowded. Most people walk. Today I walked so much. We walked to the shopping places and then to the river and then to pick the girls up from school. I wanted to take pictures of everything but I dont think its safe.

So I finally made it to mexico. We got in at around 1 am. It was quite a journey by myself. When they picked me up from the airport we went and ate tacos at a taco stand in the street. It was as authentic as it gets. There were mexicans grilling beef and chicken in trash can grills, and the tortillas tasted so good!

It's going to take some getting used to here. Everything is so different. And I stand out like a sore thumb..it feels weird everyone staring at me like they just discovered blonde was a possible hair color.

Everything here is soo slow. No one is in a hurry to get anywhere. I dont know if people really even use clocks.

I'm so excited, the family is really nice. And the girls are so sweet, they follow me around everywhere. I cant go to the bathroom by myself. Theres so many new things that I've introduced to them, like laptop and ipod. Also more simple things that they are so intrigued by, like eye contacts and glasses...retainer and dental floss. AND I live two blocks from the ocean. If I walk outside I can see the waves! Rightnow its warm, but to the people here its cold. And the beach has lots of seaweed on it this time of year, so its not too great yet.