el segundo dia

February 10, 2009 candacemorris 6 Comments

well, i was right. i slept long and hard last night on a very comfortable mattress with some of my childhood bedding. i cannot get over how i used to dislike all the knick knacks around my mom's place and how they now bring immense nostalgic joy...

i awoke around 10am (8am my time) and wandered downstairs in my pjs, glasses, and hoodie. my mom took me outside to meet the three-year-old girl across the street and that led into a conversation with her mother and her next door neighbor as well. i am not sure how much you know about mexican culture, but you meet, talk to, and say goodbye to everyone you make eye contact with. i then went inside and met my parents housekeeper and then sat to a quick breakfast (almuerzo: the small breakfast of coffee and sweetbread). my stepdad got a call that a lady was coming visiting, so we received her very shortly thereafter. i met a total of seven people in my pajamas! hahah. it felt very normal and my pajamas are just yoga pants, so i was fine. still, it was a "meet cute" story of reawakening to mexican culture. my spanish is rusty, but i was able to follow the conversations and exchange all the appropriate pleasantries. we then had some cereal for desayuno (another light breakfast around 10am).

after a shower, and an accidental run in with some mexican water while i brushed my teeth (i forgot!), i threw on a breezy dress and sandals (my legs are sooo white), and sat with my mom to learn more about crocheting. i am self-taught and canNOT follow a pattern to save my life, so my mom decided to remedy that. two hours later, we had the beginnings of a decent square and i was exhausted from the concentration.

we then left for comida (lunch around 2pm) the biggest meal of the day. cliff and mom were on the hunt for mariscos (seafood), namely, their favorite shrimp cocktail place. it was closed so we headed to a different and lovely place. we sat to a lunch of shrimp cocktail like i have never had (think HUGE margarita glass, filled with shrimp, cilantro, pico de gallo all immersed into a cold broth that was so tasty!), topped with refreshing lemonada con mineral water (lemonade made with safe water). we sat and talked for an hour or so, and enjoyed the lazy part of the mexican day (2-4pm).

on the way home, we stopped at this beautiful nursery where i helped my mom pick some arrangements for the pots on her balcony. after a stop for an ice cream, we headed home.

a few minutes later, cliff took me out on his harley! i hadn´t been on a bike in probably 20 years, so it was something i said i wanted to do and certainly couldn´t back out of now!! it was fine in the village at 15 mph, but once we got on the open road and hit a cool 70 mph, i had to remember to breathe. cliff said later that he didn't show me half of what that harley could do, to which i said "praise god." despite my initial visions of seeing my skinned corpse on the side of the mexican road, i was able to relax and the endorphins of doing something that required overcoming an anxiety kicked in and suddenly i saw the valley in all its splendor, felt the wind with all its unforgiving forté, and felt my life force surge back into my blood stream.

jobs. no jobs.
this is what life was.
grabbing the wind, sucking in it, and being affected by your world.

later that afternoon, mom and sat around talking, put on a movie, and we sat to the lightest meal of the day, which is cena, usually eaten around 8pm.

i am now sitting in their office, listening to the dulled sound of my mother's voice as she reads to cliff their nightly book. they get a yearly list of recommended reading from me, then purchase the books. they have been through titles such as Uncle Tom's Cabin, East of Eden, Great Expectations, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Road, (just to name a few) and are now on The Poisonwood Bible (which i recommended but haven't yet read!). i love that they do that.

hasta,
candi

p.s. leif, at your recommenation, dillard's maytrees are here with me.
p.s.s. joel, whatcha doin?