12.20.06 Day 2- Mexico trip 1

When I asked Helio why there were all those bottles turned upside down on the roofs of the houses he said, “Oh, well, that it to make the lighting hit somewhere other than your house” So I guess if you extend the rebar up from the columns of your house and you have some of those empty bottles laying around, you put them on the rebar- to avert the lighting. Whew- this is information I need to know and will implement as soon as possible.

There are kids everywhere here. Levi is having a blast. He always has someone to play with. It is amazing. I find that I feel a little more relaxed as well. When there are multiple kids running around and yelling, I don’t feel like I am the only one who has a nutty kid. Yes, I know it is normal and he is 2 but sometimes I just want him to sit still and not yell- like on the plane. He is so dirty though, bc there is no grass, there is a lot of dirt. -So as soon as I have cleaned him up, his hands and feet are covered in dirt again. And he tends to want to lay on the floor of any store or restaurant we go into. Which I can only imagine has not been cleaned in a while.

Helio succeeded in getting the bathroom door to close. However, he did not master the hot water. He did get the gas with the tank finally to the house and hooked up but only can get two burners on the stove to work and not the boiler for the shower to work. I think it is lime build up. There isn’t any plumbing into the kitchen. I go to the baptismal pool and collect water in a 5 gallon bucket and then use two small plastic bowls (the size of a Lloyd’s container) that I found in the yard and wash dishes that way. (I know dad, the soap, I am not sure it comes off with tepid water, I think of you every time I am trying to touch the glasses to make sure they aren’t slimey from the soap) I took a shower late yesterday- cold. It appears that I will be taking cold showers the whole time I am here at this house. I am trying to be a trooper about this. I could walk down the street to one of Helio’s family member’s houses to shower but then I really wouldn’t have any privacy. And they have too many birds, which makes the house smell like pee. I don’t like a house that smells like pee as I have had an unpleasant experience with that.

Rafa looks EXACTLY the same. And he remembers everything from 5 years ago when Helio and I met. He really likes my dad. He asks about him a lot. It is a little weird when you go over to someone’s house and everyone comes out of the back and asks you to sit down and they all line up and talk about your “guero” (whitey- Levi) Everywhere we go Levi is making friends with people. He is attracted to the kids with a ball or the ladies behind the counter that can give him candy. He has received so many kisses already. All the ladies down here have been falling over themselves to give him a squeeze. –my kind of man.

Rafa has asked me to cook- lasagna. I don’t remember cooking it for him and Helio but I guess I did so I will do it again. Helio wants some American food badly. I will have to get some other utensils like a pan to cook things in before I can actually accomplish that. I promised that I would cook bunches of American food in excess so Helio has a ton to eat after I leave too. I am a food pusher even in Mexico.

Helio’s dad’s house- wow. See photos. No wonder Helio has been so sad. Really, there isn’t a place to talk on the phone. The house comes complete with the kitchen outside, a rooster den, a lame dog with an open bleeding sore on his back hind leg named “Capitan” -Captain, and a curtain for a door. Very dreary. I am trying to convince him to either stay at the place we are staying at right now or go to Cancun when we leave. Very sad there.

We are off to swim. I am hoping to make it to Playa Azul next week after Christmas. Jona- don’t know how long I can do it.