This Friday we got a little treat, my supervisor, Charo, took Jenna and I back to her house to eat lunch and hang out. She was one of the two people that interviewed us in Iowa at the Job Fair so we already had some running jokes with her when we got here. Her and the other Charo that interviewed us asked about our moms as we were signing the contract, upon hearing of their worries etc they said to tell them not to worry, they would be our mothers. So she finally invited us over....or was that we finally hounded her enough... I forget, either way, there we were.
Her house is very nice: spacious and finely decorated. First up was lunch, how nice it is to have a maid! Food was basically on the table as we walked in the door. Though it was good to see that her son Cezar (maybe a 7th grader?!) wasn't taking it for granted, he helped set the table and warm the tortillas etc. It was a great meal - chiles rellenos (stuffed peppers), ensalada, arroz, frijoles, (salad, rice, refried beans), and a meat potato dish; washed down with lemonade and finished off with a sweet poppyseed cake for desert. When asked if we wanted seconds on the dessert Jenna declined "No I'm full" and I said "no thanks" as well but (thankfully) Charo could read my face and dished me up another! :) At the table was Charo's husband, her son, his friend, and of course her, Jenna and I.
After the meal we lounged out on their fancy couches and exchanged stories, Charo is a very funny lady, her stories accompanied by those great facial expressions she does...so good! Then she asked if we would mind going on a few errands with her, she wanted to go to the market to get some things. So we tag along and she shows us the town. It was really fun to be driven around this time with a person acting as a tour guide. We have been around with Malita's grandma and aunts and of course we've been in taxis but neither of those pointed out anything and everything of interest as we went. She even went out of the way to show us a few items. Things like: the first house built in Torreon, put there because someone realized with the river and the railroad tracks it was a good location; some local museums and buildings each with their own little anecdote. Fun fact- that river that made this a good location was dry for 17 years before we got here. When we went to that rodeo last weekend we drove over the bridge and saw it now filled up... peaking out from the waters were the remnants of the dry years: basketball hoops of 5-6 courts! Why waste space I guess!
She also narrated the market for us, explaining different items that we didn't really understand or know. It was an educational trip! We picked up her items [eye stickers for a fellow teachers upcoming spider project and parakeet food] and headed back home. We were all quite exhausted from this week of school apparently, the yawns were circling around the car. Back at her house, her son and his friend got into the car with us as we were going to head back to our house. After lunch, Cezar had walked their pet chihuahua over to the local vet to get his teeth cleaned, and now he wanted to check if they could bring him back home. First, we stop by a local legend in ice cream, Neveria Chepo. This Chepo ice cream is said to have started back at the turn of the century in a town very close to Torreon. It is different texture than most ice creams and has unique flavors, they kept it cheap and didnt' commercialize it too terribly much. The 'store' that we went into looked just like we were entering someones house. I was confused at where were getting this ice cream from until we walked through the gate/door and see the sign above the freezer area filled with gallons of ice cream. Charo treated, I got chocolate and vanilla, not the best I've ever had but I think we should try again. They have fruit sherbets there that could be tasty, thankfully there is another right down the street from us. (still not too commercialized though because it started so close to here and I read there are only about 20 and only in north Mexico)
This brings us to the vet. Cezar goes inside and comes out with the ok to come pay. His friend goes inside with them while Jenna and I wait in the car finishing off the ice cream. The friend comes back and says 'that poor dog, he is just sitting there like this (insert googly face with limp arms)' we laugh and think 'it can't be that bad' Moments later we both bust out laughing because the poor dog does look exactly like that!! they numbed the entire body for the procedure and his bloody little tongue was hanging out ever so slightly. It was one of the funniest things I've seen in awhile. However, I am sorry to say that I was in this moment without camera. ... so we drop off the kids and the dog and head home. It was a good outing and she made so many plans of places to go 'next time' so we shall see if there is more to come.
I was so tired... Charlie and Malita made us pizza and then Jenna and I brought our mattresses in her room on the floor and found a movie to watch online, we went to bed before it was even over.
I find that I cannot sleep in very well anymore. This is very unfortunate because it is one of my favorite things to do. I think that since I wake up so early every other day of the week my body just wants to get up but dont worry, I keep telling it no and try to nod off for another hour or two at least! Jenna and I decided to make chorizo eggs with peppers and onions and then finish off the movie. We continued to laze about much of the afternoon, a few movies were going the whole time. Then Jenna decided to try to cure her rotten bathroom... it has something wrong with it, that thing reeks to high heaven. :) So we made a trip to wal-mart which is quite the jaunt, but we wanted a few things that were more american...ways we knew to try to get smell out. Anyway, we get through with that adventure and decide we should treat ourselves to a nice meal out on the town. Charlie, Malita, Jenna and I make our way over to OK Magueys, a cute little mexican restaurant. The taxi ride over was quite humorous, Malita and Jenna were belting out in the back seat to the american songs on this drivers cd... ie) Girls Just Want to Have Fun, Funky Town, and Gloria. The driver was laughing at us the whole way there and I liked it! We sat in the 'patio' part, this is made to look like we are outside, under the stars and all, there is even a roof sticking out one side. It was cute, the waiters were very kind, the entrees were 2 for 1, and the ice cream was free. pretty good. and the slumber party continues...
Today was another very lazy day, we spent most of the morning pretending we don't have school, tomorrow is Sunday right!? I made some french toast for brunch, and then in the afternoon our house all went their separate ways: Charlie and Malita went to her grandmas, Emily went to a Santos soccer game, and Jenna and I went to the cinema!
This is a completely normal scene in Torreon:
horses grazing in the lawn in front of WalMart, nice mountains and palm trees to accompany, too.
For supper we made tortilla burgers which turned out pretty good, and then we got to work with school stuff. Its unfortunate, but the show must go on
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