Today was one of my favorite days yet. Just a string of small wonderful things made my day extremely pleasant.
First of all, I had a small project due today and had two presentations. The presentation in Conversation class was extremely entertaining – my classmate David and I had to act out a love poem. I played the narrator and the queen, and he played the princess and the Count. We memorized the poem and had fun with it – he made me a crown for when I was being the queen, and he taped on a handlebar mustache when he was being the Count, and wrapped a shawl around his head like the Virgin Mary when he was being the princess. It was quite comical.
After I got home from class, I had lunch with Cornelio. During lunch we talked about how our days were going, and then we talked about etymology, which is the study of words. Cornelio teaches a class at the university about etymology, and today during lunch we talked about how in Spanish, words come from Latin, Greek, Arabic, and French. He gave me an example of a French-derived word in Spanish – coqueta, which comes from the French coquet. Cornelio also told me he hoped I was happy with their family, and I told him that I am. I told him that I feel extremely comfortable in this household, and explained to him that I love the family setting that they have.
After lunch, I got a chance to lie down and let my food digest a little (lunch was a mixture of beef, tomato and chili which I put into tortillas with a little salsa, yummm), and then I ventured out to go run a few errands. I needed to withdraw some cash and recharge my cell phone. On my way, I stopped by a paletería and bought a vanilla and strawberry paleta, which is a Popsicle. The man working there was a happy guy, he welcomed me with a big “Buenas tardes!” and “Bienvenidas!” to his little shop on the side of the street. He asked me if I was studying in Queretaro, and asked me where I was from. I told him Oregon and he said (well in Spanish) “Oh, Oregon, how wonderful! It’s so green and beautiful there, and all the plants!” He was just tickled that I was from Oregon. So I asked him, “Have you been to Oregon?” and he replied, “Well, no, but I imagine it’s beautiful.” His wife, working with him, started laughing. I just smiled and told him he was right, it’s beautiful and lush and we talked for a little while about plants and nurseries and green roofs, which he said are becoming popular in Mexico. I walked away with a smile on my face and a scrumptious paleta in my hand.
I wandered into the centro (the historic center of town) and sat by the water fountain for a while, enjoying it. Then I wandered over to the next plaza where I found music playing and about 10 older couples casually dancing to the music. Everyone in the plaza was standing around watching, chatting, and enjoying the show. After taking a few pictures on my cell phone and feeling decidedly touristy, I continued on.
On my way home, I stopped by a few shops to look at what I could possibly get my family/friends back home. It was fun being on my own and being about to use my Spanish to talk to the store owners.
When I came home, I sat down to have a piece of pan dulce and some milk with Delfina for dinner. While I was eating and we were chatting, Delfina went over to the cupboard and got out a salt-shaker that they got for Matteo’s baptism and told me “I think I’m going to gift this to you, to give you something to remember Matteo by.” It honestly almost brought a tear to my eye. I gave Delfina a hug and told her that I would love to accept the salt-shaker. It has a cartoon picture of an angel on one side, and on the other, it says “Matteo Nicolas, Mi Bautizo 27/Nov/2010.” I’m so touched that she would gift me something so meaningful.
When the rest of the family came to eat, I sat with them and participated in the conversations. Beto joked with me about the bread being too old, and I told them about how nervous I was to call them the week before I arrived in Mexico. They asked me what I thought of them before I arrived, and they laughed when I told them that I was able to show my mom that Cornelio was a professor to help calm her nerves.
Now, I’m sitting on my bed in my room, listening to the thunder and rain outside. It only ever rains in the evening, which I appreciate because it’s a bummer walking to class in the rain.
I'm going to post again soon with pictures and stories from la Peña de Bernal and our trip to Mexico City last weekend. With classes picking up, it´s getting harder to find time to blog.
I´m having a fantastic time, and can´t wait to see you all when I get home. =) Just another 25 days or so!
Saludos!
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