mas!

Hey all! It is comical to me that this blog is named ¨its all about the frijoles¨ given that I do not eat many frijoles in my house. Mostly meat--great for the cholesterol! I took my first spinning class last night which consists of middle eastern music and stationary bikes and an instructer telling us how fast to go... not the most fun,... but it is about time for some physical exertion and fitness, so I will continue

About my weekend trip:
On Sunday I woke to my alarm at about 7:30 after only 3 hours of sleep (after the birthday party of my host sister). I decided I was not going and made the call to my friend Yahana´s family. But after waking up a bit I decided why not and I met them at the bus station in 30 minutes. We hopped on a bus and took it 45 mins away towards the gulf. We arrived to a much hotter climate, got off the bus, and took a taxi across beautiful countryside to a small town named...jolopo? o algo asi
It was the day of their patron saint, which calls for major festivities. This is common in most all small towns in Mexico. We arrived at the house of the brother of the father of my friend. They were already cooking. We talked with their talking parrot and playng with the baby puppies. Then we carried on to the next house, where an old old friend lived. He was a bit poorer and I could barely understand him when he spoke. I am also fairly sure that he said his son had been working illegally in the US and was deported. But what I did understand was very interesting. He said that in his town, if someone dies, everyone chips in. He was complaining that 3 people died the day before, so he doesnt have much money at the moment.
And...we ate--OH did we eat! Chiles filled with goodness, homemade tortillas...AND seafood soup. However, the seafood soup was indeed straight from the sea--with all of the animals intact, eyes, tenticles and all. I fought the urge to throw up and ate almost all of it. We were STUFFED! WE continued on to his other brothers house--a house with lots of land and basically a jungle/garden---I ate at LEAST 8 different types of fruit growing in trees and on bushes. I have never heard of most of them. I helped them pick oranges and avocados from the trees...which was fun but much harder than I expected! We sat and chatted and ate mangos for about 3 hours--talked about immigration and my opinions on Bush.
Met a outspoken man on the street who said that if we named any song, he could tell us the artist and the recording date. And he fulfilled his promise
Went back to the uncles house and ate MORE, and walked through the center where there were games and rides and all of that

What was most interesting of all is that they told me that in any house, even if it wasnt a special day, you may knock and enter and they will make you a meal! On this day there were tables all over peoples lawns where tons of townspeople came and ate--family and strangers alike. It was special.
The people in this town were more formal, yet more hospitible at the same time--using couteous phrases and greeting you even if you were just passing by! It was very different than the city life.
To top the day off we hitched a ride from a random family on the way back to the larger town because we couldnt find a taxi...and rode on the back of their truck! (which happens to be in my top 10 favorite things to do)

From there (still VERY full) I found out we were stopping by a memorial service of a friend
it was in a regular house and we stood outside the patio during the ceremony
we stayed awhile to chat with the family and talked about the woman who had died, and other things too such as the friendliness of mexicans (which is something they always claim with pride)

another unique cultural experience

after all of the seafood, spicy chiles, and mounds of fruit that i ate, i was asking for tummy problems---there was nothing about the day that did not say ¨bathroom time¨...BUT nothing!

on the bus ride back i fell asleep in my own lap and woke with a neckache BUT with great fulfillment because of my wonderful, out of the norm day in the country