Orole pues!

I´m not sure if I spelled that correctly, but that is something that people say all the time here in Cauhautitan, Mexico, and it was translated for me as ¨rock on¨, which is more or less what I have been doing as I´ve continued my trip- out of Europe and into first Nashville and now Mexico. I´m sorry I have been slow to update my blog. I haven´t figured out the hours of the cyber cafe yet, and I am starting to think that it is only open when the guy who works here feels like coming in. I wish that web access was sold like everything else here: by people walking, riding or driving past the house. You can buy any type of food, water, chairs, plants, cds, dvds, you name it, they´ll carry it. And they will probably carry it past your house at 7 AM, and you´ll be able to hear them coming a mile away, shouting things (through a bullhorn!) like ¨Ladies and gentlemen, send the boy, send the girl, fresh mandarins, oranges, grapfruit you can buy, only 10 pesos per kilo!"

It is suprisingly loud here considering how small of a town it is. But like in all warm climates, people do most of their living outside their houses. The streets are like extended living rooms, where everyone hangs out, fixes cars, dries coconuts to sell, plays and washes clothes. There is also a fairly regular parade of cows and horsecarts as people head to and from their farms. There is always something to see when I sit on the porch. And I do a fair amount of porch-sitting, between waiting to go to the farm, relaxing after lunch, and hanging out in the evenings. Other than that, I have been filling my days with time on the farm- watching a lot, but also helping to prepare a field for planting, building a compost bin and moving cows around. Riding a horse along the palm-lined river has been a highlight, as well as walking back and forth with my constant companions, Ethan (7), Jose-Carlos(12) and Pricilla(9). These are the children of my sister´s boyfriend David. They are fearless and incredibly comfortable with everything on the farm, from dead snakes and scorpions to riding horses and sometimes cows!

I am also taking a Spanish grammer class- I have been using a sixth grade workbook...and hopefully I will graduate soon! I have also gotten to explore the beautiful beaches here and a bit in the mountains too.

Not a bad few weeks! I put up some photos http://s425.photobucket.com/albums/pp338/asommo_album/Anna%20in%20Mexico/.