I can hardly believe that I have already been here for almost a month now! There isn´t a whole lot to do when it comes to tourist attractions and events, but I have settled into a comfortable routine between the farm, the house and the beach that keeps me suprisingly busy. I usually wake up tothe roosters having their morning crowing competition and David´s kids shouting "Abuelaaaaaa"when they show up at the house around 7 AM. We then wait around until the man selling sweet rolls comes by to buy our breakfast, with coffee usually made from fresh milk.
Then the kids leave for school and David and I go out to the farm. Lately we have been working on building a chimenia, which is a kind of earthen stove for cooking out at the farm, which would be pretty convenient, since the farm is about a 15 minute walk from the house and the neighborhood. I´ve also been trying to learn how to milk the cows (much harder than it looks!) ride a horse, use a machete...not only is it fun to learn these things, but it also makes me a lot more independent, so David can ask me to help in some way and I can actually do it. There tend to be a lot of steps to each project, and each step requires some skill. For example, this morning he asked me if I would bring the coconuts to sell at the cooperative in town. This meant that I had to go find the horse (way out in the field) bring it in, hook it up to the cart, fill the bags and sew them shut, and then load them onto the cart and bring them into town. Luckily I had the help of his 12 year old son, who is very knowledgeable about the farm.
Around noon we head back to the house to have lunch, which is usually some sort of stew with tortillas- always with tortillas, which are driven around in the back of someones truck so people can come out and buy them at lunch time. After lunch I sometimes go to the market in town to buy vegetables, sometimes we go to the beach or the lagoon, sometimes to the river to swim and wash clothes. I try to work on my Spanish class homework after that, while cooking dinner at the same time. After my class at 6, we hang out and talk or read, or I go play basketball at the nearby court. Basketball is incredibly popular here, and each small town has its own court. I am hopefully going to play in the big tournement that is held every year in December.
There is a comforting simplicity to life here, and while I will admit that it can sometimes get a little boring, it has been really nice to be out of the city speed. I have only traveled more than 10 miles away from the house once in the past month. Most days I stay within about a three mile radius- house, farm, river and back. I am getting to know the footpaths really well, and it feels good to be able to find my way around the farm.
More photos on photobucket...I hope all is well with everyone.
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hola farm girl!! it's so fun to see images and hear stories from your daily life in mexico. thanks for keeping in touch with us via postcards and email and contining to be such a great friend. send me your address so i can send post from india! i think of you SO much! i'm happy that you are living in a place where you have a routine, and so many amigos, and clean water to swim in. we swam in the bay of bengal the other day and it felt so good, but the waterways are terribly dirty hear. its completely heartbreaking to see people bathing where they poo. india needs a billion composting toilets!
there are so many struggles in india, some really crushing realities. but they are always, always, leveraged by moments of beauty and hope and friendship. abel and i drank coconut milk today, now when i see coconuts i will think of you and your vida pura in mexico.
besos y abrazos amiga mia,
sorrelita
oh, ps: i got to milk a goat before leaving california. i know what you mean about it being harder than it looks! i'd have to practice a lot to perfect my aim and speed.
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