dios mio, I might never come home.

Somethings of course get lost in translation, and I'm glad they do, because there are more surprises this way. I got a knock on my bedroom door a little before 9 and my little sisters asked me if I wanted to go somewhere. Whatever they said, I just said si and changed into jeans and grabbed my purse. I had no idea I was in for the best freaking open mic night in the world. That's not really what it was, but I don't know how else to describe it. There's this great little multipurpose cultural center right on my street se llama la casa de faldon and earlier today we went to a little magic show for kids that was pretty cute. The concert / open mic night was picnic style like the hollywood bowl - bring your own wine and cheese (we brought popcorn), except way way way smaller and more intimate than the hollywood bowl. Performers from the community played guitars & santoors, sang, and recited poetry. The audience danced in space left between tables, sang along, and clapped. The space was what you might imagine architecture in Mexico to look like, the old Spanish style with yellow and orange paint. It was an outdoor room with shade covering from wall to wall. There was one man that might have been like 150 years old who sang beautifully acapella and recited poetry and I was so moved by how well loved he was by the audience.  They also of course sold delicious food and this whole night cost me 20 pesos which is less than 2 dollars. Because of my lack of a cellphone I pretty much bailed on the other trainees in order to hang out with my familia but I hope they forgive me because I had a much more culturally enriching evening than tomando cerveza until wee hours of the morning. It was absolutely lovely.

Last night the language school, Ole had a welcome party for us which was actually really fun. Our familias provided food potluck style and we were able to meet everyones new moms, dads, grandmas, grandpas, and siblings. There were traditional mexican dances as well as salsa lessons. I took my little twin sisters and we had a great time. I went out afterward with some friends and it was really hard to wake up this saturday morning for another round of Spanish classes.

This week has been as they say here in mexico, pesado (or heavy). It's been full of classes and trying to figure our way around the city. We have class everyday from 8-6 which leaves little time to get a few chores done because we're also supposed to be home for dinner with our families at around 8, plus I am so beat at the end of the day that even though I may be running low on toothpaste, I'd rather wait until I'm desperate than to go to the store right after school. We already leave for our first field trip on Monday and we'll be gone all week to San Luis Potosi, a state very close to here, to see national parks, rural life, and the capital city. I'll write next week when I get back to tell you all about it.