April 5, 2006 Cuernavaca
Following up where I left off: Miles did help make adobe blocks at Gail's. He stomped around in the mud with Gail's handyman, Alvaro, and set the blocks up in a mold, etc. I helped with one round and eventually got the mud out from under my toenails a few days later.
It was fantastic listening to Miles and Alvaro converse. Miles has a vocabulary list that includes words like bucket, shovel, mud, etc. I still don't know some of those words, and Miles surprised the teacher at our school here in Cuernavaca the other night while playing a vocabulary game. It was also great to work with Alvaro, a local man who was born with a little arm and a normal-sized arm. Alvaro's right arm ends about where most people's elbows are. He's got some pretty inventive adaptations for getting along and can handle most tasks easily. Interestingly, Gail also has limited use of her right arm due to MS, and she told us that there are reoccurrencesrences when she and Alvaro run up against chores that require 3 arms and they only have 2 good ones between them.
Here are shots of Gail's porch, house, and dog.
After 2 nights with Gail, we returned to Puebla for a few nights. One evening we took in a superb concert in beautiful colonial courtyard. The group consisted of at least 9 violins, a bass, and various other string instruments. In addition to some local composers they played a boat load of Vivaldi. (I think they played the 2nd movement of Vivaldi's Boat Load.) The concert, like much of the cultural events in Mexico, was free of charge. Pretty cool.
And one more note on the excellent bus service here: as we left Puebla for a day trip to the huge pyramids at Teotihuacan, we rode comfortably in a Mercedes bus as the onboard computer booted itself up in Windows 2000 to play a blood and guts movie on numerous onboard screens.
The trip took us through Mexico City, which was tedious and slow, but provided a few educational opportunities as well. On the 2nd class bus out of Mexico City to the pyramids we were entertained first by a calculator salesman who hopped on in the middle of nowhere and delivered a stunning sales presentation worthy of any infomercial, and then jumped off; and then 2 guitar players jumped on and stood in the aisles and serenaded us for a few miles before getting off. (The guitar players got more of my money then the calculator salesman. In fact, as a 1-man foundation of the arts, I only give money to street performers, not beggers.)
Teotihuacan is a huge site, and the Pyramid of the Sun is the 3rd largest pyramid in the world. We climbed to the top along with scores of Mexican school kids on field trips.
It was hot as heck and it was unfortunate that the top of the pyramid was littered with empty water bottles. We also climbed to the top of the Pyramid of the Moon before eventually catching a bus back to Mexico City. On board that bus all of the men were frisked by a security guard. Interesting. Likewise, upon boarding the next bus in Mexico City for Puebla, our backpacks were checked (as was everyone else's) and I was frisked again. Clearly, if we were serious about hiding something, all we would have to do is hide it on Ruth's body, since the bus folks don't frisk women.
The next day we visited the train museum in Puebla
and bagged the 2nd largest pyramid in the world in Cholula. (The largest pyramid is in Egypt.) The pyramid in Cholula is so overgrown with vegetation that Cortez didn't realize it was a pyramid when he built a church on top of it back in the 1500's. Today, there are archeological tunnels through the middle of the pyramid and a road to the top.
And to keep it all mixed up: on top of the ancient pyramid built by pre-hispanic peoples, standing outside the courtward of the cathedral built by the spainards, we listened to elevator music blaring from the bell towers. Nothing like "Musicbox Dancer" and the theme from PGA golf tournaments to set the tone.
And what does a family do after a day of Pyramid Bagging: order up some grasshoppers as a hearty snack. Jill abstained, and Ruth only ate one for the camera, but Miles and I "enjoyed" more than our share. The truth is, they tasted like hay, or the smell of fresh horse poop on a mountain trail, and I don't need to have them again.
A noteworthy sight we've seen a few times in big cities, the blind leading the blind. The blind man in front has the white can and 2 or 3 other folks who are blind rest hands on shoulders in a line behind them. They move at a pretty brisk pace, and considering the damage we've done to ourselves on Mexican sidewalks--with our eyes wide open--their ability to get around is impressive.
We were suprised to learn that Daylight Savings Time had begun on Sunday but it was no big deal since buses run every hour between Puebla and Cuernavaca.
Our host family here in Cuernavaca is wonderful and consists of 3 generations. Grandma and Grandpa are in their mid 60's (I think) and he is a realtor; their daughter is about our age and she and her husband have 3 boys ranging from age 6 to 14. Lots of things in common to talk about although they're way ahead of us when it comes to Disneyland and Disney World. They've been to each and like Disney World better. Grandma spends several months a year in the US either with her sister in California or her daughter in Kansas.
The 4 of us are enrolled in language classes near the house. We each have our own classes due to the fact that we're at different levels. Jill has a teacher to herself, and whenever I look across at them, Jill is smiling or laughing. Miles is in a class with 2 other students; a German woman in her 50's and a man from New Hampshire in his 40's. It's pretty funny to see Miles holding his own (and then some) with the big boys and he's certainly up for it. Ruth and a young woman from California are in a class, and I am in another class with the brother from California.
We each get a head-full of information between 9 and 2 and it's pretty special as we all walk home after school, each with our own backpack and notebooks, comparing notes and details. It's a very special shared experience.
And just to remind me that he's still a kid, Miles found me at morning break today on the cusp of weeping. He had a tough morning since his pooper wasn't working quite right, he'd missed 20 minutes of class, and when he returned, the class was onto another group of verbs, and in the bathroom, the towel had fallen off the hook and he wasn't tall enough to hang it back up. The poor kid, he needed a hug!
Following up where I left off: Miles did help make adobe blocks at Gail's. He stomped around in the mud with Gail's handyman, Alvaro, and set the blocks up in a mold, etc. I helped with one round and eventually got the mud out from under my toenails a few days later.
It was fantastic listening to Miles and Alvaro converse. Miles has a vocabulary list that includes words like bucket, shovel, mud, etc. I still don't know some of those words, and Miles surprised the teacher at our school here in Cuernavaca the other night while playing a vocabulary game. It was also great to work with Alvaro, a local man who was born with a little arm and a normal-sized arm. Alvaro's right arm ends about where most people's elbows are. He's got some pretty inventive adaptations for getting along and can handle most tasks easily. Interestingly, Gail also has limited use of her right arm due to MS, and she told us that there are reoccurrencesrences when she and Alvaro run up against chores that require 3 arms and they only have 2 good ones between them.
Here are shots of Gail's porch, house, and dog.
After 2 nights with Gail, we returned to Puebla for a few nights. One evening we took in a superb concert in beautiful colonial courtyard. The group consisted of at least 9 violins, a bass, and various other string instruments. In addition to some local composers they played a boat load of Vivaldi. (I think they played the 2nd movement of Vivaldi's Boat Load.) The concert, like much of the cultural events in Mexico, was free of charge. Pretty cool.
And one more note on the excellent bus service here: as we left Puebla for a day trip to the huge pyramids at Teotihuacan, we rode comfortably in a Mercedes bus as the onboard computer booted itself up in Windows 2000 to play a blood and guts movie on numerous onboard screens.
The trip took us through Mexico City, which was tedious and slow, but provided a few educational opportunities as well. On the 2nd class bus out of Mexico City to the pyramids we were entertained first by a calculator salesman who hopped on in the middle of nowhere and delivered a stunning sales presentation worthy of any infomercial, and then jumped off; and then 2 guitar players jumped on and stood in the aisles and serenaded us for a few miles before getting off. (The guitar players got more of my money then the calculator salesman. In fact, as a 1-man foundation of the arts, I only give money to street performers, not beggers.)
Teotihuacan is a huge site, and the Pyramid of the Sun is the 3rd largest pyramid in the world. We climbed to the top along with scores of Mexican school kids on field trips.
It was hot as heck and it was unfortunate that the top of the pyramid was littered with empty water bottles. We also climbed to the top of the Pyramid of the Moon before eventually catching a bus back to Mexico City. On board that bus all of the men were frisked by a security guard. Interesting. Likewise, upon boarding the next bus in Mexico City for Puebla, our backpacks were checked (as was everyone else's) and I was frisked again. Clearly, if we were serious about hiding something, all we would have to do is hide it on Ruth's body, since the bus folks don't frisk women.
The next day we visited the train museum in Puebla
and bagged the 2nd largest pyramid in the world in Cholula. (The largest pyramid is in Egypt.) The pyramid in Cholula is so overgrown with vegetation that Cortez didn't realize it was a pyramid when he built a church on top of it back in the 1500's. Today, there are archeological tunnels through the middle of the pyramid and a road to the top.
And to keep it all mixed up: on top of the ancient pyramid built by pre-hispanic peoples, standing outside the courtward of the cathedral built by the spainards, we listened to elevator music blaring from the bell towers. Nothing like "Musicbox Dancer" and the theme from PGA golf tournaments to set the tone.
And what does a family do after a day of Pyramid Bagging: order up some grasshoppers as a hearty snack. Jill abstained, and Ruth only ate one for the camera, but Miles and I "enjoyed" more than our share. The truth is, they tasted like hay, or the smell of fresh horse poop on a mountain trail, and I don't need to have them again.
A noteworthy sight we've seen a few times in big cities, the blind leading the blind. The blind man in front has the white can and 2 or 3 other folks who are blind rest hands on shoulders in a line behind them. They move at a pretty brisk pace, and considering the damage we've done to ourselves on Mexican sidewalks--with our eyes wide open--their ability to get around is impressive.
We were suprised to learn that Daylight Savings Time had begun on Sunday but it was no big deal since buses run every hour between Puebla and Cuernavaca.
Our host family here in Cuernavaca is wonderful and consists of 3 generations. Grandma and Grandpa are in their mid 60's (I think) and he is a realtor; their daughter is about our age and she and her husband have 3 boys ranging from age 6 to 14. Lots of things in common to talk about although they're way ahead of us when it comes to Disneyland and Disney World. They've been to each and like Disney World better. Grandma spends several months a year in the US either with her sister in California or her daughter in Kansas.
The 4 of us are enrolled in language classes near the house. We each have our own classes due to the fact that we're at different levels. Jill has a teacher to herself, and whenever I look across at them, Jill is smiling or laughing. Miles is in a class with 2 other students; a German woman in her 50's and a man from New Hampshire in his 40's. It's pretty funny to see Miles holding his own (and then some) with the big boys and he's certainly up for it. Ruth and a young woman from California are in a class, and I am in another class with the brother from California.
We each get a head-full of information between 9 and 2 and it's pretty special as we all walk home after school, each with our own backpack and notebooks, comparing notes and details. It's a very special shared experience.
And just to remind me that he's still a kid, Miles found me at morning break today on the cusp of weeping. He had a tough morning since his pooper wasn't working quite right, he'd missed 20 minutes of class, and when he returned, the class was onto another group of verbs, and in the bathroom, the towel had fallen off the hook and he wasn't tall enough to hang it back up. The poor kid, he needed a hug!
posted by The Lambersons at 6:45 PM
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