Lately...

I have survived my first week in Guadalajara. Here's what we've done so far...

So I went to a market and bought some produce. It's the way to go because if you buy at the grocery stores, they rip you off and the produce isn't very good at all. At the market, they weigh the produce in front of you and it lasts much longer and tastes much better. So I bought some of these miniature bananas..perfect for the kids and they taste pretty good.

I came home with all this and spent 90 pesos..which ends up being around $8.00 or so. I bought mangos, bananas, pineapple, bell peppers, squash, green beans, grapes, pears, and peaches. Oh, and of course they had some chocolate covered raisins so I bought those too. Almost felt like Sprouts...almost.

After I came home from the market, I had to clean my produce..so I don't get parasites. It's actually not too bad. Just something to get used to here. My kids usually love grapes. But they won't eat these because these ones have seeds in them. And I guess you can buy them at Costco without seeds..but they cost about $8.00 so I probably won't be doing that!

Last Saturday was the picnic that the school holds before every semester. This is where students can buy and sell books. Some of the students or their wives will sell other stuff too, like jewelry, hair stuff, furniture, someone was even trying to sell their car since they were leaving. It's totally segregated too. Their are a lot of Puerto Ricans and they sord of keep to themselves. Then the Mexicans. And the Americans. They had a D.J. playing music..American stuff, like P. Diddy (or Dirty Money..whatever his new name is!) and it's seriously loud party music. J says they put ASU to shame with their parties.

This precious little baby is my friend's baby. I had to take a picture of her because of her earrings. They are TINY! I was dying over them. And it was funny talking about them to her. In Mexico, if you're a girl, you get your ears pierced when you're born..as in, you don't leave the hospital without doing it. That's always what my mom had told us too but I didn't think they still did it. Amazing. I love it.

Don't let this picture fool you. This little person is having such a hard time here. She just doesn't feel good and she wants to be held. All. The. Time. It's a little exhausting. But I can sympathize. She misses home. So do I.

J...trying so hard to smile. But it's difficult as this point because he is seriously stressed. He has no idea...:)

The food that was served at the picnic was pretty tasty. Noah seemed pretty satisfied. The best is Coca Lite. I admit, I'm addicted. Jenesey..totally better than route 44 with fresh lime. You love it. :)

This is a picture of some of the houses near us. On top of the houses are the gas tanks. I have no idea why they do this. I'm sure there is a perfectly good explanation. But seriously..there's got to be a better way.

So I went to downtown Guadalajara to get the kids' uniforms for school and they have these fruit stands everywhere here. They put all this fruit in a cup and then they add sea salt, lime, and chile. It sounds gross. But I gave it a try. And it is as gross as it sounds. But maybe over time I will learn to love it?

Every Monday they have what's called, "Tianguias" and they block the whole street off for this. It's a little bit of everything. They sell movies, jewelry, sunglasses, toys, candy, produce, hangers, clothes, everything. And it's cheap. Really cheap. I will say that the other market I went to was 10 times better. But it was fun to experience this too.

I am so sorry about this picture. I have tried to turn it around but it just won't work. This is what happens without having my sister around! But I just had to post this pic. It's a cathedral in downtown Guadalajara. So amazing.



I finally got these two in school. So stressful. But they are attending an all Spanish speaking school. It's kinda crazy, but this way, they will hopefully learn the language quickly. This does mean I will be doing a lot more with Ava at home. This will be difficult for us both. And I may be able to put her in a private school next year, but they are sooo expensive here. So for now, this is where they will go. The school is all blocked off so no one can enter or exit during school hours. All the teachers are women. And it's pretty strict. They also wear these lanyards that have their info and picture on it so they will never get misplaced. All things I find comfort in.



So that is how we have spent our first week here. I still spend too much time at my house. I'm ready to go out and see stuff. However, I'm not confident that I won't get lost. And the thought of getting lost here is absolutely terrifying. I see now that this will be challenging me in all kinds of ways.

Good: I brought stuff to make baked spaghetti so we didn't have to eat tacos for dinner tonight.

Bad: I tried to bake brownies and they were burning on top so I pulled them out. When I cut into them, they were liquid on bottom. So I might have the worst oven and I'm sad cuz I love to bake.

XO