Constitution Day

Mexico has a lot of holidays. Some of them are Catholic, but most of them are national pride. Like our Presidents' Day, Labor Day, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, and Veterans Day - which few Americans truly recognize or celebrate - Mexicans have a handful of holidays for which they get a day off of work and school but don't really understand what or why they're celebrating.

February 5 is Mexico's Constitution Day, celebrating the day in 1917 when the current, democratic, constitution was finalized. This was a big deal, bc it happened over 100 years after declaring independence from Spain and also 7 years after Mexico's revolutionary war started. They had a constitution-like document before that, but it strongly favored corrupt governments and encouraged corruption within the catholic church and systematic racism. The articles 3, 7, and 13 provide for public education, freedom of the press, and public courts - freedoms that Americans had from their bill of rights.

This is the first year that Mexico is celebrating all of their "bank holidays" on Mondays, to give workers and students a 3-day weekend rather than a random day off. The fact that Feb. 5 is a Friday this year, and they could get a 3-day weekend while also celebrating on the actual day, was apparently lost on the Mexicans.


check out this wiki link for more info on the constitution http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Mexico

Labor Reforms

Dave found this picture on a website about crazy "fixes" that people do. He was shocked, until a few key points showed us that the picture was from Mexico - the Spanish sign on the side is advertising the power company (no joke) and there is a Mexican juice bottle on the top of the sign. Once we knew it was a Mexican picture, we were not surprised at all - just amused!

A few months ago I posted about Mexico's light and power industry, which is a shambles. This picture helps to reinforce that idea. :)

In general, Mexico's labor force is a mess. Those groups, like teachers & electricians, that are lucky enough to have a union, can often be paid decently high Mexican wages regardless of the amount of work performed or the quality of work performed. (As a teacher and electrical engineer, we know how hard those employees could be working, and we can see how little they are actually working here.) Mexicans with working contracts often get paid per day, rather than per hour, so sometimes they will work only 4 hours. I suppose that "salarymen" - that's a Japanese term that roughly translates to "white collar" - in the U.S. often are at work for 10 hours but spend half of that time on the internet or around the water cooler, and those U.S. employees are getting paid a lot more. Maybe I should reserve judgment ;)

Check out this article on THE NEWS, Mexico's English-language newspaper, about labor reforms:
http://thenews.com.mx/articulo/labor-reform-unlikely-soon-10119

Mexican Mullett!

Thankfully, the "mullet" hairstyle - with a mohawk and a tail - has long been a rare sight on both sides of the border. Still, I thought that the mullet hat was a bit extreme. Funny, but extreme. This way, many locals can protect their modern hairstyles from the 'extreme' cold of the central Mexican mountains while still sporting this fun style.

Butterflies and Sparrows and Pennies

There were so many butterflies at the reserve that it was hard to walk at first. We didn't want to run into a butterfly or step on one accidentally. Quickly, though, we realized that we had to walk somewhere, and it was up to the butterflies to get out of the way.

Sadly, there were some butterflies on the ground that looked dead. Maybe they had flown too far or got dehydrated or had a full-speed butterfly/human collision. Or maybe they were just at the end of their very short lifespan (the average monarch only lives 2 months; many of these had already lived 5 months and were hanging on just long enough to lay eggs).

These butterflies are mainly still alive, but it's hard to tell:


I wanted to pick up a dead butterfly and bring it home, but even the dead ones are considered protected species and it is illegal to pick up the dead ones. How funny that 15 people a day die in Mexico from drug violence, but the dead butterflies are protected by national law and respected by all the visitors.

Which made me think of a Bible verse:
Matthew 10:29-30
29Are not two sparrows sold for a penny[a]? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. 30And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Souvenirs here, like throughout Mexico, were not sold in official shops but instead hawked by Mexican locals for a few pesos. Namely, 5 small monarch magnets for 10 pesos (80 U.S. cents). Kind of like 2 sparrows for a penny, huh? And I could not imagine a God so omniscient that He would know when every one of them fell to the ground. Nor why He would want to bother to mind these things since the Butterflies die so soon after being born.

Maybe I just needed a good reminder as to how important we are to God.

Mich.

When my Dad came to visit last year, he noticed that the "arrivals" screen at the Mexico City airport listed planes from "Mich." and asked me. He was sure that wasn't "Michigan", and he was right. It was "Michoacan" a state in central Mexico only a few hours from our house in Toluca.



The Monarch Butterflies winter in the cool mountains of Michoacan and summer in the cool trees of Michigan. I wish that I could do the same! But the butterflies have such a short life that the same ones will not be able to see both "mich"es. The ones that are here in Mexico will mate in March and then start flying north. They will lay their eggs along their northern route, likely in SE U.S. Those new caterpillars will turn into butterflies and continue migrating north to Michigan. Sometimes it is 4 generations before the butterflies will make a round trip.

It is an amazing act of God that those butterflies know where and when to fly, as there are never any "experienced" butterflies to lead the way. Yet, they keep flying and eating and reproducing and flying.

I wish that I could trust my creator so fully to just keep flying, no matter what, knowing that I was going in the right direction.

Thank you!

Good to know that I have very smart, thoughtful, and great blog readers. I'm used to talking to anyone and everyone, but here I have a small audience that can understand me ;) so sometimes I get too caught up in my own thoughts. Thanks to some amazing responses to my Friday blog, I now have some great ideas as to what I can "do" with my time once we move back to MI. And those great ideas got me thinking about more good ideas, so now my ever-vivid imagination can start to plan out imaginary days in my future.

I'm looking into substitute teaching & library clerking - both of which I'm overqualified to do, but are flexible and pay a little bit - as well as some regular volunteering work, esp. with the Latino mission and the American Cancer Society, and finally supplementing with a few university classes I've been wanting to take.

Maybe I'll finally learn the piano and get into shape. I have to be really bored to finally get to those things on the bottom of my "whenever I have extra time" to-do list.

Transition

I never wanted to be a desperate housewife. The opportunity to move to Mexico initially seemed like a 2-year stint at home on my couch, albeit a couch in a warm foreign country. Thankfully, God provided an amazing opportunity for me to teach full time while we were in Mexico. While it meant a few less vacations home and a few more expensive tickets when we did travel, overall I'm glad that I was able to work.
Now, I'm seriously considering how to avoid desperation after our return home.
With so many people unemployed (and underemployed) it seems highly unlikely that I will be able to seamlessly re-enter the job market.
So, what to do with my time when we move home?
My number one priority is to finally finish the home renovations we started 4 years ago. But after that's done, I'm not sure. I want to use my Spanish, so maybe I'll have a chance to volunteer.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Countdown

We can now say that we have only a little while left here in Mexico. No specific dates yet, but we'll likely be moving back to the US this spring or summer. So we're trying to figure out how to use the last few weekends we have left.
I'm writing those goals here to keep me honest and make sure that we actually finish all of them!

Mainly we still want to travel!
Veracruz, Cuernavaca, Oaxaca, and Morelia are still on the list, as well as a few specific shopping trips and a few places in DF we haven't seen.
I want to read a few more books, spend time with our new friends here, hopefully go to language school for a week, and scrapbook our pictures of Mexico.
Unfortunately, we've still got to work full time to earn our keep here, so our fun activities are limited to the weekends.

Unless someone wants to come and visit us! That would be a great excuse for a last-minute vacation.

One last Push

Being amazing procrastinators, I'm actually kind of surprised that we have used the time here in Mexico to our best advantage. Back in Oct. 08, I wrote about my/our goals while we were in Mexico. I wanted to be sure that when I came back I would have an amazing story to tell. Rather than just starting every conversation with, "when we were in Mexico..." which would probably annoy all of our current friends and family and make it hard to make new friends, I would ideally like to have some truly interesting stories to tell.
It probably won't happen but a girl can dream, right?

So how many of those goals were accomplished?

Super thankful that almost everything happened: I can speak Spanish well enough to figure out a newspaper and follow a dinner conversation with a few people. Also well enough to work at a job with "Spanish language fluency required" or teach Spanish without working nearly as hard as I used to.
We have traveled all over Mexico: Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, Cancun, Yucatan Peninsula/Merida, Puebla, Aguascalientes, Taxco, Guanajuato/Leon, Valle de Bravo, and Mexico City.
I got to teach Social Studies, the subject I actually majored in, and loved it! I also got to make significant changes to the school library, and loved that, too.
I read a lot of books - many more than I normally can when I'm working full time. Caught up on scrapbooking, finished writing my book, and spent trips home visiting with people more than accomplishing errands.

Now that we have only a few weeks or months left in Mexico, we need to make sure that we can finish the rest of our goals. Can we do it?

Snow!

After 2 weeks of very cold weather (for this area) we finally had some sunshine yesterday and warmer weather (upper 50s, low 60s) so we went walking at a local park. Also the air was bright and clear, so we took a picture of the "Nevado" or local volcano. Tough to see, but there is a LOT of snow on the top of the mountain. It goes down below the treeline.

I can handle the cold, but honestly, if I'm going to wear 3 layers of clothes and huddle under 2 blankets drinking hot tea and taking extra Vitamin D pills before I pass out at 6:30 bc it's already dark - I could have stayed in MI.

Embracing Change

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/personal/01/11/rs.10.ways.embrace.change/index.html Some information in this post is taken from an article which can be found at the link above.

Coming to Mexico was a huge change for me. Now that I love it here, and we've been here for a while, it's hard to imagine how scared I was to come here. But sometimes I can remember how frightened I was to drive, how unsure I was about my Spanish, how confused I was by the cell phones, and how frustrated I was by the lack of assistance by the relocation company or the U.S. embassy. Now that we're moving back, I'm nervous about what the next year will bring. Thankfully, after a few crazy moves and lifestyle changes in the last 5 years, God is finally helping me to be patient. I don't know where I'll be or what I'll be doing this time next year, but I know that it can be a really exciting adventure.

So, this is what I'm trying to do as we prepare for the next step in the adventure we call life:
keep up routines as much as possible
try not to worry about stuff I don't know
imagine lots of possible positive scenarios
ask people for their advice
try new things

Whatever is worrying you right now about the next step in your life, please know that God has an amazing plan - even if there are some missteps in the meantime.

Reading List

Since we were in the U.S. for 3 weeks and then self-quarantined in our house for 2 weeks due to illness, I don't have much exciting Mexico news to report. So, I thought I'd share with you a reading list of great books about Mexico. Many of them can be found at your local library.

Kid's Books
My Mexico / México mío by Tony Johnston
Confetti: Poemas para ninos/ Poems for Children by Pat Mora
These are beautiful picture books filled with poems in both Spanish and English that truly evokes the sights and sounds of Mexico.
Salsa Stories by Lulu Delacre
I haven't read this one yet, but it sounds great: a selection of stories that explain the food and traditions of latino holidays.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
This is an elementary chapter book about a Mexican girl and her family who moves to the U.S.

Adult Books
The Art of Mexican Cooking by Diana Kennedy
I only briefly looked over this cookbook, but it's on my wishlist bc it seems like the Mexican version of Julia Child's classic.
Stories from Mexico : Historias de Mexico by Genevieve Barlow
This is a small book with about a dozen short stories written in both Spanish and English (and a few sketches) that tell the history of Mexico. It's kind of like Mexico's mythology and legends; sort of the Mexican version of Paul Bunyon and the big blue ox.
A Brief History of Mexico by Lynne Foster
I am using this short book as my Mexico History text next semester. It is in English but is not very biased and gives a concise overview of Mexican history.

Cold!

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/mexico-cold-snap-leaves-nine-dead-20100110-m0d2.html

http://thenews.com.mx/articulo/severe-weather-continues-10112

I know that it's been super cold in the U.S., and no one wants to hear me complaining about the "cold" in Mexico. This is because most Americans view Mexico as either coastal beaches or barren deserts, either of which are never truly "cold".
Toluca (where we live) has been below freezing each night for a week. So, yes, it is cold here. Theoretically, that is not as extreme as what most of my dear readers are experiencing, but let me clue you in on what it's like to live here:

Concrete walls (no insulation), tile floors over concrete foundation, drafty thin windows, and doors with a gap (of an inch or more) between the door and the floor. No heat - no central heat, no electric space heaters, no propane heaters, no fireplaces, no electric blankets, no hot showers. When the "cold" temperatures are 60F, those aren't real problems. When the cold temperatures are 30F, people start getting sick.
We are lucky bc our house has built in electric heaters in our bedrooms and a lot of hot water on demand. We also have warm sweaters, coats, and slippers. Our car has a working heater, and we have insulated thermoses. So, we're not complaining.
But our Mexican friends are getting sick.

Check out the links at the top of the blog to see local news reports about this.

Silence

After 3 days of a snarky cold, I woke up Thurs. ready to go to work/school and get out of the house. Unfortunately, that was the day my vocal cords decided to rebel. As the day of teaching wore on, it was getting tougher and tougher to talk, let alone teach. (Teaching inherently involves the use of the "teacher voice" which implies authority and demands respect. Without it, I sounded like a muppet trying to run a classroom.)
By Thursday night, I could no longer hum. By Friday morning, whispering was painful. Teaching was out of the question.
So was talking.

Dave had work, so I settled into my 4th day that week of sitting in front of my TV doing not much of anything. Also, trying to whisper in Spanish to my housekeeper. And thanks to a few gruesome remarks by my seniors, I was actually gripped with fear that God had condemned me to a life of listening and my voice would never return.
Which got me thinking about what a life without my voice would mean.

First, Dave would have to start talking. Not a few people have joked that the poor man doesn't get a chance to say much, being married to me. Have you seen the movie "Up"? There is a scene at the beginning where a little girl says to her new friend, a little boy who has not yet had a word of dialogue in the movie, "You don't say much do you? I like you!" And Dave and I saw that and fell over laughing. Someone has to listen, and he does a great job. I do not, so much, but he has encouraged me to listen more to him that I do to most anyone else, and I suspect that I get the benefit of more Dave words every day than nearly anyone else.

But no voice would also mean no more singing in the shower, no more phone calls home, no more small group Bible studies, no more drama directing, no more haggling in the fruit market, no more arguing with my brother, no more responsive reading at church... well, you get the idea.
I was kind of surprised at how much I use my voice every day, and how much God might really want me to shut up once in a while and listen. Maybe, if I wasn't talking so much, i might actually get better at a few other things on my list of things I may do someday when I have more time on my hands than I know what to do with: practice piano, meditate, learn photography, get in shape, plant a garden, knit a sweater, adopt a kitten, memorize scripture, write poetry.
I wonder how many of those things I would be good at if I wasn't so good at using my teacher voice?

Why I keep working

Some people who don't know me very well thought that after my 3 years of stressful working, I'd be excited to spend 2 years in Mexico NOT working - like being retired in my 20s! Most of the wives who come to Mexico do not work; while many of them are grasping at the opportunity to become SAHMs, some of them, like me, don't have kids! But I would have none of that. I had spent some boring summers bookending my stressful teaching years and I knew that I had to do something in Mexico.

Here is a case in point:



Why was I working in McDonalds?

Short answer --> the car battery died
medium answer --> i was trying to work at Starbucks, but when we had to take a taxi, the taxi dropped me off closer to McDonald's than Starbucks
longer answer --> Since I hardly ever get work done at home, I don't like to be at home when the housekeeper comes, I packed up all my stuff to do lesson plans at starbucks while dave was at work, then meet him for lunch, and then go get a pedicure or something in the afternoon, but none of that happened and I ended up at McDonald's.

What really happened --> after I dressed for the day, packed up all of my stuff, etc. we find out that our car battery is sooo dead it won't even take a charge. Dave had to take a taxi to work and while there beg for either a loaner car, or a loaner battery (there are no tow trucks in Mexico). Since I was dressed and ready to go (and still not wanting to be here with the housekeeper), I decided to ride along in the taxi, having the taxi drop me off at Starbucks. Once Dave got the loaner car, he would pick me up for lunch, and then I'd have the car in the afternoon to go grocery shopping or whatever. But our taxi driver drove a wierd way to avoid construction and dropped us both off in front of the McDonald's, about a mile from the Starbucks. So... I decided to try out McCafe's hot tea and electrical outlets.
Dave didn't get a loaner car, so he came to have lunch with me at McD's, and I was there from 8 to 5! Sheesh.

(but, I did get lesson plans done!)

Books and more books!

In one of my first posts, April 2008, I was wondering what I would do in Mexico without reading material!
Now, almost 2 years later, I'm happy to report that hasn't been a problem! An addict can always find her drug, no matter the cost.

1. I packed some books to bring down with me. Since the moving truck took 12 weeks to arrive, I had a slow summer 2008, but I made it through.
2. The library at the school where I work has some books. Most of their adult selection was pretty lousy, though, so I have been actively soliciting donations and also donating quite a few. In the last 18 months, I've brought back hundreds of books for the library - often reading quite a few before taking them in!
3. I found out that the DF airport has a decent selection of printed magazines, newspapers, and books in English. Not much, but enough to get me through a tough time. Thankfully, they don't have more, as their prices are quite high.
4. I've been listening to audiobooks during my loooong commute, which often enables me to hear 2 books per month during the school year - more than twice what I was reading during my last teaching job!
5. I will visit the library during my trips back to MI, and if we or a friend of ours is traveling soon after, I'll often bring library books down with me and then send them back with a willing helper (thank you to those readers who have helped!)
6. I just got an e-reader!!! Dave wanted to get me one of these last year, but I was concerned about paying $10+ for each book, when I'm u sed to getting 90% of my reading material free at the library. My new Sony e-reader is compatible with library ebooks, so I can still check books out of my library without flying home! Technology is amazing.

Finally, I am happy to report that after 2 years of hard work, I'm almost ready to start reading in Spanish. I can basically get through a newspaper, and I understand the headlines of most magazines. I'm going to start with kids' books this summer, as their plot is easier to understand and they use simpler vocabulary.

I am happy to have total and complete access to English reading material when I get back, but I'm proud of my ability to persevere.

The War of U.S. Invasion

Here's a slightly less biased explanation of the conflict between U.S. & Mexico during the 1830s & 40s:
Mexico was still a territory of Spain until about 1820. During 1800-1820, white Europeans settled Texas under a treaty with the royalty of Spain, pledging to become Spanish citizens, learn Spanish, and become Catholic. They didn't.

In the 1830s, Austin encouraged Texas to become independent (not part of the U.S.) and the rebels who followed him fought the battle of the Alamo after much attempted negotiation on the part of the Mexican government. About 200 Texans died and about 400 Mexicans died. This battle angered Texans, and Santa Anna, the leading military general and working president of Mexico, knew he could win no more battles, so he signed a secret peace treaty with Texas. Texas was independent for almost a decade.

Then, the Mayans in the Yucatan demanded independence from Mexico (remember, Mexico is a relatively new government and is still determining it's borders at this time) and Mexico sent its troops to that area. Seeing a weakness in Mexico, U.S. President Tyler asked congress to make Texas a state, and they did - sort of. But they were claiming the western border of Texas to be much farther west than the Mexicans had ever agreed to.
Under the then-current U.S. belief of Manifest Destiny, U.S. President Polk was willing to fight Mexico for Texas (and buy the rest of the land from there to the Pacific), knowing full well that Mexico was currently under poor leadership and their budget was being stretched fighting in the Yucatan. He figured that the U.S. could win a couple of battles in the Texas area, while the Mexican troops were in the Yucatan, and that dangling millions of dollars in their face would force a Mexican surrender.
He was basically right.
Pres. Polk got congress to declare War on Mexico after a skirmish that killed only 16 soldiers. Mexico needed a few weeks to figure out their war strategy, and in that time the U.S. was more than ready to beat them, and they did. For some reason, Santa Anna retreated after a battle in Monterrey. General Scott's march from Yucatan to Mexico City roughly paralleled General Sherman's march to the sea in the U.S. civil war. He massacred Veracruz, marched to Mexico City, massacred them (killing more than twice as many civilians as soldiers) and went straight to Chapultepec Castle. This castle has formerly been the residence of the Emperor of Mexico, but since it's recent independence, was now housing a military academy of young soldiers. Those soldiers chose death rather than surrender (typical for 17 year old boys) and hurled themselves into the front lines of the U.S. soldiers. They were quickly epitomized as the "child heroes" and came to represent a new national fear/distrust of North Americans.

The U.S. invading a young country like Mexico would have been roughly equivalent to Spain invading a young America in 1806. It takes about 2 decades to work out the kinks of a new constitution, build an army, and create national communication and solidarity. Mexico hadn't quite finished that process when the U.S. invaded.
In our defense, although we received almost half of Mexico's land, that area contained no known natural resources and less than 2% of Mexico's citizens. It didn't seem very valuable to the Mexican people. Giving it up to the Americans hurt their pride more than their wallets.

Until 1849 - just 1 year later - when gold was discovered in California. Soon after, the new immigrants to California also discovered the amazing agricultural resources of the area. Today, California is our largest state, and a huge source of American-grown food. If California had been under Mexican control when gold was discovered, the history of both of our countries would have been significantly different.

Remember the Alamo!

I'm preparing to teach Mexican History next semester. Yes, that's right, a white North American is teaching Mexican History in English to a bunch of Koreans, a Puerto Rican, and a few other North Americans.

Anyway, I thought I'd clear up a few bits of confusion regarding the Alamo and the U.S-Mexican War.

Here's what we are taught in the U.S: The Mexican army, under the command of Santa Anna, attacked the Alamo in Texas, killing women and children and possibly Davy Crocket (the nerve!). Then, Pancho Villa ran around Texas shooting random civilians. So, the U.S. fought to save Texas, and we won not only Texas but also half of Mexico's territory at that time during something called the "Mexican American War".

Here's what Mexicans are taught: The Americans invaded their country from the northern border and then put their own women and children in danger by demanding independence. Then, the Americans entered Veracruz (a port on the Gulf coast) and destroyed much on their way to Mexico City, where they murdered the "children heroes" without so much as a how-do-you-do. Also, the Americans secretly helped to extend a war in the Yucatan, one which eventually led to the destruction of the Maya culture.

Confused? I had never known that U.S. troops went farther than Texas. I had never known why, exactly, the U.S. got half of Mexico's territory. And I definitely had never heard of a battle in Mexico City! So, who's telling the truth?

No one, unfortunately.
Tomorrow's post will explain this a little bit better.

Hispanic vs. Latino

Since I haven't taught in almost a month, I'm sort of itching for the opportunity to educate people, and thought I'd use the poor souls who read this blog :)

In our PC-culture, many North Americans, especially white ones, try very hard to use culturally sensitive terms to refer to people who are not like themselves. This is fine, of course, if you have any idea what you're talking about. But, as a Social Studies and Spanish teacher, an international traveler, and an illegal immigrant in Mexico, I have some knowledge on what you're supposed to call brown people who may or may not speak Spanish.

hispanic: anyone or anything that speaks Spanish or reflects the Spanish language, regardless of where it is from. For example, Mariachi and Flamenco music is Hispanic, bc it is from Spanish-speaking countries and often includes Spanish lyrics. Octavio Paz is an Hispanic writer, bc he writes in Spanish. Anyone who speaks Spanish as their first language, or who spoke both Spanish and another language since childhood, can be described as Hispanic, whether that person grew up in the U.S., Cuba, or Mexico. Or, in the case of my students, even though they look Asian, they are officially Hispanic bc they were born in a Spanish-speaking country and grew up speaking Spanish. Native Mexicans who speak only Nahuatl or Maya, and not Spanish, are NOT Hispanic, even though they were born and raised in Mexico.

Latino: is anyone or anything from a Latin American country, regardless of what language is associated with him/her/it. For example, tortillas are a Latino food, bc they are originally from Latin America. Rum and coffee are also Latino beverages, bc they are originally from Latin America. A white Brazilian, a native Amazonian, and a Black Jamacian, are all Latino, bc they are from Latin America, even though none of them are Hispanic, bc none of them speak Spanish.

Chicano/ Chicana: a U.S. citizen or resident of Mexican descent, or a U.S. "thing" that is derived from the Mexican culture. This person or thing is Latino, but may or may not be Hispanic. Carlos Santana is an example of a Chicano person, and his music is an example of a Chicano "thing" - both are from Mexico, but their unique identity is definitely tied to U.S. culture.

Race: a quality defined by common perceptions rather than biological components. There has been no scientist in the last 3 centuries who has been able to better define race based on genetic or biological components. Since Europeans invented the concept of race, their definition still holds: there are 3 races: white, black, and yellow. Red and Brown people are, by definition, race-less.

There is NO Hispanic, Latino, or Chicano race.

Ethnicity: a shared heritage or culture. Persons or things of the same race may or may not share an ethnicity. Latinos generally share an ethnicity, even though they may or may not share a race. (There are black, white, brown, and red Latinos.)

Those who share the same race, ethnicity, religion, and nationality, generally have very similar characteristics. Many North Americans falsely assume that all Mexicans are the same, but they aren't. About 60%-80% of Mexican citizens have a mixed European and Native bloodline, speak Spanish, and claim to be a part of the Catholic church. This is roughly equivalent to the 60%-80% of U.S. residents who have a mixed European heritage (with 1 or 2 variants in their tree), speak English, and claim to be a part of the Christian church. But United States-ians would shudder to think that anyone could assume we're all the same.
Mexicans feel the same way.

So, next time you're talking about someone or something who may-or-may-not be from south of the border, call him/her/it "Latino". Next time you're talking about someone or something definitely connected to the Spanish language, call him/her/it "Hispanic". And, please, avoid the term "Caucasian". As explained in an earlier post, only people from the countries of Geogia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan (between Russia and Turkey) are Caucasian. The rest of us are just white Americans/Europeans.

Teamwork

Rumor has it that moms/wives do most of the childcare and housework in American families. Not sure how true that is... but I thought I'd take an opportunity to brag on my DH, who does most of the meal prep and cleaning in our house. In Mexico, we have a full-time housekeeper and a rental house, so there I sometimes forget how much Dave normally does when we're at home in MI. Over this break, when we were back home, he and I worked together to clean the house and prepare Christmas dinner for my family, plus he took the lead on some small house repairs that needed to be done. He also is very popular with our niece and nephew, likely bc he plays with them when we visit.

Meeting our most newest nephew (he's currently super easy to take care of!)


Resting with our sick nice & nephew



Cooking in our kitchen

Normal Day

In a season of high travel, with lots of traditions and special times with family and friends, I get impatient when I have to do "normal" things like go to the grocery store and to work and such. Coming home from such a great vacation, the homesickness is especially profound. I found this poem recently, and it helped me to get some perspective:

Normal day, let me be aware of the treasure you are. Let me learn from you, love you, bless you before you depart. Let me not pass you by in quest of some rare and perfect tomorrow. Let me hold you while I may, for it may not always be so. One day I shall dig my nails into the earth, or stretch myself taut, or raise my hands to the sky and want, more than all the world, your return.

MARY JEAN IRON