Family Reunions

Christmas was a relaxed family dinner.

Rollcall: Mom (Trina), Uncle Bjorn, Aunt Susana, Sean, Joanna, me, Chris. Amy was there for the day of, but not for the pic.

Sean and my cousin Joanna are getting married in May. I never really thought about how one becomes part of the family. We always just were. Here's the happy couple:

Ho Ho Ho

Happy Holidays!

Sweet 15

As an example of how warm and welcoming people have been here, Sagrario, a work contact turned friend invited to attend a niece's quinceañera (coming of age gala) in Tehuacan, Puebla. Not only did she arrange a ride for me for the 4 hour drive, but a hotel room for the night and a warm introduction to all of her family and friends.

My ride was Hector (The Pis), who I met last weekend, accompanied by Gabriel, his friend and Sagrario's brother-in-law. We left around 5:30 and, thanks to Mexico city traffic, got to Tehuacan around 10:30, just in time to mingle and have dinner before the events started. The trip consisted of lots of singing, swearing, drinking and smoking (mostly Gabriel), and swapping travel stories. Highlights of the trip: seeing 3 volcanoes and eating my first real Chili Relleno at a roadside stop.

Here's how things went down:
We had a 4 course meal and party favors (engraved glasses, book marks, etc.) in true extravagant party style (flashback to weddings and bat mitzvahs), then watched the godfather's toast (well, a fill-in), and the dance of Sarah Iris (the 15) and her escorts (2, though there can be 2-6). Finally, after she proceeded to waltz with every male in attendance, the dancing by live band began. Hector, a devoted dancer and 7-time quince escort, was my dance instructor and partner for the night. We mostly dance cumbia, but I went from a 0 to about a 5 on the dancing scale, I think. I also have a promise to continue lessons in Mexico City over the next year.

It was a good night. I met and danced with much of Sagrario's family and several people from SERAJ (the org. that she works with and that we're partnering with). The music alternated between band and nightclub (technoish) in English and Spanish, but it all culminated in a live Mariachi band at 4am. We went to the hotel, showered, and took a nap before heading back at 7:30am (Pis had a memorial service at 11 in the city). I got some good champurado (a little different from Philippine champurado. This was somewhere between hot chocolate and Atole) and Mole Poblano in on the way back, too.

WWJD

A twist on "What Would Jesus Do?" from All Saints Church, 10/04
http://www.npr.org/programs/atc/features/2005/dec/irs_church/originalsermon.pdf

Here's some context on the IRS probe: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5058660&ft=1&f=2

What's the opportunity here for our WWSD campaign?

Countdown

Happy Birthday Yadira! We're having our first of many parties tonight, this one to celebrate another year in the life of Alma Yadira Bayona. I'm making my first attempt at Satay. It smells good so far, but I'll let you know how it goes. There's a lot to be done in the next few hours, so I'm going to take a nap.

For those of you counding down: T-5 days until I'm back in DC!

On a different note, it looks like there are a lot of people out there not reading my blog.

Can't we all just get along?

Immigration: An issue near and dear to all of my homes.

Estado de Mexico

Bright and early after our return from Oaxaca, Sagrario (a Partner contact turned friend), her pareja, Pablo, and friend Hector (the Pis), took Paula and I out of the city to a Centro Ceremonial. An hour or so out, in the Estado de Mexico (the district bordering the Distrito Federal, aka Mexico City), this ampitheatre was built on holy land by the government for indigenous ceremonies. It's appropriately located in the mountains overlooking the city of Toluca. It was a nice, relaxing trip on narrow, poorly paved roads through nature (a rare sight in the city). After a rough day of taking in scenery, we went to Pis' house for a Sunday bbq.

Here's a quick glimpse of the sun statue (and of me and Paula) and a view from the stands.

Zimatlan

We finished off the week with the 15th anniversary celebration of Centeotl (a fellow's org) in Zimatlan. What better way to bid farewell to a beautiful, historic city than with a day full of music and traditional dances from the region. In the end, we were force fed Tamales and headed straight to the airport for a delayed, but quick flight to Mexico City.

Holy Tamale

My adventures in Oaxaca continue....

Lured out by the sound of fireworks and marching band, Paula and I discovered a small calera (celebration) in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe. After a short procession around the neighborhood, we found ourselves invited into someone's home and were offered Atole, a hot drink of milk, ground corn and cinnamon and the authentic Tamales with Mole. We didn't have time to eat them because next thing we knew, we were summoned to continue the procession to the next house for ponche (punch) and more food. Lessoned learned tonight: there is no way to say "No" to a generous Mexican. We eventually made our way out and back to the hotel one new friend, 2 tamales and many new experiences richer.

Where it All Began

An early morning flight got us to Oaxaca tired, but with plenty of time to explore the area. We had almost one free day (so far) and we spent it visiting Monte Alban, an archeological Mecca, and walking around the markets, visiting churches, like Santo Domingo, and various plazas. The city is nice and small so we can pretty much walk anywhere. We may not go anywhere, though, since our hotel is gorgeous. There's plenty, to see, though, so I'll keep posting.

Don't worry, we have plenty of work planned in, too. In fact, we just had our first Fellow meeting over coffee (overlooking Santo Domingo).

Fly by

My Dad might do a short tour of the US in December. It's a long shot but it would be his first time "home" in 3+ years. A lot has changed since he left (a lot's changed since I left, even). It'll be interesting to see what happens.

Words to Live By?

What if the Hokey Pokey is what it's all about?
We'd better keep playing, just in case.