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food, school, leisure y mi mama en SMA

Note: The internet flags so pictures will be arriving to flickr sporadically.

Sunday

• Breakfast with family: Bananas, Apples, Cantaloupe, Black Beans, Eggs & Toast, orange juice and coffee.
• Lunch with family: Chicken with mushrooms (asian flair), rice, mixed vegetables
• Dinner in restaurant: Shrimp cocktail, corn pudding in cilantro bath, enchiladas mole; 2 margaritas

Monday

• Breakfast with family: Bananas, Apples, Cantaloupe; corn flakes; toast; orange juice; toast
• After class: 2 cheladas and guacamole
• Lunch with family: Chicken Milanese; mash potatoes; mixed vegetables
• Happy Hour: 1 negro modelo; 1 margarita
• Dinner with family: Ham and cheese quesadilla; sliced tomatoes & avocado

Tuesday

• Breakfast with family: bananas, cantaloupe, mango, kiwi, corn flakes; toast; orange juice and coffee
• Snack: Two negro modelas & Chilaquiles
• Lunch with family: Mexican style chicken broth with noodles avocado and cheese; pan friend pork flavored with oregano; rice; orange carrots, broccoli, carrots; grape juice
• Dinner: no se

School:

Day 1 (Monday)

• I scored high enough for entry level one! My teacher Professora Denisse even lectures in English! Muy bueno!
• We practiced three verbs. I was already familiar with llamar/llamarse and ser. But dedicar/dedicarse which means (to dedicate and to dedicate onself to which is used to describe what you do for work was a new word)!
• We used ?Come se llamos?; ?A que se dedica? ; ?De donde es? to introduce ourselves.
• Later we played celebrity twenty questions but we all only knew three questions. I was Barak Obama.

o A que se dedica: El es president de norteamericano (which gave it away on the first question) – darn!

Day 2 (Tuesday)

• Reviewed yesterday’s lesson
• Reviewed conjugating –ar, -ir, -er verbs such as hablar, tomar, tomarse, estudiar, caminar, vivir, escribar, repetir, subir, comer, beber, corer, comprender.
• Introduced to 10 important irregular verbs: ser, estar, ir, salir, tener, hacer, querer, poder, poner, nacer.
• Articles
• Vocabulary: nationalities, units of time, and numbers.
• I accidently answered when asked ?En que nacieste? “Viente y uno abril mil ochocientos tres’ I was really born on ‘viente y uno abril mil novecientos ochenta tres.”

· My class camaraderie is growing – the majority of them are doing two intensive weeks so they are in class all day – where as I get to go home at 12:30. I am hoping to meet them for happy hour one night. Although I have no interest in late night clubbing and walking home across town late at night. I will miss them my last week when they are gone.

Leisure

Sunday

· Toured the town with my mom, saw the markets, the art alley, the jardin, el centro, the streets, went to parque Juarez, saw the casa de cultura, had a nice meal in town with each other.

Monday

• After class we went to have dos Cheladas (oops already mentioned that) – it was buy one get one free - and guacamole
• We came home and my mom did homework while I uploaded pictures – it took two days to upload 18 photos – I think I have been able to resize my photos for faster uploading from here on out.
• Hours of lounging around, we got stir crazy and walked around the neighborhood. I tried pan from a paneria.
• We finally found a patio for beer further from the house we wanted, but I discovered they had fried goat cheese – we were running late for dinner so I will have to go back.

Tuesday

• After class we raced to the bus stop and caught a bus to the Tuesday market outside of town- think flea market. Everyone told us it was fun, but we felt like voyeurs and left in a taxi 15 minutes later. We were both hungry and had chilaquilies before going home for our big meal with the family. We are both two stuffed to do anything, so I am blogging before my nap.
• Siesta, blogging, y no se.

Traveling with my mom:

As you all know, I was only allowed to bring 2 cameras – I am very thankful for my mom’s advice but I do miss my pocket digital, and toy cameras at sometimes. But my cannon & instamatic are having a blast!

· I love eating with mom as she like me believes anything on the table is as much hers as not hers. So we are sharing everything. As one might expect my obsession with my meal can be taxing – I have reluctantly agreed to only four meals a day, but in exchange we have agreed if I ever want more we can order more!

We’ve developed a fabulous communication system when deciding what to do:

o I don’t want to…

o I don’t see why not.

o No se.

o No importa.

o I could do….

o I would like to…

• 
  

Dia Numero Uno

¡Hola!

We have arrived at the Lamas Family – Ausencio and Matilde, but they go by Chencho y Chela.

I have a beautiful room overlooking the courtyard filled with birds in cages, my mom’s in the dungeon below. There are dogs, church bells, and roosters to wake with every morning I’ve heard.

After a simple breakfast of fruit, eggs, black beans, toast, salsa, and Nescafe Instant Coffee. I set off with mi mama to show me the town.

In my first visit on the streets I learned over 7 new phrases!

1. Como se dice…?
2. No se
3. No importa
4. Mucho gusto
5. Con permiso
6. Lo siento
7. Tiene cambio?

I also took 217 photos. On our way home we came across a parade – how nice of my home away from home to provide me a substitute parade on Gay Day 2010.

After walking to el centro, I talked my mom into a nice cold Michelada and the start of the Mexico World Cup game against Argentina.

We explored the markets. I was delighted to find paintings on tin depicting tragedies (e.g. falling off a ladder, car accident, 9-11, being sick, infidelity) with virgins and saints floating in bubbles with prayers that have been said it such times – I want at least four!

After a delicious la comida, we have retired siesta Americano style with our laptops and singing birds outside our bedroom doors.

See today’s photo album at my flickr - and don’t worry I only posted the best 38 of 217. . .

Todo sobre mi madre

I am following my mother in her annual pilgrimage to Mexico this summer. We will be living with the same family (Spanish only!) in San Miguel de Allende and taking language classes at Academia Hispano Americano. This will be my first time studying Spanish since high school, and my mother's nth!

We leave this Saturday, June 26 and will return July 17-- hopefully speaking some functional Spanish!

Click on the map, find the state of Guanajuato, just north of Mexico City, and that is where we'll be!

You can follow mi madre's blog at http://sma-2010.blogspot.com