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On Saturday, Humberto was taking some clients out on a Mayan village tour. We were able to see him before he left for the day. Paulina made us scrambled eggs with black beans and cheese, along with coffee, for breakfast with Aracely and Eddy. As usual, it was delicious. The other girls eventually woke up and Josue came over and looked at pictures on the computer.
At 10:30, we headed to the market with Paulina, Paola, Aracely, and Eddy. We stopped at a barber shop to get Eddy's hair cut. Though he can be a very intense and energetic kid, he sat perfectly still for his haircut with clippers and a straight razor. Aracely and I went outside the barber shop to check out the fountain with fish in it, and the metal dinosaur skeleton sculptures in the adjacent park. After Eddy's hair was nice and neat, we headed to the market and bought fresh fruits, vegetables, and supplies for a dinner party tonight with Humberto's neighbor nephews and their families. The market is always extremely interesting. It is a patchwork of colors, with all different kinds of fresh produce, chicken, meat, and fish, as well as stalls selling clothing, toiletries, housewares, etc. We admire the fact that Paulina still chooses to shop at the traditional market, rather than the new foreign-owned supermarkets that have come into town. When we got back to the house we sat outside and ate some pitaya (dragonfruit) that Paulina had bought at the market. It is always pitaya season when we come in July, and it is delicious and succulent. We had a nice lunch of salad with fresh avocado and cheese, with fresh pineapple juice to drink. Craig and I took showers so that we would be ready for the evening. Aracely colored in the Crayola book. Paulina got out a folder of homework papers that Eddy had been given to practice over the summer. He colored for over an hour, doing a nice neat job and demonstrating how he can write his name. We are so proud of Eddy and Aracely for all of the progress they have made at their English-immersion school! Paola and cousin Julisse were all dressed up to go to a school fundraising block party on the next street over. Humberto wanted to take Aracely and Eddy for ice cream. Ice cream? Wasn't it almost time for the dinner party? "Not for a couple hours," said Humberto with a chuckle. "Didn't I tell you we eat all the time?" On our way to get ice cream, we walked past the block party, but there was a curtain over the entrance to the park so you couldn't really see what was going on. But you could hear a band churning out some live music. We followed Calle 14 de Febrero down to Santander and popped out at Sarita, the ice cream shop where we usually go with the family. Humberto said there was another newer location further down the street in the direction of the lake that he preferred. So we walked down to it. Craig and I didn't want much ice cream because we didn't want to spoil our dinner, so we shared a single scoop of mora (blackberry) frozen yogurt. Aracely, Eddy, and Humberto each got small sundaes. We sat down in the food court area and each kid gave each of us a bite of their sundae. Yum! We walked back home and met up with Paola and Julisse in the street. I asked how the party was and they said that it had been boring. They were heading back to the house instead. All the kids were home now so we took the opportunity to give them the presents we had bought them in Vietnam. We got each of the girls a small porcelain doll dressed in various ethnic minority outfits. They were wrapped in bubble wrap, which, as expected, almost caused more enjoyment than the gift itself. Vanesa hung her doll from her purse. We gave Eddy a small metal bicycle with a chain that really turned the back tire. Aracely sat her doll in the basket of Eddy's small bike and took it for a ride. It was just the right size. Humberto's nephew Victor came over with his wife Rosa and their kids Andrik, Julisse, and Neli. Junior, now looking all grown up at age 12, came with them as well. Junior's parents Yolanda and Juan Carlos and little sister Fatima arrived shortly thereafter. The adults were drinking Brahva beer, but Juan Carlos had thoughtfully brought some rum and 7Up for me, since I can't drink beer. We snacked on some roasted peanuts and enjoyed chatting. They know a little bit of English and we know a little bit of Spanish, but we are somehow able to communicate just fine and always have a lot of fun together. There was a wooden table for the adults set up in the grassy garden area, and a similar table for the kids on the concrete in front of the house. Still other kids ate inside the house at the dining room table. We had a very nice dinner of chicken in mushroom sauce with mixed veggies and rice. For dessert there was a cake to celebrate my and Humberto's birthdays, which had each occurred in the past couple of weeks. At around 10 o'clock, the four couples along with Victor and Rosa's eldest son Alex walked up Santander Street to El Aleph Disco Bar. This was somewhere that they had been coming together for the past few weekends, to do some drinking and dancing. The place was hopping and "Gangnam Style" was playing when we entered. Lasers and lights were flashing. The white on our clothing glowed in the black light. They staked out a table and ordered a galvanized metal bucket filled with ice and Dorado Ice beers for them, and vodka and orange juice for me. Alex stayed with the table and the four couples proceeded to the dance floor. I love to dance, and enjoyed every minute. It was really hot in there, and after dancing for almost an hour, we were overheated and we sat down to take a rest. Couples rotated in and out, taking breaks to have a few sips of their drinks before getting back into the sweaty mob. Craig saw a familiar face over by the bar. It was Pablo whom we had met last year. He came over a couple of times to say hello. Humberto danced with me for a couple of songs, and also adeptly handled a drunk guy before he could become a little too friendly. We were pleasantly surprised that there was no smoking in this disco. So although the air felt tropical and sticky, we could at least breathe. Any smoke seen was a result of a fog machine. It was a lot of fun. We stayed until closing time at 1 a.m., and then we walked home. When we reached the alley, we said goodnight to everyone and we all went to our respective houses to sleep at 1:30. |
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 Eddy's haircut  Buying produce at the market  Aracely, Craig, Steph, and Eddy at Sarita  Fatima, Yolanda, Juan Carlos, Craig, Steph, Victor, Rosa, and Paulina  Yasmin, Paola, and Vanesa  El Aleph Disco 
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