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| Pool at Fred and Rita's |
Sunday: We hung out around the house, drove into town and just chilled out. That afternoon, we headed over to Fred and Rita’s. The boys swam and swam and we got to visit.
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| Viva Mexico Rest. in San Juan Cosala |
Then off we all went to Viva Mexico for another incredible meal. Always tying something new there and the winner was Rita’s Shrimp dish, it was incredible. The boys actually found a way to keep themselves occupied by trying to wear placemats on their heads. It was a really fun day.
Monday: School for the boys today! We dropped Tracy off at her yoga class and the n I took the boys to their school for testing and a chance for them and the teachers to see how well they would fit in. No tears, no begging to stay with me, they just walked away with the teacher as if they have been there all their lives. I was the one that got weepy when I got to the car. Met Tracy back at home and we went and talked with someone about getting our FM2/3 at the LCS. I think we have decided to wait and see what happens with the new legislation that has just been signed into law. According to the government, it will take a few more months to get everything organized and it should actually be much easier for us to get our Immigration status figured out. Then back to the cell phone company to get help setting up voicemail and how toe retrieve messages. (Still don’t get it yet J). We went shopping for groceries and then off to pick up the boys.
The boys were glad to see us, but kept playing with their new friends. We went in a met with the director and she said that both boys did great. The only real concern is Andrew, because he is technically 2 years behind in his work compared to where his age group is in Mexico. That is because the Mexican schools try and cram everything into the first 6 years of school instead of 8. They are doing things at 10 that no one in the states will do until they are 12 to 13 years old. This is the case because many Mexican kids drop out of school at 12 to go and work.
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| The Beach in Chapala |
Then we headed to the beach, yes I said beach. In Chapala along the Malecon, there is a sandy beach on the lake. We met up with Brandi, Joe, Alisa, Jared and all the kids. They swam and played in the sand for at least a few hours. The lake is super shallow for at least 30-40 feet out, so they just walk out and it’s pretty much only up to their waist. It was a beautiful spot and the weather was a bit overcast, so it made for a very pleasant outing.
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| Swimming at the beach |
We headed towards home, everyone was starving, and so we stopped at one of our favorite taco places for dinner. Everyone ate and got stuffed for only $120 Pesos or around $11.00 dollars.
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| The Resort |
Tuesday: Spent some time just exploring some more, then off to Scott and David’s for some swimming. The pool is so awesome, you feel like you’re at a super fancy resort.
We swam for a few hours and then went to Tony’s for dinner. The kids and I had burritos and they were incredible. There was a wonderful 4-piece band playing a variety of music and the violin player was just incredible, he actually played the violin, the fiddle, harpsichord, and guitar. He couldn’t have been more then 25 years old. I think we need to have them play for us should we ever have a party here. Andrew and I then headed to Wal-Mart to pick up some ice-cream and then headed home.
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| Tony's |
Wednesday: So, I been keeping it a bit of a secret, but at our last movie outing on Fathers Day, I was eating some popcorn and bit into a kernel and it sent me through the roof. The pain has been getting steadily worse now for about 4 days, so I finally made an appointment to see a dentist. I will get to the outcome of this in a bit.
We went back to the school for the boys to get all of the paperwork taken care of and find out what they wan to do with Andrew. We met with the director and one of the English professors from the US. They decided to start Andrew in 3rd grade and over the summer we are to get him a tutor for Math, Science and Spanish. There hope is that by the time we get to January, they can bump him to the 4th grade. Andrew seems to be more then okay with the whole idea as the recess and lunch is spent with the 3rd and 4th together and he has a couple of kids that he really clicked with that will be going into 4th. Zach is on track to start Kindergarten as scheduled.
Tracy and the boys went over to hang out with Brandi and the family, while I got to venture out for my first foreign dental visit. I went to Hector Haro DDS and was seen by a Doctor recommended by a number of friends down here. He name is Dr. Pilar Ramirez and she was just wonderful. They took films, did and exam and actually filed down my lower right bicuspid a bit to help with the pain and swelling. It felt like the tooth was trying to crawl out of my mouth and every time I took a bite it would strike the upper teeth way before any other tooth. Then I got the good news, they wanted me to go into Guadalajara as soon as I could and get an opinion from and Endodontist there. They suspect a root canal is in the cards for me and I have got to say that if that’s what it will take to get rid of this pain, I am all in. Made an appointment for Friday evening at 5:00pm. I am a bit bummed, because it’s Tracy’s Birthday then, but hey I thought “I bet she never ever in her life thought that she would be exploring Guadalajara, Mexico on her 37th Birthday”.
Thursday: We hung out at the house until around 12 and then headed into town to pay for school and our rent. The way they handle all utilities, school payments, rents, etc is that you take cash or check to the local Bancomer and make a deposit into the specific accounts. The lines are typically long, but people are over the top kind and patient. No one seems to complain about the wait, the heat or the sheer number of people. It is totally part of their every day life here. This is a cash society. Now one takes credit cards except for places like Costco and some of the high-end stores in Guad. So, everything you do here is in cash or you go into the bank and they tell you the current exchange rate and you write a check for the US equivalent to what you owe in Pesos. Then we headed home to pick up the kids scooters and drove out to the Skate Park in Chapala. The boys were amazing; they jumped right in and started skating with all the other kids, younger and older. They didn’t show any sign of intimidation or fear, they totally went for it and we stayed of at least 2 hours.
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| Ajijic Town Plaza |
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| The boys running back from getting Gum Balls |
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| Chapala on the Lake Front |
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| Fishing Boat getting scrapped in Chapala |
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| Chapala Skate Park |
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| Cozumel Rest. in Chapala |
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| My favorite street in Chapala so far. |
Then we went to a local restaurant “Restaurant Cozumel” that was recommended in a must have book “The Insider’s Guide; Mexico’s lake Chapala & Ajijic”. The shrimp was incredible, Andrew had fried beefsteak and Zach ordered a quesadilla, but ate everyone else’s food instead. One of the dinners was Shrimp stuffed with cheese and wrapped in bacon, yummy! I had butterfly shrimp in butter and garlic, it was incredible. The whole meal with drinks included, and we were beyond stuffed was around $40US Dollars. It was a bit pricey for this area, but being Tracy’s Birthday dinner we were not holding back. We walked back to the skate park ad the boys played for another 30 minutes and I told Tracy that I had to stop eating as if I was on vacation, she laughed and agreed for the both of us. I know that I have said this before, but the food here is absolutely wonderful and for the price I think it makes it that much better. We headed home, showered the boys, read to them and lights out. Looking forward to our adventure into Guad tomorrow, after Tracy’s Ayuvedic Session with Anna. More to come…
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