Casa Nueva

Upon return from Mexico City it has been quite a whirlwind. Finally we are sitting still, busy on our computers, listening to the little boy across the street who is riding his tricycle with squeaky wheels. Yesterday we went to class until 2, and then headed to our new place to meet Sergio (the house manager) in order to get our keys. Then we loaded up at an everything plastic store: garbage cans; 35¢ forks, knives, spoons (not plastic but high quality aluminum); a laundry basket; spatula; etc! Our place is furnished, but not nearly as furnished as we left our own home. As you can see in the photos, our place is not very "Mexican-looking," something we intend on changing a bit. The 85-year-old woman who owns it very much wanted to make it look more American. And so. We are happy regardless.
Last night we ate tamales at a stand a few blocks away and then made the initial trip to a large grocery store. We sort of overdid it- to the point where Josh had calluses on his hands from carrying our bags back (I fared much better :) Heavy stuff. Everything we do here takes so much more time than it would in Roanoke. This morning we woke plenty early for our classes, ate breakfast, walked to the subway and found that we had to wait for three trains before we found enough room to squeeze in. Then upon exit there was a downpour of rain and we realized while walking through it that we had headed four blocks in the wrong direction. Needless to say, we were late for class and a bit grumpy about it. Despite the crazy traffic here, we are set on purchasing old bikes this weekend at the market.

I just headed out around the neighborhood and had to comment on a few last items: an elderly woman walking with a bird on her shoulder; ladies getting their nails done; a young man named Carlos who introduced himself to me; a little boy learning to walk with his dad; the musical bread truck driven by Rafael, a very nice many who lived in Kansas working as a roofer for 9 months. I bought a couple of dessert items and joined Josh back at the house.