paparazzi

i only have two pictures to show what i'm talking about here...I really should ask the 20 other people to share the ones they took, on their cell phones or the camera they keep strapped to their belt at all times...you know, for times just like this.

So.  Even though Israel thought we already had WAY too many pictures, what with the

engagement pics while in Raleigh

pics during the reception in NC

pre wedding pics

ceremony pics

family pics at wedding

party pics of the wedding.  

but I kindly told him that no... we dont have enough.  we need more.  So we donned (a simpler version) of our wedding day finery and headed out to the streets.

we went to this moderately busy intersection, with multiple lanes and quite a few medians separating the u-turn lanes from the others.  but no, these intricate streets were not our reason for choosing this particular photo shoot location.  it was the bridge that goes over all these lanes and traffic. underneath the bridge, on all the columns and supports there are colorful, interesting, slightly strange, and amazing graffiti paintings.  I have always loved them.  and now, i got to take my picture with them.  in my beautiful wedding dress!

I cannot express how weird Israel thought i was for loving this.  but i did.  and he was a wonderful husband and didnt say, much.

anyway- the funny thing: EVERYONE noticed us.  I, also, would have been curious to see a wedding couple taking pictures on a street couple, but somehow i dont think I dont thnk i would have had quite the grandeur of the reaction we had because we were in mexico.  i would venture to say that wedding pictures under an overpass is a little outside the box that lots of mexicans have.  I'm not saying that everyone in the US would choose the same location, just saying...

1) the guys who stand in the middle of the intersection and wash ppls windshields kept looking at us...ok, but they look at me when i cross the street when i walk to walmart.  so, not too out of the ordinary

2) cars going by honked... again, not so out of the ordinary... yes, at times it was a chorus of honks like they were congraduating us, but here, they honk the horn every time the stoplight turns green

3) then for one picture i was hugging israel, and over his shoulder i saw this guy who was waiting at the light holding his cell phone out the window... picture!

4) a mom and her daughter were walking by..."why are is there a wedding couple here?"

5) a few more pictures from cars.

6) more horn honking

7) the guy at the Comex store just watched us the whole time, he tried to guesture and mouth something to us, but i dont know what he was trying to say...he also took out his cell phone

8) but my favorite one was this guy, who walked up.  he has a digital camera in his hands, on and ready to shoot.  he had the camera case attached to his belt!  and he kinda asked us if it was ok to take a pic and proceeded to take 5, different angles, different orientation, everything.  all the while he was explaining why he had to take a picture: its because they just wont believe it if i tell them...

what is there to believe!? who wouldnt want pictures like this?

the end

i am a cruel teacher...but only internally

first week of school i gave my kids a vocabulary list of basic school supplies.  i will also supply you with the list in order to facilitate this "joke"

1. staples-grapas
2. stapler-grapadora
3. pencil sharpener-saca puntas
4. eraser-goma

So, i gathered all the physical materials to make teaching definitions easier.  I held up the first item and asked if anyone knew what it was called in english.
"grapes!" "grApas!"
"No," I said, seceretly very happy they messed it up, its just so funny, "it starts with 's'"
"Srapes!"

For word number two, I held up the stapler and staples, demonstrating how to put the staples inside the stapler. hoping this would jog their memory for the word for staples and notice the connection.
"Please raise your hand to tell me what this is called in English"
"grAper!" "engrAper!"
"Not quite, this one starts with 's' too"
"Stapelora!"

For word number three, i must say the kids must have been drilled with that English vocabulary for a long time because most of them had the same answer.  Don't worry though i stumped them in the end...
"Who can tell me the name..."
"SHARPENER!!!!"
"Good, it is a sharpener." I said as I wrote the word on the board. "but what does it sharpen?"
All i got in response to that was blank stares and kids stammering to try to deduce what in the world the Miss was talking about.  "What is it used for?  What do you put in this end and twist?"  I asked demonstrating with the pencil sharpener and an imaginary pencil.
"Pen!"
"no..."
"Marker!"
Wow, i really had stumped them. I certainly hope they don't sharpen either of those things or i'll have a very big mess and very messy students.

I must say, for word number four, I was almost certain of what my students were going to say.  but when they didnt give the answer i was expecting, (ashamidly) I was kind of dissapointed.  Almost as soon as I had lifted the eraser up and begun to ask for the English word I was surrounded by a chorus of "ERASER" "Erase!" "eraser!" "ERASER!"
"Very Good! it's an eraser." I said as i wrote the word on the board for the students to copy.  I know I should have been happy my students already knew that one, but i couldnt help being a little sad I had missed out on an internal laugh at the silly english.  but i was not to be dissapointed.  While the kids were finishing copying the words one girl came up to ask me a question.
"Do i draw a picture of the gum here?" She asked pointing to the space under the word 'eraser.'
"Draw a pictures of what?"
"ummmmmmm, the eraser!"

a car in puebla just causes problems

so... here are my clothes after the rain storm today... i've always thought it was interesting how one can be soaking wet yet still have dry spots on ones clothing... you can see the dry spot on the back on the left leg.  I imagine there was a similar dry spot on the back of the right pant leg too...but the flooded roads mixed with no a/c fixed that problem.  You cant really see the shirt, but there is a dry spot on the right side of the shirt... rimmed by a weird dirty stain. and another strange spot on the left side.

the story?

lets begin with me living in puebla for two years then bringing my fiancee to puebla, marrying him, and now, living "normal" daily life with him instead by myself as i was so use to.  this means, working everyday for me, and Israel not having much to do.  now, that we have established the stage, here is the middle:  this afternoon.
Israel was bored (because he has nothing to do)... I was tired (because I had just started with kids)... but i agreed to go to the park with him so he could run and get out of the house.  Even though, we waited so long to leave, the sun was shinning.
"which park do you want to go to?"
"the same park as always? or do you want to go to another one?"
"ok, well lets just drive and you can show me the park so i can come tomorrow"
So we drove.  and got to the park.  we decided to check out the park, walking around seeing what there is...
soon after we entered the park, there were a few rain drops, but we didnt mind.  then it stared to pour and we did mind.  but we were under an awning so not so bad... anyway, we stayed for a while but it didnt look like it was going to let up and it was getting more and more cold.  so we ran.  through puddles, some of which easily came up past my ankles.  by the time i got to the car, i was soaked.  You might think that the run to the car was the end of the rain story.  but wait.  in mexico, or at least in puebla, the streets FLOOD.  and we have a car without a/c and large engine that pushes heat into the car interior.  Nedless to say, in order for the windshield to fog less, we have to keep the window down a little.  this results in getting rain and hail inside the car while driving.  not ony that, but mix flooded streets, driving cars and busses, and open windows you get something that is quite impressive.
this is the point of this really long story:
I wish i had gotten a picture or video... a bus or truck or something came up alongside israel.  the next thing we knew water can in through his window (open about 3 inches) and sprayed all over him.  at the same moment the water was pushed onto the car and and stayed there, blurring the windshield for a long time, it seemed like minutes becuase we couldnt see the road AT ALL.  finally, the water found it way off the car, but unfortunalty, that meant going down the car doors and straight into MY open window.

and this is why my right pant leg was completely soaked while the left had a dry spot in the picture.

and yes, all this to explain the silly picture that i took one thursday afternoon.

the end

ponderings at a funeral

so my grandfather-in-law passed away this week. We arrived, about 24 hours after he had passed, when we got to the house, it was full of people gathered around the coffin singing and chanting a song about Antontio following a dove to heaven, i think....
The whole funeral was a lot for me to take in, for many reasons.  First of all, all the catholic traditions are unfamiliar to me and I didnt want to accidentally offend someone.  Finally I realized that i was over analyzing and his family both knew that i am not catholic and that i didnt really know him, so my being there was a pretty big handicap if one was keeping offense score.  and secondly, i felt sad for my husband and his family, so I wasnt sure what the proper behavior was since i was grieving for someone else.  Like, when we were waiting for the transportation to the mass, the family was joking and laughing... what? weren't they just really sad?  so, i didnt know if i was suppose to laugh or be more serious! 
like most important life events, this time also made me consider my own situation.  now, i'm married, and to this family's oldest nephew.  quite a few times, while i was worried about if i was doing to wrong thing, i thought about the unspeakable.  what if, Israel died?  His mother and aunts would, no doubt, insist on the funeral viduals, mass, and burial.  I however, do not think i could handle doing all those things.  I think i'd be more the silent kind of widow, wanting to be alone, at the back of the memorial service, hiding from people's hugs and sympathetic looks... Hopefully i wont have to worry about it, but if (ififififif) it comes to that- it will be traumatic i'm sure!  on many levels....

so, i'm married.  i have a few things that i want to say about the event.... memories that are a little funny or interesting.

1) the two weeks, or more, before the wedding, everyone asked me if i was nervous.  no.  not nervous. stressed: sometimes unconsciously, sometimes very obviously.
2) everyone also commented that i looked very calm.  i guess i was...when i was at school, or getting my nails done.  I mean, what was i supposed to be doing?  when i was at work i had to work, and couldnt do anything for the wedding.  and when i was getting my nails done, i should enjoy it, not stress about stuff that i couldnt do from a manicure chair.
3) i finally did get nervous when i was waiting behind the curtain for the ceremony. i think it was kinda like stage fright, but also that I didnt know if the music was going to work or if the wedding party knew exactly how they were going to enter or if anyone remembered the order of the ceremony or if i remembered at what time to enter or maybe i'd hold the ramo too high or walk to fast....
4) right in the middle of the ceremony, i think it was shortly after the vows we wrote, my computer spoke, "its 6 o'clock" really loud.  i don't think most people really understood what it was.  people are always surprised/befuddled when they hear my computer when its in my house, i can only imagine what they felt when it spoke during my wedding!
5) my dress kept breaking during the beginning of the reception.  the snaps the keep the train up kept failing, the zipper split open when israel lifted me down from a ledge, more snaps failed, israel stepped on my dress and broke the hook that held most of the train up. eventually we used industrial sized safety pins and needle and thread to keep the dress up and out of the way and with no more lifting i was fine.
6) my little sister gave a really awesome toast at about 1 in the morning at the reception.
7) after raining every day at 6 o'clock for a week, it didnt rain at all the day of the wedding
ok: thats all for now...  over all, it was a great day and a great party.  even with all the things that happened at the last minute and all the stress that (mostly israel) has to deal with that day, it work out and was a pretty nice party.

chapel hill, north carolina, usa (Tuesday) -- degollado, jalisco, mx (Friday)

While we were driving, i thought it would be nice to kinda of remember where we were at certain points,  sometimes i payed more attention, and other times i forgot to update in the moment so i tried to remember...

845am leave chapel hill 

950-1020 rest stop... Tweeked engine 

1120 stopped for gas and water after passing Charlotte 

1230pm Greenville, sc 

125 entered ga!! 

220-255 traffic outside atl 

330 wrong directions by kristen 

345 back on track 

455 ALABAMA! 

845 mobile al... Still 40 miles away 

935 in Mississippi 

1105 passed the louisiana welcome sign 

200am (or 3...time change...) entered tx. It's really humid, still 

349(449) Houston skyline, up close and personal 

800 Kristen finally drives 

900 arrive to Laredo and the border 

First customs stop: red 

Wait at oxxo 

Man w papers arrives 

Approx 1100 Israel leaves w empty car (to get it legalized and mxn) and the guy, kristen stay w stuff in guys house 

Approx 100 load car again and head to mtry, at customs get final signature and car is mxn! 

215 eat (subway) for first time today

Head out on Libre and enjoy slow beautiful roads 

430 mntry 

730 tacos? No

930 tacos... In almost Zacatecas, maybe Morelos? no idea 

1030 hotel. Sleep! 

900am wake up and 

930 we're gone again 

1230 halfway through the city of Aguascalientes, ate tacos/gordita/quesadillas 

100 Jalisco! 

140 guanajuato... 

330 la piedad. oops- I wrote this ahead of time, we spent 40 minutes in traffic: 

400 la piedad, michuacan

420 Jalisco again 

and finally 430pm degollado 

Next: inlaws

that's it, it was the journey.  after that we had 5 more driving hours to get to puebla.  over all it was an exhausting, interesting, hot, nerve wracking, fast, slow, beautiful drive.  i kept thinking about different things to blog, but now when i finally have a little time to sit down, i've forgotten most of them.  i'm sure ill have more topics soon though....

smooooth transitions, blow my mind

July 4th is winding down, actually its over.  And I didn't do anything really to celebrate it.  but, I did think about something, that I am going to try to convey here.
Life can change so quickly and unexpectedly.  July 4th, 2009 was an exciting day for me.  It was the travel day, going home for the summer.  Israel was going to pick me up from the airport and then we were going straight over to Elyse's house to join her family in a cook out/pool party.  It was (essentially) the first time I had been back to NC in 11 months.  I was super excited to see two of my best friends again.

On July 4, 2009 I was a happy, independent, single woman.  I was not looking for a relationship.  I did not consciously have an idea of anyone i might want to be in a relationship with.  If fact it had been that way all year, I had grown more and more secure and happy with my singlehood.  There were some boys that i "dated," but never anything serious and never anything that I would have wanted to grow into a relationship.

Then, unnoticed, inconspicuously, effortlessly, quietly, on July 5, 2009 I had a boyfriend.  I was in a relationship.  It was the most casual and comfortable transition in the world.  I remember that he came to pick me up at my parents house and we went running.  And, I remember that I was a little nervous because in my mind i was pretty sure we had made the transition from friends to couple but i wasnt sure what he thought.  but at the same time, he had to think the same way, there was no other option.  So eventually I did ask him if we were a couple, and his response indicated that i should never have thought anything else.  THAT is the biggest bump i can remember in the transition between friends and a couple.  Other than that, it feels like we have been Kristen and Israel for so much longer than a year.

It blows my mind to think that one year ago i had no idea that i loved him.  and yet i obviously did.