There once was a little toad

who liked to live outdoors in the nice plants. One day, some mean people trapped him and left him overnight. The next day, the woman discovered him and screamed and shouted. "Oh my" she said. "A toad!"

The orange cat got so excited by all the noise that he came over to investigate. "What strange creature is this?" he wondered. Mr Toad was very confused. He didn't like all the loud sounds nor the look of that orange cat. "I must get away" he thought. So, he jumped and jumped.

That just made the sounds louder! and the cat got closer! "Oh no" Mr Toad thought. "How do I get away from this terrible place?"

The orange cat was very intrigued by this new toy. All of his old toys only moved when he touched them, but his owners must have realized that he found them boring. This new toy was so much fun. He put out his paw and tapped the new toy.

"Wow, look at it move!" thought the orange cat. Mr Toad got so scared that he just kept jumping. "Maybe I can get away if I jump further" he thought. Then, a big fleshy hand appeared from the sky. Mr Toad tried to jump away, but the hand took him. And then, "what is this I see?" wondered Mr Toad. "Oh, it is the outside! Hooray!" Mr Toad jumped out onto the grass. "Oh no" thought the orange cat. "I've lost my toy again. well, maybe they'll get me a new one soon."

Events described above based on true events. Some identifying details may have been changed. Current status of Mr Toad is unknown.

Ya, ya, I suck...

So, well, the posting hasn't been as frequent as I had either hoped nor promised. But, well, the connection here isn't super speedy and it gets a little tiresome to wait and wait and wait for pictures to load. But, I have been taking tons of photos (way too many, I have no idea how I'll ever reduce them) and so you'll get a stack of updates once I'm settled back in the Middle. It's either that or hoe PEter's garden. In the summer. In the Middle. Trust me, I'll find lots of posts to write!

But, the limited posting is going to get even less as Mom arrives on Saturday and we head off for our adventures together. And then Peter arrives the Friday after... so you can see that I'll be so busy showing my family around this beautiful country I probably won't make it into many internet cafes. Ah well, you'll survive I'm sure. For all those counting the days, I'm here for only 18 more days and then back to the sweaty, sticky Middle.

Easier said than done

So many adventures, so little time to write. Today you get to join me on a grand shopping adventure. Mexico is an interesting blend of Old World (each shop selling one thing and one thing only) and the Us (WalMart, Costco etc).

Join me as I search for contact solution....

Trip 1 (giant mega grocery store a la Fred Meyer): I wander around the Farmacia section and finally discover the eye care. Hooray! My excitement is short lived as I discover that they don't sell me brand (I wasn't really expecting them too) AND they don't sell saline.

Trip 2 (downtown to the land of tiny shops): I stop in the first farmacia I pass. I tell the young woman that I'm looking for liquid for my contacts. Hmm, does 'solucion' mean contact solution in español? We negotiate a bit and then she points me to the selection. Same as at Megastore. Oh well. I move on.

Trip2b: Optical store. This seems promising! They sell glasses and give eye exams, they definitely must have what I'm looking for. Same conversation ensures (but I learn how to say 'multipurpose'!). I enquire about 'salina' for my eyes. The young woman gives me an odd look. No, she says, we just have this. Ok, I reply, do you know where I can find 'salina'? She directs me to the next farmacia down the street.

Trip2c: Farmacia. We start over with the conversation. The young woman directs me to the display of eye care. Hmm, again, not my brand and no saline. I ask her, do you have 'salina'? Strange look on her face. You know, I plunge ahead, water and salt? Like tears? Why do you want that she asks? Well, I say, it put it in my eyes sometimes. You don't want this multipurpose stuff? she wonders. Well, I use a different brand and I don't think I want to mix them. Hmmm... this conversation is getting strange. She consults with an older woman and then goes to the back. She returns with a clear bottle of liquid. This is salina she states. I look at her funny. Hmm I say. She explains that the salina is used to give IVs. Oh, I exclaim, that's not quite what I want! I begin to wonder if I have a vocab problem. I explain that in the US, the companies that make the multipurpose liquid also sell salina in the same boxes just for the eyes. They look at me like this is the weirdest thing they have ever heard. The older woman says that this bottle is just water and salt, so I should be able to use it, if I want to experiment. I laugh and say that I'm not quite ready to experiment on my eyes.

Trip 2d: Another optical store. I've resigned myself to not finding anything, but now I'm just curious. People here don't use saline? But it's so cheap! And this is a fairly dusty place, you'd think that people othe than me would want to wash their eyes from time to time. So, another optical store it is. I've gotten comfortable with my topic, so I know that I can express myself. I confidently walk in and explain what I'm looking for. The young woman explains that no, they don't have my brand or the elusive saline. But, she confidently explains that I should have no problem switching to a new brand, just maybe a little irritation at first (!). I sigh a little, express my thanks, and head off to my second mission (where the hell is the post office and how can 5 people not know?)

Trip 3 will probably be to WalMart (sigh). I've never been inside one, but I should probably check. Just because no one else has encountered the mysterious saline, does not mean that it doesn't exist.

Patience is indeed a virture.

¡Soap Opera Stars!

Sometimes you just happen to be in the right place at the right time. Mostly, for me, the opposite of this is true. But very occasionally, I happen upon some pretty cool things.

While in Guanajuato, we happened upon a large group of people, hanging out outside the basilica Saturday night. This is a fairly unusual thing to do. Certainly, people go to chuch at night. So that wasn't weird. But these crowds were outside the church, lolling on the steps. And there were the Federales, the National police (kinda like the national guard I guess). They were hanging out too, watching the people. And there were the guys with the little doodads in their ears wearing suits... they kinda looked like Secret Service guys. Hmm, we starting thinking. Something is going on here! So we waited to see what would happen. Cuz, really, clearly something was up.

And we waited and waited and passed the time telling stories of ... well... nevermind. Lets just say we waited.

And THEN! Some people began leaving the church! By this point we had deduced that there might be a wedding (the sounds of mass giving us this idea). And the fact that there were news reporters with video cameras and microphones around led credence to this theory. So, we wondered what famous person was getting married. Clearly, someone important and interesting (and, yes, this is the long version of the story, I want you to appreciate the suspense we were under). So, FINALLY, people were leaving. And this quite attractive guy walked out (alone) and the girls started screaming 'Geraldo' really loud in that Elvis or The Beattles sort of way (and no, not that Geraldo). He posed and smiled for the cameras (everyone's cell phones were snapping photos) so we took pictures too, of course. He pushed his way through the crowd, walking right by us and touching us!! Woo hoo (granted, we had no idea who Geraldo was). A girl ran past us and grabbed him and kissed him. Clearly, he was the heartbreaker of middle Mexico.

We watched the rest of the wedding leave, the bride and groom posed for pics but weren't as popular as Geraldo. And then we wandered off to find beer and dinner (beer as the reward for finding our way home as described in this post). Later, I recounted the story (en español) to my friend from Paraguay. She didn't know who he was, but when I showed her this picture

She exclaimed 'Oh, he's from the telenovela!' So, it turns out that Geraldo is a famous soap star. Isn't that exciting?

I'll never be a photographer....

Just for fun, here is a series of photos I took, attempting to get you all a great shot of Bos, our house dog.

Nope, he looked away. How about attempt 2?

Not even close, although you can see how flexible he is. Attempt 3?

No, not even with J's help. One more attempt?

Well, you can kinda see his goofy face, but this picture doesn't even do justice to the very strange face of Bos. I think my photography career is over. Luckily, I like writing.

my answers

Since I'm in desperate need of a break (why won't the papers write themselves?!), I thought I'd also answer the meme. Interested in providing your answers but don't have a blog? Go ahead and put your results as a comment to this post. (Of course, it's always a good idea to exercise a little internet caution as Peter mentions in his post below).

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. bank teller
2. natural food store manager
3. English teacher
4. wine and cheese buyer

Four movies I would watch over and over
1. Say Anything (swoon)
2. Pretty in Pink (or Sixteen Candles or any of the Molly Ringwald 80s flicks)
3. Sound of Music
4. Doctor Zhivago

Four places I have lived:
1. Portland, OR
2. Eugene, OR
3. Queretaro, Mexico
4. Ames, IA

Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. What Not to Wear (not that it helps much)
2. NCIS
3. The Office
4. any crappy show on reruns while I'm grading

Four places I have been
1. Cambodia (Angor Wat)
2. Craters of the Moon
3. Chaco Canyon
4. City of the Rocks

Four People who e-mail me (regularly):
1. cranky students
2. desperate students
3. my sis
4. my mom

Four favorite things to eat:
1. sushi (particularly salmon and unagi)
2. any pasta made by Peter
3. refined Mexican a la Nuestra Cocina (you all in Portland REALLY need to go there)
4. lamb

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Grandpa's forest
2. exploring a ruin
3. learning a new language
4. in bed

Four friends I think will/should respond on their blogs or in the comments to this post:
1. Sissy
2. Mom
3. Kari (who started this whole thing but, like Em said, should add hers to her blog)
4. anyone else?

Four Things I am looking forward to this year:
1. Summer (Mexico!! Woo hoo!)
2. finishing year 1 of my PhD
3. getting to meet all the new babies
4. canning the products of our garden

Called Out on the Interwebs

I don't do Spam, whether eating it or replying/forwarding it on the interwebs (if I ever go to Hawaii, I may reconsider the eating it part. And be informed, that might be the most annoying website ever). But I just got called out by em, so I'm gonna do one of these things . Don't think this is going to be a common occurrence:

So, presenting:

Four things about me that you may or may not know in any particular order
(I eliminated Kimberly as any possible answer, to make it more interesting. Just assume she's #1 in any relevant categories)

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. bus boy at a local, family owned restaurant, where I would eat bread off the tables and one of the owners left his wife to marry his babysitter, who was like 20 years younger and looked like a well-used version of Sarah Jessica Parker
2. chicken carver at Boston Chicken - the original, and better, version of Boston Market before they expanded, started to be terrible, then disappeared
3. intramural sports official
4. 'New Cases Filed' reporter for an online legal newsletter - I could take a cell phone and camera into a Federal courthouse, which apparently was cool, and fairly unprecedented, at the time

Four movies I would watch over and over
1. A New Hope: Star Wars Episode IV - really, any of the other movies of the original Star Wars trilogy
2. True Romance - the best Quentin Tarantino movie of them all, with an outstanding cast and outstanding dialogue (and also, a lot of violence)
3. Stop Making Sense
4. The Princess Bride

Four places I have lived:
1. Burlington VT
2. Cambridge MA
3. Seattle WA
4. Portland OR

Four TV Shows that I watch:
1. Top Chef
2. Arrested Development - oh wait, I can't - or maybe I can????
3. 30 Rock/The Office
4. Dirty Jobs - I have a man crush on Mike Rowe

Four places I have been
1. Uluru (Ayer's Rock) and Kata Tjuta (The Olgas) in the Outback, Australia
2. the World's Tallest Outdoor Seated Bronze Buddha at Po Lin Monastery, Lantua Island, Hong Kong
3. Cadillac Ranch, middle of nowhere, Texas (actually, outside Amarillo)
4. Zoo Station, Berlin

Four People who e-mail me (regularly):
1. Canadian Pharmacy - my prescription is ready
2. e!3ay - my financial information needs updating
3. Nude Photos - just for me
4. myself, somehow

Four favorite things to eat:
1. Sushi - especially Unagi
2. Arancini and pizza at Galleria Umberto in Boston's North End
3. lamb - yum, baby sheep
4. chicken wings - preferably from Fire on the Mountain, but really, from anywhere

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. Byron Bay, Australia
2. the South Island, New Zealand - really, all of New Zealand, but the South Island is pretty amazing
3. Parma, Italy - OMG! the food there is good! OMG!
4. the Rimsky Korsacoffeehouse - if you've been there, no explanation needed. If you haven't, someday you should: good luck finding it, though

Four Things I am looking forward to this year:
1. spring/lack of snow
2. going back to school in the fall (although I'm not sure I'm actually 'looking forward' to this)
3. the Iowa State Fair - for the corn dogs, really
4. 10-foot tall sunflowers