Last Weekend in Mayo
The kids that we were playing with and talking to at the plaza ended up getting into a shaving cream fight with each other.
This is the procession leading to the church with the band in the back.
The signs at the pyramid were in Spanish, Nahuatl, and English. Look how cool the Nahuatl looks!
This is just a picture of the guys at the pyramids in Colima (I think they were really the grounds crew) who let us in for a small "tip".
This little girl was about Cecily's age and she was dressed up as the Virgin of Guadalupe. We wanted a picture of her but she was shy and then fell asleep on her mom's shoulder during the procession.
I thought this was a funny shot- the quiet central plaza in Colima and a girl working on her laptop!
This is Daniela, one of the little girls up in Queseria.
Dad and Cecily going up one of the pyramids in Colima.
LDS chapel in Colima that we're attending
This is Cecily whipping around the flower she carried in the procession to the church.
This is a silhouette of Cecily on top of one of the pyramids in Colima.
This is the band that has been playing in the plaza every night this weekend.
We got a few emails sounding worried about whether or not this adventure was too much for us- I think I'm probably just writing to you about the different things, the things we're having to adjust to and the things that go wrong. Really, we are having an absolute blast. It is so fun here. We are just having great experience after great experience. We can't wait for Audrey and Elliot and Grandma and Grandpa to join us, and we encourage the rest of you to come if you can. You will absolutely love it.
This email covers Friday, Saturday, and Sunday...
Last night we went down to the plaza because there was going to be a celebration- nobody we talked to was exactly sure what we were celebrating, they just said something about the Virgin. So we walked along where it was supposed to be and there was a really cute little girl in a traditional dress and we tried to take a picture of her but she kept hiding behind her mom. Then an old man gave us some flowers and some palms and a candle and asked if we wanted to be a part of the procession. So pretty soon, along came a parade of other people with candles and flowers and palms and behind them there was a brass band playing. It must have just been twelve guys who taught themselves and each other how to play their instruments. And they would play a tune and then everyone would sing the chant that went with it after they were finished- they all knew the words but we didn’t! Then we got to the church and they let off a whole bunch more really loud rockets and then they rang the bell for about five minutes and we were afraid we were going to go deaf!! It was SOO loud! We went into the back of the church to listen to the mass, but Cecily was too noisySo we had to go outside.
We waited in the plaza and Cecily played with some kids. Yesterday, while I was writing to you, Dad and Cec went to the plaza and a whole bunch of kids were there and they were so fascinated with Cecily and wanted to hold her and play with her and asked Dad lots of questions about her. We think that’s so funny, because we think she’s not that different from them- she has dark eyes and dark hair too, but they think she’s a cute little Martian or something.
So then, after a while, there came the band again, this time they were in the beginning instead of the rear, and behind them came about fifty people on horses. They all had on their cowboy hats and looked really nice and you could tell that this parade was very important for them. The really amazing this is that the first 10 or so horses were dancing. They were picking up all four of their legs and it looked just like they were doing a Spanish dance, holding their heads very gracefully. After the parade was over, one of the guys on a dancing horse came over and let Cecily pet the horse. He said that a guy from the United States had once seen these dancing horses and thought they were so cool that he brought this man up to the U.S. to train some of his horses to do it. He went to California and then to Utah, but he couldn’t get any of the horses there to dance. There must be something special about the horses up here. Maybe they’re like some of us Americans that don’t know how to dance as well as people from Mexico…
Today we went into Colima again. This time we went to see the pyramids over there. We came in and the guys who were there said that the price to get in was about three dollars a person, but if we gave him two dollars, we could just do whatever we wanted. He told us he would let him in for a “propina”, which means “tip”, but I think it was his way of saying he would pretend we weren’t there if we would just pay him. The signs at the pyramids were in English, Spanish, and Nahuatl. I’ll post some pictures on the Internet soon. They are a little bit different from some of the other pyramids I’ve seen because they had to be made of round stones instead of square ones. Then they were put together with a kind of cement that the Indians here made up that’s actually more like the clay that they make pots out of. They said that they think everything there was built from about 100 BC to 600 AD. Everything there looked very dry, though. In the pictures in our Mexico book, these pyramids had grassy fields all around, and there weren’t any this time. This is the very driest part of the year here. Jorge said everything is going to change in appearance in the next couple of weeks when it starts to rain. I already think it’s just so beautiful. It makes me wish I could paint. Hint, hint, Grandma….
We went to the Hacienda so that we could use the Internet tonight. Nobody is there now, but we have a key to it so that we can come in. There is an office that you pass through to a courtyard and then there’s a building, and underneath the building is the kitchen and eating area. There is a gate at the end of the courtyard so that they can drive cars into there. So Dad and I were working on the computer in the kitchen area and Cecily came up and grabbed my keys and went into the office and closed the door. It automatically locked. And she had the keys. Dad and I were stuck in the courtyard with the door to the office locked and also the gate that went out to the street locked, because it had kind of a deadbolt on it. We tried and tried to get Cecily to pull the thing that would open the door, but she just kept trying to stick the keys into the lock. We didn’t know if we should laugh or cry. There were windows that went into the courtyard, but they had bars on them. Then we checked one of the office windows and noticed that someone hadn’t closed it all the way so we called Cecily to go into that office and hand us the keys through the window. Then we unlocked the door for her. We were really lucky. I can’t even imagine what we would have had to try next if the window hadn’t been ajar. They don’t have instructions in any of the Mexico books that we read on what to do if your two year old daughter locks herself in an office and you in a courtyard….
(Sunday afternoon)
Last night Cecily fell off of her bed again, this time she fell between the bed and the bedside table and her legs got stuck, so when Dad found her she was upside down with her head almost touching the ground, between the bed and table. It started raining about half an hour before we left for church. The branch we’re going to is called Rama Centenaria. At least that’s the one we think we’ll keep attending. It’s not as close to us, but it’s easier to reach because of the major roads near it. Since we’ll only be her three months, we can choose where we go. There isn’t a piano player, Audrey. I don’t even know if the Primary room has a piano. I didn’t see one. I saw some boys Elliot’s age, but the YW leader said that the two girls who are Audrey’s age weren’t there today. Dad had to give the opening prayer in Sacrament Meeting and I had to give the closing prayer in Relief Society, so start learning how to say a prayer!
We went and visited Diego’s family. He’s the one who picked us up at the airport. His wife Nely is a 4th grade teacher. She’s the one who might let Elliot come to her school. They have a son who’s 12 and his name is Bismark, and they have a daughter who’s 7 months old and her name is Michelle. Bismark likes sports, but he especially loves to read and he’s read all of the Harry Potter books several times. I think he and Elliot will get along really well. And Audrey, too, if she wants to hang out with him. We brought Michelle some diapers because we accidentally bought the wrong size the first time we shopped for diapers for Cecily. Nely’s two brothers are in the band that we were telling you about. They said that when they were about ten, a couple who were missionaries, probably not from our church, came around and spent two or three years in the area teaching the kids to play musical instruments and they just kept practicing them all these years. We think they sound so good!
This afternoon Cecily took quite a while going down for her nap and when Dad went in to get her when she woke up, her tube of mosquito repellant was completely empty. We looked all over for puddles of mosquito repellant but couldn’t find any. So tonight, when we were putting her to bed, we got her bunny to put into bed with her and he was absolutely sopping wet with mosquito repellant. I guess she was worried that he would get bitten. She’ll have to hold him close tonight!
Today (Monday) just as we were getting ready for lunch a boy came and introduced himself to us. He's one of our neighbors and he and his family just got back from spending five years in Oregon. He speaks perfect English- he sounds just like Elliot. He's nine and has a sister who's twelve. He's so excited for Audrey and Elliot to come. He said he'll come and knock on our door every day until they come.
We're so excited for you to come too. You guys are just going to love being here this summer! We love you and miss you!
This is a silhouette of Cecily on top of one of the pyramids in Colima.
This is the band that has been playing in the plaza every night this weekend.
We got a few emails sounding worried about whether or not this adventure was too much for us- I think I'm probably just writing to you about the different things, the things we're having to adjust to and the things that go wrong. Really, we are having an absolute blast. It is so fun here. We are just having great experience after great experience. We can't wait for Audrey and Elliot and Grandma and Grandpa to join us, and we encourage the rest of you to come if you can. You will absolutely love it.
This email covers Friday, Saturday, and Sunday...
Last night we went down to the plaza because there was going to be a celebration- nobody we talked to was exactly sure what we were celebrating, they just said something about the Virgin. So we walked along where it was supposed to be and there was a really cute little girl in a traditional dress and we tried to take a picture of her but she kept hiding behind her mom. Then an old man gave us some flowers and some palms and a candle and asked if we wanted to be a part of the procession. So pretty soon, along came a parade of other people with candles and flowers and palms and behind them there was a brass band playing. It must have just been twelve guys who taught themselves and each other how to play their instruments. And they would play a tune and then everyone would sing the chant that went with it after they were finished- they all knew the words but we didn’t! Then we got to the church and they let off a whole bunch more really loud rockets and then they rang the bell for about five minutes and we were afraid we were going to go deaf!! It was SOO loud! We went into the back of the church to listen to the mass, but Cecily was too noisySo we had to go outside.
We waited in the plaza and Cecily played with some kids. Yesterday, while I was writing to you, Dad and Cec went to the plaza and a whole bunch of kids were there and they were so fascinated with Cecily and wanted to hold her and play with her and asked Dad lots of questions about her. We think that’s so funny, because we think she’s not that different from them- she has dark eyes and dark hair too, but they think she’s a cute little Martian or something.
So then, after a while, there came the band again, this time they were in the beginning instead of the rear, and behind them came about fifty people on horses. They all had on their cowboy hats and looked really nice and you could tell that this parade was very important for them. The really amazing this is that the first 10 or so horses were dancing. They were picking up all four of their legs and it looked just like they were doing a Spanish dance, holding their heads very gracefully. After the parade was over, one of the guys on a dancing horse came over and let Cecily pet the horse. He said that a guy from the United States had once seen these dancing horses and thought they were so cool that he brought this man up to the U.S. to train some of his horses to do it. He went to California and then to Utah, but he couldn’t get any of the horses there to dance. There must be something special about the horses up here. Maybe they’re like some of us Americans that don’t know how to dance as well as people from Mexico…
Today we went into Colima again. This time we went to see the pyramids over there. We came in and the guys who were there said that the price to get in was about three dollars a person, but if we gave him two dollars, we could just do whatever we wanted. He told us he would let him in for a “propina”, which means “tip”, but I think it was his way of saying he would pretend we weren’t there if we would just pay him. The signs at the pyramids were in English, Spanish, and Nahuatl. I’ll post some pictures on the Internet soon. They are a little bit different from some of the other pyramids I’ve seen because they had to be made of round stones instead of square ones. Then they were put together with a kind of cement that the Indians here made up that’s actually more like the clay that they make pots out of. They said that they think everything there was built from about 100 BC to 600 AD. Everything there looked very dry, though. In the pictures in our Mexico book, these pyramids had grassy fields all around, and there weren’t any this time. This is the very driest part of the year here. Jorge said everything is going to change in appearance in the next couple of weeks when it starts to rain. I already think it’s just so beautiful. It makes me wish I could paint. Hint, hint, Grandma….
We went to the Hacienda so that we could use the Internet tonight. Nobody is there now, but we have a key to it so that we can come in. There is an office that you pass through to a courtyard and then there’s a building, and underneath the building is the kitchen and eating area. There is a gate at the end of the courtyard so that they can drive cars into there. So Dad and I were working on the computer in the kitchen area and Cecily came up and grabbed my keys and went into the office and closed the door. It automatically locked. And she had the keys. Dad and I were stuck in the courtyard with the door to the office locked and also the gate that went out to the street locked, because it had kind of a deadbolt on it. We tried and tried to get Cecily to pull the thing that would open the door, but she just kept trying to stick the keys into the lock. We didn’t know if we should laugh or cry. There were windows that went into the courtyard, but they had bars on them. Then we checked one of the office windows and noticed that someone hadn’t closed it all the way so we called Cecily to go into that office and hand us the keys through the window. Then we unlocked the door for her. We were really lucky. I can’t even imagine what we would have had to try next if the window hadn’t been ajar. They don’t have instructions in any of the Mexico books that we read on what to do if your two year old daughter locks herself in an office and you in a courtyard….
(Sunday afternoon)
Last night Cecily fell off of her bed again, this time she fell between the bed and the bedside table and her legs got stuck, so when Dad found her she was upside down with her head almost touching the ground, between the bed and table. It started raining about half an hour before we left for church. The branch we’re going to is called Rama Centenaria. At least that’s the one we think we’ll keep attending. It’s not as close to us, but it’s easier to reach because of the major roads near it. Since we’ll only be her three months, we can choose where we go. There isn’t a piano player, Audrey. I don’t even know if the Primary room has a piano. I didn’t see one. I saw some boys Elliot’s age, but the YW leader said that the two girls who are Audrey’s age weren’t there today. Dad had to give the opening prayer in Sacrament Meeting and I had to give the closing prayer in Relief Society, so start learning how to say a prayer!
We went and visited Diego’s family. He’s the one who picked us up at the airport. His wife Nely is a 4th grade teacher. She’s the one who might let Elliot come to her school. They have a son who’s 12 and his name is Bismark, and they have a daughter who’s 7 months old and her name is Michelle. Bismark likes sports, but he especially loves to read and he’s read all of the Harry Potter books several times. I think he and Elliot will get along really well. And Audrey, too, if she wants to hang out with him. We brought Michelle some diapers because we accidentally bought the wrong size the first time we shopped for diapers for Cecily. Nely’s two brothers are in the band that we were telling you about. They said that when they were about ten, a couple who were missionaries, probably not from our church, came around and spent two or three years in the area teaching the kids to play musical instruments and they just kept practicing them all these years. We think they sound so good!
This afternoon Cecily took quite a while going down for her nap and when Dad went in to get her when she woke up, her tube of mosquito repellant was completely empty. We looked all over for puddles of mosquito repellant but couldn’t find any. So tonight, when we were putting her to bed, we got her bunny to put into bed with her and he was absolutely sopping wet with mosquito repellant. I guess she was worried that he would get bitten. She’ll have to hold him close tonight!
Today (Monday) just as we were getting ready for lunch a boy came and introduced himself to us. He's one of our neighbors and he and his family just got back from spending five years in Oregon. He speaks perfect English- he sounds just like Elliot. He's nine and has a sister who's twelve. He's so excited for Audrey and Elliot to come. He said he'll come and knock on our door every day until they come.
We're so excited for you to come too. You guys are just going to love being here this summer! We love you and miss you!
posted by Parnell Willmores at 12:41 PM
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