Pasta y Fanta

>> Thursday, August 03, 2006

Yesterday makes me smile.

Did the work thing. Then, T. and I took a great walk. There's a Jack Nicklaus (sp?) golf course going in right next to her house, so we walked at least 2 miles in there. It was gorgeous. The sunset was stunning, too. And, the crash of the waves has yet to start getting old.

After the walk, the fam loaded up in the Genovia (Cadillac Escalade) and went for pasta.

Very good. Enjoyed it. We were starving. (I wore a white shirt. No sauce. Go me.)

After pasta, we visited the plaza. According to T., the plaza is where the Mexican community congregates. They just hang out there. It's essentially a very large tiled-area (think football field? About.) with a sort of large gazebo in the middle, a stage at one side and people scattered about. It's well-lit and quite safe. Kids run everywhere.

Which bring me to my favor part of the night:

Picture it: Cabo, around 9:00 p.m. Me, Trish and Bry sitting on a park bench watching a game of sorts unfold.

Kick ball? No. Catch? No. Running bases? No. Soccer? No.

"Kick the Fanta bottle."

Yup - that's what kids play in MX.

Marianna and Chloe kicked the empty fanta bottle back and forth for quite some time. The bottle, which was called a "ball" at one point by Marianna, actually worked quite well.

(Trish and I decided that in Mexican homes the Fanta bottle could be used for many things: a candle holder, a glass, a maraca... what am I forgetting Trish?)

Anywho, the irony of 3 Americans sitting in a Mexican plaza watching two barefoot "Mexican" girls kicking a plastic bottle on concrete seemed very National Geographic.

Serious angle: How simple. How fun. How great. That's a memory. "Hey, remember that one time in the plaza? With the fanta bottle?"

Photo to come.

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No deseo hablar español. (I don't want to speak spanish)

>> Wednesday, August 02, 2006

So, I thought being surrounded by all of this Spanish-speaking would compel me to listen and learn.

Nope, I find myself just blocking it out.

That can't be good. (But, it is only day two.)

--

Way too early this a.m., Mena (my sister's housekeeper) asked me if spoke Spanish.

I said, "a bit." She then proceeded to give me what sounded like her entire life story - all with questions at the end of each few sentences. I was like, "Huh? What? What are you saying? What are you asking me?"

She may have just asked if she could make my bed, or if she could have all of my clothes. I don't know.

I guess I'll find out after work.

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Work Day Numero Uno...Done

>> Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Great day today. The morning consisted of sleeping in and a shower. The afternoon consisted of visiting the office, reading, asking questions, and feeling like a newbie.

The weather is lovely. Gorgeous, in fact.

The ocean sounds delightful. Waves crashing and all.

Tonight I took part in belly dance class. It was difficult. I am not good.

I'm off to bed.

:-)

I'm feeling: tired, still excited by this adventure, and of course...I miss Craig. Tremendously.

Oh note: The 'ole Cingular phone did indeed work. Verizon? Nah, not so much.

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I'm here!

Ok, forgive me - it's late and I'm tired. This may just be a mess of a post. (I'm too tired to post an image, too. FYI.)

But - I'm here!

It was a long day. Note to self: take the early flight out of DTW whenever possible.

The first flight was filled with show cats, 3 ill-behaved male children and no arm rests.

The second flight was heaven. A sheer delight. Smooth take-off, smooth-landing. And - get this: I had a whole row to myself. A WHOLE row. Beautiful.

Immigration/customs in Cabo also went well. Very quick. Very. No problems there. Although, I am not all that great at manuevering two large suitcases. I kept hitting walls, poles and a couple of tourists. Ah-well.

Another note: Don't ever buy silver luggage. It's awesome that you can find it so quickly on the little luggage turnstyle thingy - but it's just so dirty already. Ugh.

Right as I was finished going through customs, I exited and heard, "Aunt Kyleeeeeee!!!! Helloooo!!!!" :-) Chloe was there, with her friend Marianna (sp?) and Bry. Super-great. Super lovely. Trish was in the car waiting. Very nice. Very nice.

We got back to the house in no time at all to find that the girls' had concocted a surprise for me. A LOVELY, heart-shaped cake (go TRISH.) with amazing decorations in a confetti-style of colors. Loved it. It said, "Tia Kylee, Bienvenido!" (Welcome, Aunt Kylee!" ) SO NICE. We also had champagne (me, Trish and her best friend, Aida (sp?) and we toasted my new adventure. I believe the toast, which was eloquently said by my brother, was "Here's to more estrogen in the house." :-)

After the lovely cake, we ate and chatted by the pool. Then, Chloe took me by the hand and showed me to my "suite." (Max's room. He's away. At camp.)

I'm currently residing in the very comfortable suite, with the lovely, cream-colored sheets and creamy vanilla scented candle. It's positively perfect.

So, I'm feeling: excited. exhausted. loved. ready.

I'll start my workday around noon tomorrow. I'm pumped.

Did I mention that I already heard the ocean?

My brother has already asked me if I'm ok several times and I must say, I appreciate it. A lot.
The support I'm going to receive from my family in the next coming months is going to be precisely what I need. (Note: Just now, I phoned my brother, who is in the next room, to tell him that I think I saw a mouse. :-) He came over and checked it out. Yup. I'm thankful for family.)

Goodnight.

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I can feel the love.

>> Sunday, July 30, 2006

Meet Tootsie. My Mom's toy Yorkie.
She's incredibly thoughtful and wishes me luck on my adventure.

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Cabo Eve

Today was so nice. It was C.'s art show at UT, and so many good-luck-offering friends came out to say hello and offer their words of encouragement and support. Also, so many people called just to say, "You can do this!"

Thank you! Your kinds words and hugs are much appreciated. (You know, since I'm a hugger.)

Tomorrow is indeed the big day!

I fly out of Detroit at 2:59 p.m.
Arrive in Dallas at 4:40 p.m.
Leave Dallas at 7:25 p.m. (ew. Long layover.)
Arrive in Cabo at 9:05 p.m.!

You know, I have a feeling that this really is going to be somewhat anti-climatic. Which is ok with me. I suspect that our "goodbye" (C. & I's) will be very "normal." We've done as much as a month apart from one another. So, this 10-day jaunt is a "warm-up." Very do-able.

However, I must admit, I'm still floored that tomorrow our adventure begins. It's like the day before Christmas. It's Cabo Eve.

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