A slide show of our trip

The Wonderful Handpainted Signs (Anuncios Pintados a Mano)

One of the things I can´t get enough of in this area are the hand painted signs. Computers have taken over this business in the US and starting to here. But these are so wonderful, I had to take photos.

The Gas Man

Click on this sentence to link to the video of the gasman. He plays a tune that can be recognized by residents that need to replace their gas canisters


You will need sound to fully appreciate this.

Photo of the calcified Beato (almost Saint) Sebastian de Aparicio

In an earlier blog I wrote about the calcified remains of a friar here who lacks just one miracle to be a saint. Since they didn´t want us to take pictures, I didn´t. But here´s one I found on the Internet.

A View of Our Bedroom in Puebla

Here is a view of our bedroom in Puebla. On every wall there is a picture of Jesus or Mary.

Here´s also a view of a sunset from our window in the bedroom.

Our Class at the Orphanage

Last Saturday Wendy, myself and a bunch of people from our school went to an orphanage and spent a good part of the afternoon playing with and generally entertaining the kids with our Spanish. Chased was the biggest hit. The little girls were fascinated by his size and his blonde hair. They loved to make him say things thay coud correct. I brought my guitar and played the only 2 Spanish spongs I know (both by Coti). One of our classmates, Lynne from Jacksonville, brought her dulcimer and played.

More Sidewalk Potholes and Staubs

For a time in Puebla, Gary lived under the name of Ramos

Combi Surfing

I told you earlier that we use "Combi Mini Buses" to get to school. They are usually crowdede, so I invented the sport of "Combi Surfing". These vehicles are not made for people over 5 foot 6

inches. The ride is bumpy and exciting.

Holes in the Sidewalks

The only thing I am afraid of here is tripping over a staube or stepping into a hole here and ruining a perfectly good day (or year). I´ve come to appreciate our public works.

Mexico City for the day

Yesterday we went for Mexico City for the day. We were able to see the great pyramids at Teotihuacan, Bosque Chapultepec, and the Zocolo (main plaza). It was a long day but we were able to see many things. Very tired of churches, but I think we will see more.



Here is Chase at the top of the Castillo at Chapultapec Park. The view of Mexico City was phenomenal from here.






The first photos are of Wendy and I at the top of the pyramid of the Sun (very hard to climb - but we did it).

Here is a photo of Wendy, and Chase at lunch with our schoolmates. It is a wonderful restaurant called ¨"Zanahoria" or the carrot. It´s vegetarian and really a great place to eat. We eat there almost every day.

Here is Chase and I with our guides. Paula and Alejandro attend the university here. They are wonderful. We saw 2 churches today. One of them had a real dead body of a beatified cleric. You can see a few of his toes are missing because some people thought a calcified toe of a guy who has 2 certified miracles would be good luck. We went with Wendy today (she took the picture).

Lucha Libre - Rasslin Mexico Style

This past Monday, a group of us from the school (including Wendy) wen to the wrestling arena for some good time. It was big fun. These guys are great acrobats, and no one really gets hurt, unlike the bullfights. It´s an event for the whole family (really).

The food is as good as the show. I had beer and peanuts with hot sause. We ar going again next week.

Riding Horses in Mexico

Last weekend we wen to Calpan (around 45 minutes from here and road in the mountains.

Eating Worms in Puebla

Chase and I went to a reastaurant here and had fried worms (like in mezcal). They were not bad.

The COMBIS or How we have been getting to school

Every day we get to and from school in something called a ¨combi¨. This is a modified van made to stuff as many people in. Once it is stuffed, it careens down the street almost hitting many cars and pedestrians.

Yesterday, it was raining and Wendy and I were sitting up front and Wendy closed her eyes so she couldn´t see. Soon we heard an alarm go off, and Wendy asked me if I know what it was. I said it is a warning indicating that we are all going to die.

Terrace at Spanish Institute of Puebla

Spanish Institute of Puebla

This is where we plan to spend 4 weeks studying Spanish and hopefully getting closer to the day when we turn on the Spanish channel and actually understand what they are saying.
Here is a link to the school