madrina del pastel

this week has been pretty busy with english classes, trying to get more surveys in, and Eymard's graduation from elementary school. the graduation was yesterday, and like other family events here, I was designated photographer. well, this time it was only with a digital camera, because the family has a camcorder that they bought with the money that their dad sends back from working in Chicago. he has been gone for 5 years, and they record important events and send him the videos so he can watch them, and see how his kids have grown up. but this video they are going to keep because he comes back in two weeks!! that is going to be a really exciting day too. with the money that he has earned working as a janitor, dishwasher, and cook, they also were able to build their own house over the span of 5 years. when I ask people about why they migrated, everyone says because of the lack of good work here in Mexico, that they money that they can earn is not enough to support their family, but also many people say that they worked in canada or the US to build a house for their family. its as basic as that. and these houses are not really fancy, they are basic houses so their family can have space and so that when their kids start their own families, there is room.

anyway, for the graduation I was dubbed the "madrina del pastel" or gothmother of the cake. it is really rare that people use the oven, so anyone that knows how to bake is revered and asked to make cakes and pizza. so i agreed to make a cake and two pies. it was an adventure for sure, because I had to buy the ingrdients in kilos, but the recipes were in cups and teaspoons. luckily, a cup is about 1/4 of a kilo. and i think they came out well! people here don't like really sweet things, at last thats what it seems like, so i think the icing on the cake was a little too sweet for them, but that means i think they should really like the apple pie, which we will eat today. there are godmothers and godfathers for a lot of events here, i guess one way of building stronger and closer relationships with the exended family, but also if you are a godparent it means that you provide some financial support for the big parties that people throw. like for weddings and quinceañeras, there is a godfather of beer, who buys the beer. and the parties are big, because the whole extended family is invited, plus friends, plus any others who they might bring. so for a family to throw a party for a wedding, graduation, baptism, etc, they need some help. two nights ago we stayed up until about 2 in the morning, preparing the food for the next day. that was the day that I also baked my cakes, so i slept really really well.

the english classes are going well. its a little hard because I want anyone who wants to learn to be able to come, but that means that I am not too strict about needing to attend every class or anything, because people can't always make a class and I don't want to shut them out. so I have one person who has been really consistant, but the others come when they can, which is most of the time, but I need to work around the fact that not everyone knows the same phrases and words. and soon we will be able to listen to music in english, which should be fun. the cable that I use to charge my computer does not work anymore, but Lisanne, my supervisor's partner, just got back from canada yesterday and I think has a similar computer as mine. hopefully that will work out. and mom, yes I know that I need to send Nick my model number.

oh, one last thing. the dogs really do provide for a lot of entertainment and conversation. last week, two of the little puppies died, and we had to bury them. but then Eymard bought a baby bunny who was really cute and soft, but then Duma (my favorite) ripped its head off. which i guess wasn't completly her fault, because she was pregnant and was really hungry. during the party yesterday she also stole someone's food, and they hit her in the stomach, and I don't know if it brought on early delivery or something, but Duma has three small puppies this morning, and as of now they are all still alive! they want me to bring a puppy back home with me. so far, i think I have been offered a puppy, dog, horse, or cat about 50 times. I say, I don't think customs would agree with that decision.