Right now as I sit down to type, the most incredible storm is raging outside. The kids were just about to doze off at 7:40 pm when it whipped up, and Lucas quietly opened the door of the bedroom and whispered, “there’s water coming in the room.” The windows are leaking and there is a spot where the roof is leaking (I was a little freaked out because something in my backpack kept making noise and I was imagining some scary critter was in there, but it was the periodic dripping of water from above). The trees are bent over in the wind, there is a mix of rain and hail, and there is almost constant rolling thunder and lightning. The kids asked to open the big heavy curtains that darken the bedroom and I couldn’t say no, despite the fact that they will not fall asleep for a while. I can hear Lucas in there whispering to himself….he just came out for a drink of water and he’s been counting the lighting strikes.
So here are a few stories from the last couple of days:
We almost lost Zeiva. I’ve almost lost her lots over the course of her life, but always because I wasn’t paying enough attention and didn’t notice where she’d wandered off to. But this time, we were getting off the bus, and I often get off before her to help her down the sometimes very huge steps. So Lucas got off, I got off and turned around, and Zeiva hesitated because even to get to my outstretched arms she had to get down one giant step on her own. The doors closed! The engine began to rev up! AAAAAYYYYYY! I start banging on the door and screaming ESPERA! ESPERA! Zeiva is looking at me in complete shock. Fortunately, the folks in the back of the bus also started yelling, and the driver opened the door and Zeiva came leaping out. It really wasn’t that big of a deal, but for the slightest moment it was terrifying, and then it was immediately funny to me (though Zeiva wasn’t ready to laugh about it so soon).
Another bus moment was when Lucas and Zeiva stood there fighting over who gets to climb off first. As any of you who’ve ridden public transportation in probably almost every other country in the world, the drivers are not really about waiting for you to slowly get on or off, they don’t wait for you to sit down, they really don’t even stop all the way if you’re able bodied and can jump on or off when the bus slows down just enough. So here are my two kids, with everyone on the bus watching, not letting each other past and screaming, “NO, it’s MY turn to go first!”, “NO, let me past!” They were literally blocking each other from coming down. I was on the sidewalk, and on this occasion, I was thinking it would be ok if the driver just closed the door and drove away. ;)
All week I have left the club for the day while the kids are in camp and the past few days I’ve been coming back to the main part of Guanajuato. I’ve intentionally and accidentally taken some new buses, ended up in some new places and/or walked some new routes. It’s been really fun, nice to just slow down a bit and relax and look around. It was especially exciting for me to be in some areas that were completely unfamiliar and then head in the direction I thought I needed to go, only to wind up connecting with the edges of already familiar territory. I did kind of know where I was going! It also continues to amaze me how small this city is. I’ve seen some sport complexes and other landmarks from various ridges while riding the buses, and they looked so far away, but yesterday I hiked around to four different places to ask about kids activities in August that were all over the map, and I was repeatedly amazed at how quickly one could get to them. Which is good, because 3 of the 4 were dead ends in one way or another, so I’m glad it didn’t take me hours to get to them. One even had a sparrow inside the tiny little room that presumably serves as the ticket window, hopping around on the ledge where you slide your money to the cashier, probably wishing I would go away so it could come back out the little hole. Otherwise deserted.
Unfortunately, I have been traveling extremely light, so no camera, no pictures. I’ve regretted it at times. One of our bus rides home there was a guy singing and playing a hair pick on a ridged plastic tube as accompaniment. I so wished I’d had a camera to capture the look of awe on the kids’ faces.
I also bought a bottle of Argentine wine, and one evening this week I had a glass with dinner, and then I turned on some iTunes while I did dishes. I felt amazingly and euphorically human! I think we’re gonna make it!
Probably our highlight so far of this entire experience was this afternoon. We’d had a great day, made all our buses on time, and we’d hit the fruteria and the carniceria on the way home. The kids spoke to the folks in the shops, picked out their own fruit, and were just generally engaging in everything. It was hot, we were all tired and dusty and eager to get in the door. I decided it was time for showers because they were both filthy, but wouldn’t it be fun to use the hose outside on the patio in the hot sun? For once, I had two kids eager to get clean! Amazing how quickly the weather can change, so I’m glad we got our fun in before this crazy storm hit.
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