it's ok, really, you'll get used to it

This week so far has finally felt like we’ve settled into a “comfortable” routine, now that it’s the fourth and final week of camp! That said, I’m glad camp is ending. It has kind of gone downhill since the second week. I show up sometime around 1:30 pm (supposedly a half hour still to go) and all the teenage “monitors” (assistants) are hanging out with each other playing on their iPhones and kids are either gathered around them or they are in the little cafeteria watching TV and eating junk food that the guy who works there gives out when they ask and then parents have to pay for it when they show up. And that includes Lucas and Zeiva. We’ve had some serious talks and they will be paying for the chips out of their allowance, and they are no longer allowed in the cafeteria. But basically there is no supervision of the kids whatsoever as far as I can tell. I said something this week to one of the helpers about the kids watching TV and she said she didn’t know they had gone in the cafeteria – this was the logic of her defense, and it was completely lost on her that that was the point: they didn’t know where the kids were. They are supposed to be swimming, playing soccer, basketball, and tennis, doing art and having story time….and they don’t even know where the kids are. I think the first hour of the day is an organized activity and then it’s a free-for-all. Another example – Lucas had wanted to play tennis so I asked if he could borrow a racket since we were from out of town. They said they only had 4-5 so he would need to bring one if he wanted to be in the “class”. Why he couldn’t use on of the 4-5 I don’t understand, but fine, I bought him a racket. He has been playing a bunch, but at least from what he tells me, there is no “class”. He figures out the other kids who have brought a racket on any given day and then asks them if they want to play. So no one has taught him anything, they just go play on the courts when they want. If my number one goal hadn’t been hanging out with Spanish-speaking kids for a big chunk of the day, I’d be pissed. As it is, I’m mildly annoyed but it will pass quickly. It served its purpose for us and I’m glad to be done with it.

Zeiva finally seems to be able to reliably get through our evenings. Unfortunately, Lucas must have sensed a void, because he decided to fill in for her. This week he’s thrown very uncharacteristic fits about having to come in for bedtime after very clear agreements and timelines, about whose turn it is to sleep in the little bed, about having to put toys away. Ugh. Really?

Something that I was dreading that may turn out just fine is that the next door neighbor kids arrived last night. So when I came home mid-day to make enchiladas, Harry, the 8-year-old, was right there at the door within seconds of me arriving and he hung out the entire time I was home. I decided there was no escaping the fact that the kids would want to play together any time they were all home, so I told Harry repeatedly that he needed to speak Spanish to Lucas or they wouldn’t be able to play together. When we got home, I told the same to Lucas. They decided to play a weird monopoly travel game at our place (good) that is all in Spanish (really good) and after a few gentle reminders they actually spoke Spanish almost entirely. I was very pleased and quite relieved to (hopefully) not be actively undoing the last month of Spanish progress during the second month we’re here.

Zeiva spotted our third and by far largest scorpion, trying to make a run for it across the edge of the kitchen floor. One of these days I’m going to catch one so we can watch it for a while, and then maybe drop it over the edge of the property wall. This one wasn’t so lucky, though.

can you tell which end i was really trying to smoosh?!

We stopped by a mini-mart to pick up a few things and there was the ubiquitous TV in the corner. As I tried to extract the mesmerized kids, Zeiva asked, “Why don’t you like TV?” and I said something really informative like, “I just don’t like it.” So she said to me, “It’s ok, mama, just stare at it for a while. You’ll get used to it. It’s ok, really, you’ll get used to it.” ;)

One more cute quote. Lucas has a friend from kindergarten named Monse who is currently in Mexico on the Yucatan right now. It was Monse’s birthday recently and she did a trapeze class at the resort they are staying in, and Monse’s mom sent a little video clip. I was telling Lucas at dinner that I needed to show him the clip of Monse, and Zeiva started saying, “Monse, doce, trece….Monse, doce, trece…” (fyi, for anyone who has forgotten their numbers in Spanish – once, doce, trece is eleven, twelve, thirteen, and Monse rhymes perfectly with once). For a second I didn’t get what she was saying, but then I was laughing pretty hard.

Some more snapshots of cruising around town:

The bus drivers write where they are going all over their windows - you can see some of the destinations of this bus on the window behind Lucas. We are circling a roundabout with a monument in the middle.

The kids are completely comfortable on and really enjoy riding the buses. They love flagging them down. They take turns paying our fares. When it's crowded they just go find their own seats and sit down next to anyone, getting up at all the stops that they know themselves now.

Zeiva likes to get right up into people's business, and the bus drivers are not spared. Unfortunately, this is one of our regulars who is pretty grouchy. About half of the drivers are indifferent or somewhat grouchy, a quarter will respond politely if you take the initiative to greet them, and about a quarter are really friendly and love the kids. They wave or honk at us whenever they see us around town, waiting at other stops, etc. The kids love it.

Django arrives any minute!!! We’ll have way more fun stuff to report on I’m sure, but perhaps a little less frequently since I'll have someone to hang out with in the evenings!