Thursday, May 29th

Look at how many ants it takes to move this bug!

Today at Solexico I learned Spanish, but I also realized that ants are kinda wicked awesome.  As we were entering class, there was a GIANT dead grasshopper with it's wings wide open on the ground and there were a lot of ants huddled around it.  During our half time break, the ants had managed to move the grasshopper almost 5 feet to  the bottom of a wall.  It looked like they had no where to go.  BUT THEN, we got out of class they had managed to carry the grasshopper more than halfway up the wall.  There was a huge cluster of ants carrying the grasshopper and a few other stragglers going up and down the wall around it... I have never been so amazed by ants in my life.  At the same time I was too afraid to get close, so I had to zoom on my camera to get a good photo.

I'm sure ants do the same thing back here in the States, but being in Oaxaca has given me the time and peace of mind to observe the world around me and take 10 minutes to stop and smell the roses.... or in this case, watch the ants.

Welcome to the Theater

While at school, we all created plans to meet up later in the afternoon back at the school to go see a movie at  the local movie theater "Cinepolis".  We managed to pile 10ppl into Edith's tiny car... no seat belts... totally unsafe... I was squished on the floor trying not to cut off the circulation to Jackson's feet... But it was a fun drive!  When we finally arrived at the theater and started piling out of the car, people were gawking at the amount of people that we had fit in there.... it was like a clown car in a circus.

And what movie would you like to see today?

Going to a movie in Mexico is very different than what I'm used to back home.  First, when you buy your ticket, you have to be aware of which showing you go to. Usually I just choose between 3D or normal, but here you also have to choose just in Spanish or in English with Spanish Subtitles, and some theater have in Spanish with English Subtitles.  Second, you get to pick what seat you want to sit in BEFORE you go in to the theater.  I'm unsure if this is a normal thing, but back home in Boston and Connecticut, it's free-for-all.  You buy your ticket, then you hope you can have some seats together when you walk into the theater and in a good spot.  Lastly, you have OPTIONS for popcorn ("palomitas"- one of my favorite words in Spanish).  You can get mantequilla, which is normal butter, although it tastes a little different, or you can get caramelo, which is like caramelcorn, or you can get hot sauce or lime juice to put on your popcorn.  I only tried mantequilla, but I was surprised that I had options!  They did not sell Sour Patch Watermelon :( which is by far one of my favorite movie time snacks.

After we watched X-Men, we piled back into the car and with our full tummies... I think it was harder to fit the second time.  That night I went to Cumbia Dance Class in the park before going to bed.

10 more days until Gabriel comes to visit!,

Maria Katerina