Cultural Experiences

Friday:
Go from a semi-productive day of work to the mall with Sandy. Meet up with Violeta. Drink cappuccino and eat mini-pecan pies. Drop Sandy off at bus stop. Call Violeta's friend, who is to arrive in 20 minutes with a French friend. Wait 50 minutes. Friends arrive, leave to go home to a relaxing evening to watch my novela. Change my mind, buy some gum, go back into mall to same coffee shop. French guy and I listen to Violeta and friend converse. Say a few novedades. Time to leave. Wait for taxi, talk to French guy, who turns out to be Italian. Arrive home to watch last ten minutes of my novela. Watch 'Furry Vengeance' with Violeta, brother, brother's girlfriend. Go to bed.

Saturday:
Sleep in. Decide not to go to market with brother and sister. Regret decision. Squeeze some fresh juice for lunch. Shower. Leave house at ten thirty to go to cultural center for end of year closing ceremony which starts at ten. Walk ten blocks to bus stop, where no buses are passing. Construction. Walk ten more blocks to bus stop. Watch my bus pass three times before I manage to get on. Get on the right bus, which goes the wrong way. Ask to get off, bus driver all of a sudden doesn't speak Spanish. Retrace steps, get lost. Ask for directions. Get to cultural center as friend is beginning performance. Sigh of relief. Meet up with said friend, take picture in her cultural getup. Buy fresco de cacao which costs too much and tastes bad. Drink it all, eat ice. Wait ten minutes to get change after paying for bad drink. Catch up with friend. Watch second performance. Buy handmade earrings. Leave cultural center. Arrive home, change to go to graduation of an uncle which starts at three. Grab camera, leave at three fifteen. Arrive at four pm, graduation still has not started. Become bored, start taking random pictures of shoes and strangers and shoes of strangers. Watch graduation and take more pictures. Get ready to leave. Unwillingly take picture with random guy who asked for a picture with me as a recuerdo. Regret decision. Go with sisters to random restaurant to visit random friend of Nancy who was celebrating his birthday. Get invited to a drink. Partake. Listen to mariachi band which arrives to play five or six songs for cumpleañero. Leave restaurant. Return home. [Hole in schedule.] Go to bed at three thirty in the morning, tired.

Sunday:
Sleep in, go to church. Listen to six year old boy sing worship song in front of congregation, with no shame. Heart is touched. 'Teach' Sunday school. Go home. Enjoy fish soup Nancy made. Sleep for two hours. Call Katie, talk for forty five minutes. Go home, eat tajadas con queso with a sabroso potato patty. Talk to mom for two hours, while watching Ravens/steelers game. Call T, no answer. Call Monica, no answer. Call Katy, no answer. Feel defeated. Call T again, laugh it up. Call Katy, share a silly story, call cuts off. Go to bed.