Saturday afternoon, David and I took the 3:20 bus to Puebla. David's old friend, Rudy, lives there and was planning to throw a party Saturday night, so it seemed like the perfect weekend for a visit. Rudy picked us up at the bus station in a taxi -- his taxi. He was off duty, but it's still the thing he drives. I had never been in a taxi diriven by anyone younger than 45 in this country, let alone someone who speaks fluent English. Needless to say, it was the best taxi ever.We arrived at Rudy's house around 5:30, where I met his sweet little puppy and cracked open an ice cold bottle of Noche Buena, a seasonal beer that is only around for the holiday season. Noche Buena translates directly as "good night," but it's also the phrase that Spanish speakers use to talk about Christmas Eve. Noche Buena is not only delicious, but also a self-fulfilling prophecy. There were about 10 or 11 other people at Rudy's party, but it felt like fifty. I hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. Among the party people was Rudy's dad, who is the guy caught in a fit of laughter in the picture above (Rudy is the one in black at the top). He was a riot of a man, and great company -- plus, he was incredibly tolerant of the fact that his house was being taken over by a dozen rowdy 20-somethings. You've got to give the man a hand.
David and I were planning to spend the night at a nearby hotel, but Rudy and his dad wouldn't hear of it, so we crashed in spare bedroom upstairs. I have no idea what time it was that I crawled into the cozy, fleece-adorned bed, but it was definitely after eating three servings of cheesy potatoes (deeeelicious!). Miraculously, I awoke hungry the next morning, so while David went through his beauty routine (that spikey hair takes some work), Rudy and I made a batch of pancakes. Our achievement was quickly minimized, however, by the fact that Rudy and David both wanted pizza. As they argued over where to go, I flipped through the channels on the TV and watched part of the Raiders game. It was beginning to feel a lot like home. This feeling would only grow as we ended up driving to Domino's and ordering two large pizzas. For the record, the "large" here, is really like a medium in the States. I don't know why they do that, but I think it's just an attempt to make people think they are getting more for their money. Anyway, my second attempt at Mexican Domino's pizza was more successful than the first. Whereas the first time I got the 4 Cheese, which includes liquid nacho cheese, this time I got mushrooms and it was saboroso to the max (that means really good).
Rudy was kind enough to drive us back to Tehuacan in the taxi, so I arrived at my house last night sometime before 9pm. The ride was incredible, as the moon was doing this really-low-on-the-horizon-looking-like-a-giant-
orange-in-the-sky thing. I had never seen a moon so big except for one amazing night on the ship during Semester at Sea. There was no way I could have captured it through the window of a moving car, so I didn't try. But I had taken pictures from the bus on the way to Puebla, which were also quite nice. Mountains... cactus... palms... entertaining shapes in the clouds.... ah, Mexico.
Now I only have two more weeks of teaching left. My students are learning a couple new things this week, and then next week we will review together for their final. I won't be supervising the administration of their finals, since I'll be trapsing through Central Mexico with my sister, but the school director is going to keep an eye on my students for me, which is nice. Jessica and I will probably head south from Mexico City to explore a bit of Oaxaca. After she returns to the States, I'll be headed all the way to Guatemala, by way of the Oaxaca Coast and Chiapas. I can't believe the time for that is almost here. The last month has gone by so very fast. I am beginning to feel anxious about leaving all the friends I have made here, especially the spikey-haired bartender with whom I tend to pass the days. But ah, the world is calling to me. After New Year's with David, I'm off to Nicaragua for five weeks. I can hardly believe that all this adventure is really happening to me -- I am such a lucky gal.
