Jade plants have flowers....who knew ? Certainly I did not know that. These blooms are about all done but still pretty and surprising to me.
This is a visiting squirrel. This student was studying in a classroom ( the rest of the class was at some sort of conference) so we stopped to chat and this squirrel showed up. Clearly, the squirrel has visited here before. The student was very friendly and reluctantly agreed to chat with us. He tried hard to use his English; it was encouraging in many respects.
The campus is very well maintained...their gardeners do a great job. Following are some photos I took recently with my pitiful phone ( Iphone 7) Just imagine how pretty they would be if I had a newer phone /camera.
This is a tree that the Catholics revere, they say its the type of tree that Jesus's "thorny crown " was made from.....notice the thorns. Quien sabe....as they around here.
Just an example of various plants planted in the remains of a tree that had been trimmed or parts had broken off....so nice.
This is a photo of a festival they had on campus on the only rainy day in the past month....very dry here which is not the norm....people are concerned....finally. But the festival was to celebrate corn and nopal ( its a cactus whose parts are used in cooking) It was a fundraiser for one of the engineering colleges and there were lots of giggles in the English teacher's office/work area about the connection between engineering and corn....but, they've been doing it for years so I guess it works.
This is the big open space on campus I've been eyeing for pickleball courts in the not too distant future. Apparently very little gets done on campus from Dec. 1 to Jan 10 plus I don't have any of my PBall stuff, so I plan to get as much as I can from my sister's place in MD in March, the first school break during which I will be allowed ( according the PC) to travel out of Mexico. So, it will likely be April before I get the PB effort going. I did have a very encouraging meeting with the bosses of the Drama Dept about my interest in working on a play with them in English; they were very receptive so that may be my focus, in addition to co-teaching classes with the English staff, until Spring.
I don't think I already put this on the blog but I didn't want to forget it. I was walking along the sidewalk looking to my right into the stores ( when I wasn't staring right in front of myself to avoid tripping) and all of a sudden I looked to my left and there was that man, sitting on the tailgate of that pickup making Pico de gallo....omg.... and when I asked him if I could take a picture he was so agreeable, just smiled and got back to work. Oh btw, pico de gallo, the name , comes from the scraps of vegetables they used to throw to the chickens, and now make into great salsa.
Kind of a normal looking meat counter in the mercado...some are much more graphic....I'll get another photo.
We took that bus trip to Amealco and the bus station in Queretaro was so impressive...shiny and clean.
I took this photo in Amealco as the mom walked by us with that little guy in the hat strapped to her back.
Two our lovely young people. He took her to a quincera, her first ever and it was an amazing experience.
THis is the program from our swearing in ceremony on Nov. 9.. Ever since, I've been looking for a place to live that will accept Gringo....I need him to be here with me. I eventually found a place but I have to get it approved by Peace Corps. They have to accept it from a safety and security standpoint but they also have to approve it as being an "appropriate" place for a volunteer to live....not too fancy. I assure you, it is not but I have to convince them too. If it gets approved, I'll send a video or photos...its nice but not too nice.
These next two photos are included just because they are so curious..this "flea market/antique shop" popped up on a street where I walk daily. Just interesting.
And then there's this...another delicious and healthy option I found. Cost, about $6.00 for the two thick toasted slices of peanut butter toast with that lovely fruit arranged on top. The green juice shown in the background was about $3.00 ( 160 pesos for both) and it was my main meal of the day and sooo delicious. The place is VegCo...a little vegan restaurant near me. Before this late breakfast, I had gone to the PC office to feed the kittens and mom and also to a local mercado to buy fruit for lunches at work next week. I joined their coffee club so now I can have a cup of coffee at work without schlepping it from the cafeteria which is nearby. Little by little, things are getting normalized and predictable. I also discovered that my bus does not come to the bus stop where I have been waiting after work. Next week will be a lot better when I wait at the right stop. ( duh ) It will be nice to get into a place where I can actually cook and have a refrigerator and live like a regular person but in the meantime, this isn't too bad.:)The only bad part is not having Gringo with me.
Ki
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