Merry Christmas Everybody!!!!!!! 

-Oscar

decorating with my grandmother for christmas was really fun. After we bought the tree we made strings of popcorn and put felt or ties in between. I also wrapped presents and made them. We didn't bring stockings so we are going to use socks. We came to soccer on Monday I was much better. First I scored          three out of four of the winning goals and stole the ball from some of the better kids.

It's been really weird because these last few days have chaotic. First the indigenous are mad at the government because they kidnapped some of their leaders so the indigenous are trying to kidnap other people to try to trade them for their leaders. At one point on accident a firework burnt down a building and was still smoldering days later! My friend's dad told us to not go to school on Friday because it was dangerous but when the people who did go to school that day the school closed at 12:00 so it didn't really matter. We still had a lot of fun at school playing with kids and using tires to play before school. We had so much fun that they want my dad to be the P.E. teacher!

 

 

We are having a great time with my godmothers. We went and shopped a TON, we played cards, went  to coffee shops, simply talked and most of all had fun. On Sunday we watched parades because they're celebrating the Virgin Mary.

Today was fun except at soccer because I felt clumsy cause I kept slipping and stuff like that. Though I was pretty happy that I got ten out of ten on my math test and on my history project. Also I was happy because my god mothers were coming in two days!

Today I went to the climbing gym and had one of the best times of my life. First, I completed some fun but hard routes so that made me happy. Second, I met four new people who were really nice. The first one who's name was Vigotski (or something like that) was from Romania and was taking three months off in Mexico and attended a university in Florida. The second I don't know his name but was really nice and was from Italy. The third was really strong and was a martial artist and told me a story about when this racist guy attacked him in Italy because he had long hair and he cracked the guy's jaw and knocked him unconscious. Finally the last guy was this guy who sold Alex (Alejandro) a donut and then Alex bought me one too but anyway the guy's name was Patrick.

When we picked up my grandparents at the airport I was really happy because I hadn't seen them in a long time. On the drive back to our house we basically ate chocolate. When we arrived, we showed them their rooms and talked.

                                  Thursday  
In the morning me and my sister walked around with papa Tom and JoJo to show them the center. At two after my mom had finished her meeting, we got on the road to Tapachula. We didn't do much on the way there but a couple miles before Tapachula, we ran into a road block. Later we figured out that some city employees were on strike and blocked the road. We didn't know what to do because the line was moving forward a tiny bit but it would stop constantly and we didn't want to be caught in the middle of all the cars. We met these two people, one named Ftrank and the other I can't remember. They told us that a town a couple miles back had a hotel called La Piedra (The Rock). We talked about what people wanted to do and our options. We finally decided that we would go and try to find the hotel. We looked really hard but still couldn't find the hotel. By then I was asleep because I was very very tired. My dad was walking around and asking people for a decent hotel when he saw a big semi. He approached it and told the man about the blockade. Then asked if there was decent hotel close. The man then told my dad that actually the blockade was done. My dad thanked him and then we went on our way. In Tapachula We went to the hotel that was recommended in the guide book. When we located the hotel we went there right away. Turns out that the hotel was full so we tried a couple hotels then checked into one. We fell asleep almost right away. We watched TV while Papa Tom and my dad got some dinner.

 In the morning after eating breakfast we drove to the Ruta del Cafe. We that it wold be only one hour and fifteen minutes away but then the pavement was so bad it took two hours. First we tried some coffee and then we went to check out our cabin. Our cabin was awesome. It had a BATH, (we don't have one at home) a shower, two beds, a living room and a nice porch. The three days that we stayed there we got a tour of the coffee route, had coffee bean wars, went on the zip line, drank german beer including me because I decided it was my destiny :) (just a little though). We had a fun time and relaxed a lot.



This was a long time ago.

On Thursday after soccer we went to a pizzeria to get some pizza before we went home to cook for Thanksgiving tomorrow. While we were waiting for our pizza to be made, we looked around at the store across the street and found some measuring spoons (which we needed badly). When we got home we ate our pizza and started working on the apple pies. One thing: we didn't have a rolling pin. My mom has always loved wine and there was one bottle that my mom hadn't finished, but it was basically the rolling pin shape so... it had to do. It was really fun making the crust, tearing bread for the stuffing, rolling the crust notably with the wine bottle half full. Around (ten I think) we talked with our cousins and talked about what kind of bands we liked, what we want to do for a job when we're an adult and once when I said I wanted to be a pilot they thought I said pirate so we all ended cracking up. We went to sleep really late (I don't know what time (probably because I was to tired)).
My dad had to carry me to my room because I fell asleep in my mom and dad's bed.

                                                                    FRIDAY

We didn't go to school on Friday because we had so much work to do for Thanksgiving. My mom and dad worked on one of the turkeys (there were two but one was too small for 10 people so we had to get two. Me and my sister watched Pirates of the Caribbean on Netflix because we had finished all our jobs. After school had ended one of our friends came over to help for the last bit. When all the guests had arrived we finally started to dig in on the mouth-watering food and apple cider (burned my tongue too many times drinking apple cider because it was so good I couldn't wait for it to cool down). After the turkey and the other food we lit off a lot of fireworks. Then we came in for apple pie which we wolfed  down in seconds (not literally but really fast). It was sad to have everyone go, but I soon forgot about it because I fell asleep really quickly. 

Today at 12 we went to a tea shop after we got a hand-made scrap book for the family and a smaller one for me that I bought myself with the fifty pesos my grandpa gave me. The tea shop was new for us but it was really nice. The tea was really good and so was the brownie that I dipped in it. I wrote in the book about airplane tactics, codes etc. My dad checked my sister's homework and then we finally went home. My dad felt sick and so did my mom so we watched Heroes in bed.

          P.S. I didn't have school because today is the anniversary of the mexican revolution.

On Sunday we ran a 5km road race and had a lot of fun.  We also met a couple from North Caroline and saw how fast other people could run. Toward the end of the race, my feet started to become dull from hitting the ground so often.

On Monday my head kinda itched but I thought it was just because I hadn't taken a shower in a week. I'm also really looking forward to my awesome grandparents visiting.

On Tuesday, my mom was looking through my hair in the morning because I said it still itched a lot and she found some sort of bugs in my hair. When my dad looked it up, we discovered that they were lice. When I got back from school and finished soccer mom started combing my hair again and found a lot of them. Afterward I took a shower just in case.

                                                     Here's the volcano before it exploded.

Here is my volcano exploding 2 different ways.

This is me and my friend who is visiting his old school.

On Wednesday everybody in the school had to present what they had been studying for geography. First we did a practice one while Segundaria cooked for the parents that would come. We were also accompanied by little preschoolers that carried our flags. I was going to do my presentation but a lot of my friends and other people were anxious to see the volcano that I had been working on for the past week. We had a great time eating yummy food like sushi! I was also pretty proud when my volcano exploded.
 

On Wednesday, I moved up a grade at school. It was kind of a blur to me, because one second I was in my class, and the next second I was talking to the teacher to see if I could move up. I wanted to move up because most of the stuff that I was studying in my class I was already familiar with and I was wishing I could go up a grade to have more of a challenge. Also, in fifth grade they were my kind of peeps because they basically had ACDC on their phones so it was all cool with me. It's kind of funny to think of how easy I got into fifth grade because in Salt Lake you would have to talk to a counselor, a teacher, the principal and do paperwork upon paperworks.

On Thursday, Maya's mom came to talk to us about sexuality which was kind of awkward since our class is made up of all boys and one girl (but luckily the girl wasn't there that day). She talked about how the relationship you have with your mom and dad and how you love them is different than when you love someone like a girlfriend or boyfriend or wife or husband. She also talked about how when babies come out, the first thing they usually see is their mom, which is why they have a very strong relationship with their mom, at least usually. I didn't get to listen to too much of it because my tummy was really hurting. I went down to the office and they gave me a pill to make me feel better. It felt better for a while, but then hurt again so I asked them to call my dad to see if he could come pick me up. My tummy hurt so bad one time that I started to cry. When my dad arrived he talked to me about how bad my belly felt and thought about going to a doctor. I basically stayed home, watched some videos and played some video games because I didn't want to do anything else. But then at one particular moment while I was at home my tummy felt worse than ever and so I went to the bathroom to see if I was going to vomit. When I vomited I felt really bad and shaky because it was trying to suck out the bad thing from my body and it took all my energy. Then a little while after I ate, I threw that up also. I felt really bad after both times, because not only did I throw up I was also really tired.

On Friday, I stayed home from school and basically did the same thing I did the day before, except for the throwing up part, luckily.

On Saturday I had a soccer game at nine and then stayed home for Mina's soccer game. Then after we cleaned up around the house, my sister's friend Lore came over and she and my sister worked on their project about pregnancy for Wednesday. While they were working, I worked on my volcanoes of Germany project that I have to present on Wednesday, too, because each month we all have to make a presentation in front of the principal and our classmates. I also have a sculpture of a volcano at the school and I am using a bottle and a cork and covering it with paper mache and letting it dry in the sun and I'll put baking soda and vinegar in the bottle so the cork pops off. And I'm also going to put a thin layer of paper mache so it explodes and looks like rocks. I'm also going to paint the cork black so it looks like a rock when it flies in the air. After we worked we went out to eat at a very good Italian restaurant and had some yummy pizza with Lore. Then we went to see some Russian skaters in a large crowd in front of the Cathedral.

Sorry it took me so long to post this. My mother is typing this so it is longer than my usual ones.

These last two days have been really fun because on Monday I went rock climbing and Alejandro said I could make another route and I could name them if I wanted. The first one that I did last week I named Thunderbird because it has a zig-zag pattern and is white taped with blue zig-zags.The second one I named Titanic because it goes from one side of the rock climbing wall to the other side and has red tape against black tape. On Tuesday I found my inner peace with soccer doing some moves that I didn't know I could do. Then watched the debate and played a ww2 flying game that's really cool.

Today I had my soccer game today but before that we had an couple hour ceremony announcing the different teams ranging from: 5-45. It was really boring but when my soccer game started it was really fun even though we lost. I scored but there was a foul before that so it didn't count but we would have lost any way.

Just so you you guys know: I think my fourth favorite of acdc (and of all time) is Highway to Hell.

After my sister's soccer team lost in a frustrating 3-1 defeat (though it was not mina's fault at all), we went home to get some stuff and change before we went to Tenejapa (a small town). We got some really good popsicles and looked inside their awesome church. We also had some really yummy tacos and tamales at restaurant. Then at night we watched a really good Heroes episode on Netflix.

Here's a shrine we saw on the way out.






           

Here's a part of the church and


here we are at the restaurant.



PS: SORRY WE DO NOT HAVE VERY MANY PICTURES BECAUSE IT'S FORBIDDEN TO TAKE PICTURES OF PEOPLE IN TRADITIONAL CLOTHES TOWN AND STATUES IN THE CHURCH.

I LOVE ac/dc. I don't think that I've ever known what people meant by old school rock until now. I mean those people were GENIUSES. They have so many hits! Back in Black, Thunderstruck... you name it!

My favorite songs of all time and ac/dc are definitely:

1: You Shook Me All Night Long
2: Thunderstruck
3: Back in Black
4: Shake a Leg
5: TNT

By the way here's a link to an awesome kid playing the drum part for Back in Black-

5-year old plays back in black on drums.

One thing I really enjoy here is making a base for army men with candles and army men. I made 2 bunkers out of a box of plastic by cutting them in half. (a bunker is where army men stay.) I also put some black oil cloth over them to protect it from the rain.

When we got out of school we didn't have much time to go to soccer before going to my dad's presentation at a high school for nurses. Also between Mina feeling sick and having to ride a taxi to Sedem (on our own) we didn't go to soccer. 

We had some awkward moments before the class while we waited for the key to get into the room. While we were waiting, we had to stand around outside with some juniors while we talked English to one kid. My sister and me went to the library to play on the phone, eat some chips and sip some soda while my dad did the presentation. Then after my dad's presentation we went and watched my mom dance. Then at home we had a nice time relaxing.

The last two days have definitely been two of the best days of my life. On Tuesday, we made fig marmalade with fig's we picked the day before. Everybody helped by stirring, putting in sugar or calculating how much of each ingredient to put in and figuring out how much each person got. The next day, we each brought some home. The teacher gave me some extra 'cause she said I worked hard and because we are new, we should get a Mexican experience while we're here. After school, we took a taxi home because my dad was doing a presentation of being a nurse for some juniors in a high school. I had Spanish class and then I went straight to rock climbing. Alejandro remodeled everything and it is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO FUN! I even overheard a compliment while I was climbing! I was climbing and I heard some new person say to his friend that I look like a climber.

Today we went to visit our friend who we now from our visits before. He had surgery on his nose so when we saw him is nose was really big and taped up. When we went home I wanted to go rock climbing but they were remodeling it so I couldn't climb. When we came home we wrote on our blogs and read.

After school on thursday we went to Comitan only two hours away instead of going all the way to Guatemala in one day to get our passports stamped. The reason we had to go to guatemala is because when we crossed the border they didn't stamp our visas even though we asked them. Right after we left town we encountered a road block. Because the Mayor took some money to buy some property, the police wanted their money back so they blocked the road. Though for some reason we didn't have to pay. After some patient waiting and some Pepsi they finally let us through. Our drive to Comitan was really pretty and we had a cool hotel. After we parked the car and dropped our bags off we went to the plaza and had a great time. There were decorations, good restaurants,good climbing trees and some really good food. After some dessert we went back to our hotel and watched a spy movie. In the morning we got up pretty early and ate breakfast at the hotel and then got on the road. When we got to Guatemala it was a little confusing but we finally got our passports stamped and were on our way. we got stopped by some army men two times but they let us go in both cases. on our way back we stopped at some old ruins and played tag on an ancient old ball court. The next day we had a soccer game ech of us and we won them both! after our soccer games we went to a string if a bunch of shops and got some more soccer socks and a mexican jersey for my dad. Then we had a normal night for the rest of the day.



This was a couple weeks ago just so you now.

Today we went to Chedraui (a store) and went on busses to Tuxtla, when we got there we ate sandwiches. After eating we went and checked out the animals. Me and my friend Wicho went to go walk around with my sister's class. While we walked and saw the animals we talked. Also when we saw an animal we would say who they would be of the people in mina's class (including me and my friend). I slept on the way back because I was really tired.


PS. Sorry we didn't bring a camera so there aren't any pictures.

Today not very many people came to soccer because it rained for a while before soccer, though we had a good time we got really muddy. Tomorrow our school is going to go on a field trip to the zoo in Tuxtla and I think we'll have a lot of fun.

Today I tweaked my back somehow and then it rained really hard but stopped right before soccer. Soccer was really fun but it made it harder because my back hurt a lot. Also I got really muddy because  the activity was were you put a ball in the middle and you run at each other trying to get the ball. And three of the three times we didn't chicken out so we both ran straight at each other and I fell down two of the three times. After soccer I took a long shower to get the mud off. But after the shower my back just hurt more.

Yesterday I had another play-date with my friend Cenec and we had a lot of fun playing with the animals,going on the swing,playing with nerf guns and a ton of other things. Then later that evening we saw Emma play in his band. [Cenec's brother]
The next day I went to school and a smaller class marched around and Iddy [ulrich's sister] could barely hold the flag up! since it wasn't raining I went to the rock climbing jim and had a lot of fun. Also there was a new girl trainer and a new kid came to rock climbing.

Today was La Virgen de Merced [or the Virgin of Mercy.] So to celebrate they put gun powder in a long line down the middle of many streets with firecrackers along the way- then they light. It was so loud that every time a firecracker would go off I could hear them clearly even with ear plugs! Then on the way back we met our friend Paola. Then a block before our house we saw and smelled freshly roasted chicken so we bought one whole chicken.  Once we ate, we cleaned the house some more and then played some poker games.

Here's a video of the fireworks in the street and some pictures.

             

Here's some pictures of me and the yummy chicken we ate.

                 

Yesterday I had my first report in front of the class on los niños hèroes or the boy Heroes and the attack of the castle in chapultapec. I was really nervous at first, but in the end I got 10 out of 10! Ulrich didn't want to present his project even though I would just tell him the words and he would repeat what I said. Eventually the teacher just read it at her desk. The boy heroes are called that because they all were really young, for example the oldest was 19 and they fought against the americans because the americans wanted more land. On friday we ate Ego ( really weird fruit were you pick the brown one's and they are sweet.) Then after school we picked up Ulrich his sister and dad. Then we dropped them off close to their horse camp.

                           Here's me and Paola and Maya. Paola is on the left and Maya is on the right.

                                   
                                                    Here's a picture of the fruit called Ego.

Today my friend Canek came over after skyping with my good friend Josh. We fought with nerf guns like dueling or on teams. Then when his mom came over his brother Emma played and so did my dad. They stayed pretty late but after they left we watched To Catch a Thief.

Today was pretty normal but had some twists. One abnormal thing was that it rained for the longest time. It's weird  because it's getting warmer and it's starting to get less rainy. Then I had spanish class for the first time after school and I had a great time because I have the best teacher ever.

I woke up with the relief of no school today,whew! First we ate breakfast and then checked my math (for a really long time.) Then at four I went rock climbing while my mom and dad went running. Then in the evening we watched another episode of Heroes.

Today was really sad because my great-grandpa died. So to remember him we are going to make an altar for him. When my dad told us that he died we were all really sad so we talked about the great memories we had of him. he was always really nice, charming and generous .

Yesterday we didn't have school because it was close to independence day and same with monday yeah! Today I had my first soccer game in Mexico but the team from Tuxtla didn't show up so our team was split up and we Played against each other. Even though the Tuxtla team didn't show up we had a good time. Though my half of the team suffered a bitter defeat. Then after the soccer game I went to my friends house who's name is Canek and we had a ton of fun from playing Halo to swinging on the best swing ever and many other assortments of things.

Today we had a TON or 2,000 pounds of fun at our party. First, Mina gave an AWESOME speech and so did her friend Emmanuel. Then, Mina's class made a restaurant and they served us, so that they could go on a overnight  trip somewhere. After we ate, we went to soccer and had a lot of fun. After  soccer, we decided to celebrate that Mina became school president!!!!! To do that, we went to a really nice pizza place overlooking the street.

Today was pretty much the same as yesterday we visited the bunnies and the dog. Tomorrow my sister and her class are going to have a bake sale and march around like soldiers.

                                                    Here is me and Yumari before school.

Today was really fun. first we got up ate breakfast and the went to the rock climbing gym. Then when we got all the gear we headed out to the mountains to rock climb. We had a lot of fun and we did some fun routes and we ate and talked. Before I climb I get a mix of excitement and fear although you know your gonna be fine. Also you feel great when you get really high or complete a course. It's also fun seeing how other people do climbing too. I also felt anxious on the drive to the forest. Here are some pictures of me climbing and other stuff.

Today is friday so that made things easier. Today was normal and stuff but then we had someone come over and fix our broken table and get our gas tank filled.After in the evening we watched a movie called heroes that was about people with super human powers and it was really good.

Today was normal and stuff but then I had to get my allergy shot today but it turned out to be fun. My doctor's name is Paolo. He's really nice and he uses a manual typewriter to fill out his forms. Here are some pictures of me outside the hospital and with doctor Paolo.

Today was unusual. We had math and went to the garden and weeded which we normally don't do. Then we had recess and played. After recess it started to rain so we didn't go to soccer practice.

Today we had our friends over for lunch and we did tons of things. First we ate and talked, then we played with some nerf guns for an hour or so, then we played soccer while one of the kids left to play in a band. After when he came back he brought his x-box and we played games on it.

Today we also celebrated my dad's birthday but first we had to get through the day first (not that my day at school day was bad). First we had Spanish which I didn't do too bad in, though I had some trouble explaining stuff to the teacher.  Then  later we had some fun at recess on the ropes with tires tied to them. Although me and my friend slammed into each other later,  it was worth it. Then later at dinner time we went to a sports bar and watched soccer highlights. Then outside we saw a friend of Mina's from school and we talked. Then when we got home and ate brownies and popcorn and while we watched a spy movie.

Ttoday is my dad's birthday and it was really fun. First school went by so fast except when we had to march around for an hour during PE. Then later we ate brownies and gave presents.

Today wasn't as fun as the other days but it wasn't so bad. First in the morning I was groggy and tired but the food was pretty good. Then later we went home and had a quiet evening.

Today was REALLY fun. First we had some yummy food and then when it was time to swim we had a lot of fun and played water polo. After school we went to a restaurant and had some yummy food.  Then we went to soccer practice and had a lot of fun there too. Then later we just relaxed and did our blogs.

Today was pretty fun with some exceptions. First in the morning we sang the mexican national anthem and the Chiapas hym. But it was pretty hard because we didn't know the words. Then later we had some yummy food for breakfast at the kitchen. Then we brushed our teeth and went to the next class. Then after a while we had math class and I talked to the math teacher to see if I could work on my other math book that I should be working on in the US. Then later I worked on presents for my dad since his birthday is on thursday.

Today was really fun. First we woke up and I didn't feel tired. Second when we got to school the pool was warm and also we got do draw and play a lot today. So all in all it was really fun!

Today was really fun. First I was really tired in the morning but got to sleep in the car for an hour because my class starts an hour later. Then we had a lot of fun and had Pe then near the end of school it started dumping and so we didn't go to soccer again! Ten when we got back Adelaide and Mina made Pesto.

Today was the first day of school and we were really nervous. After we arrived it wasn't clear which room I was supposed to be in, but after a little talking we figured out which room I was suppose to be in.  It took a little while to get used to all the rules and the people, but by the end of the day I knew  most of the names of my classmates and most of the rules. My classmates were really nice, but it took me awhile to get used to them even though they were nice.

Another cool thing was that there was a Canadian boy, Ulrich, in my class that was a year younger than me. I had to help him with his Spanish because he knew almost nothing. By the end of the day he was so frustrated that he started crying. Later in the day, the teacher talked with his father to see if he was going to get some extra classes and say all the teachers were going to help him more.

Wilhelmina wasn't so fortunate because her classmates weren't all so nice but by the end of the day she had met some nice ones. After school, we got some ice cream and then went home so Wilhelmina could do her homework. Meanwhile my Dad and I went to buy soccer shoes for me. He also decided to look for some indoor soccer shoes for himself, but sadly there weren't any large enough, so we went home.

Here's the picture of us before school.

                   
            

               Here I am jumping on the 

 trampoline after school, with Paloma and Ulysses.

Sorry I haven't been writing for a while because we went to Palenque with our cousins and didn't bring the computer. We had A TON of fun at Palenque with our cousins. Here are some things we did- swim at the pools, swim in a river with devil fish, see old Maya ruins, give our parents a spa and other cool stuff. When we got back we watched a movie and went shopping and had fun. Then the next day we went and bounced on a trampoline and went to a boring school meeting and watched a Maya play, called Palenque Rojo. What was cool about it was they had a lot of actors wearing animal costumes who moved like jaguars, hogs and even crocodiles. They also had really awesome fight scenes between the different Mayan cities- Palenque and Tonina.

Today was really fun we first went to a park and jumped on a trampoline for an hour or so.Then we went back and my cousins and my parents had a spanish lesson.Then once adelaide finished we went rock climbing.When we finished we went home while my cousins went and saw a friend and then we watched Cracking the Mayan Code.

Today we we ate pancakes and bacon and then went to the market and bought some stuff.When we came back my cousins (Adelaide and Mathilda) took spanish and then we ate dinner and played.

On sunday we went and picked up our cousins at the airport at Tuxtla!When we got back we ate some food and I ate a caterpillar taco!Oddly enough it tasted like steak!Then we jumped on the bed and talked.

On saturday we woke up and watched the first part of the Brazil vs Mexico game.then went to a bar that allowed kids and watched the rest.Luckily Mexico won!Also they got there first ever gold medal in all olympic history!Then at night we had friends over and we ate dinner.

Today was weird.First when we went to Tuxtla and they told us we were there illegally because we weren't stamped even though it wasn't our fault.So we need to go the closest border so we will go to guatemala ugh!

Today we had a big storm that lasted all night and when we went to the rock climbing gym it was closed. Most likely it was closed because it had open courtyard and that got wet and so most likely it was bogged down (by the way I only learned that phrase from WWII books when they talk about trucks or artillery getting bogged down). After we discovered that the rock climbing gym was closed we then went back home and read for an hour. We also repeatedly checked to see if the women USA versus Japan soccer game was on.  Then we went and got some school clothes for us. Sadly, our school clothes make us look like Mormon missionaries. Also what's weird is that the main brand for the clothes was the Oscar brand, and it was kind of embarrassing because some the skirts and other girl clothes were named Oscar, too. Here's a picture of me doing the Charleston (inspired by Foxy Shazam).

When we got back we turned on the TV and saw that he women's soccer game was on and we excitedly watched the U.S. women win. I kind of felt sad for Japan, but in the end they sacrificed for a greater good. :)

Then Mina had the bright idea of making Cowjie look like our baby. Here's a picture of me with Cowjie. I'm holding him like some women hold their babies here (but most of the time they have their babies on their backs).

Today w went climbing but it was frustrating day because the owner wasn't there so he left one of his helpers but he didn't help and just disappeared texting.After that we tried to renew our visas but they said they closed at one and it was three! So on friday we are going to go back.We are also using a small room that would have been the room for a servant for a small kids room which is really cool.

Today we went climbing and tried a tough route but I couldn't do it so meditated to cool off.Then after we went climbing we relaxed the whole day and ate pastries and watched the Olympics.

Today we woke up and went to the zoo. We saw a lot of really interesting animals there. There were a lot of different species and it looked a lot like a jungle. The reason why you don't see the variety of animals you might see at other zoos, is that the animals seen
in these pictures are only from the local area.


There was even a part where they had some crocodiles and some turtles and every 8 days the crocodile would eat one because his digestive system was very slow. That was very depressing to me.

There was a jaguar with a 6 month-old baby and a panther (a black jaguar).










There are also these really cute pigs (actually javelinas) and they would scurry across the path every couple of minutes. The ones on the left are bigger versions which they don't let roam freely.





There was also a really big tapir, a big cross kind of thingy that looks like a horse, an elephant and a pig all at once -- but actually it is really cute.





We also saw an anteater that kept trying to suck up ants. That was pretty cute, too.





Here is a pretty cool picture of a snake that Wilhelmina took.




After having a marvelous time at the zoo we drove back to San Cristobal and watched 7 Years in Tibet and ate cookies.

Today we had a really lazy day. We just watched the Olympics, had tea and and then had an epic nerf war. Oh yeah, also took some pictures, played some more and ate at a restaurant called Falafel. Not the most interesting but yeah.

Today we drove to Tuxtla which was fun and had really yummy chicken on the way and tacos.At Tuxtla we were going to get our visas renewed but found they were closed so we checked in to our hotel and then went to eat at a fancy restaurant and had some more really yummy food and then went home and slept.

Today we had quite a bit of things to do. First we went rockclimbing, then after we had a lot of fun at the rockclimbing gym we stayed at home for a little bit and watched olympics. Then my mom and dad's Spanish teacher came and we showed him a little bit of Foxy Shazam. He's a really funny singer kind of like Weird Al with a lot of crazy music videos and a high-pitched voice.

We were going to go to the clinic to get my allergy shot, but ended up in the hospital after trying three different places to try the right place. At the hospital we met a doctor that helped us and was one doctor that a lot of people seemed to look up to and he is Italian and luckily he speaks some English. He then told us that one of his nurses could do it and the nurse put the needle in for a really long time and injected it slowly and it was agonizing. I was like, "Just get it over with!!" But I got through waiting for half an hour to see if I had a reaction by reading a book on my Kindle.

This is Cowjie last night, under my Germany blanket my grandma made for me. He kind of took up most of my bed so I had to squeeze in.

Today we went to the rock climbing gym and we had to get a little ball of newspaper wrapped in some tape and stuck to the wall and we had to get it someway. Each time he makes it harder by putting handicap by saying you can't use hand and foot holds on side of the wood.Sometimes you have yo jump and grab it in the air. Afterward  we watched Mexico face Switzerland in soccer and  luckily it was Mexico who scored and won the game. Then we read and checked our blogs. After that we went to Sam's Club and got some food there and a chair for my mom's back while she worked.

Also here's a picture of the baby.

Each time Jesus, the baby, is dressed up on different occasions. For example, at the funeral and in this picture, he wore a really cute suit and shiny black shoes. In most cases he's wearing normal clothes with  classy shoes. 

Today we went rock climbing in the morning and my sister came with me and really liked it.Then read for a couple hours, and then got basil leaves then read more and watched the olympics [of course.]

Yesterday we had a ton of fun eating the best food at a picnic and swinging in hammocks.We also found a really rare flower that looked really cool too.

Yesterday was really fun we went to soccer had a lots of fun and then we went to a pharmacy to get some tape for my fingers and some chips and then went home. Then I went climbing and learned a lot of stuff there. Then we went out walking and had the yummiest crepes ever.

Today was our last of soccer practice and we just scrimmaged the whole day which everybody liked. I decided not to go to climbing because I was really tired cause I got to sleep late.We basically had a quiet day watching the opening ceremony of the olympics which was awesome and then we ordered pizza and had a quiet night. I also forgot: today I felt a little nauseated and threw up some chicken broth.

Here's picture of today when we played. Mario (one of our friends) shot at the goalie and it bounced out and then I barely shot past the goalkeepers arms.

I forgot I also went to climbing jim again and had another pound of fun here

Yesterday Cowjie got stuck on a ledge again and we had to save him again!Then today we went to soccer again and played some more soccer and practice of course too.Then at  night we went to another of the 9 days of our friends traditional funeral.Also the really cute baby of the person that died kept grabbing me and Mina and then once tugged on my hair.

Today we had to play soccer again funnily enough almost half the kids weren't there!Today he told us to practice chipping it.We had some trouble but at the end of the day we both got it.After that I decided not to go climbing.Then after we ate lunch we played more hearts.

Today we did some weird drills that were hard but a little fun too.After that we played a game of soccer  and when we tied we did penalty kicks and it was really fun.I then went to climbing and had a lot of fun there too.Then we came home and played  some more hearts and then fell asleep.

Today we woke up and went to a funeral but also it was a party.They sang, put down pine needles and candles and then talked and ate food.Then after we went home we played hearts and had lunch.Then all of a sudden we realized that it was 6:40 and that we had a second funeral/party at 7:00 so we hurriedly ate some food and then walked to their house.We were late to the party and used my mom as an excuse that she was sick even though she was.They had a lot of candles too. The son of the father who died was only 8 monsth old and and was really cute. The Mexican here also think it's really funny that I can go cross eyed. Also a Mexican custom is that after  they get to know you they kiss you on the cheek. I think it's cool how different countries have different customs of mourning and parties etc. Also here is a link of someone training an  amazing pig that is less than 1 year old!

Yesterday we finished up our first week of soccer and decided not to go climbing to give my arms a rest.Then in the evening we watched castle and ate popcorn.

today at soccer camp we had a lot of fun.We practiced a lot of dribbling and kicking.Then later we did a scrimmage and when we lost no one got mad at me for anything during or after the game the game.

I think that mexican people tend be a lot nicer than american people because they welcomed us right away.

At our soccer practice the drills weren't very fun but will help us a lot.Also my dad approves of the drills.Then when we scrimmaged Mina scored 3 goals and I scored 2 goals a 1 assist too Mina.

Then at six we saw a movie at  a rock  climbing jim and then the people set up a competition and I tied for second place and got a free 1 day pass and Mina did well too.

Hi today we tried to find a soccer camp but the one we heard of practiced a lot of sports so we didn't do that one because we only wanted soccer. really close to our  house was a rock climbing jim so we are going to go there and take lessons there too.After that we were kicking around and we saw a coach and some kids so we went over to talk to them to see if we could maybe play with them some time and they said that both of us could and my sister might play with boys your age.

After that we went to the store got popcorn and one with some salsa that was pretty good then we did the the classic boring shopping trip

Today we visited our friends after trying and waiting an hour. They are sad because on of the peoples sons died and he had a 20 day old baby and the son had an illness and then he had a stroke and died.
But the baby recovered.

My sister said it looked like my hair was caramelized!!!!!

There's the picture

but I combed the burnt hair out later

Also I lit part of my hair on fire i'm fine but know I smell like smoke and some hair next to my right ear is gone.I was trying to listen to gas come out of lighter but it actually lit and bunt part of my hair oops!!!!

today we went to the supermarket and got tons and tons of stuff. After that we found a field were there were goals and me and mina shot on each other

To be honest with you the first time my parents told me we were going to Mexico for a year I hated the idea. Later I'll probably read this and say 'wow, that was crazy.' We got to our house yesterday and loved it immediately. We also had to wait some time for the gas company to come because we couldn't heat up the water.

On the drive through Mexico the things we did the most was get entertained by the cats, sleep, and listen to music (mostly the Book of Mormon musical). After we unpacked we immediately started decorating our rooms, putting away our books and clothes, putting up posters, etc. We have some awesome fruit trees and vegetables in our yard and two balconies. We've been playing Settlers of Catan lately and going to the grocery store and visiting other places.

That's it for today.