Have YOU ever eaten shaved ice with chili powder? Second question: Do you ever want to?

This weekend has really been a wonderful time, and I am truly so thankful for the family here and the kindness and love they have been showing me. Family is incredibly important in Mexican homes and traditions, and it makes me realize how fortunate I have been with the multiple individuals and families that I have had in my life as I have grown up – thank you to those people... Grandparents (not just related ones), parents, sisters, friends, etc.
So... on to this weekend. I’m just going to start at the beginning, and hope that you don’t get bored before the end! Perhaps a futile wish for those with short attention spans... but bear with me and my overflow of words... my advice? Read this in a couple of sittings...!

SATURDAY:
Saturday morning we slept in, and then headed out for breakfast. When Fernanda had told me where we were going I caught “eating breakfast out,” “family,” “lots of walking,” and “park.” Okay, sounded good to me... so we headed out and ended up at a neat little sidewalk restaurant downtown that had a breakfast buffet.
Now, this is quite different from a U.S. buffet in that there were six entrees rather than sixty, nothing had identification tags, and there were more types of salsa than there were entrees. It was fabulous... and Rogelio assured me that we could indeed make more than one trip through the line (interestingly enough, neither he nor Fernanda could identify three out of the six dishes... hmmmm). On my second trip Fernanda urged me to try the spicy-looking meat dish on the far-end... what the heck, I thought, and scooped a good amount on my plate. Now, I am generally not afraid of trying anything at least one time. In fact, I am usually pretty good at identifying objects of food before I put them in my mouth... well, I failed. If you know my family very well, you have possibly heard the story of me eating liver when I was a young child, screwing up my face, and never wanting to eat it again. Indeed... it was liver. Covered with spices, fried into a squirming nothingness, and basted in onions... but liver it was, and there was a brief moment when I considered whether surreptitiously dumping the entire plate under the table would be a major breach of table manners...? Fortunately I denied this impulse, ladled on two spoon-fulls of the salsa verde and made the best of it. Sorry Barb & Stub... it was definitely still a no-go! “Liver and onions” will just have to wait...
On the up-side I am in love with the range of salsas here, and Rogelio and Fernanda have been impressed with the girls from Kansas (Andrea Luthi & I) who like their food spicier than most native Mexicans... whether the spicier food likes us or not is a completely different question...
After breakfast we headed to Rogelio’s sister’s house where we waited for his family to finish getting ready. I read a book that was the equivalent of “Donde esta Waldo?” (Where is Waldo?), deciding that “Wenda” is really a horrible name for me... thanks family. Sorry if you don’t understand... it’s not worth mentioning... lol...
Finally ready to leave, we managed to squeeze 9 people into Rogelio and Fernanda’s Jeep Grand Cherokee... nine. Six were adults. The three kids sat in the back. Let’s just say... we all have hips. Wow... bruises. But, we made it safely (if slightly sardine-shaped) to the various stores, and then headed to a park in the downtown area for kids.
The park was really nice, and while the kids played on the various playground equipment, the adults sat at a picnic table and talked. Fernanda, Rogelio’s sister, and I played Dutch Blitz. Now, I have never played Dutch Blitz before, and learning to play while being given instructions in Spanish was interesting... but we got it done and had a good time... until we got rained out (which isn’t surprising since it rains every afternoon and almost every night here). After waiting for ten minutes and realizing that it was going to keep raining, we headed to eat at a neighborhood taco stand. The problem? It was closed... just like the second one, third one, fourth one, fifth one... indeed. We went to six different places, and all were closed, didn’t have room for nine people, or were almost out of food. So... we headed back to Rogelio’s sister’s house and ate there.
We headed home, and Fernanda told me that she was interested in seeing Princess Diaries 2 (which I do own, and like by the way)... so, we watched the film with subtitles in Spanish while lying on the middle of the floor in the living room. Good times.

For Dad: I forgot to mention that on the way to breakfast Saturday morning we passed a New Holland and Case IH dealership in town... fascinatingly enough they had a row of corn planted where most businesses would have trees or flowers... but no, they had ten or fifteen huge cornstalks along the sidewalk in front of the store – I was completely impressed. I was even more impressed when we passed a John Deere dealership on the way home, and saw scraggly bushes and trees – what a total lack of ingenuity. C’mon... corn or bushes?
Go Big Red... =P
P.S. (I know you don’t care... lol)

SUNDAY:
Sunday morning we got up and got ready to go to church downtown. Now, I am not a morning person... we all know this. But, a cup of coffee... okay, three... generally helps out quite a bit. Rogelio brought me home some specialty cafe the other day and we tried it in the morning – oh my goodness... it was wonderful. Fernanda kept saying, “Este es muy, muy fuerte... te gusta?” (This is very, very strong... you like it?) I had to assure her that I generally prefer my coffee much like Garfield in the cartoon where he dumps it out of the mug and it stands up by itself... muy, muy fuerte indeed...
We headed to the iglesia which is called “Dios es Amor” (God is Love), and I had to laugh when I was handed the church bulletin and looked down to see, “Un Buen Esposo” (A Good Spouse) written in bold letters across the top. Now, if I was home, in an AC church, my immediate thought would be, “Wow... wonder who is going to be announced in the next week or so?” Which, by the way, is completely ridiculous since the bulletin obviously applied to married people as well as singles... but... there isn’t anyone engaged that I don’t know about, is there...? Let me know... =)
Anyway, so church was interesting and very uplifting. The only awkward point came when visitors (from other countries and places) were supposed to stand and tell a little about yourself, where you were from, and how it was you came to be here. Another family was visiting from Missouri (the father is a pastor who makes regular visits to Morelia), and introduced themselves with aplomb and grace. I, on the other hand, was trying to sink down in my pew as much as possible to avoid having to speak. Fernanda, being the kind soul she is, was poking me in the ribs with her elbow, Booz was waving his arms and pointing at my quickly-turning-red face, and various members of the congregation were spinning in their seats to smile encouragingly at me. The pastor caught my eye, smiled, and said something. I have no idea what because my heart was pounding in my ears (I know this is dramatic, and that I shouldn’t be afraid of an audience, but I am not completely confident with my Spanish skills as of yet...). However, I stood up, said, “Hola... me llamo Stephanie Bahr, y soy de Kansas en Los Estados Unidos. Estoy estudiando espanol en el Instituto de Baden-Powell en Morelia” (Hello, my name is Stephanie Bahr and I am from Kansas in the United Sates. I am studying Spanish at the Baden-Powell Institute), and quickly sat down. Short, brief, to the point... and not making a complete fool of myself. Thankfully the church was very welcoming, and they wished me the best, encouraging me to learn as quickly as possible... lol...
After church we headed to a Museum of Dulce (Candy), where we watched demonstrations of candy-making, listened to presentations on the history of the candies, and took pictures in old-time costumes. Well, Rogelio, Fernanda, and Booz took a picture... I watched, laughed, and enjoyed the retreat into the early 1900s. We tried a pear candy that was like... well, it was the texture of applesauce but sweeter... and I think I will definitely be going back...!
And then... to catch you up on the title of this post... we headed to a tienda called “Hawaiian Paradise” which sells shaved ices, smoothies, etc. I decided to be really experimental and try a concoction from the “Explosivos” section... bad idea. It had mango, lemon, and chile = chili powder. It was probably one of the most disgusting things I have ever eaten in my life. A little chili powder... great. A medium amount... okay. Half a container like this had? Not so good... But, I managed to finish three-quarters of it, thinking the whole time, “I will laugh about this later on... I really will.”
I figured we were headed home after the shaved-ice experience, but we crossed the street and entered a Hindu Vegetarian restaurant. Rogelio and Fernanda know that before coming to Mexico I was a vegetarian, and Fernanda bought a soy replacement for me to try last week (even though I told her it wasn’t necessary), and apparently this restaurant is one of their favorites. THERE WAS SO MUCH FOOD... I am not kidding. A bowl of soup, a bowl of rice, a bowl of... something with lots of vegetables, a plate of meat-replacement stuffed with cabbage, mayo, and peppers and covered in lime juice (which was fabulous, by the way), a chunk of bread, a cabbage and carrot-stuffed wheat croissant, a cup of yogurt, and a cup of tapioca. Wow. And that was for one person. We each had our own tray (which only cost 34 pesos apiece – roughly $3.50), and... well, we walked back to the vehicle rather slowly...
After arriving back home, we all sprawled out in the living room and watched Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory on DVD in Spanish. I had no idea that so many of my films were in Spanish, but hey... it helps me learn...! Even though no one can echo Gene Wilder’s voice... en mi opinion, por supuesto...
I loaded a bunch of photos from my camera onto my computer, then, and we looked at my pictures of family, friends, and trips. Rogelio, Fernanda, and Booz were especially fond of the videos of Chelsie’s biff at the lake on the knee-board, the German clip of people falling into the “water”-bed, and the Crescent Roll clip. Once again... good times.

So... this has been horrendously long, and I apologize... but this is exactly what I would have told you if we had chatted on the phone! Hope all is well, that your eyes aren’t giving out on you, and that you don’t have to try shaved ice with chili powder in the near future... Adios mis amigos!