cuaresma

cuaresma means lent in spanish. lent just started yesterday on ash wednesday. the thing i decided to do this year was to eat what the kids eat at every meal; i want to cut out snacking. yesterday, we started off the day with tea, then we had sopa (soup) and frijoles (beans). (the house as a whole is giving up tortillas and bread on fridays). i am so sick of beans, so i was reminded how long this lenten season, as well as this year will be, when i eat them. i am also reminded how thankful i am to have never been really, actually starving. if the kids here dont want to eat something, they dont get to eat that meal. i realized that being a picky eater is a luxury (as well as vegetarian here). today, our lunch was fish. disclaimer: theres a picture below of how the kids eat fish here. for those of us who dont like fish, they take it to a new level here. i felt like God was enjoying it today. beans yesterday, fish today. no chicken yet, but im waiting for that day! 

(so delicious. /: )

today, we woke up to pitch black dark at 5:45 am for wake up. i even woke up a little early so i could be at my section early to counter my mexico time arrivals lately*. i got to the section at 5:55 and the door was locked. i waited until 6:10 because nobody was making a sound (theyre usually all up and running around, shouting, showering), then went back to bed until 7 since i bumped into emily and she said that without power and electricity, the kids cant get up and do chores so they got to sleep in. i went back at 7am and all the kids were up and showered, screaming, etc. and ready to go. we got all ready for school and then when i had my first break i went to see if i could shower yet. no go. instead, emily and i went to get coffee since we couldnt make any here. after 2nd breakfast, thought id test my luck at showering again. no go. for some reason though, the water where we wash our clothes was working so someone suggested i fill a bucket so that if the water does come on, if im covered in soap, id be able to rinse off my body. since the shower didnt work at all, i basically gave myself a sponge bath, then washed my hair in the clothes washing sink. 

since my laundry day is friday, and i have the whole weekend off, i wanted to get my clothes washed today. i was in line to use the washing machine later today but with no power and water, had to scratch that plan. i decided to hand wash my clothes today. when i went to hang up my first sweater, i jumped a little bit and when i landed, i twisted my ankle on one of the cobblestones and landed on my other knee. worst part about it - nobody saw it, and im sure it looked funny. it hurt a lot ): ive never sprained my ankle, and i was afraid i had done that this time. i dont have time for a sprained ankle! i iced it and took ibuprofen, and sat out from soccer this afternoon ): i guess i gotta take it easy. 

(the reason i get up in the morning)

*mexico time is showing up late to everything except church, and a few appointments. i have yet to master what to arrive late to, and how late to arrive. ie) 30 minutes late to a dance class is rude, not mexico time.