I love married life. Ana makes it easy though. Even when she’s angry and frustrated (I didn’t do it) she’s a pleasure to be around. The first day was, actually, fairly normal. We spent the morning talking about the lack of lights and preparing for the day.
Since parts of this area have been dark for a day and a half now and there is no sign of anything happening soon, there is talk of an uprising in the neighborhood. They are talking about shutting down the Pereferico in protest. This is one of the main routes that circles the city and passes through here. A community meeting was called for this morning. About half a dozen people showed up so there was no civil disobedience staged but the group did head down to the light and power office to see what could be done. Later this morning, inspectors and crews were in the area and tonight, we have lights!
Anyway, Ana worked all day and I stopped in occasionally, between errands, to check on her. I brought her back to the house after work where we finished the day talking with the family, talking alone and praying.
If this sounds like a strange way to spend the first day of marriage, refer back to the Mother’s Day entry. It will help explain what’s going on and what will happen later.
Something new I come across this week is tamarindo. Here is a “before” picture and an “after” picture.
The fruit is a pod, similar to a green bean but much larger, with a thin, dry, hard shell. Inside is the fruit which encases a handful of large seeds. It tastes like a chewy Sweetart. The shell and seeds are removed and the fruit is ground up and made into a drink that tastes a lot like apple cider but with a little something extra.History
There was so much to take in that first night in Mexico that I don’t remember many of the details. Ana’s dad was in bed but her mother was waiting for us. We talked for a little that night and then called it a day.
The week was spent sightseeing and continuing and deepening the conversations from the previous couple of months. We saw El Torre (The Tower), once the tallest building in Mexico and possibly Latin America; the Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Beautiful Arts), one of the beautiful museums in town and El Museo Mural Diego Rivera (The Diego Rivera Mural museum) in Bellas Artes. They are in the historic district which includes many Spanish mansions which are hundreds of years old.
We took a taxi to the subway station and rode the train into town. At every stop a vendor got on the train and started hawking his wares, usually MP3 CDs. At the next stop he would get off to ride the next train back and a different one got on. This occurred at every stop throughout the entire trip. After we spent the day in town, and got caught in the rain, we used public transportation to get back. I’m glad we did it but once was probably enough. Imagine an airport shuttle bus designed to hold 20 people with 45 people on on board. This is a daily routine for a few million of the residents each day. There were, literally, people hanging on to the door frame, riding outside the shell of the bus. And this is normal!
During the visit I also met Gloria and Gaby, two sisters that are very close to Ana and Nery. When the four of them get together, there is not a dull or quiet moment for quite a while. Gloria works full time for a missions organization in the northern part of the country, travels the world regularly and has written a book to help travelers translate common phrases from Spanish into Hindi. Gaby is trained as a dentist and is an incredible gourmet cook. The spinach crepes and mushroom crepes actually weren’t too bad.
After a few days in Mexico, we left for a week in California.
It was tight but we managed to meet the entire immediate family. Ana was very comfortable in Santa Maria, which is 80% mexican now and in San Luis Obispo (SLO town) with it's very relaxed pace. I had a good time showing everyone the ring and discussing the plans while hiding it from Ana the whole time. We also had an opportunity to visit Yosemite for a few hours. 
A few hours can't begin to do it justice. It's an incredible place to visit and we're ready to return for a week or two; every so often. 
I'm anxious to see some of the lodges where my grandfather worked as a finish carpenter.After we returned to Mexico I looked for opportunites to speak privately with Ana's parents and then to propose. As always, my time here was way too short but it came together in the end. I'll put the details in the next post.
