Sequin jackets and pink feathers

Sorry I haven't given any updates on what's been going on here lately. I guess I only want to recount the most interesting of stories. Or maybe I just forgot about my blog...

Either way, I've been getting the royal treatment while I've been here and I thought you might like to hear some details. For two weekends in a row, José Luis and I have attended two dinners where we had to dress up all fancy. The first dinner was the installation of the new president of the Rotary Club here in Puebla. All the women had to wear either black or white long dresses, and of course I don't own one because I've never been to anything in my life fancier than prom. So for that one, I had to borrow a dress from Gaby, José Luis' sister. However, I was quickly informed of another party the coming weekend.

José Luis' parents are members of a danzón club in Puebla. Danzón is a dance from Cuba, usually danced by old people (not a whole lot of movement). His parents helped organize the event, which included various danzón groups performing in front of around 2000 guests. I figured if I am going to events like this so often, I better go ahead and buy a simple black dress. I spent a lot of time and energy planning the whole outfit: jewelry, shoes, makeup, hair, etc, expecting this evening to be similar to the week before. José Luis and I looked pretty snazzy that night (as you can see from the picture), but when we got in the car, he let me in on a little secret about danzón parties. Apparently, I was going to see some very strange things that night. He told me his mother, who comes from one of the wealthiest families in Puebla, is mortified to participate in the whole danzón thing because it's for nacos (Mexican version of redneck). She only goes because his dad enjoys it. This would not be Rotary Club night.

When we entered the dance hall, I knew we had to be some of the only people there that had any fashion sense at all. We saw sequin jackets, chains hanging from pockets, and even a suit equipped with pink shoes and a pink feather for the hat (if you want to see pictures, click on the link to the left for my Facebook albums). We hardly danced at all because the music was all danzón/boring stuff. I think we had more fun making fun of the way people were dressed and how they danced. Although not the most memorable night of my life, it still deserves to be put on my list of amusing things that can only happen in Mexico.

Not sure if that was really worth it

Although I lived out of a suitcase for a month, I must announce that I finally have an armoire in my room. How it got there, however, is a long story. So make yourself comfortable.

We have one (count them, one) closet in this house, and it's in Candi's bedroom. I use it for a couple big items, but I wanted my clothes in my own room. So we went looking for some type of armoire thing. We went all around the centro looking for something like that, but most places either didn't have what I wanted or were too expensive. We did, finally, find a guy that said he would make me exactly what I wanted for a good price. Since we bought all our other furniture in another store, the color of the wood in his store was completely different. So we left him with a drawer of a bookcase we bought so he could paint the armoire the same color. However, I had to wait another week for him to build it.

When he finally finished it and José Luis got off work early enough one day to go pick it up, we headed to the shop. First, however, we had to stop by the other shop (the one where we bought all of our other furniture) to pick up a vanity I bought there. We put it in the back and realized that someone needed to ride back there with it because one large bump in the road and goodbye big, beautiful mirror (and we have more than our share of bumps in this country). So I sat on the vanity, holding the mirror in place and keeping the base steady. Needless to say, I looked ridiculous and everyone was staring at me. One girl (my age) even waved at me like I was in some kind of parade.

We arrived at the store of the man that made my armoire and entered to see that the color of the armoire was nothing like the color of the drawer. As José Luis was talking to him, it started to rain, which ended that conversation pretty quickly. He found a tarp in his truck (the same one he used when we moved here) to cover the vanity. It didn't cover it completely, but it was better than nothing. Then, José Luis turns to me and hands me the keys and tells me to drive to my house because we didn't have time to secure the vanity with ropes and someone had to ride in the back with it again to make sure the mirror didn't bust. Just to let you know, this is the fourth largest city in Mexico and Mexicans only have one driving rule: don't crash. I'm a very careful driver used to the strict driving laws of the States, not to mention I'm from a town of 1,800 people. On top of that, there is a lot of construction going on in the city and there would be no way for me to find my house by myself. With it pouring down rain with my boyfriend and brand new furniture in the back, handing me the keys was a sure sign of death, needless to say.

I protested his suggestion of me driving so he gave me an ultimatum: drive or get soaking wet in the back with the vanity. Since I'd rather be wet than dead, I hopped in the back. By this time, the rain was getting heavier and heavier. I was already soaking from being outside anyway, but I figured I better get under the tarp with the vanity to keep somewhat dry. As I looked at myself in the mirror of my vanity, I thought to myself, do these things only happen in Mexico? I laughed to keep from crying as the rain fell harder and harder with lots more wind and lightning. Good thing tornadoes don't happen here. I kept peeking out every once in a while to see where we were, but it didn't seem like we were getting any closer to my house. Soon I heard a garage door open and realized we were at José Luis' house because he didn't think we could make it to mine. After almost hitting the top of the mirror on the garage door, we finally entered the dry space to wipe off the vanity. Since I had some winter clothes still in José Luis' house that I had brought there to store before the move, I changed into some sweatpants and a sweatshirt and warmed up a bit.

Well, still no armoire. José Luis and I had to go back to the centro to talk to the guy about the armoire paint again. He told us if we went to the store where we bought our other furniture and brought him some paint from it, he could paint it and could be finished by the next day. We found out, however, that the store was temporarily out of their paint but would have some the next day. So...I had to go BACK to the centro the next day to buy the paint, give it to the armoire man and have José Luis come back that night to pick it up.

I did just that, and we finally got the armoire and the vanity in the house. The problem then was getting them up the stairs. Since we have a spiral-type staircase with a low ceiling, we weren't sure exactly how to do that. We got it to a certain point and realized that if we didn't remove the railing from the staircase or do something to make the armoire a little shorter, I was going to have to move all my things downstairs and switch bedrooms.

A few days later, when José Luis finally got off work again early enough to come help us, Candi had a good idea. It seemed that all we needed was a couple inches more with which to work. If we just sawed off the feet of the armoire, we might be able to do it. José Luis and I went to his house to get his tools and came back to finish the job. After almost breaking the wall and ceiling of our house apart, we got the armoire up the stairs. We also got the vanity up without breaking the mirror (miraculously).

I actually had to wait one more day to actually get all my clothes in there, as well, because I didn't have enough hangers. However, now all my clothes are out of suitcases and into my beautiful (although a little wobbly) armoire. I'm happy with my new room with all my things in their place. It's a little crowded, but still cute. Now to buy some paintings and a rug for the finishing touches!

Sweet as Miel

Welp...we have a new puppy in the house. Her name is Miel (Spanish for "honey"), and she is a purebred cocker spaniel that was born on May 14. She has honey-colored fur (hence the name), although her back two paws have a little white. This is her first night here, so she's pretty scared and misses her family. Poor thing is laying down right now under the stairs on her makeshift bed made out of old curtains. So far, she has been pretty calm and seems to get along well with us both. We are talking to her in Spanish as well as English, but mostly in Spanish. She's probably the cutest thing I've ever seen and stole my heart from the very beginning. More about her later.

Finally have some place to go!

Candi and I are trying to work on our communication skills and meet new people, so we joined a gym called Sports World in a nearby mall. José Luis said going to the gym is a good way to make friends with people our age, so we figured we might as well join one. It's really nice with all kinds of equipment, classes, and even a bathroom with a jacuzzi, vapor room, sauna, hair dryers, the whole kit and caboodle. We are really excited to start going, especially since we want to start eating better and exercising. We can only go from 9-6 right now, but when we get jobs, we are going to change memberships, unless we can't afford it. If we can't, it doesn't cost anything to cancel, and we'll just find another, more affordable place. YAY!

Feeling like a princess

This is going to be pretty short, but i just needed to document this. Candi and I just went to the movies and had a chauffeur of José Luis come and pick us up. Granted, he got us lost, but it's still pretty cool to just call someone and tell them to be somewhere at a certain time to bring me home. And since it's not a taxi service, I don't have to pay. Just makes me feel special, I guess.

By the way...I didn't actually ride in a limousine. The picture is just for effect :)