Yesterday, I did some laundry. Had I written that same sentence 2 years ago and 2000 miles north of where I am writing it now, the context would be completely different and in that instance, totally not interesting. But, when laundry involves a washing machine the needs to be filled (and drained) manually and constantly monitored so that the inevitable knots of clothing can be loosened and the washing cycle can continue and then serious amounts of hand rinsing and hand-wringing-out of clothes, towels and sheets, a load of laundry becomes a whole new monster. Anyway, I felt all energized and good about knocking that bad-boy off my list, so with gusto I proceeded. It only took me an hour to do a small loud and hang it out and the day was looking up. Pako, Tekila and I went to the beach and played in the sand and sea. Then we stopped at Lorena's house and who should show up, but Lorena (it's mid-week and she wasn't supposed to come home until next Wednesday, which is why that statement is interesting)! Then, rumble rumble rumble THUNDER STORM! My freshly washed and line dried clothes!!!
Crises averted, we got home in time to avoid most of the damage. A quick shot of frebreeze and their smelling like they were freshly washed and line-dried again!
Then, today. I don't know what possessed me (well, actually I do, I have a peer of a dog and he really likes our living room furniture), but I decided to do some MORE laundry. God, what is this housewifery crap that is seeping into my consciousness? Towels, sheets and slip covers, oh my! I dash around the apartment, collecting anything that had dog hair on it and dump everything into the laundry machine, pre-filled by moi last night, toss in a capful of woolite concentrate and ... and ... AND NOTHING! Turning on the washing machine does nothing, no happily churning and knot of clothing inducing waters, no suds, no nothing! OH NO, I thought to myself, this can't be happening! You can't mean that I have to wash 4 large bath towels, 2 sheets, 2 slip covers and a pair of Pako's shorts by hand, can you? NOOOOO! I have this friend, we'll call her Gina Fosse, who is enamored by the idea of doing laundry on what she adorably refers to as a turtle shell. What she means, of course, is a cement washing board, fashioned conveniently into my laundry alcove sink. Gina, I'm sorry to burst your bubble, I really am, but using that thing is the PITS. One, it's two short for me, as are most built-in appliances/fixtures. Two, ever heard of bloody knuckles? Well, it's not just a charming play-ground game for young delinquents, it's also the very real consequence of a too-tall person doing copious amounts of scrubbing on a cement serrated sink basin! Anywho, I checked the outlet, the cord, the extension cord and nothing served to conduce power from the wall to my washing machine. Ring, ring. Universe calling, stop doing all of those silly chores! Don't you have a husband to abuse lying around somewhere?
And then. I found $2 pesos in the pocket of Pako's jeans as I was kneading them in knuckle bloodied water on my cement turtle shell. There goes that Universe again with her damn mixed messages. Bitch.
The "washing machine"/clothing-knot-tier and the cement 'turtle shell.'I think what the Universe was trying to say is that I should stay away from domesticity and get back to writing. In fact, it's not just the universe saying such things, but a number of people. So here I am, writing a blog, after a two month hiatus, during which I was, among other things, battling never ending loads of laundry.
After the wedding, I was exhausted. I do believe I mentioned that fact in my last blog (though it was so long ago, the only way I could be sure would be to re-read what I wrote and I haven't done something silly like that since high school English class), and it continues to be true. What a fabulous whirlwind time it has been since, but it has caused me to fall woefully behind on my blogging duties. If I'm to get anywhere with this post, I best be about it because 2 months worth of funny and interesting crap has happened to me and my Mexican family. I think I'll work backwards and just stop when I forget the rest.
Ok, It appears, I've forgotten it all. See you next week.
Nope, just kidding. Some stuff just came to me. Last Friday (June 3rd) was my last day of classes with my high schoolers. This week I have classes with 6th and 7th grade and we're basically reviewing for their exams. I miss my high schoolers! I had the 11th and 12th graders for two years and I TOTALLY enjoyed my time in class with them. Lesson planning and grading was nothing special, but the conversations that came out of those groups were hilarious. Anyway, I almost cried when I had to say goodbye to them and this week I'm feeling their absence quite acutely. One student wrote me a letter and called me his 'school mama' and that is exactly how I feel. I am sad to see them go, but so proud of them and so excited for their future.
My feelings about my high schoolers basically sum up my feelings about leaving Montessori. I'll be sad to leave (most) of the people at the school, especially all of my students, but it's time for me to move on. I won't miss the administrative slip-ups or the late/incomplete pay checks, but I'll definitely miss the kids. Overall, my years here have been enjoyable and I have absolutely learned a lot about being in a classroom and walking the line between teachers and administration. I'm leaving excited for what comes next, so there's got to be something positive in that.
Lorena is good and pregnant! She's into her 6th month and baby is doing well. Out of respect for some old fart in Canada, no details about the baby's sex or name will be posted, but the little bugger did reveal itself at the last doctor's visit. Baby Dominguez Teresa is doing very well and is right on track developmentally, and obviously, we're all very pleased about that. Lorena was, however, diagnosed with gall stones 2 weeks ago, so she's on a strict low-fat, non-dairy diet in hopes that there won't be a need to operate until the baby is born. So far, so good, but if you have any good low-fat non-dairy recipes, send them my way and I'll forward them along to her.
Belly Contest. Lorena at 5 months and Pako at... 4.5? 
My new niece or nephew :)Next Friday (June 17th) Pako and I are going on our honeymoon for 10 days to Chiapas, Mexico. We had planned to go to Vancouver to visit our old fart friend, but Canada decided not to give us a visa. If we hadn't ran around like chickens with our heads cut off for 2 weeks trying to get all the visa stuff together and turned in, it wouldn't be as disappointing. Oh, that and the $200 US dollars it costs to apply. In all seriousness, we were really bummed. Pako because he loves Vancouver and wanted to show me around and me because I wanted to get to know the city that everyone talks about so much. Plus there's this guy that we kind of like that we wanted to visit. Nothing we could do, though, so we're heading to Chiapas. We're flying in and out of Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital, and from there we'll visit Palenque (known as the 'jewel of the Mayan empire') and San Cristobal de las Cazas (a quaint, colonial town surrounded by small, traditional villages) and anywhere else that tickles our fancy. We're also hoping to visit Las Cascadas de Aguas Azules and El Cañon del Sumidero while were there. We'd appreciate travel tips from anyone who's been there before!
It's officially the rainy season, but it has only rained twice. It's tried to rain two other times, but no dice. It's hotter than it should be, too, which is nice. Ok, that was sarcasm. It's not nice. It's miserable. The other day it was 103 degrees plus 90% humidity. I know it was 103 in Minneapolis the other day, but please, it's been like that for about a month here. AND I'll raise you no air conditioning and sun-baked cement walls! Game, set, match or some other appropriate sports metaphor. I know I'll be complaining about having the opposite problem in a couple of months, but it would seem that I'm a bit of a complainer, so if you don't like it, get off my stoop! (OK, that was a Sex and the City reference, it should really say 'get off my blog,' but that sounded harsher than I wanted it to so I went with the allusion instead). The rainy season has a nickname, too, and it is 'earthquake season.' Yeah, I know, what a lame nickname, it's not even shorter than the real name. We had an earthquake during school (which I didn't feel, but can confirm as I could hear the ceiling fans and lights shaking throughout the school) and my 11th graders were out of the room and following earthquake drill procedures before I even knew what was happening. It was just a little tremble though, thankfully, so no damage and as Pako noted, not even a good rise in the tide.
Speaking of surfing, surf season is back and the waves are steadily growing around here. Pako's happy. I find it a bit hellish to be at the beach in the sun in this heat, so often times he has to go alone. So I don't have any good surfing pics for this blog, but maybe next week. I have to really ratchet up my tan before I leave in a month or people won't believe that I lived in Mexico for almost exactly 2 years and there will be Minnesotans with more color than me! Maybe hiking around in Chiapas will give me a boost in color. Except that a lot of it is rain forest.. hmmm... I hope I see some monkeys!
Ok, I've run out of things to say and I think we can safely say that I ran out of wit a while ago. I probably won't blog on Sunday because, well, I know myself pretty well and unless something supermegaawesome happens (and even if it does), it's unlikely that I'll be back until after Chiapas. So there it is, I'm putting the disclaimer on here right now. No facebook yelling at me. Yes Kristin, I'm talking to you :)
Until next time my good friends! I hope you're all well!
XOXO,
Leyah
PS. If you want to send me recipes for Lorena or tips about Chiapas, my email is: leahlaurent@gmail.com (clever, I know). Adios!
PPS. I forgot to mention that our immigration lawyer filed our I-13o a couple of weeks ago, so step one of the process is done! Woohoo! It's a long process, but you can't finish if you don't start (or so I keep telling myself, anyway)!!!
This guys was tied at the side of my apartment building. How often is that going to happen in the states?
