Today I woke up not feeling so great. My stomach was really upset and I went to the bathroom many many times. We almost considered moving our flight to another day, but Cesar’s sister had already taken tomorrow off work and it would have cost a lot to change the tickets. So Pastora Denise gave me a bunch of things to help my stomach and we braved the trip. Because of traffic, we almost missed our flight (we arrived about 40 minutes early, but sometimes they don’t let you board if there’s a chance your baggage won’t make it in time). We boarded the flight right away. Security was soooo much easier than the USA. We told them we had electronics and they said not to worry about taking them out. The theme of the trip has been about how well-mannered Americans are, but if you’re a mom and dad with a child, you can cut in line left and right and people even tell you to take advantage of your privileged place in line! Yay!
The airports were small, which makes sense because they were more local airports. The real shock came when our taxi got close to where Cesar’s sister lives. I never knew. His sister doesn’t have a car, for one thing, which I didn’t think incredibly strange. But the dirt road we turned into led to a small community who basically live beside a run-down horse racetrack. The living of the people (with the exception of Cesar’s sister) is primarily taking care of horses and most live in a small apartment built connected to the stables of the horses they are still paid to take care of. Cesar’s sister lives in half of a one-story house that I suppose when it was first built was some sort of main house. There are 8 of us sleeping in 2 rooms (Cesar’s sister gave us her and her husband’s room, and everyone else will be in the other room or maybe somebody in the living room.
Audrey loooooooves it here. She loves the horses, though we haven’t let her get too close, the chickens, dogs, everything. I’m still in shock and am trying to figure out the balance of how protective to be with her and how much to let her try out. I’m having the same conflict within myself, to tell the truth. I love his sister, though. She’s very nice… and tiny! hehe. She’s a good 3 inches or more shorter than Cesar! They are a wonderful family, and I know that I’ll love it here. I’ve always been more convinced of the quality of a place based on the people there, so I think I’ll have a good experience. The struggle will be mostly privacy and the tight quarters, but I’m not too worried about it other than I feel bad taking so much space.
Well, I’m going to go take a shower and spend some time with my family that I just met! Much love to you all!