Mex

It's strange to think that we are already in our second week here... next Friday the two other girls and I will begin our home stays with three different families from the San Anton neighborhood. I'm looking forward to integrating myself into a family setting and hopefully meeting many relatives!
The "CEMAL" (Augsburg) house here has been great. Tere and Lupita are the main chefs here; they're wonderful ladies who I'm getting to know bit by bit each day. Tere actually owns a small snack/beverage store up the street; she lives with 12 members of her family and never hesitates to tell me that I'm welcome there whenever I want. She caught me by surprise this morning when I asked her how she was... I guess I would say that at that moment I felt as though I had, throughout my week here, gained a significant amount of her trust by how she responded. That was really genuine to me because she got a bit emotional and opened up about how one of her daughters will be leaving soon, etc. and the effect that is having upon her. Anyway, that may seem like a meaningless short story to tell but it's pretty great here to feel like you're finally becoming a part of something and developing unique relationships with many new people.
But they feed us very well here and there are always the vegetarian options! Yogurt is our main morning food with their home-made granola. Then there is always the pan dulce (sweet bread) that is tempting. To finish it off heavy, there are usually "sopas" or "gorditas" or other mexican cuisine of that sort to get the morning going!...And do not forget the chile! Fruit is always stocked so this is my type of eating, ya? Today Tere and I made a deal that I would teach her my style of making hot cakes with fruit and chocolate chips; she'll love 'em.