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This is really the closest thing I could find for a Canada Day theme – Mexican Snow! AKA… Hail. Happy Canada Day!
So, you guys are probably all like, that Ryan, he’s in sunny Mexico. Well, it is. Sometimes. But, it’s rainy season. And, that means thundershowers. A lot of them.  And, this is what it looks like when it rains. Okay, way back in my 2nd post, I posted pictures of the new casa, I said that there would be more to come. And so [drum roll please], finally, here are some more pics of the new casa!  If you take a look at the pictures from last time, in the kitchen, you'll see a counter that has a a giant water bottle on it. Well, that counter has been my office. Even though my office is technically upstairs, this is where I do my work, 'cause I've got no desk, and, until recently, I've been using a dining room chair to sit on. But, recently, I got a new chair at Idea – no, not Ikea.  Also, last time, I showed you a peek of what's outside the kitchen window – through the door beside my desk. Well, here's more. It's an uncovered wash area. And that there is the sink.  And, through that door on the left is the Servant's Quarters.  There's even enough room for a bed in there. If you remember, I mentioned that you might be lucky enough to stay in here if you come visit.  Don't worry, you'll have your own toilet and shower.  Okay, now that you're secure in knowing what your quarters look like, back to the rest of the house. Originally, we didn't get much further than the entry way and the kitchen. Well, if you walk a couple of steps further into the house from the entry way, you're at the stairs.  Turn Right, and you can see my shoes. Now, in Rosy's family, if anyone is walking around the house with their shoes off it's called "Como Ryan" or "Como Canadianse." ![Turn around. That's the Comedor [Dining Room]. And a peak into the back yard.](http://www.poppacap.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/img_1330.jpg "Kitchen") Turn around. That's the Comedor (Dining Room). And a peak into the back yard.  Turn a bit to the right, and there's the doors to the small back yard, and a corner of the living room and the couch.  And now, the couch! And behind that is the window that had a small crack, which turned into a large crack after the earthquake. Don't worry, the window has since been replaced.  And, now, a bit more to the right, and back to the stairs, for a little journey.  Yep, every time I go up the stairs, I have to make a turn...  And, now, we're at the 2nd floor. But, you'll have to wait for an undisclosed amount of time to see that. For all of you people who like sequels, don’t worry – I don’t want to disappoint – there will be another sequel. Sometime.  Yep, that's a big-ass taco right there. And, yep, those are fries in there too.  And, beside it, that's a bottle of Mango Boing.  And, that's me eating it.  Admit it. You're jealous. One day, when I was here in March, I kept hearing loud bangs coming from somewhere outside. I asked Rosy what they were, and she shrugged, and said that she didn’t know… maybe fireworks. This lasted most of the day. And then it continued the next day, but much more frequently. Some of Rosy’s family were over, and her uncle and two young cousins and I went to check it out. This is what it was… That first one, was pretty darn close, and one ear went all ringy for a while. Rosy’s uncle said that people dress up in costumes and shoot guns in the street every year to celebrate the start of Carnivale, but he’s not sure why. We didn’t stick around for too long, seeing as they were being pretty lax about the angle at which they were holding their guns… I don’t know if any of you have ever played Charades in a language that you only barely understand, but that’s what happened to me on Saturday. Rosy and I went to a birthday party for one of Rosy’s best friends. Eventually, after everyone had finished eating the finger foods and had a bit to drink, the birthday girl brought out a couple of games – Spanish versions of Guesstures and Scene It. There was discussion for quite a while before it was decided to play neither, and, instead play a different game. Since all the discussion was in rapid discussion, it took me until the game started to figure out it that it was Charades, and that all of the things to guess were movies. I generally enjoy a good game of Charades. And, the last time I played it was at an office party at Christmas time, with all of the topics being taken from AFI’s 100 years… 100 movies list. I must say, modestly, that I did pretty good. One highlight was when one person picked a movie, said I’ve never even heard of this movie, started out acting by gesturing that there’s 3 words, and me immediately shouting out “His Girl Friday,” and being correct, much to the shock of everyone, and all sorts of conspiracy theories being spewed. The other highlight was when I pulled a movie title, then asked whether I would have to get people to guess the whole title or not, or if part of it was okay. I was told that I would have to do the whole title. So, I started out by gesturing that there’s 13 words, and proceeded to act out Dr. Strangelove, or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a time limit at this game…. I figured that it would be pretty simple to just watch, and maybe pick up a few more words, or at least laugh at people trying to get other people to guess what they are charading. I mean, I wouldn’t have to try and act out Spanish-titled movies to Spanish-speakers, would I? Wrong. The teams were men against women, and there were double the women then there were men – though I didn’t think that would make a difference. It did though. At one point, I was asked to get up and partake. I politely declined – how could I possible act out something that I don’t understand to people who are saying things I don’t understand? They asked again – I declined. Eventually, it turned into chants of “Ryan! Ryan! Ryan!” Ummmm… I guess I had to be a good sport and try it out… I went to the bowl, picked a piece of paper and hoped for something like “Spider Man.” Nope. It was 7 words long, in Spanish, and I had no idea what it was. Reading it slowly, I was able to understand 6 of the words, but not the last one. I showed Rosy, and she understood it, but was having trouble explaining it. Then, once I translated the words I did know, I realized that it was the terrible movie that Rosy and I had watched 2 days earlier – El día q’la tierra se detuvo. In English, that’s The Day the Earth Stood Still. So, now that I had everything that I needed – except an idea of how to make this work in Spanish – I took a deep breath, and started. Thankfully, I was able to get “tierra” quick – patted the floor, then shaped a globe with my hand. Ahhh, this is easy, I thought, and moved on to “dia.” I tried a bunch of stuff, however, not knowing what the other people were shouting at me, it was a little difficult to know whether they were close or not. At one point, one of the guessers said something about “Keanu,” so I pointed and nodded, but that didn’t work. He was racking his brain trying to remember the name of it, while I kept pointing. Nope. Then, I had the brainstorm of acting out the 7th word, so I stood still – and, apparently somebody shouted it out ’cause everyone started screaming, and chanting my name again. Victory! I conquered Charades in another language! Then, after an extremely poor performance on one of the men’s turns, it was decided that all the men would have to do a shot of Tequila. I’m still not really sure whether it was because of just that one turn, or because we were generally sucking on most of our turns. Eventually the next turn, it was decided that I would go up again. I again tried to decline, but I wasn’t as insistent as before, especially after one of the guys said, in English, “We need your help!” So, I got up, picked a piece of paper out of the bowl, and unrolled it. Esta cuerpo no es mio. In English, this translates as “This Body is not Mine.” I had, and still have, no idea whether this is an English movie, or only in Spanish. “No” was super easy, but I had problems with “Cuerpo” and “Mio.” Again, it’s difficult to know whether people are guessing something close to what your saying so that you could possible guide them or slightly change what you’re doing. Eventually, time ran out, and I went to sit back down, dejectedly, in English. I was hoping that this would be their lesson, and they wouldn’t call on me again, but, no, they did. This time I got El Guarda Espaldas, which is The Bodyguard. However, note that “espaldas” is not “cuerpo,” which means “body.” And, I actually had no idea what “espaldas” actually meant in English. Fortunately, someone has recently acted out “guardiana,” so, I just did what he did and acted out that it was a shorter word, and when they got “Guarda,” they got the rest of the movie immediately. After another shot of Tequila due to our bad performance, I was called up again. At this point, we had run out of titles on paper, and the women asked me if I knew the movie Million Dollar Baby, and I said that I did. And they said, “Well, the title in Spanish is …. Golpes del destino.” And, I thought, “That has nothing to do with ‘Million’ or ‘Dollar’ or ‘Baby.’” They told me that it translated back into English as “Hits of Destiny.” So, I thought I’d give it my best shot. All I did was start punching like a boxer, and, thankfully, someone saved my pain by getting it right! Four attempts and three correct! Not too bad, considering that I know about 4 words in Spanish… Okay, this has nothing at all to do with Mexico, but Død Snø looks to be the best Norwegian snow-bound, Nazi, zombie, slasher flick ever made, in the history of mankind. So, since people have asked to see pictures of Rosy, I figured I should probably post some. Maybe people will stop thinking that she’s made up and everything is just a big ruse.  This is my first day in Puebla, when I was here in March. We're at a market downtown. This also happens to be my favorite photo of Rosy.  Here, we're in a taxi, on our way to somewhere.... Can't remember where. Love the guy in the gas truck with a WTF look on his face! And, no, that's not one of the trucks from the 'El Gas' post, it's a bigger, more official gas truck.  Here she is showing her Panza off, on our way to Puebla's Pride Parade – a bit smaller than Vancouver's!  A kiss! Here in Mexico, or at least in Puebla, there are trucks that play music as they drive around neighbourhoods trying to get your attention so that you’ll come out and buy what they’re selling. Sound familiar? Yeah, they’re kinda like ice cream trucks, except they sell… gas. Gas to heat your water and run your stove. They distinguish the different companies by the music that they play. When, I was staying at Rosy’s Mom’s place, I noticed 3 different companies. One of them I only hear once, but the other ones would come around frequently, at random times throughout the day. They play their music for a bit, and intermittently, the music is interrupted with “El Gaaaaaaassssssssssss!!!” and some other Spanish, probably talking about how awesome their gas is. Unfortunately, every time they came by, I would be in the bathroom, or eating, or not know where my camera was, or my camera batteries would be dead, or they’d be gone by the time I got to the window. I was finally able to get one on the day I left, but, unfortunately, I didn’t have much room on my memory card, so, it’s pretty short. Thankfully, it’s my favourite one. You might even recognize the music. They don’t venture out into my new neighbourhood. I kinda miss them – though I don’t miss being woken up by them as they drive by the window. |
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