Top Five

August 25, 2014

I’ve been in Mexico five years this month. In celebration here is a list of some of my “top five” things from my time in the tribe. 5 Nahuatl words that English borrows: chocolate coyote avocado chili tomato 5 Things that surprised the Nahuatl about white people: Our babies grow inside our stomachs We get sick […]

Going to the Fence

February 9, 2014

“Going to the fence” is the phrase our team uses for “answering the door” or “seeing-why-someone-is-standing-by-the-gate-screaming-your-name-for-the-last-three-minutes-while-you-try-to-finish-brushing-your-teeth.” There are lots of reasons for going to the fence but I thought I’d share some from the last few weeks. Ladies came to visit (love this one!) Men came to borrow the shovel…and the pick…and a measuring tape…and […]

Walkies…

January 29, 2014

All the cool people in this village have walkies. It’s like an iPhone; a status symbol and seen as necessary to connect with friends three houses over. You pick your channel number, tell it to your friends, and then talk to them during the day. A typical conversation goes something like this: Person 1: Hey, […]

Playing Aunties, Conclusion

September 15, 2013

Friday 10:00 am: We discover that Dario has been “hiding” his favorite toys and the socks I’ve lent him in the basket that holds the dog treats. That way he doesn’t have to share them with the other kids who come to play. Friday 12:30 pm: The kids are hungry and lunch isn’t ready yet. […]

Playing Aunties, Part II

September 13, 2013

In case you didn’t catch the last blog entry, Rachel and I are taking care of our friend Agustina’s two older children while she’s out of town. Many of the experience are new to these two tribal kids, and Rachel and I are learning about their culture, too. Here are a few highlights from the […]

Playing Aunties

September 11, 2013

Rachel and I are pretending to be aunties this week. Our friend Agustina had to go out of town. She set off on foot Saturday morning carrying her 1-year-old son to a village about 15 miles away. From there she will see if she can hitch a ride to the town down on the coast. She left […]

The One About Tubes

August 13, 2013

A few days ago some little boys came to our house to borrow a movie. “We want the one about tubes,” they told Rachel. Rachel, needless to say, was a bit confused. She asked the boys what the tubes were like, what people were doing with the tubes, and other pertinent questions, but the boys […]

Digging in Deep

July 11, 2013

A few months ago we decided to pen up our chickens. During a conversation about why, I asked my language helper how to say they were digging up our plants. “Oh,” she said, “say: tatahtáh hiyero.” They dug ugly. “Seriously?” I thought, “a word that sounds like a fake drumroll?” I dutifully copied her until […]

What’s the Right Answer?

February 8, 2013

When you live in another culture, it’s important to learn not only the right words, but the appropriate responses for different situations. For example, when someone in the US tells us they like our sweater we say, “Thanks.” Not so for the Nahuatl. Take a quick look at the comments below and see if you […]

The Night Before Christmas (in the Tribe)

December 19, 2012

‘Tis the night before Christmas and all through Las Moras, The donkeys are braying some out-of-tune chorus. One strand of low-energy lights is aglow, And we hope that it won’t run our batteries too low. A cute little pine tree’s propped up on one shelf And our coworkers just forced us all to watch Elf. […]