Friday, October 28, 2005

Marathon Day

PHOTOS of my day with Mom and Dad at school and throughout the day can be viewed by clicking on the title of today’s entry or by pasting the following address into your browser: http://www.kodakgallery.com/ShareLandingSignin.jsp?Uc=kxbc8ie.7wlb2gwa&Uy=-5m3t9r&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0

Mom and Dad came with me to school today. First they experienced the hour-plus daily commute on the metro. It was easy to get started from the Auditorio stop, a short walk from the hotel. After exiting at the Acatitla stop, we squeezed into a “bicitaxi” and I asked the driver to take it easy over the speed bumps – there are more than five along the five-minute route. I’ve come to expect feeling my brain hit the top of my skull each time we fly over the speed bump and then crash land.

At school I introduced mom and dad to many of the teachers and they became quite skilled at saying “mucho gusto” (nice to meet you). The principal invited us to sit, I declined as I needed to put my things away before recess began, and I wasn’t quite sure what we would talk about, or more precisely how we would talk – my parents don’t speak Spanish and the principal doesn’t speak English.

Recess was so much fun, the students swarmed around my parents. My dad was a big hit; I can’t stop smiling as I picture him encircled by a bunch of twelve year old boys who walked with his every step, trying to talk to him, not paying any attention to the language barrier. My mom told me of one boy who tried to get her phone number.

After recess, we went up to the theater where a number of students are working on an “ofrenda”. And then it was time for class. The first period was touch and go, I didn’t want to rock the boat so I didn’t even introduce my parents to them. Complete opposite situation with the next group. Everyone wanted to talk to my parents so I said that they would walk up and down the rows and stop at each student’s desk. My mom also helped by writing words on the board that I called out to her, when students would ask me how to say something in English. One student came up to me and asked how to say “pyramids,” she wrote it on her arm and returned to my dad and asked him, “Do you like pyramids?”

After school my mom, dad and I took the metro to the Zócalo, the center of the Historic Center and walked to have lunch at El Cardenal. Andi met us there, her roommate David is a manager there; it’s his family’s restaurant. David was awesome and had us seated right away, in a nice, quiet area. The restaurant has many floors in an elegant setting; the food is first-rate while its prices are very reasonable.

After a short rest back at the hotel, we took a taxi to Ada and Jane’s houses and enjoyed Shabbat dinner there. We all meshed so well, it was like being with old friends. It’s so cool to me the universality that Judaism is – regardless of where you are in the world; the blessings, traditions and foods (some) remain unchanged.