The Best of Small Town Mexico-Hermano Pech

Today's "Best of Small Town Mexico" is a man from our church called Hermano Pech, or "Brother Pech". I don't know how old he is, no one really does, but he is old. The poor little guy can barely see, he moves so slowly, and his mind is not what it once was. He lives in a little house by himself and different families from church take turns taking him food and looking out for him.

The first time I took food to his house, I was so shocked that I cried. I was not prepared to see someone living how he lives. As far as Americans go, we are as white and as middle-class as they come; I grew up with very little exposure to poverty or how other cultures lived. In Venezuela, because of security issues, we lived among the richest and didn't venture out into neighborhoods where "average" Venezuelans lived. But here in Mexico we have the chance to see how all different classes of people live.

It was disturbing to me to see a little old man living alone in a house that we would consider unacceptable. I am grateful for the chance I have had to take my kids to see Brother Pech. Although they sometimes complain about accompanying me, I know that it will stick with them. They are learning about respecting the elderly, providing service to those in need, and are gaining a wider view of the world than I did. When we visit Brother Pech he is always cheerful. He loves whatever food we bring, saying hello and trying to have a conversation with my three kids, and chatting about whatever is on his mind. When I ask him how he's feeling, he tells me, "Fine, thanks to our Father in Heaven." He is such a great example to me of the need to be grateful for the blessings that we do have.

Sometimes I wonder why the Lord doesn't let poor Brother Pech move on in his spiritual journey. That sounds kind-of harsh, but the poor little guy spends most of his day alone trying to nap or sitting on his porch step trying to stay cool with no air-conditioning or even a fan. One thought that I have had is that he provides the opportunity for many, who may not otherwise do so, to offer service. I really believe people are at their very best when they are serving someone else.

He represents to me the kind of service we have been able to give here. In my life in the States, a lot of the service I was involved in was so removed from the people I was helping. I would give clothes to an organization like the Salvation Army or the D.I., would take canned goods to a food drive, or would provide a Christmas gift for a child whom I never laid eyes on. Here, I actually see the needs with my own two eyes; I see people who are hungry, or that only have 2 changes of clothes, or who will not have money to buy anything for their kids for Christmas. And I can do something about it. For this, I am so grateful for the time we have been able to spend here in Small Town Mexico.

***(On a much, much lighter note, last year Juan Carlos (then 2 years old) kept saying something that sounded like "Donkeybitch." We could not for the life of us figure it out. It did keep us in stitches though. Finally, one day we were driving by Pech's house and he said it! The whole time he had been talking about "Brother Pech". So cute.)

Easy Easter Lesson for Kids

In the spirit of teaching kids the true meaning of Easter, I wanted to share an easy, quick Easter lesson that my friend Grammy did with us last year for a Family Home Evening lesson while we were visiting her. I asked her if I could share the lesson on my blog and she, being the nice person that she is, said yes (and gave the credit to a Methodist Sunday school teacher).

Speaking of teaching the true meaning of Easter, don't worry about us, it is not a problem this year. Mexicans have not discovered the financial possibilities of commercializing yet another holiday. Or the addictiveness of mini-Cadbury eggs. Or the Easter Bunny. Or all things fluffy, cute and pastel. THERE ARE NO PEEPS HERE FOR PETE'S SAKE. (Does anyone else love peeps that are just a little bit stale?) No Robin Eggs. No baskets shaped like fire trucks or bunnies or anything because there are no baskets! Oh well. Right about now I could really go for my favorite Easter candy: the Reese's Peanut Butter Egg.

I am afraid my kids may be on to us when they see their lame Easter baskets this year. Mexican candy is gross. (Sorry to my Mexican readers (if I have any) for my lack of political correctness, but for someone not accustomed to eating chile on every single thing that enters my system, it is not appealing).

Anyway, here is the activity:

You need 12 plastic eggs; print out the 12 scriptures below and collect the small objects that correspond to the scriptural references.

Place the scripture along with its object in an egg. Keep the eggs in order in an egg carton; open them one at a time starting with #1; share the scripture and let your kids hold the object. You can store the eggs in an egg carton and save them for next year.

#1 "And He went a little further, and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as Thou wilt." Matthew 26:39 (sacrament cup or other small cup)

#2 "Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests, and said unto them, 'What will you give me, and I will deliver Him unto you?' And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver." Matthew 26:14-15. (3 dimes)

#3 "When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to put Him to death: And when they had bound Him, they led Him away, and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor." Matthew 27:1-2 (knotted twine)

#4 "When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, his blood be on us, and on our children. Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified." Mathew 27:24-26. (chunk of hand soap)

#5 "And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon Him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head." Matthew 27:28-30 (square of red velvet)

#6 "And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear His cross." Matthew 27:31-32 "And he was crucified. . . nailed to the cross" (toothpick cross, tiny nail)

#7 "And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. . .And sitting down they watched him there" Matthew 27:35-36. (small pair of dice)

#8 "Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;. . .Now when the centurion and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, 'Truly this was the Son of God'." Matthew 27:50-51, 54 (tiny bag of crushed rock or potting soil)

#9 " Joseph... a rich man, went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb which he ad hewn out in the rock" Matthew 27:57-60 (strip of white cloth)

#10 "And he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulcher, and departed. Pilate said unto them (the chief priests and Pharisees), Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can. So they went, and made the sepulcher sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch." Matthew 27:60, 65-66 (a small stone)

#11 "And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary, the mother of James, and Salome, had brought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him. And behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. And the angel... said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified." Mark 16:1, Matthew 28:2,5 (bay leaf or other herb)

#12 "He is not here: for he is risen, as he said." Matthew 28:6 (EMPTY)

Look What I Made!

Here's what I spent an hour of my afternoon on yesterday:

Impressed?

It started as some quality play time with Julio (5) and a set of sea creature Lego's that he got for Christmas. As hard as I have tried to keep them separated from the 1000's of other Lego's we own, sadly, my kids don't share my love of organization. Julio soon tired of looking for the little pieces and I was left on my own to seek out the 50-some odd shark-pieces in this mess:

He was kind enough to check on my progress every few minutes.

I only have myself to blame as I was the one who chose the present.

Freezer Food Friday- Oriental Chicken

Yay! It's Friday.

Every Friday I share a recipe that a) everyone in my family will eat happily, b) is easily freezable. I have about 45 minutes to get dinner ready, and preparing some things ahead of time and freezing them has helped me a lot.

Today's recipe is kind-of a pain to make because of so many ingredients, but if you make 5 batches instead of one and freeze 4 it is well worth it. I found the original recipe in A Taste of Home magazine. Submitted by a Dave Farrington from Midwest City, Oklahoma, it was originally called "Oriental Chicken Thighs. " I have since changed the recipe a bit and use more than just thighs, so we'll call it "Oriental Chicken." It makes a really tasty dish that both my kids and Guapo love. First I will give the recipe for a single batch.

10 pieces bone-in chicken, skin removed (I use legs and thighs because my kids LOVE chicken legs. If you were going to use bone in breasts, you'd problaby want to only use 4 or 5pieces)
3 T olive oil

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the chicken in oil for about 15 minutes or until juices run clear. Meanwhile, mix the following ingredients in a something that you can shake it up in (like a jar with a tight fitting lid):

2/3 c warm water
1/2 packed brown sugar
1/4 c orange juice
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c ketchup
2 T white vinegar
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder (this has a very distinct flavor; the dish can be prepared without it and has a different flavor that is still very good)
~ 1 T or 1 inch fresh ginger (peeled and minced or washed and sliced into slices)

Shake until sugar is dissolved. Pour over the chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 30-35 minutes or until chicken is tender. Combine cornstarch and cold water until smooth; gradually stir into skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.

When I am going to freeze this recipe, I multiple the sauce times 5, use 1/5 of it the day I make it and with what remains, divide it into 4 and put each part into a Ziploc freezer bag. When I am going to use it, I'll move one from the freezer to the fridge and it will be thawed by lunch time. So here is the sauce portion of the above recipe X5:

3 1/3 c warm water
2 1/2 packed brown sugar
1 1/4 c orange juice
1 1/4 c soy sauce
1 1/4 c ketchup
1/2 c + 2T white vinegar
30 cloves garlic, minced
5 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
Several inches of fresh ginger


So, there it is. It really is tasty and it smells so good as you are cooking it. I prepared it last weekend for a dinner with my friend Rita and her family. They are from the Philipines and therfore, from what I have learned thus far about Filipinos, are food connoisseurs. They really liked the chicken (or at least were very good liars).

Have a great weekend.

Julio's Latest Love

One thing I love about my son Julio (5/12), is his strong personality and zest for life. It has given me lots of headaches, but also lots of joy. The child laughed before he turned 2 months old. Not smiled. Not cooed. We're talking full-on belly laugh. Check out this picture of him at 10 1/2 months in our bidet in Venezuela (don't worry, we didn't actually use it for its intended purpose). It is a perfect depiction of his character as a baby.

When he has an interest, it becomes the center of his little life. First it was Hot Wheels cars. The kid LOVES cars. When he was really little, like 15 months, I used to get a sort of "poltergeisty" feeling when I would walk into a room that he had been in and see all of his little cars, arranged in a perfectly straight line, all facing the same direction.

Next came the "puzzler" phase; and who could forget the Spiderman phase? Yep, those are underwear on his head.

When he was about 3 his Lego's phase started and is still going on strong. Completely symmetrical aircraft are his specialty. Guapo is convinced that he is going to be some kind of engineer when he grows up.

His latest obsession is paper airplanes.

I am going crazy because I can't keep any kind of white paper out or it will be folded up faster than you can say "deforestation". I did not know this, but apparently, if the paper "has words on the back", it cannot be used in the making of paper airplanes. Last week I bought myself a nice new ream of white copy paper and I hid it on the top shelf of a cupboard in my closet; later that day I entered the closet to find a footstool in front of the open cupboard and the ream on a more obtainable level. (As I write this it is under a pile of clothes in a drawer in my closet.)

So, here are a couple of photos to show you what my house is looking like these days. The first is a photo of airplanes that I collected in ONE day. Just one day. And this has been going on for weeks.

Here are a few of the best ones (pretty good for a 5 year old, don't you think?):

And here's one I found just this morning made out of a George Washington (I guess he hasn't discovered the stash of paper yet)

Any obsessions going on in your home?

Not So Best of Small Town Mexico-My Treadmill

I like to stay in shape. I am not a fanatic or anything, but I like to work out. My exercise of choice is running. I vacillate anywhere between a recreational and an avid runner. Right now I am very, very recreational. I credit my mom for instilling in me my "love" of running. She is going to turn 58 this year and is a marathoner. It is hard to be a couch potato when your mom is off training for a marathon.

Anyway, back to my "Not So Best of Small Town Mexico". I prefer to run outside; I like to have the variety of scenery that doesn't come running inside a gym. Unfortunately, my running options are seriously limited here. Running outside is not really an option because:

1. Too many dogs
2. Too many bad smells
3. Way too hot
4. Too many holes/cracks in the sidewalk
5. Too many men with too much time on their hands and too many comments (an exercising woman, or man for that matter, is not a common sight here)

Instead I run on my treadmill. Here it is:

We went all out and spent the big bucks on this baby last year. We spent an extra $1000 or so to get the heart monitor thingy. I think I have monitored my heart maybe 5 times.

Here is a list of just a few of the things that that I will do in order to avoid getting on the beast:

1. pluck my eyebrows
2. clean out my nightstand
3. start the laundry
4. organize my closet
5. organize my kids' closets
6. alphabetize my books/dvds/cds
7. dust my room
8. wash dishes

You get the idea. Once I finally get my ipod and hop on the machine here is an example of my thought process:

Ok, don't look at the time. That's right. We're doing fine. What? 2 minutes and 14 seconds???? That's it? It's ok, it's always the hardest at the beginning. Ok, I won't look again until the chorus of this song. 3 minutes. Ok, I will not look this entire song. Ok, 6 minutes. 1/5 of the way done. Now we're getting somewhere. Let's see, I'll count to 100 and then look. Whoops, I peeked. Is the phone/doorbell ringing? Ok, I will try not to look for 0.5 miles. Only 0.3?? Crap. Ok. Picture Forrest Gump, he ran accross the country, you can run for a half hour. 10 minutes. I am 1/3 of the way done...

And on and on and on. I go through this process 3 or 4 times a week. I drive myself nuts on that thing.

On the positive side, I can stick the two older kids on it when they're crawling the walls. Margarita (8 yrs) once ran 3 miles. And Juan Carlos loves to use it as a jungle gym:

Got to go. The beast calls.

The Best of Small Town Mexico-The Chicken Store

I come from the land of "super-sizing". I know it's a generalization, but I think it's fair to say as Americans we tend super-size everything, our fries, our cars, our homes and our stores. We love the convenience of one-stop shopping like Super Wal-Mart, Super Target, etc. I am not bashing it; I enjoy it very much (as would attest my credit card companies).

But, living here we have experienced a different kind-of shopping that is also nice. Our town has several larger grocery stores and as of yet they have not run out of business the many smaller stores. Some of these "stores" are simply a table on the sidewalk in front of a home with fruits and veggies on it. Others are larger and not apart of the owner's home. Today's "Best of Small Town Mexico" is the chicken store that we go to. It is a short walk from our house and Juan Carlos and I often go there in the morning to buy chicken.

In a town where there's not much to do, going to the chicken store, or the meat or fruit store gives us an activity. It's nice for the kids because it's a lot more personal experience than going to a larger store; the storeowners always remember them. And, being a regular in a few of these places has helped in obtaining normal prices instead of the "special" Gringo rates.

Anyway, the chicken store is clean, the workers are friendly and the chicken is tasty. They will give you are chicken any way you want it. Whole, parts, skin on, skin off, bone-in, bone-out, whatever! I like to prepare a whole chicken every now and again and I love this store because they will take out the nasty inside parts for me so I never have to touch them. They always ask me if I want to keep the feet, which are commonly eaten here. I always decline.

Here's a picture of the owner, the man on the right, and two guys that work there. Notice all of the tools on the wall. If you ask for a demonstration, they are always happy to oblige.

Check out these scissors!

And now for the grand finale, Julio and Juan Carlos's favorite part (it is NOT my favorite part) of each visit, a peek into the freezer full of chickens: