Get Silly

HORNADO

What a weekend… I had to wake up early again today.  Well I didn’t really have to but I actually really wanted to so that we could continue with some shopping at the market.  We woke up early enough to be at the market by 9am and I had to ask Adriana to give me something not too time consuming for breakfast.  I had Milo cereal and mango.  Although some folks told us the market wouldn’t be open until 10, it was open.  Not all the booths were up yet, but there were enough open.  We have concluded it is good to either be at the market really early or really late to get good deals.

I’ve yet to be bored at the markets.  There is sooo much to see.  Sure, the peer pressure from the sellers is intense, but they’re just trying to do business.  Some are nice, some are rude.  Be ready to be laughed at or be talked about the second you leave a booth after you’ve ‘wasted’ their time looking at what they have and asking how much everything is.  I will never forget the lack of customer service in this country.  There are older people and kids selling.  It’s amazing how good at selling the kids can be.  There is color everywhere and pretty much everything is handmade.  Negotiating has now become fun for me.  I love it when I can get a good deal.

We had to leave at least half an hour before 11am.  That is when Doña Aida and Don Manuel told Yonseili we’d be leaving to their daughter’s house for lunch.  Their daughter, Jasmine, has a young daughter that is about 17 years old and who is not very friendly… just as the mom.  Her name is Alejandra.  Jasmine’s husband, Renee, is much nicer and friendlier than they are.  Anyway, back to the market.  When we wrapped it up, we went to look for a taxi and saw one parked across the street.  As we approached it we were unsure of whether he was taken, waiting for someone, or simply asleep.  We got closer and I asked him if we could get in.  Immediately and smoothly he woke up and said, “Claro señoritas.”  Suurree buddy.  When we got in the car he was saying that of course we could get in… blah blah blah, and I told him he was asleep so, how were we supposed to just get in?  Throughout the entire ride when Yonseili would tell him where to go through, he would answer, “Si niñita.”  He said that so many times he got annoying.  So first, this dude was asleep but played it off ‘cool’ since he had his cool shades on; second, he treated us like little girls; third, he freakin’ covered the taxi meter!  What the hell?!  Yonseili pointed that out to me when he put the typical taxi rag that’s always red over the meter.  When we got to the house he asked for $3.  We knew we were getting ripped off.  I told the man, “Oiga, y eso es lo que dice el taximetro?”  He looked down at it kind of embarrassed and said yeah.  I told him that what he was doing wasn’t right, that we got the ride to the market for less and it was even through a long route.  What-ever dude, keep it.  He knew what he did was wrong and he figured it was too late to admit it so he continued acting 'smoothly.'

Playing pool

So we were happy to see that Yonseili's host parents weren't there yet because apparently they had told her we had to be there 15 minutes 'til 11.  When they got there we were told we were leaving right away so we got into the car and waited for them to get in.  And Don Manuelito drove off in the northern direction.
Jasmine's house was big.  It is two story.  She has a small front yard and when you walk in there are a bunch of family pictures welcoming you.  To the right there is a big living room and next to it a big dining room and a bar as well.  To the left there is a staircase, a guest restroom, a game room in which we played pool and ping-pong.  Before walking into the

game room, to the right there's the entrance to the kitchen.  We sat in the kitchen for a while until Renee asked if we liked to play pool.  So we did that.  Jasmine called Alejandra (the daughter) to come downstairs for the longest time, but she never did, until lunch time.  For lunch we had to sit down with her and her little cousin.  It was a bit awkward but the casual conversation eased things.  Overall Yonseili and I had fun playing pool and ping-pong.  The people were nice.  They have a huge German Shepherd by the way and a nice gray cat.  It rained most of the day and I really enjoyed the drive back especially with the bull-fighting music in the background that Don Manuelito put on.

Yonseili invading the lady's space

The rest of the afternoon we just chilled.  It was nice.

Highlight of the day: Just having fun with Yonseili.  We were acting really silly, especially with the ping-pong, and just laughed a lot.  Although we put ourselves into situations that may not be easy, simply awkward, or that may even be boring, we help each other make the best of it.