A couple days in which I find a purse with eyes.
              Friday was not very interesting at all except after the sun went down, so I will only explain that part. We decided to go out that night to get Oscar a green shirt for his soccer game the next day. We also wanted to go a store called Elektro Voodoo that sells very quirky shirts. We tried on some shirts and then I ordered one with a very cool octopus on it. Then as I wandered around the small but fascinating store, I found a very cool bag that was made of pieces of black leather crocheted with blue string. That on its own was cool, but to make it even cooler were two blue eyes staring at you from the middle. I really really like that bag!!!

         After going to a couple stores for various items, we went home and watched two episodes of Heroes. Thanks Emery--you got us hooked!!!
                                                           

SATURDAY

We woke up and drove Oscar to his game. The group was split up into two teams to play each other. My mom, my dad and I sat on the sidelines with Martine's sister, mom and dad. They are very nice and Paola (the other girl during soccer camp) was very friendly and didn't make me feel uncomfortable. Oscar's mini-team lost, but I think he still had fun.
         We dropped Oscar at Canek's house (Emma's house; Canek is his brother) and then went to exercise at Sedem. I kicked a ball around, got very tired doing a small number of sprints (disappointing...) and did some arm exercises.
        Before we picked up Oscar, we went to a restaurant and got some killer milkshakes and spicy pork tacos. We drove up the hill road (the same one we take to school) and went to Canek/Emma's house. Oscar, Canek and Canek's friend Carlos showed us this amazing swing that their neighbors had put up. To ride on it, you sit on a stick tied to the rope and back yourself up a hill and let go..... You swing very high and a lot of times almost run into a wall. It was totally worth it. After having a bunch of fun on that, we went home so that I could talk to Emery. After a nice long talk, I was forced to leave to go to a dinner party at Hugo's house.
        We thought that arriving a half hour late would be the appropriate Mexican timing, but no one else showed up until a hour and a half later!!!! We had a delicious dinner of sausage, carne asada, beans and tostadas and pepsi. The TV was on to watch a big boxing match but first  we tuned into the coverage from the DF on "el grito" (where the President says "viva Mexico", "viva los heroes" etc). We watched that as the night air turned very cold and I got another jacket. Then the punching-people-so-that-they-turn-into-brain-damaged-broccoli fest started. We all groaned and turned away as they battered away at each other for no apparent reason other than the money they win as a prize. I had a lot of fun that night and felt very comfortable in their company.
       We left very late that night and did very little after that before bed.

                                                               SUNDAY
                I woke up at nine in the morning in anticipation of the Ultimate game we planned to play. That didn't end up happening but we ate pancakes and played volleyball before we attempted to see the Independence Day parades but we were too late. We did see Dr. Simi dance though! (Dr.Simi is a fake doctor who is the mascot for a pharmacy chain).

We went to a bookstore and bought some English books after we unexpectedly met up with Alejandro and Coki's family. We got some very good iced mochas (or mokas, as they are spelled in Mexico) and Oscar and I walked home alone while my parents went shopping in the dreaded food market! I don't like the food market because of all the good and bad smells mixed together with the dirtiness of some parts of it.

               We got home and I rocked out to Foxy Shazam as I organized my room. Here is a link to my favorite song of theirs: Oh Lord  I really like this band because they aren't afraid to be silly. My favorite characters are the main guy (obviously), the trumpeter who is very good and the keyboardist who is just hilarious.

              When my parents got home, my mom led me out of my room and told me that something bad happened. I was very nervous about the news I was about to hear. I walked into the living room and saw my dad with very red eyes sitting on the couch with Oscar. He informed me that his grandpa died. I sat down heavily on the couch and started to cry (albeit silently but I did cry).
            My great grandpa was a very generous guy. He really liked the idea of leaving a legacy. He was a minister so after he retired, he donated fifty thousand dollars to the church. He was very fair to everyone and made sure that everyone got the same gifts. Grandpa Dave gave my cousins and I each some money. He had a very distinct beautiful voice which was very deep and had a sense of pride (pride not arrogance) in it even in the years leading up to his death. I love him very much and I will miss him greatly.
           I cried for me and my family because we will never see him again. I cried for him, Grandma Lala and I mostly cried for Papa Tom. I cried for Papa Tom because I can only imagine how hard it would be to lose a parent especially one like Grandpa Dave. He, JoJo, Auntie Liz and Park Mark took care of them very well in his last years and made a big effort to visit them often.
       My parents had the idea to make an altar for him so we will put all the things he liked on it. So far we have the traditional candles, coffee, a dollar bill and a peso (he liked money and collecting coins), incense and a representation of the dock at the Lake Place. We are working on a boat and biscuit with two figures to represent Grandpa Dave and Grandma Lala.