criplomats

We are in the countdown to leaving and are getting pretty excited. Last Sunday we went to David and Suzy’s house for the afternoon and met their baby. We really enjoyed getting to know them, and John especially enjoyed gaming with David.

Yesterday we spent the day with three other older couples and had a lovely time. We went to Janet and Paco’s house for chiles en nogada, a classic stuffed chile with a creamy walnut sauce and topped with pomegranate – the colors of the Mexican flag. Since pomegranate is in season now, now is the time to make them and they are delicious. Their house is lovely, especially Janet’s extensive backyard garden – just beautiful. The day was filled with excellent food and conversation.

I spoke to the incoming medical school class on Monday – one of the universities has a curriculum just for American students, so I gave a short talk about what the Consulate does and basically told them not to get arrested. It was fun to get out of the office.

We went to dinner at La Matera, one of our favorite restaurants here, on Friday after work. I love sitting on their covered porch, especially when it rains because it’s very pleasant. Well, it rained! It was one of the hardest rains I’ve seen here, plus about 15 minutes of hail, too! We had a devil of a time getting home because all the streets were flooded, but eventually we made it!

Here’s a photo of my team at work – we were saying goodbye to a co-worker visiting from the Vallarta office.

ACS team

With Allyn and Scotty

We were tickled that Scotty and Allyn drove up from Puerto Vallarta to see us this weekend! They arrived Friday evening after work. After enjoying the balcony for a while, we went to a good little Greek restaurant in Zapopan that Scotty found.

Saturday morning, they went with me to Tonala to pick up a few things I wanted to take back with me. We had a great time shopping for glass and pottery. I dropped them off in Tlaquepaque so they could have lunch there and shop some more.

Shopping for pots

This morning we walked to Dainzu for breakfast, enjoying the crisp cool air after last night’s rain. Afterward, we loaded up their car with a lot of the things John and I were planning to give away – we were so happy the boys could use a lot of our stuff. Their SUV was pretty full when they pulled away. I’ve really enjoyed getting to visit with them while in Mexico!

Saturday afternoon/evening, Pete and I threw ourselves a despidida (going away party). Most all of our staff came with their families, and we ate tacos and visited. It was a lot of fun, and of course, I got a little teary eyed. Pete actually is wheels up on Friday and I am going to miss him so much! Click to see all of my photos from the party.

With the best boss ever!

The whole crew

Before my presentation at Governor’s School

I gave my presentation at Governor’s School on Tuesday and had so much fun! I think the kids enjoyed it and I had a blast. Afterward they asked a bunch of questions, then I got more questions when I attended a class. The questions ranged from “how much money do you make” to “what do you think of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict”! Really cute, bright kids, and I met the daughter of a dear old friend from high school – and a really nice young man whose father was one of the Vietnamese “Boat People.” It was such and interesting and fun day, and I’m so tickled that my friend Lyle asked me to speak.

I flew to Little Rock on Sunday and had a great time visiting with Mary. We spent a lot of quality time on her front porch, sitting in chairs made by Mike Bobo’s sweet dad Ray Von. We also took several long walks with her dog Tina. I ran into several old friends – so fun to go home and see familiar faces. I had coffee with Muffy before I went to the airport on Wednesday to fly back.

Mary’s relaxing porch

John returned home to Guadalajara last night after being gone for three weeks. The last two weeks he was at Army War College for the summer residence program. He had a great time with his Army buddies and got to do some cool things, including going to the National Security Council.

And I’m happy to report he got us a cool apartment in DC! It’s on L Street, about a 15 minute walk to our offices – perfect!

The goodbyes have started already. Today we had to say goodbye to our wonderful masseuse Valeria. She’s heading off to Europe for a couple of months, and we’ll leave while she is gone. She has become a friend over the last couple of years and we will miss her. She definitely made our time here more relaxed!

With Valeria

I’m also going to miss my weekly English class for our local guard force that I’ve been helping with the last two years. They are so cute and work so hard. Here are a couple of them, advertising for my replacement.

Guards’ English class

So now, no more excuses. I spent yesterday cleaning more out of my closet. I went from 53 pairs of shoes to 25 – and I don’t even care that much about shoes! Lots of clothes going to charity here, as well. It feels good!