Kale and all of its wonders!

MMMM..... Kale! Kale is my new favorite tasty snack. Wash it off and cut off the stalk. Put it in the oven on 375 degrees until the kale turns crispy and toasted. Sprinkle with olive oil, sea salt and nutritional yeast. Divine. I decided to look up the health benefits of kale. Turns out, kale is rich and abundant in calcium, lutein, iron and vitamins A, C, and K. Kale has 7 times the amount of beta-caroten as broccoli. It has the anti-oxident Vitamin E and is rich in fiber. What is there not to like about Kale? Yummmmmy!

Back in Norman.

My last few days in Colima were fantastic. I finally got to go to Tecoman and hang out at the beach. I had been wanting to go since I got to Mexico and Michel and Emgidio finally took me. Along the way, we saw some friends of Michel's pulled over on the side of the road. Their car had broken down, so they hopped in the car with their kite surfing gear and headed to Tecoman with us. We dropped them off at the laguna and went to have lunch. I had a shrimp cocktail with tomato, jalapeno, onion, lime and salt. Absolutely divine accompanied by a Victoria cerveza. Victoria is only sold in Mexico, so you must cherish it while you can. After multiple hours of sitting in the middle of the laguna, we headed back for Colima. On the way out, we stopped on the side of the road for a cold coconut. They hack it open with a machete and stick a straw in it for you. Then, when all of the coco milk is gone, they hack it in half and scrape out all of the flesh. They put it in a bag with chili, lime and salt. Divino.

Later that night, we went to eat with Dania's family at PizzaKoket. Mexican pizza has never been my favorite, but these weren't bad. Afterwards, Dania's mom dropped us off at Los Maderos where several friends were having drinks. I didn't really know many, so I had Emigdio pick me up and take me with him :) We went to his friends house for drinks and then out to the Capacha for some ridiculous Quincenera. We finally made it out to his friend's rice exporting plant where a DJ set up and played all night long. It was way fun and a great despedida from my friends.

On Sunday, Carlos Arzate and I went for nadadoras, again. I am near obsessed with the panela. I am going to try to make them here, but we will see. I even brought the chilis from mexico that I need to make them. I spent the rest of the day descansando with Emigdio and Cao. We ordered sushi and watched a movie. After that, I went for my final Paletas de la Villa. I ate two; one mango and the other nuez. Finally, Boris, Chicho, Mariana, Michel, Nayeli, Emgidio, Fer and I went to eat tacos and say our goodbyes. :( I always miss my friends dearly and they nor I understand why I don't live there. Hopefully, if all goes as planned, I can graduate from grad school and make it down there. I know if I don't do it, I will regret it horribly. I am almost positive I have more friends in Colima than I do here in Norman. Its pretty crazy.

Thursday July 15th, 2010

On Thursday, I slept til almost 11. I cant believe my body finally has given in and allowed me to sleep. Danias Mom, Lety, made sopitos for la comida. Sopitos are mini tortillas barely fried with meat, cheese, lettuce and a tomato based soupy sauch on top. Delicious. I have not eaten this much meat in a long time, but Im in Mexico! Her Dad has been planting his rice at the ranch and has been gone a lot. He showed up for the comida yesterday, but he had a baby cow that was less than a week old in the back of his truck. It had gotten lost from its mama and was scared and sick. He tried to feed it milk, but it didnt want to eat. So he came in to eat with us. By the time we got done eating, the poor thing had died in the back of the truck. It was super sad :(

Yesterday, Emigdio and I went to check out Colimas downtown, since I hadnt been in a long time. Not much had changed. Then he had a soccer game at 8 so we went and it started to pour. It has rained everyday since ive been here. He didnt end up playing, so we decided to suprise surprise..... go eat! Dania, Fer, Michel, Nayeli, Emi and I went to Antigua Comala to eat. Emigdio and I split the biggest quesadilla with asada I have ever seen with frijoles bien ricos! We also split a bottle of wine. It was super tranquil and lovely. We arrived home around midnight and passed out muy a gusto. It was raining pretty hard and windy and therefore cool outside and it made it easy to sleep.

Danias dog, Lola is a palmeranian. It yaps a lot and it basically hysterical all of the time. She got into a chocolate bar and ate almost the entire thing plus Dania fed her bits of brownie. So we awoke to her dog puking in her bed this morning and pooping all over the place. Good times. She seems to be fine now.

Dania and her family are going to Manzanillo to see her grandparents and family for the weekend, but I am going to stay here with my friends since its my last few days in Colima. Tonight we are going to Fernandos ranch to cook out with all of our close friends. It will be lots of fun and probably too much drinking, but im on vacation, right mom? Tomorrow I am going to Michoacan for a campout on the beach for my last night in Colima. I believe a DJ is playing on the beach and it should make for good stories later. Its almost time for la hora de comer (dinner time at 3pm) and I am going to go eat with Emigdio.

The sun is out today and I am ready to enjoy the humidity. Although I always thought it was hotter here in Colima, it has only gotten up to 85 since ive been here. I think we were just huge babies about not having air conditioning when we were here.

SHOUT OUT TO KELLIE!!! <---- Happy Kellie?!

Oh and I love you Mom!

Monday, July 12th- Wednesday July 14th

Monday was much more tranquilo. Dania and I ran some errands to get her car ready to sell and stayed around the house most of the day. Day meaning that we woke up at noon. Then Emigdio and I went to see Karate Kid and to eat tacos al pastor! Surprise surprise, it involved food, again!!

Tuesday was mas o menos busy. Dania, Marce and I helped her mom prepare Posole to take to La Campacha. All of her friends gather every tuesday for the hora de comer (big meal of the day) out at a pavillion type thing outside of Colima. We went around 3 and stayed til around 7. Posole was delicious and I heard about all of the newest Colima gossip against my will. Then we went back to las Paletas de la villa for more! yummmm..... I met Danias friend Pati and then Emigdio picked me up and we went to Fernandos house. We watched a movie with him, michel and Nayeli. (the newest couple) ;)

Wednesday, we woke up super early and drove to Guadalajara with Marce and Danias Mom. We went to the car dealership to buy danias Honda Civic. She was super excited. It took all day to take the care to the mechanic to make sure it was okay and do all of the paper work. I tried to convince her to let me talk to the manager to get the price down, but she didnt believe me. We only talked him down $1500 pesos (like $150 bucks). She really wanted the car and was willing to pay full price. Shes crazy! It was interesting to see how different the car buying process is in Mexico than in the United States. After buying her car, she couldnt drive it off the lot until it has plates and insurance, so she will pick it up on Monday. Then, we went to the huge mall for lunch and to make a trip to Zara. We decided to drive back to Colima that day instead of staying the night.
In Colima, I went back to La Villa to eat Sopitos with Daniel Ortiz Sanchez. We went for a Michelada and caught up on life. We went to bed early since the power went out.

Sunday! July 11, 2010

Sunday was the finals of the World Cup 2010! Emigdio picked me up around 11:30 and we went to have breakfast at Jugo Lunch. I ate Chilaquiles verdes with frijoles and fresh OJ and he had huevos rancheros. Delicious!

After breakfast, we went to Bernardo Raigosas new house to watch the game. They had ceviche and cervezas. Delicious. Spain won and I was happy about that, but then it was time to eat, again. Boris, Nayeli, Michel, Raigosa, Sandra, Emigdio, and I went to eat Sushi!! Im pretty sure I ate crab and I didnt break out, thank god. From there, we all went to eat Paletas de la Villa!! I love them, every time I go, I eat at least 3. They only cost 6 pesos, around 50 cents and are all made from fresh fruit. I had mango and pico de gallo. Pico de Gallo has mango, pineapple, chile, salt, lime, jicama and who knows what else.

After the villa, we all went to Fernandos house to watch a movie and relax. We ordered Tacos from El Gordo and of course I had a quesadilla!! Mom, you have been there. The place with the super greasy tacos! Quique and Berni use to take us all of the time. Then we played charades until 2am. What fun!!

Did anyone notice how much I ate that day? Im pretty sure I am going to come back 10 pounds heavier. I LOVE COLIMA!! ;)

Saturday, July 10th

Saturday was a great day too. I finished Sarahs Key and hung out with Danias Mom, Lety, until Dania and Marce got in that evening from Guadalajara. That morning I woke up not feeling so great from the night before. I was in shorts and a tshirt when Chicho knocked on the door. I went outside to see him and shut the door behind me. Little did I remember that when you shut the door, it locks automatically. I was locked outside in little clothing, no shoes, and makeup smeared all over my face. Chicho called Dania in Guadalajara to call her Mom to tell her how stupid I am. HA! So, while I waited on her, Chicho and I went to pick up his fiance, Mariana. Im glad she likes me and doesnt think im absolutley nuts showing up with no shoes on. When I finally got inside, I showered and then Quique came to visit! It was my first time to see him in 3 years. I couldnt believe he came. It was great to see him and I was glad to see he was happy and doing well. He has been married now 2 years. He is currently jobless because his Dad took a job at the same port he was working at and I guess if a family member works there, you cannot.

That night, I convinced Dania to go out with me, even though she didnt want to. We went to a birthday party at a Ranch out by the highway going to Guadalajara. Fernando, Dania, Boris, Michel, Nayeli, Chicho and I went. There were tons of friends there and Luis Miguel was the DJ. Mom, Luis Miguel is the one who came to visit in Oklahoma. The ranch was amazing!!! I have never seen one so nice, I wish I would have taken more pictures. There I saw Orlando and Fernando, they guys that Casie Copeland knew from when she lived in Colima. Another lovely day on vacation!!

Suchitlan July 9, 2010

Friday was absolutley amazing!! Fernando picked me up around 3 to go to Suchitlan. Nayeli was already with him and we picked up Emigdio. Suchitlan is something that no one should miss if they ever come to Colima. The food is to die for. Panela, cheeses, beans, black corn tortillas and tostadas, all kinds of meats, delicious hot chocolate and salsas!!!

After Suchitlan, we went to Fernandos ranch just between Suchitlan and Comala. I am pretty sure every time I come to Colima, we go to his ranch. It is beautiful and exactly what my house would look like if I lived in Colima. Not to mention they have the same saltillo floor as me. We stayed there the rest of the day sipping tequila and playing card games. Typical.

After the ranch we changed and went to the apple lounge. There, i finally got to see tons more friends and had a great time. I wished Dania would have been there with me, but she was still in Guadalajara waiting on her sister to fly in from Monterrey.

Vacation is the best!!

July 8th, 2010

On Thursday, I took the bus to Colima from

Guadalajara. Damaris dropped me off at the bus stop in Guadalajara. It cost $195 pesos and took me straight to Colima, just where I wanted to be :) Fernando Amezcua picked me up from the bus station and took me to Danias parents house. I started to read Sarahs Key while everyone was at work. That evening, Sean Farley came to see me. I had not seen him in over 5 years! I couldnt believe it. He stayed for a couple hours and visited with me and Danias parents. Then, Michel and Amezcua picked me up to go have Micheladas! There, Emigdio met up with us and we ran into our old friend Cao. He use to take us to his ranch our first summer in Colima. What a wonderful day in Colima!!

Finally en Guadalajara

Today Aunt Pye gave me a ride to the Dallas airport to catch my flight to Guadalajara, Mexico!! Dania was there to pick me up, as always! We went directly to get un helado (ice cream) and then to her apartment to drop off my things and change. We are going to go eat some real Mexican food here in a few minutes and I cannot wait!! Yummmm... I will probably break my recent vegetarian habits today.

The plan as of now is to stay here in Guadalajara this week since Dania has to work until Friday. Then we are going to Colima for the weekend to see all of my friends. It is also Danias dads birthday so we are going to their rancho on Sunday for a comida and party for him. Then we plan on getting on the bus in Guadalajara with two of our friends and heading North to Los Mochis, Sinaloa. From there, we are taking the Tren al Pacifico through Las Barrancas del Cobre (copper canyon). Who knows where this adventure will take us, but im excited I finally convinced Dania to sleep out in the open in a tent for the second time in her life. hahahaha. what great friends I have in mexico! Just imagine girlie Dania being forced to rough it with sally la loca. Cant wait. We shall see how it goes. Anyone wanna bet we end up in a hostel with a shower!?

My Blog, Finally!

I know that after more than 10 years of traveling internationally, I should have started a blog a long time ago. So from now on, instead of sending out my rambling emails with attached pictures. I will send out the link to my blog so anyone who chooses can follow my ridiculous adventures!

So far this summer I have had knee surgery, gone to Destin, Florida for a week and gone to Chicago. Chicago was absolutely amazing. I went to visit my long-time friends from Boulder, Brad and Colin. Brad and I biked all over Chicago to see the sights and enjoy the beautiful summer weather in Chicago. It was 80 degrees and sunny everyday I was there. Since I could barely walk 10 blocks, riding a bike was very helpful for me to see Chicago. We did a lot of eating and drinking and it was nice to see old friends again. My last day in Chicago was spent in Wrigleyville at the Cubbie's game. And for once, they won! We spent $5 on tickets in the nosebleed section and ended up in the very bottom section right behind home plate. Things always seem to work out that way. Needless to say, I will be back to Chicago and hopefully sooner than later!

Today, I am setting off on a almost 3 week journey through Mexico. Tomorrow morning I fly to Guadalajara, Mexico to meet up with Dania, my bestest friend from Mexico ever. She always makes fun of my "no plan plan" that I will always stick to. The only plan I have so far is to go see "Las Barrancas del Cobre" in Southwest Chihuahua. Also known as the Copper Canyon which houses the scenic Pacific Railroad that winds through the tunnels and canyons. My adventure will involve planes, buses, trains, bicycles and my own two feet. Other than that, who knows what I will get into in Mexico. The past 5 or so visits to Mexico I have stayed within Colima and Jalisco and I am definitely ready to spread my wings out of that area of Mexico and see something new.