there is a bon fire area. there are old broken jeeps. there is no internet. but there was lots of people and lots of fun.

after a long journey on friday, including a stop at my “dad’s” friend’s house in one of the richest areas around (surrounded by a brick wall because it is right next door to the poorest area around), a stop at some of his business clients, and then we arrived. i had soup for dinner and retired to sleep. saturday i awoke late, around noon, and went outside to admire the property in the daylight. a crisp autumn breeze biting at my nose, reminding me that i had a cold and needed to blow my nose. then i spent all day painting. i painted three paintings and finished all my others. my “dad’s” daughter and her husband and their 5 year old girl came to visit also. she was a handful, but i gladly gave her my watercolors and some paper to help out the adults for at least a little while. saturday night my “mom” edited my 18 page painting research paper about surrealism. yes that is right an 18 page paper in spanish (minus the space of 10 images). she loved it. told me she was impressed with the head on my shoulders. impressed with the way my mind worked. she also requested a painting as a leaving gift. i told her i thought i could manage that. on sunday, nacho’s (the daughter’s husband) family came out for an asado or BBQ for father’s day. we ate lots of meat. i sat and tried to participate in rapid spanish conversations amongst family. then i just retired to play with the children. although that also truly tests your language skills. children. if you can talk to them, you are good. as night approached, we lit a huge fire. i felt right at home.

my “dad” kept asking me if we do things like that where i come from. i informed him that i was well versed in building huge fires. it was weird to watch my host dad in the exact same position i am often used to seeing my real dad in.

sunday night i then caught a ride home with nacho’s sister, who’s car broke down, so then his other sister picked me up from where we were stranded, and then i took the bus home from her house. overall, the perfect way to relax before my last stressful weeks of classes.