The Angry, Hungry Wolf

These are a troupe of my third graders (US=ninth grade) acting out a skit we created in class. The three boys on their knees are portraying sheep. They aren´t supposed to be laughing because the fellow on the upper left is an angry, hungry wolf. Maybe they feel secure because hiding behind the cactus (the cactus is the chamaco in the black jacket with yellow stripes) is a shephard boy. It´s obvious, no?

Les cuento un cuento,

Pepino Salvaje

Joe D.

Joe D. taught me the obvious; how to get pictures on to this blasted blog. It is as easy as spreading cajeta onto a tortilla. It took me three months and a brief Joe D. email to get it right. For that reason, I dedicate the first Pepino Suave Images to "The Sampler". Enjoy. They are illustrations of Joe´s trials in the Sierra. In the pictures above, you see two Limited English Speaking Outlaws (LESOs) robbing Joe of his ice-cold Corona (on left).
He cried for hours....until we chipped in for another beverage (see right).
Click to enlarge!

Bonito para la foto,

P.S.

Inky´s Site

Check out Inky´s site for some great Joe D. photagraphy and web design. He may be gone physically, but he´s still with us cyberally. Just click on the¨Inky Fournier" icon to the right. Hats off to Don Joe.

I am off to watch the herd while the gals have a night out. Wish the kids luck.

Una niñera,

Prof. Pepino

One Down

Uncle Joe packed his bags and left. He should be flying out of D.F. some time this morning. Poor guy. Comes to Mexico, visits our apartment packed with U.S.immigrants, follows us on fieldtrips that include closed restaurants, locked schools, and cheesy tourist sites (at least he saw a cowboy kiss me. Details to follow). By morning he had purchased the mexican over-the-counter knock off of his american behind-the-counter migraine meds, his bottle of cajeta, kissed his wife, jumped in a taxi, and was off in a cloud of dust. I am left with four wonderful, albiet energetic kids, and three american women (my voice will get a good rest).
Today the gang is finishing the 8 meter by 4 meter wall map of the word that they began yesterday at Talea´s school, and then they are going swimming. These kids are great. They actually love to work. And they are good workers - all of them under the age of ten!
Massimo and Valentino are mixing with the locals. Massimo actually helped teach an English class yesterday. He was recruited by the English teacher. Gabriel is the charm of the Guadiana Valley. People adore her. My Talea is enchanted by her visitors. She´ll want to go home with them, I am sure.

Desde La Niñera,

Pepino Dejado

Tía Meeker

Our traveling chum Michelle Manion, aka Meeker, arrived last night after a three-day spin in Mexico City. Ingrid the Pepina and I picked her up after an incredibly romantic dinner at La Tela restaurant, a great haunt highly recommended by Joe "The Sampler" Deltoso. The Deltosos allowed us a night out while they watched our mocosa Talea and their own offspring. Ink and I stared deeply into each other´s eyes as we agreed what an absolute fabulous catch I was. Funny how Ink and I think alike. Uncanny.
The girls are painting a wall map, Joe is wandering, and I am at school writing this between modules, while planning my afternoon nap.

El esposo de los esposos,

Pepino Suavezón

Pepino Suave

Buenas Tardes Amigos...

While Ink plays chess with my 7 year old Valentino, while Talea and Gabriella rearrange furniture as they play hide and seek, while Massimo creates yet another work of oragami to adorn the apartment, while Don Jose sleeps, I write.... Will apartment 902 ever be the same? God Bless the Fourniers for taking us all in!

After arriving at the conclusion that charter schools are the begnning of the end of the American public education system over drinks last night...at breakfast we fully disclosed who uses and who chooses not to use underarm deodreant and why....we packed our ruck sacks and were off for the day to visit the various parks in Durango.

Un dia muy bonita....and feeling especially fit as I spent an hour with ingrid and las mujeres de durango in water fitness class last night. what a treat that was....no one drowned as far as i could tell. looking forward to more class time this next week and hopefully some ´¨New York¨¨!

We thought we were going to draw and paint on the walls at Taleas school, but we think the janitor took a really long coffe break...manana, maybe. So we enjoyed the great outdoors in a huge park, watching the children swing - and fall off swings, play ball, chase the piegeons in the plaza (Bino we thought of you as we watched the pigeons!), .... all in all a great day.

Looking forward to more drama in Amor y Custdia, solving more of the worlds promblems over vampiros- what a cocktail!, and just leading the life of the Fourniers. And we´ve all got high hopes that Padre Andres will be saying mass in the morning.

Gracias Tio Tim for letting me blog...and for sharing apartment 903 with us for the week!

La Martita (Inks college buddy from JMU)

Dress Code

Good morning my public. The copy guy went out to pay the taxista, so I have a few minutes. Thought I´d give you a Hosting the Deltosos update:

• Overheard while Ink and I were burning breakfast: "Honey, see what Tim is wearing." First, those words were never arranged in that way in the history of the English language. Second, now Durango has two gringos walking around looking like middle-aged Forest Gump; one with a twenty peso Mexican haircut.
• All Deltoso kids are polite, respectful, quiet, clean, and cute. Salen de su mamá...
• The adults didn´t go out last night. While the rugrats slumbered, we drank cuba libres, vampiros, luke-warm Coronas in tiny bottles, ate everything that Doc Laseter told us not to, and judged everyone, and every instutution we know. The world is a diffent place this morning; fuzzy and kind of cotton mouthed.

We´re off to Talea´s school to paint a map. Then to Parque Guardiana to set the kids free and let a couple of old Gringos nap under a tree. Si Díos lo quiere...

Hosting the Deltosos,

Antifiltrón Pepino

Special Feature

All the millions of Pepino Sauve fans, associates, admirers, and creditors be aware of an incredible, once in a lifetime, special feature. The Pepina, Inky Fournier, has lent her blog to a ghost writer for the day. Simply click on the Inky Fournier icon to the right there, and be treated to our visitor´s point of view of the Pepino experience in Durango. Yes, Joe "Boom-Boom" Deltoso shares his own Italian-American perspective of Northern Mexico. Free of charge. Enjoy.

One clarification, if you will allow. Young Sr. Deltoso writes of an incident that occurred today that, I am afraid, was not entirely correct. Yes, a student did yell an English explicative my way. In fact, he did so several times in the middle of a mid-afternoon Gigante supermarket, of all places. Important, too, is that the student was not mine; he studies at a rival school. And, I regret to say, he swears in impecable English. Pepino Suave smells competition...

That is the rest of the story, Pepino pals.

Hosting the Deltosos,

Pepino

Tikkitikkitimbo

My third grade (equivalent to U.S. ninth grade) girls were all absent today. They attended a practice for a Special Olympics activity later this month. That left me with a Friday afternoon full of boys-only classes. Let me tell you, there was a lot less distraction. Some of the boys who spend my classes in a stupor where actually engaged and , believe it or not, were understanding my lesson. We had a ton of laughs because the anxiety level was so low - it was just us guys. My last class helped create the best story of the day. A summary:

There is a Chinese dinosaur named Tikitikitimbonosinimbopoypoybuskyboypondo-hikynomenikynomiadamboy (stole that from and old Shirley and Lambchop song. Who´s old enough to remember that?) He wanted to kiss a cockroach named Sue. Sue didn´t want to kiss Tikki (for short. Lets save space and your time. For the students, I repeated the name every occasion I could. They went nuts every time). He had bad breath. So Tikki goes to a dinosaur discoteque where there are tons of fabulous unattached dinosaurs. He tries to kiss about five different dinosaurs of varying colors, but none want to because of his bad breath. Finally he meets Shakira, an incredibly attractive young dinosaur with equally incredible bad breath. The dinosaurs (I use plastic props that I bought at Miejers before coming down here. They come in packs of eight for a buck. Go out and get some.) move in slow motion towards each other as my students hum soap opera music. The dinasours kiss for 2,315.09 years and live happily until they become extinct. The end.

They pay me for this.

Siempre romantico,

Don Pepino

Está Resfriada

Talea is sick. She caught the same cold every other mocoso in town has. It is all Pepino Suave´s fault. When I picked her up from swimming Tuesday night I should have taken her home. Instead, we went on a romp through the center of town looking for spooks, candy calaveras, altares, belated trick r´ treaters, and other Halloween/Day of the Dead week adventures. Talea´s head was still wet from swimming, and we walked about two miles in the cool evening air. We saw a lot of what we were looking for, but now Talea is laid up with a sore throat and mocos. I don´t think she´d even appreciate a candy calavera right now. Bad Daddy.

Siempre humilde,

Pepino Malo

Blog Blues

Sorry for the format problems, Pepino Suave fans. For some reason, my profile and links has drifted to the bottom right of the page, and I cannot indent or add spaces to save my frijoles.
Patience, the blog might just heal itself.

Sin apoyo tecnólogico,

Pepinazo

Día de los Muertos Redeaux

Today`s Victoria de Durango reported 240,00 Duranguenses and three gringos went to the Panteón Oriente (the cementary on our side of town) between Monday and Wednesday of this week. 160,000 attended during yesterday´s festivities alone; about 70 people entering the cementary per minute.
500 youths were on hand to hire themselves out to clean and groom grave sites. We saw many of these young folks bearing shovels and hoes as they wandered the boneyard looking for work. The newspaper estimated that the crowds left behind 35 tons of trash.
We found the event to be a controlled chaos. How many peanut vendors does the consumer really need within one city block? Is the corn cob roaster really concerned with public safety by leaving red hot coals on the sidewalk? The machete-wielding sugar cane vendors were chopping their product awful close to pedestrian heads, arms, and legs. Still, for the size of the crowd, the atmosphere was calm, and there appeared to be a hint of organization. We enjoyed ourselves.
The best sight was watching a family dinning atop a tomb while mariachis surrounded them in a seranade.

Boo,

P.S.

Mexican Connection

Yesterday´s Victoria de Durango newspaper reported that the rate of U.S. dollars sent back to Mexico by emmigrants in the US is almost equivalent to the total annual earnings of the Mexican oil industry, the countries largest money maker.
The amount increased by 20% compared to the same period last year. The money flow is a result of 43.3 million seperate transactions, each worth an average US$340.
Officials note that 11 million Mexican-born live in the US, plus another 15 million of Mexican origin. The newspaper underlined the difficulty of confirming these numbers due to the large number of the undocumented.

Documentado,

Pepino Migrado

Dìa del los Fieles Difuntos

Today Mexico celebrates the Day of the Dead. As is custom anywhere, the actual holiday is stretched out for days. We have seen altares to the dead, drank atoles, and eaten pan de muerto since Monday, and will probably continue to do so until the weekend. After I finish this entry Talea, Ingrid, and I will walk over to the cementary to catch some of the action. We plan to see lots of colorful (mostly yellow) flowers, candles, mariachis, families picnicing on and around tombs, and maybe a bottle or two of taquila (taquila not a tradition particular to this holiday; pretty much omnipresent). All schools are closed, and business is dead (that in honor of the greatest punster north of the border, our dear defunct Uncle Warren).
An article in this morning`s El Siglo de Durango notes that eight out of ten terminally ill are resigned to die. It reports that wailing, singing, and crying around those other two of ten terminally ill might not be a good idea. Let´s tuck that one away in the "info. neither needed nor asked for" file located in between the¨"unsolicited advice" and "if I were you" files.

Hasta la muerte,

Pepino Vivo

Pepino Perdido

Just a short catch-up for our Pepino Suave fans. Pepinito has been wandering the last few days, and has neglected the beloved, world famous, highly regarded, oft-qouted, never awarded, pickled blog. Oh no, oh, no!
Here are some bullet points, to be fleshed-out later (we have the day off on Wednesday, thanks to the Dead):

Friday - a site visit to a school in the dusty town of Vincente Guerro, one hour south of Durango. Pepino Suave observed an English teacher at the town´s middle school. As fate would have it, the town was also celebrating St. Jude day. St. Jude is a patron saint, so Pepino helped a local family eat the pig they had raised, slaughtered and roasted, along with about half the town. Returned at dusk in time for choir practice. Details to follow.

Saturday - Pepino Suave clan spent the day at good Fidencio Reyes´ house. Fidencio of "Viernes Son Mios" fame, and his dear family provided us with a birthday cake, a great enchilada feast, a wine made of fruit I have never seen before, and several games of dominoe. Oh, and I turned 41. Details to follow.

Sunday - We skipped church (sorry both to Pastor Julie and Padre Andres) and went on a day long field trip into the Sierra with good friends Gabriel, Ovelia, and their three beautiful girls. Talea and the girls rode horses. Gabriel and I got the keys out of the locked trunk while the wives disappeared to wherever wives go when they lock the keys in the trunk. Details to follow.

Atentamente,

Pepino Andariego

Dulce o Disastre

We just returned from trick r´treating. Our little witch scored some sweets Mexican style. Locals don´t go door to door here in Durango. Gangs of kids head down to the center of town and hustle the store fronts for candies. The thing to do is yell, "!Queremos Halloween!" and open your bag in the proprieter´s face. Talea got the hang of it right quick. We stayed close to the Plaza de Armas, in front of the Catedral Menor, and hit the stores within a one block radius. By the time we got back around to the front of the plaza, Talea had a few hand fulls of dulces, and a belly full of icecream.
The plaza itself was all dressed up for the Day of the Dead celebrations this week, which is celebrated on Wednesday. It was filled with families and their little spooky children. The evening was cool and filled with music, the smells of all kinds of delicious food, and people milling about. In the center of the plaza was a two-story-tall altar set up to commemorate Pope John Paul, a recent promenant defunct. In front of the giant pictures of the prior Pope were many items found on the traditional Day of the Dead alter: Pan de muertos (bread for the dead), water, booze, candles, candy, coffee, booze, skeletons, and other neat stuff, plus booze. There were smaller kiosks set up around the plaza that explained the tradition and contained more skeletons, coffins, and the like.
A good website to find out more about this beautiful holiday:

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rjsalvad/scmfaq/muertos.html

We´ll return to the Plaza de Armas on Wednesday, after we visit the cemetary. Folks tell us the cementary will be jammed with familes celebrating deceased family and friends. Flowers, mariachis, and food are apparently a part of the event. We´ll let you know later this week.

Que susto,

Pepino Asustado

El Ambulantaje

Los Ambulantes are street vendors. They are a common part of Mexican culture. It has been noted that the worse the economy, the more ambulantes walk the streets. It is truly impressive what we have seen and heard being sold on the streets here. Talea likes to echo the local tricycle-pedaling elote (boiled corncob) vendor. As he rides through the streets with a wash tub full off steaming cobs, he shouts "¡Eloooooootes!", then Talea shouts out her refrain. They are both attention-getters.
The particular titles of the ambulantes pertain to the product they are selling. For example, the fellow selling tacos on the corner there is the taquero. Talea´s elote-hawking friend is an elotero.
This is my growing list of items I have seen pedaled on the streets: corncobs, tacos, brooms, jewlery, candy, prayer cards, shoeshines, newspapers, churros, hamburgers (a great local version is called mulcos), chimichangas (sandwich), burritos, molletes, icecream, quesadillas, nuts (sold around town from wheelbarrows. I once approached a wheelbarrow-nut-guy and asked him where I could get some nuts in town. You had to be there), camote, tortas, tamales, and lottery tickets. The list grows, and this is just the stuff that is sold. I´ll save my list of services that are offered on the street for a future entry.

Para servirles,

Pepinodero

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Pepino Sauve Fans, we need help. We need the lyrics to Raffy´s chart-topper, "Peanut Butter and Jelly (Thats What I Like in my Belly)". I done forgot the lyrics and Group 3B, 45 of the zaniest Mexican chavitos to be found in the Guadiana Valley helped create a story today that just begs for this song as its theme.
You see, there was a crow with three p.b.j. sandwiches. He was very hungry. He ate two of the sandwiches and left one behind the cactus. The coyote came along and, hungry himself, ate the remaining sandwich. I´ve left out many details for the sake of your time, but needless to say it is a saga of love and loss.
If you can help us, please send the lyrics by way of this blog, or our email address.

As always, gracias por su apoyo,

El Pepino Hambriento

Fase Uno

• The Mexican school year is broken up into five phases. This week we finish phase one with a cummulative test for each student, in each group, in each grade. Each subject level test is designed by a unit head. Hence, the test may or may not be consistant with what was taught during the phase. In my case, the test has very little to do with my program, so I am giving an additional test this week, designed by me for my students. I predict that my blog entries will be few during the next week as I will be grading tests, eating, sleeping, and grading tests, then repeating.
• Mom and Dad´s Florida estate appears to be only slightly damaged, according to reports today. They plan on arriving late this week.
• The Dominican Republic, my former Peace Corps site, and our destination for a couple of weeks last summer, sustained substantial rain and flood damage from the storm surge.
• Southern Mexico is struggling with food and water shortages and looting in the aftermath of Wilma.
• On a different note, the Durango Lobos Grisis were knocked out of the playoffs in the quarter- final round against Mexacali. Our neighbors will be home by Thanksgiving.
• I arrived home today to find Talea romping around in her Halloween costume. The little witch will participate in Halloween here. Apparently, there is some trick 'er treating here, too (Dulce o Dolor). Ingrid plans on taking her to the American school on Friday for some haunting.
• Day of the Dead paraphenalia is appearing in stores around town. We are really looking forward to next week´s Mexican tradition. Stayed tune for the blog entry.

Àndale Gueyes,

Don Pepi

Wilma

• A constant undertone of our Fulbright experience has been hurricanes. In August, I hustled home from my first week of teaching to watch coverage of Katrina. Earlier this month we watched the sad aftermath of wind and floods in southern Mexico. Late last week, Wilma made landfall in and around Cancùn, reducing it to anything but a tourist area. I awoke this morning to turn on CNN and see if Wilma had struck Florida yet. Sure enough, at 5:15 a.m., I watched as the eye of the storm was just coming ashore.
• I wondered it those CNN reporters feel as silly as they look standing in a storm. With all the technology we have at hand, I don´t know that warm bodies in the middle of natural disasters are really neccesary. Makes for great viewing. I laughed as I saw the one guy try to keep his hat on his head while hanging on to a sign post. What a way to make a living.
• Mom and Dad´s sprawling retirement complex, the "Testament to Tin", is going to get pretty battered, we´re sure. Most of the reports coming out of Florida seem to be from around the Tamiani Trail area. Los Padres are lodged safely in Washington D.C., and are being hosted by their oldest son, and heir to what is left of the trailer. Rock, his lovely wife Lori, and their three incredibly beautiful children (remember Uncle Tim when he is old) are enjoying an extended visit with our beloved parents (I´ll never give up).
• We watched Chicago take Houston in Game 2 of the World Series. The Spanish ESPN station broadcast it here. What a thrilling 9th inning.
• Last night the Pepino Suave clan was invited out to dinner by Rosi and Karina, two fellow teachers of P.S. We were treated to a wonderful seafood meal in a popular spot north of town. There was live music onstage, as well as roaming Mariachis that went from table to table taking requests. Someone* told the management that Talea and I were celebrating birthdays this week, so we had to wear silly hats while the restaraunt, staff and diners, sang "Las Mañanitas" to us. Once the song was over, I was forced to drink a shot of taquila while the crowd roared in approval. When in Rome, er Durango...

Los vientos sì soplan,

Huracán Pepino

*Loose-Lips Inky