Mom´s Visit

Admist meeting Jack Black this past week, we also visited some incredible sights! We wandered through the Zapotec ruins of Monte Alban.

Visited the mineral springs of Hierve el Agua (the water boils). The water has been seeping out for ages and has left salt deposited to form what looks like a waterfall. The road up there was just as adventurous. Our little rental car climbed and climbed up the moutains, above where the eagles were soaring, passing the mules climbing cliffs and cattle being goaded by small girls and small dogs.






We also had a wild time on a 4 hour long Safari in Puebla. We could pull right up to animals such as giraffe´s, rhino´s, hippos, ostrich´s, tigers, black bears, lions, elephants, buffalo, wildabeasts, anteaters, baboons, zebras, etc. I´m talking arm lengths from the car! The animals weren´t afraid of the cars or humans. Definetly worth the 12 bucks if can´t afford to actually go down to Africa!

Nacho Libre

Today we headed out to one of the many markets of Oaxaca. The first one we were going to this morning was the organic market located in the ancient aqueducts of the city. On going to the market, we saw a movie set outside one of the arches of the duct. I thought it was just some Mexican movie being shot, so we continued on our way and went to the market. We got there and were looking around when Sherry tells me she forgot her camera. I gave her the keys to the car and that was that.

A few minutes later, she comes back and says to me, ¨Guess who is the producer of the movie! Jack Black!!¨ I didn´t really believe her, but I got excited anyway. So we hurry what we were doing and go back to the set. She had told me that she saw JB dressed as a monk. We get to the set, and I see this Mexican guy dressed as a monk. I´m thinkin, GREAT! This Mexican actor has stolen another actor´s name! I did think it strange though, all the producers and the director were english speaking white guys.

So we stand in the background listening to the director (Jared Hess) and the producers talk. We watched Jared Hess in action directing the scene. Just for relativity, Jared Hess is the guy who directed Napolean Dynamite! So I´m waiting for them to stop talking so I can ask what the movie is about. I was sorta scared that if I asked them they would kick us away from the set. But Sherry jumps right in and asks what it´s about. When the producer is telling us what it´s about, I remember reading somewhere about it. Nacho Libre is about a half Mexican man (Jack Black)who goes to Mexico (or was he already there?) to learn to become a monk . Unfortunately, he falls in love with a beautiful Mexican nun, which is obviously forbidden if he´s to be a monk. So to show his manliness, at night, he becomes a Mexican wrestler named...NACHO LIBRE! So we film more and take pics and the producer INVITES US TO SIT DOWN IN THE MOVIE PEOPLE CHAIRS!! HOW AWESOME!!

Anyway, we´re waiting for Jack to show up, and the producer is being nice and asking questions about Sherry, me, and Gwyn. Then we see JB coming up! It was really cool to watch him cause the crowd parted for a short chunky guy in a monk suit. So they get started with this part of the film. What JB was supposed to do was to sneak up one of the arches, peek around and come back, take some nachos out of his pocket, run around the corner, throw the nachos and run back. I´m sure it´ll make more sense when the film comes out. We watched these takes five times. There was the whole ¨ACTION!¨ and ¨CUT!¨ and ¨QUIET ON THE SET!!¨

After all this, JB and the producer talk a little bit and they start rearranging the set. Apparently they don´t need JB for a bit, so he whips out his Nintendo DS (Yes Vince and Joey, he has one) and starts to play. I ask the producer if it would be okay if we went over to go get a picture with him. The producer thinks and said he would go ask JB if it would be okay. Next thing we know, he´s standing up and coming towards us!! It was really COOL! Unfortunately, he did look a little put out of coming over, but we were grateful anyway. So I introduce myself, Sherry, and Gwyn and he asks us how long we´re going to be here, etc. Just basic stuff. So we get our picture taken with Jack Black! He may look heavy, but he´s SOLID as a rock! We even got VIDEO!! We were just blown away that of all places to produce a movie, they choose OAXACA MEXICO!! Apparently they filmed the week we were gone to the beach in the park that´s right across the street from our home. Also in the towns of Mitla and Etla all of which we´ve been!

So that´s our day. I´ve been almost EXPLODING to get this out! HERE ARE DA PICS!! Oh, NACHO LIBRE! IN THEATERS JUNE 2006!

CO visit pics

These pics are slightly old. They´re from last month. Some pics of us at the lunch (I actually cooked!) with the CO in Oaxaca. Pics of our very hard time preaching on the coast :P Itzel in a sand mermaid and so on...

Home to Washington

Well our American friends have returned home to Washington state. They have been down here for 10 months serving in English. Eboni (22) and Ashton (19) are cousins (I know Eboni looks black, but she´s only half from her mom´s side) who hopefully will come visit us soon in Atlanta. Eboni´s parents came down to visit here for a few days, her dad and B hit it off and he invited us to stay with them whenever we can come to Washington. We´re hoping to go visit Washington sometime this next year. They will be missed, now B and I are all on our lonesome....no one to go to the movies with, to get B´s jokes and Napolean Dynamite quotes! Here´s some pics of the good times we had together...

New Flava!

Hmm...this tortilla doesn´t taste right...what does it need...how about some...CHILE...mmm! That´s great!! But it´s still missing something....hmmm...let´s try some...LEMON JUICE!! YEAH!! That´s EVEN BETTER!!

And so from that one mexican, it spread...and spread...What was this new flava that this lone Mexican forced upon his family and friends so that it has become a national flavor for most everything? ¨Chile y limon¨. That´s right, from Chile y Limon Doritos, to Chile y Limon marinade, it has become a national craze. They even put it on fruit! Here´s a list of fruits they put chile y limon on: Apple, pineapple, watermelon, coconut, maracuýa (passion fruit), míspero (mexican fruit), pomegranite, and basically any fruit you can think of.

Also there was the recent Awake! that mentioned a mexican root called Jicama...guess what the society said tastes great on it...you guessed it, CHILE Y LIMON! They even grill up Nopal (cactus) and put chile y limon on it; also in a recent Awake! Street venders selling corn put mayo and chile y limon as flavoring...I half expect chile y limon jelly for our morning toast!

You can not find anything snacky without it having the one flavor or the other. Chile Cheetos, chile peanuts, chile chile. Limon chips, limon limon. I´m pretty sure I saw chile toothpaste, limon toothpaste, and chile and lemon toothpaste. They even put a mixture of chile and lemon salt in beer.

Even the brothers and sisters say the most obscure things taste good with chile y limon. Both Sherry and I have spoken to brothers and sisters about foods we like and they are almost always guaranteed to say that whatever it is tastes good with chile y limon. I think the Mexicans would say POOP tastes good with chile y limon!!

Brandon