Laurie and Karen's Farewell

Not everyone you meet here is American or Mexican. There are a few Europeans, South Americans and a smattering of other nationalities. One interesting couple we have spent a little time with are Laurie and Karen from the U.K. They have a couple of small kids with adorable English accents.


Laurie and Karen

They had an interesting living arrangement here - they had separate houses, yet would do things together and take the kids around a lot. Laurie was doing some acting here, and Karen is an artist and focused on weaving. They are both very nice.

Today we picked the kids up at the bus stop, and went for comida at Ten Ten Pie, one of our favorite restaurants near the daily drop-off. Bryce and Laurel's friend Reddy showed up while we were ordering, and hung out with us for a while. Eight year old Reddy is one of the from-Baltimore kids, and is a classmate of our kids at school. He gets along splendidly with both Bryce and Laurel. Bryce enjoys his boy-energy, and Laurel and Reddy are intellectual equals, which is refreshing for Laurel. He just wandered over from his house, about ten minutes away, and knew we would be there. His mom called and made sure he was there, but it was pretty cool to see him being so independent and making his way over to be with us. He is a super nice kid.

After lunch, we went over to Sam and Anne's house with Reddy, and I finally got the tour of their new house. Sam is a history buff (and ex-eighth grade history teacher), and the house is perfect for him. It feels slightly medieval. It's beautiful inside and out.

The plan was to go to Laurie and Karen's for a party. They were leaving to return to England the next day, and wanted to have a farewell party at their house. About thirty adults and kids were there, and I got to meet some new parents from our school - mostly from the younger grades. They had a piñata, and Laurie bought some homemade bottle rockets which he set off as well. They had pizza, beer and wine. The kids and adults had a great time.

So ended another social day here. Anne and I were discussing why it's so comfortable here and easy to meet people, and how everyone is so nice. We're a little puzzled as to why this is. One theory is that the act of taking the leap and living in Mexico with your family creates a common bond, and acts as a sort of filter for like-minded people. Another theory is that we Americans are a minority, which may also bring us together. Whatever the magic is, it's working. And sadly we have just twelve days left to enjoy it.