Mady: This is the story of my birthday. I felt so happy and I was really excited but I was worried about doing the ‘mordita’ (biting the cake with no hands) in my classroom.
Jade: There was a party in Mady’s classroom with cake, juice and pizza and my teacher said it was ok for me to go into the classroom until the party ended. I got to sit by my friend Alexandra. My dad and mom were there too.
Mady: After school on my birthday we went on a trip to the cenotes. It is a natural little pool made from a crater from space that crashed here a long, long time ago. The bottom is made out of rocks or mud and there was a big one with a rope that you could hang onto if the water was too deep.
Mady: The little cenote was up to my waist. There were fish about the size of my foot and they nibbled at my feet and it tickled.
Jade: We also got to see wild famingos but they were too far away. We went to this salt place where they are shallow rivers that you put your hand in to pick up salt rocks, but before you eat them you need to wash them. It’s for the salt they use in your house. We also went to some ruins. After that we went to this fancy restaurant where we had a cake for Mady’s brithday, it was a strawberry cream puff oreo cake.
Mady: At school now we have a dance teacher that comes every day. At the end of March we are putting on a show in our school that is for fun and for all our parents to see. We are going to have costumes – mine is a skirt that is longer at the back and there are special sleeves that have all of the colours of the rainbow. And maybe we are going to have high heels.
School was good last week because I know more Spanish and each day it gets easier to understand people.
Jade: We had a fogata (campfire) on the beach made from burning dried cocunut shells. We had marshmellows and salchichas (hotdogs). They were yummy. Our friend Roberto came and we went on the beach and we saw a lighthouse – it was cool.
Mady: Remember how I told you my Mexican friend Silvana left? This past Friday we got to see Silvana again when we went to Merida. We went to ‘City Centre’ which has a playground and there was an ice cream store and when you bought your ice cream you got to decide what flavour and you got to put stuff on it. We all got chocolate and put lots of candy on top.
Mady: Yesterday went to Izamal a little town where it is really, really hot. We went to this resaturant that had a little playground and each of us – me, Jade, Daddy, and Mommy each got to have a cup of coca cola. When we were eatting in the restaurant it started to rain like crazy, but there was a roof over us so we didn’t get wet.
Mady: Yesterday went to Izamal a little town where it is really, really hot. We went to this resaturant that had a little playground and each of us – me, Jade, Daddy, and Mommy each got to have a cup of coca cola. When we were eatting in the restaurant it started to rain like crazy, but there was a roof over us so we didn’t get wet.
Jade: We had empanadas. They are little corn dumplings that had very good cheese on the inside. There were also Sabutes – which are corn tortillas with chicken, tomatoes and pickled onion.
Mady: We saw this little workshop and there were some women and men working on art, It was a workshop and a store, because everything in the store was made right there.
Jade: There was this kind of yarn thingy that was made out of string (henequin) and then these women weave the string and make this art into boxes.
Mady: Also little figures, turtles, and other things. They used to sell this string all over the world to make clothes and rope for boats. And that’s why they had such big houses in Merida.
Jade: We got to ride in a horse and buggy around the town.
Jade: In Izamal everywhere you walk all the houses are yellow. It was like in the Wizard of Oz.
Jade: It is a World Heritage site because there is a pyramid right in the middle of the town. We were able to climb up the pyramid. It was scary, but I knew if I breathed, it would be alright.
Mady: I can’t wait because today is Sunday and today we (Mommy, Daddy, Tionda, Jade and me) are going to walk on the beach all the way to Chicxulub and go to a restaurant for lunch. I’m very excited. It is beautiful to walk on the beach because you feel free – the wind blowing your hair, it feels so nice.
Mady: Tionda is our friend from Nova Scotia who is here for a visit and I like when me and Tionda go out into the ocean and swim because she picks me up and throws me into the waves.