Semana Santa

Semana Santa or Holy Week (ie., Easter) began the onslaught of house guests, visitors and events. The events included dinners, parties, and sightseeing. It didn’t stop at Semana Santa but continued for weeks thereafter.

One set of guests included one of Rodrigo’s gay cousins (there are several) and his partner. Both in their 30’s, they were bilingual and health nuts. (Also extremely well traveled, as I could hardly mention a country where they had not been.) Rod’s cousin went for a 17 kilometer jog while his partner alternated between an ab-roller and free weights on the back patio. They prepared protein shakes and made us enormous breakfasts. They spent most of their time wearing not much more than workout shorts (something our maid seemed to enjoy). We took them to a party and Rod’s cousin pulled out his guitar and sang. Our hosts approached me and said, “You not only brought the hottest guys to the party but the entertainment as well!” They were wonderful house guests who, being from Mexico City seemed to enjoy just soaking up the country life.

Christine’s landlord, Robin from Arlington Texas, decided to visit his house in San Miguel on short notice, and it happened to be the same weekend that Christine had out-of-town guests. So I offered our guestroom since we know him well and like him very much. The same weekend our friend Christian called from Mexico City and asked if he and a friend could stay. I said yes and after Christian left, his friend lingered with apparent interest in Robin. They split the bill for a very expensive comida as a thank you to Rodrigo and me. Christian was mortified when he found out that his friend had spent another night here after he (Christian) had left for Mexico City. “Get over it,” I said, “He made a nice playmate for Robin. And he bought us lunch at La Landetta!”

Karen and Bob came to their beautiful vacation home here, with Bob’s sisters and their spouses, and seemed to be gone before we had the opportunity to spend much time with them. Fortunately, they return frequently.

Shortly thereafter, Robert, Rudy and Rudy’s mother, Rita, came and stayed at Bob and Karen’s house. They seemed to be gone in a flash as well, but not before we were able to have them over for dinner. Since Rodrigo has started his business, he has felt that he is losing touch with his spiritual side. He and Rita spent some time together discussing the subject and Rodrigo came away saying, “I feel like someone sent me an angel.”

Then another gay cousin of Rod’s (Abram, one of the gay twins) came to visit with his new boyfriend. This cousin has been living in Canada, speaks Spanish, English and French perfectly, and is only in his early 20’s. He was part of the first gay marriage in Canada and the first gay divorce. (Both he and his identical twin are gay so if there are any questions about genetic pre-disposition about being gay, this should help to settle them. This is the second set of identical twins where I have found this to be true.)

Rodrigo’s cousin Abram (right) and his new boyfriend Juan Manuel. The only physical difference between Abram and his twin Moises is the scar above his right eyebrow.

Abram now works for an internet trouble shooting hotline in Mexico City and told a story about helping a rather remedial customer.

During the call, Abram asked the client, “How many windows do you have open?” “A lot,” was the client’s response. “Ok,” Abram said, “You need to close them all so we can diagnose the problem.” Then the client seemed to disappear for five minutes. The line was open so Abram couldn’t hang up. He kept saying, “Hello?” with no response but he could hear background noise.
I think you get it by now. The client didn’t understand that Abram was talking about browser windows and ran around his house closing all the real windows.

In general I’m very happy about one thing in particular. In the past it was usually my friends who were coming to visit. I’m glad to have more visits from Rodrigo’s family members and have the opportunity to get to know them better. It is, after all, a huge family and if I am to be part of it, it is nice to know the players. It should make the next family Christmas even easier and more enjoyable than the last. It also stretches my Spanish skills. I need this very much.

There is so much about living in another country and culture that one misses when one is not fluent in the native language. I need to get back to school. Living with a bilingual native is not much help. If I ask him a question in Spanish he answers in English. I guess he programs himself. ("I speak English to this person and Spanish to that.")