Mi Casa es Su Casa

Momma Sandra 38, Jacqueline 16, Kim 9 months, Johanna 9 years old

1. I love the way that the hermanas support their mom. 
2. I love the way the whole pueblo seems to walk y talk arm n' arm
3. I love the way the girls are safe to roam the town. They have freedom & liberty that doesn't exist anymore in most cities.
4. I love the way the tiendas (stores) are on every street corner. Someone in the family goes multiple times a day for little errands. For example one person goes everyday to buy 3 or 4 diapers for baby Kim.
5. I love the way one of momma Sandra's neighbors take Kim everyday for an hour or so to give her a break

*This year my church read a book called: The Art of Neighboring. I thought I was a bit above the book because I was already a good neighbor to all my lake friends on the commune. After digging a little deeper, I realized I was a bit judgmental of all the other wealthy Westlake people on the other side of the road. So I have made efforts to work through that & get to know people outside of my safe limestone, bungalow.

Obviously money divides classes and neighborhoods all over the world, but here it feels as if there is a more equal playing field. Maybe that is the beauty of a small pueblo, which of course, has it pitfalls since there is not much opportunity for jobs or entrepreneurship.  

As a whole the support networks are embedded in the cobblestone & bricks of the calles y casas. 

 

 

Johanna is one of the funniest people I think I have ever meet. She has excellent imitations of us all & is really helpful with acting out to ensure things are not lost in translation. She wants to be a lawyer when she grows up.

Jacqueline is the typical oldest sibling. She is super helpful, responsible, studious, & a bit more reserved. She wants to be a banker when she grows up.

Just so you know this is a loveseat that seams plenty big for practically the whole family to comfortably relax in....

 
I have not managed to snap as many fotos of Pedro (aka: Papa Luch or Dong.) At least there is an image of him but I wish it captured his sense of humor or joy he embodies. Pedro is a truck driver (just around the pueblo.)

Momma Sandra has been really open and honest with her life & what it is like to grow up in the Pueblo. She was not able to pursue any school after 6th grade because it was too expensive and she had too many siblings. She has worked since she was 13 as a house keeper or in many restaurants. She did have the opportunity to travel as a nanny to Venezuela for 2 years when she was 15. She and Pedro now have a lovely house that has taken them 9 years to build (they have been living here for 1 year.) They all share one room which is very common with this culture.



This family of 5 all share one bedroom with 2 beds. It is very traditional for families to do this even though they have plenty of other rooms.










They actually have 4 bedrooms. 2 for estudiantes who are studying at the language school (this picture is a student room.) One master where they all sleep & one that is completely vacant for now.

 

La vista on the upper deck

They hand wash all their dishes & cloths outside in their beautiful garden.

1.Sandra has 2 stoves: one for cooking & the other is a stone stove with fire wood for making corn tortillas which she & most women make 3 times a day

2. Sometimes Kim naps in this hammock when she refuses to in their bed while Sandra cooks

In all my travels & "home-stays," I have never felt so welcomed and included this quickly into a family. Mi casa es Su casa....