Yoga... for stress release (yeah right!)

I started my first yoga class with Antonella. The atmosphere is very pleasant, people take it seriously but they have no attitude. I like because there is a minimum chanting and maximum workout. I just drop the kids at school at 8AM and 2 blockd away there is a mini mall where the classes are. Now I have to find a Spanish language class and then I will be set.

Crococun Zoo

We went to see this incredible petting zoo nearby, not to be missed by anyone who has kids! You get to pet crocodiles, snakes, iguana, deers, monkeys, Mexican dogs (a sort of dog with no hair). M & O were super excited, as you can imagine.

Of course we had to put the snakes around our necks, which I hated but I had to do it to show the example!

After the zoo, we went exploring Puerto Morelos, a town with little tourism but still a small beach club. We ate on the beach and it was a first for the kids.

In the evening, I went with Julieta (Vito’s wife) and Eli (Lorenzo’s wife) to THE social event of the week: a competition of bartenders for the best new cocktail.

The event was on the beach at Mamita’s and they were presenting all kinds of very colorful and interesting looking drinks, I had to take some pictures for Vito’s paper and take some notes. The VIP of Playa del Carmen were all there!

First week of school

The first week of school ended with no drama and I still can't believe it!

Today, I discovered a little one-man garage sale/flea-market close to the school run by Ronny. He is an Englishman who has been living here for 10 years and does not speak Spanish but his wife speaks seven languages so she compensates. So every Fri-Sat-Sun, he organizes his little business across the street from his house. We bought for 300 pesos ($30) a piece of furniture that can be used as kids shoe storage that I really like so we will carry it back to NY.

Second day of School

We have our new 6:30 a.m. routine: Oscar has to wear his sport uniform and Matthias his regular one, so we have a crisis because M. also wants to wear the white shirt, white pants, white shoes, white sox. A chocolate egg kind of solved the issue today.

No probems at school today either. They said they liked school so they deserve to see a movie… we went to see Bully Ant… the positive message of that movie was: bullies end up with no friends.

First day of School

We survived! Oscar left the classroom a couple of time to explore the courtyard, but Matthias was more in line. The parents are not allowed beyond the entrance, so I just drop them there, and after that, they are on their own. I don’t really want to know more than I have to. When we went to pick them up, Oscar wanted to stay in class, I guess he was mad that for leaving him an entire morning.

Cozumel

Finally we made it to Cozumel, the island that we see from Playa. It took almost two months to decide to take the ferry. The night before, we were walking on the beach and Oscar wanted to go to the boat, we went through a small crisis and we promessed we would go next day.

The island is wild comparing to Playa. There are some hotels, a main square in the center with shops and restaurants, but half of the island is a natural reserve. I have to say, some of the hotels, probably built few years ago, are kind of ugly. They are so tall, you even see them from Playa.

We rented a car and decide to drive around the island. We stopped for horse back riding at the Mr. Sanchez Beach Club. We did a tour in the forest and on the beach, my horse wanted to eat all the time, and Alain’s did not want to walk…but the kids loved it.

After horse back riding, we continued our tour until Punta Sur where there is an ecological park with a large lagoon on one side and the beach on the other side. We toured the lagoon with a boat and we spotted two lazy crocodiles. The trees around the lagoon were destroyed by a recent hurricane. The tree were literally burned by the excess of the sea water.

After the lagoon tour, we went to the beach which had clear water and more clear water!

Bye Bye Dengue

Finally the Dengue Fever is over! These are the times when you wish men would go through child birth.

Yesterday, we all went to Mamita’s beach again. There was little waves and the kids had a lot of fun with the buggy boards.

It felt like being in Italy, the conversation were about which cell phone to use, which restaurant to go and of course who has the better tan! Sorry to make fun of my compatriots but sometimes the stereotype fits…

Mamita’s Beach

Today Vito’s paper and other local businesses were sponsoring a beach volley ball at Mamita’s , a beach club on the northern tip of the Playa del Carmen main beach.

Finally I got the kids interested in the beach! The water was transparent, no algae, no rocks, no waves…. I think they did not see the difference with the swimming pool. They had a blast!

I think Mamita’s will be my beaches of choice… by the way located very close to the kid’s school.

Dengue Fever

It is Alain’s turn to be sick... when will it ever be my turn to do nothing?

He has fever and back pain and no other symptoms. So we went to the Cuban doctor recommended by Julieta, who confirmed what she had predicted: he has Dengue Fever!

You Dengue through mosquito bites. There is a dangerous version and benine one – the one he's got - but still annoying because you are feverish and generally weak. Alain is clearly a city person, too much nature never agrees with him too well!

First BBQ in Playa

It was time to continue the BBQ tradition in Playa. As usual there were as many kids than adults. The kids managed to play with the TV box all night and the adults… well food and alcohol usually are sufficient to make everyone happy :-)

The Perfect Storm

We were all set for our first BBQ but we had to postpone because of a *huge* thunderstorm. Alain got stuck at Sam’s Club (what a distress for Alain!) and the thunder sounds were really scary. It felt like the sky was opening up over your heads.

The storm blew up the cable modem and the Vonage box, so we lost Internet and phone.

Julieta (Vito’s wife) hurt her ankle going down the stairs (which were soaked wet from the thunderstorm) and now she has a cast.

The Storms in Playa are not a joke: the basement of the Office Depot parking was flooded, there were lakes (not puddles) everywhere…

Alain managed to be an efficient shopper regardless: DVD player, plastic white table for outdoor, office chair to work, drawers to organize toys.

It is scary how much stuff we are accumulating: we are going to need movers in a year from now.

A full academic schedule

Today I went to buy books and uniforms for school… This school is very nice, but the curriculum is crazy! The program for pre-K is more advanced that Kindergarden in New York. They have seven books each, homewoek and exercise to do, they will learn to write *both* upper and lower case and will have to master all kinds of logic exercises.

Wow, I would be happy if they just agreed to sit down for one hour!

I hope that they exposed children to all these materials without expecting everybody to perform. Otherwise my kids will not graduate from Mexican pre-K.

In the afternoon, I talked to Cecilia at the swimming pool who is the mother of Sofia, a fierce 3 ½ year old, and she was telling me that they start this drilling of writing already at 3!

Okeeeeeeeyyyyyyyy this is going to be really interesting!

The Kid and the Cat

Oscar is the human version of Isa and Isa the feline version of Oscar. I feel I should expect the same level of anarchy from both of them. The problem is really when they decide to act on it the same day!

We went to school at 8 a.m. sharp, and that’s is a real challenge for us! We presented the documents; we are only missing the CURP (a kind of social security number) for the kids.

The boys had to take a small test, which of course Oscar refused to do. We do the same thing at home and he enjoys doing it, but in school, where he was expected to do them, it was a lot less fun!!!

I talked to the English teacher, a very sweet person from Albany NY (!!!), who did not seem surprised by his behavior. I cross my finger that she will know how to handle him. Matthias was conforming and telling Oscar “you have to do the paper”. Their little friend Luna, the one we met at the pediatrician, was there and it is clear they were a little gang.

This same morning, Isa did not show up for breakfast. She must have gone out the house the night before exploring the area. So here we are again looking for Isa, but this time we are a little more confident that she will come back, like she did in Brooklyn. At dinner time, she realized that in our house had food and thus showed up just in time for her meal. Benny gave her the big welcome.

Superman

Matthias and Oscar both have an ear infection. Lisa, Lorenzo's wife recommend a pediatrican and I went to see him yesterday. Apparently it's too much swimming pool! They need antibiotics and, for Oscar, also ear drops. The doctor gave us a prescription, which looked a bit like a shopping list on the back of a regular piece of paper, but we got what we needed from the local pharmacy.

At the doctor, I met Lara, an Italian woman with a little girl of M & O age who is going to attend the same school.

The problem now is: how to keep these kids two days out of the water?

Well, we went to the movies today. The choices are limited so I took them to see "Superman Returns". That should tell you how little I know about the whole "Superman" thing... that movie was *not* for kids!

Some scenes were pretty scary for 4-year olds, so I had to reassure them through the movie that, no matter how bad the situation seemed, Superman was going to show up real soon. But at times, it was so intense that they were literally jumping off their seats! Maybe it was a bit too much going from "Dora The Explorer" to "Superman" without proper transition.

On the way back, we met Anjelica, Angeliquita and the all family. We promised to visit them as soon as the ear infections are over.