Happy birthday to youuu!

This was a weekend of birthday parties! We kicked off the weekend with a Mexican American one. Bruno, Pepe, Jess, Jemina, and I traveled to Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala to celebrate Jordan’s birthday. But not before driving 4.5 hours in traffic through Mexico City on pay day. Silly idea. When we finally arrived, the party was already poppin’! There was food (tacos, chips, salsa, my famous dip, other traditional Mexican foods), lots of college students, and even a band playing in the garage of his apartment! When the band was done, we all headed upstairs to enjoy the DJ who was spinning on the roof. I was thoroughly impressed. It was fun speaking English to the college students. They are currently learning English. We stayed for a few hours then headed out.

In the morning we explored downtown Tlaxcala. We walked through the zócalo, had breakfast in the portales, and toured the church in the town’s center. It was a cute place! I wish we had more time there to see more but we had to get back to Toluca. That just means we will have to go back and visit again to see more of the town and the pyramids that are about 3 miles away. We drove through Mexico City again to get back to Toluca. We were so happy to get out of the car after more than 4 hours of driving again. It should really have been a 2.5 hour trip. Good ‘ol traffic.

Bruno, Jemina, and I quickly got changed and ready to go to a quinceñera! I actually learned that the word “quinceñera” is the girl turning 15 and not the party. The party is called “fiesta de 15 años”. We actually got to mass on time and were able to be there for the whole thing! This is an accomplishment in the book of Bruno and me. There was confusion about the mass time so the reception didn’t start until about 2 hours after the mass ended so we went back to the apartment for a little while because it was super close. The quinceñera looked beautiful! She had a white princess dress on that I got to admire during both mass and the reception. It was quite the event. The reception was in a nice hotel. I had been to a fiesta de 15 años once before in high school but this one was pretty different. There was a huge emphasis on dancing at this one. She danced to about 5 songs in her dress with her chambelanes (kind of like groomsmen in a wedding but there are no girls because the attention is on the quinceñera). One was with a toy signifying the end of her childhood, another was with a crown, another was with a glass of champagne, and many were with the important men in her life: her dad, brothers, grandfathers, uncles, and great uncles. Then she changed and danced salsa. Then she changed and danced hip-hop. I loved it! I bet it took a while to learn all the choreography.

The food was really good but I couldn’t eat the dessert because I gave up sweets for lent. #thestruggle. The DJ was really good, too. Interestingly enough, he played a lot of 80s English music. Besides that, I enjoyed him. If I’m at a fiesta de 15 años, I prefer music in Spanish. There was lots of cumbia and salsa music: my favorites! Something really cool about parties here is that while you are dancing, someone comes around and gives you stuff. This also happened at the two weddings I went to. They gave us hats, balloons, glasses, etc. It’s a fun idea! We left around 2AM but the party was still going. I’m happy I was able to go. Everyone here in Mexico is so generous with invitations.

On Sunday, Bruno and I ran in a park. The parks here in Mexico are huge and have great running paths. The one we went to has a track that is longer than 3 miles. We got some freshly-squeezed juice and a big cup of fresh fruit for a whopping $1.50. Produce is super cheap in Mexico and I’m going to miss that when I go home. We went to his house for supper. His mom is a great cook. We had chicken and mole. Every time I go there for dinner, we always have something new. His family is friendly and his younger brother is always asking me about the states. I love that!