Strike is over. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Seems our plea for attention has been successful. After much response from our loyal followers, the strike is off.

Casey, if you're out there, drop us a line and let us know how the recovery is going! If anyone has any updates on how the fundraiser went, please send them our way. We would love to hear how everything went and hope everyone had a great time.

I'm starting to think I've reached my limit for language learning. Hell, I don't know this much about english. With all the information coming at me, and all the language I hear at home, there isn't much time to relax and comprehend the information. It can be a bit frustrating to see a word you know you have seen before, and not be able to figure out its meaning. I've made some pretty interesting sentences and have a few people looking at me like I'm from another planet. It's a slow road but a good challenge. I finally got down how to negotiate tequila prices and bribe my way out of jail. Another note: Embarasada does not mean embarassed. Let me know if you know the real meaning.

We went shopping in the Historic District today with Julia. I was invited to act as the decoy so the men don't harass the pretty blond foreigners. For some reason they don't bother them with a 2 meter tall white guy walking with them. We found a few quaint little shops with a bunch of neat trinkets. We started doing some shopping for the family, but with our bags already over weight, everyone gets a keychain. Hope everyone likes bottle openers.

We are heading off to a bar tonight with Julia, a cousin of our host family and 5ish other people. She leaves Friday so tonight might be a long evening. Finishing my homework after a good night of drinking should be fun. I'll have to think back to how I got through college...

We are finishing up our plans for the weekend: Two nights in a nice hotel in Queretero. We are heading out Friday after class and coming back X-mas eve. From what we have learned (not much yet), the historic district there is gorgeous and full of plazas and great history. Should be a fun trip for us to get away and have some time to ourselves. We will keep you posted...

Christmas here should be a hoot. I say that because I have no idea what is going on. We have been invited to spend Chrismas Eve with our host family grandparents, and it sounds like 2 or 3 of the kids (and their kids) are coming. If I do the math, that could be 25+ people. Should be a wild time. It's pretty amazing how close and how often all the family gets together. I only wish I could pick up half the stories they tell. Everyone gets a kick out of their nickname for me: Chaparito (translates as dwarf).

Hope everyone has power back in Seattle. I guess it would be tough to read this blog with it.