Mexico Travels

Just got done chatting with my mom, who just returned from Mexico - she was there for a wedding. Something I have to say about my mom is that she's so adventurous and outgoing. She loves getting out and exploring new places and trying new things - most certainly where I got a lot of my drive to explore. Her car always has "gear" stashed for last minute trips to the lake or horse barn or heading out on a hike. Not so different from me, who quite nearly has a bike permanently mounted to my car in the summer. Why take it off if I'm going to ride nearly every day? :)

She had a great time down south - her first trip to Mexico. She loved the people there. Something else I found entertaining is her quick adoption of the language accent - for whatever reason, it comes quickly to me as well. Even when we have little to no previous exposure. Maybe it's our desire to connect with people. Anyway, we spoke a few Spanish words to each other, and I quickly heard it in her voice.

As a side note, ironically, I have the hardest, most terrible time with the German accent. I find this really funny. I tend to mutilate that language :) I kinda wonder if it's b/c I attempted to learn German in high school, where I was surrounded by English speaking students, and there was no need to adapt? I'm guessing this is pretty likely. :)

Something else that was cool - when I was home in WI for the wedding, got to chat with my dad. I don't get to visit with him nearly as often as I'd like, and I love talking with him one-on-one b/c that's when his best stories come out.

He's a very knowledgeable guy, and often knows things you'd never guess b/c he tends to not bring stuff up unless you're specifically talking to him on the subject. He's a quieter guy, speaks more in actions - I have a lot of my dad's characteristics as well.

Anyway, while I was back in WI got to tell him about my trip to South America. Was telling him about my experiences and commented on the wonderful German bakery there. He was like, yeah, I know. And then went on to tell me about his uncle who moved to Argentina. My dad never traveled south, but he knew a lot about the area, and ranchers, and land. Was cool. I think if he'd ever gone there, he would have fell in love with the place, and all the horseman, personal connections, and trades people had.

So, that was fun! I love getting little experiences with my dad. I always learn some cool stuff.

On the downside, WI (and the midwest in general) has experienced some major flooding as of late, so my mom, returning after 2am last night, came home to a basement filled with water.

Apparently houses are floating down the river in some areas. This has been a tough spring for many people I think. For my mom, thankfully her basement is mostly cement, but she had cardboard boxes filled with stuff that are now all water logged. Hopefully things won't be ruined.