A List of Twelve

Here are some random things about Mexico that I don't want to forget:

1.  When a car let's you in, you show the back of your hand as gratitude.
2.  There are stray dogs wandering everywhere.  I see them all the time.  The just walk around or sleep in the sun, or really do whatever they want.
3.  When you want someone to "come here" you wave your hand down.  You know, kind of like how we would motion someone to "sit down" or something.
4.  There are combies (don't know how to spell that) used as public transportation and let me tell you, these things are legit.  I've only been in one once, but Timber rides one twice a day.  They are little van things that drive all around the city.  If you want to get in one, you stand at the side of the street and put your hand in the air, motioning it to stop for you.  The driver has the door open for you before he even stops and then he's going again, with the door still open, and you still trying to sit down.  It's so cool.
5.  There are always people selling things at gas stations.  Well, getting gas is just a different experience all together.  First of all, there are workers there that do it for you.  So you pull up, turn off your car, roll down your window, and tell the worker how much money's worth of gas you want.  He then proceeds to fill it up while you listen to the little vendors tell you why their items are exactly what you want to buy.  That's how I got the awesome foot keychain currently on my backpack.  Other items purchased while sitting in the car at a gas station?  Flowers and mini-flashlights.  Awesome.
6.  There are always guys standing in the intersections trying to earn money.  Most of them clean your windshield and they will do it without prior consent so make sure you always have a few pesos stashed somewhere.  But if not, you can always give them a fruit or something (since we all have a fruit stash in our car), and that'll suffice.  Besides cleaning windshields, there are guys selling random things like little trinkets or fruit or nopalis or other things of the like.  And everything is so so cheap, I don't get how they even make any money.  There are also guys who play with fire and things.  They are the best.  We've tipped them before because they are that awesome.  Someday I will get a picture of them.
7.  You can't just wear bare feet around the house, or around the anywhere for that matter.  Shoes or slippers or something for crying out loud is always necessary.  Always.
8.  There are guys riding bicycle things around the streets all the time selling things, and they always call out over speaker.  My favorite thing to hear is, "Tomales, tomales."  You should hear it.  I'll have to do it for you when I get home.  It's awesome.  I heard it for weeks before I finally asked Elvira what they were saying.  Now I understand.
9.  If you drink a cold drink, you may get a cold.  That's what happened to me.  One day I woke up with a cold and my family said to me, "Oh no!  It's because we went to el mercado yesterday and you were really hot and then we got home and gave you that drink with ice in it!"  And for the next week they would not let me have ANYTHING even slightly cold because I was sick and that would just make it worse.  It was adorable.
10.  To not care about something is offensive.  Which totally sucks because I say, "I don't care" all the time.  And it's not the mean way, it's like anyone would say it in the U.S.  Do you want a fork or a spoon?  Oh I don't care, just pick one.  Do you want it in English or Spanish?  Either one, I don't care.  No.  You need to choose or find different words to use or something because I don't care just doesn't cut it.
11.  The combustable gas truck is always driving down the street and it plays the same tune over and over.  And this tune is like one line long.  So I'll sing it for you when I get home because I'm sure it's ingrained in my head for the rest of eternity.
12.  Girls that are always worrying about their looks, and walk around on high heels with their nose held high and flip their hair left and right and act all prissy and things?  Those are called Fresa.  FYI that translates to Strawberry.  There's Spanish slang for ya.  Remember drunk man's model girlfriend?  Elvira later told me that she is a strawberry.  Te he.

Alright that's all I can think of right now.  Life is fab.

Now that it is officially July, I am coming home next month.  Ew.  This is not possible.  It can't be over that soon.  I need more time.

The other day I was laying in bed and thinking to myself.  "In one month it will be the end of July.  Then I will only have a couple weeks left.  I only have a month and a half left!"  And then guess what happened to me.  You know how you think about something you are dreading and you feel that pit in your stomach?  That's what I felt.  Because that is so so so soon and I do not want to come home!  I love this life so much and it will be over forever in a month and a half?!?!?!?  Blast.  I just have to enjoy it while it lasts I guess.  And trust me, I will.