criplomats

Today is my return to Guadalajara – it started with an early departure from Quito. I’m currently having lunch in the lounge in Mexico City, waiting for my flight home. While I had a great time in Ecuador, it’s always good to get home!

The conference was very interesting and a lot of fun. We had a great group of folks, and I was happy to see my Islamabad friend Mike and get caught up with him. I also met a lot of new people – some who were in from Washington and others from other posts in Western Hemisphere.

With my friend Mike

Our meetings were held at the hotel, but we managed to get out for nice dinners in the evening and some sightseeing. Yesterday I went with one of the women in from DC on an all-day tour. We had a great time – the highlight was going to the indigenous market up in the highlands a couple of hours outside of Quito. There were several stops along the way, of course, with ample opportunity to buy chunches, of course! I’ll post pictures next week!

Sewing

I flew to Quito yesterday for a leadership conference – I flew all day (via Houston) and didn’t get to my hotel until around 1AM. John and I were in Quito back in 2007 when we came for a language immersion before we went to our first post – a lot has happened since then!

I ran into a fellow conference-goer last night at the airport, so we shared a taxi to the hotel, and he joined me on my city tour this afternoon with a tour guide. We had fun – she took us to the old part of the city and we walked around, and we went to several vistas – it’s hard not to have a good view here.

John got home last Sunday night, and we had Tuesday off from work for Mexican Mother’s Day. Thursday night we hosted book club at our house, and Friday night we celebrated my birthday with a lovely dinner at Corazon de Alfachofa.

I’ll leave you with some photos from Quito!

Basket and cathedral

The Virgin on the hill

Church

Selling trinkets outside the church

Making ice cream

Carrying baby

Woman waiting

Hanging out

Selling watermelons

Crossing the street

Selling food at the foot of the virgin

Houses on the hill

Three girls enjoying the day

Wow! How is it that I really don’t feel any older?! This has been a quiet day since John’s out of town, but I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly. I’ve gotten lots of good wishes from all around the world – so fun to hear from so many people!

It was a busy week at work – as always – but we had a local holiday on Thursday (Cinco de Mayo – curiously not that celebrated in Mexico), so it was a short week, at least. Friday afternoon was festive: a friend at work brought mint juleps and Kentucky Derby pie (he’s from Kentucky) so we finished the day with a toast!

A while back, John bought me a “Great Courses” travel photography class and I watched it yesterday. It’s basically a series of videos taught by a National Geographic photographer. I really enjoyed listening to him and seeing him incredible photos – it also really made me want to travel more!

It’s the first of May! Time is flying. I’m solo this week – John went to Arkansas on Friday morning to help his parents get ready for their big move, the he’ll go on to Washington DC and Pennsylvania for Army War College orientation (in preparation for his strategic studies long-distance class). He managed to squeeze in a visit with Hooper and Stoker, which made him very happy!

Yesterday I went to an afternoon birthday party for Monica and had a really nice time. I had a chance to talk to some folks who I normally don’t see, so it was good to catch up with them.

I can’t remember if I’ve posted about this before, but when Mom died, her kitty Tiger just moved over to my Aunt Bonnie’s house next door – but then Aunt Bonnie died in February. My cousins did me a solid and took him to their house across town. Unfortunately, he disappeared in mid-March and I’ve been worried sick about him. I alerted friends in the old neighborhood – one said she was pretty sure she had seen him once, but then nothing else. I posted him on a lost & found page, and immediately got a response from a woman who said she knew where he was – indeed, the photo she sent bore a strong resemblance. After some back and forth, she admitted that she was in North Little Rock – 100 miles away, so I knew that was a dead end. John even went to the old neighborhood yesterday to call for him, but no luck.

Then lo and behold, last night my cousin Sue emailed and said that Tiger had returned to their house! He was skinny and ate a lot, but he came back! I’m so happy, and just hope that he will stay. It’s such a relief to me, because Mom just loved that cat! So keep your fingers crossed for a happy ending!

While John was away, I took the opportunity to do a little redecorating – I’ve been wanting a cow hide rug, and found a lovely one yesterday. A guy from Guanajuato had them on his truck on the side of the road at a reasonable price – it’s so soft and clean – I love it! (I can hear my mother saying in my ear: “UGH.” Sorry, Mom!)

New rug!

And here’s my team bowling from last week – it’s my fun boss Pete on the left, and the ladies from our agency in Vallarta on the right. Good times!

Umbrella-filled sky in Tlaquepaque

This week, my boss and I hosted the chiefs and deputies from around Mission Mexico who work in American Citizen Services. We do these conferences twice a year, and it’s a great opportunity to get together and discuss issues, ask questions, and do some planning. For me, it’s also a lot of fun because I’ve become good friends with several of the women and we get a chance to see each other, shop, and trade stories.

On the eve of the conference, my boss organized a bowling night and we had so much fun! I can’t tell you the last time I went bowling – but the 15 of us had a big time. The next night, we had a group dinner that was also a lot of fun.

Thursday after the conference, I took a small group of ladies to Tlaquepaque to shop. We had a fun time, and they were happy to have a chance to buy some handicrafts and see something other than a conference room inside of a hotel.

I took Friday off so my good friend Wendy and I could spend the day together. We spent the morning shopping at Tonala, then we went to Tlaquepaque where we met our other good friend Tammy and her husband for lunch at Casa Luna. Afterward, Wendy and I kept shopping, and barely made it back to the apartment in time to have a cup of coffee, change clothes, and go with John to meet Tammy and Scott for dinner. We had an excellent time at a lovely restaurant – lots of laughing and talking, plus good food.

With Tammy and Wendy

Wendy spent the night with us, but had to catch her flight pretty early on Saturday. It was just a lot of fun to see both her and Tammy.

John spent Saturday afternoon and evening gaming with a small group of friends. I stayed home to recuperate from the busy week, and binged on “The Good Wife.”

This morning I Skyped with my friend Ike’s nephew who is interested in joining the Foreign Service – he’s currently in Taiwan teaching English.

A big shout-out this week to our good friends Mike and Wayne, who were the Anchovy Kings at San Antonio’s Cornyation – a big honor and the first time they’ve had two kings instead of a king and a queen! Way to go, Mike and Wayne – I wish I could have been there!

Here are a couple of photos from Tlaquepaque.

One of my new embroidered pillows

Tree of skulls