One Year!

We can't believe it's been one year! To celebrate, we decided to catch a bus to another one of Mexico's "Magic Cities". Without further ado, we proudly present Mexico Travel Diary: Cuetzalan.



We decided to get some tortas for our bus ride. I was really confused, however, because no one ever took down my name at the restaurant (they call it out when your order is finished). Everyone just somehow knew that the order for two tortas belonged to me and I couldn't figure out why. That is, until I read what was written on the bag. If you zoom in beneath "sin picante" (no chile) and "sin tomate" (no tomato) you will find "Guero" (white guy). I would just like to reiterate that that would just not fly in the States.


This is the biggest-numbered bill we have ever held. It was also physically huge (Mexican money gets bigger as the value increases). I think that the million peso bill even doubles as a placemat!



As soon as we arrived, we were identified as tourists (Us? How could they tell!?!). Luckily, though, a young guy offered to take us to "the cleanest hotel" in the entire city. What was really strange was actually how incredibly clean it was! It turned out to be a great place and even had two fans! This was one of our many attempts to capture ourselves and the view from our balcony.


On Saturday morning we headed to the town center for some breakfast. We found this great little place called "La Epoca de Oro" (The Golden Age) that had great food and great decorations. In this picture, you can see both the extensive butterfly collection on one wall and the incredible tenacity of Oaxacan quesillo. Note to self: if ever forced to bungee jump using food instead of a bungee-cord, choose Mexican cheese.



After breakfast we took a five-minute bus ride to an area of the sierra called "Las Brisas". It was here that we learned that Mexican researchers have found a way to isolate dinosaur genetic material from mosquitoes trapped in fossilized tree sap....



We hiked our way to this waterfall and even jumped in for a bit. In this case, jumped is being used in a very loose way. A better word might be "inched in little by little while trying to convince ourselves that we couldn't possibly get frostbite on such a warm day".



Brian and Kelly Awkward Moment #519 - A young Mexican tour guide offered to show us the way to a different waterfall for 50 pesos. We decided against it because we didn't feel like hiking any more and because Kelly was feeling a little bit sick. On our way back to the bus stop, however, we met a necklace vendor who told us that hiking to the other waterfall was really easy and possible without a tour guide. He even showed us the path and told us which turns to take. By that time, Kelly was feeling a bit better so we decided to give it a shot. It was about two-thirds of the way up the trail that we hear someone coming up the trail behind us. I look back and there is the same tour guide from the bottom of the falls. I wish someone would have taken a picture of our faces. His was a face of pure betrayal that said "You told me she was sick!". Mine was a look of absolute terror that said "Please do not try and kill us!"



No electricity in the entire city? No problem! We were still able to find some cheap food and the world's most attentive waiter. You can't really beat a view like this one either! Little did we know, the electricity would go out three more times that evening. Every time it did, we could hear a wave of "Awwww man!" rush down the entire block.



Have you ever seen such an amazing check-holder? I'm pretty sure our waiter made this himself in a final attempt to satisfy absolutely all of our needs and/or wants. This was, of course, after he swallowed flaming knives, let me use his back instead of a plate, and wiped the crumbs off of our table using his own eyelashes. And to think, all of this was still easily under 9 dollars!




Dear Readers of this Blog,
We apologize for the nightmares that you will undoubtedly have because of this picture.
Sincerely,
Brian and Kelly

Seriously, though, does this creep anyone else out as much as me? It was the advertisement for a mother and daughter corn-vending duo called "Las Gueras". As you might expect, they looked a whole lot less "guero" once we rolled into town...



#1 Reason to Visit Mexico: Amazing People
Aimee, Javier, and Maria have basically adopted Kelly and I as their third and fourth children. We love spending time with them and will really miss them when we are gone. As a present for our anniversary, Aimee made us this heart-shaped strawberry mousse with real strawberries on top. This was Act of Kindness # 1,428 and they just keep them coming. We are learning so much from them and will definitely be staying in contact once we're gone.




This should be a video of our visit to "Las Brisas". I get the strange feeling that Blogger employees spend their lunch break laughing over my repeated attempts to upload videos. We will see...

Last but not least, here are 10 things we have learned during our first year of marriage:

10. Any attempt to avoid talking like your parents is futile. At some point, no matter what, you will say something like "Hey do you want some pancakeys?" or "Should we hit up Wally World after the movie (pronounced move-eye)?".

9. Your strengths and weaknesses can really even each other out.

8. I can never be left alone to do the grocery shopping.

"Brian! You got three bananas, seven slices of bread, and 13 potato chips? They don't even come in that quantity..."
"I know! What a deal, right?"

7. Kelly's Life Lesson 101 - Everything is better warmed up. Peanut butter and nutella sandwiches, leftovers, ice cream, etc.

6. Sundays are the best days of the entire week.

5. Always believe the best about each other. More often than not, it's actually true. And when it's not, your belief makes the necessary difference anyways.

4. Kelly is a liar in the mornings. You cannot trust anything she says when she is waking up.

"Kelly. Wake up! Don't you have to be at the school by 7:00?"
"No. A rogue wave from the Great Salt Lake came through Provo last nite and school was cancelled. Just give me a few more minutes..."

Fifteen minutes later:

"Oh my goodness! I have to be to school in seven minutes! I am so dead!"

3. Brian is the best note leaver of all time. He left a note in the lunches that he packed for me every day during my student teaching for 3 MONTHS! And they weren't the same every day either. This is clearly not because there are that many awesome things to say about me, but because he is extremely creative.

2. Kelly is the unsinkable Molly Brown of positive thinking. Her immediate reaction to anything is to laugh. She will slip and fall down in the nasty flooded streets of Mexico and come out of it with a smile that most people don't even wear on their wedding day. Sometimes being positive is the only thing you can do and she really does it well.

1. No matter how much we do, it all pales in comparison with what God does for us. We have been immensely blessed during our first year together and we are so grateful for God's constant care and that of our family and friends.

Real #1. Don't take marriage advice from people who have only been married for a year. What do they know anyways?