Giant Nails, Oaxaca, and Mole

So last week, Thursday I think, our mom paid for Bonnie and I to get acrylic nails. They're pretty cheap here in Mexico I guess. 

There they are!

I know what you're thinking. "Those are so Courtney!" Haha no. I was expecting some nice elegant little  French tips. But all she pulled out was glitter! So I picked some not too crazy pink stuff. And then she added a bunch of other stuff to it! And now I have a fiesta on my fingers. And when she suggested I pick 'dos' for the length I didn't realize what I was in for! They are very extravagant, quite Mexican, and they make daily life challenging in ways I never imagined. But hey, my little ninos love to look at them! So that's a plus.

Anyway, last weekend we went to Oaxaca! We traveled there with our ward to go to the Oaxaca temple.

Quick grateful blurb. We are so lucky in Utah and Idaho to live in a place where temples are so accessible! These members have to dedicate a whole day and over 200 pesos, which is a lot for some of them, to get there. Be grateful you have a temple and GO TO IT!

Anyway, it was beautiful and a great chance to feel the spirit of the House of the Lord. I didn't take any pictures,  but here's what the Oaxaca temple looks like.

It was great! After this the other teachers stayed in Oaxaca for the weekend, but I've been feeling a little like a money spending machine, so I chose to head back home and spend time with my family. I'm really glad I did! I had a way fun time just hanging out with them.

Minus the fact that I had to take the bus home alone with my ward. And sit by some guy that was very interested in my life and wouldn't leave me alone! I may or may not have pretended to be asleep for two  hours so I wouldn't have to talk to him :)

On Saturday after I got home they fed me and we just chilled. Then on Sunday we did some fun stuff! I feel really guilty because we always go out on Sundays here. But I don't want to be like, "Hey, sorry to rain on your life-long family parade, but we're going to have to change things." Sooo... I just go along with it. Anyway! After I got home from church we tried to go to mass. (By the way... Mass is boring. Especially in Spanish. But I love my family so I go with them! Haha.) But the one we tried to go to was packed. It was ok though because we ran into this on our way out!

Yes indeed, that is a man.

Ok. Not this exactly. It was a parade. But there were a lot of these in the parade. Odd. And yes they did all try to dirty dance with me. Embarrassing. After this we went out to lunch at one of my dad's client's restaurants. (He's a lawyer). We had mole poblano, which is a very typical dish in this area and looks something like this.

That's from the internet, so the mole I've seen looks a little different. But still just as unappetizing. It actually tastes really good though! It's a thick dark sauce that has lots and lots of ingredients, including chocolate and chile and it goes on top of pork. Funny story though, apparently our family lets us eat like pigs and we didn't even know! Because I thought I knew pretty well how to eat this stuff. Until we were at the restaurant and my mom sats, "Diana, teach Courtney how to eat that please." Hahahaha. I was glad to learn. It's a delicate process of scooping out the fat, pulling the meat off the bone, tearing up your tortilla, and using your spoon to push food into the tortilla and then put that in your mouth. If you do it right your hands stay really clean! But I'm a guerita and still get quite dirty. But that's what napkins are for!

After this we went to Penafiel! Which is a soda factory where they use mineral water that comes out right here in Tehuacan! It was pretty cool.

Diana took this picture while we were there haha. People here LOVE blue eyes. Everywhere I go people comment about them. So funny. Yesterday a lady we were buying strawberries from told me they were beautiful and gave me a free apple though! And another guy cut my hair for free just because he wanted to touch it. Hahaha. But hey when every single person has black hair and dark brown eyes, I stick out pretty bad.

My family! <3

It was pretty cool, we walked through a bunch of underground tunnels and drank some water and yeah! Then we went to mass, spent some time in the park, and came home! Very fun.

Love you all!