When It Rains, IT RAINS!

We are raining down a WHOLE month's worth of posts.

So we went on a little adventure.  We rode the bus to the subway, rode the subway to La Merced (a stop on the Subway line).  You step up into these alley ways of merchandise and stalls of stuff.  It is a maze of many different things, even a restaurant supply place with commercial stoves and big pots.  And it is endless and confusing and exciting.  I just happened to take these shots standing outside the restroom waiting for one of group to come out.  I think the fare for the subway was like $. 15 cents per stop to get through the gates.

 After our stop at La Merced we went back another stop and got off for dinner. Where we walked a couple of blocks to a restaurant.  As we were coming out of dinner it had started raining.  No worries, cuz I had my umbrella.  No one else did though.  Doesn't work well for four, I had the smaller one.  Sister Stevens thought we should get a taxi back home but we were all out for an adventure ,so we climbed back on the subway.  By the time we got to the end of the line at Chapultapec, the rain was coming down and hords of people were standing under any covering they could get.  We grabbed a bus headed to our neighborhood and hoped the rain would stop before we arrived.  Hah! the rain gods laughed in our faces, but then again, it is their season.

We were hold up in a blockbuster that had the water dripping inside almost as much as it was outside...

That would be a river of water running down into the parking garages below.  The next morning we saw tow trucks
hauling the cars out.  That would be Audis, BMWs, Mercedes and others with mud and dirt that had run over the tops.
we were walking on the high side sidewalk, walking past parked cars in the median that had water up to the door handles.

BYU Football games shown in our room because we have the projector and the blank wall big enough.  The famous "Hail Moroni" game.

Out and about in the car going someplace close that takes a long time because of the traffic.

Mexico City Temple dedication was on the 13th of September.  We attended in our stake building where the rest of the Missionaries serving in the stake attended.  It is so fun seeing the young Elderes y Hermanas and getting to interact with them.

PHOTO BOMB!
Only because I photo bombed theirs first.
Lead by example, right?

The Andersons (Area Office in Autosuficiencia), us and
the Hackings (Area Office in Bienastar)

In case you were hungry, even on Sunday, or you just happened to want to buy, let's say a little chair, no problema.  They sell anything, anywhere here.

and for your culinary pleasure
they will seranade you too.

Being in the same building as the mission doctor means we get to run into some  of the missionaries, like these two Hermanas from the states, BOTH FROM ARIZONA...

Sister Thornhill from Tempe, a friend to our family there.
Shout out to Shad,Holly and their son Skylar.

This would be Hermana Gallacher from Gilbert, who we ran
into in Pomeroys the week before she left.  We found her.

September 16th is the real Dia de Independencia.  They start decorating weeks ahead of time.  Silly me I think they are getting ready for Christmas way early.  The green and red totally got me thinking that way.  

Dia de Independencia

They start celebrating the night before with the president going out on a balcony at the Zocalo (no, we didn't go there, millions of people. Even the neighborhood people don't go because of the crowds) and making a "Grito".  That is about 11:00 p.m. and is televised, should you want to watch it, and then the annoying fireworks, not good ones, are lit off all night long throughout the neighborhoods.

Our ward had a little Independencia party that evening that they brought food to and had a little slide show:

Talking with Elder Salinas an Area Seventy (Was the
Merida Mission President when Ron and Marlene Sparks
were on their temple mission there)

Elder and Sister Rice (an Area Attorney)  Sister and Elder Tobler
(Mexico City West Mission office couple)

Happy Happy Birthday Dalene Dear.......

Went to a new mall we were told about that is underground and has three funnels in its architecture.  It is called the Garden Plaza Mall.  There is a garden on the top at ground level.

Going down embassy ally on the way, don't know if this is an embassy,
we are just saying there is an AWFUL lot of antenas.  We just say it
is the Russion or Isreali.  Home is covered with vines and looks
very secretive and scary like the mansion from the Monsters.

There is very interesting architecture everywhere here.  The egg
building is a hotel.

it was raining and way cool to watch it run down.

the mall is three levels and the "funnels" go all the way.

just a "spot" of grass for the doggy park

Sister Peggy Stevens' birthday is on the exact same day as mine!
The boys took us to Cheesecake Factory for our Birthday Dinner

The Party Crowd.  Who would have thought I would ever be
in that crowd?

Even Google recognized it as my birthday!

Elder Hirsch, me and Sister Stevens are all September 27!
well, his is tomorrow but we are partying today.  Sister Tobler
even made us each our own cakes.

as if birthday cakes weren't enough, they were
dishing out banana splits too.

John showing the office elders the sniper position on
the roof of the building.

They were getting worried, their moms would kill
them if they saw them up here.

So this next one needs some explaining.  Every night, several times a night, at like 10:00, 10:30 and later into the 12s and 1s sometimes, we can hear this whistle blowing.  It is really loud and I thought at first it was someone with really good lungs blowing it.  So I asked why there was a whistle blowing so often.  People would just say, they are trying to sell something.  Then I asked someone from Mexico and got the REAL story.  This little cart is metal, see the fire in the bottom?  He is selling something, it is yams or camotes as they are called here.  The fire heats water that steams the yams and keeps them warm.  It is also used to blow the whistle REALLY loud.  You can hear it echoing up the hills the pueblito here. And they usually do it in the evenings and nights and the whistles tells the people to come on out while they are warm.  I am going to get the thing on video ones of these times.  It is kinda like going on a snipe hunt... they are really elusive. So, see, they really will sell anything, anywhere and anytime.

This would be Dalene posting on Facebook and Twitter during the women's conference session while we broadcast it in our room.  No she didn't get much out of the session, posting in spanish while video chatting and getting messages from SLC to post here.