Today we woke up around noon again because of the late night the others had. The girls were CRAVING breakfast, so we tried to head out early enough to eat breakfast somewhere. Melissa kept calling restaurants asking them to just serve us breakfast because we're special. Basically it didn't work and we ended up in the village square sitting outside with a wonderful view for people watching. I ordered a sandwich and Oscar had ordered as well. For some reason, Esme, Melissa, and Sarah didn't order their food until our food came (probably because they were on the internet); but we spent a lot of time just sitting and relaxing at this restaurant. Now, if you've never traveled around, you might not know that in other cultures there is a variety of different people doing odd things to try and make money. Mexico was no different. It was filled with old and young people alike that were trying to sell things. Kids trying to sell little squares of gum, old men selling 'zarapes', and women selling baked goods. Now when I say kids, I don't necessarily mean teens. I mean small children ranging from ages 4 to 16. I witnessed a really heartwarming scene while we were having lunch. A handful of people had approached our table offering their items and one little boy said something quick to Oscar. Oscar quietly said something to him. About twenty seconds later Oscar grabbed a roll off our table and quickly handed it to the kid who ran off with it.
Here we are, blessed to have whatever we want in the restaurant while all around us people are struggling to survive. This isn't just about Mexico. People all over the world work so hard for such little rewards. I think sometimes people forget to be thankful for the small blessings like a full belly or the freedom of playing with your friends instead of having to work when you're just a kid. This was one of my favorite moments. I asked Oscar what he had said and he told me the boy had asked for a roll. Oscar replied it wasn't a good idea to do it right under the waiters' nose. So he waited for him to step into the restaurant and gave this kid food. This moment absolutely made my day.
We sat there awhile looking over things to do, chatting with each other and relaxing. My stomach was still freaking out. I think I ate a fourth of a sandwich and was done. After lunch we walked around the city some more looking for more information on the film festival. Melissa was trying to get ahold of Sebastian to see if we could do something with him. In the end we walked around and went into a theatre that was showing some of the films. One was a really beautiful short with incredible lighting. The story was of a ballerina whose grandmother danced too. She talks about her passion for dancing and how her grandmother would have been proud of her. In the end, you find out that she is blind. Other films were great, if not for their content then for the fact that they encouraged me to start entering film festivals.
Unfortunately I had to leave one of the films because of being sick. I stood on the porch to this gorgeous theatre and looked around me. Mountains curled around the city and the sun was setting behind them. It was a beautiful moment locked in my memory.
We waited for everyone to finish the movie we were in and come outside. The girls picked up snacks and we went on our way back to Ceracaly.
We got back home just as it was dark. I made a bowl of pasta, which was pretty much all that I ate the whole day. Shortly after I came to the conclusion that I wasn't sick unless I ate. So I'm fine if I don't want to live...
We planned for the rest of the night.
Sunset photos taken by Oscar Campos © 2012
