The Relief Society of our ward asked me to be in charge of the "Out and About Mexico City" Enrichment activities. Like a bad tic, I impulsively said yes. Tuesday was our first Enrichment activity to this little town about two hours outside of la ciudad where they manufacture hand-made, blown-glass ornaments. We all bought boxes upon boxes of these gorgeous little ornaments, visited an old, beautiful Church there and had lunch at a small restaurant that must have had only one stovetop burner to cook each person's meal one at a time. It was cute, it was quaint, I was having fun. And then, while at the restaurant, I discovered my camera's UV protective lens cover had shattered. Bad omen alert. This should have tipped me off.
We brought three cars to fit all of us on this trip, and on the way home, I was behind the other two. As we were coming up a hill on the highway, the sun was setting and the afternoon light shone in my eyes. I squinted for a moment, and that was all it took. Because when I could finally see clearly again, we had come to a fork in the highway and the other two cars were nowhere to be found. I didn't know which way to go and inward hyperventilation ensued. If you make a wrong turn here in Mexico, forget about it. There is no going back. There is no perfectly manicured exit ramp to get off and get back on. There is no clear signage. This is the land of one-ways. And if you don't have a map or a GPS system that is working properly, welcome to the nightmare of Mexico streets. For two hours, I was lost in Toluca, having all sorts of despairing thoughts revolving around the fact that I might never see my family again. If I didn't have three other amazingly calm women in the car with me, I would have been convulsing on the side of some dusty, Mexican road. Instead, God loves me, Gas Station Dude was feeling helpful, and we found the road home.
When I finally walked through the door some five hours later, Bruce tried to ask me how the trip was. "I can't talk about it right now!" I said and ran to the bedroom. All I could do was lie down on my bed and revel in the sheer miracle of having made it home alive.
So I now have 40 ornaments to put on an already full Christmas tree where small hands will rip 'em off with lightning speed and dexterity anyway. A small, cynical part of me feels like a trip to Target would have been just as (if not more) satisfying.
Yeah, alright. I guess it was pretty cool.
10 comments:
the ornaments are beauuuutiful!!! definitely a delicious little trip, worth the lostness. somehow, even though the ornaments look just like the "made-in-mexico" stuff we buy here in the states, these pictures make them look so much more gorgeous.
that getting lost for 2hrs sounds vaguely familiar. this time, you didn't even have bruce to blame : ) i like the whole prep beforehand, the little disclaimers--the sun in the eyes, the hill, etc... haha. jk. it really does take just a second for something like that to happen.
ha. glad you made it back safely bc i want to see you all next week.
ps. your enrichment activities will probably be like all the fun things WE did while i was there : ) hehee.
I love all the beautiful pics--the ornaments are beautiful--
I am glad you made it safely home--there's nothing worse than being lost....grrr.....in a strange place too!
Wow, what an awesome trip...minus the lost part. I'm so jealous of all your sightseeing! Man, I need to get out of the Woodlands. The ornaments are beautiful! Do you have carpeted floors? :)
At least you had a day out! Without kids?? It looked liked from the pictures. The ornaments looked cool too.
I love Audrey's comment about them looking like the "made-in-Mexico" stuff she sees in the states. How observant! Actually, that factory is one of the main suppliers to Wal-mart (amongst some other stores) for glass ornaments except the prices here make them worth buying a whole bunch of them and talking to those who make them really personalized it all. I love your pictures Noelle and you planned a really great trip even though it was pretty traumatic for you at the end!
Glad to hear you survived. That might have put a damper on my idealistic view you've created of Mexico City. But your roared back to life with the gorgeous ornaments.
Please don't hate me...I love Jacob. Mel and I agreed...Jacob is so warm, loving, patient, etc. I can't help the way I feel!
Although I have a strong addiction to Target, those ornaments were worth all of the trouble And you have a great story to boot! I would have freaked about getting lost too! I'm so happy to see you are making new friends and venturing out!!! You are awesome! We still miss you!!!
oh my noelle, that would only happen to you...okay... and ME! glad you're still kickin; i would really miss the blog:) love ya.
looks like i left too soon... i'm sorry i missed this on so many levels. glad you're home safely and soundly and hope those dope little wonders were worth the trip... they look like it. does the pewter store have anything festive?
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