ahora vamos a contar

1) MARIACHIS!
2) bars with mariachis!
3) in the city i live in now, i can count the places that consistently sell Sol and horchata (my alcoholic and non-alcoholic mexican beverages of choice) on one hand. in my hometown, i've got about a 1 in 4 shot.
4) there is absolutely no chance that i will run into my students or their crazy parents
5) my best friend's family. i have to credit them with a lot of my spanish language learning. i spent most of my free time in high school hanging out at their house, where all chisme was spoken only in spanish. my nosy nature helped me catch on quickly, especially in the last few years-- now i know everybody's business! on the way to and from the graduation, we sang along to luis miguel and vicente fernández at the top of our lungs after my friend's father finished telling us his theory about the american popularization of 5 de mayo and the popular (anglo) obscurity of 16 de septiembre. at dinner, my friend's tío tried to hook me up with ugly people at the restaurant. back at the house, he ran smack into a screen door which gave me plenty of joke fodder for the rest of the night. they're good people.
6) my folks. have a happy mother's day!