septiembre: "Camping"

Sarah (one of the volunteers) and I were invited by Jenn (another volunteer) and her host family to go "camping". Like many things here in Mexico, I am finding that my expectations sometimes miss the mark.

My expectation:
The beautiful, and rural mountain area surrounding Cuernavaca
Cool breeze and wide open areas
Fire + easy to heat Mexican dinner
Beers and tequila
Mexican family + volunteers packed into a tent


Reality of our "camping" trip:
Went to a friend of the family's starfruit (and other fruits) orchard
Cooked about 20 chickens on the grill (Jenn's family owns a chicken farm)
Played soccer with the kids
Toured the orchard and sampled more than my stomach's fill of fruits picked fresh from the tree
Beer and tequila until well after dark (don't we need to set up the tents?)
Around 11pm we set up tents in the storehouse and packing area for starfruit (they export). I thought we were setting them up in the light and would move them outside so I helped out and said nothing
Go figure, we "camped" on the cement floor inside the storehouse
WHAT?


Not quite what I expected, but just another example of "Welcome to Mexico" which has quickly become my new mantra to handle moments of culture shock and find a way to laugh at my off-base expectations.