Earning his burritos

Well that is funny.  I logged on to say some nice things about Max, but I see he beat me to it.  I have to concur:  Max is awesome.  He faces some of the biggest challenges here.  Unlike Helen -- who certainly would like to see people from home but who, like any five year old, still lives mostly in the present -- as a ten year old Max truly misses his friends and is sad about not being with them.  His peers at school and on his soccer team in Mexico can be judgmental about his not speaking Spanish or not knowing what he should be doing, and his teachers and coach make no special accommodations.  And on top of the pressures of school, soccer, learning a new language, and being away from his friends, there is hardly a moment we are together when Helen does not want to do exactly what Max is doing.  Natalie and I think it is sweet, and at times Max enjoys it, but it can drive him a little nuts too.  Wherever Max goes, so goes Helen.

Granted, there are moments when Max is a little Focker.

But for the most part he has been a star. 

With friends at our house

Winning superballs for guests at Helen's birthday party

Hauling groceries

Embellishing our salad with a radish carving

As for school, we have told Max repeatedly we could care less about his grades this semester.  The learning he is doing – navigating a new school in a foreign country in a different language – is not measured by grades.  Nevertheless, Max has had tests in every subject this week and, somehow, he seems to be doing fine.

As a reward (for everything, not just the tests), last night we had Max’s favorite dinner.  

Burritos!

From what we can tell, the only way to get a burrito in Oaxaca is to make it yourself.

BTW, if it is starting to seem from the photos like Max and Helen wear the same thing every day, it is because they do.  I am not talking about their school uniforms.  We brought a suitcase full of clothes for each of them.  We could have brought a few pairs of shorts and a couple soccer jerseys for Max, and a couple of skirts and t-shirts for Helen.  Actually, we each could have gotten by with only a few outfits, although Natalie wishes she had more warm clothes for the mornings and for her Spanish classroom, which she claims is “freezing.”   --Harrison