Muchachas from the women's basketball team making pizza for a team that they are about to host from Olinala. More on the Zacango team below (I posted these backwards).

Basketball Fever!!!

When English classes broke for the summer in June, the young women who had been taking the classes asked me if I'd help them start a basketball team to play in tournaments in nearby towns. I said that while I had played basketball as a kid, I didn't actually like to play that much any more but that I could help them with some drills if they wanted.
So between June and now (September) I've practiced with them a couple of times but they have truely taken the "bull by the horns" and have arranged their own practices, games, and tournament entries. Basketball is really popular here and these young Zacango women are NUTS about basketball. I've played with them a few times (even though I always tell them that I'm old and out-of-shape) and we went to a tournament last week. The girls entered two teams and we won first and third place. Here we are sharing a watermelon (by the community store in front of our house) that the host town gave us at the tournament. GO ZACANGO!!!

Hangin' Out With Friends! Alli, Lalo, David, and Ziko.
No pictures of the actual friends, just the creations they made. (Zam and friends)
Hizee, David, and Raffa.
Hizee, Maribel, and Diana riding Taco.

A few weeks ago we completed the second round of weeding in our maize field. Things still aren't looking too good due to lack of rain in our area. People are saying that while they will still have a harvest, the maize won't be as plentiful as it usually is. We are really enjoying learning the farming process and have developed a great appreciation for the amount of work that people put into their fields.
Breaking for a snack.
Our field.
Another view of our field. It's approximately 15 X 40 metres.

During the last week of August we held our final week of the kids summer environmental/garden group. The theme for the last week was human health and nutrition. We had a blast cooking up all sorts of things and the grand finale for the group included making pizza and watching the movie "Earth" (I think that's what it's called in English. It's a Disney nature movie that was shown at IMAX, I think). Below are pictures of all the activities we did during the last week (in somewhat of a mixed up order). Directly below are the kids on the last day of the program holding their "carpetas" (folders of the work they completed during the program. We had a great summer with these turkies!!!

The kids group cleaning and checking up on their garden.

Swimming and stick-bread at the barranca

Making cookies!

Making tlaunca (small guava-like fruit) smoothies and...

learning about the unhealthiness of potato chips and then eating them! (For more new posts click on older posts below)

Making fruit faces.

Esmeralda, Lalo, and Ceasar
Lalo and Ceasar

A few of the finished fruit faces!

Watching Orange Cat have her kittens! She chose to have them in Zam's desk drawer and it's the perfect place to observe them daily. Orange Cat is a great mom. Ziko has taken ownership of all the kittens since it was his cat who had them. He picks them up at will and trots around the house with them. While all of us have picked our favorite kitten, Ziko says he doesn't have a favorite, that he "loves them all" and that they are ALL his favorites! Spoken like a true father!

Bruce's Oma sent keilke (delectible Mennonite pasta) with Bruce's parents when they came in August...WOW, what a treat!!! Thank you Oma!

BABY ANIMALS HAVE ARRIVED!!! My friend Meredith and I always joke about my obsession with baby animals and finally all my longings for baby animals have been realized! Although we had a batch (litter, group...not sure what you call them) of baby bunnies back in February no baby rabbits had been born (or survived) since. So Miguel and I were thrilled when these little guys arrived (we searched the rabbit "caves" daily). Ziko's rabbit "Green" (who happens to be very white) had her first litter of rabbits with Eduardo (son of Black Beauty who was born back in February). Then came "Orange Cat" who had five healthy little kits a couple of weeks later. And lastly, Zam's guinea pig "Chocolate n' Bananas" had her second litter of guinea pigs (not pictured in the collage) a week ago. Now that we have our baby animal fix, it's time to start seperating and "fixing" animals! I think that the rabbit production will continue as the people in Zacango are completely pumped about the conejos (rabbits). All the kids have their orders in for what colour and sex of bunny they would like.