17 banos

my favorite thematic unit in open court is "heritage." this past weekend i got to know my heritage a little better: i flew to mexico d.f. for the first time to meet family members from mi padre, joaquin's side of the family. it was fantastic! i stayed at my uncle alphonso's house, "casa margarita" (named after my grandmother, not the drink). i dubbed it the "cordero compound" because it was literally a sprawling, palacial estate surrounded by 4 huge walls. check this out:

• 3 stories
  
• 40 rooms
  
• 17 bathrooms
• elevator
• pool
• jacuzzi
• sauna
• steam room
• 2 gyms
• movie theater
• wine cellar
• 9 fireplaces
• study/library (with spiral staircase to second level bookshelf)
• bar
• grand piano
• basketball court (my favorite!)

as you can tell, it's quite the vacation home! it was hard to leave, but i did do some sight-seeing outside the compound as well: i took a few busses (quite an experience!), rode the metro (people sell everything on there!), and was chauffeured around by my two incredibly humorous and delightful aunts. i got to see toluca (sp?) where my cousin has a cattle farm, and i ate fresh cheese that was only 4 hours old. of course there was plenty of tequila and mariachi music, but the highlight was visiting teotihuacan and climbing the pyramid of the moon!

what an incredible experience!

it really made me appreciate my latino heritage and proud to be a cordero! i bonded with my natural father and family members and really felt a part of something special, something with rich cultural traditions.

today i shared some pictures with my students... i think they could tell i was excited to finally--after 30 years--connect with this part of me...