I have experienced my first sickness in Puebla, but it wouldn't be the sickness you would expect in Mexico just a fever. I stayed home for a day and a half and slept tons. I don't know if it really helps or it many of our moms have just put in our heads that 7up and crackers help you feel better. I walked to the small corner store at the end of my block to pick some up and chatted with my new friend who owns the store. He has told me in Spanish that he does not like English only Spanish. He rambles to me in Spanish and I just catch a word here and there. He usually asks me about school. Today he had American oldies playing so I asked him por que ingles musica? Tu no gustan ingles. He said some English music was okay. He tolerates me and shakes his head when I hand him too much money. I don't fully have the whole numbers thing down yet. He is fun to practice my malo espanol with though.
 I was a sucker for the kids today down at the Zocalo. I gave a boy 5 pesos for some religious card and paid 100 pesos to a girl who was selling purses at the market. She was a good sales gal and I will probably buy from her again. I met a couple at the market that make a lot of Mexican clothes, animals, etc. out of natural wools and other material. They spoke some English and have suckered me into buying from them too. I also got my foot measured for some moccasions that some Indians make at the market. We communicated okay, he was patient with me. So in all, today was a spendy day at the market. I don't talk them down because I speak crappy Spanish and everything is so much cheaper than home so I might as well give the full amount to help them out.
My host mother told me I was starting to speak more Spanish. Our dinners are lasting a lot longer because she wants to know about my family and it's now easier for her to understand what I am telling her. Or trying to tell her. It is hard to know what tense to use verbs in so she is constantly correcting me.  I have started to carry a small notebook around so I can write words and phrases down. I don't have a social life here, but I feel like I need to study more.
Fun facts about Mexico: around 30ish years ago they adopted Christmas which they call Nochebuena. Some kids are raised to believe in Santa and others are raised to have the traditional what we would call Christmas, but to them is Kings Day on Jan.6. They have Halloween now too.  Girls don't use tampons because it has something to do with the viginity thing so tampons can be hard to come by in the stores here. I don't remember if I mentioned houses don't have heating or a/c here. It's illegal to have an abortion in Puebla, but not Mexico City. Flipping people off it majorly offense. You should raise your elbow or this other hand gesture. And guys are just raised to whistle and mock women here. It starts for these poor girls when they hit puberty, but it is just a way of life here in Mexico.