Gran Bosque Urbano

Today was yet another Saturday that Mario had to work, so were we going to stay home and boo-hoo ourselves?

No way!

We had a lovely morning at the Gran Bosque Urbano (the Great Urban Woods).  We only stumbled upon this park a year ago when friends invited us for a picnic.  But in our defense, I didn't have much access to a car until a year ago, so our park options were limited to those within walking distance--the Alameda and Venustiano Carranza.

This prarie dog is the park's mascot.  There's a giant prarie dog right at the entrtance, and this one is at the entrance to the children's area.  Joey thinks he's the greatest thing ever and gets so excited every time he sees the prarie dog--both at the parking lot and here, before the playground.

As much as we love the Alameda, the Gran Bosque Urbano has replaced it as our favorite park in Saltillo.  Why?  For me, it's all about the trees and grass.  I'm still astonished by how many trees and how much healthy, luxurious grass is in that part--grass that we're allowed to sit on and walk in!  (As opposed to the Alameda and far too many other Mexican parks.)

For the kids, it's all about the sandbox.  Today, we didn't even venture out to the swings, slides or other play equipment.  A solid two hours was spent in the sandbox.

Heaven.

For those who have kids older than sandbox-age, the area with the play equipment is really well designed.  It's a fenced-in circular area, and smack in the center is a covered area with picnic benches, so parents can sit in shady comfort while keeping an eye on the kiddos.  There is a special area for very small children (which includes the sandbox) and this had an additional fence around it.  Very nice.  They even boast decent bathrooms which are almost always in service and drinking fountains which sometimes work.  And often don't.

The park overall isn't that big, despite its grandiose name.  A circle track winds it way through the woods, good for a walk or jogging, or frustrating a four-year-old who's not used to going up hills on a tricycle.  It boasts a teeny-tiny lake, which has a concession stand and picnic tables with which to comfortably view the lake.  Swimming, wading, boating are verboten--unless they do begin to rent boats in the future, which they've had rumors of at the Chapulin and Deportivo parks.  I've never seen it, but near the lake there is a labyrinth, which older kids seem to like to run in and out of.   One of these days we'll check it out.

If we ever get out of the sandbox.

Old Wives' Tales Taken Out of Culture

I've been meaning to confess this for awhile, so here goes:

My small children drink coffee.  *gasp*

In the US, we're fed on the myth that coffee is just for adults, that it will stunt kids' growth, they'll get all hyped up on the caffiene and won't be able to sleep, etc, etc.  All our predjudices about coffee are part of our culture, not entirely based in fact (execpt that the effects of caffiene are pretty well documented, I'll give you that).

When I worked at a chilren's home and new volunteers from the US would come and see the small children drinking coffee right before bed, they were all generally out of their minds concerned about this.  "I've got to put a stop to this!  Kids drinking coffee before bed!  Tsk!"

But trying to stand in the way of culture is like trying to stand in the way of a moving train.  One person, no matter how concerned, can no change someone else's culture.  Everyone does it.  Everyone goes to sleep at night.  The average Mexican is, indeed, usually shorter than the average American, but that's thanks to genetics, not the effects of early coffee consumption.

Clara and I spent a month with my mother-in-law when Clara was about a year and a half old.  My mother-in-law LOVES coffee.  She also has a collection of child-size mugs.  After a month with the abuela, Clara decided that she loved coffee, too.  (She got half coffee, half milk mini-mugfuls.)  At the time, I was more concerned about her sugar intake instead of her caffiene intake, and would give it to her without sugar.  She still thought it was a best thing ever.

And now that I'm more liberal with the sugar, she's still a sucker for coffee, anytime we make it.

The Boy, on the other hand, is against hot drinks of any form.

Ironically, or perhaps because of this early exposure to coffee, Mexicans in general don't have the same addiction to coffee that gringos do.  I could be mistaken, but the Mexicans I know best regard coffee as a nice treat (a daily treat, if you're my mother-in-law, but a treat nonetheless).  Starbucks and the Italian Coffee Company do abound here, but I can't say I've met any Mexicans who have the same dependence on coffee that so many gringos have.  That, "Oh-My-God-I-Can't-Function-Without-My Morning-Coffee" dependence.

You know what I'm talking about.

Witnessing these two cultural views to coffee, I think I'll stick to the safer, less addicting route, and give my children coffee early in life.  True, there's no gaurantee that their gringo side won't rear up and they will become addicts eventually.

But I'll take my chances.