I have three favorite things about today. 

1. I laughed at a sign on someone's driveway. This is a two part favorite. 

a) I was delighted to see a funny sign. b) I was really delighted that I was able to read it.

2. I totally freaked out a 19 year old from North Dakota.

On my way home from a walkabout, I saw a kid from my cooking class sitting in the park, reading comics. I thought I would stop and chat with him. He's young, not overly self confident and from North Dakota, so I assumed he could use a "hey, what's up". While we were talking, I noticed a young man rooting through the garbage for food. I forget what North Dakota and I were talking about, but I interupted him to say, "I'll be right back. I noticed that guy was eating out of the garbage and I have some blackberries in my purse I'm going to give him." The look on this kid's face was amazing. It spoke so many things at once. He seemed horrified, embarrassed, nervous and totally unsure about life in about two seconds. I have no idea what expressions he made on the third and forth seconds because I had already run off to give my mushy blackberries and a packet of airplane pretzels to a blind man eating his dinner from the park refuse receptacle.

For a moment, I hesitated to give him my blackberries. I bought them from this young girl on my street that I buy fruit from every morning and it was now 8pm. They had suffered a bit of a beating in my purse over the course of the day. Then it occurred on me that someone eating trash probably doesn't care too much about the state of my berries. 

I trotted back to North Dakota and informed him that the man was also blind. Or so it seemed. North Dakota, bless his heart, took it in stride and launched into a synopsis of why Oaxaca has more blind people as compared to other cities. (His dad is a doctor)

3. I was able to score some salsa for my dinner from a street vendor who was closing up shop. For like 5 pesos. And totally in Spanish. Proof that I am improving in tiny increments.