Urban Homestay familiy

Some people might want to know about my urban homestay. So here it goes:

My host-Mom is Alicia, a retired teacher. She's very understanding of any problems that I have. Originally from Puebla, and the decendent of Hacienda owners, she still enjoys Puebla food and traditions, including my favorite flu remedy: Putting alchohol on ones feet and lighting them on fire, then putting it out (there's probably more to it than that, I've never actually seen it). When I was sick she never actually got around to having here sister do it, but she was planning it.

She considers herself Catholic, although she never attends mass, and believes that how one acts is more important than what one believes. She still has a cross above every bed in the house for protection though. She enjoys chatting with relatives and dancing.

My host-Dad is long-time Cuernavaca resident Rudy, an auto mechanic and bicycling champion. He still bikes long distances every Sunday with friends, often through the mountains. Like Alicia, he does not go to mass. He's not around very much, due to work and cycling. He enjoys talking about history and politics, although all conversations with him are somewhat one-sided, given his hearing problems.

Rudy used to support the currently-powerful PAN party, but now blames them for the current economic crisis and considers them a lesser evil. One could call him generally "conservative" in that he sticks to his habits, opposes large government spending, and strongly hates Subcommander Marcos, a revolutionary in Mexico's southern state of Chiapas. Rudy claims Marcos is merely a puppet for foreign interests, which seems to be the equivalent of calling someone a Communist in the U.S. Yet Rudy is not the kind of religious conservative I know and love from Tennessee. Social and religious issues rarely come up in conversations with him and he would rather ride his bike across mountains on Sunday than go to mass.

Last but not least of my nuclear family is Herbe (pronounced Herb-bay), my host brother. He is an adult technically, but he still lives at home with his parents because of his mental disabilities, which also make it difficult for him to talk coherently. He enjoys sitting on staircases for long periods of time and pushing people in the direction that they are heading. It is impossible not to like Herbe, even if he is the main reason my family does not travel outside the state of Morelos.

As with many Mexican families we often get visits from relatives both young and old. Alicia's young god-daughter Marta also stops by often for help with homework, or to watch after-school telenovelas such as "La Rosa de Guatalupe."

And maybe for lack of practice, I can't think of a good conclusion.