Rocha 1

Dolores Rocha
Mrs. Crichton
AP English Language
17 September 2013
A Special Place
The sun is shining high and the heat is even higher. It is the middle of December and I am
in Mexico. A week until Christmas and everyone is walking around as if it is the middle of June,
dressed for the heat and not the coldness of December that we know. The men dressed in shorts
and t-shirts, the women dressed in floral dresses and skirts. My family and I have been in the car
for two days driving to Sinaloa, Mexico, and we are exhausted, but also very happy to be here.
The town we visit is named Guamuchil (guwa-mu-chil). Instead of staying in a hotel, we stay at
my grandparents house because it is large enough to fit three of my aunts and their families, my
mom and myself, plus my grandparents. It has a large patio with copper tiled floor detailed with
mini hexagons. The living room is on the right, across the hall is my grandparents room, further
down is the kitchen, then theres the back of the house, with a cement floor because it was added
as an extra room to fit more people.
The last time I visited Mexico was in sixth grade, I was eleven years old . I remember
being excited to get out of school a few days earlier than everyone else, because I knew the other
students were still in class while I was not. Although the car rides seemed like an eternity, they
were worth it. Once I took my first step out of the car my mood completely shifted, I felt free and
calm. When we arrived it was late at night, but my cousins and I were really excited to be here,
because we knew that we would be able to play with all the kids from the town since we all got
along very well. Instead of being awoken by cars speeding by or honking, I was awoken by

Rocha 2
roosters and my cousins. Every morning we would wake each other up, without waking the
adults, to go play. After a while of playing an adult would come outside and call us back to the
house to shower and eat breakfast. Then we were off, back to playing and running around. I felt
so care free. Everyone knew each other, so I did not feel scared to walk around with my cousins
without any adults. Although they could clearly watch us from the patio. An event I remember
clearly is when I was feeding a cow at my neighbors farm and was licked by it. It felt like a wet,
rough material was being rubbed up against my arm. I was shocked when this happened. The
only thing rushing through my mind was: A cow just...licked me, I looked around and everyone
was looking at me. After about a minute we all burst into a roar of laughter. At night it was
especially fun because we played a game called bote robado or stolen bottle it was our
version of hide and go seek except we placed a plastic bottle filled with rocks next to a tree
and the first person to the bottle won. Thinking back at that game it brings back happy
memories. The air filled with laughter of everyone playing, making sure you did not trip over a
rock while running in the dark, stopping to take a breath and looking up at the sky being taken
aback by all of the stars that you could see.
The family felt so united when we came to Mexico, everyone got along great. No one
was caught up in their own life while we were over there. No one had to go to work, the kids
didnt have to go to school, we all just spent time together. During the day we would all pack
into our cars and go into town to walk around the plaza, eat, and shop. We were always laughing,
sometimes at the simplest thing. Through out the whole day and night there was a fair going on
named La Feria de Navidad (The Christmas Fair). As a child, it was the best thing ever. There
were tables after tables set up with different things to buy. I bought two key chains and a
walletwith my name on it. Not only were the tables filled with toys, there were many tables with

Rocha 3
food. They had churros, hot chocolate, and the maize grain from the corn mixed with lemon,
cheese, and sour cream in a cup.
At midnight on December twenty-fourth my family and I would sit together to eat dinner.
After we finsihed eating we gathered into the living and opened presents. The last christmas we
spent in Mexico, my mom gave me a gold ring with a red ruby on it. It is the ring I wear every
day. This rings means a lot to me because my mom has one almost like it. It was a ring that my
dad had given her when they were a couple, as a little girl I always told her that I wanted a ring
just like it. I saw it as something that kept my parents and I together since they are separated.
After we opened our presents we grabbed some chairs, blankets, and coffee or tea and sat on the
porch and talked all night. Laughing and telling jokes.
Often I find myself reminiscing about christmas in Mexico, I think about the long nights
playing under the stars or swinging on some hammacs in the front yard- and I catch myself
smiling. Its been about six years since Ive gone to Mexico and I miss it terribly, but until the
day I go back, my memories with have to satisfiy my longing to return.
Word Count: 964