San Jose

After an amazingly wonderful day at church (read "Matters of The Heart" to hear the story), I traveled to San Jose with my host family. We spent the afternoon and evening with some of Monse's family - enjoying food, good company, and laughter.
The drive to San Jose took about 1.5 hours because there was traffic and torrential rain.

We took a short cut through La Garita and then traveled on Route 27 (a freeway that apparently took 35 years to finish building and has now been opened for just one year). I knew it was going to be a good trip when Fede started flipping through the radio stations - Spanish pop, slow classical, and then "Stayin' Alive" by the Beegies! Haha!
We arrived at about 3:30pm and were greeted by a wonderful lunch, smiling faces, and joyous conversation. I felt immediately welcomed and loved.
Following lunch, some of us went upstairs to relax and watch Transformers 2. Thankfully, about 20 minutes into the movie, they turned on the English subtitles for me! Hah! Made the film much more enjoyable.
After another meal (of glorified hot dogs on bread or tortillas) and several more hours of conversation, we decided to return home.
Once we left the house in San Jose, both Monse and Fede thanked me for coming with them. Monse leaned over and said, "My family is kind of crazy..." I laughed and told her it was comforting because it reminded me of my family. I vocalized in return, how thankful I was that they had included me. =)

P.S. We got snacks on our way out of San Ramon to tie us over until lunch - Funyons (Fede's favorite!), Sun Chips, and Tea. I had this green-apple green tea...it was amazing. Arizona Tea, you best watch your back. Haha!