Finding our Tribe

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"A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate." - Seth Godin

The last few years, especially as I have the privilege of working remotely, many people have asked me if we are moving away from Seattle (since it's so expensive). 

The answer has been a consistent "Nope". We love Seattle. We love that we can go hiking in the morning, kayak in the afternoon, and then dine in the city at night. The number of activities to do is what makes Seattle one of the best places to live. BUT while we love all those things, it's ALWAYS about the people. We have found our Tribe* and we are continuously blessed by them. As an example, on December 18, 2022, when Argentina won the World Cup, we had 70+ people in our home celebrating with us. They all knew how much that win meant to me: 


(Note: While this post is about our current tribe- we have found our Tribe in every place we have lived.)

Being in Mexico has again reminded us of how important that tribe is to us - especially given that our trip is a few months vs a "1–2-week vacation". In Queretaro, we were only there for 2 weeks, so the family we had there was clutch. It really helped us feel connected to something bigger:


Now that we are in Puebla for a month, this idea of a Tribe has been something I think about daily. Every time our kids fight- which is about 80% of the day- I wish we had our friends, so I could set up an impromptu play date to separate our children for a few hours. I also think it's so important for our children to play with other children and socialize. I am sure we all can pinpoint some incredible life lessons that we learned in the playground, playing sports, or during recess in school. 

This week, the church congregation here in Puebla had a few activities lined up: 

  • Primary activity on Thursday
  • Adult Valentine Dance on Friday
  • Talent Show and Workshops for kids on Saturday. 
This was absolutely awesome as our kids were able to have a GREAT time connecting with other kids (and we got to meet some other parents/adults). There is definitely a language barrier with the kids - but that didn't stop local kids from coming up to me & asking me how to say these phrases in English so they can communicate with Nico & Mila: 
  • Quieres Jugar? (Want to play?)
  • Que jugamos ahora? (What should we play now?)
  • Me gusto tu talento! (I liked your talent!)
I am grateful for our tribe back at home and I am excited to expand our friendships here in Mexico. 
Here are some pics from this week: 
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Polishing shoes 

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Making skirts

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Ximena's Drawings (talent show)

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