October 15, 2012
Dear Friends:
With wonderful sunny days, the monarch's presence can nearly be smelled. Every afternoon, Jocelyn, Roberto and I check for signs of monarchs arriving to our region. Today, we filled in the graph with our one-week observations for you. No monarchs yet! We expect to see the first butterflies sometime this month, so they must be approaching our region now. We are anxious to see them!!!
A Day in the Life of Jocelyn and Roberto
As described in our last report, Jocelyn and Roberto live at El Cerrito area, this strategic point where monarchs announce their arrival before entering their Sanctuaries. Today I'll tell you about their typical day. Jocelyn and Roberto start the day by getting up at 6:30 in the morning. Although there is an elementary school in their community, they attend school downtown Angangueo, since their mom and dad both work there.
Each morning they get dressed quickly, brush their teeth and wash their hands. Our children usually take a shower in the afternoons, since the bathroom at our homes is usually located outside and some meters away from bedrooms. It would be too cold for them to take a shower so early!!
The typical Mexican breakfast for many children may consist of an egg with some beans accompanied with one or two tortillas, and some milk or tea. However, milk with bread is mostly enough for Joselyn and Roberto, because 7 a.m. is much too early for them to have more.
After a very light breakfast they rush to the main road. A neighbor's car serves as transportation to the few children in the community who go to school downtown. Mom and Dad pay 10 pesos for both Jocelyn and Roberto to ride. School starts at 8:30 a.m. and Jocelyn and Roberto are recognized by teachers as being among the most on-time children at school.
At breaktime, Jocelyn and Roberto are really thirsty and hungry. They enjoy a delicious lunch consisting of a taco filled in with potatoes, which is only 3 pesos, a drink for another three pesos and a candy of equivalent price. All these are prepared and sold by some pupils' mothers themselves. Half an hour-breaktime seems not to be enough for playing and eating!
Classes end at 1:00 pm. These days, when Jocelyn and Roberto return from school we go to search for butterflies. Next week, I'll share more about local life along with any news about the monarchs!
Your local reporter,
Estela Romero
Angangueo, Michoacán, México
 |
 |
| Angangueo Near the two largest monarch sanctuaries. |
Monarch Wintering Sites The region in central México where monarchs overwinter. |
Looking up
Marking the Chart
Zero Monarchs 
Early Breakfast
Riding with Neighbors
The School in Angangueo
