well chavos, this is my last post for a while. tomorrow morning we're taking a bus to queretaro (8000 feet above sea level!!) where we'll be staying at a camp in the middle of the woods for 10 days... without internet, obviously. so this page is about to go dark for a while (um, meaning i just wont post anything new til i get back to lovely ixtapaluca). for the next few days we'll be working around the camp, doing whatever maintenance/improvement kind of projects they have picked out for us. then there will be a week-long camp for 18-25 year olds (mexicans) and all the interns are going to participate. i'm pretty positive we'll be integrated into the different cabins with them, so i'm really looking forward to having some new amigos to learn about and learn from.
it is almost 1:00 am right now, but i did promise to write something of spiritual value here so before i go, a little something i am learning about.
one thing that is soooooooooooooooo (i really cannot emphasize that enough) blatantly obvious about the people we've encountered here is their hospitality. i really mean that. every single time we walk into someone's house, each person is readily greeted and hugged and kissed and welcomed and then ALWAYS offered something. whether its just water or juice or an entire meal, without fail, mexicans will share whatever they have to give. and it's not just because we're american; they treat each other the same way. there's a very different group mentality here, an acute awareness of each person's presence and needs, and a desire to care for them if there is any way that can be done. it certainly has made me reflect on my general selfishness, my tendency to pay attention to my certain familiar friends and my own needs and desires. if Christ has done so much on my behalf and continues to fill my life with an abundance of grace and i am now a slave to Him, why is it that my desires continue to dictate my actions? i think i have a lot to learn from the people here in that aspect, and i pray for a heart of service and a deeper compassion for other people.
as for now, i'm outt. adios gringos... be back in 10 days.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Sunday, June 27, 2010
perros enojados.
my first sunday! during church i went to the youth group and listened to andrea teach... hearing the Bible preached in spanish is something i am really going to have to get used to... it's hard because i have to focus a lot and it gives me a headache. i'm looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning and devouring some of the sermons on my ipod before the day starts. but i really like listening to people worship in spanish... it amazes me how their voices are heard and celebrated in heaven just as much as ours.
we watched mexico lose today in the world cup :( which was not exactly ideal, to say the least. all the interns and some others (mexicans) from the church came over to samuel and auroras to watch and eat lunch. afterwards we played baseball with a tennis racket and it was so fun... there was a lot of laughing and teasing in both spanish and english and even spanglish, and it was good to start to feel normal here, that i am starting to know everyone as friends and not strangers.
my mexican culture learning today: esli and i went for a run in the mountains around where we live. for one thing, the altitude makes it harder to breathe. for another, the mountains are exhausting. but the best part is the angry dogs, perros enojados. apparently all dogs in mexico are really, really mad. luckily where i live most of them are locked up, so all they can do is snarl and bark and foam at the mouth at you. but every now and then you find a roamer that will chase you and jump on you and more or less attack you. looking back it's kind of funny, but at the time both of us were a little freaked out, even though she's used to it and lives here.
i'm really exhausted right now (therefore going to bed like a smart kid) but my goal for the next post is to share something of spiritual value, soo now there is that to look forward to. and now that i've told you publicly i'm obligated to do it. buenas noches chavos.
we watched mexico lose today in the world cup :( which was not exactly ideal, to say the least. all the interns and some others (mexicans) from the church came over to samuel and auroras to watch and eat lunch. afterwards we played baseball with a tennis racket and it was so fun... there was a lot of laughing and teasing in both spanish and english and even spanglish, and it was good to start to feel normal here, that i am starting to know everyone as friends and not strangers.
my mexican culture learning today: esli and i went for a run in the mountains around where we live. for one thing, the altitude makes it harder to breathe. for another, the mountains are exhausting. but the best part is the angry dogs, perros enojados. apparently all dogs in mexico are really, really mad. luckily where i live most of them are locked up, so all they can do is snarl and bark and foam at the mouth at you. but every now and then you find a roamer that will chase you and jump on you and more or less attack you. looking back it's kind of funny, but at the time both of us were a little freaked out, even though she's used to it and lives here.
i'm really exhausted right now (therefore going to bed like a smart kid) but my goal for the next post is to share something of spiritual value, soo now there is that to look forward to. and now that i've told you publicly i'm obligated to do it. buenas noches chavos.
Friday, June 25, 2010
gringitas.
today i'm at the house tiffany is renting while she is here for a year... spending a lot of the day with the other girl interns until english class and basketball later. david calls us "las gringitas" or "gringita"... he adds -ito or -ita on everythingg. it's kind of a form of endearment, meaning sommething like "little." so we are the "little white girls." tonight we're having a sleepover for all the girls from the church, with movies and games and such... but we have no idea how many are coming so we're prepared for anything.
last night and this morning i got to spend a lot more time with my mexican family, especially aurora (mi madre) and melanie (mi hermana). i spent a lot of time with them this morning at breakfast talking about melanie's experience in canada last summer, where she studied english for a few months. apparently it was miserable because she was with a philippino family that didn't do a lot to accomodate her needs, so she was left to herself a lot and struggled the whole time. they made it really clear that if anything they hope to avoid that kind of experience for me, and repeatedly urged me to let them know what i like, what i don't like, if i need anything, etc. so i feel very much at home. tomorrow i get to spend the day with the family so i'm excited to get to know them on a deeper level. aurora and i had a great talk about some of the differences between our culture and theirs... the valtierras have been to pennsylvania before with rod's family for a vacation, so they understand something of american culture. the prevalent attitude seems to be that we have a lot of posessions in the states, so we talked about how things can give you a false sense of security and self sufficiency, when really you are very poor in spirit. one thing is certain; i've definitely already seen God's grace through the valtierras and their hospitality and warmth.
every meal is quite the experience... you never know what youre going to get. but the food is good. this morning we had tomales for breakfast. i had a tomale dulce, which is like a sweet corn dish cooked inside a corn husk. some things take a little getting used to, but there's always more than enough food... mexicans are extremely hospitable. every time you go to someone's house, they will always, always offer you something, even if it's just water.
my mexican culture rule for the day: "agua" does not mean water. it usually means some kind of juice that has water in it. "jugo" on the other hand, means straight up juice without anything else in it. if you want real water, you have to ask for "agua agua" or "agua simple." oh the things you learn in mexico.
last night and this morning i got to spend a lot more time with my mexican family, especially aurora (mi madre) and melanie (mi hermana). i spent a lot of time with them this morning at breakfast talking about melanie's experience in canada last summer, where she studied english for a few months. apparently it was miserable because she was with a philippino family that didn't do a lot to accomodate her needs, so she was left to herself a lot and struggled the whole time. they made it really clear that if anything they hope to avoid that kind of experience for me, and repeatedly urged me to let them know what i like, what i don't like, if i need anything, etc. so i feel very much at home. tomorrow i get to spend the day with the family so i'm excited to get to know them on a deeper level. aurora and i had a great talk about some of the differences between our culture and theirs... the valtierras have been to pennsylvania before with rod's family for a vacation, so they understand something of american culture. the prevalent attitude seems to be that we have a lot of posessions in the states, so we talked about how things can give you a false sense of security and self sufficiency, when really you are very poor in spirit. one thing is certain; i've definitely already seen God's grace through the valtierras and their hospitality and warmth.
every meal is quite the experience... you never know what youre going to get. but the food is good. this morning we had tomales for breakfast. i had a tomale dulce, which is like a sweet corn dish cooked inside a corn husk. some things take a little getting used to, but there's always more than enough food... mexicans are extremely hospitable. every time you go to someone's house, they will always, always offer you something, even if it's just water.
my mexican culture rule for the day: "agua" does not mean water. it usually means some kind of juice that has water in it. "jugo" on the other hand, means straight up juice without anything else in it. if you want real water, you have to ask for "agua agua" or "agua simple." oh the things you learn in mexico.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
me llamo cail.
ixtapaluca!! i made it, i'm here. currently sitting in the valtierra household using my host sister esli's computer. yesterday was quite probably the most overwhelming day of my lifee. i met the other interns: andrea, tiffany, jacklyn, stephanie, camron, micah. stephanie got here yesterday too, but the others have all been here for a month already. they're super close andd i already feel like i've known them for ages. i also met rod (the CAM missionary) and his wife, mayra, and their 3 kids. my host fam is the valtierras. samuel and aurora are my parents... they are wonderful and are very involved with the church, and my sisters are esli (who i share a room with) and melanie, and my brother is sammy.
beyond that there have been an endless stream of spanish names to learn and culture catching up to do... a couple of basic rules on mexican culture that i quickly picked up on:
rule number one. always kiss on the left cheek. kissing between girls and between guys/girls (but NOT guys/guys as poor micah learned the hard way) is almost always an appropriate greeting. i've kissed more people in 24 hours than i have in the rest of my entire life combined.
rule number two. in mexico, there's always room for one more. seriously. 20 people crammed into a van? no biggie. theres room for one more. 10 people crammed on one couch? hey, we got you covered. theres room for one more. regardless of how many people there already are or large the person is (small child or full grown adult?) there's always. always. room for more.
rule number three. the name kyle is utterly unpronouncable, and i'll probably remain nameless (you know, "hey you!") while i'm here. either that or i'll take on another name like claudia as david suggested. i told him my spanish teacher used to call me "quile" (kee-lay) but he scoffed and said it was ridiculoso. (david is a single mexican guy who lives attached to the church. he's hilarious and is kind of the 8th intern... always with us.) in english class today we tried to teach everyone to say kyle... andrea wrote "cail" on the board because its kind of a phonetic way of writing it with spanish vowels... so for now i'm cail. kind of.
for now i'm off to do devos, then bed... i think i'm waking up and running in the morning. at 7200 feet up that means a mile feels like a marathon, and i plan pretty much on not being able to breathe. que divertido, how fun. hasta luegooooooooooooooo.
beyond that there have been an endless stream of spanish names to learn and culture catching up to do... a couple of basic rules on mexican culture that i quickly picked up on:
rule number one. always kiss on the left cheek. kissing between girls and between guys/girls (but NOT guys/guys as poor micah learned the hard way) is almost always an appropriate greeting. i've kissed more people in 24 hours than i have in the rest of my entire life combined.
rule number two. in mexico, there's always room for one more. seriously. 20 people crammed into a van? no biggie. theres room for one more. 10 people crammed on one couch? hey, we got you covered. theres room for one more. regardless of how many people there already are or large the person is (small child or full grown adult?) there's always. always. room for more.
rule number three. the name kyle is utterly unpronouncable, and i'll probably remain nameless (you know, "hey you!") while i'm here. either that or i'll take on another name like claudia as david suggested. i told him my spanish teacher used to call me "quile" (kee-lay) but he scoffed and said it was ridiculoso. (david is a single mexican guy who lives attached to the church. he's hilarious and is kind of the 8th intern... always with us.) in english class today we tried to teach everyone to say kyle... andrea wrote "cail" on the board because its kind of a phonetic way of writing it with spanish vowels... so for now i'm cail. kind of.
for now i'm off to do devos, then bed... i think i'm waking up and running in the morning. at 7200 feet up that means a mile feels like a marathon, and i plan pretty much on not being able to breathe. que divertido, how fun. hasta luegooooooooooooooo.
Monday, June 21, 2010
well, i caved.
i've always avoided blogging like the plague. i don't really want to spend a lot of time updating a public journal that probably nobody is going to end up reading anyway, except maybe my mom (hi mom.) but due to numerous questions and requests, i figured this would be the easiest way to let everyone know what's going on in mexico while i'm gone. i don't plan on using it too extensively, and i plan on keeping things simple. but if you want to know what's up, this is the place to be.
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