Get Updates!!

Subscribe Now! I wanted to point out that I now have the capability for you to be a subscriber to my blog! This way you will be emailed when I add on to it. All you have to do is fill in your email address on the side of this blog, and you'll be a subscriber! And, bonus, you won't get any other spam emails.

On to the update…I'm getting more adjusted to life here in Mexico. I'm loving, absolutely loving the food that we have at the center here. Everyday we have a warm breakfast that can range from spinach omelets, to pancakes, to yummy French toast, and always fresh fruit with yogurt! Lunch is more delicious, in fact I have such a full meal that I hardly get hungry for dinner. Lunch is the main meal here. We always have beans and tortillas (which is also always on the table as part of breakfast too), salad, and then a delicious main course followed by dessert. My favorite dish so far is what we had today...vegetables in a creamy, delicious spicy sauce. Of course I asked what it was called, but like many other Spanish nouns and verbs that I am trying to pick up, I quickly forgot it.

Last week I gained a new co-worker, Isabel! She is from here, and speaks Spanish, English, French, and is learning Italian. She is a wonderful addition to our team. She is always ready to laugh at my stupid jokes, and is very helpful in our work here. The work I am doing is interesting and good so far. We won’t have any real groups come until January, so right now is all the relationship building, prep and organizing work. If you are thinking to visit, it may be the sooner the better! Once groups start coming, I will have a much busier schedule.

I have found some real advantages to my life here in Mexico. I love that I can go out to an outdoor restaurant/bar and enjoy a fruity drink for about $.13, watch live salsa music and dance! Recently I have met Malory, a Lutheran Volunteer that is doing a year of service here. She too loves to go out dancing, and we are both excited to get out experience the dance scene!

This area has some very beautiful spots. I love a nearby city garden that has flowers blooming all year round. Last week I was introduced to the local outdoor market! What an experience that was! It is much more exciting than a trip to the grocery store…fresh fruit, meat, and vegetables all around, friendly venders eagerly awaiting your purchase, and there is some bartering involved if you choose…

I am meeting more people and enjoying getting out. Isabel and one other of my coworkers and I went to a Latin dance class here for the first time last night. We had a great time sweating it up with the other dancers. By the end of class, aguacero! Down pour!! Mother Nature is very serious about her rainy season here. It rains nearly once every day, usually at night or in the early morning. Most of the time it is a down pour, and sometimes lightening and thunder included. Last night was no exception. The small street our dance school is on soon became a road with 2 rivers running down each side. The sewer system isn’t so good here, so water can really pile up fast. We waited outside the school, under the protection of the roof over hang for about 10 minutes waiting for a taxi. When it finally came, my paints were soaked up to my knees, and I dived into the taxi trying to avoid the small river on the roadside. Whew! What a storm!

One part of being here that I am especially grateful for is that I am really enjoying my coworkers. Today, after lunch we were discussing the idea of a quinceañera, which in Latin America is a fifteen year old’s “coming out” party. Almost all of the women on staff never had one; some of them said they didn’t have one due to the incredible expense of this very elaborate celebration. Well, we decided that we should change that, and have a group quinceañera party at our place! We could all go out and buy those fancy hoop skirt dresses to promenade around in and dance! We had great laughs practicing our curtsies and dancing. I will keep you updated if that happens!

Part of what I have been doing in my work is gather quotes. Here is one of my favorites:

"Make me
-wide eyed for beauty,
and for my neighbor's need
and goodness;

-wide-willed for peace-making,
and for the confronting power
with the call to compassion;

-wide-hearted for love
and for the unloved,
who are the hardest to touch
and need it the most."

-taken from Breathe into Me the Courage to Make Something New by Ted Loder