Mi vida nueva

Week with Family: Sunday

2009-12-03T15:23:00.003-06:00

On Sunday we were on the go again. I hired a private tour guy to take the four of us to a town called Uman, the hacienda Yaxcopoil, and the mayan site of Uxmal. I had been to all three of those, but I was trying to have them see all parts of Mayan and Yucatacan history.

Mom climbed up 3 stairs to take the picture after dad, Neal, and I were getting down from climbing up to take a family picture.

Another picture of the four of us...

A beautiful picture that Neal took of the hacienda, Yaxcopoil.

This is part of the small market in Uman.

I think everyone enjoyed this day because the tour was in English and so my parents and Neal could ask any sorts of questions about the history or the henequen plantation. It was quite a day, but we loved spending the time together! When we got back, they helped me pack Neal's suitcase that I brought down here for all my stuff so they could take it back with them. Then we went to supper at a little restaurant even though they served appetizer portions. So, we came back and heated up our leftovers from our supper at the nice italian restaurant on Wednesday night. It was quite a planned and eventful weekend, but they were able to see cenotes (used to be a place of human sacrifice to the gods of the underworld), the city of Merida and all its history and architecture, the caribbean, ruins in Tulum, then a typical yucatacan village, an hacienda which brought wealth to the Yucatan for about 100 years during the Industrial Revolution since the henequen is broken down into fibers that make rope, and then last but not least, the ruins of Uxmal. They were also able to try some typical Yucatacan food on Sunday night. I was happy how everything turned out since it took quite a bit of work to get everything organized and into a schedule. Thank mom, dad, and Neal for a week that I will never forget!!

P.S. I think they were also able to see why it is going to hard to leave Merida and Yucatan itself. Neal didn't want to leave and he was only here 5 days. It is going to take a long time to process everything I have experienced. But, I really am excited to get back home to my family and friends.

Week with Family: Friday and Saturday

2009-12-03T14:50:00.004-06:00

Sorry these pictures are out of order. On Friday morning we made the 4-hour bus ride to Tulum since my parents and I love the caribbean and Neal had never seen it before! Poor Neal, I slept half the way...I was tired too! But since he can't sleep in a moving vehicle, it makes it hard to sleep in a bus!! But once we got to Tulum, we had a bite to eat and some gelato!! I surprised them with that little fact until we got to Tulum otherwise I think Neal might have gone a little crazy... =) But after enjoying some yummy gelato we got to our hotel and hung out in the hammocks and then went to the beach. That night Neal and I had our own little date at the restaurant that was at the hotel so that was really nice to finally be able to sit down and share a meal together since we haven't done that since August. Crazy how time has flown but also seems so long ago!!

Saturday morning we got up, had breakfast, and were in the water a little while until I cut my toe pretty bad on a rock that I didn't see in the water. At least there weren't any broken toes! After getting it cleaned and bandaged up, we went to the ruins in Tulum so they could see how pretty they are--on a cliff overlooking the Caribbean sea.

Us at the ruins overlooking the beautiful blue water.

So the water was cold and Neal decided to splash some water on me after I told him I didn't want to get wet. So I had to get him back!! I'm not going to let him pick on me without fighting back, thats for sure!

Ya, I'm not wanting to get in...this is right before Neal splashed me...

An awesome photo mom and dad got when they got up super early to see the sunrise on Saturday morning.

This is postcard material! Mom--have you ever thought about that? Just kidding...you have enough going on!

Another beautiful picture of the beach in front of the restaurant and hotel Saturday morning.

The sunset looking back at the hotel Friday night.

Friday night on the beach.

On the beach. This is one of my favorite pictures. =) Notice who the cold one was? ME!! And that was about 80ish degrees...not so sure how my body is going to handle a 60 degree change in temperature on Saturday!

Another one of my favorites--walking to the beach

Dad just relaxing after getting to the hotel.

The whole time before my experience in the little village of Tinum, I had always slept in my hammock like a banana. However, that weekend I learned that you are really supposed to sleep in the hammock the opposite way..so I was trying to do that with Neal when we got to the hotel, but the hammock wasn't wide enough for how tall he is.

On the bus ride to Tulum. They were showing Rush Hour 3. I love those movies...I just think the difference in mine and Neal's expressions are great! Haha.

Week with Family: Thursday

2009-12-03T14:08:00.003-06:00

On Thursday morning, I think mom, dad, and Neal found out how much I planned for the week they were here. I also had a set schedule which was sometimes difficult to follow in a country where time is a little more relaxed. Right away in the morning we took a tour of Merida on the city tour bus, went to the Cathedral so they could see how impressive it is, and I even showed them the jaguar that the children at Patronato painted. When we returned from downtown, we had about an hour before the Thanksgiving dinner began. We had invited people from Merida that we had met and there ended up being probably about 50 people there. I was so thankful for mom, dad, and Neal coming down because this Thanksgiving was still very different not being with mom and dad's families and being in a completely different country. I was also thankful for Skype because Neal and I called my grandma and told her I wished I could be with her and then we called Neal's parents that were spending Thanksgiving in Webster City. So even though we couldn't be with all of our family, we still got to hear their voices!!

The buffet for the 50+ people that came for Thanksgiving dinner.

The organ pipes in the balcony of the cathedral.

The main aisle in the cathedral. Absolutely breath-taking!

The jaguar that the kids painted at the Patronato. There is a wilderness convention/fundraiser going on in Merida so there are jaguars all over the town. The kids painted the jaguar for the event but also because once someone buys it, part of the money will go to the organization. I think that is very smart on their part!! Publicity + Fundraising in such a large city.

A stop at a fountain in one of the MANY parks in merida during the city tour.

A beautiful house along the tour...

Another one...

Neal and I sitting in the infamous chairs found in downtown Merida. They are called comprometidos which means engaged. However, we are not engaged! But I think the design is so neat.

Then Thursday night we just laid low at the house. I was planning on taking them to the VIP Theatre so they could experience that, but we were all kind of tired so we decided to spend the night together--just the 4 of us. We went to my favorite pizza place here in Merida that is only a couple blocks from the house, called Koony's. Then we walked back to Oxxo (a convenience store that is across the street from the house) to get some popcorn, pop, and juice for the movie we were going to watch together. That night I became confused about my mom talking about going to "The Hugs and Kisses store". I asked her, mom, what are you talking about!?!? I don't know of a hugs and kisses store and what the heck would it be anyway? And she said, the Oxxo store. And I burst out laughing. I had never thought of it that way since I had only ever known it as "Ox-O". But anyway....that night we made our own couch in the room Neal was staying in at the house by putting the twin bed against a wall and putting the computer on a dresser. Talk about dorm-style living!! We really enjoyed watching Facing the Giants together and especially since Neal had never seen it.

Week with Family: Wednesday

2009-12-03T13:38:00.003-06:00

Ok so I was lying a little on my last post. When I talked about my parents and Neal coming, they had already come! I don't know if you caught that, but I just had to tell you I was telling a little bit of a white lie. =) I am going to let you guys in on what the 4 of us did when they were down here, so I'm just going to break it up by the day since my mom just loves taking pictures and well it would take a while to get all the pictures I want to post in one blog.

After they got into Merida around 9:30PM Tuesday night, we just headed back to the house, got settled in and so forth. Then Wednesday, I planned on all of us going on the 3 cenote tour that I had taken earlier in the semester so they could experience the different forms of transportation and get to swim in a few cenotes which were very important in Mayan history. So here are just a few pictures.

Neal being the daredevil climbing tree roots that were almost touching the water from the tree above us since we were probably 300 feet underground. He did it since I absolutely hate heights.

In that same cenote there is a high platform you can jump from and well since I hate heights I told Neal that I wasn't so sure I was going to do it another time since I had already put myself through that fear earlier in the semester. But, I decided to be "nice" and jump in with him, holding his hand but it took about 5min. to coax me into jumping in. You can't really tell in this picture but he is standing on the edge of the platform while I'm standing 3 feet back because I was so scared. I don't think I have ever screamed so loud and sounded so scared in my life as I did jumping in that second time.

Mom, being the photographer, wasn't in too many pictures. This was at the first cenote before we all got in. The water was freezing but so refreshing!

Making our way in the trici-taxi to the horse-drawn carts that took us to the cenotes. We may be smiling in the picture but we felt awful for how hard the peadler had to work!

On the bus to Cuzama where the three cenotes are located.

Wednesday night we ate at the nice Italian Restaurant, Villa Italia and had a great time sharing a meal together. Its been the whole semester since I have sat down and ate with the people I love most. It was such a blessing! However, after that night, my parents started giving me crap about how far we had to walk to places. I told them that the restaurant was about a 5 block walk from the Central house but on the way, my mom yells out, is it 5 or 15 blocks?? And I was like, its coming up, just relax. Well on the way back, to pick on me even more, they counted and it was 9 1/2. I was only off by about 5 blocks, but after being here for 3 1/2 months, 5 blocks is not a big deal at all! But, when they are used to driving everywhere, 10 blocks each way is a walk. Even though I kept reminding them that they could eat more than usual here because we were going to do a lot more walking! I think all the walking I do has contributed to the little bit of weight I have lost. I don't know if all of you know this, but I struggle with my weight. I want to be heavier (don't kill me for saying that!) but I lose weight super fast and can't gain it back that quickly, so I'm hoping that with all the warm, yummy food that I'm going home to on Saturday afternoon, that I am able to gain the little bit of weight back.

They're coming!!!

2009-11-26T22:16:00.002-06:00

On Sunday night and all Monday I was super busy getting a lot of homework done as well as working ahead so I wouldn't have to do much while Mom, Dad, and Neal are here. However, of course I had to catch up with my family on Skype so I spent a few hours doing that Sunday night. On Monday I went to the Patronato as usual and finally got to work with some pre-schoolers! They are so darn cute I could hardly contain myself. All their cute little smiles and laughs just made me smile all over. I really love the names of the kids in the class. One little boy is named Moses, another Joel, a girl Ingrid. They are very traditional and different from many kids names that we hear in the states. But, when I started working with the students, I didn't know that I was going to have an amazing experience that day.

I was spending time with all of the students one-on-one before one of the teachers told me that Joel had some homework to do. He spends part of the week at a normal school and the other part at the Patronato, or so I understood. He was doing an art project that included a bird sitting in a nest in the middle of a tree. He first glued feathers onto the bird, pieces of sticks on the trunk and branches, tiny sticks for the nest, and actual leaves for the leaves of the tree. But what you don't realize, is that Joel has down syndrome. Before even starting this art project, I helped him clean the tables after they had breakfast. He had the rag and I had the cleaner. He was so diligent about not missing any spots that hadn't been cleaned and then we get to do this art project together where he is so focused that sometimes he didn't even hear me talking to him. I talked to the teacher about it because it was amazing to me that he has down syndrome and is so disciplined on whatever he is working on at the time. She said he has had a lot of instruction but now he is just blossoming. He is only about 4-5 years old too! In the states I feel like a regular 4-5 year old would not be that disciplined. But to see Joel, the cutest little boy with down syndrome being so disciplined made my heart smile. I am going to find out more information about him this week because I am interested in his story.

This coming week (after mom, dad, and Neal leave) will not be an easy one. For starters, I am ready to go home but not ready to leave the students at the Patronato as well as the staff here at the Central house. I am going to have to say good-bye to all the beautiful faces of the students that have touched my heart so dearly. Just thinking about it makes me want to cry but I am trying my darndest to hold them back until next week. I am ready to go home to my family, friends, and pets, but not really ready to leave for any other reason. These past 3+ months have just flown by. I am going to have to go back and read my blog posts from earlier because I really don't remember a lot of the things I have experienced here because it is all second-nature now.

But anyway, I spent most of Monday and I guess Tuesday running around like a chicken with its head cut off just trying to get as much done as possible before they got here. I am so thankful that they are able to come down. So thank you!

Chichen Itza and Tinum weekend

2009-11-24T18:07:00.007-06:00

This past weekend the Merida program went on its last excursion together. We started the weekend on Friday by going to Chichen Itza for the morning. It was a warm morning but not too bad. When we got to Chichen Itza pretty early in the morning there was no one there. However, as the morning went on, many more people showed up. On any given day, the site can have 5-15,000 people come through. Right now it is about 7,000. These first few pictures are from the mayan site.

Me standing in front of "El Castillo" or The Castle. There is a smaller pyramid inside this one. It is also considered one of the 7 wonders of the world. That is one of the reasons why Chichen Itza is so popular for tourists.

Where they performed human sacrifices. They would do this as an offering to the gods but before doing it, they would have to drug the person in order to get them up the stairs. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have been able to do it.

Archaeological findings over the past 5 months. Archaeologists are and were working on this when we were at the site. It is amazing that they discovered all this in such a short period of time!

El Cenote Sagrado. This is the cenote that they did human sacrifices in as well. Kind of creepy!

After going to Chichen Itza we headed to a small village called Tinum. It was about 30 minutes away. The purpose of us going there was to stay with a mayan family for 2 days and nights. When we arrived when got an orientation about what to expect from the family and the experience. The few things we talked about were the bathroom and shower situation, eating alone at the guest table while the family at at the tortilla making table, and to also just enjoy ourselves. Our connection to Tinum was Lisa and Schulze. Schulze is a retired psychology professor from Central and his wife also worked at Central. Friday afternoon and night was spent with the family. I was fed right when I got there and it was ok. I started talking to the mom and just finding out what their family was like and she was asking what mine was like. Luckily there were 4 kids in the family and 3 of them were pretty young. The family consisted of a grandma, her two sons, (one was single and the other one was married), the wife of the married son and their four children. The kids were 11, 7, 4, and 2. I absolutely loved them. After eating a little at each meal because the food was very different, I went to bed and slept really well in my hammock. The next morning (Saturday) we got up and met as a group and went out to a milpa (farm), a molino (where they grind the corn into tortillas), and la panaderia (bakery). The following pictures are from Saturday on.

When we were at the farm we got to learn the process of de-graining the corn, planting, and harvesting the crops. This is the corn that we got to de-grain by hand since they don't use any sort of machines like we do in the States. It was such a fun experience to participate and really learn how their farming careers are much tougher than the farmers have it in the states. The corn shown above is 2-year old corn! That was crazy in my mind after coming from the previous saturday being back at home and harvesting about 600 acres in 3ish hours. This farmer that we spent time with only farms 5 acres. It takes about 1 month to harvest all the crops in that one piece of land.

They plant all the corn the same--the good corn goes for eating and the bad corn goes to the animals. They said that these other four types of corn taste all the same and that the white corn offsets the red corn to make it clearer. Interesting! We told them that we spend quite a bit of money on this color of corn for fall decorations and they just harvested it from their field!

They plant by hand as well about 1 meter apart. So, we got to try ourselves! The bucket that is hanging from my neck has the biggest kernels from the middle of the corn cobs that are used for planting and just put right back into the ground. They have tried to use seed like farmers buy in the states but it doesn't work in their rocky soil. So, they are sticking with what works and what they know. They plant 3 corn kernels in each hole along with bean and squash seeds. The beans grow up the corn stalk and the squash protects the bottom of the corn stalk.

I'm trying to aim 5 kernels into the tiny hole I made, but I only made 2. =( Oh well! It was fun.

This is where they house the corn cobs (still in the husk) after they have been harvested. It sits there for quite some time!

Once the corn stalks are tall enough, and before the rainy season starts (August-November) they bend the stalk in half so that the corn cobs are facing the ground. This prevents the birds from eating the crop and the heavy rains from ruining it.

Along with harvesting corn, they harvest the beans and the squash. The farmer was harvesting the squash in front of us. They wear the basket hung from a strap that is on their head. They then throw the squash, corn, or beans in there. But, they only harvest one crop at a time.

We got to try it, so of course I took up the opportunity!

The farmer also set up his hunting stand so we could see how he does it. It wasn't that interesting to me because I am not a fan of hunting but I learned his way of doing this is way different from the hunting stands in the states. I am completely clueless about hunting, if you can't tell! Haha.

After leaving the farm, we went to the molino (mill) where they grind the cooked corn from the fields into masa (dough) and if they want to, they can have the molino make the masa into actual tortillas. This is the final step in the milling process.

After going to the molino, we went to the bakery where they make all the bread by hand.

They also bake it in a wood-brick oven! I would love to have one of those someday. It gives the food such a better flavor!

The sweet bread they made and just came out of the wood-brick oven.

Now I'm going to show you pictures of the very rustic house I stayed in while in Tinum. Before going to Tinum, we had to fill out a questionnaire about what our preferences were. I decided since it was going to be my last weekend in Mexico on my own (without my parents and Neal here) I really wanted to live with a very traditional mayan family. I told Val I wanted to live in a very rustic home and that I didn't care about the bathroom situation (may or may not have an actual toilet). However, when I got there, I was surprised to find that they did have a shower, toilet, and sink! It had just been added two years ago, but that was a big deal for their family!

As you can see, the house was very rustic. This was their kitchen.

This is where I ate alone at every meal. It was weird eating by myself especially since I didn't enjoy the food. It was just very different with very strong smells and tastes. But even though I didn't eat a lot, I still got to experience the typical mayan/yucatacan food. After comparing with the other students, I think my food wasn't as much (in quantity) and as good was because of their financial situation. They had dirt floors, thatched roofs, and the walls inside of the lined sticks that made the walls were only cardboard. I think you can see it in this picture. But, if you can't in this picture, you will in the next one.

This is part of the family I stayed with. The husband and other guy (brothers) as well as the oldest child were not present for the picture. The single guy works in his milpa while the husband (other brother) works for the police department. To earn some extra money, the family has 2 pigs in the backyard and will be selling the meat for money. The wife also weaves hammocks (which she taught me how to do) and also crochet's the bottom part of the skirt that goes under the traditional mayan dress that the grandma is wearing.

While there, I also got to attend a meeting by the hammock makers. I had no idea what was going on before we got there because we just kept walking toward the edge of town on Friday night. We ended up going to two meetings. There was a candidate that wants to become the president of the hammock worker's project. It is a microfinancing project. A guy gave them the yarn to start making the hammocks and took the hammocks to Chichen Itza to sell. However, he never gave them the money back. He came to Merida and just took the money for himself. So, now the women have no way of making money for the work they do. So, in turn, this other guy was asking for their votes to become their president and was promising to do the job that the other guy (that has now passed away) was doing but that they money would be brought back to them. I wonder what will come of all that!

This weekend was a great experience. It was definitely an eye-opening one! After staying with the family for 2 nights and 2 days in the very rustic home, I don't know if I could do it again. It was way out of my comfort zone, but I am so glad I did it. It was something that I will probably never experience again. This past weekend will never be forgotten. Thanks for reading this long post!! =)

This past week

2009-11-17T12:36:00.004-06:00

Right after surprising my dad. Absolutely priceless and unforgettable! Oh how the tears were flowing!

Surprising my dad before the tears started coming...

First off, I need to apologize for not writing for a week. Last Tuesday afternoon mom found me a flight to get home for the weekend. My uncle Kevin had a stroke about a week before that and we had found out that a bunch of farmers were going to help get the rest of dad's corn out of the field. I knew there was going to be a lot of people involved so I wanted to be there, but most importantly, I wanted to be there for my dad and uncle. My dad had been emotional ever since they found out about the farmers wanting to help, so I thought I would add more tears! Just kidding, I didn't want my dad to have more tears, but I only wanted him to know I was there for him even though I had been in a different country for 3 months. So Wednesday and Thursday I worked ahead in homework so I wouldn't have anything when I got back. I also worked ahead for this week knowing that I would probably be tired when I returned to Mexico. So here's how the weekend went:

Friday: Got up at 4:30AM, took a taxi to the bus station at 5:15AM, Bus left for Cancun at 6AM, got to Cancun at 10:30AM, took a shuttle to the airport in Cancun at 10:30AM, arrived at the airport at 11AM, walked around ate, etc. until the plane took off for Dallas at 3PM, landed in Dallas at 6PM, flew out at 7:45PM, arrived in Des Moines at 9:15ish, got home at 10:30PM. It was quite a long day! But, it ended in a big hug with my mom and jumping into Neal's arms. Friday was completely surreal. It was very weird going home and walking around the house, seeing my puppy and kitties, and knowing I was going to surprise my dad the following morning since he was already asleep when we got back from the DSM airport.

Saturday: woke up to my mom at 6:30ish saying we were going to leave for the farm in an hour. I got up, woke up Neal because my mom told me his alarm kept going off =), and got ready to go to the farm. But before leaving home, my mom's cousin, and her mom and daughter came to our house to follow us out to the farm. They had no idea I was coming either so I ran out of the garage to surprise them, and let me tell you, they were surprised! My cousin Liz said, "What the heck are you doing here??" Haha. So, we ended up heading out to the farm and as we approached I ducked in the front seat until my mom parked, got out of her seat, and got her camera ready and then I ran to my dad with other family members around. He was in complete shock. It all went so fast but I will never forget his hugs and his tears. He had no idea that I slept in my own bed the previous night! Oh how I love surprises! So after giving hugs to family and talking to my dad, I rode with my dad in the semi for a few hours hauling grain and then I switched with Neal and got in the car with my mom, aunt, cousin, and grandma as they were going around taking pictures. Again, no one knew I was home, including one of my best friends, my grandma. She is so special to me and I wanted to surprise her, but I wasn't ready for her reaction! She said, "Oh Stephanie!" and gave me a huge hug and just started crying. I jokingly told her to stop because she was making me cry, but at that point, we were so glad to be back together that the tears didn't matter. So, as Neal got in the semi with my dad and I went with my mom, I was able to see all the action. There ended up being 84 men and 27 women that came to help, 32 semis I believe, 22 combines, and a load of grain buggies. They got about 600 acres (sorry dad, if thats wrong!) of corn out in a matter of about 3 hours! It was quite a site. At one point there were 22 semis on the blacktop waiting to get through the elevator--all full with corn!! Everyone was such a blessing and we are truly indebted to them.

After all that was done, we loaded up all the food and drinks that were left over from the meal we provided for everyone and then my dad's side of the family came to our house to hang out before going down to Ames to visit my Uncle. I forgot to mention, too, that my aunt and I were keeping a secret without the other knowing it! She surprised everyone and was able to get my uncle out of the hospital for a few hours so he could watch everything taking place!! So after awhile, we all made it down to the hospital and hung out. My mom of course took 272 pictures in a matter of 4 hours so she was putting all of the pictures of flash drives and CDs for everyone. She is quite the photographer! I think she has found her new favorite hobby! But of course, Neal's and my tummy's were getting very hungry so I told my dad and he surprisingly threw the keys to his truck to Neal. So, Neal and I went and had supper, just the two of us, at Panera Bread in Ames. It was our first date since I had been back from Mexico so we really cherished it. However, it was a very informal date since I was wearing sweatpants and a sweatshirt and he was in his work clothes from the morning! We returned to the hospital when my parents were wanting to leave, so we got back home and just crashed. We were all exhausted.

Sunday: My mom and dad went to the early service since my tummy was upset that early in the morning from lack of sleep so I kept sleeping and then Neal and I went to the second service. That was such a blessing since we love going to church together but haven't been able to for 3 months. We enjoyed it and came back, had lunch, and then made our way up to my grandma's to spend a couple hours with her. She got to learn more about Neal and viceversa. The three of us truly enjoyed it and we can't wait to spend more time together when I come back for good. The only thing I wish was that Grandpa was here to meet Neal. However, after a couple hours, we left there and made our way up to Webster City to spend time with Neal's grandparents. We had many laughs but also serious talks that we are so thankful for. Who would have thought that our families could live so close to each other!? Neal and I left there in time to drive back to Story City so he could pack and get on the road to drive back to Winona. At this point I was an emotional mess because I didn't want to return to Mexico without he and my family, but he just kept telling me that we only have to wait 8 days at that point, to be back together again. I think that if I would have gone home any earlier, it would have been much harder for me to come back to Merida.

Monday: got up at 3:30AM, dad drove me to the airport at 4:15AM, got there at 5:15AM, flight left at 6AM, got to dallas at 8AM, flight left for cancun at 11:30AM, arrived in Cancun at 2PM, caught the shuttle from the airport directly to Merida at 3PM, arrived in Merida at 7PM, got subway, and took a taxi back to the house. I went to bed early after getting my little carry-on bag unpacked, showered, talked to Neal, and got organized for the week.

It was quite the busy weekend, but I wouldn't have had it any other way. I am so thankful that my uncle is really improving through therapy and time and that I got to spend time with the people I love the most. It was great to surprise dad and the rest of my family and to spend time with my best friends, my mom and grandma, and to get to see Neal finally after 3 months of being apart! Thanks mom, for getting me home, and thanks to everyone else for such a memorable weekend!

Pictures of San Juan Chamula

2009-11-10T22:13:00.003-06:00

Sorry these pictures are soo big!! I got them off the internet. (Just click on the picture and the full size will pop up). These are pictures of San Juan Chamula and that is the town I couldn't take pictures in. Now you can see what I was talking about!

The church and courtyard where the parade and fireworks were at.

Inside the church. Those are the banners hanging from the walls I was talking about and the elaborate altar in front. This looks like a typical Sunday service with lots of candles where single family units have their own service.

The sheep skin vest things! Sorry if you didn't get this kind of picture in your head after I wrote about it! I'm not the best at describing things!

This is part of the cemetery. Very primitive. This picture also shows the women's elaborate blouses and their black sheep skin skirts.

Los autoridades with their bastones. This is the typical setting where they bring justice to the community.

Random Thoughts

2009-11-10T21:07:00.002-06:00

As those of you that probably haven't seen my blog for a while, I changed it! I like it a lot, except for the fact that the pictures of the equinox does not stretch all the way across the brown area at the top. Oh well. Not important. I'm trying to not be so perfectionist, so this is more practice! =)

But anyway, life is flying by. I can't believe I only have two weeks until mom, dad, and Neal come down here. We have been talking about that day before I even left for Mexico so it is weird that it is already here! I'm trying not to mourn the time passing but I am. I know I keep talking about how I am going to miss the people, the language, the culture, and the differences but I think about that everyday. I miss my family, my pets, my friends, and Neal but living outside of reality has been kind of nice. However, I'm afraid of having culture shock when I return home just from adapting myself to a completely different place, culture, and language. I have learned a lot about myself while on this journey and I hope that doesn't end when I return home. I have gained a new appreciation for my family who is waiting patiently for us to reunite again and my friends that are doing so well in school but are also a void in my life right now. We all miss each other but it has become something accepted in my life since I have been without everyone for 3 months. I thought these days would never come, but they have, and of course, now its going to be bittersweet. I feel that God is teaching me not to be anxious about anything or think at all about the following day because he can always surprise me and he has surprised me.

Something can happen that changes our lives forever. This experience in Mexico will never be forgotten. It will not be a lost memory in the back of my mind or little souvenoirs (sp) sitting on a bookshelf or table. Everything has meaning and a purpose. Now I'm just trying to figure out what my purpose in life is which I can tell will be a lifelong journey. My alone times with God every morning have been refreshing. I have no reason for not doing it in the past but for me He has to bring me to a point where I can't do anything but rely on Him to actually listen to his soft voice, to be able to see his creations and glory all around, and to feel His tender hugs comforting me in times where I can't find comfort anywhere else. I'm so glad for those times and I pray that I would continually to seek comfort and peace in Him alone and not to take control of it all.

God has little by little been opening my eyes to His presence and His work in so many peoples' lives and how he intervenes. Little things like the rain stopping right before I leave for my internship, keeping me safe on bus rides that I don't feel safe after bus drivers checking me out while they are driving, not getting in any accidents on the buses, and allowing my uncle to be awake and not driving when he had his stroke. God is gracious and merciful. I am constantly learning what it means to bask in His glory and I pray that wouldn't stop when I return to my comforts at home. I also hope that He would put me out of my comfort zone when I'm at home. I'm getting excited to see what is coming my way. I don't know if I am out of a storm, in a storm, or going into a storm but I have a feeling that will be evident soon. But thanks to Liz, lately I have had her phrase of "Love the person, Hate the sin" stuck in my head because it has been something I have had to deal with this whole semester. This week has been going by slowly but this weekend was great. I had time to myself while all the girls went to a movie and shopping. I ate pizza to myself and just meditated on what God's desires are for my future. We will have to see what the rest of this week brings!

2009-11-06T17:44:00.002-06:00

Only 4 weeks left here. This is the phrase that has been playing over and over in my mind this week. This weekend will not be one full of travel because we are wanting to go to a soccer game Saturday night and we were supposed to have a field trip for my Art and Architecture class to see some more ruins but we are getting the effects of Hurricane Ida that is on the east coast of Nicaragua. It is predicted to hit the state of Quitana Roo which is where Cozumel, Cancun, and Tulum are on Sunday. So right now we are having tons of rain which is very unusual and high winds. Since Merida does not have a system of drainage due to the kind of land we have, going downtown right now could be risky. They seriously don't have deep drains in the streets so the streets downtown end up flooding until the sun comes out and evaporates all of it. The rain here also makes the roads slick and scary to drive on. So we don't have our field trip because Val is considering it a Yucatacan style of a snow storm! Yay! So who knows if we will end up going to the soccer game Saturday night or not. However, I am able to catch up on some sleep, talk to family, and enjoy some alone time. =) I have worked ahead in classes so that I hardly have homework anymore unless it is my literature class which we don't have a syllabus for so there is no way to work ahead. But, I only have 4 weeks left here. Every other weekend is jam-packed with traveling and spending time with mom, dad, and Neal so I am trying to take advantage of this calm weekend here in Merida.

And just to calm everyone's fears, we are 4 hours away from the coast of Quitana Roo so we will only have lots of rain and high winds. Everyone here is keeping a close eye on the storm and the worst thing that would happen would be that we lock ourselves in this mansion and hang out! There is nothing to be scared of and personally, I am welcoming the hurricane-like conditions. Val, as you read this you will probably not like this, but this will probably be my only time to live through hurricane-like conditions in my lifetime so why not want to experience something I will never get to experience again!?!? We will have to see what this weekend brings! It is actually chilly here to all of us. I know you are all going to hate this, but it is 73 right now and I have a long-sleeve t-shirt and running pants on as I write this. It is quite chilly with all the rain and wind coming through the windows. But oh how the air smells fresher! Thank you rain!

I have also been in prayer for the past 2 days because I found out yesterday morning that my uncle, one of my dad's brothers had a mini stroke Wednesday late at night. He is only 3 years older than my dad so it makes me scared that something like that could happen to my dad since strokes are very common on his side of the family. But thank goodness, he has been taking a baby aspirin everyday since his mom, my grandma, died of an annurism. And, my dad's dad, my grandpa Torgeson, has had a stroke that has affected his left side as well, so fighting the worry of my future has seriously become a battle in the past 2 days.

But, for me, this situation doesn't calm my fears about having a blood clot someday--it makes it worse. After having the scare earlier this semester, and knowing that a stroke is caused by a blood clot in the brain and that my mom has already had a blood clot in her leg does not look optimistic for me! I keep reminding myself that I am not in control so the only thing I can do is take a baby aspirin and pray. If anyone feels lead, and is prompted by the Holy Spirit, simple prayers for strength and a calm heart for me would be greatly appreciated. I hope everyone has a wonderful, relaxing weekend as winter is fast approaching.

A Godcidence

2009-11-04T20:46:00.002-06:00

Last night after returning from our field trip downtown, a woman that works in the Central College Abroad office arrived here with her sister to spend a couple days sitting in on classes, going to internships, and spending time with us one-on-one to see how things are going. She and her sister as well as Val and the visiting professor came and visited me at the Patronato when I was there today. They gave me a ride home so I didn't have to spend an hour making the trek back to the house which I was very appreciative of. As we were sitting in the car discussing why I was working with the kids and how it doesn't fit with my major but that I am trying to get as much experience as possible working with children with disabilites, we got to talking about how she started working at Central. I knew her name was Jen Larson and her sister's name is Megan Stewart (spelling) but I had never seen Jen on campus. Come to find out, she worked at Cornell right after graduating from Central. So my first response/question was, do you know Nancy Reasland (Neal's mom that is a nurse at Cornell) and she said, ya! of course! Jen then told me that her mom works in the alumni office so she and her mom both know Nancy. At that point, Jen says, of course I know the Reasland's. I am from Lisbon. I then started laughing so hard. Come to find out, Jen's sister Megan who was with in the car graduated with Liz, Neal's sister-in-law and Megan's boyfriend graduated a year ahead of Aaron, Neal's brother and is now an assistant football coach at Cornell so I'm sure Ray knows him. I first told them that I am very good friends with Aaron and Liz and they were saying, "Oh we love them! They are so fun to be around!" And I of course had to ask if they knew Neal. They both said yes and Megan turns to me and says, "Neal is such a sweetheart" and I said, "I completely agree" and she responds, "You do? Why is that?" and I say, "Well I'm dating him...". Their responses were priceless. It became very obvious that this world is very small!!! Come to find out, Neal knows Megan pretty well since she transferred to Cornell from Central when Neal was there and they were only two years apart in school. So basically we all had to come to Merida to find out we both knew the same family! How crazy. We then started talking about FCA and just their faith so it was awesome to learn more about them and to think that they know the Reasland's! Sorry, but as you can probably tell, I am still in shock that it is such a small world! Jen already invited me to her and her husband's house for supper some night in Pella. She and Megan are so sweet. It was definitely a Godcidence today! =)

Colonial Architecture

2009-11-04T20:26:00.003-06:00

Sorry this is blurry...but off to the left is a church that used to be a fortress because when the Spaniards came to conquer Mexico, they brought friars or monks with to bring catholicism here and the Mexicans were the ones who had to build the churches so they became to look more like fortresses than churches because in Yucatan, the mayans were constantly fighting the monks so the church and other buildings around it became a place for the monks to live, a place of worship, and place of defense. The churches served three purposes at that point.

The patio in the middle of the school of architecture. Our professor took us there because that is where she studied to get her Bachelor's and Master's of architecture. I really wish I could go to a school that looks old but now functions as if it was new! I just love the look of it being old...

One staircase that took my breath away--stone steps with rounded doorways and ceilings.

This is inside the oldest building in Merida. It is now a art and music school for children but this is where the monks would have lived. The classrooms used to be the monks' rooms. I love the tile, columns, rounded doorways, and rounded ceilings!

On Tuesday after returning from Chiapas we had regular classes which went really well and fast. I got a lot done yesterday and even got in a nap which I was happy about! Then at night I always have Art and Architecture and last night we went to downtown Merida to look at colonial architecture. I have decided that I love colonial architecture because it looks old and has so much character. I love it when buildings and homes look old but yet have been refurbished to live in or conduct business in. I just love the character that older homes give! I thought I would share some pictures that I took last night so that way you could also see what a lot of downtown Merida looks like.

Trip to Chiapas: Monday

2009-11-04T20:18:00.003-06:00

On Monday we made our way back to Merida and made good time. The van was of course becoming very uncomfortable really quickly but we did it. We made it back in about 7 hours when it usually takes 8-9 hours. We only stopped twice so that helped! There were also not as many curves like there are in the mountains so we didn't have to slow down all the time. I think I forgot to mention on Sunday and well Friday too that I officially am against topes (toe-pays). Topes are speed bumps and they are all over the place on the way up and down the mountain because there are so many small villages that we pass through. When I was co-pilot for Raul, the driver of the van, I joked with him and told him in Spanish that I just love topes. He looked at me and smiled and knew I didn't mean it. Haha...He picked up on my sarcasm!! And he replied, in Spanish, I think that every family has a tope. I got a kick out of it! He was hilarious and a great driver that put up with all of us. Koodos to him for putting up with a bunch of American college students! Once we got back to Merida, I unpacked all my gifts out of bags and packed them into Neal's suitcase that I brought down here because I really don't have room for them. Its not quite full yet, but I know it will be. I'm afraid mom, dad, and Neal are going to have to bring down a small empty suitcase with them! It is only 19 days until they get down here!! At least we are under 3 weeks now! But, it means that my time here is coming to an end very quickly. I just have 4 weeks and 2 days left here and I feel like its not enough. Don't get me wrong, I want to come home, but this semester has come and gone. I feel like its all been a dream and has passed overnight. Luckily, I have this blog to go back and read what I went through over the past 2 1/2 months I have been here. I can't believe on Sunday it will be 11 weeks since I have been here. I just can't believe it. Before I know it, I will be back and be able to spend time with and see you all!! I am rather excited for that.

Thanks for taking the time to read all my posts about Chiapas! I hope you all understand what I mean since I couldn't take pictures. The week is almost over!

Trip to Chiapas: Sunday

2009-11-04T19:27:00.003-06:00

On Sunday morning after having breakfast at the hotel we all hit the road and went to two indigenous villages up in the mountains outside of San Cristobal. The first village is called San Juan Chamula and it has been selected as a World Heritage Town. We were not able to take pictures of anything in the town--buildings, people, etc. because they don't want it to become a huge tourist spot. Bare with me as I try "to use my words" to explain everything I saw...as Josh Groban is playing in my headphones. =)

Chamula is about 20 minutes by car from San Cristobal. As we were driving there, people were walking down from their houses outside of Chamula to go to the cemetery. They all had pine needles and marigolds in their hands. The pine needles are used to clean off the graves and then they put marigolds all over the graves. This cemetery was very different from the cemetery in San Cristobal because this town has kept its heritage since the Pre-Hispanic area so (1200-1500AD) so the graves are very simple and are covered with dirt and not buried very deep. They also did not have any tombs like my pictures showed from the cemetery in San Cristobal. We then walked down into the town and I was in love with the difference in culture and the fact that this village has kept its heritage. The men were wearing sheep skins as almost a shawl (space cut to go around their neck, and then their arms were free--There were not sleeves). They wore a long sleeve shirt like a button down flannel shirt underneath and had a belt around the sheep skin probably about the height of the belly button because then they just wore jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat to finish it off. The women wore black sheep skin skirts and very decorative blouses. It was also that undergarments were not that important to them because there were women just openly breast feeding while we were there. I have no problem with that but it is completely different than if we were in the US.

As we walked to the market which was in the town square we got a little glimpse of their culture. It would have been a perfect postcard to take a picture of men sitting around or standing and talking amongst themselves outside the municipal building, but of course we didn't even take our cameras with us to respect their desires. Then the church courtyard and church were about a football field length away from the municipal building. Since we didn't have Luis who knows everything about anywhere we go, we didn't really know if we would be allowed into the church. Since Day of the Dead was Monday and we were there on Sunday, they were starting a whole ceremony that Val had never seen before because she had only been there on a regular Sunday which is a completely different experience. As we walked to the church, the autoridades or authorities were kind of outside their church courtyard when normally they are on one of the sides of the market taking care of business. Val told us that usually people come and tell them about what has happened like someone stole some sheep or something and they will make justice happen. It is just like it was in the Pre-Hispanic era.

So as we were walking into the church courtyard, we just kind of kept our distance and walked slowly because we didn't even know if we were allowed in. Right away Val noticed that the church doors were completely open which is never the case. When we walked in the doors my jaw dropped probably to the floor. The actual sanctuary was huge! There were banners hung from the walls across the width of the walls that were very elaborate. The length of the church was probably about 50 yards. So as we walk in, there are only men filling up the church except for about 30ft. from the church doors. There were about 15 flags that different men were holding that had different depictions of Jesus. There was then incense filling the church from closer to the altar. Then as I look to the direction of the altar, I see 3 different, decorated crosses on poles being carried closer to the church doors where we were standing off to the side at. As they start making their way to the men with the flags, the band really starts playing. There were a couple brass instruments and a trumpet and quite a few drums. So by this time, the sounds, smells, and what we were seeing was becoming overwhelming but an amazing overwhelming feeling. There was no culture shock for me because I was just trying to experience everything and not think about anything else.

So once the crosses got to the men with the flags, I saw 5 saints neatly decorated with silk and cloth and mirrors around their necks that the people believe reflects the bad spirits out. All of a sudden, they make a line and face the church doors and church courtyard. They start marching out and I was in awe. These people were so into their ceremony that they didn't realize we were there. Once they all paraded out, we walked up front and saw saints in glass boxes on both sides of us. I was kind of feeling awkward and really felt that there was a presence of a demonic spirit. So I walked down the middle and looked at the saints which freaked me out and then looked at the altar which was very decorated and decided to walk out. Once we got back into the church courtyard, we saw that the whole parade was making a pass around the entire fenced-in courtyard. So we decided to stand in the middle of the courtyard to be out of the way but the bells outside of the church were ringing at this point and the authorities were lighting fireworks that were on poles that they were holding up in the air. Then they put a bunch of small fireworks on terraces and they all went off at once. There were three terraces that made sort of a triangle figure and when they went off we wished someone would have taken video of us because we all jumped, screamed, huddled in together and felt awkward because all these fireworks were going off around us. Normally in the US we have to be about a football field distance away from the fireworks going off, but no, not here! They weren't like normal fireworks with colors but they were VERY loud! So at this point, we decided to walk out of the church courtyard and walk around the market. Once the parade of flags, crosses, saints, and the band made one pass around the courtyard, the saints were carried back into the church but the rest of the parade made 4 or 5 more passes by the time we left.

Chamula was an experience I will never forget. I just hope you understand what I mean as I am trying to explain in detail what my perceptions and experiences were. Once we left Chamula, we headed for Zinacantan which was about 10min. away and the town was completely dead. We didn't even know where the cemetery was. This town is known for their flower fields which produces flowers that are then shipped around the world. We couldn't take pictures of the people or the church at this town either but I did get a couple pictures of the town. However, they didn't turn out very well at all so I'm not going to put them on here. This church was not as elaborate but it was nicely decorated. There were about 5 glass caskets with a figure of Jesus laying in them and I asked why that was and I found out that for the Mayans they believe they need to see Jesus in the tomb. I don't know if its to symbolize that He actually came here or to see Him dead. I have no clue. I just know I do not believe that He is still dead, because I know for a fact that He is ALIVE. I also found out that if you go outside the church into a separate building that is like a chapel, there are authority figures that hand out liquor that is supposedly their form of communion? I feel that I am missing a lot of information because Luis wasn't with us. But, when he goes with us to Chichen Itza, I will ask him these things and get it all cleared up! =)

But while standing around outside the church in Zinacantan I found out that if we would have gone to the church in Chamula on a typical Sunday we would have seen families performing their own ceremonies on the floor of the church. They probably would have been sacrificing a chicken or small animal and then had the liquor in front of them with the candles as well as a 2L bottle of Coke or Pepsi. They have the pop because they believe that evil spirits are released when they burp. There is definitely a combination of Peganism and Catholicism. However, it is hard to explain their beliefs because they pray to saints and have crosses but yet they still make animal sacrifices, have to burp to let evil spirits, and have to see Jesus laying in a tomb. So I was trying to find a balance between their religion and traditions and my beliefs and The Truth. However, I was just observing so I was just trying to experience everything possible.

After leaving Zinacantan, we made our way back down the mountains to Palenque where we spent Sunday night in the same hotel we spent in Thursday night. I can't tell you how much I will not take TV and air conditioning for granted! I have only had either when we have been in a hotel. But then again, its been great not having to have a TV especially since I hardly watch it anyway except to pop in a movie or to watch TLC. =)

Trip to Chiapas: Saturday

2009-11-04T19:07:00.003-06:00

On Saturday morning I got up for breakfast and went to one of the markets that has fixed prices before going to the cemetery at noon. The following are pictures I took at the cemetery in San Cristobal when no one was in the area. There are tombs that are very elaborate and some that are very simple. Some are very old and some look very modern. I tried to pick the pictures so you could in a sense get an idea of the differences in tombs and how close they are packed together. Walking through the cemetery was uplifting for me since I am not scared to die. I am also not afraid of people when they have passed away. I think the most comforting but hardest thing I have ever done was kissing my grandpa's forehead before his funeral. There was no need to be scared since I knew where he was at and I knew he was better off but Saturday was not an easy day because walking through cemeteries makes me really think of him and what he meant to me, what I miss, etc. I really do miss him so see these tombs or graves was hard knowing that he is not here anymore. There have been days where I look at my American phone or my bulletin board here because they both have pictures of the two of us together and its almost as if he has never left. I do feel him around me quite often and there have been times where I have cried about something and all of a sudden he is here and has his arms wrapped around me and I become calm all of a sudden. Its hard to explain but his spirit comes back very often and I think that is one of the reasons I am so comfortable being around people that have died. I also have the hope of eternity with my Creator but knowing that my grandpa who I was very close to, is much better off and not having to deal with pain, stares or difficulties gives me all the peace in the world.

This area of the cemetery basically only had graves with crosses and grass around the graves. I don't think any family members had been there yet. This area also shows the difference in social class and income compared to the other pictures below.

There were many colorful tombs but others that were very simple. The architecture of the tombs and the colors, etc. are decided by the family because here in Mexico the family is in charge of the grave or tomb and they do not pay someone to take care of the plot of land like we do in the US.

This one was my favorite. It has so much character. There was not a grave in it. Some tombs are built over a grave and others have bone boxes in them. After a family member has died and there isn't more space to put someone else, they dig up the body and put the bones in a box and then place those boxes in the tombs. Otherwise like the picture above this picture has a tomb that is orange with black metal over the windows and it is built so that the caskets could be placed in one of the sides of the tomb. If you can see it, the caskets would go on the left side of the tomb where there are no windows.

The cemetery was sooo beautiful!

This was the entrance to the cemetery. The castle looking building to the right is an actual tomb.

After being at the cemetery, us girls got some lunch and then got all of our shopping done at a market downtown that we could bargain at. I got all my Christmas gifts already bought for!!

Trip to Chiapas: Friday

2009-11-04T17:03:00.003-06:00

On Friday we left Palenque and made our way to San Cristobal which was another 5 hours driving through the mountains on very curvy roads. On the way we stopped at two waterfalls.

This was the first waterfall we stopped at. Its called Misol Ha. It was spectacular and in the fall there is more water because it is the rainy season, so we lucked out and were able to just watch the water constantly falling below.

We were also able to follow a paved path to go behind the waterfall. It was great!! However, we did get a little shower while behind it. It must have known that we were going to have to all ride together for a few hours! It was something I have never experienced before so it was fun to do something different instead of things always being in Yucatan.

The second waterfall we went to was called Agua Azul (Blue water) which is very obvious as you can see that the water is blue once it falls off the rocks. These waterfalls were spectacular and we were able to swim in the water after climbing many steps and going to the top of the waterfall where there is a calm pool where hardly any water falls. The water was absolutely freezing!! I was screaming for a couple minutes because it was like ice water and the sand below was disgusting! It was super wet sand and squishy. I couldn't stand it for long. All the girls starting laughing at me but I hated standing on the squishy sand. Also, I think my body freaked out as I was just sweating like crazy and then jumping in a pool of ice cold water. It probably wasn't a good idea, but I couldn't resist the cold water.

Once we stopped at Agua Azul we kept trucking along to make good time to San Cristobal. A lot of the girls took dramamine because of all the curves and even after taking it they felt sick the whole trip. I, on the other hand, had a great time. I didn't take Dramamine at all because I think the curves are fun and when we went around them quickly I would laugh and have a good time as most of the other people looked at me as if they hated me. =) I thought back on my experience with my parents in Norway when we were on a tour going down a mountain that had 27 tight turns and I was the youngest one on the tour. So, it ended up being the 80+ year old lady and I sitting in the very front seat by the driver and throwing up our arms going around the corners. It was hilarious but it reminded me of it!

San Cristobal is a colonial city surrounded by mountains. The architecture was absolutely beautiful. I was able to wear jeans, a fleece, northface jacket, and a scarf the whole time I was there!! I was pumped! I even wore my hear down both days all day which I haven't done since being down here. My hair is definitely getting long! But Friday after we arriving we got settled in at the hotel and went to find some food downtown. After relaxing at supper with a couple cups of coffee to warm up, we walked around to different shops to find prices for different things so we would know what to barter at the markets on Saturday. It was also the night that all of the Day of the Dead festivities started so as we walked from our restaurant to the main square, we heard a band playing and I didn't know if they were protesting. But, come to find out, it was a high school band with a director and all were dressed in Halloween costumes. We stood and watched them for a while and then Tiffany and I went back to the hotel because we were both exhausted. All the other girls stayed out and did whatever. I don't even know what they did the rest of the night. The sad part about the walk from our restaurant to the main square was that we walked by refugees that were captured by the federal government for supposedly having arms and so a couple of their members were assassinated by the government. Chiapas isn't exactly the safest state. It also demonstrated again that the Mexican federal government is very corrupt and will file false charges on someone and make them suffer. It was very sad. But, I was glad to get a good night's rest since I knew I had a big day of buying gifts coming up!

Trip to Chiapas: Thursday

2009-11-04T16:42:00.002-06:00

This past weekend I went to the state of Chiapas and got to experience the difference in geography, climate, and lifestyle. On Thursday we made it to Palenque, a city in Chiapas that has amazing ruins. The drive was about 8 hours including a couple stops to eat. It was still very warm in Palenque because we weren't in the mountains yet but it was more humid than it was hot. The Palenque ruins are in the middle of a jungle. The geography and climate was very different because Chiapas is full of water and rivers unlike the Yucatan. Having that said, this was the reason why it was so much more humid than here in Merida. When we arrived at Palenque we got ready to go to the ruins, so I of course was preparing myself to sweat like crazy! Us students had the choice of staying with our personal tour guide that we brought from Merida or we could go off on our own and take pictures. I decided to stay with Luis our tour guide since I wanted to be able to see all the ruins and know the story behind each building. Luckily, another girl came with me so I wasn't alone with the visiting professor and his wife. I was so thankful that she came along.

In my opinion, God intervened and she came for another reason than just to come on the tour. Once we had been on the tour for about 30 minutes, we walked up some very wet, steep stairs to see a building that hasn't been completely exposed. This is so hard to talk about because it is always playing over and over in my head. So at the edge of this building once we had climbed up, Luis went to see if there were stairs but in a matter of seconds he was on the ground below. He put his right foot out to look over to see if there were any steps but the overhang was so wet that he slipt and his whole body went. I keep overplaying the incident in my head and I hear his gasp when he was falling and his huge eyes and gasping for air when he had landed. He landed on his back but more on his right side. I was so thankful that Tiffany came along because she has had first aid training or whatever you want to call it. The visiting professor and his wife and Tiffany were already down by him by the time I moved. I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed so I was standing looking down at him with my mouth wide open as he is gasping for air and screaming. I was freaked out but luckily Tiffany was able to calm him down, go through asking him questions and got him up slowly. We all walked him back 20 min to the entrance while trying not to fall again going down the steep, wet steps.

The other driver took him to the hospital and found out that he broke 3 ribs and cracked another. One way or another, he didn't puncture a lung which is amazing after falling about 15 feet to the ground below. So after walking back, Tiffany and I went back into the ruins, took pictures, saw the cascades that were on the way out of the site and found Val. We made it all the way through the huge ruins within 35min. and had to wait another 30min. until everyone else showed up. That night another driver and Luis' son came to Palenque so that we would have another driver because we took Luis' car and a 15 passenger van. Luis' son then took Luis back home to Merida where he has to wait and do nothing for 45 days which is killing him. His life is all about driving and giving tours and now he can't for a while. We missed him throughout the whole trip because Val and the other two drivers didn't know much about things we saw. Thursday night I had supper with the girls downtown in Palenque and then headed back to the hotel to relax and watch tv before falling asleep since I knew we had another 5 hour drive tomorrow through the mountains.

The following are pictures of some ruins and a cascade on the way out of the Palenque ruins.

We had to have a little fun after being stressed out but yet thankful that Luis was talking, walking, and breathing.

Gone this weekend

2009-10-28T17:39:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! I just wanted you to know that you will not be seeing any new blog posts until Monday night at the very earliest. I will be gone from Thursday morning through Monday night with all the program participants and our director to Chiapas, another state in Mexico. We will be seeing Palenque, which is a ruin, and also spending a couple days in San Cristobal, Chiapas which is up the mountains. We were told to bring a jacket!! haha!!! I'm sooo excited for some cooler weather...well like, 60-70. So I shouldn't be bragging but I can't wait to be in cooler temperatures. We will also be celebrating Day of the Dead which is Nov. 1 and 2 in San Cristobal so that will be an interesting experience. We have our Merida seminar and we are making our own altar...kind of like what many families make to remember their family members that have gone before them. I don't quite understand everything about Day of the Dead, but we are learning about it tonight, so I will be able to tell you more after tonight and especially this weekend. I look forward to sharing stories and pictures early next weekend! Everyone enjoy fall for me! I miss it like crazy! Everything is still as green as can be here....its kind of getting boring! I didn't think I would have ever said that, but no changes and feeling like I have been in the season of summer for 6 months is getting old. Bring on the change!!

Have a great weekend! =)

Mourning the time passing

2009-10-26T17:28:00.002-05:00

I forgot to include in my last blog that when Angela and I had pizza yesterday at the little pizzeria, Koony's, I ordered the wrong kind of pizza. I was trying to remember out of the list was the word for sausage. By ruling out a lot of them, I came down to a few and I thought the last time I ordered it, it was chorizo. That was very wrong!! I got it and it smelled really different, so I took a bite and it was spicy. Probably not spicy to a lot of your stomachs, but as most of you know, my stomach can't handle spicy food. So I went up to our waiter and apologized and told him the pizza was spicy. He asked if I wanted to change it and I said yes, so I ordered sausage...since after the fact I knew chorizo wasn't sausage! Haha. I told him that I would pay for both pizzas because it was my mistake and they made the pizza especially for me. He didn't give me much of a response. When Angela and I got the bill I was expecting to have to pay for 2 pizzas, but he was gracious enough and only charged me for one! I was in shock. I started to feel awful because they had gone to that work and I had wasted a whole pizza. So in turn, I gave him a huge tip and vowed to Angela that I would go back there quite a few more times before I leave in order to give back what he did not make on the pizza I couldn't eat.

It made the two of us think about the difference in this pizzeria here in Mexico and a pizzeria you would find in the States. We both decided right away that the pizzeria in the States would have charged me for 2. Sometimes I think the business owners down here know the value of wanting your customers to return because the money will multiply compared to if I paid for 2 pizzas and didn't want to go back. I hope you understand what I mean.

Switching gears, I had a great talk with the teacher I have been working with at the Patronato. After only meeting with her twice, she opened up to me about her personal life. I felt awful after hearing her story. She is a single mom with twin boys that are 4 years old. Since she is now 29 and only makes 120 pesos, per day which is $9.23 she is having a very hard time providing for her boys. I couldn't believe it when she told me how much she makes per day since Mexico doesn't pay by the hour. She was telling me how hard it is when it gets cooler out since she has to buy 2 of everything for little boys that are constantly growing. It made me think of how hard it is for every family down here unless they are super rich. She also shared with me how she can't buy anything for herself since it means she can't provide for her boys and she, like all mothers, wants to put her boys' needs in front of her own. She also shared with me how hard it is to do anything social like going to a movie. Her mom watches her twin boys while she is at work but she feels as if she is using her mom if she wants to go to a movie some night. She has also decided that she probably won't end up marrying anyone since she already had kids and she is 29. I told her that it is very possible that she could, but who knows. My heart just broke for her as she was laying out her personal story in front of me and all I want to do is help. However, that isn't very possible. She has been on my mind since I left the Patronato and I feel God is laying it on my heart to do something for her, but I don't know what that is yet. I also don't want to single her out when it is more than likely that there are other single moms or struggling families at the Patronato.

The difference in pay between her and someone working in the United States is absolutely astounding. But, she still puts on a smile and is very strong at work for her boys, so I am proud of her even though I hardly know her. The kids are of course as beautiful as can be in their own ways amongst their deformities and struggles. I told the teacher today that I am definitely going to cry when I have to leave the Patronato because of the beautiful and open hearts of the children and teachers. Oh how I'm going to miss them! =(

The time is flying by way too quickly here. I'm excited to return home but I also don't want to at the same token. I wish I could be with my family and the kids at the Patronato all at once, but its not going to be possible. My life back home is more important than my life here, but how the children have touched my life since being here is never going to be forgotten. I have less than 6 weeks here and I can't believe it. I have looked at my calendar and I am going to be out of Merida for 3 out of the 5 weekends I have left here. I just think back on my experience for 2 weeks in Ukraine and how I cried when we had to leave. Once I leave Merida after spending 15 weeks here I know I am going to be a sobbing mess. I will, however, be excited to return home to cooler temperatures and the family and friends I have been missing very dearly since being here. I feel that living out every moment of the not quite 6 weeks I have left here is not enough, but, it will have to do.

This weekend

2009-10-26T17:10:00.003-05:00

So apparently the clocks fall back an hour here in Mexico a week before it does in the States. That was some funny news when I woke up Sunday morning after sleeping for 11 hours. I don't know why but it seemed like a hard concept to grasp. I guess that comes with the fact that most Americans are in a bubble and forget that there are other people in this world than them. Not all of you may agree with that, but that is the impression I am getting from other Americans that are down here as well. My weekend was pretty uneventful since it was composed of sleeping a lot and eating almost every meal and feeling sick afterward. I am pretty convinced that I am going through another wave of mono. Yay! Not really! But at least I know the signs of it now and know how to deal with it.

A lot of you have been asking how my left ankle and foot are doing. I don't feel as if it is much different than before because at night and in the morning I still lose feeling in it and it still turns a purpleish color. I think the only thing different is that I'm pretty sure I know what is going on inside of me after seeing the doctor here in Merida. I am taking a 300mg aspirin tablet every morning which I just feel like I am taking and its not doing anything, but oh well! Maybe its helping, I just don't know it yet. But, I am still going to go see a circulatory doctor when I return in less than 6 weeks.

So back to this weekend. Sorry I am jumping around! I went out to eat with the girls on Friday night at 10:30 so of course I was exhausted. So once we were done eating, another girl and I walked back 3 blocks to the house and went to sleep. However, this night was somehow emotional for some reason. It was a mixture of being exhausted and my tummy being upset after I ate. All I can say is, thanks, Neal for staying up a little longer so I could hear your voice that calms me down! =) Saturday I went to the beach in Progreso and it ended up being cloudy and very windy, so we were all getting goosebumps!! It was probably only about 80ish, but after dealing with heat indexes of 110 for most of the last week, we were freezing! I wasn't exactly wearing things that would keep me warm--swimsuit, sundress, and flip-flops. While there I went to a not-for-profit store that sells things that are handmade by mayans. A missionary is the one that started the store and he uses the profits to then turn around and buy food, medicine, clothing, shelter, etc. for mayans who cannot buy those things on their own. So, I bought lots of gifts for people back home that are absolutely darling because they are handmade. I also did not have a problem with buying lots of things because I knew where the money was going.

After returning from Progreso, we went to a mall called Gran Plaza and did a little shopping and ate. I bought a cute blouse for $30 but of course had to forget it on the floor by my feet while I was eating Subway in the food court. I was sooo mad when we got back to the house and I realized I left it at the mall. Those of us that went to the mall sat there for a long time and talked, so I took my mind off of it. However, I reminded myself that it was only $30, a blouse I had never had before so I wasn't missing it, and that I could have lost something way more valuable than that. But to get my mind off it, I watched When Harry Met Sally with a couple girls and Eduardo, a guy who worked at Central as a language assistant all last year that is from Merida. It was one of his favorite movies so we watched it together! I slept 11 hours, took a 2 hour nap, ate pizza, and did a little homework all on Sunday. It was a great, relaxing weekend!

If there is anyone that would like to know more about the store and what kinds of things that have that maybe you would like, shoot me an email: torgesons1@central.edu !!

Thoughts from Today

2009-10-21T21:00:00.003-05:00

I went to the zoo today for my advanced practical spanish class just for an outing. After leaving the zoo I got on a bus that I thought was going downtown, how ever it didnt. Luckily I was sitting next to a woman that could point me in the right direction. I asked her, "Este camion va al centro, o no?" which means, does this bus go downtown or no? She said no so I told her that I need to go downtown so she said, just wait until I see a bus that is going downtown and cross the street on the other side and when I see one, get off and get on the other bus. This woman was such a huge relief! Just kind of like an angel sent when I needed one. =) So, I literally ran off the bus I was on as the bus going downtown was turning the corner and I flagged it down and got on it and headed downtown. It was slick! I'm just glad she pointed me in the right direction before I got any further away. But, I was still able to get to the Patronato on time (not that they pay attention since its on Mexican time) but its just my nature to just need to be early or on time. When I got there, I found the teacher that tells me which classroom to go to since today was the day I needed to switch rooms. I am with kids about the same age but they are more severely disabled than the previous room. All but one of the kids are nonverbal or can murmur little words but even then for me, I can't understand a murmur in Spanish yet, and probably won't by the time I leave.

When I found the teacher, she was moving a jaguar that was very colorful and I told her it looked incredible and asked what it was for. She told me to come back to the same room in a few minutes and I would find out. So I did, and a bunch of media people showed up and took pictures of the kids pretending to paint the jaguar as well as interviews by journalists about what the Patronato was doing. I found out that there is some sort of festival that has 5 different jaguars, celebrating the symbol of the jaguar for the Yucatan. All the kids in some way or another helped paint the jaguar and they are going to put it in an exhibit and once someone buys it, the Patronato will get a portion of that money that can be put toward the institution. I thought it was a great marketing tool for the Patronato but also incorporating the importances of Yucatan's culture. I was in there for over an hour just observing. I was not interviewed...thank goodness because I wouldn't know what to say and would probably fumble with my spanish--haha. But when I got back to my new room, all the kids had huge smiles on their faces. They are all so beautiful and full of personality even though they cannot speak. I was captivated by their smiles, hugs, touch, and laughter. There is one girl who especially caught my attention because her face is deformed and has a lot of problems eating, but I completely understood what she was wanting or trying to communicate through her hand signals. However, I have never seen a smile so big and full of joy than this girl who is also in a wheelchair. I am going to ask if I can start taking pictures of the kids just to have. However, I will not put them anywhere on the internet for their safety and confidentiality. I will just wait to print them off when I get home.

I just hate that sometimes I can't understand the children when they say things because usually it is just a murmur or their Spanish isn't very clear due to their disability so I feel awful that I ask them to repeat things, but they always pay so close attention to what I say back. It is absolutely amazing that they have patience with me in them having to repeat things and then taking interest in what I respond with. I wish I could stay longer to improve my Spanish that much more, but its not really possible for wanting to graduate early. Plus I don't think my family and Neal would appreciate it very much. Merida is really feeling like home now thanks to my ability to communicate with people. I just absolutely the kindess of the Mexican people I have come in contact. Today was a prime example of the kindness of their hearts--the woman who helped me get where I needed to get to. I'm pretty sure that if I was in Europe, that wouldn't be the case. Merida is a place that I could stay for longer, but I know I need to return home to my family, Neal, and the life I had before coming. However, these experiences will never be lost and have shaped who I am becoming. I ONLY have 44 days left here. I'm tearing up just thinking of having to leave all this. I am starting to get over the missing part of being away from people and just completely embracing every second here. It is such a short period of time to do anything. I'm not looking forward to the next 44 days flying by like I know they will...

25 Things I Have Learned

2009-10-20T20:53:00.003-05:00

1. Cars don't yield to pedestrians.

2. Patience isn't a virtue; it is just something most Americans don't possess.

3. Don't have a schedule when taking public transportation.

4. Drinking too much Coke turns into diabetes when you are older.

5. Don't take anything for granted because there are many people who are not as fortunate.

6. Let your family know how much you love them like its the last day you are on Earth.

7. When one person gets off the public bus at one corner and another gets off at the next corner its not that they are lazy. They are just making their money go further.

8. Stereotypes of Mexicans by Americans need to be banished.

9. Everyone here knows English at some level or another.

10. Mexicans immigrate to the US for a better life for their families and are not taking Americans' jobs. They are doing the jobs that wouldn't be done if they weren't there.

11. Mexican immigrants contribute billions of dollars into the Social Security fund without getting anything in return.

12. Fruits and vegetables would be $5 a pound instead of $.70-1.30 if there were not Mexican workers in the hot sun breaking their backs just for $.50 a box of fruits or vegetables picked.

13. Mexicans are the hardest working people for the least amount paid.

14. They get paid by the day, not the hour so they don't make as much.

15. The Mexican economy is thriving and rich but is not perceived like that, thanks to American stereotypes.

16. Unlike Europeans, Mexicans are very helpful to tourists that cannot speak much Spanish.

17. The American culture needs to stop destroying ancient cultures with McDonalds, Starbucks, and Wal-Mart all over the world.

18. I see more luxury cars like Jaguars, BMWs, Lexus, and very new cars more often here than I do in the States.

19.When guys whistle or honk and you respond to it, they get scared and go on their way!

20. Jesus Christ is alive in many different cultures, tongues, nations, and races.

21. The dogs here are not mean. They are just lonely and want attention. The dogs in the US are the ones that are mean because if they are on their own they have probably been neglected and abused.

22. I can live without the comforts of home for longer than I thought.

23. Immersing yourself in a different culture and language really forces you to learn about the culture and how to speak the language much faster than any classroom in the US.

24. All the children here are much better behaved than children in the US because they don't get everything they want and more down here. American children control their parents more and more now than ever before and Mexican children have had more discipline.

25. Children with disabilities are the same across languages and cultures. Some just don't get as good of care as those that are in the US do. They all have the same struggles, smiles, hugs, laughter, and touch which are what I love the most.

I Love Relaxation!

2009-10-20T17:50:00.004-05:00

Our beautiful, yet deceiving first hotel...

The view of the Caribbean from our first hotel

A typical-looking street in Holbox

One of the pretty sunsets I saw alone...without a special someone... =(

My tiny bedroom I shared with Kari at the second hotel

Sorry I haven't updated my blog for a week! I had internet access all last week but wasn't able to access my blog. I had Fall Break from last Tuesday through Sunday so I went with 3 other girls from the program to a little island off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula in the Caribbean. It took 20min. by ferry to get to it from a little town called Chiquila. I started the trip with only 3 of sleep, so getting up at 5 didn't go well. My tummy was not happy with me. Whenever I hardly have any sleep (less than 6 hours...haha) I feel sick to my stomach. After dealing with mono this whole summer and sleeping almost 15 hours a day, it is weird for me to not sleep at least 8-10hr. at night. So anyway, with 3 hours of sleep and getting up at 5 the trip didn't start off well. We took a first-class bus from Merida to Cancun and I slept the whole way there so I got another 4 hours of sleep. Once we got off the bus in Cancun we randomly ran into a guy that works at the hostel in Tulum that I have stayed at twice. So he showed us a good pizza place a block away from the bus station. We had 1 1/2 hours to kill so we said, what the heck?! We were all hungry by then (me included)! Once the time passed, we got on a second-class bus for another 4ish hours to get to Chiquila, the little town where we got on the ferry going to Holbox.

I put my drawstring bag on the floor and put the straps around my feet so no one could take it. But after being woken up after falling asleep by Kari screaming at me to grab my bag I did (half-asleep and a little grumpy because I didnt know why she was telling me to grab my stuff) haha.... I dont like to be woken up randomly when I am asleep. I am one that loves sleep! After falling back asleep right away, literally 1 minute later, Kari is hitting my arm saying that she didnt have her purse. Low and behold, the guy who was trying to take my stuff took her purse. She lost $2500 pesos (about $200), debit card, and camera. She was the one awake among the four of us and her stuff got stolen because she was so worried about our stuff that she didn't think about the guy taking her stuff. Once Kari saw the guy trying to get my bag, he got off the bus carrying a duffle bag, so her purse must have been in there. For some reason I decided to take my American phone even though I knew I wouldn't have service with it on the island. It was such a blessing because Kari was able to use it to call home and get her two bank accounts closed and her debit card cancelled within 15 min. of this happening. We were also able to call Val from my Mexican phone to let her know what was going on since I was the only one that had Val's number. I'm at least glad that I was prepared otherwise we would have been out of luck!

Kari was upset at first but we reassured her that everything could be replaced. She only lost about $200 in cash and her camera that only had 3 pictures from the pizza place on it. Among the 3 of us that had all of our stuff, we were able to cover for her the whole week/end. We were more than glad to cover for her since she stayed up and watched her stuff and was so concerned about her stuff that she didn't think of herself. However, we all learned 2 life lessons this weekend: don't put your things on the floor of a bus and don't believe everything you read on the internet.

When we got to Holbox, we took a golf-cart taxi to our hotel. Golf carts, motorcycles, and bikes are the only forms of transportation on the island since all the roads are made solely of sand. When we got to our hotel that we had pre-paid 3 nights for, we found out that there was no satellite tv, let alone a television set, lock boxes, or a swimming pool that worked. The hotel website said that the hotel had a working outdoor pool, satellite tv in each room, lock boxes, a dorm fridge, and A/C all for $125. However, when we got there we were informed that the pool only works during certain months and is undergoing maintenance now like every other year. We were super disappointed in the Mexican business laws because in the US false advertising is not allowed. We were all super mad that we pre-paid the room for 3 out of 4 nights so we had to stay there with nothing to do. All we had was A/C, dorm fridge, and beach front. So, we made up activities to do! We played MASH a couple times and learned more about each other as well as just sat around and talked. I loved the relaxation but it was annoying paying $125 for a night in a hotel that should have cost $60. So we started looking into other hotels on the beach and booked a room at a different hotel for our last night that was cheaper and had a full kitchen, living room, two bed rooms, satellite tv, A/C, and a beach front. So we kicked ourselves even more after finding that hotel room.

So in total, the whole week/end was spent sleeping in, laying out, swimming, napping, eating a couple times each day, laying around, laughing, and talking. Each day was like that. It was super relaxing! I could go for another one of those kind of vacations. Its so much more fun when you know you are getting credit for being able to just relax on a beach in the middle of nowhere in the Caribbean, especially when we know how cold it is at home! (Sorry, but its true!!). I really don't know what else to share because that was basically what went on the whole week/end. The only thing I struggled with was 2 guys that were one of the girls' friends from Merida came to the island on Friday so we could get a ride home and not have to ride the bus back home. So, once they came it turned into a weekend full of drinking and drinking games which are fine, but it wasn't as fun for me since I didn't participate. I had some good laughs and still hung out with them but didn't take part in what they were doing. I have respect for them and their choices even though its not something I would do. However, through all this, I got a lot of homework done and got caught up on sleep!! I know doing homework over break sounds lame, but I didn't have to complain when I got back about how much I had to do since I had already done most of it! Thanks for reading!

Tulum Trip #2

2009-10-13T17:34:00.003-05:00

My room in the hostel. I slept in the bottom left bunk.

My sweaty tanktop from the back after the tour through the ruins. Yuck!

My sweatyness from the front. This is equally disgusting!

One of the tallest ruins at Coba.

Another very tall ruin at Coba.

Last weekend six of us girls from the program went to Tulum for a long weekend again. We stayed at the same hostel as before and had great service from the owners and some pet therapy. =) We saw more of Tulum this weekend than we did the previous weekend because we had an extra day to see more things. We saw the ruins and turtles again, but we actually went down to the beach that is at the ruins and were able to cool off and jump with the very high waves that were there that day. The ruins were more busy because it was a Friday instead of Sunday but the beach was a great break from the heat and sweating! Later on Friday one of the owner's sons took us to a private beach and we got to snorkel over lots of coral. We saw lots of pretty fish but the waves were really hard to fight which made the experience less enjoyable. On Saturday we went to the ruins in Coba which is an hour away from Tulum. It was great seeing other ruins and having to do lots more exercise in order to see all the ruins but with exercise and moving around outside came lots of sweating for me! So a tanktop being drenched in sweat on the front and back was less enjoyable but I survived. Later we went to see the turtles so the other girls could see them and I saw another 8-9 turtles and a couple stingrays! It was again great to cool off in the water in the late afternoon and early evening. However, the tide was high once again which made the water very foggy, but I still got lots of pictures of the turtles with my underwater camera. We also felt very adventurous and excited that we found a Subway by the ruins!! We decided to save a little money and buy a footlong on Saturday for lunch and save one of the six inches for supper that night. It was such a great idea and it allowed us to just stay at the hostel and relax Saturday night instead of having to bike to and from the hostel late at night with the stars above us. Sunday I got to sleep in until 9:30 (which isnt much for me after dealing with mono) but it was still great to be able to do that! We left Sunday a little after noon and got back early evening on Sunday morning. It was great to talk to our taxi driver and hear a little about his life as he learned a little about ours. It is such a great experience to converse and understand native Spanish speakers now! The spanish speaking skills are definitely improving and becoming more natural!

A surprise but a reminder

2009-10-08T15:40:00.002-05:00

Some of you know and some of you don't know. But yesterday I had my first experience with the Mexican healthcare system because I was having most of the symptoms of a blood clot. For the past couple weeks at night when I am laying in bed, my left ankle has been very uncomfortable and just bothersome. There was no pain, but I just couldn't get it comfortable. Tuesday night I was talking to Neal on Skype and was sitting in my hammock facing the mirror that is in my room down here in Merida and I looked at my ankles and it looked as if I was getting a cankle by my left ankle. I thought that was odd because I seriously don't have extra weight in order for me to develop a cankle. So I compared my two ankles and realized that my left ankle was swollen and even on the top of my foot as well. Then after sitting for a while, my toes got purple and white so I tried to elevate my foot and my ankle and foot did not like that at all. It was giving me a tingling sensation so I knew something was up. Neal asked if I had been dealing with leg cramps because he was already on WebMD checking things out since he likes doing research on those types of things and I absolutely hate it. So needless to say he went through the list of symptoms and the only things that I didn't have was my foot feeling really warm and red discoloration. I was getting a cramp in my calf after walking down to the kitchen like Neal told me to do just to get my blood flowing, but when I did that, my foot was so swollen that it was making me limp. Next step was to call mom since she was flying in at 11PM Tuesday night so I knew she would be up. She told me not to go to my internship Wednesday morning and that I needed to go see a doctor right away Wednesday morning because I was having a lot of the same symptoms as she did when she had a blood clot in her leg in '97.

In the morning, I got up and my ankle felt fine until I was standing on it washing my face at the sink and it started to go numb again. I texted Val the director and told her I needed to see a doctor that morning so she took me to a private hospital called StarMedica and we went to the Emergency Room. I told Val my story so she could tell the doctors what was going on. We saw a doctor right away who checked my blood pressure and temperature and I had a bit of a temperature. Since the emergency room knew that the symptoms I was having were hereditary, they got me in right away. The young doctor who did the consultation in the emergency room told us to go to 2 different doctors. A neurologist and a blood doctor since I wasn't having feeling in my feet. They wanted to make sure that I didn't have any nerve damage. We went to one neurologist who couldn't get me in until 7:30PM that night so that doctor's office got us into another neurologist but we waited another hour. We had to tell our story again, so Val was getting good at it. He did an old-fashioned check with checking my reflexes and doing different tests such as the vibration thing and poking the tops of my feet to see the difference all with my eyes closed. My reflexes were much stronger in my left foot than my right but I couldn't feel the poking on my left foot that I could on my right foot. The doctor told me that there was a difference in temp and that my left foot was much colder than my right. So after all these tests and questions being answered, he concluded that I didn't have nerve damage. I was having a circulation problem so he told us that he was not the right person to diagnose anything. That was super nice because in the states, the doctor would probably order a lot of tests like an MRI or something and he didn't do this. He referred me to a vein and artery doctor who was one of his friends. So he proceeds to get on his PERSONAL cell phone to get me in right away because he was worried about it since my Factor Five mutation affects my blood and he didn't want a blood clot occurring and us not finding out right away.

So we went to the artery and vein doctor who got us in the second we walked through the door. She didn't do any tests since the neurologist told her the results he had concluded from his tests. So she did an ultrasound on my feet and on my left groin to check the pulse of the artery and the blood flow of my vein. Val was with me through everything which was a HUGE blessing but we both got a Biology Lesson 101. We found out that the artery has a pulse and pumps the blood down your leg from your heart and the vein re-circulates the blood back up through my leg. The heart beat was strong and clear for my artery on my foot and my groin so she knew nothing was wrong in my artery. She then listened to the sound of my vein and it was very clear and loud so she said I was under no risk of developing a blood clot. If the flow or pulse wouldn't have been strong and clear in my groin that would have been an indication that something was wrong. Then she asked if I have been sweating a lot since I have been down here. Val piped up right away and said, "Steph sweats more than anyone else on the program and was drenched in sweat last Friday when we went to Uxmal and everyone else that came back from the ruins was hardly sweating" and I also told the doctor that I have been sweating tons. So she concluded that I have a circulation problem in my veins because when it is warm out, your veins dialate which makes it harder to re-circulate the blood up through your leg while fighting the pulse that the artery has. When the vein is dialated, the blood flow is much slower and it is working harder to maintain my body temperature. So this is why my foot was swollen--the blood wasn't recirculating fast enough. And that is why I have been sweating sooo much! My veins are dialated and slowing down the blood flow. She finally concluded that since it has been almost 7 weeks since I have been here, my body does not regulate to the heat like everyone else's does. So all I can do is take a baby aspirin to allow my blood to thin out a little as well as keep moving around and icing my foot and ankle at night to keep the swelling down and allow for my vein to shrink a little to pick up the blood flow. The doctor tried to talk me into the compression tights and I told her I wasn't having it. I am only 20 and I don't want to wear those until I absolutely have to!

The doctors and Val were great through everything. I wasn't nervous about anything because both doctors took their time and asked a lot of questions so it wasn't like they were rushing through my appointment with them. They were very gracious and were very slow at explaining everything because they wanted me to understand what was going on and not only Val understanding it. They also knew I am away from family and friends so they made me feel very comfortable. Thank goodness I don't have a blood clot! Val told me when we got to the hospital that if I was diagnosed with a clot, she would pitch camp in my hospital room and stay with me so that was super comforting that I was never going to be left alone. Praise God! These symptoms were a surprise but all this was a reminder of God's graciousness and sovereignty!

I am off to Tulum again! We are leaving in 30min. so I have to run! Hopefully it doesn't snow at home this week! I'll be thinking of everyone as I'm sweating like crazy in the Caribbean wishing I was in cooler weather! =)

Why do they cut pigs' heads off and sell them??

2009-10-05T20:18:00.003-05:00

Does anyone know why butchers cut off a pig's head and sell it? All I can say is that it is disgusting. My advanced spanish class went to a market this morning for class. Don't ask me why we did because none of us can figure it out. But, I was very closter-phobic in a short period of time because there were tons of people in this market which was in a building and not in an open-air market. So, we walked by tons of fruit and vegetables as well as food stands were lots of people were eating and nothing was clean. We then walked by stands that were selling spices that had a very strong smell. Walking by the first stand was not bad, but after walking by them multiple times in a matter of 30 minutes I had had enough. On top of that, we walked through the meat market part of it which was disgusting and I have never liked them anyway. BUT then I actually look at what I'm walking passed since I was looking to the opposite side of the market beforehand and saw that I was walking by a pigs' head!!! I just about lost it. I love animals and I couldn't handle it. However, our professor thought it would be ok to stand by this area and answer some of our questions instead of going outside. We then proceeded to walk through the second level of the market which wasn't open yet so we had to walk back by the meat market, then through the chicken butchering area, then by more spices that were overwhelming. While all this was happening, I looked to Danielle who is in my class and she was about ready to lose it too. I told my professor that we needed to get out of there but she laughed and took us by more fruits and vegetables to explain what they were. We were absolutely mad at this point. Did I mention she had never been there before and didn't know where she was going which meant she didn't know how to get out!?! While walking further to ask someone how to get out, we walked by a stand that was frying whole fish and WHOLE birds. The wings and everything. I was grossed out and almost got sick when next to this stand were cages of birds and chickens and puppies and bunnies. I got so mad that they had puppies in cages and then I about broke down and cried walking past the bunnies that were not being taken care of like I took care of Oreo my bunny, that I lost a couple weeks ago. As we found the exit and were walking toward it, our prof. thought it would be ok if she walked at a snail's pace. I was about furious at this point and I hardly ever get that way. I was definitely going through culture shock through all this. This is the only time I have really had it since being down here. This market definitely fulfilled the stereotypes Americans have for mexicans even though our stereotypes are completely wrong. This morning was just way too much in so little time. So many smells and images that made my stomach churned. I'm surprised I didn't come out of there deciding I wanted to be a vegetarian! Smells and images of food normally make me not able to eat them, so I just pray I don't think about that experience anymore! Did I mention that there were tons of people in there that definitely had body odor and tons of sweat?? Then they wiped their sweat onto their palms and proceeded to pick up fruits and vegetables to sell......I have vowed to never go there again!! It even affected me so much that I needed to leave the Patronato a little early. But, I was also able to leave early because there was nothing going on. Luckily, the culture shock and subsided, but I never want to go through an experience like that again.

An Uplifting Morning

2009-10-05T19:46:00.002-05:00

On Sunday I had the privilege of going to church with the visiting professor, his wife, and my roommate down here. We went to a little church in the city but it is kind of on the outskirts (or at least it feels like it) because you go down a old-beaten-cow-path-looking road. The people were so welcoming it was almost overwhelming. I know I shook everyone's hand and some of the people twice. The church service had a very family-oriented feel to which made it very comforting. There were probably 30-40 people there including the four of us which was a lot of fun. The songs were really fun to sing to since they used a projector. It was even more of a cultural experience though (besides having the whole service in Spanish) because they didn't play an instruments. They used a CD player with the songs already on the CD to follow along to. It was great when they played one song on the CD and had different words up on the screen, but still sang to it! Haha...I probably had the biggest smile out of everyone because it made me realize how dumb it is in American churches that everything has to be perfect and run smoothly even though we are there to worship our Savior and Creator who doesn't care how we perform or sound, as long as you are praising HIM. I also liked how the service was very informal and there were no expectations because they were not there to perform for each other. They were there to perform for their Savior.

The singing time of the worship service was even more uplifting because there were girls with tamborines trying to keep everyone together but were also dancing around and sometimes would lose the beat, but everyone moved on and wasn't phased. I loved that! There was also no formal structure to the message since there were 3 different messages given by 3 different people. But again, there was no need for technology or sources. The only thing they used was God's Word and their lips to speak. They did not speak from a powerpoint or paper. It was solely the words The Holy Spirit was putting on their tongues. I wish I could have understood everything, but I caught a lot of it. However, malfunctions with microphones and how they speak in the microphone affected it but who cares! They were speaking the words that we all needed to hear. I just kept praying that I would get the message that the Holy Spirit knew I needed to hear. And he definitely did! I have been struggling with busyness of everything down here and putting reading God's Word on the back burner. One of the messages was strictly on that so it was great to get encouragement from the Holy Spirit from a person of a different race, nation, and language. That is when you truly know that God is not just only our God, but everyone's. I felt that my faith was truly renewed after that service because of that revelation that God is so good to speak to me through someone I have never met and who knew nothing about what I was going through.

The last part of the service was probably the most touching and made me the most annoyed with American Christians. I'm sorry if that offends some of you but hear me out. "Christians" in America go to church because it is the thing to do. Some even go on Wednesday nights but everytime but those times are for themselves and they live selfishly. (I fall into this category as well). We don't show our emotion in church because we are there because we feel we have to be--not because we WANT to be. So many people go to church to impress others and focus more on themselves than worshipping with the body of Christ as one to their Father. This made me very upset and annoyed that people don't pray out loud during services, they don't raise their hands when they sing because they are so self-conscious and wrapped up in themselves, and for heaven's sake, why can't we sing and shout to our Lord because thats what we would naturally do if we would let ourselves. But the opposite happens. We take control of OUR body that God created and hardly clap or move around while we are singing praises to our Lord. We stand there like scarecrows and if a mexican believer or anywhere else where they truly rely on Christ for their every needs would walk into one of our churches, they would probably question if we really wanted to be there. The sermons are a bit long here, but does anyone want to be sleeping or actually end up falling asleep, no! They are listening to the voice of Christ through the speaker because they trust that God is wanting to speak to them!

As I keep rambling, I will finish up with the most memorable experience of attending church that I have ever had. There were missionaries from Guatemala there and one of the missionaries took the conviction of bringing all the sins of everyone in the congregation onto herself. She was hurting just as all of us were hurting. She didn't even know me but she was crying over me as she had her hand on my neck praying for me. Half the time I didn't even know what she was saying, but I teared up because this woman had so much compassion and was almost yelling prayers up for my sake. She did this for everyone mind you, while the pastor was praying over the microphone and this lady's brother was singing praises through the microphone. There were others praying or singing outloud while crying and trembling because of the pain they had caused their Savior and how they have sinned against HIM. Why don't we all pray at the same time or while the pastor is praying pray our own prayer or sing because we feel called to. That was the most open church service I have ever experienced and wish that we had the same in the states. It is quite embarassing thinking of how private, reserved, and self-conscious we all are about our faith. No wonder America is crumbling. The so-called "Christians" that say one thing and do the next are the ones that are most afraid of sharing their faith because they are afraid someone will say "no" to them or not be their friend anymore. It is time we stop doing this and proclaim our faith about The One who has truly paid the price for all the sins we have committed thus far.

Pictures of the Caves of Loltun

2009-10-05T19:35:00.002-05:00

Sorry I couldn't fit these on the other blog! It was so hard to choose which pictures to put on here since I took 80+ in the cave alone!

The tour guide's dog that looked like the dog I had before we got Barklee...oh Paiger..

One of the slippery hills we had to get down while stepping on all different rocks...

The stalactites hanging from the ceiling! I had never seen any in person before this trip to Mexico!

The entrance of the cave...it was incredible and stunning!

Making the plunge...I didn't know it would be lit, so I was starting to get mad that I didn't bring my flashlight...even though it would have done absolutely NOTHING!

Jam-packed day

2009-10-05T19:09:00.003-05:00

The famous arch that is seen in all tourist books about the ruins of Labna. The arquitecture is phenomenal! Why don't we have more arches in the US???

The pyramid where the temple and official offices were probably at. As you can tell, it hasn't been competely exposed because there are tons of rocks and grass under the upper-exposed part. I also took a picture in front of it so you could get an idea of how big it was!

The Sorcerer's Pyramid. I seriously don't remember what its official name is, but its Magician or Sorcerer something...! Sorry! This building looks huge while standing in front of it, but its even larger when you see it in the distance, just like in the picture below it. There are archaeologists working on this ruin trying to repair lost stones. This ruin is not able to be climbed either. However, I don't think I could have mustered up courage to climb it for how steep it was!

That is the Sorcerer's pyramid far in the distance. I hope that helps you understand how massive it is! It is absolutely beautiful! I'm excited to take Mom, Dad, and Neal to this site!

Thanks to our tour guide, (who called me angelita, which means "little angel"..haha..) he got a picture of me coming down the pyramid we were able to climb up and down on. It was very large and I of course was hanging onto over step because it was very steep! Zach, who is to the right of me in the picture just started running down the steps and I yelled at him to stop because it was freaking me out, but of course he is a guy and didn't listen! =)

On Friday our group went on an excursion to three different places. We went to the caves of Loltun, a mayan site called Labna, and Uxmal which is another archaeological site full of buildings with mayan arquitecture.

We spent a couple hours at Loltun because the cave tour took a little over an hour. It was such an amazing experience to be in deep, dark caves, but luckily they have proofed it for tourists so there are lights all through it. Our tour guide said that when people were first discovering the caves with torches, they would never come back out because they would never be able to find their way out, and I can understand why. The part that struck me the most was that when they were putting money into making the caves accessible to tourists was that they found a skeleton of an infant. But luckily, it wasn't there. It is now in an archaeological museum. We even got some pet therapy throughout the whole tour because the tour guide's dog decided to come along. She was sooo cute and she looked like the first dog I had.

After the cave tour we moved onto the mayan site of Labna where we were able to understand the difference between developed and un-developed Mayan sites. Labna is definitely an un-developed site because archaeologists ran out of money when they were exposing the buildings and ruins so there are a couple buildings that are sort of exposed and not fully exposed because there are still tons of rocks and grass all over them. There are mounds that look like little hills, but really there are buildings underneath them.

After Labna, we went to Uxmal and got to climb a big pyramid (I got over my fear of heights once again!). Uxmal is absolutely beautiful and very developed even though some of the buildings have not been exposed yet. There are archaeologists still working at the site repairing missing stones on some of the ruins. The site is absolutely huge, but definitely worth all the walking, climbing stairs, and sweating!! Luckily, there was a pool and restaurant just outside of the ruins, so we were able to fill our tummy's and cool off for a bit. Uxmal is just under 1 hour from Merida, so we all took a short nap in the van and had a relaxing night since we were all VERY worn out from the day.

A Caribbean Weekend...

2009-09-29T14:56:00.004-05:00

The beach and water where we snorkled and spent the day on Saturday.

The other part of the beach.

The fruit plate we got both mornings at breakfast! It was absolutely delicious! I think I am now in love with coconut-flavored yogurt!

The door to our hostel...nothing special! I forgot to take a picture of the inside..it only had two shelves, two fans, and two bunkbeds...like I said, very rustic!

A very small portion of the ruins. It at least shows how the ruins are on a cliff right on the water!

I had a much-needed weekend of relaxation after last week's days of struggle and sorrow. I and three other girls from the program made the trek to Tulum, a town on the Caribbean that is four hours southwest of Merida. The girls and I decided Friday morning at 8:30 that we needed to get out of Merida for the weekend because we were going to have another 3 day weekend ahead of us that would be filled with us staying around the house. So, we decided to go to the Caribbean to get away. We looked at bus schedules and saw that the earliest bus left at 12:40PM, so we went for it. We quickly packed, got things in line for the weekend, called our parents, and we were off in a taxi to go to downtown Merida to catch a freezing, cold, air-conditioned bus (or at least freezing to us since we haven't had air-conditioning since being down here) for four hours. Luckily, they showed August Rush and Bee's Life on the way there. However, they were in spanish, but we picked up on a lot of new words that we didn't know before! It was a great experience. Once we were in Tulum, we took a taxi to the hostel we had called ahead of time. Students from this program that have gone to Tulum before have always gone to this hostel, so they were excited to have another group of people from the same program this fall! The hostel area itself is very rustic, but it was very relaxing to say the least. They gave us bikes to take into town since the hostel was a little over a mile outside of town on the main highway. That was an unforgettable experience as well because I haven't ridden a bike since middle school! After getting supper in town, we headed back to the hostel to sit around and talk to other people staying there.

We had no idea so many people from different countries in Europe came to the Caribbean. We met people from the follow countries: Israel, South Africa, Germany, Switzerland, England, Australia, and India. We were the only Americans there! It was great to hear about their experiences, why they are here, and what their views of the United States are. Most of them said that the first thing they think of when they think of the US is that "we buy a lot of stuff". Haha....so true! The next morning we got up, had a wonderful breafast, and went to a free beach where there were sea turtles, sting rays, and beautiful fish. I got a little burned, but it was so worth seeing the see turtles, stingrays, and beautiful fish while snorkeling! Once we returned to the hostel, we rode our bikes into town....or at least I tried to. A little over halfway to downtown, a rock got in the back tire of my bike which made it flat. Thankfully, Angela, my roommate down here, was gracious to walk back to the hostel with me to get a different bike. Needless to say, I sweat more than all the other girls down here, and I was drenched in sweat by the time we got back into town during attempt #2. I had spaghetti with a sort of meat sauce that wasn't really meat.

I have been on a healthy food diet this whole summer and now through the fall (thank you Neal)...and I was so excited to see that my pasta was very healthy. It contained spaghetti noodles and the meat "sauce" was made up of: oil, sauteed onions, chopped tomatoes, and browned hamburger. I thought it was great and much less fatty than sauce from a can! After eating, we returned back to the hostel and were very tired, so we went to bed quite early. Sunday morning we woke up early, had breakfast, and headed for the ruins that are right on the ocean on a cliff before checking out of the hostel. The ruins were absolutely stunning but of course it was VERY hot! I hadn't sweated that much since being down here...it was really disgusting but worth it. I included pictures above. After the ruins, we went back, showered, checked out, had another meal at a restaurant in Tulum and got back on the bus headed to Merida. We arrived safely and I was very grateful to get away from everything for a weekend! I am going to miss having a place like the Caribbean only four hours away!!! I was also looking forward to getting back however, to talk to Neal and see how he was feeling and how his blood sugar had been throughout the weekend. He is starting to stabilize more, so thank you all for your prayers! I know he appreciates it!

Yesterday I also changed rooms at the Patronato and absolutely loved it! The kids were working on cutting on dotted lines and gluing the pictures they cut out onto paper. I was so proud of them! What patience and concentration! I remember having to practice doing that when I was younger and I hated it! I am very much looking forward to working them over the next couple weeks!

One of the hardest weeks of my life...

2009-09-24T15:08:00.004-05:00

As you could tell from my last post, this week has been a tear-filled one. Like I said, Sunday was filled with missing Grandpa, feeling bad for Grandma and wishing I could spend time with her in person because she is one of my best friends in the whole world. We have a relationship that is unexplainable, but it is a very precious one to both of us. After seeing the dead dog too, I was just wanting my animals from home.. :(. Monday was a good day at the Patronato because I was able to speak lots of spanish with the teachers and students. However, when I got back from there I talked to Neal on skype and he told me he went to an opthamologist because he had been struggling with blurry vision that showed up all of a sudden. He had 20/20 vision Friday night and when he went to the opthamologist on Monday, his left eye was 70/20 (or vice versa) and his right eye was 20/200!! The opthamologist said he had never seen anything like that before. The doctor told him it could be because of dehydration or a sugar spike. Neal knew it wasn't dehydration because he had been so thirsty and been drinking water all weekend. So, he was then sent to a doctor to get blood work done and low and behold, he was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. That came as a complete shock to him, his family, and me. He told me he was very scared about it and that his mom was concerned so that meant I was very scared because I knew nothing about diabetes and he and his mom had grown up around his older brother having diabetes since he was 3 years old. His mom ended up driving up that night to be with him during blood tests on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I was overwhelmed because I am thousands of miles away and the love of my life is going through a huge change and adjustment. I was afraid of being out of the loop and not knowing what his routine was, etc. But, he has been a trooper and has been answering all the questions I have for him as well as trying to do a lot of research myself since I knew nothing about Type 1 other than he now being insulin dependent. Neal and I love having skype especially now because we can see each other, talk, and cry together, which has been happening a lot this week. There are a lot of concerns about health risks in the future as well as the adjustments he will need to make for the rest of his life, but I am especially confident that he will get through this and become a natural thing sooner than later. I am so proud of him and I want nothing more than to support him through anything and everything. This is still an overwhelming time but we are relying on God's provision and strength to get through this.

So this week has been dealing with adjustments Neal is making by checking his blood sugar, eating the right amount of carbs at each meal, and taking insulin. It has been such a joy and relief to watch him check his blood sugar by pricking his finger and watching him give himself shots of insulin. I feel as if I am there with him as I watch him do it. I even asked him if I could give him a shot sometime just because I want to support him and learn how to do it (not that I will need to give it to him) but we'll see if I actually do it since I hate needles!

On top of all these changes Neal and I are going through and discussing, I found out Monday night that my bunny, Oreo, died of old age. I was very upset Monday night when I found out and haven't cried that hard since Grandpa Berg died. He was such a great bunny, I just wish I could have said goodbye to him...I am just so thankful Caryn was there to rock him and keep him warm as he was going. I have also had the most homework this week that I have had since I have been here, so I am so glad it is the weekend!

I know that Oreo is in a better place and not alone. Maybe he is up in heaven hopping around?? I don't know if its true but I'm going to believe it to give me peace of mind. I also know that Neal is adjusting well and that I am learning his routine along with him. Finally, all my homework got done on time! So, now I can just relax and move forward knowing that God truly answers prayers and is there for us when we are full of joy and when we are filled to the brim with sorrow and uncertainty. God is sooo good!

P.S. Sorry this is soooo long! I just want to keep everyone up to date! :)

Phenomena at Dzbichaltun

2009-09-24T14:44:00.003-05:00

Sorry that these pictures came out backwards!!!
The phenomena is already over...it lasted about 2 minutes.

Here is is!!!! Yay! It was sooo beautiful!

The sun is starting to rise just a little bit...

Good morning! It was about 5:30-45 at this time.

This was probably at about 5:15 when it just started to become light enough out that a silhouette of the building could be seen

This has been one crazy, tear-filled week, so I'm sorry that I haven't caught you up on what has been going on the past few days. This week started with Sunday morning waking up after a dream that my Grandpa that I was very close to was alive and I got to talk to him. However, this is not reality and I woke up thinking it was and was super excited but then I knew it was Grandma and Grandpa's anniversary that day. It would have been 59 beautiful years together. So to begin with, the day was already not a great one and then I saw a dead dog on one of the sidewalks closest to the house which made me think of Barklee, my puppy (not so much a puppy in size but he sure acts like one!). So needless to say Sunday itself wasn't that great except for the fact that I got to talk to both of my aunts and uncles as well as my Grandma on Skype Sunday afternoon. What a blessing! I am becoming more and more thankful for Skype as time keeps ticking faster and faster down here. (Sunday also marked 4 weeks that I have been down here. It has gone by so fast already that it is crazy to believe I only have a little over 10 weeks left!) But finally, Sunday was over when I went to bed early because our whole group was getting up at 4:30AM, mind you (on Monday, the easiest day to get up early, right??). We weren't just getting up that early to get up. If any of you know college students really well, this is not our ideal situation!

We got up and were on the road by 4:30AM Monday morning to drive to some very old ruins called Dzbichaltun. Back in its day, which dates back to when Christ was on earth (crazy to think about, right?!) this city was a hopping metropolis with about 40,000 people! Over the years, archaeologists have uncovered ruins here and broke away layers of a temple/pyramid because the mayans used to believe that the world came to an end every 52 years, so they would build a bigger and better temple around the previous one. The building in the pictures above is called the House of the Seven Dolls which was named by the archaeologists that found 7 miniature figurines inside. The preciseness of the mayan mathematics and observations of the sun's movement are exemplified very clearly in this building.

Twice a year there is an equinox which means that the sun is directly over the equator. One of the days is in the fall and the other is in the spring. When the equinox occurs, the sun beams straight through the two doors of the House of the Seven Dolls which I said before demonstrates the preciseness of mayan mathematics and movements of the sun. It is quite a phenomena to see so I was not upset about getting up very early to see it! When we got to Dzbichaltun, the stars were brighter and bigger than I had ever seen them before. It was a great morning for lots of prayer and reflection on how great my God is and that I am one of His daughter's even though I do not deserve it. He created the universe and everything in it. I think most of us forget that or when we read it in Genesis we just skim over it because we have been told that our whole lives. However, it truly becomes a fact and something very meaningful in a situation like I was so happy to be in on Monday morning. Praise God! One last thing, I guess we waited for 2 1/2 hours to see the phenomena take place, but being so wrapped up in glorifying Him who created the stars and sun, I had no idea it was that long. It only felt like 30 minutes to me. Maybe it was also because I took 130ish pictures during that time frame!! Haha....I just didn't want to miss a thing!

3 cenote tour in Cuzama

2009-09-19T10:58:00.008-05:00

The second cenote with cave-like features, tree roots almost in the water, and clear water below were absolutely stunning!

Me taking the plunge into the third cenote, down the ladder. I had no clue what I was going to see below! Sorry I couldn't put any more pictures of the third cenote in this blog...

The first cenote. Absolutely gorgeous! I loved the water in this one...

Our horse-drawn cart ride on the tracks. I was impressed by my accidental photography skills. Somehow I focused on the horse and the rest is unfocused...

What the bike-taxi looked like. Poor peddlers!! Quite an experience!

Yesterday our group went to Cuzama, Yucatan which is a little over an hour from Merida to see 3 different cenotes. We had no idea really how to get there except to take a bus to the town and figure it out from there. We also had no idea how many different forms of transportation we would be using either! We took a taxi to the bus station in downtown Merida where we waited a little over an hour for our bus to take off. Once we were on the bus, we traveled for about an hour to Cuzama and got off the bus when the bus driver told us to get off.. haha. The second we stepped out of the bus we were swarmed by 10 bike taxi peddlers who were telling us they could bike us over to the cenotes. That was quite an experience! One of the other girls in our group that was in a different taxi has a picture of Liz and I, so I just put a picture of the other girls so you could see what I'm talking about!

When we got off the bike taxis after over a mile of riding and feeling awful that these guys were tired (even though we aren't that heavy), we thought we only had to walk a little ways to get to the cenotes. However, that was not the case. We ended up having to take a cart-type thing pulled by a horse on little railroad tracks. It was quite an innovation since the tracks were already there from when the hacienda not far from it used to bring henequen in from the fields on those tracks. We all of course felt bad for the horse, but he seemed to be loving it. The horse was very gentle because I went up and petted him and he looked like he was enjoying the attention :).

The 3 cenotes were very different from each other and a little ways apart, so we were very thankful for the work of the horse :). The way it worked was, the driver directing the horse took us to the first cenote and let us swim in it for 30 min. and then would come and get us to tell us we needed to move on to the next cenote. Then we went to the third cenote did the same thing, then made our way back to the second cenote, so that the horse didn't have to work that hard for very long. We definitely got exercise by getting down into the cenotes, swimming in them, and then getting out of them. In order to get down into the first cenote, we had to go down VERY steep stairs for quite a ways, the third cenote was down a ladder in a hole that took us down to it, and then the second cenote was down another long set of stairs. Quite the exercise we got yesterday!

When the horse-drawn cart brought us back into the little village, our bike taxi drivers were waiting for us because they asked if we wanted them to come back after 3 hours and of course we said yes! That was very convenient and nice of them. I was riding in the taxi with Liz and I mentioned to her that these guys must have leg muscles of the Greeks back in the day! However, our ride from the cenotes was a little different from the ride to the cenotes because it started thundering and lightning above us. But, we made it back into Cuzama just fine and there was a bus going back to Merida that was waiting for us!!! The day was very eventful and tiring, but we all agreed that yesterday was and would be a highlight of our trip. I am convinced that those cenotes are one of God's greatest and most beautiful creations. I'm thinking of taking mom, dad, and Neal there when they come down in 65 days!

Izamal--class field trip

2009-09-19T09:31:00.003-05:00

Our group once we all got up on top of the pyramid!

The long, high climb on awful stairs that we made to get to the top!

One of the outdoor hallways outside of the sanctuary of the cathedral that reminded me of Sound of Music for some reason, so I took the picture!

The incredible, jaw-dropping altar in the cathedral.

The climb we made to get up to the cathedral. I love the antique look!

On Thursday I went with my Mexican Civilization class to a little town called Izamal. We thought the drive to the town would be a piece of cake until we realized that our Civ. professor did not have directions to the town...haha. We stopped and talked to a couple different people and made a lot of turn arounds, so it took us about 1 1/2 hours to get there instead of 45 minutes which is what it would have taken us if she would have had directions! That part of the trip drove me nuts because again I like to know where I'm going and how I'm going to get there! Oh well, we got there safely and got to see the beautiful cathedral built on the base of a pyramid as well as old ruins/pyramid that are located there. The drive into the town was beautiful all the buildings were painted yellow just like the Vatican is, or so I hear :) so the longer drive was worth it!

It was so neat to see the old architecture in the cathedral and think of how long that building has been standing. After that us girls ate our sack lunches while our professor from Central and his wife along with our Civ. professor ate at a restaurant. They said they would be back in 45 min. but we knew that wasn't possible. After 1 1/2 hours of waiting for them to show up, our Civ. professor came and picked us up and told us that the Central professor and his wife would have to find their way to the ruins because they were taking way too long to eat at the restaurant.

The ruins/pyramid were amazing! It seemed so tall and I wasn't sure I would climb up them because of my fear of heights, but I told myself that this is probably the only time I would be there, so I climbed them and climbed back down without screaming or freaking out once. I was so glad I did climb it because I was able to see for miles! However, I don't think I had sweated so much since playing volleyball by the time we got down from the pyramid. It was nice and cool up there because of the breeze, but it was very hot when we got back down!

Dia de Independencia! Viva Mexico!!

2009-09-16T14:33:00.003-05:00

The governor's palace after the proclamation was read and we were all yelling "VIVA!" The confetti was a lot of fun :) The palace was decorated so pretty with Mexico's colors of red, white, and green.

The governor's palace on the left, stage ahead, and the historical cathedral a little behind and to the right of the stage. You can get a little understanding of how closely we were packed in there around people through this picture!

Our group before heading downtown! I was told after I put my dress on that I looked festive, but Mom and I bought that dress because we thought it was cute, but not for Mexico's Independence day. (I didn't even know when it was before coming down here!) I didn't even think about it being festive until I had it on and all the girls were telling me! haha....

The traditional dish served yesterday or today for Independence Day! It was delicious! The cooks even made festive placemats, pins, and even bought us little Mexican flags! They are so creative!

The nicely decorated dining room for lunch!

Today is Mexico's Independence Day! Viva Mexico! Last night our whole group went downtown to the Gran Plaza which is across the street from the Governor's palace where her office is. We were told ahead of time that there would be thousands of people there, but I didn't truly comprehend that until we got there. We stood in the middle of a street with thousands of people around us. It was super hot but also hilarious because we saw other pockets of American students studying in Merida in different spots on the street we were on as well. We all stood out like sore thumbs, but thats ok! We talked to a group from Calvin College in Michigan so that was cool to hear about their experiences! I'm assuming the town their college is in is Dutch as well! Everyone (including us) was/were standing around on the streets to listen to a couple bands on a stage between the governor's palace and a historic cathedral. But we also were waiting to hear the governor read the proclamation of independence from Spain that was read so many years ago. However, it took her forever to get out onto the balcony of the governor's palace. The band would play trumpets and drums to call her out onto the balcony, but they would play, stop, wait, play, stop, wait, play, stop, wait and so we all waited awkwardly for about 20 minutes for her to come out onto the balcony. That reflected Mexico's understanding of time! If that was happening in America, everyone would be upset because everything wasn't flowing from one thing to the other. The other sad thing was that the governor didn't even end up reading the proclamation. Another guy read it and the governor herself just yelled "Viva Mexico!" "Viva Yucatan!" etc. and we all followed her chant with "VIVA!". We were going downtown just for that part (called "El Grito" or the cry) because that was one thing our director wanted us to witness. The neat thing was that I could really sense the passion to be independent from the people around me.

Backing up a bit, for lunch yesterday decorated the dining room and our place settings. We were even fortunate to have the traditional meal served the day before Independence Day or on Independence Day. The nice thing about having Independence Day in the middle of the week is that we don't have classes today! I hope you enjoy the photos from yesterday and last night! :)

Winning my heart with a smile and effort...

2009-09-16T14:02:00.002-05:00

The bracelet made especially for me :)

On Monday when I went to the Patronato, I found out that there were only around 10 students at the facility because all the rain we had the night before made it hard for some parents to bring their children. In the adult room where I have been working there was only one student. He is the son of the lady that takes me home every Wednesday afternoon. It was fun to be in there with only one student because there were 5 other teachers from other rooms in that room since there is a stove and fridge so they were making a snack of hot dogs with pico de gallo on top. They don't have catsup around that area because it is so expensive so they make pico de gallo which consists of chilis, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, and lemon. It was very refreshing and way more healthy than fatty catsup on top of the hot dog. After we all had something to eat, I got a lot of practicing speaking in and learned some mayan words that I will need to ask about again and write them down so I remember! It was such a great opportunity to get to know everyone much better. Once all the other teachers left, there was only one of the teachers I have been working with and the student. We decided to make crafts so I braided myself an anklet and the student made me a pretty bracelet!! :) It was so sweet of him and he gave me the biggest smile I had seen yet when he was done with it. I thought it was so sweet, and it melted my heart!

I was really glad to get to spend more time with the teacher one-on-one to get to know each other better because she befriended me right away. We talked about our boyfriends and when we think we will both get married as well as how important our families are to us. I felt bad the night before that I couldn't go with her to get Originial Yucatacan food with her because she invited me to go with her and a friend on Sunday night. Hopefully I will get to go with her soon! I am truly seeing how I am there for a reason and how the little things are coming together. God has been orchestrating this place for me the whole time!

Hacienda and Cenote

2009-09-12T21:19:00.006-05:00

Ok so I accidentally deleted this at the bottom so it got moved to the top. This picture is just to show you how clear the water is. The dark blue water is where the cenote drops off...kind of scary!!!
The Courtyard of the living quarters. Absolutely beautiful!!

Me in the kitchen of the living quarters secretly wishing I was Julia Childs.... :)

Liz, Myself, and Danielle...it basically explains the relationship we have between the 3 of us... :)

The cenote. You can see how far underground we were and how clear the water is!

On Friday (yesterday) the whole group went on a little field trip to an Hacienda and Cenote about 45 min. from Merida. The Hacienda that we toured is called Yaxcopoil (Yah-x-coe-poe-eel). I did not know what an hacienda was before yesterday. An hacienda is pretty much equivalent to our southern plantations in the past. The hacienda holds the owners living quarters, a chapel area, living quarters for the 1500 laborers, the machine room that takes a plant called Heneken and makes its fibers into rope. The hacienda is no longer running but it still is open for tours. The grounds are kept up very well by workers and the buildings all have a beautiful charm and antique look. I absolutely loved the architecture of the buildings and house. There are pictures above. This hacienda was founded in the 17th Century and Yaxcopoil means "place of green poplars" or otherwise known as heneken.

After we toured the grounds, we moved onto a cenote which is basically an underground sink hole that holds fresh water from rain that flows through the ground and is deposited into underground rivers which are what feed into the cenote. There are beautiful pictures above as well that will maybe help explain what a cenote is. We were able to swim in it which was a lot of fun! The water is so clear that you can see to the very bottom of it which was about 15-18ft. deep (approximately). There was an area where we could stand on rocks and sand and then it dropped off. It was kind of scary for me swimming over the deep part because I was afraid something was going to come and get me. :) I am also very fearful of heights and I felt very high above the bottom of the cenote, so it was a mix of everything! But when we swam over the deep part, there were rocks that we jumped off and tree roots that the guys swung from. I only jumped off the rocks once (the ones closest to the water!!) which was a lot for me! The rest of the time I spent standing on the rocks and sand. The nice thing about the cenote was that it was so clear, cool, and out of the sun! It was great to get a long break from the hot, humid, makes-you-very-sweaty sun!

On the way home we all fell asleep in the van after climbing on rocks and such which made us tired! We are all hoping to make it to another cenote when family is here, but we probably won't make it to that cenote again because we followed an old beaten path for about 10-15min. We all had no clue how our tour guide got us there! I'm just so thankful for not being car sick or motion sick because it was not fun for those that are that way! Dramamine was not doing enough to keep them awake and feeling ok. Thanks for reading! I hope it wasn't too long or boring!! :)

A day full of blessings :)

2009-09-09T20:33:00.003-05:00

Yesterday (8th) I had one of my busiest days yet. Tuesdays are my busy days with class in the morning from 8:30-11:50 and then a class at night but during the afternoon I needed to take a short nap which cut into the amount of time I had to work on homework which was probably a bad idea. I was doing homework in the afternoon, but two of my classes require a lot of reading which takes a long time when there is usually a lot of vocabulary words that I don't know, but it will get better in time! I talked to Neal last night on Skype and I don't think I had ever been that stressed out with him. I had a lot of homework to finish up for Thursday (me working ahead) and some other odds and ends like catching myself and everyone else up on whats been going on through my blog and sending emails, etc. I felt bad for him because he didn't really know how to react or what to do, but those moments are a blessing from God because we learn so much about each other even when we are thousands of miles apart. God is so good once again! Neal was such a trooper and said I will just sit here and watch you do stuff :). He said something along the lines of "we don't need to talk a lot, because I know you have a lot to do, but can I still see you when you are doing stuff??" so I thought that was a very kind gesture of him so that we could still spend time together even though we weren't talking.

Today, (9th) I went back to the Patronato and was unsure if I would get there without getting lost again, but it went just fine! I left the house at 9:30 like usual and went to where we normally get on the bus at and the bus pulled right up so I didn't have to wait in the sun. One of my professors (Fernando, the poet) got on the same bus so we sat next to each other on the way to downtown which helped calm my fears a bit. When I got downtown I was speed walking to the other bus stop 4-5 blocks away and knocked on the door as it was pulling away, so I got on just in time! The bus driver probably didn't like that I was practically running as he was taking off, but I did what I had to do to get on! Then, I stayed on the bus all the way until we got into the part of the Colony that I needed to be in to go to the Patronato, and low and behold, the bus drove right in front of the Patronato so I got off! God is soo good! I didn't have to worry about walking or finding my way because I was right there! Then I went to the same classroom and had a great time with the students helping them with physical therapy and then spending time practicing my spanish-speaking by them asking me questions and vice versa. I didn't even get his this time! As the Patronato closes at 1, all the parents come and get their kids and at that moment when everyone was in one area, the director introduced me to everyone so I felt like the center of attention, but it was very special for me! And 5 minutes later my day would get even better.

Usually I would have to ride two different buses back to the house but one of the mom's of a student that I have been working with the past two days was going to be driving three blocks from the Central House so she offered to drive me back and even said she would do it every Wednesday! That is such a blessing. It is even a smaller world because she ran into Val before Val even found the Patronato for me and she was the one that gave Val the information about the place! She is such a sweetheart and is correcting some of my Spanish and is encouraging me to speak as much as possible. God is definitely present here and is providing for my every need and worry.

Where are you at? How did you get lost??

2009-09-09T20:11:00.003-05:00

The first day of the internship at the Patronato was on Monday (7th) starting at 10:30AM and finishing at 1-1:30PM. I left the house right after my morning class at 9:30 in order to get to my internship by 10:30. The visiting professor said it was fastest for he and his wife to go an opposite way to catch a bus that goes downtown than what I am used to. I waited at this spot for about 5 mins and began freaking out because I didnt know if this was the same street that we normally use to get on the bus going downtown. So, after 5 minutes, I start walking away from that spot and end up making a big loop to go back to the corner that we normally get on the bus at. So after 15 minutes of walking in the neighborhood just to grab a bus to go downtown, I was sweating like none other and I was only 2-3 blocks from the house! At this point I was very nervous and working myself up because I had just been wandering around aimlessly and feeling very lost and absolutely getting nowhere. And for those of you that know me really well, I hate not knowing where I am at and how to get to where I am going. Once I got on the bus 2-3 blocks away from the house, we drove by the place I was at but became impatient so I became even more mad at myself than I already was. Since this was my first day of going downtown and switching buses on my own, I was a little apprehensive. I looked even more like a tourist when I kept checking a piece of paper that I wrote the corner of what streets the next bus I needed to catch would be on. Oh well. I got on the bus I needed to be on that would take me to the Colony where the Patronato was at. However, I did not know that this colony was split up into 4 different sections. I got off the bus in the part of the colony I thought I was supposed to be in (and mind you, I was very nervous at this point--on the verge of crying) and when I got off the bus, I didnt recognize anything. After walking back and forth a single block a couple times to see if I recognized anything in site, I knew I was completely lost. This was not good for my mind or my emotions because I was literally freaking out at this point. I was about ready to start crying in the middle of nowhere. However, the doctor (my supervisor) gave me her cell phone number and I told her where I was at. She ended up sending her chofer (sp) to come and get me and take me to the Patronato. Thank goodness for the kind hearts of the Mexican people! Her chofer was super nice and he was very gracious to give me a ride and showed me where I would need to get off the bus if I would have kept riding it. Such a blessing!

So, I finally got to my internship site at about 11 since I stood around in the same spot (out in the middle of nowhere, mind you) for about 20-25 min in the hot sun. I bet the doctor's chofer was chuckling when he picked me up because I was drenched. But anyway, when I got to the Patronato about 30 min. late, the doctor felt horrible that I got lost and offered me crackers if I wanted them but I wasn't hungry after being stressed out for a couple hours. She gave me a big hug and told me it would be ok because I think she could obviously tell that I was worked up. God is so good! But after we got through that whole conversation of her feeling awful, she took me to the classroom I will be in for 3 weeks. This classroom works with adults about my age and older that have mental and physical disabilities. Since I was already worked up, I had a harder time focusing on what they were asking and telling me in Spanish, but I got through just fine. But, I couldn't leave without being hit really hard by one of the students.

I had no idea that that day would get worse by me getting hit by a girl a little older than me but much smaller than me. I later found out why she hit me randomly because all I said to her was "Hola, como estas?" (Hello, how are you?) in my sweetest voice and I got a hard hit to my back. So I later found out as the teachers took her out of the room and were making sure that I was ok, was that she has obsession with princesses and especially those that are blonde, have blue eyes, and have lighter skin. I wouldn't consider myself a princess, but I guess I fit the criteria! To calm her down, they started singing a song from Cinderella in Spanish and I told this girl that my favorite Disney princess was Cinderella because she has blonde hair. However, my talking to her didn't calm her down because the teachers asked her if she wanted to hit me again and she said yes. I think there was just a bit of jealousy going on there or something...I haven't quite figured it out yet. Oh well! You never know what you are getting yourself into when you are dealing with severe autism and mental disabilities. Luckily, it didn't hurt, and I didn't want to hurt the girls' feelings, so I just kept talking to her sweetly, but apparently that doesn't work for her! I'm quickly learning that patience is a virtue but is a much needed quality if I'm working with students with disabilities.

Once my day was over at the Patronato, I got on the bus going downtown and got to the other bus I needed to take to get back to the Central House just fine. Let's just say it made for a long morning! Later that night I ended up feeling very shaky, weak, and not hungry and I was afraid I was getting dehydrated like I had been before, but luckily the professor and his wife had drinks with very high electrolytes in them so that kept me from being dehydrated! God is so good in that too!

VIP Theatre and Mexico Soccer Experience

2009-09-09T19:55:00.003-05:00

All of us girls in our leather recliners getting ready to watch a sappy, chick-flick

Last Friday (4th) after visiting the Patronato, the girls and I all went to a mall in Merida called the AltaBrisa and shopped a little and ended up going to The Time Traveler's Wife shown at the VIP theatre. I had never heard of a "VIP" Theatre and was curious as to what it was about, so Val told us exactly what we got to experience while at the movie on Friday night. For just under 9 US dollars, we got to watch a movie all to ourselves in recliners, menus, and a waiting staff that would come to us anytime throughout the movie and would get down on one knee when taking an order or bringing us what we ordered. We all felt like princesses! I know that we are all planning on going back to that theatre or another VIP theatre in the city. There is a picture above.

On Saturday (5th) all of us girls together went to Progreso where the closest beach is to Merida like we had done the previous Saturday and spent the late morning/early afternoon in the Gulf and laying out. This time we did not sweat because the water was cooler and there was a great breeze off the water, so of course I forgot to reapply sunscreen. Who would have thought that I would have forgotten that I am 10 degrees from the Equator! But all in all, I did not get burned that bad. I put 70+ SPF once again all over and put my face sunscreen on and brought it with me too, but I forgot to reapply on my face. So all in all, I left the beach with a face that looked like a fried tomato! I talked to Neal that night and he asked me if I had my friend Larry with me. (Bob the tomato and Larry the cucumber off of Veggie Tales). I wasn't offended by him though because I guess I was the one that told him I felt like a fried tomato :).

Later that night three of us girls went for pizza at a little pizzaria 3 blocks from the house and absolutely loved it! It tasted like regular American pizza, so it was definitely our American food fix for the week. But once we got back from eating, we went with Eduardo (a student who was at Central all last year that is from Merida) to a couple house parties that were watching the Mexico vs. Costa Rica soccer game. To experience the culture and love of the game of soccer shown by his friends was phenomenal. The three of us girls actually got in the game (even though I know absolutely nothing about soccer) because all the other mexicans were way into it. When Mexico scored all three of their goals and won the game, it was like experiencing America's Super Bowl all over again but with a different sport. The one thing that stood out to all of us girls is that the girls dressed up to go to these house parties even though there were only 8-10 people at each party. They were wearing skirts, dresses, the whole thing. I felt way under-dressed because I went in shorts and a tanktop after being in the sun all day. Oh well! They still loved meeting us and getting to know us a little bit! Mexico won 3-0 and were onto the World Cup!! Viva Mexico!

Visiting Patronato Peninsular

2009-09-09T19:39:00.002-05:00

On Friday, September 4 the visiting professor from Central that is here and I went to visit el Patronato Peninsular where my internship would be. I had an interview with the doctor that is on-site and got a tour of the facility. I was forewarned ahead of time that the doctor talks very, very fast and that was definitely true when I met with her. But, I got the gist of all she said and my interview went really well. I was pleased and I know the professor and the doctor were pleased as well because I shared with her how my major does not follow my passion and gift with children with disabilities. She seemed impressed with my confidence but yet more impressed with my compassion for these students. The Patronato Peninsular is an extensive facility but they work with babies all the way up to 40 year olds. I cannot tell you how much I smiled while I was there because of how cute all of the students are! They were all saying, "Hola, Buenos Dias!" (Hello, Good Morning!) to me and they were so excited to meet me. I was wondering if they had ever really seen a white person before. But, of course they all have hearts of a child and have no presumptions or expectations. I knew this was the place for me when the kids were so full of smiles and joy and the doctor told me, "You are not only here to help us and get more experience, but we are here for you as well. We want you to be able to ask us any questions and create a great relationship over the next three months." She even gave me her cell phone number and told me to call her whenever I had a question about anything! Doctors in the states wouldn't normally do that...but I guess she is more or less my supervisor. I knew God was and is present in that facility because all the teachers and the doctor have hearts of gold. The doctor even walked the professor and I to our bus stop so I would know where to walk to get on a bus that goes to downtown Merida.

I think I have said this in a previous blog, but the bus system in Merida is a new experience for all of us here, but especially me, coming from a little town of less than 4,000 people. But like I said, I have to get on a bus at the Patronato Peninsular that goes downtown which is then followed by a 4-5 block walk to get on a different bus that goes close to the Central House. Once I am off the bus, I have to walk to the Central House for a couple blocks, so I definitely get a lot of walking in! It is the same when I go to the Patronato Peninsular but just in the opposite order. It takes me about an hour from when I step out of the house to when I step into the Patronato. My internship site is by far the farthest away from the house, so I will have to tell you about my experience on Monday, September 7th which was my first day going there.

First week of classes

2009-09-09T19:31:00.002-05:00

So I have to apologize... I have been falling way behind on keeping everyone up-to-date on whats been going on. Last Monday, we started classes and had classes all last week but the only nice thing about studying abroad is that my weekend starts at 12PM on Thursday afternoons! As I was going from one class to another, I felt like I was living off the schedule of meals here at Casa Central. I have also felt like a baby in the fact that I sleep, eat, go to class, do homework, and do everything all over again when babies eat, sleep, and poop! :) Classes went well last week and it has been adjustment getting used to all of my classes being in Spanish but it has been a good adjustment! It has been a stretch in my brain but its good to have those once in a while :). The classes I am taking are Advanced Practical Spanish where we go over basic vocabulary that would be useful in everyday life but more concentrated like all different parts of a restaurant or cafe that we would need to know to ask questions or to understand the waiter/waitress. I am also taking Latin American Novel that is taught by a poet, Mexican Civilization that is taught by a professor of pre-law here in Merida, and Art & Architecture by an architect earning her PhD. (That is my only class taught in English and is one night a week, so it is a great break from everything in Spanish). Taking classes in a different country has been a great learning experience because the style of teaching is a little different and the homework load is less but again, everything that I would normally get taught in English are taught in Spanish. Hopefully when I get back my speaking skills will be a lot better than when I left!

Monday, August 31st

2009-08-31T19:34:00.002-05:00

I can't believe a week has already gone by! We just have a little over 13 weeks left here! We had our first day of classes today which meant I only had one class from 8:30 to 9:30. But, I have kept myself busy today by working on homework for that class, taking a nap, eating of course :) and writing a blog with another Central girl that is here for the Central College Abroad website. I just thought I would let everyone know that my first day of class went well! I love the professor. Her name is Sylvia and she is still earning her PhD, so she is just a few years older than us! She just got back 2 months ago after spending two years at Ohio University getting her masters in English, Spanish, and teaching. She is a hoot and a spit-fire. It is great to understand her humor and being able to communicate back and forth. I truly feel that I have learned so much Spanish after being in Merida for only 8 days. I love it here and I'm starting to notice that I probably will have a very hard time leaving... That is all for today. I just wanted to keep everyone that is reading in the loop! Unlike today, I have 4 classes tomorrow....we will have to see how that goes!

Also, if you think of it or feel led, my director, Val, wasn't here today because she has the stomach flu. The office people didn't even know if she would be back tomorrow...so some prayers for her would be greatly appreciated!

Progreso and First Futbol Game!

2009-08-30T15:24:00.003-05:00

The pouring down rain at the stadium as we were all taking cover

A few of us as the game started. My smile shows that I wasn't so sure about the storm clouds!

The soccer field and stadium, as well as the storm clouds rolling in...

Fans rallying before the game started

All of us girls on the beach in Progreso

Hello everyone! It is yet another warm day today. I checked weather.com and it said that the temperature in Merida was 100 but felt like 120. I would totally agree! I am sweating just wearing a sports bra in the house!

Yesterday (Saturday) all of us girls in the Merida program went to Progreso which is 30mi. north of Merida and went to the beach for a few hours. But, in order to get there, we had to take the bus which had standing room only, so a 30min. bus ride without sitting down and abrupt stops and starts made my arm muscles sore from having to hang on! But once we got to the beach, we found out that the water was cool so it helped fight the heat and it did not help that the sun was very strong. We ended up leaving early because we were starting to feel like celebrities in the fact that people would not stop coming up to us and wanting us to buy things even though we said, "No gracias" or no thanks and random guys were wanting to take pictures with us which is what scared us the most. Then, a reporter came up and interviewed us (and gave us his business card) and put his article on the Progreso blog which can be found on http://progresohoy.tk/. In order to find it, you will need to scroll down a little in which you will find a picture of me and 3 other girls in the water. However, the article is in Spanish, so good luck reading it! Once we got back from the beach, we all took little siestas and got ready to go to our first professional soccer game.

After we took a bus for a while to get to the soccer stadium, we walked up to the stadium and were greeted by fans rallying with drums and yelling. It was a bit uncomfortable but was great to experience what a true professional soccer game is like for the players and the fans. So, once we bought our tickets and sat down in the stadium, we looked up to the sky and saw the thunder clouds rolling in which are in a couple pictures above. We only got to watch the game for about 10-15min. until it started down-pouring and we all got soaked. We were running for cover underneath the stadium like everyone else, which meant that we couldn't take cover fast. Once we found our spot, we were crammed in around many other people like sardines. That was not my most fun experience because most of the people that were around us were drunk guys who were making jokes and adding to my uncomfortableness that I was already acquiring. We ended up making a run for it once the storm calmed down. And by storm I mean, rain pouring down harder than I've ever seen before, 50mph winds, thunder, and lightning close to the stadium. I love watching storms, but I hate being in storms!

Anyway, once the storm calmed down to a gentle rain, no wind, and the thunder and lightning in the distance, we got on a bus to head back to the Central house which took 45 min. But we didn't even get to the house. We got to a mall close to the house and had to take a taxi from there. But, before we took a taxi, we had to get an American food fix which meant eating at Burger King. :) But, we got back to the house safely and I calmed down by talking to Neal after being stressed out most of the night. Even though this soccer experience was the greatest for my first time, we are planning on going back because I bought a soccer jersey! Finally, we can feel like we are cheering for someone since most of us now own a Merida soccer jersey!

Can't forget the hammock!

2009-08-28T22:42:00.004-05:00

I think Henry is getting used to the hammock better than I am!! :)

In the meantime of the seriousness of the lessons God is teaching me, I forgot to share that I got my all-purple hammock hung! Thanks to Pancho, our night doorman, I was able to sleep in my hammock last night. I fell asleep like a baby but woke up in the middle of the night not feeling well. Luckily, we have been sleeping in beds so I was able to crawl into the bed. I woke up this morning asking myself why I felt sick in the middle of the night after waking up and I figured out that it was probably from all the swaying I did in the hammock while asleep. I love laying in it and swinging while awake, but the swaying I guess can make me a little motion sick! But, I am not going to give up, so I am going to try to sleep the whole night in my hammock tonight. We will see how that goes! I will let you all know :).

Thank you to all who have been reading my blogs from this past week. I know there will be much more to share as time moves forward! I hope you have enjoyed reading about my new life as much as I have enjoyed sharing all of my thoughts and experiences with each of you!

It is time for bed...Buenas noches! (Good night) :)

Celestún

2009-08-28T22:25:00.002-05:00

Today, being Friday, our group went on an excursion to the west of Merida. We went to a town called Celestun that is right on the Gulf. On our way to the Gulf, we stopped in a small town basically connected to Merida called Uman. It was motivating and also appealing to see Mayan people for who they are. I got to witness a true mercado (market) that women go to every single morning to buy food for today's meals. Every vendor there looked very rough but they were also very very happy. I did not see a vendor without a smile on their face. The experience was uplifting to see what is truly important to the people--their faith and family. While in this small town, we walked through an old Franciscan-style Catholic church that had a small tomb with Jesus' body in it as well as many figurines and a huge crucifix that reminded me that Jesus came here for everyone. I think in America we get caught up in Jesus being white and Jesus saving us but what he really did was come for each and everyone of us; white, black, brown, yellow, olive, red, and so on. Sometimes I forget that there are other people in the world and truly become selfish with my faith. I am not one to share my faith to anyone when really it is the best gift I could ever receive. Everything written in the Bible is for everyone, but what I tend to do is read God's Word in a way that is beneficial to me--not beneficial for everyone, but for me. This is completely incorrect and I just needed to share that that is the conviction I have been dealing with today. Jesus is not only my savior, but He is your savior too. (Sorry if this sounds like preaching, but like I said, I need to share my faith with anyone and everyone whenever I can and is most fitting).

So, once those convictions flooded my mind while looking up at the cross, I got excited to witness another part of God's creation--a big body of water, the Gulf. After eating lunch at a restaurant on the beach, we all got into the water which felt like bath water it was so warm! And just to let you know, but especially my Grandma....I did put 70+ SPF on before going outside and still got burned after being out there for an hour. The good 'ol Mexican and tropical sun got the best of me, but it isn't that bad, thank goodness. There are other girls that only put on 30 because they wanted to get a tan, but they fried today, so I was glad that I told myself I have 3 months to get a really good tan. I know that I will at least sleep tonight!

I know that some of you are just reading this to keep up with what is going on in my life and I know that many of you are lifting of prayers for protection, safety, and enjoyment for me and I am so very grateful for that. So what I am trying to say is, I am not asking for prayers, because I know there are many of you praying for me. But those of you that feel lead or called, I was wondering if you could continually or start praying for the relationship I am building and have built already with the other girls that are down here with me.

I am starting to feel Satan's accusations and guilt that I am not going out and doing things that they are doing. I have gone out once with them to a bar just to experience the culture but I do not want to do that very often as they like and are doing. I would ask that you would pray for a calm heart that is not worried about what they might be saying or thinking of me. I am solely praying for myself that God would use these times to demonstrate that I do not need a bar or drinks to have a good time. I am one to be very self-conscious, but God IS bigger than my self-conciousness. I pray that my loneliness would be His joy and bring teaching, that my suffering would be His gain, that my home is where He is, and where I am He will always be.

Thursday, August 27th

2009-08-28T22:11:00.002-05:00

All I have to say about Thursday morning is that our orientation took way too long. Dr. Webber talked about "Language and Culture" which had absolutely nothing to do with what we were trying to learn about Merida and Mexico. This was the day we were going to learn about the culture, but his little talk did not help me in any way, shape, or form. But during this orientation, we all got the priviledge of meeting Jose Luis who is not a professor, but a friend of Val's. He told us do's and don'ts of Merida and Mexico which was very helpful--especially coming from a guy. The only awkward and weird situation was when he was giving us a list of swear words in Spanish so we knew what they would be if we heard them on the streets. I know a couple times I had to ask what a few of the words meant, and that seemed weird because I knew I was swearing in Spanish, but did not feel like it truthfully because I didn't know what it meant in English! But after that experience, we all got the honor of meeting a Central grad named Eva. She works in KC as a community organizer to help inforce change into government systems like housing and finances. It was great to hear her stories and all the things she is able to do with the passion she has for her work. She told us blantanly that if we did not have passion for our work, we would not have success. I was amused by her insight and intellect that only covered the surface of her knowledge of how to become successful. It was also fun because she was a Central grad, so it allowed my brain to dream about what I really was passionate about and could pursue in a not-for-profit but not have to give up a decent salary. She was and I assume a very awesome woman. The last thing that I truly loved about her and her organization called Piko is that it is a Christian organization. :)

Once the afternoon rolled around, our whole group was split up into smaller groups that had the assignment of going downtown and looking at murals and paintings by a famous artist that were hanging in the governor's palace. I was surprised that it was open to everyone and for all day, but I guess that is something else other than street-naming that is different from the US! All I have to say about the paintings was that most of them were depressing for me. The paintings followed a timeline of the Mayan pueblo people, to the Spanish conquest, and then finally to Mexico's independence from Spain. The hurt and struggles that were portrayed in the paintings were very moving and truly demonstrated the hardships the Mayans had to go through just to save their land. I guess daily, I do not realize that the US has such a short history compared to the Mayans. I feel guilty and almost mad at myself that Americans today feel so superior to everyone else because we are the World Power, but the ego and stubborness that is displayed by Americans not only in America but also while traveling is very evident. It makes me angry and embarrassed to be an American down here because of the stereotype we have given off to the Latinos in America. I could go on and on about this topic and debate, but I think I should bite my tongue where I am at!!

Sorry this one was so long! My only hope is not that you can read what I have been up to, but what God has been teaching me through the Mexican culture and people since I have been down here. :)

Wednesday, August 26th

2009-08-28T22:01:00.002-05:00

Wednesday was focused on learning more about the country of Mexico and its rules and laws. Before we took a little trip to the US Consulate here in Merida, we had an orientation session with Val and Dr. Webber who is the visiting professor from Central that came down here for the semester. We talked about our options with service learning sites and internships. They both did an excellent job in letting us know what each opportunity had to offer. I became interested in a couple other service-learning sites than what I was planning on, but once Val and Dr. Webber could not stop talking about the site I was interested in, I knew that was the one for me once again. God is so good in putting people in my life that give me direction and have experienced the field I want to go into by checking out the site they were thinking would be a great fit for me. The site that I will be at is called Patrimonio Peninsular which helps children who have physical disabilities, strengthen their cognitive slowness. All of the children and even one adult there, have varying degrees of cognitive disabilities, but it is the mission of the organization to aid and support them to gain confidence and capabilities in all areas of their lives. I am truly thrilled to start going to this site on September 7th or 8th. I know that I want to pursure a career dealing with children that have disabilites of all different kinds. I am also sure that this opportunity will help me look at the children I come in contact with in a deeper and more loving way by being able to aid them not only in their disabilities, but being able to give them a purpose and meaning in life.

This same day, we went to the US Consulate and toured the facility as well as talked to a woman who helps Americans here in the Yucatan with any problems they encounter while in the area. She of course went through their policies and everything, but the thought that kept coming to my head was that this consulate is here for our best interests and even though they are adamant about certain issues like drinking, they are only that way to protect us. But, I did think it was weird all the screening we had to go through prior to even getting in the building! For heaven's sakes, we are US citizens! Why would we want to do any harm to our fellow Americans??? It was kind of odd and awkward....

After that visit, a bunch of us from our group walked about 15-20 blocks downtown to buy hammocks. I picked out an all purple one....we will have to see how I do sleeping in it! I will include a photo in Friday's posting.

Tuesday, August 25th

2009-08-27T22:12:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! Sorry I am a little behind on my blogging. I have been super busy with orientation meetings and outings that its a little hard to get everything done! (I think I need to set a time everyday to blog...we'll see how that goes! :) ) The past few days we have been busy learning the very informal-no-time-schedule-weird-routed bus system of Merida. Val, my director, has been taking us around downtown to get us acclamated to how the streets work as well as where certain places are on city blocks. I am intrigued by how the streets are named here. All streets are named with numbers so odd numbers run east and west while even numbers run north and south. I still struggle with which direction I am going based on if the numbers are increasing or decreasing but I seriously think foreigners would be able to understand the roads in America more easily if we used the number system. Naming streets gets annoying, confusing, and when names run out, it totally shows! On Tuesday, when we were learning about downtown, the bus system, and the historic places downtown, we also got a tour of most of the town of Merida. It was very informative but also caught my attention that this city has a lot of history--all the way back before 1500s. The city also has different blocks that have different styles of architecture which is very different from other places I am used to. Through different countries influences, the city of Merida has evolved over time. Tuesday night we also had language evaluations and got to meet a couple of the professors we will be having here at the house. Both Ana Maria and Sylvia were very open and great at listening. I can see their passion for us and learning Merida and Mexico's language, culture, and people. Meeting them helped affirm me that this is where I am supposed to be. I cannot tell you what a relief that was!

My First Day

2009-08-24T20:05:00.003-05:00

Patio on the second floor of mansion

Patio on ground floor of mansion (I love the pillars!)

The tables behind the rocking chair with striped pillow is where we eat our meals

Picture of foyer and stairs from second floor

Henry :) The Build-A-Bear that Neal and I made for my trip...He and I cuddle while I think of Neal....

So, to pick up where I left off, I got up at 7:30AM for breakfast at 8AM which consisted of french toast and tons of cut up fresh fruit (apples, papaya, kiwi, strawberries, grapes, and bananas). It was an awesome breakfast. After we ate, we took a formal tour of the house and then went outside to our Palapa which is an outdoor classroom. I have not taken a picture of it yet because its dark outside, but it has a thatched roof, and the base of the building is cement, but the walls are complete screens. There are fans in there as well, so it stays very cool during the day. We had orientation about all sorts of stuff (pesos, dress code, things to do in the city, why we are here and what our goals are for this trip, our class schedules, the laundry service, and etiquette around the house and in town. We had orientation from 8:30 to 12:30 with a walk around the neighborhood in there too. By the way, I never understood how hot it was down here until that walk. We walked for probably 1 1/2 hr. and I was drenched in sweat. My arms were sweating and my eyelids were collecting a lot of sweat too. I felt disgusting, but thats the way it goes! So anyway, we had lunch which consisted of breaded chicken breast with potatoes, green beans, and cantolope (sp) but I was so warm that I did not have much of an appetite. Once the afternoon orientation session was over, Val (the director) and 3 other girls and I went to a Pilates place where we are going to do Pilates sessions. We really wanted to exercise down here but did not feel like lifting or running when its so hot, so we are going to do Pilates! We are super excited about it. The visiting professor's wife, Jan Webber, is even going to do it with us! :) (Val even told us about where we can get great mani/pedi's and facials so we are probably going to take her up on that as well! :) ). So, when we returned from that little outing, we had supper and now I am writing this blog. I snarfed down my food which was good because I needed to get more food in my tummy. The thing that I truly learned today is that this program is not about learning the language; it is about learning about the culture so that when we go back we can better understand where the Latin Americans are coming from. I cannot wait for many more experiences to come!

Thanks for reading! Good night. :)

Getting to Merida

2009-08-24T19:34:00.003-05:00

I am finally in Merida, Yucatan! After very hard goodbyes to family members and grandma, mom, and dad, and Neal, I was anxious to not feel stressed and worried anymore. When I get anxious about anything, as many of you know, I do not eat. I was proud of myself though for eating well Saturday night which would help sustain me for probably the hardest day of my life that was to follow.

Sunday was not fun at all. That is all I can say to describe it. Our flight left at 6:50AM from DSM on Sunday morning, so that meant that we needed to leave home at 4:30AM. However, I did not get to bed until 11:30PM Saturday night and woke up with the worst stomach ache I have ever had at 2:30AM which meant that there was no hope for me falling back asleep. But anyway, after much bawling and saying goodbye to Barklee, Mom, Dad, Neal, and I were on our way to the airport. Luckily, I was traveling with a girl from Central who I knew that is in the Merida program as well, so that calmed me down when I saw her very distraught as well. So, after we both bawled when saying goodbye to parents and me saying goodbye to Neal, Danielle and I were off to Mexico. But, before we could reach Merida, we would have to stop in Houston and endure a 9-10 hour lay over. We landed in Houston at 8:50AM and did not leave there until 7:05PM. We force-fed ourselves lunch and supper as well as bought a book (Julie and Julia), but I did not read at all. I spent time on the phone with Neal, Grandma, and mom, but none of the conversations were easy. I called Neal when I landed and absolutely bawled since I kept asking myself what I was getting myself into. But, as the day progressed, my tummy started feeling better. The day did not consist of more than that other than Jamba Juice which I fell in love with. But, we finally boarded the plane and met up with four other girls that were in the Merida program too. So, once we got on the plane, we thought we would have a 2hr. flight, but it was only 1 1/2hr.

We landed in Merida around 8:40PM and had to go through customs. Everything went smoothly until we put our bags through the belt and they found two computers in Danielle's rolling carry-on. Both of us forgot that I put my laptop in there so my backpack would not be as heavy. So, the customs people searched through her bags, looked at my computer multiple times, asked her how much it was worth, and were thinking of confiscating it. The thing that happened though was that none of us could be in there with her. They finally wanted me to come back in and they checked all my bags and discovered that it truly was my computer since the plug-in was in my backpack. That was quite an experience and not a fun one for just landing and being very short on sleep and food in my tummy! We finally got to Casa Central and they had pizza for us but of course none of us girls were hungry because we were so anxious about everything. The first thing I did was get on the internet since the mansion has wireless, and talk to Neal on Skype. I thought this would calm me down but it did the complete opposite. I bawled and bawled and bawled. Since we did not get to the house until 11:15PM, I was already tired and emotional, so that did not help either. But, the nice thing was that Eduardo, my spanish lab instructor from Central is from Merida and he met us at Casa Central. So, in total, I finally got to bed at 1:30AM after a shower (since I started sweating the minute I stepped into the house) and woke up at 4:30AM and started bawling and was thinking about leaving. But, this was from me not getting sleep, being up for 23 hours, and not having enough food in my tummy. But, fortunately I was able to fall back asleep quickly and got up at 7:30AM for breakfast. I will post another blog about today once I take pictures of the inside of the mansion!

Sorry this is so long, but I had to get it all in there. AND, if you know me, I tend to write novels when I type :). I miss you all!

Welcome

2009-08-09T17:46:00.002-05:00

Welcome to my blog! As most of you know, I will be heading to Merida, Mexico on Sunday, August 23rd. I will be there for 3 1/2 months for my study abroad experience through Central. I am working toward a Spanish major and by going to Merida for a semester, I will be able to return with only two classes to take to finish that major. I will be staying in "Casa Central" which is an old governor's mansion along with 5-8 other study abroad students from Central and other colleges. I plan to update my blog as often as possible as well as post pictures. I hope this blog can be a form of communication between you and I while I am gone. I also hope it can be used a means for me to not forget all the experiences I have in Merida. I know there will be plenty, so I plan to share as many of them with you as possible! Thanks for supporting me in my endeavors this fall, and I will be anxious to return and share my experiences with you in person as well. Thank you for visiting my blog and I hope you return regularly as there will be many updates! I hope you are doing well, and I will see you soon...and maybe bring a little sunshine back with me. :)