Monday, August 31st

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!

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. :)