It´s a process!

Two weekends ago Violet and I visited Mexico City. It was fascinating to see a city so vast in culture and history. Our first stop was supposed to be at the National Palace, but unfortunately it was closed for preparation for Mexico's Independence Day (September 16). Next we wandered around the center a bit looking at the various goods sold by the street vendors (authentic mexican clothing, purses, hats, jewelry, toys, ceramics, etc). Carlos, our culture and civilization professor and general tour guide, was very patient as we milled around shopping and so forth. Next we went to the cathedral, which was absolutely beautiful....It was ornately decorated, similar to the European style and had a massive double piped organ. While we were walking around a mass was being held and the priest was singing a hymn - it was peaceful. From there we went to the museum of anthropology. It is truly a storehouse of information brimming with historical treasures. Carlos took us to the sections for the Aztecas and Olmecas, and then gave Violet and I free reign to explore. Violet and I also took a look at the section for the Mayas and the section for how the indigenous tribes live today (the entire top floor). It was all really interesting, but there was so much to see that after awhile my mind just shut off because it couldn't absorb anymore information.

It was a long day....When Violet and I got back into Cuernavaca I was exhausted and just wanted to rest up for awhile. Unfortunately, due to my extreme need for sleep I was a bit grumpy and antisocial upon returning home (Violet had the pleasure of putting up with me at that time). I went to my room to rest a bit expecting to go out with my brothers later that evening (Abram had invited me the weekend before)....Later that evening I realized that my brother were going out...but without me. I had been struggling with loneliness already, so this was difficult for me to handle. During dinner Roberto's girlfriend talked to me a bit one-on-one (I was having a really hard time at this point, close to tears). She asked me if I was lonely, but then was quick to add that I must have already made friends at the school. I told her that I was lonely, and that I had yet to actually make close friends. Her response was heartwarming, she told me that I had a friend in her and that if I ever wanted to go out with her all I needed to do was to tell Roberto. It was encouraging to hear, but at the same time I still knew that that night I would be alone. I broke down and cried again that night (all I wanted was a hug and someone to talk to).

The next morning Violet came over for church, but we ended up talking a long time in my room instead. She had been lonely during the night too so unfortunately we really missed the opportunity to support each other due to lack of communication. The rest of the day I tried to get some things done on my "to do" list, but only ended up hand washing some clothing and then I went to church with my host mom and Violet. Church was also a difficult experience. I wanted so much to worship God in song, but I didn´t know the words and just couldn´t catch on. I know that singing is not a necessity to worshiping, but it is a big part of how I worship personally. I stood there swaying back and forth to the music and silent tears rolled down my cheeks as I prayed to God and reflected on my time in Mexico. And that concluded my weekend....

This last week was fairly good, but one of the busiest so far. God blessed me with some wonderful experiences and a greater understanding of what living abroad truly entails. I realized that a lot of the "issues" that I had been struggling with were due to a lack of time. I have learned a simple lesson, and that is that learning the language, developing friendships, and nurturing my faith life in this new culture is a process - it´s going to take time and it´s going to require patience. I know it sounds obvious, but it just didn´t click before....It has given me a lot more peace with where I am at right now.

Well, Violet and I taught our first english class to spanish youth this last wednesday....It was interesting :) We went into it not knowing the levels of the kids and with few resources. We used the first class to evaluate the kids and found that we had two drastically different levels. I worked with Nemo and Andrea (both at the very most 5 years old) who were adorable but definitely as basic as it get in their english abilities. They actually don´t even know their numbers in letters in spanish so I am going to have to be very careful in what I teach them as to not confuse them in developing their native language. I think it will be very worthwhile though, it won´t be long until I am head over heels in love with those kids.

Thank you all for your patience with my blog posting! I just don´t get around to it as much as I should. I will post again soon to share about this last weekend (it was absolutely amazing)!