Bengbu, China!

I just found out what city I'll be going to in January/February!

Let me introduce you to Bengbu, China!

I don't know a lot about the city other than it's about 5 hours west of Shanghi and it has lots of rivers surrounding it. I'm already so excited!

I also know that I will be the only head teacher in charge of 6 teachers. We will be in apartments/dorms, not host families. Yep... that's about everything that I can think of. I'll be sure to let all of you know more about the city as I find out more.

Viva China!

How to Make a Bad Day into an Extraordinary Day

I think that recently my posts have started sounding like a Self Help book. What do you guys think? Well.... if you need help I guess you're at the right place. If you want a good laugh, you're also at the right place.

Story time: Last week, Danielle and I were walking to school so we could have our "Wonderful Wednesday" party with the other teachers (we come to the school and watch a movie and have treats).

So, I was walking along, minding my own business when all the sudden I slipped. Not only did I slip, but I slipped right into some mud (probably the only mud puddle in Tehuacan during this time... I kid you not). My pants and hands were completely covered in mud.

Most people would laugh viewing this scene, but when it's you it's completely different because you have to worry what you're going to do next! Danielle found the humor in the situation and laughed the whole way to the school (we were still several blocks away). People in cars stared at me, people in shops laughed at me- it was seriously one of my most embarrassing moments.

I got to the school and the only thing I found in the drama closet to wear was a nurses outfit (not at all modest). I cleaned my jeans in the sink with dish soap and set them out to dry. I now think that experience was one of the most embarrassing and hilarious I've ever been a part of.

In case you didn't notice- there were a few miracles that happened:

1. I work somewhere that has extra clothes (sketchy as they may be)

2. I can wash my clothes at the school.

3. I work with girls that find the humor in everything (including sketchy nurses' costumes)

4. My jeans were completely dried before classes started (they usually take about a day)

5. I was headed to school early anyway

6. There was a mini doctor action figure on my desk that was put there the day before.

7. I laughed because I fell in the mud.

So, want to make an ordinary day into an extraordinary day? Count the miracles that happen!

I Love to See the Temple

Miracles are everywhere! Care to hear about some?

On Friday night, my host sister walked in while I was reading the scriptures and asked a little bit about them. I explained the origin of the Book of Mormon and a few of our beliefs. She seemed pretty interested- well she wasn't offended at least. My mom then came in and started asking questions as well. Tracy had already talked to her a bit about the church previously so she had a better background. She asked me where I bought my Spanish Book of Mormon, and I said that I could get her one! We stayed up late talking about the church and so I didn't get to sleep until late that night.

I woke up extra early (5:30) so I could have extra time to get to the church on time (they were leaving at 7:00). When I was waiting for the bus to get me to the church, I had a distinct impression to take a taxi. I at first argued, thinking that a taxi is much more expensive (30 pesos vs. 5 pesos) and I didn't want to take a taxi all by myself. But, I did it anyway and got to the church at about 6:15 with lots of time to spare.

What I didn't know is that I was right on time because they were really leaving at 6:30. This is another thing that typically happens in Mexico- times change a lot.

The leaders in the ward were asking me where the other girls were and I was explaining in broken Spanish that they we thought we were leaving at 7:00, not 6:30. I also didn't have a cell phone because I lost it in Cuetzalan and haven't had time to replace it (yes Dad, I'll get right on that). I didn't have anyone's phone number on me so I couldn't call and tell them about the time change.

Luckily, the leaders of our ward are INCREDIBLE and waited for two of the girls to come at 7:00. I would have told them to go ahead without us.... but I really wanted to go to the temple. I wasn't about to back out.

The Oaxaca (pronounced wa-hawk-uh) temple is about 3 1/2 hours away so we arrived about 10:30. It was so nice to see a familiar building in the middle of Mexico! All of the temples are so beautiful!

We met a really nice missionary couple in the temple! They were incredibly talkative and fun. It was different because in the temples in Utah (at least the Provo temple), you don't really talk during baptisms. But, the Elder talked with Sylvia and I a lot. It wasn't bad, just different.

Sylvia and I pretty much bought everything in the Distribution Center across the street. I am so excited about all of my purchases! I bought my family a Book of Mormon and some other general Mormon pamphlets that I plan on giving to them when the time is right. They may not accept it, but they are extremely open to many religions. If they don't read the Book of Mormon or the other publications now, perhaps it will have a purpose in the future. I'm not sure what the outcome will be yet, but I know that I was sent to this family for a reason. If anything, I have already been incredibly blessed being in their company.

At the Distribution Center, I also bought Preach my Gospel, the Liahona, Gospel Principles, and a picture of Jesus Christ. I'm so excited to dive into all of these different publications! How awesome is it that we have these things available for purchase almost anywhere in the world!

I feel so rejuvenated because of that temple trip! I can't wait until next month when we go again! I feel the Spirit so strong when I go and I receive so many answers that I've been looking for. If you haven't gone in a while- I would strongly encourage you all to go!

Why Mexico is Weird

Don't get me wrong- I LOVE Mexico. But sometimes, I think: WHAT? Here are a few things that I've found disturbing during my time here.

1. You don't put your used toilet paper in the toilet. You put it in the trashcan next to the toilet... DUH! It's sort of awkward now, but imagine how awkward it will be trying to get out of the habit in the United States!

2. Mexicans have a cream or a pill for everything (except for bug bites, why would you want relief from that?)

3. They like to "compliment" you on their acne. It typically goes something like this:

Mexican: "WHAT'S ON YOUR FACE!!!????"

You: Oh, it's just a pimple.... thanks for noticing....

Mexican: I have a cream that you can use!

4. They don't sell gram crackers, powdered sugar, or cocoa. They have peanut butter for sale, but a small jar costs 5 dollars. I think that Mexicans are seriously missing out on life :)

5. Men like to whistle and call after you as you walk down the street. What's even weirder is that when you head back to the US you start to miss it....

6. Weight is a common subject. One of my teachers was once asked "Did you used to be fat?"

7. They have an herbal tea for everything. When the other teachers and I were in Cuetzalan, one of them had a stomachache in the morning. When one of the workers in the hotel asked us what was wrong, she immediately sent up an (herbal) tea. For what it's worth, they work sometimes.

8. They often worry if the food is too hot for you- but gladly serve you cow stomach. Priorities people.

Those are some of the things I could think of on the top of my head. Hope everyone laughed a little. :)

The Challenge

I don't really have any news. I just wanted to write some uplifting thoughts for when times are hard. Hopefully my words can help someone out there besides myself.

I was contemplating last night about some of the more worrisome things in my life. Even though I am in this beautiful country living with amazing people and working with great kids and teachers, I still have a job to do which at times can be stressful. People can be mean. Situations can be difficult. Life can be exhausting.

I am definitely not an expert at this topic. I have only lived for 20 years and I still have a ways to go. But, I have found that I need reminders ALL OF THE TIME to do something I know I should be doing. So here's a friendly reminder.

Let's be honest- there are some bad things in life that we can't overlook. But, it is during these times (and during good times as well) that we have the words of the Lord to comfort and lift us. There are so many things available to us like scriptures, prayer, church leaders, friends, family, conference talks, other church publications, and much, much more! Try watching a Mormon Message video and not feel all warm and fuzzy inside after! I promise it's impossible! And you can't ever just watch one- you have to go through at least 5 before you can tear yourself away.

There is a definite difference between the times where you are in the habit of reading the scriptures and praying and when you're not. These things can effect your life more than any other (non-church related) book, talk, article, or movie out there. There is no replacement for the words of the Lord! There is nothing that can bring you more comfort, more peace, more inspiration, more love, and more joy than sitting and taking in the words of the Lord.

Now I'm definitely not perfect with any of these things- I have a long way to go in fact. But, I know that it's true. If any of you are lacking answers to questions, or comfort, or peace, or inspiration, or love, or the knowledge that you are not alone- turn to the Lord.

Trials are a part of life, bad things are everywhere, but there is still hope! Read your scriptures! Say your prayers! Right now if you must!

If you aren't already, I challenge you to make scripture study and prayer a daily habit. I'm gong to challenge myself as well (because I"m not nearly as good at this as I want to be). Read the scriptures for 15 minutes a day as well as praying morning and night. Continue this for a week and see the difference! Take the challenge with me!

And when I say continue this for a week I really mean continue it forever, but take a minute to stop and evaluate your life in a week.

Fun Videos!!!

Here are some fun videos that I have taken so far in the semester. The first is of one Sylvia's class . In this video, they are all acting out that they are in a karate class. Of course- Michael Jackson has to back them all up. :)

And second I have a short video of my host sister- Elly, dancing in the church Independence Day party. She's the one in the brown dress on the left side- sorry about the bad quality. Still pretty cool right?

I am still trying to figure out how to get the last voladores link to work- but I will soon!

CUETZALAN!!!

Just you wait until I tell you about this beautiful place.

I just barely got back but I was so excited to share all of the awesome things that happened this weekend! Hopefully I get everything in before I fall asleep because I'm SOOOO tired! Well, here we go!

We left on Friday afternoon around 11:00 and got to Cuetzalan without a hitch around 6:00. We looked around the zocalo (city center) for a little, and decided to go find a place to eat.

Okay- this place was the weirdest place I've ever eaten. After we sat down, one of the girls asked the waitress if they were out of anything on the menu (because it was sort of late and restaurants tend to run out of things). She let us know that there was no more french fries, but they had enough of everything else. We weren't planning on ordering french fries anyway, so this wasn't a huge blow and we continued to order. A series of things went wrong:

1. Christina ordered a drink called jamica for herself, which apparently meant that they brought a large pitcher for everyone at the table. Thanks for the drink Christina!

2. Sylvia and I ordered enchiladas with our meal which never came... curious.

3. Danielle and Christina tried to order some chicken... but they were out of that. No worries, if they ordered tostadas, chicken came with that.

4. Sylvia's and my meal was seasoned beef with a side of epaghetti... who knew?

5. When I ordered "chocomilk" (that's what it said on the menu), the waitress looked at me like I was crazy. I then rephrased it to "leche con chocolate". She gave me a nasty look and walked into the kitchen. She came back a minute later and asked if I wanted the chocolate milk with strawberries or vanilla. I responded that I just wanted chocolate milk. She again gave me a nasty look. I then responded "fresa? (strawberry?)" I recieved a strawberry milkshake that tasted like the leftover milk from fruity pebbles cereal. I guess they were out of cocoa pebbles so they couldn't make chocolate milk.....?

6. The waitress had to borrow one of our menus to calculate our total.

So that was weird. By the time we got out of the restaurant it was late and raining. We decided that since it was getting dark, we would catch a taxi to get to our hostel which was pretty far away. Easier said than done. Cuetzalan is set on a mountain so to get from one point to another, you have to hike at least 5 flights of stairs. Seriously.

So we were wet and sweaty and we had to explain to the driver how to get to our hostel. When we got there it was all dark and we had to knock on a lot of doors before someone answered. They didn't get our reservation but graciously let us into a room anyway.

The room was really nice- lots of comfy bunkbeds. There were a few bugs that we had to dispose of, but it was overall really nice.

We woke up the next morning, ate breakfast (with a side of maracuya juice, my new favorite juice), and headed down the street to look at the pyramids. We got a guide which was actually incredibly useful because otherwise, it would have just been some cool rock formations. He talked about all of the uses of the different buildings and about the history of the culture. It was awesome! And, it never hurts to have someone on hand to take group pictures :)

The "pyramids" were incredible! Did you know that they actually aren't called pyramids? They're made in the formation of mountains because that is the place closest to God?

Another interesting thing that I learned. In the ballgame (if you don't know what I mean when I say ballgame, watch the movie El Dorado), the winners were actually sacrificed! It was actually an honor because they believed that this earth was just a type of limbo before the next life (which is a lot better than this life). I thought that was interesting! They didn't do sacrifices to punish, but to reward!

After the pyramids, we headed to a waterfall called Las Brisas (the breezes). It was a really long hike but totally worth it! The waterfall was beautiful and picturesque! I've never seen anything so beautiful. Don't worry- we all jumped in. It was FREEZING but again, totally worth it. What beautiful creations God gives us to enjoy!

After the hike back, we were pretty much done for the day so we headed back to the hostel and went to sleep (after killing a few bugs of course).

On the last morning, we spent most of our day in the market looking at bags, baskets, produce, etc, etc. We also had the privilage of watching the voladores (the people that hang off of a high pole by their ankles). Let me explain something that I learned from our guide about this ritual: Before the ritual even begins, the voladores have to be cleansed from all sin (I'm not sure how this works... but anyway). When they are on the top of the pole, they are closest to God and do some sort of a prayer. And when they come down from the top swinging by their ankles, it's symbolic of them bringing down God's power from the heavens. Make sense? Kind of cool huh? I think so.

Yeah. It's SUPER HIGH!!!

What to do when you're on top of the world? Dance of course! Yeah, he's dancing up there.

I took a video of them spinning around... I need to figure out how to upload that...

After another exhausting day of traveling, we ended up back home extremely late. But, I'm so glad that we went! We all had such a great time!

A little sidenote (which shouldn't be a sidenote really), is that it was Mexican Independence Day this last week! My family and I celebrated by going to El Grito "The Call/Cry Thing". To quickly summarize the history there was a lot of oppression coming from the Spaniards when they came over to the Americas, and the people were sick of it. So after a lot of ideas and plans for freeing themselves from the Spaniards, they finally acted. It basically all started when Don Miguel Hidalgo yelled a series of things while ringing the church bell. The call said a lot of things but it said "Viva Mexico" a lot. This cry caught on and was repeated in many cities. Directly after, the Mexicans faught for their freedom. That was a really quick summary, and I hardly did it justice. Be sure to look up the story- it's really fasinating.

Anway, my family and I went the El Grito in the zolcalo in Tehuacan. It was really fun! There was lots of dancing and singing and FOOD! The grito was done by the mayor of the town. And last but definitely not least were the fireworks! They were AMAZING! Provo definitely could learn some things about the fireworks from the Mexicans! It was a very cool night. I unfortunately did not get any pictures of the actual grito because my family said it was unwise to carry expensive things to such a crowded event. But, I have some pictures of how I dressed before- I should be a Mexican huh?

Well, that's all of the news that I have for this awesome week! I hope everyone is well!

Just a very cool picture :)

Surprise!

Didn't think that Christmas came early did you?

Did you all see my beautiful blog? It's GORGEOUS! I just wanted to tell everyone a little about the updates and also give some great news.

First about the blog:

On the left you'll see a little "Follow by Email" Box. This is just in case you want to know when I update my blog. This is completely optional and perhaps useful. I suppose it just depends on how dependent you are on me to make you day better :) kidding. So if you're interested in doing that, it's right over here <<<

We also have a little facebook "share" button on the left which basically I have just because I want to share my own pages myself (sort of narcissistic I know). But, just in case any of you wanted to share, feel free to click away!

I'm sort of copying my cousin Markie's blog in that she has made a list of goals for the next 999 days. I did the same thing (in a way) except I have decreased the amount of days to 100 (the number of days I have until I leave Mexico) and decreased the number of goals to 25. Sound good? So if you wanted to check out my goals than click on the "100 Days" tab at the top of the page. I'll be sure to update and cross of things as I accomplish them. Fun huh?

Last blog news: I've changed the settings so anyone can reply to posts (even anonymously is you would like). You don't need to have an account or anything! So, if you would like to reply to a post, feel free!

That's basically it as far as the blog goes. Now onto the big news.

I'M GOING TO CHINA IN FEBRUARY!!!

Well, technically it's late January/early February but February just sounded better. I'm going with the same program that I'm currently working with, just to a different country. I'm completely excited and I really hope that everything works out so I'm able to go. I was just accepted to the program today and I was so excited I wanted to share it with all of you.

I'm not sure what city I'm going to or anything, I'll find all of that out later. I'm really excited for this unique and new opportunity. I absolutely love what I'm doing now and I'm excited to continue to serve those around me and get to know a completely new culture and some new, but probably equally amazing teachers.

I'm so blessed! Sometimes, I look around at my life and I realize how much my Heavenly Father loves me and wants me to be happy. He puts experiences in my life to make me a better person. This journey has definitely not been easy, but I have learned and loved every second of it. I am so blessed to have the gospel in my life. It's been such a steady foundation in my life- which is necessary to have in this incredibly rocky world of ours!

I know that right now this is where I need to be. I have people around me that bless my life in so many ways! I have seen so many miracles in this short amount of time. For example- on our way from Veracruz to Cordoba (the halfway mark between Veracruz and Tehuacan), there were only 5 seats left on the bus before we purchased our tickets. The next bus after that wouldn't be for a few hours. We were so blessed to be able to snag those last 5 tickets. Then again from Cordoba to Tehuacan there was only 5 seats left on the bus before we bought our tickets. WE ARE SO BLESSED! If we hadn't have caught those buses, we would have easily taken us 5 more hours. But, God knew how much we needed to get those buses so he made it possible! I suppose a few extra hours in a bus station isn't too bad, but God knew that we were already stressed and tired and could really use a break. How amazing is that?!?

I know that He cares about each and every one of our lives. There are so many tender mercies in our lives that perhaps we won't see if we aren't looking closely. Life is too precious to be looked at through pessimistic eyes.

I want everyone to know of my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love that He and our Heavenly Father has for us. They know of our strengths, weaknesses, joys, and hardships. They want so badly to bless and help us through this difficult life.

So, look for all the tender mercies in your life! I promise you'll find SO MANY if you look hard enough!

I Always Keep My Promises

Here are the much awaited pictures... because I always keep my promises :)

My eaten corn on the cob (elote) that my family sold at the church party. My family sells corn- how cool is that?

This is me eating a chalupa! Adios Taco Bell!

My family's food station. Who would have thought that you would ever need that much mayo? In case you don't know what goes on a piece of corn on the cob here's the order: corn>mayo>cheese>chile powder. Sound good? It's actually DELICIOUS!

Does everyone find this picture as awkward as I do? Those stupid steps made it almost impossible to be a part of the family picture. So, I'm awkwardly standing on the side.

Another amazingly awkward picture of my host family.... oh and I'm on the side again! You may have not noticed because I'm CLEAR out there. Notice the amazing Mexican shirt that I'm wearing. Yeah. Awesome. Also notice the amazing face that Elly is making.

So, Danielle and I don't get to cook that often so when we do it's a serious treat.

Let me explain this first picture before any of you make judgments I DO KNOW HOW TO MAKE A CAKE!!!

The other girls and I were planning on making a cake at the school. We didn't realize that the oven didn't work until we were about to put it in. SO Danielle and I took it home so we could bake it. First, our cake pans were extremely limited and there was no non-stick spray so I had to improvise with oil on a napkin (it didn't work so well). There is also no temperature setting on the ovens in Mexico- you just guess if you were ever to use one. Mexico has this weird thing with ovens- they don't use them. Ever. They're used for storage of pots and pans.

Anyway, the cake baking didn't go very well. But, it was really good! :)

The masterpiece.

Second cooking story: My host mom said that she loved lasagna but didn't know how to make it (mostly because of the whole oven thing). So, Danielle and I decided that we would cook the family a lasagna dinner. Another piece of information: I have not made lasagna in a VERY LONG TIME, and even then it was not this labor intensive, nor was I in a country where all of the ingredients are in a different language. So, Danielle and I woke up early and went to the store and cooked ALL DAY (no joke). The turnout: the most delicious lasagna I have ever had the privilege of tasting. My family all agreed. My mouth is actually watering as I taste it- I want another piece when I get home (that is, if there's any left). Danielle and I decided that we are going to cook something every month for our family that is typically not made in Mexico (anything cooked in an oven is a good bet). Any suggestions? We've thought of a couple desserts (cookies and cinnamon rolls) but that's it. I would really love to hear everyone's suggestions.

This picture does not do it justice- but it was SOOOO GOOD!!!

Que Pasta?

To explain the title of this post, normally to ask what is happening you would ask "Que pasa?" but I recently have been saying "que pasta?" for fun. My host sister, Elly thinks that this phrase is absolutely infuriating. All the more reason to keep saying it. Que pasta?

This. Weekend. Was. Great.

I just wanted to rant about my weekend. Yesterday, we went to the market to buy Mexican shirts for a Mexican fiesta on Sunday. We walked around for a really long time and the market was completely packed because it was Saturday and also because of the upcoming Independence Day (the 16th if you didn't already know).

I found a shirt for 60 pesos (about 5 dollars) and it is awesome! I definitely need to buy a dress as well before I get home.

After the market, we picked up Sylvia (one of the other teachers) and went to the ranch. I'm starting to believe that it's a weekly tradition to party at the ranch. Don't misunderstand- when I say "party" what I really mean is that we go somewhere and they stuff you with food (at the ranch it's always elote- corn on the cob). Even when you're completely full and refuse everything that they offer you, there's always an old man who hands you more without asking. It's hard to refuse when the old men hand you food that they prepared themselves. Yesterday, we ate corn that was prepared in 3 different ways: in tortillas, in a soup, and corn on the cob. When we're not eating, we're talking. Wow! It seems like I'm such a Debbie Downer. I really love love the fiestas, but I have to have a few days after to recover and get hungry again. I love the closeness of families in Mexico. Everyone is so open to new people and so kind! And the food is delicious! When I was eating my food, I may or may not have found a pig's foot though.... I quickly tossed it to the ground for the dog to eat.

Later that night we went to the park and bought some souvineers and walked around for a while. We were getting hungry so we decided to try this Italian place near our house that my host family said was good. We went in and almost instantly, the chef came out and started talking to us in English! It turns out that he worked at a restaurant in California for a long time and was now serving the good people in Tehuacan. After debating over the menu for a while, he said that he could make us anything (Italian) that we wanted! He said that he had homemade pesto!!!! This automatically makes this the best restaurant ever because I absolutely love pesto! To make things better, the meal was reasonably priced (about 70 pesos). We told him that we would for sure be back soon and bring all of our American friends.

Today, I went to church and what an experience it was! I missed last week because I was sick and I have really been missing it! I now go to the same church and ward as the other girls and it was really nice. I liked listening to all of the talks even though I can only understand a little bit of it. For Sunday school we go to the new member's class because it's smaller and because the English speaking missionaries also go to that class. It was nice and I read a scripture in Spanish in front of everyone (really slowly I might add). But, it was a nice experience and it really got me more comfortable speaking Spanish in front of everyone.

Today at church, the other girls and I also signed up to go to the Oaxaca temple on the 22nd. The temple is about 4 hours away so it will be quite a journey for one day but I'm incredibly excited to go!

After church, I walked to my family's church (I mentioned that they were Born Again Christian's right?) because there was going to be a fiesta right after their church. It was sort of weird. There was one song that they sang that was really intense and I could have sworn that a mosh pit was just about to start. There was also a type of "testimony meeting", which was also interesting. It was a lot like ours (you go up on the stage and tell everyone that you believe in God) except there's a band backing you up. When your testimony gets more intense, they get louder. I wonder how people would react in an LDS church if music started playing in the background.

Most of the testimonies were talking about the importance of patriotism to Mexico because of the upcoming holiday. They talked a lot about how they knew that God was looking out for Mexico and how their country is blessed. I thought that it was a great topic considering what today was to the US. There are times where I'm not as patriotic as I should be to the beautiful United States of America. But, I do know that is being watched over and is a blessed and promised land. How thankful I am for those that serve it to keep us free. There are so many in the past and present that have risked their lives for all of us! Viva Los Estados Unidos!

Some other interesting things that happen at our house (that I've never experienced before because I grew up in an LDS household) is that when we say prayers before a meal, we usually hold hands. When my host parents ask me to say the prayer, I can hear them whispering prayers at the same time to themselves. It makes me feel sort of strange as if I'm interrupting their prayers somehow by saying one out loud for everyone...

My host parents are so sweet because whenever Danielle and I thank them for the food they say "No, thank God for the food. Thank you God!" I find that really nice because sometimes I think I forget to thank God for everything that I have- it's a good reminder. My host dad always says "God bless you girls". I think that's really nice.

Anyway, I went to a couple hours of their church and was contentedly sitting in the audience when all of the sudden I was grabbed from the audience and pulled onstage with Danielle and my family. I had NO IDEA what was going on because I was not listening to what everyone was saying beforehand. So as soon as we get up on the stage, the pastor comes to me with a microphone and asks me a question. Out of all of the times to not understand a question, up on stage is not the time. So, I loudly say in the microphone "Que? (what?)" My family quickly translates that they want me to say a greeting into the microphone in Spanish. Yeah, I thought that it was weird too. So, I say "Hola........Viva Mexico?" People thought it was the funniest thing ever. So, apparently the reason that we were pulled onstage is because we dressed up in Mexican attire and everyone with the best... costumes?.... would get a prize. So, I sort of looked dumb, but that's okay because people thought that I was great.

After a lot of classical Mexican dancing and singing, it was time for the food- which all looked so good! Everyone was pressuring me to eat (as always) so I picked the first thing I saw- soup. I was drinking some of juice and it was really good. I got to the meat and I ate some but the texture was... funny, so I decided not to eat any more. Later I found out that it was cow stomach. So there you go- the weirdest thing I've ever eaten was cow stomach. My life is complete.

After I was finished eating and everyone was visiting, I let myself back in the church and was playing guitar when the piano player came in and started talking to me. His name is Javier and he was really nice! We talked for a long time (and all in Spanish, thank you), and he COMPLIMENTED ME ON MY SPANISH!!! This made me so excited because I've never been complimented on that before! I am definitely a listener and only talk when I'm forced to. I understand a lot but I don't think my accent is very good. However, he said that it was good and that I could speak really well. Yeah!

Now I'm home and SOOOOO tired I can hardly keep my eyes open. For that reason I may postpone uploading pictures from the party, but I promise that will get done soon. I hope everyone is doing well- I've heard some great updates recently about people's lives. Keep them coming!

My host sister wrote this on my computer:

yo fui al rancho com mi familla y con silvia acomer elotea y juevamos a la cocheta y nos diver timos mucho

Just a Preview...

Hello everyone!

Not much has happened this past week. Teaching is going SO MUCH BETTER now that we have a nailed down schedule. All of my teachers are happy and healthy, and I'm enjoying every minute here in Mexico- my life is great!

This week has been filled with organizing, teaching, trainings, and endless teacher evaluations. Just when I get everything done on my "to do" list, I realize that I need to start all over again. But- want to know a secret? I LOVE being busy and doing what I do. I think that it's the best job ever! I don't interact with the kids as much as I would want, but I do get to talk to the badly behaved ones :) I just love the Mexican people in general. I love how willing they are to please and make you feel comfortable. I already feel as if this is a home away from home.

Next week is Mexican Independance day which means that there are lots of fiestas, lots of food, and lots of family that you need to kiss and hug! It also means that we have 2 days off school so the other teachers and I can go on vacation! Nothing is set in stone yet but I believe that we are going to CUETZALAN! I don't know if any of you have heard of it but it sounds like this amazing place! It's about 5-6 hours away and we are going to be staying with this B&B run by some indigenous Mexican women (cool huh?) Cuetzalan sounds like it has a bit of everything like ruins, waterfalls, local culture, and awesome architecture :) Here's some pictures that I found of this amazing city!

Yep- they're hanging by their feet.

Amazing right?

I'll be sure to post some AMAZING pictures when I get back. I'm sure we're going to have a great time next week.

Sorry I don't have any more news! This week hasn't been too exciting but I hope that everyone is happy and healthy and safe back at home!

Is that a tree? Nope, it's a CACTUS!

It's definitely been a long day. I can't really sleep so I figured that I'd update my blog and let everyone know about my amazing day :)

We did chores for the majority of the morning and ate a delicious lunch. In case you aren't already aware, the lunches served in Mexico are absolutely ENORMOUS and consist of at least 2 courses- a soup course and a main course. To top it all off, my host family insists on giving me seconds of everything. It's been a while since I've been genuinely hungry here- which isn't necessarily a bad thing. I've been able to try out a lot of new foods! For example, the soup that we had today was a potato/jalepeno/bacon soup which was absolutely AMAZING! I definitely will have to get the recipe.

My host family has this problem with not telling Ali and I where we are going. When we ask, they answer the most general places like "the park, the mountains, the zocalo, etc." they never let us know what we're doing when we get there.

Well, today Ali and I were asked if we had any waterproof shoes that we could hike in because we were going up the mountains. I personally did not bring any such shoes and had to borrow some crocks from my host sister. For years, I've been strongly opposed to wearing crocks because they are (in my opinion) the ugliest shoes on the planet. When I put them on, however, I understood why they are so popular. They are so darn COMFORTABLE! I am now resisting the urge to buy myself a pair for any future mountain visits.

Anyway, we headed up to the mountain after an incredibly exciting drive. We drove through rivers, up steep hills and rocky "roads". I honestly could not talk we were bouncing around so much.

One of the rivers we crossed

We ended up at the most beautiful place EVER.

We walked upstream and hung out for a long time. It was a gorgeous afternoon.

Yes. It's a cactus- and no dad, I didn't touch it.

I just remembered that I haven't posted a picture of my host dad! Here he is with my host sisters and one of our dogs, Cocheta.

Ali and I enjoying the scenery.

Remember how I mentioned that my host family doesn't give Ali and I details about where we are going or why? Well, as soon as we returned from the mountains, they told us that we were going to the park. Porque? Porque? PORQUE? They never told us. We are so glad that we went though because there was a serious fiesta complete with music and dancing and lots and lots of vendors on the street. I couldn't resist buying a few things :) We even saw one of the other teachers, Sylvia. She also reported that her family doesn't tell her where they're going. Maybe it's a Mexican thing.

So, of course we had to get a picture with the mariachi singer. My host dad talked to him for a long time. At one point, the singer asked Ali and I if we were going to have a fiesta and we replied "Si, todas las dias" (yes, everyday). Of course we were being sarcastic, but my host dad asked for his card. I would not be surprised if we came home one day and he was singing at a party for us.

I just love his expression- and OUTFIT!!!

We ended the night with my host dad buying us tacos. Of course, we couldn't resist- unfortunately. I've been up for the majority of the night sick. However, it's not nearly as bad as the infamous Cancun lettuce story. I actually feel quite blessed. So, while I've been up I've been thinking about how awesome my day was and I wanted to share it with everyone! There are so many beautiful things and people in this world and sometimes we get so caught up in our lives that we forget to appreciate the beauty in the world around us.

I don't know what it is, but I simply love cacti (not to eat, WAY too squeaky) but to look at. I'm sure that there are some people who get caught up in the awful spikes, but forget that they are absolutely beautiful (well at least I think so). That is one think that I'm definitely going to miss from Mexico. I think that life is the same- there are some serious thorns, but that doesn't mean it's less fun to look at and enjoy. I definitely needed today to remember God's beautiful creations. Life is GREAT- even when you're sick to your stomach. I'm so thankful for so many things in my life! I hope that I'm well enough to go to church tomorrow morning because that would MAKE MY WEEKEND! Hopefully I can feel better in 2 1/2 hours :) Wish me luck! Hope all is well back and the United States!

Hallelujah

Time does seem to fly! I've already been here for two weeks! I'd like to say that there has been lots of news, but it seems this week I've been so busy that there's hardly any time to make noteworthy news (unless you all want to hear about reorganizing the closets again.... I didn't think so).

I bought a guitar this week!!! It's definitely not like the one I have at home, BUT it was definitely a good deal (about 30 dollars). I don't plan on bringing it home and it could double as a Christmas gift to someone here in Tehuacan. I've already been playing it tons and tons and am loving every minute of it! A couple of my girls also play (Christina and Sylvia) and so they had a turn on it as well. Sylvia is incredibly talented, and Christina has a good start but it hoping to get better (so she bought a guitar as well). I think I've already promised enough "private lessons" to keep me incredibly busy. I made the mistake of playing for my host family. I call it a mistake because as soon as I finished "Hallelujah" my host father told me that I have to play for their church and that he would talk to the pastor. I tried to object and tell him that I don't know any of their church songs but he wouldn't listen. I am less than enthusiastic to sing in front of a lot of people I don't know. I hope that at least I can sing in English and that people won't be able to tell that I'm not singing a church song.... or maybe I'll borrow one from our hymn book :)

Speaking of church, I went to my church for the first time on Sunday. The meetings start at 8:00am so I don't really have enough energy to stay awake AND translate inside my head. But, I did meet some of the elders that were assigned to my ward. I think that their names were Elder Vazquez (from Florida) and Elder Shipley (from California I believe). Elder Shipley was a greenie and had only been out in the mission field for a few days. It was nice to talk to them both IN ENGLISH. I feel like I've been missing that part of my life far too much.

On Wednesday night me and all of the teachers had a sleepover at my host family's house. We went out and bought tamales for dinner, talked a lot about our students, watched "Water for Elephants" (if you haven't seen it, I highly recommend this movie), and went to sleep. We woke up early the next morning and got some shopping done downtown. It was an incredibly fun night and I plan on doing it again.

Teaching is going better as the registrations and new students have been going down so it isn't nearly as chaotic. We've finally figured out a schedule that works and I've been busy doing all sorts of things at the office. Now that I've been able to take a breath, I've been able to get to know all of the students and help my teachers more.

I know it's been a while since I've posted some pictures, so I decided to share some of the classrooms/teachers. Just a note, this is when we were doing "store" at the end of the day so most of the kids have already left- we definitely teach more than 3 or 4 in each class :)

This is Sylvia's class

Tracy's Elementary 1 class

And last but not least, this is my self proclaimed "office" (yes, it's in the middle of a kitchen, which makes it even better). It is completely overflowing with books, papers, and other things that still remain to be cleaned up and organized. BUT, I really enjoy having my own little space.

Spanish classes started this week. I was incredibly grateful to realize that I know a lot more than I thought! I think at this point, I mostly need to build my vocabulary *signal the flash cards*. I'll be working hard to learn as many new Spanish words as possible. Wish me luck.

Last night after school it was raining SOOO hard! I think that Tehuacan has a less than adequate draining system so whenever it rains, it just stays in the streets. I would have walked home if I didn't have my laptop in my backpack and my new TOMS on my feet. I felt terrible that my host mom had to drive through rivers to get to us. At some points, the water was at least 2 feet deep! River indeed! But, we made it home safely and I have made a mental note to buy a raft just in case I have to walk home in the future.

I hope that that didn't bore too many of you- I could go through my new labeling system... but I won't. I hope everyone is doing well :)