I smell peanut butter and I don't know where it is from...

...but now I am eating it from a jar with a spoon. And now I need milk. :::one moment please:::

So I had an AMAZING weekend with a couple more to come! The weeks are good as well but generally the same, full of classes and homework. I start out each Monday excited about starting classes again but by the time I reach Thursday I am pretty deflated, discouraged, and frustrated. This weekend certainly picked me up again!

THURSDAY
Thursday night Marthese, Elke, and I went out to dinner at Doozo Sushi which is really close to the Tec. It was the first time that I had gone outside the Tec "on foot" so to speak and it was quite a challenge. There is no way that I could have done it myself. It's a bit disappointing because that pretty much limits me to the big superstores and el centro. Anyhow, I digress.

When we got there they only had tables that were taller than me so they set us up with some folding chairs to sit in and for our drinks. Without me even noticing, our hostess had set up a wonderful table and chairs behind me just for us. They were so nice and accommodating!

I think I have decided that while I don't have a strong repulsion toward (can you be repulsed toward something?) sushi, I can't say that I like it either. I do, however, love (I'm probably spelling this wrong) etamame. They are soy beans heated and salted still in the pods and they are wonderful. We also had some of the most amazing desserts I have ever had, excepting desserts at the now defunct Gran Finale. We got Pay de Queso (cheesecake with mango and chocolate syrup), mango tempura with chocolate syrup, and fried ice cream sandwiches with a strawberry sauce. All were incredible!

It was nice to have a quiet dinner with the girls too. Afterward we walked to an apartment shared by Jamie from Australia, Adrian from Ireland, and Francois from France. On the way over we were met by Thibault from Belgium. The apartment situation is pretty hilarious since Jamie and Adrian both have rather heavy accents and Francois has limited English and so none of them can communicate with each other very well and spend most of their time just trying to understand what they are trying to say.

We spent a little bit of time hanging out and then all crunched into a couple of cars to head to a party hosted by the host family of two international students celebrating their daughter's return from a long trip to Europe. Jamie's friend had a car so she drove as many as we could cram into her car. She and Jamie were in front with Charles, myself, and Elke in the back and Marthese laying across all of us. It's a good thing she is very petite but it took a bit of acrobatics for her to get out of the car.
The party was fun and the home of the family is beautiful and enormous with a lovely plaza in the center and the house surrounding it. I love the homes in Mexico. The family wanted to go to bed at about 2am. This is where Adrian and I tried to take a few photos, but I'm not so very good with the self-portraits when people are to the left of me apparently. But I just couldn't resist trying to get some photos of a drunk Irishman simply because it is so cliché!

FRIDAY
Friday ended up being a pretty useless day where I didn't accomplish much. BUT, Rebekah (she spells it correctly, just like me) called that evening to see if I wanted to hang out at her host family's home since they were out of town. She, Sarah (another international student), and I spent the night visiting and playing Mexican Train Dominos. It was a really nice evening, but it turns out that Sarah is far superior at dominos than we are, even though she was sick.

SATURDAY
Saturday was unexpected. I was able to chat with my parents for a while online which is always good! Afterward I met a friend, Rachel, and we went to Soriana to do some shopping. Soriana is literally right behind the Tec but there is one significant hurdle (a curb too large for me) to me getting there on my own. I think I will ask the guards for help in the future if I need to go on my own (much better than paying 30 pesos for a taxi).

There we came across Elke and Jenny (I also saw the international student from Japan who I have never spoken to, but I just learned that he doesn't speak much English so perhaps that is why). Jenny invited us to go to a barbacoa (BBQ) that some of her Mexican friends were having. Elke and I decided to go and it ended up being a fantastic night! Her friends were all really nice and it was just a good time talking and eating. I had my first torta and it is hands-down the best thing I have eaten since being here. Here is a photo of Jenny digging into hers. The entire evening was in Spanish which was really great for me. I understood more than I could participate in the conversation, but that's how it goes. The evening ended with lots of dancing and music! The couple in the middle of the photo are dancing champs and were fun to watch. They gave Jenny and Elke a few lessons too.

SUNDAY
On Sunday I was finally able to go to a local church. Rachel, Bri, and I went to la Primera Iglesia Bautista de Querétaro and it was wonderful! It was in a small, unassuming building on a street on the outskirts of el centro and there were probably about 50 people at the service. The people were so warm and welcoming and I felt at home immediately, in spite of the fact that there is a massive language barrier. I brought my English Bible in the hopes that it would help me to understand the sermon better, which it did. One of the gentlemen at the church also lent us his Spanish Bible to follow along in. The message was on Matthew 7:24-29 about being doers and not just hearers of Christ's teachings. Pretty much the only part that I caught was that Jesus never meant for us just to just hear His message, but to also live it. The pastor was pleased to give us his copy of the sermon when Rachel asked so we could read it.

Everyone was so happy to have us there. Before the sermon they actually gave the microphone to Bri (knowng she was the most fluent in Spanish) to introduce ourselves to the congregation. My favorite part, by far, was the Canto de Bienvenida. We weren't sure what they were singing at first and then a man sitting nearby showed us where to find the song in the program. Suddenly, as we were singing this beautiful song, the congregation starts to move and everyone greeted and welcomed those around them with a warm handshake, smile, and "bienvenida." I loved it!!! The lyrics to the song are below. I was going to translate them for you as best I could but it is getting late and I kinda want to go to bed. :-) Perhaps next week I will get it done. For now, consider it a challenge.

ES POR SU AMOR (Canto de Bienvenida)
Es por su amor que estamos aquí,
reunidos hoy, para cantarle,
para adorarle en comunión.
Tu con nosotros si puedes
cantar con gratitud, dame tu mano,
sé bienvenido, alaba a Dios.
CORO: // Dame tu mano, se
bienvenido, que puedes encontrar
gozo, paz y amistad //
Muy diferentes, sí, pero su amor
nos unirá, somos la iglesia el
Cuerpo de Cristo que El llamó,
Que Dios te guarde es
nuestra oración y volverte a ver.
Dame tu mano, sé bienvenido
alaba a Dios
CORO

I love the Church and the fact that I can be so welcomed by people who in every other respect are perfect strangers but that I can also call mis hermanos y hermanas (my brothers and sisters) because of our shared faith in the God of the Universe. I can't wait to go back next week!

Well, that's it for now! More to come after this Saturday's excursion to the pyramids in Teotihuacan I am sure. Love and miss you all!