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!

a show with everything but Yule Brenner

This post doesn't really have any rhyme or reason but simply contains things that have no other place (thus the strange title which no one but my Uncle Joey will probably get, but that's what makes us cool).

• In the first shopping excursion with my parents I bought orange juice--or what I thought was orange juice. It seems that what I actually have is orange-flavored soy milk or something. Lesson learned: don't just pay attention to the orange on the box but also look for the word jugo.
  
• I still don't know what the loud booms I hear every night or sometimes in the afternoon are. There must be a lot of fireworks here. :-)
  
• I really like the one-kiss-on-the-cheek greeting.
  
• Tuna is better with jalepenos in it (my own invention).
  
• I love my Spanish/English dictionary.
  
• Pablo, my adorable RA, broke his ankle this weekend playing soccer. I can now hear him rolling up and down the hall in an office chair because he doesn't like his crutches. I'm still working on getting a photo.
  
• The water pressure in my shower changes at least twice every morning and I sometimes have to turn it off entirely because it goes so high that the drain can't keep up.
  
• My hair dryer has decided to stop working.
  
• I haven't gotten sick once!

classes

CLASSES
I am now in my second week of classes and I love them! I have four classes: Basic Spanish 2, Communication Skills 1, Social Development in Mexico, and Mexican Culture. The last two are in English and with Mexican students which allows me to get to know some actual Mexican students! Imagine that.

I love my Spanish professor, Nivardo! He is really young (has to be in his 20s), fun, energetic, and says "Super bien!" a lot. This class is so unlike my previous Spanish class where I was terrified to be called on. There are only 9 students in the class and Nivardo creates a really non-intimidating environment for us. Too bad I am still so timid and frustrated outside of class!

The Social Development in Mexico class is my most challenging one so far. We are studying the United Nations Millennium Development Goals for 2015. The class has been split into four teams and each assigned two of the eight goals to focus on for this first part of the semester. My team presents on Thursday (ack! public speaking!) but it should be fine. I have four guys (Mauricio, Alejandro, Jorge, y Carlos) on my team and they are all really great. I am excited to be challenged in a way I don't feel I was at Stan State for the most part (for any former professors reading, this is not a blanket statement :-).

The professor is a little interesting though and I am still trying to figure him out. He likes to have a lot of class discussion, which would lead me to believe that he likes the input of his students. But at the end, I get the impression that he wants to make sure we take his opinion as the most valid when I haven't heard much other than anecdotal evidence from him thus far. Makes me want to speak up in class a little less. He also draws a very clear line between the Mexican students and the international students in an effort to find only dissimilarities between our cultures and no similarities. I don't know that this is a bad thing, but it will take some more time for me to figure out how he ticks.

My Mexican Culture class should be really interesting, though I am not quite sure what to expect yet. It seems like it will be very interactive, but also with that distinct line between Mexican and international students. This environment seems to me to be a little more about learning from one another however. I think we are going to be taking some field trips and watching films during class which I am really excited about!

Communication Skills thus far is not terribly interesting and I don't feel like I am learning a whole lot yet, but my professor is nice and fun so I enjoy the class.

It doesn't look like my Batik class is going to work out. It started today and is on the second floor of the gym which doesn't have an elevator. A couple of friends asked the professor about how I might be able to participate and all I received was a text message that said, "She said there's no elevator." I'll ask for more details on Thursday. In the meantime, sorry Desiree and Aunt Cheryl--no Batik projects!

LA FIN DE SEMANA (THE WEEKEND)
My weekend starts Friday since I don't have classes at all that day. Last Friday one of the student organizations, AMI (Alumnos Mexicanos y Internacionales), held a Bienvenida lunch for us. It was very nice and the food was muy delicioso! They also had some mariachis come in and play for us. I got to sit next to Nick from Pennsylvania and John from CSU Channel Islands. Nick was telling me about his host family and that their home might actually work for me to live there. They have requested not to host girl students because they have had a problem with them bringing their boyfriends to the house and such, but I don't think they would have to worry about that with me. He said that I could come over sometime so I can meet them, so maybe that is an opportunity for next semester. At the end of the event I was assigned a big brother, Luis (not the one with the amazing hair), for the semester. I'm not sure yet what this means, but he sent me a text yesterday to see how my weekend was.

Later that evening I went to a surprise birthday party that one of the international students (Angela) was planning for one of our other members (Darcy). It was a fun night but Darcy didn't end up arriving until about 40 minutes after she was expected which just meant that we all gathered in the foyer of the home it was hosted in several times in anxious anticipation. She was very surprised and happy.

Quote of the night came during the taxi ride home and was said by Rebekah (not this one) in all seriousness: "Elton John is gay?" It doesn't even need a story it is so good!

I had a lazy day on Saturday and aside from doing (or pretending to do) some studying I went to Soriana, which is the Mexican version of Wal-Mart more or less, and got some groceries.

By Sunday morning I was having quite the pity party and feeling rather lonely but it ended up being a great day! Susie, from Montreal, and I went to el centro and had a long, leisurly lunch and got to know each other a bit. Then we just walked around the different plazas observing people. El centro on Sundays is wonderful, full of people just sitting enjoying each other's company or watching the others around them, listening to live music, or dancing. There is no rushing, no clock watching but only people taking a moment to enjoy being alive. That evening Susie and I attempted to watch the meteor shower outside the dorms. After an hour we had seen one meteor, two shirtless guys through open windows on the lower levels of the residence hall, and gotten several mosquito bites. We decided to call it a night.

My big praise from this weekend was finding people that are somewhat of kindred spirits, not craving the drunken party scene. One of my greatest struggles here has been feeling completely out of place in this youth culture (and I don't know that it is specific to Mexican youth). Sometimes I think that I was just born older than my counterparts. And in some warped form of logic, a part of me felt that in coming here to Mexico the lonliness that follows me around would finally be justified, and through justification would seem less. But it isn't less; it's just different. But each time it seems that it is going to swollow me up, God sends a new friend or two or three and the lonliness is gone. Huge praises! :-)

the first week

So I am all set in my sweet digs here at the Tec de Monterrey. I am so happy to be here and I am not even sure why since what I'm doing isn't anything terribly fabulous or exciting. Below is a video to give you a tour of my room here in the dorms con los hombres (with the boys).

I thought I would try to give a brief idea of what I've done since I got here a week ago, though as I discovered as I was talking with my mom earlier this evening, I think I am getting my days a bit mixed up.

SATURDAY, JULY 29, 2007

My parents and I finally arrive in Queretaro after about 24 hours of travel. It was an arduous journey. We started in Sacramento and from there went to Los Angeles, Monterrey, México City, and finally Querétaro. Each flight was delayed between 20 minutes and 2 hours but with our long layovers that wasn't much of a problem. While the México City airport was probably the most confounding, the LAX international terminal was absolute insanity...even at midnight!

We were picked up at the airport and stopped at the Tec only long enough to drop off all my gear and pack up an overnight bag for me. Then we were taken to Casa Cayala where my parents were staying while here. For any future visitors, I highly recommend this hotel. It is very nice, costs about $100 US dollars per night, and is only a short walk from my campus. All other hotels are in el centro which is about a 10-15 minute cab ride from the Tec.

SUNDAY, JULY 30, 2007

On Sunday we focused on getting my dorm room all set up, which my parents did with great efficiency. Once we unpacked we headed off to Wal-Mart (for all my liberal friends, I'm sorry--it was the only place recommended by those we spoke to here and since we didn't know the town, we went with it) to get a few essentials. As you can tell by the video, that included a lot of water!

We then decided to take a stroll around the campus and explore. It is a beautiful campus and very high tech. Each table on campus has a portal to be able to plug your computer in and get online. Most of what I need to access is very centrally located as well, unlike Stan State where I have to schlep my books from one end of campus to the other.

MONDAY, JULY 31, 2007

Monday was the last day my parents were in town as their flight back home left Queretaro at a terrible hour (6:20am...sorry guys). Since I was all settled in my dorm at the Tec we decided to go to el centro and walk around and find some yummy food. Downtown Queretaro is quite stunning and has several amazing plazas. I didn't take any photos out this day, but here are some photos from when I visited in May with Hector and Larry.

Once done in el centro we headed back to Casa Cayala and had some dessert. Later that night they walked me back to my dorm for my first night there and to say a very sad goodbye.

TUESDAY, AUGUST 1, 2007
Tuesday was the first day of orientation for all of the international students in the Programas Internacionales (PI). We were introduced to the staff, some students, our lawyer in charge of our immigration paperwork, and the campus. I must say that after that first day of orientation (all done in Spanish) I felt extremely far behind and discouraged with my language skills, especially when most of the other students were having full conversations in Spanish and many of them already knowing 2 or 3 other languages!

The other international students have come from all over the world and from places I wasn't expecting. The countries I can recall off the top of my brain at the moment are: Japan, France, Germany, Austrailia, England, Ireland, Spain, Chile, Belgium, Canada, and Ecuador. I am having a fantasatic time getting to know them before we start classes next week!

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2, 2007
On Wednesday morning the students that work with the PI program took us on a tour of the campus and played a few silly games with us. The one in the picture involved a large cucumber and dish soap.

THURSDAY, AUGUST 3, 2007
I didn't have any scheduled events on Thursday so I just hung out either on campus or in my room. I did, however, have two very minor successes that day. First success: I went to the bookstore and asked for help in finding the books for my classes. I successfully understood the woman when she told me that my professors would tell me on the first day of class which books I would need. This was apparently communicated during the orientation but I didn't pick up on it that day. Second success: I ventured off campus on my own to pick up the photos that we had taken the day before for our immigration papers. Yes, I know they aren't fabulous but I am trying to find value in the small things so I don't get too discouraged at my inability to communicate yet.

That night I went to a house party with many of the other international students at the home of Marcos, a local Tec student. It was a fairly fun night, but not really my type of scene. The music was too loud to talk very easily with anyone. At about midnight they ran out of drinks (I remained sober) and headed off to a club. I decided to head back to the residence hall and Charles, a very wonderful Austrailian, accompanied me back in the cab so I wasn't alone. I ended up being very happy he came since our driver got a little lost taking us back and Charles was able to direct him. His righteous indignation at the driver charging 15 pesos extra for the "service" of putting my wheelchair together was a little endearing too. But I figured that the driver probably needs that money more than I did, so I handed it over.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 3, 2007
Friday ended up being a tad confusing. We were told that there was to be a feria de servicios all day during which we could sign up for extra curricular activities and get our ID cards. They said to arrive early because things fill up quickly. Many arrived by 9am so we could be the first in line only to find out when we tried to enter that it didn't actually start until 1pm. For me this wasn't much of a tragedy since I live on campus and hadn't stayed out as late as the others, but some that lived farther away were trapped on campus with not much to do for about 4 hours.

Once la feria started, we headed over and were herded into the basement of the Salón de Congresos and tried to figure out the madness. I came out with only one class that worked with my schedule. It is called Batik, which I had never heard of, but apparently involves wax and dying material. We'll see how it goes. I was hoping to be able to do some sort of painting, but this should be fun.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 2007
Today I was lazy and slept until after 11am and was shortly thereafter visited by a friend wanting to use my computer. Later in the afternoon, a few of us went out to lunch in el centro and I had a yummy something that I can't remember what it is called anymore! But if you come, we can go there and get it. In the photo from left to right are Susie from Canada by way of France, Rachel from Missouri, and Molly from California.

Well, that's about it! I just had my "bed check" for the evening so I can get in my jammies now. I think Pablo, my RA, was a little embarrassed to come in my room last night and find me in my PJs. Actually, I didn't realize he was knocking on my door so he came in. Perhaps that is why Fernando came tonight. :-) This curfew thing will be very interesting.

If you made it this far, congratulations! I'm sorry to have been so long-winded!

the big leap

Bienvenidos to my blog! My apologies for not posting sooner as I know that several of you have already been checking. Some of you may be curious as to what this year is all about. Put in a few words: faith, challenge, growth, service, perspective.

The image for the title of my page I felt was rather appropriate for what I anticipate this next year being like. The picture is of a souvenier given to me by a good friend from a trip he took to some of the pyrimads in Mexico around the holidays (forgive me Hector for not remembering precisely where they were :-). He framed its significance as a metaphor for my experiences here: it will be a tough climb with moments in which I will probably want to quit, but with each challenge or step becoming a bit smaller, yet with its own tint and unique lessons. In the end I will emerge at the top with a completely new perspective and a beautiful view. The gift was wrapped (guy-fashion) in a Mexican newspaper and a black plastic bag which in self-admitted BS was supposed to symbolize the darkness of being in a foreign country and the language barrier.

I will post more details about my experiences here mostly likely tomorrow or Thursday, but I am truly enjoying myself. As I write this I am rather distracted by a magnificent storm that has been going on for more than an hour and a half. It is probably the best storm I have ever witnessed! It started as the sun was setting with each electric white flash lighting up an orange-pink sky. Most of the storm was initially on the other side of the dorm building so all I saw was flash after flash followed by rumbles and cracks so close together that I couldn't tell which thunder clap corresponded with which strike of lightning. It has now seemed to move around to just in front of my window to where I can see the jagged lightning bolts etch their way across the sky or down to the earth. I am enthralled. Storms like this remind me of the enormity of God's power and might; no other time do I seem to feel this close to Him. It has stormed, though not to this degree, every night I've been here. Perhaps God is letting me know that He is here with me, even in Mexico while I am far away from everything else familiar.

With that, I must be off to bed. My day starts at 8:30 tomorrow morning with an activity led by some of the students here.

Thank you all for your emails and prayers! They are much appreciated. Buenas noches de Querétaro, México.

* for those of you Spanish-speakers, constructive criticism of any Spanish I may post is appreciated. :-)