Coppertown.

So today we woke up, had breakfast, and went with Morelia to the cell leaders meeting. We watched the kids, who got a little bored, and didn't really want to wait for the meeting to be over, but I remember being that age, and being antsy like that.

After the meeting was over we went with Sara and two of the Let's Start Talking people for a tour. We went out to this little town almost an hour away called Pátzcuaro where we had lunch at the Best Western and then did some shopping. This was the place that Vasco de Quiroga (you can read about him for a full story...the part about him as bishop) used as his center for commerce.


After that we went to Tzintzuntzan which was the P'urhépecha (indigenous people's) capital. They specialize in weaving and basketry. We also saw there the yácatas that were their temples and their sacrificial places. We also saw the church there with one of the oldest baptistries in Latin America. After that we went to Santa Clara del Cobre, also known as Coppertown, because they make things from copper. They're amazing. They also showed us the process, and it takes so long, and so much work to make things, it's incredible. The towns are all far apart, so it took us a long time, all day in fact. But just to make this clear, Mexico is not the desert. It rains here all the time, and today we drove through forests into the mountains.


After our long day of touring, we went back to Sam and Ann's house for delicious tacos (and pie for dessert), and we meet the new Let's Start Talking team that just got in. It was so good, and a lot of fun.

So, just for fun, we were listening to the radio yesterday, and heard some really interesting lyrics. The best was, "every time I think about you, thoughts go through my mind." Also, "every day is just another day, no doubt." We laughed because the writer pretty obviously learned English as a second language, and the song wasn't profound at all. But, for his credit, if I were to write a song in Spanish, it'd be even worse.

Oh, and just in case you were wondering, my new name is Elisabet. Just wanted to clear that up.

Late Day.

Okay, so this is a post today for yesterday, because their days go later here. They also start late, which is wonderful.

We woke up this morning and had breakfast around 10 (wonderful), and then went for a bike ride. It was a lot of fun, and a good workout, and we got to meet the guards at the guardshack. We live in the Mexican equivalent of a gated community. That way, the trash truck doesn't come at 6am. Yay! Anyways, after we got back and showered, we went with Sara to a restaurant (I forgot the name) that had huge delicious sandwiches and fruit drinks made with real fruit. My strawberry drink felt like I was drinking strawberries. After lunch (around 3) we went to Sam's Club to print photos that reminded us of God for our youth cell group later, and Office Max, and we got snacks for cell group. Then we went to cell group, and had to describe our picture and how we saw God in it, and describe our favorite birthday...in Spanish. I have sooooo far to go, but I'm learning, and I survived. We also made a collage of our photos. Here was mine:


We talked for a while in cell group, and I tried to understand as much as I could (I'm getting better), and then afterward we came back to our house to wait for Montse, one of the sisters. Morelia made us some food to eat in the meantime. We waited for a long time, but after we all were home and ready, we headed up the mountain, and got to see the most amazing view of the city. You can see everything. It was so beautiful and wonderful. I loved it.

I really enjoy it here, and I hope someday (soon?) I can begin to communicate with a little bit more, and understand more. But I get a little better every day. One day at a time.

The Adventures Begin.

So today we didn't have any planned activities, so we slept in late (9), and after we ate breakfast, we went to the Morelia Zoo. It was really amazing! They had all sorts of animals....lion, tigers, bears, zebras, elephants, rhinos, giraffes, ostritches, sea lions, a polar bear, monkeys, reptiles, birds, lots of peacocks, goats, miniature horses, a huge turtle, an orangatang, reindeer, camels (1 hump and two), hippos, and so much more that I can't remember. It was one of the coolest zoos I've been to, I think better than Dallas, Fort Worth, or London. It was really amazing. Plus it was only 20 pesos, which is like, 2 dollars. Wow.


We came back to the house for lunch at 2:30 (normal time, a little early), and guess what!? I ate cactus today...in my fajita. Mmm. After lunch we had some time to rest. We finally woke up from our naps, and went with Coco (one of the sisters) into town before we went to the church office and had a Let's Start Talking party (LST is mission group). It was fun, we played pictionary and spoons and had some good food. Then we got a taxi back to the house, and our driver spoke English and lived in the states for 12 years.


It's sorta nice, I'm starting to understand more Spanish. We've pretty much been adopted into this family, but I feel like the special child who needs to ride the short bus because I have such a hard time understanding or communicating. But they're all trying to help me. They are such wonderful people, and we're very blessed to stay with them. My most used Spanish phrases now are "no se" (I don't know), and "esta bien" (I'm good). I use them a lot.

It's so nice though, everyone is so sweet and helpful to us. I'm really starting to like it here, and I think I'd be in love with it if I could speak or understand. Someday, I really hope that I will.

Finally in Mexico!

I made it to Mexico! Finally!

And so much has happened in the last 24 hours, it's crazy. I was picked up at the airport by Sara and Alex, and we drove about thirty minutes to get into town and to the house we're staying at. My first word to learn in Morelia is "tope". Morelia is apparently "topelandia". AKA "speed bump land". They're EVERYWHERE. I had a lot of fun talking with Sara and Alex...and I could tell from the start (cause I knew the other interns) that this should be an amazing group. We made it to the house, and I got to meet my host family, and was reunited with my fellow interns. I also realized I know even less Spanish than I thought I did, and had a bit of a hard time. We got in late, so I chatted with Marisa and Emily, the other interns, for a while, and then went to bed.

We woke up this morning, and had breakfast that our host mother, Morelia, made for us. It was very good....she's a great cook. Then we got a taxi to the church office, where we met for prayer time, which was all in Spanish, so I didn't understand a lot of it. After that, we went back with Sara to her house where we had orientation and some chill time. I love the other interns I'm working with, and Sara, Sam, and Ann, the missionaries. I'm so excited to work with them this summer. I really do relish the moments I spend with each of them. I couldn't be happier about the group.

Anyways, after that we went to lunch (it's around 3pm here), where I had enchiladas morelias. Or Morelian enchiladas. They were very good, but really spicy. That seems to be a theme with the food here. (I had some pico with dinner, and just about died...my mouth burned and tingled for a really long time.) And after lunch we walked around downtown. We also got to try some churros as well...mmmm. We went back to Sara's house for a while, had some more team bonding and adventures, like climbing on the roof, overcoming fears, and generally getting to know each other more.


Then we went to a cell group led by Sam and Ann...but just Sam tonight, because Ann is giving birth any day. (Their three girls they already have are soo cute.) We sang, prayed, and did a Bible study...I just tried to soak in as much Spanish as I could.

On the way home with Morelia, we were sitting with her grandaughter Fernanda. We were invited to a movie next week, and so Morelia was talking about how the "chicas" were going. Fernanda promptly replies, "esta chica!", to which Morelia goes, "nooooo". It was cute.

Also, when I came to Mexico, I was expecting it to be a hot dry desert. But no. We're in the mountains, in rainy season. And even in the dry season, the 90's are hot. I'm pretty much in love with this climate already.

And did you know: not even the locals in Mexico drink the tap water. No one does. But, it's "better than it used to be" according to the Mexican government.

See: Water bottles, everywhere.

So that's all for now. I have a lot to learn and experience, and I'm frustrated with my lack of Spanish, but I'm so excited to see where this crazy adventure goes...

So buenas noches! Via con Dios! Watch out for los topes!

Stuck.

Okay, good story.

So I woke up this morning, with the understanding that I was leaving today for Morelia, Mexico. So exciting! I did the last of my errands, finished packing, and said goodbyes. Everything seemed to be going well. All of my stuff fits in my bags, I got checked in at the airport okay, and my flight was on time. Yay!

But no. It wasn't meant to be. It was all going too well.

So, we board the plane, it's %100 full, and we taxi off to wait in line at the runway...where we waited for two hours. It just so happened that right at that time a little bitty storm moved in, and no one could take off....for two hours. So even though my connecting flight from Houston to Morelia was delayed an hour, we still arrived after it left.


(Picture: as I looked out the window on the plane, there were a good 8 planes just that I could see waiting behind us, and the pilot said that he could see fifteen in front of us. So add like twelve more planes to the picture and understand that it would only be one side of the airport, and that's what my afternoon was like. This isn't my picture, but I wanted you to have a visualization.)

And lucky for me, there's only one flight from Houston to Morelia everyday. The next one was tomorrow evening, and there was no other available way to get there faster. So, after some hastle with customer service (and a whole line of other people doing the same), I ended up getting a discounted rate to the Sheraton for a night, with 24 hour shuttle service. It's not so bad. I have a very expensive hotel room for not much money, a very comfortable bed, TV, internet, my books, and room service. Mind you, my luggage is still at the airport so I have no clothes or hair gel or things of that nature. However, the hotel has very nice smelling shampoo and lotion.

I got a lovely Italian club sandwich delivered to my room for dinner, and I'm expecting bacon, eggs, apple juice, coffee, a muffin, and breakfast potatoes to be delivered to my room in the morning. I would have gone out, but was hindered by my being a single young woman in a town I've never been to, and it was getting dark outside. So I stayed in. And it's been nice so far...time has yet to tell if I'm productive with any of my extra time.

Interesting Times

Well, this has been an interesting week. On Tuesday my sister Nicole left for job core. If it goes well, she'll be there for almost a year. And for the time being, Jeremiah is staying with us. On Wednesday a photographer from the Dallas Morning News came out to the house to take pictures of our family to go along with the story that they're doing on us. It's weird. We think that it has to do with getting positive rep for the foster care system.

And on Monday, I leave for Mexico. I will be spending the next six weeks in Morelia, Mexico. I'm a little nervous because I don't speak Spanish, but I hope that I will by the end of the summer.

Plus I've been cleaning my room. It's hard to keep it clean when you leave for four months, then come back with all your stuff, and leave again in a few days, and then come back with all that stuff. It just doesn't seem to have anywhere to go. But, I'm mastering the problem, and the outlook is looking good.














I bought a Spanish/English Dictionary today, plus I have a Spanish Bible, and a few fun books to read in Spanish to help to to get going. I felt sad though, because my Spanish/English Dictionary is published by Oxford...and I miss Oxford so much.

Jeremiah is certainly growing up fast. He's starting to say more and more words, even though his two favorites are still "ball" and "hot". His favorite things so far seem to be books, balls, and belts. He is such a good kid though.

Midnight Rescue Mission

This story actually starts about a week ago. My parents have a vegetable garden in our backyard, and the plants were growing well. The squash were particularly promising, with their vibrant color and blossoms. However, one morning about a week ago, my dad came in from checking the garden, and said that the squash plants looked dead. They had suddenly withered. And parts of them looked like they had disintegrated. Funny. My mom wasn't too pleased though.

Anyways, fast forward to last night. The dog had been barking outside for a while, and he didn't want to come in. I was getting ready to put Brandi to bed when my mom told me and my brother to come outside with her. I was worried she was going to show us something bad. Instead, when we went out into the garden, we found a little white rabbit...eating our plants. He was super cute though, so my mom decided not to scare him off, just to board up the hole he got in through in the morning.

However, after some more observation and approach, we discovered he wasn't scared of us at all. He even let us pet him. And when we got that close, we could tell he wasn't a wild rabbit. With that discovery, and the knowledge that a domestic rabbit probably won't live too long in the city, we decided to conduct a midnight rescue mission. My parents dug an old cage out of our garage, and my brother washed it out while I watched the rabbit, my mom ran to wal-mart for rabbit food, bedding, and a water bottle, and my dad went back to bed. After a while, we got the makeshift cage together, and brought the rabbit inside.

Once in, we discovered several things in the light.

First of all, the rabbit was albino, but he was filthy. Also, he had been attacked by something, but got away. It's not bad, but he has some scratches. He is also very much a full grown pet rabbit. There's not a bit of wild in him. So we put him in the cage, where he very quickly got started on the food and water we gave him.


So, we'll do some searching to see if anyone has lost a pet rabbit. And if not, we may have a pet rabbit of our own.