The Prayer I Couldn't Pray

This may be silly, but I've been going through some crazy stuff. Most of it is stupid stuff, but that's referenced in the following story. I feel like I climbed a mountain in my faith in one afternoon. Let's begin...

I’m reading in Jeremiah. He’s taught me so much about talking to Jesus. Jeremiah hated his calling from Jesus. He hated the isolation, the negativity from others, the people trying to kill him. And, he told God that! That was okay. He didn’t complain to others, but he took it straight to Jesus. Yet, when it came right down to the wire, Jeremiah obeyed. Even when he didn’t want to or didn’t understand, he did what God called him to do. I’m learning how to spill my fears and rage to a God who listens, but yet to follow unconditionally.

After reading, I spent quite a bit of time talking to my Father. I started out pouring out my feelings to him and begun to see how so many of my feelings of isolation and helplessness are unfounded. He’s worked miracles in my life here and prepared a way for me, if only I have enough faith to walk it. I mean, Benja offered to go over the lectures with me so I could understand. This isn’t helplessness! I’m making friends, getting to know people better here. I have people at home keeping track of me. This isn’t isolation! So many of my deepest pains are so unjustified. They’re just tools of the Devil to separate me from a God that loves me more than I can imagine.

Then, I got to talking to Him about other stuff. Really, I had no idea how to pray. I didn’t know what to ask, how to give over my heart to my Jesus. But, as so often happens, it just poured from my lips and my fingers and flew straight to the ears of my Father. (I like to write my prayers, which is where the reference to fingers comes in). Heartfelt desires became ideas became words became desperate prayers. I cannot even describe the beauty of experiencing what Paul is experiencing in Romans 8:26 when he talks of the Holy Spirit making intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. I’m sure they were not my words that poured from my lips when I spoke with my Jesus. 

Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”

And, of course, our Father used this time to teach me. I can't go into all the things I was talking to my Jesus about. But so you can understand the amazing lesson I learned, I can tell you that I was looking at suffering.

I realized about half way through that I could not ask our Father to take away suffering. To do that would be to lessen the amazing plan He has in store for His children. It would limit growth, and that’s not what I really want for any of my brothers or sisters or myself. I could not ask our Father for happiness or personal strength. Those really aren’t a part of the life of a true Christ-following child of God. 

I had to ask our Father for faith. I had to ask Him to give peace and joy. I had to ask Him to be strong in place of us and to be everything through the suffering we experience. Only through pain, by walking through the fire, can we become all that our Father knows we can be. He has such high hopes, such big plans.

How reassuring this was for me. For as I cannot justify asking our Father to take away  suffering and as I’m seeing how necessary that is, I came to be able to accept that this was true in my own heart. I came to be able to embrace completely the horribleness of the situation I am facing and realize that it’s not really as bad as I thought and that I’m going to become a more Christ-like Daughter of the King! How amazing a thought that is!

I can’t give words to the amazing peace that our Father gave to me through this realization. I can’t give voice to the joy dancing in my heart as I worship with all that I am. I’m not afraid anymore. I’m not worried. I’m not happy, writing this is bringing the tears back to my eyes. But I’m content; and in the end, that is so much more fulfilling.

Psalm 30:12, "To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever."

I’m still praying with all my heart. No, I’m not praying for happiness. But I’m pleading with our Father for something greater, something He wants for you and for me: peace, joy, contentment. I’m asking, with no doubts at all, for His name to be made more glorious in our lives. I know He will be with us always and that we can have the courage to be weak enough to let Him be everything.

2 Corinthians 12:9-10, “And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

I can't even express to you the profound impact this has had on me today. I can't describe the complete peace that I feel now. I know that this comes only from my Father.

Philippians 4:11-13, "Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." 

So I ask you this. Pray with me. But do not ask our Father for less suffering. Instead, embrace the suffering and allow our Father to do something great in you! Allow our Father free reign in your heart and in your life so that He can be your strength, your refuge, your strong tower. 

Psalm 62: 5-7, "My soul, wait silently for God alone,
         For my expectation is from Him.
 He only is my rock and my salvation;
         He is my defense;
         I shall not be moved.
 In God is my salvation and my glory;
         The rock of my strength,
         And my refuge, is in God."

Now, my dearest brothers and sister, I must go study. But I just wanted to share with you from a heart that was overflowing with love for my Abba Father. 

Los Primeros Dias en Madrid

Okay. So I left ATL at about 7pm on Monday night. I got on the plane and flew to Madrid. Most of it was at night. I spent most of the plane ride over here watching movies. Saw a couple good ones. It was an 8 hour flight… Somehow, it seemed way longer than the 13 hour one I took to China a few years ago. I guess it’s the lack of fun yet strange people to talk to during the flight. Ahh, oh well, it's over now. And it wasn't really that bad, just boring.

Then, I got stuck in the airport in Madrid for about three hours until the rest of my group showed up. I could check my email, at least until my computer died. I also read some and just chilled some.  This whole airport thing was just a tad bit freaky. I thought through what I’d have to say in Spanish to get the information I would need to reconnect with my group. That was encouraging because I knew most of the words or I could reword enough to get the point across. I didn't need them.

We got to the residencia and checked in. I'm rooming with Kristina, and that's been fun. I spent most of the  rest of Tuesday afternoon just kinda doing nothing. I didn't really want to sleep so I could adjust to the new time difference. I got to Skype with Momma, which was good.

Wednesday:

We had our first class. It was pretty easy, but I knew it would get more serious. Of course, it’s not supposed to be anywhere near as hard as Mexico. That would be nice... We did some orientation stuff. The accent here is weird and everyone talks really fast. It's going to take a LOT of adjusting.

After that, I talked to Jim via Skype which was great. I hadn't talked to him since he left for Japan, so it was much fun. Then I just hung around a bit. Slept for maybe 30 minutes or so. Then Ian came over and we figured out where things were for an excursion in the afternoon. We went and got cell phones to use while we’re here with a limited data plan. We thought it might be wise as we’re all traveling to different places and we’ll be visiting different cities. Plus, they weren't really that expensive...

We came back for dinner, which was fantastico! We (meaning me and Benja) got into a great conversation with some of the Cadiz students and Max, who didn’t do either program before this. It was fun to get to know new people and branch out of our little group. We went out for free ice cream after that and they came too! Mine was chocolate and probably the best chocolate ice cream I've ever had.

Well, after ice cream we went out to the store. Benja needed a power adapter so he can plug stuff into the walls. I needed a toothbrush, since somehow mine got left in ATL. When we came out of the store, our group had already left. So we wondered back. We actually got lost, and that was my favorite part of the evening. I got to really talk more in depth with Benja, which was fun. He’s such an adoring Christ-worshiper, it’s contagious. He also loves to have fun. When he gets to know you, he goes deep, quickly, and fearlessly. It’s made for some interesting yet fun conversations.

We got back to the dorm and headed to our rooms. I talked to Momma on Skype, but we had some of the internet issues. It was after midnight here, so we just gave up and I said bed time.

Thursday:

Second class. We got our smaller class groups. Mine is a class of 10, all girls! That was one of my favorite classes all summer. Why? Because it’s a class about the Spanish language, not a class on a related subject that just happens to be in Spanish. I’m at the level where I’m still discovering the coolness of the language. I learned so much that was actually useful. Now just to memorize it :). Of course, most of the others thought the class was slow or boring. But I’ve come to terms with that. I enjoyed it.

After a break, we had our second class. This was the killer. I felt like it was almost worse than being in Mexico my first week. I didn’t understand much of her lecture at all. Our teacher is Spanish and she’s talking about inmigracion. She talks faster than Benja when he’s excited. Plus, she has a weird accent that I’m not used to yet. I got maybe about a quarter of what she said. At least in Mexico, Doctora Galloway used power points so I could just read it when I was lost. Not here. It’s horrible.

Needless to say, I came out of that class so discouraged! I spent six weeks in Mexico learning to understand, and here I am on my first day of what’s supposed to be the easier program and I’m already lost. All the feelings of helplessness and stupidity came rushing back, even though I thought I’d given that all up to Jesus six weeks ago. I hate helpless, and that’s how I felt in that class. I have no idea of most of what she said.

Anyway, we came back and went to lunch. That didn’t help much cuz I was sitting with Benja, Daniel, and John (our TA) when they decided to talk to a Spanish native… I didn’t get much of that conversation either…

I headed back to the apartment, talked to Jim on Skype, took a siesta, and talked to Jesus. I learned a lot, but that gets it's own post ... :)

A Week At Home

A week at home isn't enough, but this one has been excellent.

It began on Sunday with my adventures trying to get home. I had some baggage issues in Mexico and ended up getting my carry-on suitcase checked as a second bag for free. I guess the lady liked me... or just took pity on a poor college girl traveling alone and trying to blunder along in Spanish.
Of course, I make it Texas only to find that my flight to ATL was cancelled. My opinion of the DFW airport isn't very high. Oh well, I made in on a flight two hours later. Finally got home just to find my bags were on the next flight, even though I'd specifically asked if they'd get on my flight... At least it was only about half an hour wait.
My first hugs from my family were simply heavenly. My sister even picked me up and swung me around in a circle, backpack and all! I love my family. And I was so happy to see them after so long away from home.
After we finally got all my stuff loaded into the car, we headed for Tech to pick up Jim. The sweet boy surprised me with homemade pizza (my requested first meal to my Momma a few days earlier). It was the yummiest thing I'd eaten in weeks, but that may be slightly biased. Only slightly. He got to come home with us to spend some time with me and the family.
Once home, I got to distribute gifts :). I love finding the perfect something for an amazing person in my life. I've got a few more to give still, but I got to see great big smiles from everyone as they opened up gifts. I didn't make it long after that, as it was already past 1am. I headed on to bed.

Monday morning dawned and I got up. Showered, and even took a long time! Hot water for a long shower... ahhhhhhh. By the time I got downstairs, Jim was already waiting. We teamed up and make waffles, which I sorely miss whenever I'm away from home. Fallon joined us and it was a fun time in the kitchen! So many of my fondest memories happen in the kitchen, it's probably one of my favorite rooms in the entire house. Yes, I know that's weird.
But we headed up to the lake after that. Country music blaring, warm summer day, headed to the lake with the family and boyfriend. Does life get better? I doubt it. Unless its when you actually head out of the cove on the boat with the tube or wakeboard trailing behind...
We met Tyler up at the lake and it was nice to finally put a face to the name I'd heard so much about. I enjoyed getting to know him some.
Yes, we did both :). I was such a happy girl! I doubt I stopped smiling for more than 30 seconds all day, unless it was to make faces of extreme stubbornness whenever Jim tried to knock me off the tube. Yes, I won and keep the title Queen of the Tube :). Of course, I do have a few years of practice on him. But he did great and learned fast. He even got up on the wake board for a bit! It made my Daddy laugh when he got to explain wake boarding in terms of physics and the very next time, Jim got up! Yeah, I'm dating an engineer :). Lucky me. Of course, my Father's a physics geek too, so he can't really complain.
We had some yummy US food for dinner too, which again made me happy. Especially the corn casserole that I love and pumpkin pie. MMHHHMMM!!!
Well, after our incredible day out on the lake, we headed to Fayetteville towards Jim's house. We had to stop by and pick up Jake, but we made good time. I didn't even fall asleep while driving, although I came closer than I like to admit. Loud music and bright lights kept me awake, as well as my own stubbornness (which is extensive).
We had Bible time with the Shealys and it was fun to get to see them again. I got to spend some time talking to everyone and thrilling them with stories of Mexico. That family is so unique and different from anyone I've ever known before, I love spending time down there!

Tuesday morning dawned and we went through Jim's usual morning routine of "what do I fix for breakfast...". That's quite funny, if I do say so myself. I was greatly amused. Especially after I'd so easily decided what I wanted the day before then recruited him to help fix it.
We spent the day getting his stuff packed and making sure he had everything he needed. We ran various errands so he'd be able to leave the next day. We even got to go to lunch at the restaurant where Allison works and say hi! I enjoyed that much more than the idea of US-influence Mexican, which was the other option. Yeah, I'd have gone and had fun, but I liked seeing Allison more :).
That afternoon, with him all packed, we sat down and watched Zorro. The poor boy had never seen it before. I had to fix this! :). Yeah, I'm a fan of Zorro. But then, what girl in her right mind doesn't like a mysterious hero dressed in black battling for the lives of a bunch of innocents he doesn't even know!
After that, we had dinner. More good conversation with Mr. and Mrs. Shealy as Jim ran around afterwards to complete a few last minute details then stick his stuff in the car. I've never failed to enjoy a conversation with Mr. Shealy, he loves to talk about such random things that I'm always on my toes and completely engrossed.
That evening, we headed over to Zach's. Zach is Jim's best friend from high school. And you can tell they're best friends and have been for years. I imagine its kind of what Laura and I would be like if we were guys... Zach and Allison (from the restaurant earlier) are engaged. Now you have some history :). We met up with them and a few others of their old high school group which are all very close and hung out for a while that night. It was fun to meet Jim's friends, if a little overwhelming. I enjoyed it tremendously.
By the time we got home, Jim told me I wasn't allowed to drive home. Okay, so he said it nicer, but he was right. I was exhausted and no up for an hour and a half drive down the interstate at night. So I just crashed in the guest room again.

It did give me the chance to say goodbye again Wednesday morning before heading home. I got home just in time to say goodbye to my Momma before she left for a day at work. I ran through the shower and then headed out again. This time, to Starbucks to meet LAURA BAZEMORE! Okay, that still a little strange yet awesome. We talked for a while. Neither of us had a lot of time, so I'm hoping for a Nashville trip in August :).
I left from there and headed to Conyers for an afternoon with Kelsey and Ben. Those two make me laugh every time. We played some wild games, talked a lot, ate Japanese food... Kelsey and I watched "The Princess Bride" in Spanish and painted our nails. Both were fun, and I even understood a good bit of the Spanish. I headed home about 10, after Kelsey repeatedly nudged me awake and told me I was exhausted.
I collapsed into bed that night.

Thursday morning, I slept in. Not a ton, but a little. I got up, had an IM interview at 9. Then left for a live interview at GT at 11. I don't think I'm taking either job, but I didn't know that then. I attempted to be productive the rest of the day, but I didn't succeed much. I was having post-school stress relief, no more adrenaline in my system, crash time. I mean MAJOR crash. I ended up taking an almost four hour nap when I meant to lay down for one. And I still went to bed early...

Friday morning, I slept in. We headed up to the lake that afternoon. We tried to go out on the boat Friday evening, but it starting raining and thundering. Lots of fun memories occurred from that! I love my family and I was so happy to get to spend some dedicated time with them! Well, when we got off the water and back to the trailer we found that we had no power. So into town for dinner, since we couldn't cook. The power was back on before we got back, so we stayed. Momma and I played on the computer in the living room until way too late... okay, so I had ulterior motives, but it was still really late.

Saturday morning: more sleeping in! Then a yummy breakfast where my family decided to randomly pull out the blueberries we've been thoroughly enjoying and eat them with our french toast. Fallon decided to see how many blueberries she could stack on my fork with one bite of toast... see?? Fun kitchen and family memories ;).
We spent most of the day out on the lake. I got to tube for a long time on the new tube with Momma. She loved it! It was so awesome to have that fun with her since she's been unable to do that for so long. I'm glad we found a tube she can enjoy with us. Of course, my sister is crazy too so that resulted in some funnies.
We came back that evening and just chilled. Momma sent me to bed about 9 since I couldn't keep my eyes open any more!

Sunday we had church. My parents both played in the orchestra! I'm glad I got to be home to hear that. I missed corporate worship. I missed studying His Word with my Christian family. I missed being surrounded by family. I missed church. I'm so glad I got to be home for a while and go.
We went out with the Prices for lunch. Atlanta Bread Company and a new kind of soup: Butternut Squash. I think I'm going to have to try to make that.
That afternoon, we rested some then we packed. Momma and I got almost all my stuff packed that afternoon and evening. For some reason, it wasn't as hard this time :). Maybe because I pretty much had everything already ready to go.
Then, Momma and I did nails ;). Mine are bright red! My favorite. We also watched some TV. Then bed for me!

Monday morning dawned and I got up. I slept badly, so it wasn't as much waking up as just finally getting out of bed. I had another interview! YAY!!! This one is with a tutoring place about 10 minutes from campus. I'd be doing maths mostly, but some physics-based science or Spanish maybe. I loved the environment and I enjoy students, so this could be a great fit!

After that, I came home. Ate lunch. Finished packing. Hung around the house. Then we left for Madrid! Of course, that's not at home anymore so you'll have to wait until the next post to hear about Spain stuff :).

Sontecomapan & la semana final

I must say that this rates as the single best weekend of 2011. Just does.

But, let's start at the beginning...
I wake up Thursday morning. Very nervous. Debate + trip, right? We talked for the better part of two hours, back and forth. Ben and Benja's opening remarks both went super long, but even after we got into the talking part we still went forever. We were debating the pros and cons of CELAC, which is sort of like a Central/South American version of the European Union.
The best part? I talked! My teacher LOVED it and told me at least 3 times that she was very impressed with me and my speaking. Which, after what I've been through with my speaking, was one of the best compliments I've gotten all trip. I know that a lot of my comfort level is due to hanging out with Drew, Ben, and Benja a lot over the past week or two. They randomly speak in Spanish quite a bit, and I had to pick it up or be lost the whole conversation. Plus, they really don't care if I stumble over my words. I think I've asked Benja "como se dice..." more times than I can count.

So, after the debate, we got on the bus for a 9 hour bus ride to SONTECOMAPAN! Which was awesome. The place, not the bus ride.
Although, we did have some fun on the bus ride. Played some serious Spades (which Ben and I rocked socks at), and some 500 (which we, again, won). I read some, slept a tad, talked, etc.

We finally arrive at like 8 that evening. We got to take a 20 minute boat ride out to the little island where we were staying for the weekend. I love the water. I love the peaceful bliss of boating over calm water with the wind in your face and the smell of salt in the air. Oh, sigh.
When we arrived and dumped our stuff, I immediately headed straight for a hammock. I love hammocks. We chilled in the hammocks until dinner was served. Ian, Ben, and Benja fit into one hammock, which was quite a funny sight, I might say.
We had fish tostadas for dinner, which were supper yummy. Of course, the usual batter involving hot salsa and wimpy mouths went around. Ben and Miguelito both love super duper hot stuff. I like a little spice, but not like they do. But the tostadas were good and had tomatoes and aguante on them. Yum!
After dinner, we watched a short video about Los Amigos, which is the place we were staying at. They're trying to promote reforestation of the area as well as sustainable water practices and recycling. Seeing the before and after pictures of the trees was so cool because it showed how well its really working.
Then, on to bed. It was almost 11 before we headed that way and we all knew we'd be getting up early!

Friday morning, we got up to head to yoga at 7:30. I enjoyed that. It was difficult and I realized that I'm not so very good at it. But my back really let loose for the first time in a long time. Some of the students didn't finish, but I'm semi-suicidal in that way. Never quit.
Breakfast was yummy. Started a tradition of a fruit appetizer before the main meal. Fruit for breakfast is a tradition that I think I must continue once I'm home. It's just yummy. We did have omelets of a kind to go with it.

Friday was an interesting day. After breakfast, we talked for a bit with the people that own Los Amigos and figured out our schedule for the week. Then we headed to LA PLAYA!
For those of you who don't understand Spanish and so have no idea why I just got excited, that would be THE BEACH!! I thoroughly enjoyed it. We spent a few hours out on the sand (la arenja) and in the ocean (el océano). I hung out with Ben and Benja as we explored the beach. Ben tried to surf on a log. Needless to say, it didn't work. Although it did lend itself to some heavy laughter from me and Benja. We also found some random jalapenos and limes on the beach. Ben and I tasted the jalapeno. He liked it, I didn't really.
More fun in the waves. A little in the sand (which was insanely hot!).
After we got back, Antonio took us on a tour. Of course, it was beautiful. That whole place is. We got lots, or at least separated from the group.  By "we" I mean me, Travis, Miguelito, Emily, Summer, Roxy, & Rebecca. I have no idea how I ended up with them (except that I was slow due to my love of picture taking) but it ended up being pretty fun.
Friday afternoon we had some free time to kinda chill. Of course, for me, chilling and fun aren't always the same thing. So we went kayaking through the mangroves. My idea of fun :). I double kayaked with Ian, which was quite the experience. But the mangroves remind me so much of childhood fun, since I kinda grew up in them. There were TONS of crabs too! Fascinating, even when they drop into your boat since you and your partner can't steer and end up crashing into branches :).

That night was the Temazcal. This is like an ancient steam room on steroids. It was probably the hottest hour and a half of my life, and I loved it. They started off with a ceremony where they "beat" us with a healing plant all over. Then we headed into the steamer room, which is basically a tarp-covered bamboo tent with a dirt floor and a hole in the middle for hot rocks and water. After we all got in, we "welcomed" the "abuelitos" or the rocks with chants in Spanish. Our guide, a Mexican Shaman, tossed water on the rocks, thus producing steam :).
We proceeded to spent over an hour in that steaminess as we went through more Spanish songs and chants and supplications for purity and healing. All in all, a very unique and cleansing experience. I thoroughly enjoyed the Spanish chants too!
After we got out, we came down the mountain and jumped in the ocean! Much cooler and very refreshing. We went on to dinner after that, even though it was almost 9 by this point!

Saturday: The day of holey kayaks...
So, we got up early Saturday morning to head out in our kayaks to see the sun rise. By "we", I mean me, Ben, y Benja. Once we got out there, Ben and I decided to beach our kayaks and watch from the ocean so we could take pictures. Benja wanted to go out farther...
Great idea... until his kayak turned out to have a hole in it! So, we did see the sunrise over the lake... then proceeded to spend over an hour trying to drain Benja's kayak and get it back around the peninsula and into calmer waters so he could paddle it back to the ranch.
After all that, we still made it back to the hacienda in time for breakfast! Yay! After breakfast, we headed up the mountain once again for another Mexica ritual: a dance. Basically, you brought a blindfold, covered your eyes, and danced to old-style Latino music to your to your heart's content. Since no one could see the others, I'm sure the dances got pretty wild. I know mine did :). I loved this music and this time of movement that connected me back with myself. The movement was all about emotion and the beat. For me, dance is feeling. Dance is emotion. Dance is balance. Dance is connection. I loved it.

After dancing, we came down for a lecture by Antonio on Bioarcetectura. Or Green Architecture, in English colloquialism. Although I didn't understand everything, I was fascinated by this lecture since its exactly what I'm going into. I want to practice bioacretectura and permacultura in Latin America. Of course, God may yet have a different plan. But I like this one.

Lunch then more free time. We played some cards, then decided to have another kayak adventure. Of course, we left the holey kayak at home ... or so we thought...
We (meaning me, Ben, and Benja) kayaked through the mangroves. Drew, Migelito, and Doctora followed us for a while in the larger row boat, but they couldn't go as deep into the mangroves because their boat was bigger. But we went in as far as we could. Of course, the guys wanted to get out at one point. I sunk in mud up to my knees. It was great.
They went off into the woods to experience nature's finer qualities *cough cough*... I decided to be brilliant and see if I could balance in the kayak while standing. Needless to say, I couldn't. And as my yelp and a giant splash sound through the woods, the guys come hurrying back already laughing because by this point in the trip, they know me well enough to guess what happened...
After that, we headed back to the ranch to pick up Drew, who wanted to go to the other side of the lake and climb on the mangroves. Of course, another group was out kayaking too... so there wasn't an extra kayak... so (yes, it was my brilliant idea) we decided that I'd hold onto the back of one of they guy's boats and swim across... Much fun... much exhaustion...
We climbed around there for a bit. I managed to get to the back without stepping in the mud too much because I didn’t have shoes due to swimming across. Of course, my momma used to tease that I was half monkey, so that wasn’t a hardship for me :).

We came back to the Ranch and decided to try again to kayak out to the ocean and play in the waves. Thankfully, there was an extra kayak by this time, so I got my own as we paddled out into the deep recesses of the ocean…. *cue theatric music*
Anyway, we got out there, started playing the waves... and what should happen? A giant wave crashing over the kayak that I'm losing control of... and I fall in. Thankfully, getting back into the kayak wasn't that big of an issue. It was, of course, full of water. After an excruciating journey to the beach, we dump it out. And what should we find, my dear reader?
Yes, you guessed it... a hole. Yay. Of course, Benja's new kayak had one too, so I wasn't alone. We pretty much figured that all the kayaks of that kind were holey. But we dumped it and tried to start around the island again. Needless to say, I ended up in the water three or four more times. I got really good at getting back in the boat...
Finally, I gave up and just started walking the kayak around the peninsula to get to calmer waters. What should happen next, for of course this would be no fitting end to this tale?! Yes, my dear readers, una medusa. Or, in English, a jellyfish.
I was stung on the knee. It's true. My cry echoed out over the waters to bring help... okay, dramatic. But I did groan some and let Ben and Benja take the kayak as soon as they got there. That HURT! Ben and Benja switched out kayaks so that I was in the plastic one and the only one without a hole. We paddled our exhausted bodies and full kayaks back to the ranch. That took over 20 minutes.
The whole time, my knee screamed. I think the venom or whatever a jellyfish has spread, cuz my whole knee and half my leg was going numb by the time I got back.
Some vinegar, a shower, and some rest later, I was okay. Yeah, it hurt for several days, but I was walking and back to my old, perky self. Yay!
So, moral of this story? Holey kayaks = bad. Una medusa = cool name but BAD. :)

That evening, after our adventure, things seemed strangely tame... We had dinner and ended up sitting around talking forever. Antonio gave us a slide show lecture, explaining more about reforestation and stuff. Eventually, we all headed to bed out of exhaustion ... and it was only 11pm...

Sunday: a return to DF
That morning, we got up for breakfast then headed back across the water via boat to get back to our bus. I love the water. The bus ride was 9 hours long. We did stop in a small town where Ben, Benja, and I managed to negotiate a dude out of three hammocks for a great price! We also stopped for lunch, but strangely none of us were very hungry.
We didn't get back in until almost 11 that night.

Monday and Tuesday:
Doctora cancelled class for us, so we spent these days working on our debates and projects. Not a whole lot to say about it, except that we worked. I'm glad we didn't have class or we would have gotten practically no sleep at all that week.

Wednesday:
Debates! Yay! Okay, so actually it was kinda terrifying. But I got into it after a while. My group had Transgenic Seeds, and I sure learned a whole lot. We talked for the better part of two hours, but it was all good. The other team had already had their debate about TLCAN.
That afternoon, we spent more time working on projects and studying for a test the next day.

Thursday:

Our last test in the morning. Both easier and harder in some ways than the others.

Then off to Rebecca's house to finish our project. We worked on it for most of the evening. That evening, we also went on the Touribus, but it was late so we didn't get to spend much time on it. Oh well.

Friday:

We showed our commercials! I'll have to post a link soon so everyone can see mine.

I didn't do a whole lot that afternoon. Took a nap, worked on some non-Mexico related stuff.

That evening, we had our farewell dinner. We showed our commercials to our families and had a huge dinner. All the host families came and ate with us. I got to talk to quite a few fun people and I loved it! Such awesome conversations.

After we left there, we went to Emilie's for her birthday celebration. That got wild, but I had fun. I didn't go out to the club with them afterwards, which I'm thankful for.

Saturday:

We spent Saturday shopping and hanging out. We took the Touribus again, and this time got the 3 hour version. I spent all day out with the others just having fun on our last day together in Mexico. Finished finding all the gifts I wanted and stuff. We ended the day with coffee and smoothies about midnight. :)

Sunday:

COME HOME!!! :) And man, was I ever glad for that!

La Primera Parte de la Semana Quita

Hey everyone. I'm half way through my fifth week in DF. I can hardly believe what God has done in my life through this trip. I can honestly say that I'll never be the same as I was before. He is teaching me wholehearted dependance on His name.

I guess I should start with last Thursday. We went to the Mastretta Plant. The Mastretta is the first all Mexican hand made car. Really, its a sports car in a class of its own.

More pictures: 
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150199886725044.305520.665665043

It's beautiful, for one. It's also almost completely hand made. No huge machines with assembly lines. I really liked that part. It's also completely 100% Mexican: from the design to the construction, everything is done in house.
More pretty car pictures. No, I'm not modeling. I'm dreaming that some day I'll own one and drive it really really fast. It's a stick, of course, and only has two seats. So my dream will probably never come true, but it never hurts to dream big.

The bus ride to that place was like 2 hours. I was very glad I had my iPad complete with eBooks. I read some John Piper, which was fascinating. I'm really getting into this whole non-fiction reading thing and enjoying it.







On Friday, we had class in the morning. Then we went to a cooking lesson! I was so excited because I love to cook and now I can cook a few Mexican dishes!

Michael, Ben, Benjamin, y yo made the cerviche. It was DELICIOUS! If I do say so myself. In this picture, we're playing with Guabana for agua con Guabana. I'm not sure if that's spelled right, but its phonetic. A very fun fruit.

Some of the others made tocos dorados, squash flower soup with mushrooms, nopal salad, and other yummy goodness. I'm so excited to make it back in the States!

More pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150199897230044.305522.665665043

This is all of us posing for the camera. We ate so much that several of the group fell asleep after dinner!

After that, a group of us went to see the new X-Men movie. It was good. It was in English with Spanish subtitles, so we could understand it. I can't wait until that movie comes out on DVD. Daddy MUST see it, it has Leto in it :) (If you've never seen Dune, ignore the reference). The ending was semi-predictable, but then we've seen the later ones.

Therefore, I didn't get home until late Friday night. But it was a great day. We even had ice cream :).

Saturday, we got up early and headed for Puebla! It was a three hour drive and I slept a lot of it. But we got there a little before noon and settled into our hotel. Then, out for lunch. Rebecca and I ran into Ben, Benja, and Drew. I ended up spending most of the weekend hanging out with those guys, and it was great.

Saturday afternoon, we walked around the city some. Puebla has a much different personality than DF. It's so much more authentically Mexican. I can't even describe the difference, but you can feel it.

We ended up at a little hole-in-the-wall place for lunch. It was great. A three course meal for like $4. This is Ben attempting to feed Benja the jello stuff we got for dessert (which I didn't count as a course). The fun part was that we all got different main courses then tested everyone else's.
This is where the story of how I've come to determine that Ben's sense of "hot" is quite different from normal. He fed me jalapeno covered fish. Yes, he warned me :). Still, they said I turned bright red... quite funny, or so we all thought. Much laughter ensued :).

That afternoon, we hiked out through the city and saw some of the forts from Cinco De Mayo (which is NOT the Mexican independence day, for all you who thought it was. They're independence day is Sept 16th). That was really awesome. As well as getting to see the less touristy side of Puebla.

This is, as you can see, Fuerte de Guadalupe, or Guadalupe Fort in English. One of several we saw. We couldn't go inside because we got there too late, but we walked around them.

More pictures: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150199901820044.305524.665665043

That evening we went out to dinner. But we first watched this amazing sunset. LOVE!

We hung out that evening. Had tacos. Eventually hit the sack and slept.

Sunday morning, we had a HUGE buffet breakfast. We all rolled out of that one. It was soooo yummy though! Fruits, empenadas, tamales, waffles, quince, fresh fruit juice, all kinds of yummy bread and pastries, and I know I didn't spell all those right. YUM! Needless to say, I didn't eat lunch.

We spent a lot of the afternoon wandering through the market and buying gifts. I won't spoil the surprise by telling you what I got :). But I found some good deals. Much fun was had. Gifts bought. Hours spent searching through a huge market.

We had to return to DF that afternoon. Sad to leave Puebla :(.

Monday:
Class. Then off to visit Amextra. It's a nonprofit organization that helps poor Mexican communities learn how to live "independently". I mean, they provide for themselves but still as part of the community. It was fun. We got to interact with the people there and talk and stuff.

We had an awesome lunch. Some flat taco-ish thing with bisteck y queso. YUM! The local lady that talked after that was very hard to understand. I think I got about one word in 20. Discouraging. But others were having a similar problem.

Tuesday: Class. Not a lot to say. It was fun though :).
After lunch, we met to work on our debate research. Then I wrote an essay.

Wednesday:
Debate! We have to do debates for this class. The one today I didn't participate in (mine's tomorrow). But the topic was the legalization of Marijuana in Mexico. Good or bad? It was quite heated.

After that, we went to Ben's to work on more research. We've got the outline pretty much finalized. Now its just a matter of writing our own 3 minute speech and memorizing it. I have to finish that yet.

We tried to go to the Corona plant today to tour it. But only the guys got to go since you had to wear pants and tennis shoes but Dra told us to dress up. For a girl, closed shoes aren't dressy, sadly. So we didn't get to go.

Now, more work for me. So I should get off and actually go do it. Tomorrow we leave for the weekend! I'll tell you about it when I get back :)

La Semana Tercera y Cuarto

Wow, it's been a crazy week! I know I haven't posted all week, but I've got good reasons. I had a test today and one tomorrow, so I spent a ton of time preparing for those. Anyway, I should start at the beginning.

 Sunday:
El museo MIDE. It's an economy museum. This is me and Roxanne waiting for the shindig to begin. It was super hot that day, but I was loving it.
SO, at the economy museum, we learned all kinds of basic economy stuff. The museum was designed more with kids in mind, I think. But that was great for me, since my Spanish isn't excellente. I found it quite fascinating, but I usually like economy.
The museum was interactive. I think that part sounds awesome, but we were limited in what we could do since we had a guide. The museum is self-explanatory enough that I think playing with all the toys like a gradeschooler would have been much more fun. But, that's just me. I never lost my inner child. And I wasn't following the tour guide very often, so I got more from the toys than from her.
We learned about the back. Hence this picture. But the coolest part to me was the simulated stock market where we actually got to buy/sell. It took me a round to figure out the device and how the game was working. But after that, I loved it!

Monday:
A long day of class. 6 hours, per usual. We didn't have an excursion. Just more history of Mexico and business Spanish. Sitting in class for 6 hours is a pain, but the subject matter is usually interesting. Then, lunch. Then home for studying. There's never a down moment in DF.

Tuesday:
Tuesday is free museum day in DF. So, we visited four. Or tried to. It was Art Museum Expo day of craziness. You can see us at the beginning of our adventure here :). We're not exhausted yet!
The first museum we did was La Secretaria. Many of Diego Rivera's murals are there. The tour guide for this museum was bad, even Benjamin (who grew up in Peru) was having trouble understanding her. But the paintings were fascinating. Most of the walls were covered in giant murals that tell the history of Mexico. Diego Rivera, although an idealist, was famous for telling Mexican history through his paintings.

After touring the museum, we did a craft project. We weren't supposed to do it, there was a misunderstanding. But I thought you might enjoy seeing the results. Mexicans do a dance while wearing masks like these (only not made from paper). The leader waves a flag. If I understood correctly, it was a slap in the face of Spain. Kind of recalling Mexican tradition and creating a unique Mexican identity. Mexico's had a lot of identity crisis throughout its history.



The next museo was el Cologio San Ildefonso, which used to be a school. This one is covered in the murals of Jose Clemente Orozco. His paintings tend to be less story-ish and more thought provoking. I especially like this one for its so many interpretations of the symbolism. And its just a cool painting.
The tour guide on this trip was easier to understand. But after 3 hours at the first museum, we were all world weary and not really wanting to walk anymore. But the museum was really worth it. I learned so much more about Orozco. I learned to tell almost immediately between his work and that of Diego Rivera.
We had to know a lot about the styles of these two painters for our test, so it was really cool to see so many of their works in person and compare them. We definitely spent time talking over symbolism and the differences in style between the two painters.
After that, we split off for lunch. We met back up in the giant plaza in the middle of Zocolo. That's where this craziness happened. No reason, just fun in DF. Miguelito's on the bottom (yes, his name got changed in Mexico), then Ben, with Alexi on top. Don't worry, there are several hands outside the picture in case they fall. But they were surprisingly steady.












Anyway. Next museum was el Palacio National. I couldn't take many pictures because this is like the Mexican version of the White House (only, they have two). We actually got to see the Mexican Oval Office and the balcony where el presidente gives the Grito De Dolores every year on la Dia de Independencia. "Viva Mexico!"
The picture of me shows a HUGE mural by Diego Rivera on the wall in the Palacio. I mean, huge too. That wall is probably 50 feet across and at least that tall, plus half that on each adjacent wall . It's simply amazing and very complex. I have no idea how he painted all that!
Our last museum was Bellas Artes, but we arrived about 5 minutes before it closed and they wouldn't let us in. By this time, it was 5:30 and all of us were ready for dinner and a siesta. This museum has a lot by the third big muralist of this period: David Siquieros.
I came home and had dinner. By that point, it was late. I got a half hour nap. Then I was up again and headed to Emily's to watch the movie Rojo Amanecer for class. We had to write an essay about it, but it was in Spanish. Miquelito was the only one with the version with subtitles, so we got together to watch it on Emily's rooftop. Which was pretty fun.
After that, I was exhausted. I literally collapsed into bed.

Wednesday:
Another long day of class. Just class. Nothing else very interesting to report. Which is probably good, because if every day was as long as Tuesday, this would be an insane post!

Thursday:
We started out with class. We got out a little early and headed for lunch. Then, we went to the Plaza de Tres Culturas.
This is us on a bridge on the way there. It was an awesome bridge because you could actually feel it moving as you went across. Of course, not everyone liked that. But I'm a CE at heart, truly. It was very cool to jump on the bridge and feel it sway ever so slightly but know that there was no way it would come crashing down. I think this is where the conversation about pet elephants came in... but, you'll have to ask me about that one ;).
Well, we arrived at La Plaza de Tres Culturas. Remember the movie "Rojo Amanacer" that I told you about? Well, its about La Masacre de Tlatelolco in 1968. Over 300 people were massacred by the government when they were protesting for their rights. Most of them were university students. So we got to visit the place where that happened. The story is horrible because the government did such a good job covering it up. They reported that 4 people were killed and managed to get away with that until 2000.
This is a picture of the church that stands on the edge of the plaza. The plaza itself didn't seem big enough for all those people. And we could see the apartment building on its edge where the movie was set. If you like happy endings, I don't recommend you watch this movie. If you want a heart wrenching account of what actually happened, its perfect.
We visited the museum for the massacre after that. Then, we went for ice cream since we all needed a pick-me-up after the solemness of the occasion. I got a milkshake, and it was definitely different than US ones. But it was yummy. Then, back to the metro, home, and more studying.
Anyone seeing a pattern here?

Friday:
More class. Are you surprised? Didn't think so. Yeah, not much interesting to report. We did some review at the end of class for our tests. After lunch, we I came home and studied. I did get in a few good Skype conversations, so it was a good day. Not my usual Friday at home, but nothing about Mexico is normal.

Saturday:
El Dia Libre
Free day. Well, in the sense of no class. I spent a lot of it studying. I also didn't feel good. I missed the outing that most of the group went on (it was optional, not for class). But I was trying not to be sick and I needed a great deal of study time.
I did also take a few breaks. I got some good Jesus time in as well as talking to some people back home. It wasn't a great day since I didn't feel good. But it was good since I got in some relax time.

Sunday:
BIIMBO!!
This is the number one producer of bread and bread products in the world, and its headquarters are here in DF, Mexico. I so wish I had pictures, but we weren't allowed to take any. We got to hear about their company first and its history. They're so much like a family, and the guy said it, the video said it, and you could feel it in the atmosphere. I think I'd like to work at a place like that.
Then, we toured the back. Bread + Awesome Machines = awesomeness. Yes, I do have an ME boyfriend who's increased my appreciation for and awareness of complex machinery. But this would have been awesome even before that. I mean, the complexity and creativity with the machines to make dough, knead dough, roll out the dough, form donuts or hamburger buns or white bread, put it perfectly in the right pan, send it into the oven, get it out of the oven, let it cool ....
Wow. I mean, wow. I so could work there and have a ton of fun all the time.
After that amazing adventure, I came back for more studying. By this time, the freak out is beginning. My test is on Tuesday and I'm not READY. AHH!!
I also watched another movie for class. It wasn't great either. I don't think we watch good movies in this class. Informative ones, maybe, but not good ones.
I did spend some time on the Sabbath with my Jesus. I counted that as important, and really enjoyed the time I got to spend with Him. I needed some time to focus on how good He is, even when I'm going crazy. He's teaching me a lot this trip, and so I spent some time clarifying it all in my head and talking to Him about it.

Monday:
Happy Memorial Day to all my state-side friends. They, obviously, don't celebrate it here in Mexico. But Doctora Galloway gave us the day off. Thank goodness for more studying time!
We had a giant review session that lasted two hours that morning. Great help because there is literally so much information that it's daunting to know where to even begin to try to study. I spent most of the afternoon studying, but I still didn't feel ready. I think that's a common problem for me in this class.

Tuesday: (almost done!)
We got up and went to La Reforma, which is a local newspaper. We weren't allowed to take pictures again. (This one is actually at the school after we got back. Just random cuz I'm all dressed fancy-like).
The guide told us all about how the newspaper works. Their printing presses only print one color at a time in four layers. That was kind of cool. Also, online newspapers aren't a big deal down here. I thought that was interesting. They're department for "punta com" (dot com) was actually tiny.
When we got back, we had a few hours of class. Doctora wanted to introduce the next section of our material. We're in the last part of the course! She also told us about our project and debates coming up. This sounds scary, yet incredibly exciting. I'm hoping I can speak fast enough to be able to catch up. Even if I stumble, I've gotta try. But, I'm sure it will be fun. That's what I've heard from all the TAs who loved this part last year.

After that, I came back and had a short siesta before beginning a marathon study session. I studied for six hours straight. Those of you that saw my Facebook probably saw my posts about all the crazy things I did to keep myself concentrating and sane. But I really felt like I understood a lot more of the material before I went to bed that night.

Today: (yay!)
Our test began at 9 this morning and we had four hours. I finished it in 2 1/2 with over 7 pages double sided. Yes, long test. But I really felt like I understood so much more of what was happening than last test. I'm hoping I did much better on it. It felt better.
Then, back to mi casa. I had lunch and talked to my Momma via Skype for a bit. I need girl-time and I was so excited to have some time to spend with her. It was a great way to de-stress after my horrendous study session and super long test.
When she had to leave, I laid down for a siesta. Unfortunately, it went a little longer than I meant for it too. Oh well, I needed the sleep.
I spent the next two hours focused hard on my vocab for the test tomorrow. My stack of note cards is an inch and a half thick. Crazy stuff. But I managed to get through them all.
Now, I stopped for a minute to check Facebook and write this post. I have to go back to more studying. This post has taken me almost 45 minutes to write! I guess that's to be expected since I'm putting almost a week and a half of information into one post. I hope you didn't get bored! I'm off to more studying now.

Love to all from DF!
Loren