warm memories from a cold season

I am amazed at how time disappears. My life is slow-paced and relaxing, for the most part; yet, time still goes fast. I guess that's humbling proof that I'm getting older. But with age comes experience...which generally inspires wisdom. At least there's one thing to anticipate!

I've been spending a lot of time with my family... well, when they're home, that is. Our best conversations usually happen over the dinner table where we compile a ridiculous assortment of random facts, dreams, songs, and memories. I discovered that Mom and I can still laugh until we're both in tears...even when the incident isn't that funny!

I had a "most embarrassing moment" the other week. This particular day started after a night of three hours of sleep, continued with nine hours with a sick, fussy baby, and tragically ended with a stop to the grocery store. Please note that I am not an experienced or efficient grocery shopper. Nevertheless, Grandma and Mom had sent me on this errand with a tidy little stack of coupons. I found everything with relative ease, minus the fact that I retraced my tracks several times and bumped into the same people more than a few times. I unloaded my groceries at the counter, made polite conversation with the cashier, and then politely refused to load up the cart to pull around and pick up the groceries. "I can carry them!" I declared confidently. However, my confidence faltered as I loaded up one arm with a 10-lb bag of potatoes, a gallon of ice cream, and several containers of laundry soap. While I was fishing for the key in my pocket, the man behind me valiantly picked up two gallons of milk and assured me that he would carry them out to my car for me. I was mortified, but led the way to the car. I stuck the key in the truck lock and twisted... well, I tried to twist. The trunk would not open. I shot a nervous glance back at the patient gentleman holding two gallons of milk along with his own groceries. "You can set them down. I'll get them!" I chuckled as I went to the driver's door. "Oh, I'll wait. I'm not in a hurry." So he bemusedly stood by as I unlocked the driver's door and reached back with groceries dangling off my arms to unlock the backseat (power locks should be a necessity for moments like this). When I finally was safely in my car, I laughed the whole way home.

I wrote about Asta the snoring dog in my last post. Here is an Asta update: I fear she is quite disillusioned with me. I made her go outside in the rain after she'd made it clear she didn't want to. She gave me sad eyes, but I was firm. Then I forgot about her until she was shivering and extremely grumpy. I would've felt worse if I hadn't been the brunt of her reproachful eyes for the next several hours. She did try to make up with me when I was on the floor with Andrew. She placed to furry paws in my lap, and scurried away when I lept up and yelled at her. I assume she will have to work through some emotional baggage before she takes such liberties again.

I had a mouse in my room (notice the tense of the verb HAD. *victorious chuckle*). I was on the floor by my desk when I heard a rustle outside my closed door. I assumed it was someone outside of the door and didn't even look up until something black squeezed under the door and shot for cover. Startled, I believe my first thought was "Cockroach!" (the result of spending a year in Mexico, I suppose). For the moment, he was safely hidden. Later in the day, I was on my bed when I heard another rustle and then a pointy black head peeked out from under my desk. He saw me and froze. He then eyed me while judging the pros and cons of exposing himself to an obvious villain...and promptly vanished again. I maliciously recruited my brother to set a trap. By nighttime, we had our long-tailed friend.

Despite cold (and colds), life has been good. I've had good times with family and friends: long walks, deep talks, hot chocolate, conversations in faltering Spanish, Mexican restaurants, offers of green tomato pie, times in the field during harvest, Tony's Italian love songs, cookie bakes at Grandma's house, and good books. God has been faithful in the most encouraging and frustrating situations of adjusting to life in the States. I suspect it will take a long time to feel entirely adjusted, but I'll just live un día a la vez!

finding humor in the little things

"Oh...Lord...My...God!"
The Sunday after I got home, a group from my church went to a nursing home to sing for one of our church members. One of the residents gushed over "How Great Thou Art" and insisted on leading it for us a second time. She stood in front of us and made dramatic hand motions. "Oh...Lord...my...God!" she began slowly, almost intolerably low. We joined her, soprano voices brushing the bass section. After the singing, Bev, Bradley, and I went to visit another lady in the home, only to find that her roommate was the energetic song leader. The song leader shamelessly eavesdropped on our conversation and inserted her opinion: "God and Jesus are good, both of them!" And then pointing to a painting of Jesus on her wall she exclaimed, "And good-looking too!"

Shopping Trip
When my Eberly cousins were out for a visit, we girls went shopping. Our first stop was to drop off a rented jackhammer. We had visions of all six of us hauling it out of the back of the van and into the rental agency. Instead, one nice man came to rescue us and carried it off by himself. In the same shopping trip we also hit Farm&Fleet, Menards, and Advance Auto Parts. The guys were impressed.

Cookies
You may think that since I made cookies at least once a week in Mexico, I'd be pretty good at making them now. But alas. I made my favorite recipe of chocolate chip cookies, but instead of turning out deliciously chocolaty, this is what happened. First, I broke the mixer. I'm not used to using mixers anymore, and I stuck the wooden spoon a little too close to the beaters. Good news: the wooden spoon is fine. After I stuck the first tray in the oven, I realized I'd forgotten an entire bag of chocolate chips! Then the cookies turned out dreadfully flat. The first batch actually dripped off the pan and onto the bottom of the oven where they burned. Speaking of burnt... Just kidding, that's the one thing I managed NOT to do!

Torpedoes
I've become more sensitive to how badly most people in America pronounce Spanish words. Soon after I got home, I went out with some friends to a Mexican restaurant to eat what Davis called "torpedoes" (tortillas). At Taco Bell with my mom another day, the cashier confirmed my mom's order as a "gor-diht-uh" (gordita). Cringe!

Asta the snoring dog
I went with Janelle to babysit a little boy named Andrew. Because of his health problems, I wanted to get some "training" before I went by myself. Janelle had warned me about Asta, the family dog. I got to know the pooch fairly well on the first day. Unfortunately, she didn't sense my disdain of dogs, and she loved me. She ignored Janelle and cast adoring eyes on me wherever I went. She stood and quivered almost all day because she was so excited or nervous or...something. She watched us during lunch, waiting for us to accidentally drop particles of food for her to slurp up. She finally laid down for a nap in the afternoon and lo and behold, she began to SNORE! It startled me until I realized it was only the sleepy canine on the floor by my feet. Dogs should not snore!

Janelle scares Asta
Speaking of Asta, on my second day of "training", Janelle was on the floor changing Andrew's diaper and telling me about how she'd made Asta angry one time. At the end of her story, she imitated Asta's nasty response: *SNARL *BARK *GROWL! Asta, who was sitting right beside her, suddenly leaned back and flattened her ears against her head in fright. I burst out laughing and Asta didn't look too pleased that her new hero was finding humor at her expense.

Crazy Youth
What do Josh the quilting bee leader, Andy the tooth fairy, and Arlene the porta-potty attendant have in common? Play strange games with my youth group and find out!

Pickles
My grandma has been known for trying some unconventional cooking. One day, I walked over to my grandparents' house to visit. She had a kettle of cucumbers merrily boiling in pickle juice on the stove. Chuckling inwardly, I made a mental note to tell my mom about this latest experiment. But when I got home and told my amusing story, mom said, "I did that!" And I was humbled to realize that my mom was the one who had given Grandma the idea!

Scary gun explosion
I was lounging on the couch, reading my book. The character in the book could feel unseen eyes watching him as he crept around the house in the dark. Suddenly, explosions ripped through the air, scaring me senseless. I looked up to see my cousin Justin towering in the doorway with a toy ball gun aimed at his brother. He'd been firing right beside my head...slightly unnerving in the thick of a scary plot!

Exciting side note!!! I made flour tortillas on Thursday night for the first time since I've been home (and the first time by myself EVER) and they turned out remarkably Mexican-like. There might be a reason Ana called me a "chicana"!

Another side note: HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JANESSA!!! I hope you know that I did this just for you!

Goodbyes, Airports, and Flannel

SUNDAY: A lot has happened since I got up on Sunday morning. The highlight of my otherwise dreary and tearful morning was that my former landlady came to church. She had deserted a houseful of company to spend one last time with me. When Lenn led my song request, he couldn’t remember how it went. It was a memorable farewell to have the confused church singing an array of clashing notes, lol. After church I said a few more goodbyes and went to Mochiqui to tell MariCruz and her family goodbye. I told Ana goodbye just in case I didn’t see her again. I thought I had become calloused to saying goodbye by then, and was surprised at how much it hurt to say those goodbyes. It all just felt so final...and depressing. After lunch with Reina, David, Lupita, and Aile, I spent the afternoon quietly in my room. Marlen visited me. Ana came to the San Pedro service; we sat together all the way there, through the service, and all the way back. I had to tell everyone in San Pedro goodbye after the service. It took me so long that Lenn almost sped off without me! Aile had a program at 8:00 that we all wanted to attend. Unfortunately, the others got home from church after 8:00 (others as in: including Aile) and we had to stuff popcorn into bags to take along with us. Aile showered and then we were off, extremely late. We parked and walked in, some marching ahead and others trailing behind… we were quite the motley crew! We shouldn’t have been the least bit stressed; Aile was scheduled on the program after two hours of traditional-style dancing from a bunch of high-schoolers in costume. We got home late after dropping people off.
MONDAY: Reina’s family stayed overnight which is why David’s wild yell woke me up. I wanted to do laundry, but the water wasn’t on. After breakfast, I started with packing and donating stuff to missionaries less-privileged than I (okay, the last phrase wasn’t necessarily true). When I finally got my clean laundry on the line, someone started a brush fire that [of course] drifted over to my clean laundry. I dashed outside to save some of it so I wouldn’t have to smell like a tramp on my flight the next day. I went to buy my last coke and tell Don Josecito goodbye. He gave me gum as a farewell gift. I called home and cleared up some details of my flight. Then I laid down to rest. When I did, I realized that the sniffling I had attributed to allergies was actually my good friend, Head Cold. And his timing was impeccable. I went to the orphanage to say final goodbyes to everyone there. Lenn took Janessa, Caleb, and I out on his moto. It was tight squeeze, especially since my skirt wasn’t conducive to good moto riding. Janessa was basically on my lap with Caleb on top of her. Whenever we stopped, Lenn had to support our combined weight as we slid down the seat toward him. Ana was waiting for me; I’d told her that I’d be there. It was fun to be with the kids one last time, even if it was a bit melancholy. Ana left early, leaving me with a note and a phone number as she climbed on the bike with her boyfriend and disappeared from sight. Suddenly the soccer game had ended and I had to say goodbye to everyone. I asked Debbie if I could just slip out, but she quickly shot down that idea. I had told myself that crying wasn’t an option at least until I was home... but when Roxina started hugging me and wouldn’t let me go and Maria was waiting solemnly for me beside the van, I knew my resolve was not going to last. I had a hard time climbing onto the moto with the girls hanging on me. When I got home, I got a stomach ache. I hate goodbyes. But the night wasn’t over yet. Janessa, Rhonda, Suzanne, and I went out for ice cream and to the plaza. We didn’t have much time, but we had fun for my last night “on the town.” By the time we got back, my head was throbbing and my nose was unstoppable.
TUESDAY: I hardly slept… a result of the blend of sinuses and emotions. I got up at 5:00 a.m. and finished packing. Originally, all of the Yoder family had been planning to spend the day in Los Mochis, but I wasn’t the only one who wasn’t feeling good so those plans collapsed. So I said a few more goodbyes before we left the house. The ride to the airport was long and bumpy. Then I had to wait a long time for my plane. My head was in the clouds by the time I finally got ready to get on the right plane. First, I banged my head in the doorway in front of the stewardess and the pilot. Then I had my ticket upside down when I was trying to find my seat, and the stewardess had to help me turn my ticket around. And then I tried to open what I thought was an overhead bin but was actually just the overhead lights; the bins were only on one side! Most everyone else was already boarded and they watched me curiously as a gave them a weak smile and plunged into my seat. We flew along a body of water that I assumed was the bay between mainland Mexico and Baja California. I began to feel better as the day progressed despite that fact I’d had hardly any sleep and was under stress. It was definitely a miracle. The landing in Phoenix tested the strength of my motion-sickness pill and I was relieved to be on the ground again. Going through customs was easy despite the maze of contradicting directions to re-check in my luggage. I got tired of walking and rode those little flat escalator thingys as an alternative… so slooooooooooooow! My flight from Phoenix to Chicago was freezing. I fought the urge to cuddle up to the passenger beside me, but I think I had goosebumps at least 80% of the 3 ½ hour flight. I was extremely restless and bounded off the plane once they opened the door. As I marched down the hallway to the final flight of stairs, I saw my Dad. Despite the fact that my family had all been awaiting my arrival, they looked a little shocked to see me. After hugs and luggage, we walked out to the van where they had a coat, gloves, a scarf, and a hat waiting for me. I should’ve been really tired, but I think I talked most of the way home. At home, I was delighted to find flannel pajamas in my dresser. I cannot even describe that moment that I climbed between the flannel sheets and fell back onto the memory foam of my bed for the first time in over a year.
WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY: Mainly these last couple of days have been a lot of adjusting for me: cleaning, finding clothes to wear, going to the bank, visiting people, learning to know the new “neighbors” (my grandparents) in our backyard, reacquainting myself with my youth group, etc. So far it’s been good, but not without its moments of Mexico-sickness. Here are a few of the things I’ve had to adjust to, no matter how minor:
~Vertical light switches instead of horizontal.
~Carpet.
~Grass.
~Breakfast cereal other than cornflakes!!!
~Radio.
~Driving (Thanks, Bradley, for the driving lessons).
~Drinking hot drinks.
~The COLD weather and actually wanting to be in the sun.
~Prices.
~The array of my favorite foods (noooo, they’re not spoiling me!).
~Running hot water in the sink.
~What in the world do I do with so many pairs of shoes?
~Walking around the house in stocking feet.
~Dishwashers.
~Quiet.

[This is what happens when my little brother borrows my camera.][Me with my welcome home cookie from Grandma and my welcome home banner from my siblings.]
[Can you blame me for dreaming about this chocolate cake while I was gone? Thanks, Tony!]

So concludes my time in Mexico. I most likely will NOT be keeping up with this blog, at least on a regular basis. (Sorry, Janessa.) Thank you all for caring enough about my life to read this and/or look at the pictures. Thank you also for the prayer support... please continue to pray for the missionaries who are serving down there as well as for the orphanage and the church. Thanks!

Scorpions, Enchiladas, and Lasts

SUNDAY: I woke up with the impression that a cricket singing very loudly. It startled me in my drowsy state. But what startled me even more was that Mr. Cricket was in my hair. He gracefully leapt out when he realized he’d been discovered. After that, I had a hard time going back to sleep. Therefore, I was sleepy all morning. Loren had a sermon about a Christian’s involvement in politics. Rhonda and I met to discuss the girls’ birthday party on Monday. Then, once everyone had gone, I ate lunch quickly and collapsed back into bed. I felt like a new person when I woke up for the San Pedro service. The service was small, but good. We got home late and ate and went to bed.

MONDAY: Monday was one of those days that I never want to repeat. I had a good day but it involved way too many emotions. I got up early to make cupcakes, walk uptown to get ice cream, and cut up things for the picnic lunch. Fortunately, I got a ride out to the orphanage and skipped the biking part. When I arrived, the girls were locked outside of the house while we prepared for the party inside. We took them to the river; they were so excited! The river was cleaner than it had been the last time, but also more shallow. The girls had a ball. I sat with Chuy and tried to keep him occupied. He loved putting rocks and pebbles in his tank top and throwing mud. We ate our picnic lunch, opened gifts, and then went back into the river. Sitting with Chuy in the shallow water gave me a painful sunburn. Lenn picked us up and we went back to the orphanage. I set up for the birthday party. Sam showed me my very first scorpion. Roxina tried to get Fernando and Cata to stick their hands in the jar: “He won’t do anything to you! Ha, kidding!” The girls were very excited about the ice cream. After having a blast with my little girls, I suddenly realized the second part of my obligations of the day: saying goodbye to the boys (they were planning on leaving for Mexico City on Wednesday). I dragged Gina along with me for moral support. The boys stalled me as long as possible. Domingo locked the gate so I couldn’t leave. Miguel made popcorn. Diego raced me down the road. Domingo and Miguel showed me their new clothes. Finally I told them all goodbye; I was tired of prolonging the inevitable. Then Gina and I went back down to the house. Domingo stood on the fence to watch us as long as possible; he yelled something about a pomegranate or something. After I biked home, I called Dad for a reminder that saying goodbyes here would be worth the being home again. I walked over to say goodbye to Vanessa’s family and my former landlady. My landlady told me that she is coming to church on Sunday… so much for that goodbye.

[Adorable Alejito]

[My very first scorpion!]

[Eating cake and ice cream after a day at the river]

TUESDAY: Speaking of repetitive goodbyes, Lupita and Vanessa stopped by the house on Tuesday morning. And then I found out that we were all invited to the orphanage for the twins’ 15th birthday party. I decided I wasn’t going to say goodbye again to either Vanessa’s family or the boys. I did my laundry and burnt…er…baked cookies for the prison in the morning and then we went out to the orphanage. The twins were making enchiladas with their mother. All of the gringos soon found out that there is a difference between gringo en-chih-lah-duhs and Mexican ain-chee-lah-dahs. After the meal, the twins opened their gifts and had their cake. I helped with clean up, picked on the kids and then went outside to watch them create a tennis court. I purposely disappeared before the boys left so I wouldn’t have to say goodbye to them again. We went home and I took my time off. Afterwards, I helped make dinner and finished up laundry. After a phone call home, I started brainstorming the ways that Mexico is different from the States. Janessa and Donna helped me. Johan and Scott were on the front porch and gave me some input too… some really funny and random input, which was pretty much what I wanted. I also found out that due to problems with the well pump, the boys are not leaving for Mexico City until further notice. Monday’s emotional trauma was all for nothing!

[The twins' birthday celebration with their family]

WEDNESDAY: My LAST day off. For some reason, I wasn’t too sad. I impressed myself with my self-discipline in getting a few things done. I threw most of my things in my suitcase to determine how many more souvenirs I could buy. Then I went shopping for the last time. I ate my last strawberries ‘n’ creme. I talked to the people I know uptown for the last time. *Sigh. I hate lasts. When the orphanage van arrived for prayer meeting, three of the five boys came to tell me that they had the date set to leave “after the races”. (They didn’t know the date; just “after the races.”) After the meeting, we took Mario home before going to Mochiqui to drop off Ana and Rosa. We had smoothies when we got back.

THURSDAY: I made mashed potatoes at the orphanage. The morning went smoothly until I whipped up the potatoes and realized that we didn’t have enough food. Suzanne saved the day by starting some noodles. The noodles were cooking during prayer. Debbie did clean up for me while I took my time off with Rhonda in the bodega. I was chilly with the AC and wrapped up in a sheet; Rhonda thought I was weird. Afterwards, I entertained Chuy and watched Suzanne clean her room. Chuy’s new word is “agua” (water) and he says it as he reaches for his cup; so cute! He also started saying “owie” and pointing to his foot. He seems to think that “owies” belong on the foot, whatever they are. I helped with dinner and then left with Lenn. When I got home, I ran to the store. Don Josecito asked me all about my flight home and my ticket. At home, I started packing my suitcase to see if I really can dream of making it home in one suitcase and a carry-on.
FRIDAY: I called Dad for his birthday. I got a late start with the laundry at the orphanage. But I managed to get it all done. Cata watched me while I sorted clothes and filled the machines. MariChuy was celebrating her 12th birthday. She stood out in the soccer field, loudly singing in English “Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me!” She ordered Mexican enchiladas for her meal and Suzanne busily prepared those. I hung out with the kids and enjoyed life at the orphanage. At lunch MariChuy was so excited about blowing out her candles that she blew them out before we’d even sung to her! Domingo was practicing his English during lunch clean up: “I tol’ you, be quie’, man! I sai’ don’ do dat!” I started making apple crisp for our singles’ night. Domingo and Leobardo approached me hopefully. “For me?” Domingo asked, grabbing an apple. “No. They’re for me. This is for you.” And I gave him a hug. “For you!” he said, returning the hug with breathtaking energy. Since I was the “guest of honor” for singles’ night, I was forced to make all of the decisions. I think it was just because no one else wanted to make them. *aHEM! I finished the apple crisp without burning it. I had a little time off before I walked over to Mochiqui. I was so hot when I finally reached Salvador and Enriquetta’s. We talked as Uriel and a naked Jaciel played tag amongst us. Enriquetta couldn’t believe that I had walked over by myself: “Aren’t you scared that someone will rob you?” “I don’t have anything with me to rob.” “They might kidnap you!” Ana wasn’t home, but I walked to MariCruz’s and had a nice visit in between studying with Carla, Tita, and Uriel. By the time I was done there, the wind was wild and it was starting to sprinkle. I walked back to the orphanage quickly and managed to beat the rain. We were planning a cookout but the heavy rain caused the flexible missionaries to change their plans. Instead, the guys came to the kitchen with the hamburgers to fry up in a frying pan. Suzanne isolated the noisy kids to the bedrooms until they were able to go upstairs to watch their movie. Once they were gone, we ate and talked like boring adults. But it was fun anyway.

[A sleepy and messy Chuy]
[Domingo, Roxina, and Miguel eating leftover enchiladas]
[Dietrich playing "guitar" with a broom. I'm not sure what Miguel is doing]
[The guys in the kitchen. Looks like Sam is giving Johan some moral support]

SATURDAY: Three more days. That’s so crazy. This morning we got around really late and then stood around and talked when we should have been setting up for class. During class, I sat next to a little girl who speaks perfect English. I almost didn’t know how to talk to her because she could understand everything I said! As I started to pass out crayons, Lenn embarrassed me by making me stand up front while the class bade me farewell. We had 43 people in the 15-passenger van on the way home. Once again, I crouched on the floor after throwing Chuy in Ana’s lap. Chuy entertained us with his extensive vocabulary: “Leche. Agua. Juta. Owie.” We made lunch and I did clean up. Domingo started practicing English again, “I tol’ you, man! Quit chunkin’ around!” Both MariChuy and Roxina weren’t feeling the greatest so we babied them all afternoon. They both felt good enough to come out for a water-balloon fight, however. We filled the balloons and we all got rather wet as we did so. We had so much fun. The girls ganged up on me and thoroughly soaked me. We cleaned up our mess and I sent them through the shower. I was still in this lengthy process when Rhonda emerged and I went for my time off. After I got up, I helped a tiny bit with dinner and then we ate. I went to check in on Roxina and ended up staying in her room and rubbing her back while I listened to dark stories from her past.

[Filling water balloons]

[Roxina loved over-filling the balloons and then spraying the extra water and whoever happened to be standing beside her]

This is actually a video from last week. Suzanne painted her face with sidewalk chalk and hid in the dark bathroom with a flashlight in her face. Roxina, who scares very easily, was invited inside to see. I caught the moment on video.

The dialogue in English:

Maria: Come.

Roxina: But what is there inside?

Maria: Something that you need to see. Please open it!

Roxina: But what is it?

Maria: I'm not going to tell you until you open it. You're going to see.

Ice Cream, Hotels, and a Gecko

Sunday, August 30, 2009.
Mariana made her debut into society in a cute little outfit complete with a bonnet. The ladies dutifully gushed over her. We had a full table for lunch with Reina, Aile, Lupita, David, and Marlen joining us. A lot of people came to the service in San Pedro. Ana surprised me by coming along; I was delighted. After the service I sat and talked with her… she was very talkative and told me things about herself that she’d never mentioned before. I’m going to miss her so much! We had a long and windy ride home in the back of the truck. I had to keep my eyes closed so bugs wouldn’t hit me. I felt a few splatter against me. Speaking of splattering, we saw a snake on the road by Aguajito. Loren purposely backed up to run over it. All of the kids in the back leaned over the side of the truck to watch. The first time he ran over it, the snake popped and splattered. Yuck! But we still had appetites to eat when we got home…popcorn and watermelon. Mmmm…

Monday, August 31, 2009.
The Yoders took the day off at the river and I took over as “master” of the house. I tried to fill the leaky washing machine, but decided I didn’t have time for the uphill battle and walked over to visit Vanessa’s family. We had a nice visit, sitting in the shade and talking about life. When I came home, I forced the washing machine to spit out two loads of clean laundry and then worked on invitations and candy cups for a birthday party. I cleverly avoided two men on the front porch, and allowed them think that no one was home. Suzanne scaled the fence and came in the back door, claiming that I hadn’t heard her knock. I helped to make dinner when everyone got home again. Mario and Aile dumped lots of hot sauce and Tajin in their soup to “Mexicanify” it. Aile is currently living at our house until the bus system works out some problems so that she can go to school in town every day. Of course, there is a rather large possibility that the bus system will never work out its problems and she’ll be around for the entire school year. I can’t remember what I did after dinner besides go to bed.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009.
I was so indecisive in the morning that I annoyed myself. After breakfast, nothing looked good to me while I was trying to decide the lunch menu. Worried that we might not have lunch at all if I didn’t decide soon, Donna helpfully suggested potato bar. I got to work, relieved that my decision was made. The most exciting part of my day was that I managed to not burn a single cookie! I still handed a few out; it was a treat for everyone to get a midmorning snack that didn’t chip their enamel. Aile helped me in the kitchen. I did my laundry. The only people that came to the window were people who were selling things. Goat cheese? No thank you. Helados? No thank you. We ate early so Aile could get off to school. After lunch dishes, I walked up to the hotel to make a reservation. During my time off, Rhonda came bearing glad tidings of great joy; Mariana might be around for longer than previously anticipated. Also, her name will soon officially be “Mariana.” I helped Donna make cebiche and cleaned up the kitchen a little. While we sorted through clothes, Janessa tried on a gaudy flowered shirt and tied a plaid scrap of material around her waist. I dared her to skip out to the trashcan beside the road. She debated for a long time. In the meantime, Caleb’s friend Jesi sauntered over and gave Janessa a smile of suppressed amusement. Finally she made the dash. People watched. It was hilarious. I got a phone call in the middle of dinner and had to munch on my cebiche while I yakked away on the phone. I used up some more phone time and then had fun sorting through and playing with my pictures. Janessa, Aile, and I stayed up too late talking and laughing.

Wednesday, September 2, 2009.
I counted money in the morning. I felt rich although it was all God’s money for Bibles in China and not mine. Then I categorized (with Donna’s help), stamped, and recorded all of the church’s library books. I know that sounds impressive, but we don’t have too many books yet. We had beans and corn tortillas for lunch with Reina and David joining us. I talked on the phone and pulled out my suitcase to see how many souvenirs I can buy before I’ll be full. I stamped tracts in the afternoon and then bought groceries for dinner. By then it was almost time for prayer meeting. After prayer meeting, Rhonda, Suzanne, and I walked up to JLR as it was closing. We zipped in and out. Lindolfo himself was at the cash register and struck up a conversation with me as I purchased some unhealthy snacks. I felt like a celebrity. And then Rhonda and I grabbed our things and walked up to the hotel. We had synchronized our days off so we could hang out for an entire day. We had fun with AC and some… ahem… ice cream. We went to bed an “earthly” hour so we could get up early in the morning.

Thursday, September 3, 2009.
We got up and ready for the day without a water supply in our bathroom. Obviously, hotels in Mexico are not perfect even if they do sell good ice cream. We left without seeing anyone else up or about at the hotel. We dropped off our things at Yoders’ and went to catch the “7:40” bus which actually left at 7:30. We saw it pulling out as we neared the bus stop. Fortunately, we were intelligent enough to dash down the perpendicular street to catch it as it turned the corner. Five old men were sitting at the street corner and watched us curiously as we raced up to them and eagerly flagged down the bus. We had a fairly uneventful ride. In El Fuerte we took the “3 Amigos Trail” which gave us the history of some of the buildings. We stopped at the government building first and admired the architecture. Then we went to Posada Hidalgo hotel (the hotel where Zorro was supposedly born). I loved seeing it again; it’s so gorgeous. The staff was delighted to let us look around; maybe they didn’t realize that we weren’t guests. We toured the fort next. That was fun, despite the fact that it was a replica and not the actual fort. The coolest part was the bush that was cut like an ostrich. Then we toured another mansion turned hotel with a dark history of dementia and murder. That hotel was completely gorgeous too. Both Rhonda and I were wowed. We toured a church and walked by a few other buildings before eating pizza and doing some shopping. We walked a long way to find a big store, but were rewarded with an American-like variety of everything we could ever want. We stopped at a café to get drinks and then headed home. The bus was packed with school kids and a few unfortunate others…like us. By the time that Rhonda and I climbed on, most of the seats were occupied. Rhonda found a seat and I stood in the aisle. The driver apparently wasn’t impressed with my not having a seat; he made a man move his luggage so I could have the seat his luggage had been in. Then he barked at a man and some kids who were standing in my way. I waded through a sea of whipped puppies to reach my seat. The seat was broken and kept slipping so that the back part of the seat was suspended in air. Also, the windowpane rattled constantly. I tried holding it with my hand. The money-collector fixed it for me, but unfortunately, he fixed it with the curtain which meant that the curtain was closed for the entire trip. With my seat several inches lower than everyone else's and my curtain closed, I really had no view except the man beside me who was holding I huge bulk of something suspiciously wrapped in a opaque plastic bag. And the bulk blocked my view of the aisle! I tried to fix the seat, but within a few potholes, I was airborne again. I considered changing seats for a more accommodating one, but then I realized that the man next to me was sitting on my skirt and I couldn't go anywhere if I had wanted to. I tried to sleep and got about ten seconds into a catnap when a bump sent me bouncing again. Finally, they dropped us off. After unpacking, I walked uptown to get a few things and then I worked on overdue emails. Mario sat behind me and snooped over my shoulder. I wasn’t too worried since he can’t read English. But I dropped his name in my writing now and then to make him nervous. I spent the afternoon/evening hanging out and catching up with things I was behind on.

[at the plazuela in El Fuerte]
[at the government building]

[the side entrance to the "Zorro" hotel]

[Rhonda and the heart-stopping Zorro]

[I told you I liked the ostrich bushes!]

[a courtyard of one of the hotels we toured]

[another courtyard of one of the hotels we toured]

Friday, September 4, 2009.
Today was the day that I started to feel the emotions of leaving. I want to be happy and enjoy the last days of my life in Mexico, but I feel so melancholy about leaving. Maria celebrated her 14th birthday. I found out that the boys are leaving for Mexico City on Wednesday. I did laundry and helped in the kitchen a little with the chicken enchiladas for Maria’s birthday. While I was outside, Cata watched my every move; it almost made me nervous. I finished up the girls’ invitations for their birthday party. Lenn cleaned Chuy’s highchair and found a black widow and her egg sack… PTL that no one was hurt! So now I’ve seen a black widow, snakes, lots of lizards, and tarantulas, but still no scorpion. Regina and I went behind the bodega and overturned bricks in hopes of finding a scorpion. No luck. After chicken enchiladas and carrot cake, I did lunch clean up. Domingo did a surprisingly good job with sticking at his job. During time off, I read my re-entry book, which didn’t really didn’t help my melancholiness. I cut my time off short just to be with the kids more… now you KNOW how melancholy I was! Maria and I walked over to Mochiqui. I teased her mercilessly and she tried to catch grasshoppers to throw on me. Ana wasn’t home so we walked to MariCruz’s. We stopped to admire Rumaldo’s dad’s opossums and hawk. Rumaldo fed us tortillas and cheese. We sat and talked with MariCruz. I played in the dirt with Uriel and his wheel-less cars. He was showing me all of his craft projects from kindergarten when Tita came home to study. We visited Ana’s sister, Rosa, and Salvador and Enriquetta on our way out of Mochiqui. When we got back to the orphanage, I sat by the soccer field and Johan, Suzanne, and I had a rambling discussion about… I don’t really remember. We ate nachos for fun night. I should have suspected that something was up when the dessert took a loooooong time to come out… but I was totally oblivious to the behind-the-scene scheming. Suddenly Loren called everyone together: “We all know that in one week, more or less…” Suddenly we were having a good-bye party for me. Loren, Lenn, Johan, and Sam sang a song for me. I would have taken a picture, but I hardly had time to pull out my camera. “What’s the matter with Tricia? She’s all right!” Everyone cheered. They had prayer time for me and then we ate chocolate cake. During clean up, Miguel and Jesse did a lot of posing for pictures and goofing off and not so much work. Once everything was finally cleaned up, I went outside to sit down and talk with Teo, Leobardo, and Donna. Miguel suddenly came up to chase me off of my chair so he could use it to reach a gecko he wanted to kill. He claimed that geckos are very poisonous and illustrated his point by wearing a glove. But the gecko was too smart for him, and dropped its tail before fleeing. Miguel examined the chair to make sure the gecko wasn’t hiding somewhere on it before he let me have it again. But he gave me a startled look when I grabbed it and yelled, “He bit me!” (it hadn’t of course). Later, we saw the poor, tailless gecko…but Miguel must have decided that it wasn’t poisonous anymore, because he remained totally unconcerned when Chuy and Jeffrey were trotting around after it. I was so tired when we finally got home.

[the new 14-year-old. Happy birthday, Maria!]

[Uriel]

[Tita giving Rocky a bath]

[the gorgeous view just outside of Mochiqui]

[Cata, the newest addition to the orphanage]

[Roxina and I]

[my good-bye cake]

[Miguel when he should have been drying dishes]

Saturday, September 5, 2009.

I ran up to the bank while everyone else was eating breakfast. How is that for an anti-morning person? After class, Ana and Chofis worked with me until I had the first three of the memory verses memorized. The van was so full on the way home that I tossed Chuy into Ana’s lap and squatted on the floor. I gladly climbed out when we dropped off the neighbor kids; Chuy and I walked the rest of the way to the orphanage. After lunch, I could feel weariness seeping into my bones. Of course, two naughty little boys helping me with clean up may have had a part in my weariness too. LOL. When I realized that I would never do clean up with those two again, I didn’t mind the extra stress they may have caused. The girls and Fernando helped to fold laundry. The clothes that Fernando “folded” we probably better left unfolded, but it was the thought that counted. I gave the kids their weekly overdose of candy, woke up a grumpy Chuy, weathered a few fierce Cata hugs, and played with sidewalk chalk with the kids. By then, the bodega was calling my name. I slept… really good. But I woke up cold and was delighted to find that the kitchen was warm with dinner preparation. I did clean up since Rhonda conveniently had to fix Mariana’s bottle. Then Maria and I cleaned up the sidewalk and Loren took me home.

[Santos... one of those kids you want to hurt and hug simultaneously]

[folding lots and lots of laundry]

[Fernandito playing with sidewalk chalk]