Mexico: It's Been A Week Now...

Wow, it's already Thursday night!! Here's a little bit of what's happened so far this week...

Why not start with the food :D
The last night Ben and Hannah Martin were here visiting Grant and Hannah we went to Mario's just a few houses down the road for tacos.  Big mistake.  They were wonderful!  That's the problem because now I want to eat them all the time!  Last night after playing a game of Settler's, Hannah and I convinced Grant to get some tacos for the second time in three days.  Poor Grant.

Before Hannah (Martin) left, she had introduced me to the cucumbers they sell in the plaza.  They peel and slice cucumbers then put them in a bag and squeeze on a lot of fresh lime, then sprinkle on mild or hot chili powder.  We went with the mild but sometime I'd like to try the hot.  The Hannahs made their own and they were pretty good!  I'll have to remember this for the summer when cucumbers are plentiful.

On Monday, Hannah taught some boys how to play knock-out.  It took some time to explain the game with limited communication but I think we got our point across.  That's one of the scariest things about knowing a little Spanish...I use what I know but there's a lot open for interpretation.

A neat experience we had on Monday was going to the house of an elderly sister who spends all day in her bed, propped up by a few pillows.  One of her grandsons loves to sing the Sunday School songs but doesn't come to church very often since his mother does not attend regularly.  It was touching the way his face lit up as he sang the songs and did the motions.  After a few Sunday School songs we sang some songs out of the hymnal we brought along.  The grandmother had an amazingly strong voice for an old, frail woman, and she knew those songs as if she had a book in her hands.  I hope to never forget that visit!

Me and my friend, Ivory.  We hang out  together quite a bit and she's pretty amazing!  She must get it from her parents, Grant and Hannah, who have been like family to me.  I can't begin to say how glad I am to have them next door.

A few random things I've seen lately...

Behind the church is a tree that appears to be growing bananas or plantains.

A mini geyser.  They have a larger one somewhere in Ixtlan that I have not been to yet, but from what I've heard it's not impressive so I guess I'm not missing out on much.  In the picture it looks like Ixtlan is in the dessert.  Really this area is on the edge of town and the vegetation is very different from the bright flowers and palm trees in the town.

This week I've been getting in a lot more class time with the kids.  One of the biggest challenges is not knowing their language.  After a few classes I get a little overwhelmed with trying to sort out what I'm hearing...wanting to fully understand but not being able to.  At least that's a motivator to study Spanish.

There are a few other challenges.  I have a good relationship with the English teacher, but there are some things she does that I do not understand.  This school has some students with learning disabilities, as does every school.  That's nothing new.  But my job is to sit one on one with some of these students and help them learn English.  What I'm realizing is that some of them that have needed a simpler course or more one on one time are so far behind that basically I just have to tell them the answers so they can keep up with the class.  Of course, school is not just about giving the answers so I try to make sure they're learning in the process, but it's proved to be a challenge.  The teacher does not have good classroom management so I think that compounds a lot of the problems.

But all the little problems aside, I'm enjoying my time at the school.  The happiness of carefree children is easy to be around.  My collection of notes from students is taking over the bulletin board above my bed. And being with kids the same age as my little brother and sister makes me feel a little bit closer to home.  The joys make up for the challenges :D

In between school hours, Jan's been taking good care of me.  Earlier this week she taught me how to run the washer so I could do a load of laundry.  Also, she keeps me well fed and is helping me with my Spanish studies.

Hopefully soon I can post more about the church people and activities.  But right now it's late so I better sign out.  Stay warm back in the Midwest!!!