just an update and some meanderings

Well it's been awhile since I last posted, and although I don't feel like I have anything marvelous to share, I suppose I will at least just write something...I apologize for the lack of cohesion I anticipate this post to have...

The week of October 4-9 was kind of hectic as we were preparing for a big celebration on the 9th for the inauguration of the Primary School and celebration of 10 years of the Kindergarten. That week Sara and Marlin Yoder of Ohio and their neighbor LaHoma were here (Sara and Marlin were MCC Reps here in Cuernavaca and are good friends of Lizy's) and it was a really great experience to be able to spend time with them and network and all that jazz. The Inauguration itself was quite the success and I must say the best part was a song that the students, mothers, and teachers sang, each group with a verse about what they want to see in the world and more specifically with the students that attend La Buena Tierra.

my view from the front of the inauguration festivities

all of us who work at the kinder chowing down on some yummies

singing at the inauguration

I went into Mexico City that weekend then to spend a last hoorah with Kiara before she left to go back to the U.S. for good. It was a phenomenal weekend filled with lots of movie watching and movie buying, and most of all going to see the musical Mamma Mia! on a whim. I am forever obsessed with musicals, and it was awesome to get to see this great one here, and it was in Spanish which, in my opinion, made it even awesomer. All in all it was a really great weekend although it culminated with saying goodbye to Kiara and I am reminded once again that lots of MCCers are leaving Mexico and this is a bit of a challenge for me to come to terms with.



Things are continuing to go well here at my new house. I cannot say I'm 100% over feeling bad about leaving where I was, but I do realize now that it was definitely for the best of all those involved. I went to visit my old house in La Via yesterday and was frankly shocked at the state of things due to the construction that is now literally IN FRONT of the house. The front walls have been totally cut off, as have part of the ceiling, and essentially two of the four rooms that existed no are not usable. All the furniture is crammed into the living room with people sleeping there and there is hardly any room to even walk. Essentially, it would have been next to impossible for me to stay there, and even more uncomfortable for that family than it is now had I been there as well. I feel content and comfortable in my new home and with my new family, and I definitely feel part of the family, which is awesome. They are all about teaching me stuff about food, history, culture, all that jazz, it's great. Ana (the 18 month old) has taken a liking to me and if my door is shut she shoves little gifts under it and if the door is open she comes in and shuts the door and hangs out with me. They're super cute :)

so she didn't want to smile this time but this is me and ana in my room

What else.... work is going well. I am starting to enjoy it, and am finally feeling a bit of purpose there. I am teaching English two days a week for 20 minutes each to two different classes (one class of three year olds and one class of four year olds). It is quite the challenge at times, but with the use of lots of songs it is going alright. I am really enjoying my time in English class with the other three older classes, where I am not the teacher, just the assistant. I get to go around and spend like five minutes with every student each class and work with them on what they need to work on or have "conversations" with them in English - it's actually a lot of fun. So a lot of my time at school is taken up with English in one way or another. I have still not totally come to terms with the "need" to teach English, but I am working on it.

Something else I have been really struggling with is gender issues, particularly those at La Buena Tierra. I won't go into my whole long schpeel about it, but it's definitely a challenge for me to keep my mouth shut a lot of times...and perhaps keeping my mouth shut isn't what I should be doing, which is also part of the challenge. For one example, to give you a small glimpse into it all, at recess there is a box of "girls toys" and a box of "boys toys." Okay that in and of itself is just wrong to me. Then the other day in front of the entire school the teachers were talking about how one boy plays with the "girls toys" and how they just wish that he would play with boys and with "boys toys." That's just one small example it goes much deeper than that but regardless, it drives me nuts and I am having a really hard time with it and knowing whether or not to do/say something about it and if I choose not to how I deal with the cognitive dissonance inside my own head for the next nine months...

On to happier notes - I have started exercising which is a gift in so many ways. There is a beautiful park like 10 minutes from my house that, although it costs money, provides an escape from "city life" and a quiet haven to run/walk regardless of the weird looks I get. It involves waterfalls, a river next to the entire path, and a lake at the end. It's really pretty and I'm loving it, along with the added physical benefits of exercising and seriously, I forgot about the mental benefits. It's incredible just how much better I feel about life and how much better my attitude is when i spend time exercising and in nature.

I have also really taken up reading again, which is awesome. I will happily take suggestions on books to read. I just finished The Faith Club and a book on Mexican history, and I just started The Secret Life of Bees. I have also become an even bigger history dork and am seriously enthralled with learning Mexican history. I even took a fourth grader's history book from school so that I can read a "simple" (though I'm told not completely accurate) history of Mexico. I have lots of books to read on this topic...

I baked. Monster cookies and Banana bread. It was awesome. I love baking. and I love baked goods.

Okay I'll be done rambling about randomness for now. Just wanted to give an update on how things are going. I'll say I think I am finally enjoying myself here although at times still feel lonely but am truly embracing independence! I hope all is well wherever you may find yourself. If you happen to be in the land of fall, please don't take it for granted. I am really missing fall right now and am waiting for my promised chai tea and pumpkin to make pumpkin pie to arrive so i can at least taste a little bit of fall :) I still sweat all day at school. yay heat.

take care. hasta luego!
(p.s. for more pics of everything check out facebook, i just put a select few up here)

Changes...

Well, a lot has changed in my life since I posted my last blog…

I moved.

About two weeks ago Lizy (the director at Buena Tierra) sat me down and basically said she’d been thinking and thought it was a good idea if I would move out of Doña Juana’s, and that she had an idea of where I could move to…I was quite surprised by this idea, and spent a lot a lot a lot of time thinking about it, creating pros/cons lists, and trying to decide what was for the best. Here’s a small glimpse into the pros/reasons and cons of moving:

MAIN REASONS TO MOVE:

1. the construction in La Via is awful, and only going to get worse (for example, the front wall of Doña Juana’s house is totally going to be ripped off, no water or electricity for who knows how long, etc. etc.)
   
2. I did not feel like I was really part of the family at Doña Juana’s…to me it seemed like the only thing they did was give me food and a bed to sleep on, and I was really hoping for a family to be part of.
3. Doña Juana’s was really packed with people often sleeping on the floor and Doña Juana didn’t even sleep in a bedroom, etc. etc.
4. At Doña Juana’s nobody ever left the house or did anything besides watch TV, and I was feeling rather lonely and cooped up there.
5. There were lots of other little reasons that encouraged my decision like lack of fruits/vegetables, not appreciating a few family members, hoping Doña Juana’s kids would finally help her out financially, the current state of the bathroom there, and just plain being excited about the family I was going to move in with.

MAIN REASONS THAT MADE ME QUESTION MOVING:

1. Doña Juana has been very dependent financially on the money MCC/SALTers have provided her over the past 8 years
2. I felt very settled, my room was all awesome, I was comfortable with routine, and basically was not looking forward to moving into my fourth new living situation in less than 2 months
3. I just felt terrible. What would I say to the family? They would feel so unloved and like they didn’t something terribly wrong.
4. where I would move would be quite a jump in terms of SES and I wasn’t sure that’s what I was looking for this year
   

In the end, Lizy, Marion (MCC Country Rep) and I decided that I should move.

Physically moving itself was quite the spectacle…With all the construction there is just this TINY little pathway to get through, and cars can’t pass, so I had to move everything by hand through this tiny passageway…Now you all know I don’t pack light, but on top of that, I also moved out my bed and big old dresser because they belonged to Lizy and she wanted to give them to a family in La Via. So myself, along with the help of several others in La Via, helped move all the furniture to its new home and all my stuff to my new home. It was quite interesting…

Saying goodbye to Doña Juana and the family was actually a lot harder that I thought it would be. At first she seemed to take it well and understood that due to the construction and such it just made sense, but later I found out that she really didn’t get it and thought I was mad at them or something. I think I cleared things up with them. Although I definitely didn’t appreciate some of the family members there were also a few that I am really going to miss. Hopefully I can be conscious enough to visit them on a regular basis.

ON TO MY NEW LIFE:

I now live about 3 blocks from the school, but in a privada, not in La Via (although its still super super close). I live with Itzi, the English teacher from the school. She is 30, and has a husband and 2 kids (a 1 ½ year old daughter, and a 6 month old son). Also living at the house is the husband’s mother who helps take care of the kids. They are all totally great. Basically, I feel totally relieved, and I think finally excited and happy to be here in Mexico for an entire year. So as not to write a novel, here I list why:

1. my family leaves to do stuff (I will get to know the city better)
2. great neighbors
3. they eat totally healthy (like I actually eat fruits and vegetables and drink milk)
4. they want to teach me how to cook
5. the husband travels a bunch and wants to take me to other pueblos to visit
6. they’re talking about how I’ll experience their kids baptism, a quinceanera, a wedding, etc. (very cultural events)
7. they are super excited for me to learn about life here
8. I feel welcome
9. I feel physical comfortable
10. I do not feel nearly as lonely as I did before
11. luxuries (hot water, double bed, internet, HUGE tv in my room…that part is really annoying)
    

I’ll be honest - i'm feeling a bit guilty about the fact that i'm now in a middle-class house...i am struggling to realize that this year will not be as much about learning about living in poverty as I had expected/hoped it to be… i'm still going to be working in the via so it's not like i'm totally leaving behind that world, because I don’t want to just forget about that part of life either. Hopefully this way I’ll be able to learn about both worlds that I am in contact with now. It’s been interesting going through this change though because I feel like I’ve actually been experiencing culture shock the past week (which was not really expected in this form/time period).

Anyways, I’ll be done rambling. It’s been quite the change for me, but I still feel like all in all it is for the best for everyone involved, and I am at peace with it. I have been super busy this past week so am still living out of my suitcase and in no way have this room set up like it will be…therefore I have no photos to share, I apologize. They will come soon I promise! Until then, take care, and keep the emails coming!