Que tal?
Yeah. It's been a long time since I've written here. Just for an update: I am teaching at a private bilingual school here in Baja, in Ensenada. I teach third grade in the mornings and fifth grade in the afternoon. This last month has been incredibly busy and I've been learning a lot. There are five American English teachers, and I live with two of them. One of them is Stephanie, who I went to Korea with, and who I've now known for 7 (7!!!!) years.
Now life is mostly the daily grind. Teaching is exhausting, but we are finding time to go to San Diego and bum around Ensenada for fun. I've been "home", to Mom and Dad's twice and will be back soon. My 91-year-old grandma is coming to visit!
I guess I can share that the best thing that has happened thus far happened just this last Friday. My fifth graders have been studying weather in Science. We've been talking about the distinguishing features of clouds. Friday, before school started, I had about 6 fifth graders run up to me and tell me about the clouds they saw in the sky. We then proceeded to check out all the clouds and try to name them, identifying different characteristics. My heart was very warm at that moment and I decided right then that maybe this teaching thing will work out. :)
La Fruta
Here at the daycare we have a cook named Cande. She reminds me every day of what it means to be loving and kind, to work hard and provide for others. I can tell through her actions that what she does, she does out of a heart that loves. Cande cooks delicious meals and makes sure everyone is happy and satisfied. She always has a smile on her face in the morning, and will tell you that your Spanish is good, even when it's not.
Cande has a small whiteboard in the kitchen on which she writes various scripture. It used to get changed more often, but it has been the fruits of the spirit for a long time now. Whenever I walk in the kitchen, I see Galations 5:22-23 staring me down (in Spanish, of course).
"But the fruit of the spirit islove,joy,peace,patience,kindness,goodness,faithfulness,gentleness,self-control;against such things there is no law."My women's bible study at home studied the fruits of the spirit this Spring. We took it slow - talking about one virtue at each meeting, committing to thinking about and looking for these virtues (or lackthereof) in our lives over the following two weeks. It was hard, but mostly interesting to hear where others saw these fruits displayed (or not displayed) in their lives. While I have always equated patience with certain areas of my life, it was renewing to see it through someone else's eyes.
So when Cande put the fruits of the spirit up in the kitchen weeks ago, I decided to make it a mantra. At least, to re-memorize them, and say them over and over to myself as I try to find the areas of my life that need these virtues the most. To see where I am lacking, and where I can apply them. To understand that as a follower of Christ it is my duty,
and my joy to put these into practice. What would my life look like if I more plainly and willingly lived out the fruit of the spirit?
Love, without conditions
Joy, when things don't go my way
Peace, when I feel like arguing
Patience, when I want instant answers
Kindness, when I would rather think of myself
Goodness, when I desire the things of this world
Faithfulness, to my commitments
Gentleness, instead of harsh words
Self-Control, in my actions
Paul wrote about these virtues
after he talked about the things we shouldn't be doing (verses 19 through 21). Instead of shooting off a list of things that are forbidden, and leaving it at that, he gives us the tools to live as children of God, set apart from the world. Our innate desire is to be like the world, but we do things differently, because our God is different, and it is He who we desire to be like. As we become imitators of Christ, through living by the Spirit, the fruits begin to manifest in our daily lives.
"And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires" - Galatians 5:24
Becoming Accustomed
I was thinking this morning about how some things never change. For instance, the shower in my apartment has stunk forever. It stunk 3 years ago, and it still stinks exactly the same stink. I tried everything to get that stink to go away, and it never did.
That thought led to thinking about becoming accustomed to living in Mexico. In the early days (years ago), coming to Mexico meant packing special things, preparing for the worst, worrying about what could happen, and being nervous the entire trip. Fortunately, that's waned over the years, and I've been thinking about how one becomes used to the every day way of life here in this town, and yet how different it is from living in Portland.
After a while you get used to having to go to three grocery stores to find what you're looking for. You get used to nobody having the brand of milk you're looking for, because obviously the Jersey truck is still due for a trip into town. You're used to the incredibly bumpy, dirt roads that ruin cars, and the incessant dust that covers a newly washed car. You're not quite used to thinking in pesos, but you're getting there. You get used to the trash, and the newly paved highway that's already falling apart. You're used to the warm hospitality of the people, the ocean breeze, the smiles of the children, the really wonderful food.
It's sometimes hard to think about what it must be like for someone coming for their first, second, third trip to Mexico. It's still so foreign, so different, and scary sometimes. They pack baby wipes and hand sanitizer and medicines galore. They pack lots of snacks (in case they can't find any food). They have to write and call home every day. I forget what I felt the first time I stayed here for 10 weeks. Now this place has become home and when I get here I usually breathe a sigh of relief. It's so comfortable.
AND I'm getting used to living in a small town. THAT'S the weird part. When you drive around town and see who's shopping at what store, or you find out who knows who. It's hard to wrap my Portland brain around that.
What a day
You may be wondering what we do on a normal day around here. During the summer we either have a work group building a house during the week, or we are prepping a house for the next week. And by "we" I mean the guys. Although I have shoveled gravel two mornings while I've been here (and felt the pain the next day), I'm mostly at home. The every day business of running a daycare happens day in and day out, and Heidi and I help in the kitchen and help mom with errands.
This week we have a dental team in. They are incredibly hard workers and have been putting in long days. They examined our children and staff on Monday, had a public dental clinic on Tuesday, went to a retirement home yesterday, and are continuing public dental care today and tomorrow.
This morning dad and I started off the morning by driving down to a migrant camp to look for a boy we've met before. He's 12 and has teeth growing out of the inside of the top of his mouth. After talking with an older gentleman from the community, and on the advice of the crowd of children, we found Raul off playing with his brother and friends. After showing them the temporary tattoo I had on my arm (they were quite interested, I tell you!) I arranged with him to get picked up tomorrow morning so he could come and see the dentist.
I got back and organized some clothes with Heidi for a camp visit we are doing tomorrow, where we will distribute clothes (left from last week's group), and shoes (that this dental team brought).
Amidst all of this, the dental team that is here (one dentist, two assistants, one hygienist) was running out of anesthetic. We were really worried about this because we have a line of people waiting outside, and a list of names of people to see. Mom called at the orphanage clinic across town to see if we could borrow some, promising that the dentist we have now will repay them. Well, it turns out that they are having their biggest clinic of the year next week, and would need the anesthetic to be repaid this weekend. How could this happen if our dentist was not leaving until Saturday?
God works. Mom called the youth pastor of the group that is coming this next week. They will be stopping in California, and can stop by this dentist's office, where one of his workers will give him anesthetic to bring down on Saturday. Through this, the clinic can be repaid by the dentist that is here this week. How amazing is that? We could have been having a team from San Diego or L.A. coming and we would miss this opportunity, and possible miss the ability to treat all of this people who are waiting for the dentist. But no, God works, and instead our next group is driving (not flying, like a lot of groups do!), and driving straight through this dentist's town on their way to Mexico. God is good.
And hey - all that happened, and it's not even lunchtime yet! And I just got reminded by mom that the dental assistants need help pumping up soccer balls for their soccer outreach this afternoon. I'm OFF!
Quickly
I don't have much to say, but I have some pictures to share.
On the 27th Stephanie came down from Ensenada and we went to the quinceñera of a friend. A quinceñera is a celebration when a girl turns 15. A small ceremony and party. We got dressed up and wore dresses and that was a special occasion in itself... quite the momentous day.
The birthday girl, Arely, and her parents:
We're just pretty normal here - day to day operations. We had a group last week from San Diego, and we have a group this week from New Hope church in Portland. Everything's going really smoothly and we've had some really big answers to prayer as far as finances go. We are thanking the Lord for those.
I can't help but post this picture, because it's adorable. Josiah is one of the interns, and Obed, in his arms, is really, really fond of him.
One day we went out to a neighborhood and helped with bible study/food distribution. I made a friend, Lesny, who buzzed around me and asked questions, and hung on my arm for the afternoon.
Lesny also wanted to use my camera, and she took this great picture of Mom and me.
La vida
I don't pay much attention to my watch these days. There are certain things that happen at appointed times: devotions at 7am, breakfast at 7:30, lunch at 12:30, church at 5 or 6, but for most of the morning and most of the afternoon, time doesn't matter. It is a welcome sigh of relief after a lot of rushing around at home. Be at this school at this time, and on the other side of the city in an hour. Scurrying from a sub job to school, or a sub job to a nanny job, and carrying extra clothes and food in my car and in my bags. Leaving the house at 7am and getting home at 10pm or later on busy days. Even at subbing it's having to be getting the students ready for lunch at 11:13am or making sure the room is cleaned up by 2:22pm. Life is slower here, not because it's Mexico, because surely the students and workers and businesses here operate on a certain time schedule, but because our work gets done when it gets done. No need for a rush. Not having to be at a certain place by a certain time. Watches are useful, but they do not run our lives.
I went out to a work site with Dad yesterday morning and this morning. This actually isn't usual for me, because I'm not needed, but Dad needed some extra hands, especially yesterday. I spent a couple of hours shoveling gravel into the cement mixer and woke up incredibly sore this morning. Yesterday the sun didn't come out all morning, and I was fine, but this morning I didn't put on sunscreen and I'm feeling the effects right about now.
We were laying the foundation and floor for a house being built not far up in the hills, but far enough that it felt like a little drive. This is actually only about a mile from the freeway, and as all roads off the freeway here are dirt and rocks, it was bumpy and feeling a little treacherous.
So we head up off the highway, into the neighborhood:
And we pass by a school that was built to provide schooling for Oaxacan children (complete with ocean view):
And after we've reached the top of a small hill, we go back down into a little tiny valley in front of the big hill:
And we reach the lot where we're building the house. In the above picture, you can see the existing house which is mostly made of plywood and tarps and other various building materials.
Yesterday arrived a group of five guys from California, so they helped out this morning, pouring the floor for this house, and we got it done really quickly.
And all I can think of is my Educational Psychology class and how our minds categorize information. I thought about how my mind has no categorized everything I've learned over the past couple of days: where this house is, who lives here, how the cement mixing process goes, the formula (2 1/2 buckets of water + one bag cement + shovels of gravel until it looks good). How Colores, our construction man, moves and shapes the floor, how he moves the 2x4 over the entire floor to smooth it out, and how he uses a stamper to push the rocks to the bottom and bring the water to the top. And the finishing touch of the smoother.
Among other things, I tried to make a new dish. My friend Nina made it for a church potluck. Our theme was international food, and she brought an Indian dish called Chicken Saag. I think this was the most intensive cooking experience I've ever had. Mom helped with the whole thing, and it was pretty delicious.
Our "compound" is right next to a small baseball stadium and Sunday we were "blessed" with a concert that started at 9pm and went until 2:30am. Needless to say we were tired on Monday. I have some video that I might try to post later.
Home home home
Earlier this month Mom and I made a trip to the Southern part of Oregon to visit my sister-in-law and nieces. My brother is unfortunately stationed in Idaho, and so he missed out on our visit. We had a fun couple of days together. We took some fun and silly pictures using the PhotoBooth feature on my Mac.
One fun part of our visit was watching the poppies together. These poppies are right outside of their house and we happened to be coming home one day (or leaving?) and someone noticed that one poppy was about to pop! It had already lost half of its outer shell and was on its way to blooming. As we stood and watched, the bottom half of the shell dropped off. It was pretty exciting and the girls were happy.
One poppy already in bloom, you can see how none others are blooming:
Then later on:
Mom and I left Southern Oregon and drove North, and took hwy 22 West from Salem, out to the coast. I've never been this way before, and although it was a little slow-going due to the windy roads, it was beautiful and a nice scenic tour through the Oregon countryside.
And you Oregonians know a drive through Tillamook needs a stop at the factory. Does this picture make you hungry?
We left last Friday for Mexico. We stopped once in Madera, California and stayed the night, then drove to San Diego, met up with my dad, and stayed the night again. Sunday we headed in to Ensenada Sunday at lunch time where met Stephanie at her house. Stephanie is one of my best friends from college and she's been teaching in Ensenada for the past year. Mom, Dad, and Heidi, who had driven with us, took off for home, and I stayed two nights in Ensenada.
Stephanie and I spent some time down at the boardwalk in Ensenada, and visited a friends' cafe and saw a movie there. We ran around town, basically. Monday I went to Stephanie to the school and sat through her classes. The kids are incredibly cute and I'm exciting about teaching there next year. I got to meet the directors and other staff at the school, which was nice. Stephanie's third graders were super excited to meet me and had prepared questions beforehand to ask me. So, I got to stand up in front of the class and answer questions about my siblings, my favorite color, where I live, etc.
Monday after school Kelly, who is Stephanie's roommate and also teaches at the school, and her boyfriend Gilberto, took us to an empanada place to eat, and to get juices from the place down the street. Later on Stephanie, Kelly, and I went to a cool coffee place with an upper balcony under a tree. Basically we just ate the whole time I was there.
So... this is the only decent picture, wherein Kelly is doing something funny with her face, and Gilberto is obviously trying to tell us something.
View from the school:
View from the hill above Stephanie's house:
Gilberto gave Kelly a baby duck. Yeah. He gave her a baby duck. You read that right.
Tuesday morning I left Ensenada for the drive South. The drive home. Unfortunately there was a bit of a detour that made me question my decision to bring my car to Mexico. It wasn't too long, but it did take a while, since the terrain was so rough.
But, I drove home, through these wonderful mountains, and my car survived, and I arrived "home". Home, home, home.
