home again!

farewell mexico! it's been a couple of weeks now, and still memories flood my mind daily. i miss it. it's good to be home, but i will never foget you mexico! te extrano! and i guess this is it. good bye blog. no more guadalajara. however, i hope this is just the beginnings of my adventures. this whole traveling thing is addicting! and i plan to see the world. hasta luego.

siempre
ashley

soaking up the sun reys....

Well…we’ve done it! School’s out and we are headed to……ta-da!!! Puerto Vallarta tomorrow! I am so completely excited! Wow! Wow! Wow! This entire weeks been awesome! We have been able to do so much, one thing right after another. Today we had an end of the curse fiesta kind of thing, it was tons of fun, and we finally found a green grass to play some futbol on! Finally! And just the perfect opportunity to get dirty! Our teachers were there as well as our whole group and our families. Liz and Carlitos came. It felt like they were our family, like actually there for us. And the food was absolutely delicious! Orchata, tres leches cake, and arroz con leche, same idea as rice pudding! I can honestly say we ate more than necessary! It was so fun to just be all together and just have fun! Music, dancing, piñatas, the whole shpeal.

Being able to play soccer was so refreshing! I can’t tell you the high I get from playing! And just from running! Especially this time, being able to feel the grass between my toes! I love it! Afterwards, we took off to al centro. Do some last minute shopping and stuff. The feeling of it all was way cool. We really had no organize plans, but aftwer shopiing we went and got some authentic street gringas, tacos that especially famous here in Guadalajara. We listened and danced to some of the Marachis there. And most of our friends were there…it was kind of like a last get together. Actually kind of sad, but we had loads of fun! I swear I could dance forever!!! It was so fun, the Marachis would play and someone would grab your hand and you’d just spin and spin and spin!

We’re here!! I can’t believe how warm the water was! I didn’t have to wait for my body to numb up before I could really get moving, like back at home! And you’ll never guess what happened today! I got stung by a jellyfish! Really! I felt it at first on my right hand, then my leg and then under my left arm! At first I felt like I was on fire, and then all of the sudden it hit me. I was in so much pain! I can’t really describe it. It wasn’t too bad at first, however, I soon felt like my entire arm was going to fall off my body. It definitely was not the most pleasant experience, but definetly one to remember! And guess what it was followed by! Yep! That’s right! I peed on myself!

TIMES RUNNING OUT!!!

Wow! (you know I think I often start my journal enteries “wow”…we just have so many wow kind of days!) Last day of service! How sad! This is going to be hard!

And its over. I can’t even express how incredible that was. And the kids sang our most favoritest song! Amigos para siempre. I can’t remember if I actually have mentioned this song or not. However, one day the kids were practicing it and we fell in love. And how perfect it fit for this occasion. I know I will see these kids again some day, we are friends forever. The piano started, and each of us, me, Jess, Becky and Kayla looked at each other…we new the song. The kids began to sing and all of us lost it. I was crying and laughing, happy and sad, I really can’t explain it. And the teachers presented us with some gifts, including these head bands that are very Mexican and handmade. It’s something I will always treasure!!! Forever and ever!

There’s so much to say, really this time. And definitely no time to say it all. Especially since we have our final tomorrow and presentations and it’s already…well, …really late. The rain continues. I am so glad that we were able to enjoy the sun for as long as we have. However, my fingers are crossed that are upcoming beach trip is nothing but sun, maybe I could handle a Ocean storm, which could be way cool….for the most part…however…bring on the rays of golden sunshine!!!! (I’m so exciting…there’s a group of us investing in boogie boards….we’re playing on living on the beach for those four or so days that were there. Futbol, volleyball, swimming, games game games. And the beach front dances!!! Woo Hoo!

So, tonight we had a group activity to al Teatro. We were able to see some of the true folklore of Mexico, and WOW! (see, there it is again!) It was so cool to be able to go to this, and really see part of Mexico. The colors, the music, the dancing was way cool!

Wow! What an incredible day! And there’s so much to say! The rainy season has definetly started! We were practically swimming through the streets!!! The storm was awesome, But first I have to write about our afternoon with the missionaries! What an awesome opportunity! We got to go on splits!!! I have never done that before!! It was incredible! And quite interesting in Spanish!

My heart is full! And I am on a complete high! I think I found what tops horse back riding! We even got to wear the tags!! We went tracking, actually knocking from door to door! I’ve known all my life that this is part of missionary work, but I actually did it. Before we actually knocked on the first door (and actually the first door would not even let us in) I think my heart was going to explode. I was overwhelmed. Wow, even right know I can not type what I am feeling fast enough. We went from door to door, trying to share with the people a special message about families and our Lord Jesus Christ, and remember, this was all in Spanish. I got to bear my testimony a couple of times in Spanish, and we sang several himnos. Actually, I even got to say the closing prayer at one of the homes that let us in. One of the sisters turned to me and asked my to say the prayer, after asking the family if there was anything special they wanted included in the prayer. Wow! That was an adventure, but not a train wreck! And it was so so so fun to bear my testimony so many times in one day, and in Spanish. I actually felt like things went pretty well, I understood MOST of what was being said and I was able to be involved in the conversation!

There was three of us girls that went, with four missionaries. I went off with the two sisters, and the other two girls divided with the other companionship. I loved the two sisters! And I wish their names were not so hard to pronounce so I could spell them….one was from Ecuador and the other from the northern part of Mexico, close to the border. The sister from Ecuador was 22 years old and the other was quite a bit older. We were able to talk a lot, and it was such a great opportunity to practice my Spanish. After asking how old I was, they asked me when my birthday was. I told them when and they sang me a happy birthday song in Spanish, since its my birthday month! It was so fun! (by the way padres, they said you are to celebrate your birthday everyday leading up to it…. ;-) )

You know, there is absolutely no doubt in my mind about the reality of our church. Missionaries are incredible! I am so jealous of all my friends, and so excited for Chris. It makes me really want to go on a mission. It has also made me realize, even though we only got a tiny tiny taste, but ...its hard work!

If it's okay with you all, and I think I am just going to assume it is... :), I want to bear my short and sweet version of my testimony in spanish.

Estoy muy agradacido por el evangelio, por la iglesia de Jesus Christo, esta es mi vida. Yo se que soy una hija de dios. Yo se que vive mi Senor, el es mi Salvador, mi amigo mejor, y mi hermano. Esoty muy agradacido estar aqui en Mexico y aprender espanol y otras cosas sobre vida. Me encanta leer las scripturas, y yo se que ellas tienen palabrad de los profetas y nuestro Padre Celestial. Estoy muy agradecido por mi familia, ellos estan mis amigos mejor. Y yo se que puedemos estar juntos por eternidad. Estoy muy agradecido por todos los tenemos y por mi padre celestial!

The talent show!!!

It was so much fun!!! singing and dancing! And there was quite a lot of people there, surprisingly! I guess word got around that the gringos thought they have some talent….

We sang, we danced. So as I walked out on stage for my clogging performance I totally biffed it. Everyone said at least I was a graceful faller! ha ha And color esperanza was of course lots of fun and I think thriller was a big hit! I’m surprised, I think most people knew of the dance and were Michael Jackson fans!

For some reason my asthma really acted up tonight, ya I know, good timing, so I was a little nervous about our song, I know my Redeemer Lives. I couldn’t seem to stop coughing. It went well though, I said a little prayer before, we’ve worked so hard and practice this song so much, I really wanted to be able to communicate the spirit through the words we were going to sing. Luckily I think my prayer was answered. It wasn’t until after the song that I couldn’t seem to stop coughing. Darn asthma, sometimes it puts up quite the fuss.

All of our friends came and watched. Members from the ward, the missionaries, and our non-member families. I’ll have to make sure to get all my pictures from it and explain those, I really can not seem to express how much fun it was. That same kind of good-feeling that I had during Strength of Youth rehearsals and Dance Festival…just loving life!

Dancing all night!!!

I am really going to miss this dancing every week! Really really! I love it! Tonight we had the institute dance, which was kind of a change from the traditional bar or dance club setting. It was fun to be all together and kind of be crazy! I think their idea of a “dance” is a bit different than the traditional set up of an American “dance”, but we decided we stood out anyway, why try and blend in? And it was so fun….they played thriller, so we got to put on our show! It worked out well, a little dress rehearsal before tomorrow! (ah! Which I am actually kind of nervous for,…it should be way fun though!) It was so much fun, we were not very good zombies though, laughing through the whole thing! Everyone seemed to enjoy it though! I learned how to dance la banda tonight. I have absolutely no idea how to explain that one…its one of those I guess I’ll have to show you! You kind of hop back and forth, and it’s a very close and well, close kind of dance! Probably actually not one of my favorites, but anything on the dance floor can hypnotize me. And I discovered that you can polka to most banda songs! (something they don’t dance here, but since its one of my favorites I could not resist, polkaed my way around the dance floor…made me think of my favorite polka partner…daddy-o!)

Shopping with Pablo...

Shopping with Pablo….
Pablo is a friend we met at service! He’s pretty funny and fun to practice speaking with. Well, we got done with service earlier and he was hoping to maybe find something to do with us. However, our day was pretty booked, but he insisted that he ran our grocery runs with us. (We needed to go to the store to make our pie for class) Now, this is probably one of those you had to have been there moments, but I was cracking up. So we get to the store, and Jess and I are a little flustered (the stores here are a bit different). Pablo then takes our shopping list and cart and does our shopping. I was laughing so hard. We just followed behind him as he rounded things up. We got our shopping done though! :)

Exploring the Mexican frontier on horseback!!!!

Wow! What an awesome afternoon! I’m still on cloud ten! (that’s one step above cloud nine!) Really it was so cool, we got to run with the horses, which was probably the coolest feeling in the world! The wind blowing through my hair and the rhythm of the horses hooves against the dust. Everyone asked where I learned to ride, they said I looked like a natural…well I sure fooled them didn’t I, all that time I’ve spent riding horses really paid off! He he! I would love to learn…maybe someday! There was definitely dust…we were plastered by the time all was said and done! I’m still shaking dust out of my hair! We got to ride for a full hour, and at times we were surround by trees following a small creek through the “rough” terrain! It was really actually picture perfect and by far one of the best things we’ve done so far! Giddy on up!

I really wanted to name my horse (I’m sure it already had a name, but I was a little bit lacking in the creative department, and I really could not find anything that just really “fit”. So instead I just called her “girl”. “C’mon girl” “good girl” let’s go girl” (both in Spanish and English…my horse is bilingual! J )

Ensayo por el noche de talentos – Rehearsal

We just got home for the day! We had our dress rehearsal for nuestra noched de talentos, our talent show! It has been so much to work on! Our own little dance classes here in Mexico! I think I’ve finally got the Thriller dance down! And it seems to be a favorite! And so far, everyone we’ve talked to are Michael Jackson fans, our own hermanito, says our mom, is fan number one!

Really though, having something to put together and work on, and something with music; singing and dancing has been a blast! It should be fun! Now we’ll just have to cross our fingers that people come and watch! He he

Before we left for rehearsal Liz, our mom helped us ( I really need to write a blog about our family…just to give you an idea of who we have been living with….mas tarde…) make our dish for tomorrow’s presentation. (We have presentations tomorrow on some kind of popular dish in Mexico, and we are supposed to make it and bring it to share with the class. We also have a test, which I should probably get back to studying for! ) We made py de limones, lime pie. It was so simple and easy, but it tastes absolutely delicious! I am so excited to make it for everyone back home! We’ve really got a push going right now too, with time running short and all, trying to get all the recipes we can, and remember what we’ve eaten and such! There’s so much!!!!

Ahhhh!!!!!! Guess what were doing tomorrow! Horse back riding!!!! Boom bam baby! I’m stoked!!!!

The first rainfall....

We saw the clouds coming; it even smelt like rain! We were in our rooms and heard the thunder, seconds later the heavens let loose. So naturally, we were out the door in two seconds, in our running clothes, playing/running in the rain! After we were completely soaked, which really didn’t take long (the rain drops were gigantic, and it was coming down so heavy and thick! It was so cool!) ,e decided we would run over to the boys house and see if we could find someone to play with. They opened the door, and Senora, their “mom”, freaked out. She made us get inside and dry off. She absolutely could not believe we were in the rain. (I think she actually thought we were running and got caught in it, not deliberately running in the rain…opps!) It was really funny, and she was way sweet. She would not budge nor listen to the idea that we liked playing in the rain! (Actually, everyone here is scared of the rain. They have no drainage system and the whole city goes crazy when it even looks like rain.) Needless to say we did not find anybody to come and play with us, and on top of that our play time got cut short! The boys and us still laugh about it!!!

El Noche de Hogar

Can you believe it?! June already??? Today’s Monday and we just got back from el noche de hogar, FHE, followed by the oh-so-fabulous Monday night churro run! I swear they’re the best churros in all of mexico, well, that I’ve tasted at least.

For FHE tonight we had practice for the upcoming talent show! (did I tell you about that – it’s turning into quite the production actually!)We had a pizza party to kick-off the rehearsal with and can I tell you, pizza’s never tasted so good in my entire life! J The practice went really well, I am so excited for Saturday. So what it is, Saturday’s production, is basically a talent show night, however, I think they are officially calling it an international night…it’s kind of our way to give back to the community, part of us and part of who we are. They’re lots of dancing and singing ( we’re doing Thriller, Boot Scootin’ Boogie…both very popular and very American – I especially thought Thriller was an interesting choice… “here, let me show you what American culture is like, introducing crazy Michael Jackson and his zombie dance!” its way fun though, and I admit, we are not that bad! I’m also doing a clogging routine and then towards the end of the program things shift to a more spiritual setting, and there’s a group of four of us who are singing “I Know my Redeemer Lives” a capella in Spanish! )


I have a bunch of old posts that I’ve been meaning to post, but their a bit dated, so here's a bit of a flash back….

Temple Trip

What a cool experience!? And it was all in Spanish! Actually I was so glad I was able to go, I had been pretty sick that day and the day before, but I really wanted to do this. I think we are hoping to get one more session in before we have to take off.

The Guadalajara temple is beautiful, fairly small, but very much familiar. It’s like being home again. And it was so cool to be there with all of our group and different single adult members from the ward. I was excited that, when I walked into the confirmation room, a kid from our group was reading the names. It was fun to hear him speaking the familiar words in Spanish.

Guanajuato....

We just got home from our weekend trip to Guanajuato. It was incredible, and so beautiful! It looked very European to me. I wish I could have captured what we saw on camera…but the pictures do not do any justice. The streets were made of stone, and were so narrow and the landscape full of color. It was really beautiful! The food was great, definitely ate too much! And we did some site seeing and shopping, of course.

I can’t even begin to explain what the overall feel of Guanajuato was. We were able to take a tour of the city and stop at different places, and just look out the windows! We went to the city’s candy shop and afterwards to a mine. It was really cool, and I could kind of follow the history. (I’m torn…I’m glad they talk to us in Spanish when we do things like this, but I really love to know the history of things, and sometimes when they speak in Spanish, they use totally unfamiliar vocab and talk a lot more slurred together and quickly, a lot of the time, we just all listen with blank stares in our faces….a little frustrating actually at times. This time, however, I think I was on the same page most of the time. ) It was way cool and at the end we went and saw some of the different stones and crystals that they used to mine. I actually bought one of the crystals for myself, it’s a memory crystal. I thought it was kind of cool and something that could help remind me of the this incredible trip and experience…kind of cool huh!? Memory stone to help remind me.

Oh my gosh, after the mine we went and saw a torture museum they have there, from the Spanish Inquisition, during the reign of the Catholic church. It was horrible! I felt so sick. I am in a way so glad that we went though. It is part of history, and really got me thinking. It is so horrible to me, that other human beings could do such horrid things to other human beings, and over the idea of Christianity...rather ironic actually. I can not fathom the idea of someone willing and able to hurt another, and especially in that horrific and gruesome kind of manner. As our tour guide explained what each of the different torture machines were used for, he would occasionally ask for volunteers to help him out. I tried as hard as I could to avoid eye contact…however, he got me. He asked me to come to the front where I stood in front of a closed box. (As I walked to the front, Hermana Stallings called… “not my Ashley”…that was pretty endearing….) He then opened the box as everyone squealed…well, that was no help to calm my nerves. He had me step back into the box and said to be very careful that I did not move. As he began to shut the doors to the box, I got a glimpse of the spikes plastered along the surface of the box. I squirmed a bit and felt the spikes along the back of the box that I was now standing in pinch my skin. What an experience! (Obviously he did not shut the doors all the way, or the ending of this little experience would be a bit different...) Really though, it got me thinking, about the restoration, about the lives that were sacrificed, much earlier than just those of the latter day saints and the early American colonists, for the sake of freedom of religion and for the preparation of the Lord’s gospel. It also made me realize how grateful I am for the time and place in which I live in. Wow! What a museum….

It was so funny, last night, after the day was over, most of us girls met up in one of the rooms, for a girls night sort of thing…stories and laughing our heads off…in our pajamas, like you would at a sleepover. However, towards the middle of the festivities, there was a knock at the door, the boys wanted to join. It was so funny; we definitely had to take pictures of the boys….at girls night! They joined in on the stories and laughing. Both shared stories of their first date/first kiss or whatev…it really was so much fun! And it has been so much fun getting to know each other better! Especially this weekend…we were able to spend so much time together (especially on the four hour bus ride), just laughing and taking. I feel like I've known these people forever!

ahhh...i have so many pictures i want to post...but it takes absolutely forever to post them...i wish you could all see what i see! thinking of you all! abrazos y besos!

these kids are amazing....

Service is so amazing to me! Everytime I learn something new…and I watch the children, and Bernardo in awe. One of my favorite parts is when we first arrive. The children come running up to us, feeling our arms and our faces and hair, trying to identify who is who. And they’ve got it down. “Ashy!!!”…they know exactly who we are. Their hugs and smiles make me melt each time we go.

After service today we went for a walk in the park with Bernardo. Afterwards, we were walking to the bus stop to say good bye to Bernardo, and I couldn’t help asking. I asked him how he knew to get off the bus when he needed to…and you know what?! He’s got the entire bus route memorized, every turn. I don’t know…I can’t imagine going through life with out the ability to see…every time I go to Helen Keller I am amazed and reminded how much I have to give. However, I feel like I am taking so much- I try and absorb every bit of it that I can.

La iglesia es el mismo en todo el mundo

The church is the same everywhere you go.....

I’ve been meaning to get this one onto my blog for a while, but it is one of the first things that I wrote down in my journal. The church is amazing to me!!! There are no words to express exactly how I feel, however, I do want to say that no matter where you go, the Lord is there. It is amazing to me. Our first Sunday so much was over our head, the feelings though were the same. The men in their white shirts and ties, the children scattered throughout the congregation, the young men seated in the front, even the bishopric talked like bishopric. It is our third week here and I feel like I can understand most of what is said in sacrament and Sunday school, as well as relief society, or enough to understand the lesson and follow along….but even from the beginning everything was familiar. I can be so far from home, yet so close to it at the same time. I love our church, and it is such a testament to me that maybe there is something special about it… J . I know its true.

Cryin’ through dinner!!!

When Jessica and I first got here, I told her that we had to make a deal to try everything here. So far our two most exotic things are small intestine and grass hopper, neither of which, to I am sure your surprise, we did not like. Oh and our list of Mexican Fruit is constantly growing. Yesterday, at dinner, we tried some kind of pepper. I am not sure what kind it was, but our friends, who are from here, were with us and were very willing to dare us to eat them; however they said that they weren’t able to eat the peppers because they were too hot. Well, of course we couldn’t turn down a dare!! Oh my goodness!!! I had tears streaming down my face! At first I didn’t think it was too bad, I even took a second bite,…however, shortly thereafter, I thought my throat had caught on fire and my tongue had fallen out of my mouth! It was crazy hot!!!

Makin’ friends with the locals!

You know!? Jess and I were talking how incredibly cool it is that we have friends who can not speak English!!! Crazy!! I don’t know to me…when I think about it that is so weird. Granted our conversations in Spanish are pretty broken up, we are able to communicate! That is so stinkin’ cool to me!!! We are friends and talk to each other…but not in English!!! In an entirely different language!!!

Livin' the hard life...

We had another trip today all together. We went to Chapala! More of a tourist kind of city. It was so much fun to look at all of the old buildings and walk around the lake. We had a competition who could speak the most Spanish to the people…we find out tomorrow who wins! We tried…and we didn’t do too bad! Afterwards we lived the life of luxury and went to a resort next to the lake where we stuffed ourselves full of Mexican food followed by hours of swimming and football. It was an incredible day! And Jess and I learned that it might be a better idea for next time to reapply our sunscreen a little more often!...but man! What a beautiful day!!!

What an adventure?

Today was so much fun…and of course, always an adventure. We did not have service today because the school’s had the day off…for some holiday. So, Jess and I decided with some other girls that we would meet up and go down town for the afternoon, just to explore. We decided to meet at three o’clock and shortly before Jess and I left to get on the bus, thinking we knew how to get to where we needed to go to meet up with the other two girls that were going to go. Well…Jess and I have had really good luck finding our way to places by bus. Consequently, we took the wrong bus, however, by the time we realized we had no idea hot to get back and, owning no telephone, had no way to contact the other girls….a new adventure had begun. Luckily the bus we were on was headed towards el centro, exactly where we were wanting to head to. So, minus the fact that we had just stood up our friends, things would work out great and Jess and I would be able to say we had our adventure for the day.

Well…we get a ways and the bus driver looks at us like as if we were to know what was going on. At about that point we realized that we were the only ones on the bus – it was time to get off (we have absolutely no idea why….still…we are not sure why we had to get off….it will forever remain a mystery). Our adventure had finally begun. We started looking for landmarks, trying to figure out where we were and how to get to where we wanted to go. We started to look for steeples in the sky. After finding one we began to work towards it, however, we soon realized that this was not the part of town we wanted to be on ( we also realized that it was the wrong steeple, not the one belonging to the cathedral en el centro). So we turned around and wandered for a bit (pretending we knew exactly where we were). After a while we found a street that was pretty crowed…we decided to follow traffic…and guess what??? It worked! We found el centro!

It was so fun to be able to look around again and do some shopping!! (I got something for ya mom!!! He he J!) We tried the coolest pan dulce!!! (pan means bread) They have so many pastries here…and they are all so fun looking. I had this “think”, it was sweetened bread, but it had horns…it was so different. We were inside the store and I decided that I wanted to try the weirdest looking thing!!! (or the weirdest looking thing without chocolate or fruit…)

As time past we pondered over the idea of getting home, we kind of didn’t really have any idea where to start. I decided that I would ask these two boys that we met in the Mercado who seemed to be friendly and we had already been talking with them for quite some time. They said that they would be able to take us home! (mom, dad…you might want to stop reading at this point….everything worked out great, and I know you are not supposed to talk with strangers, but we were a little desperate and we felt that this was an okay thing to do and it was okay for us to trust them). Anyway, they road the buses home with us. Afterwards, Jess and I were talking about how absolutely amazing the people are here. They are so kind, and so willing to drop anything to help others. Really. The people in our ward here, and people we meet on the streets…that’s just what is suspected. It’s hard though, you can not trust everyone, and you can’t tell who is being nice and who’s maybe got other intentions. However, Jess and I decided, because we choose not to give the boys our phone number, we would simply have to “Pay if forward”, to repay them for their act of kindness.

Color Esperanza

Our school had an opening social and a closing goodbye party; two parties combined into one for the new incoming students, like us, and those who were finishing up and getting ready to take off. For the party each class was to prepare a musical “number” type thing. Our teacher’s picked the song for us….”Color Esperanza”….we immediately fell in love with it, and it fit perfectly with our class. Anyway, the teacher’s asked me to head up the choreography (I know…what were they thinking, huh?! I think it was because while we were doing our first practices, before we really got started, I could not stop dancing…learned me lesson…J ) It was way fun though, and of course everyone really got into it. And actually, we are going to perform it to our ward here, at our closing party/farewell kind of thing... it’s a talent show! Should be fun!

Here are some of the lyrics to the song, both in Spanish and in English….

Saber que se puede, querer que se pueda

To know what you can do, to want what you could do

Quitarse los meidos, sacarlos afuera

Throughout your fears, leave them outside

Pintarse la cara color espereranza

Paint your face the color of hope

Tentar al futuro con el Corazon

With your heart turn to the future

Es major perderse que nunca embarcar

It’s better to loose than never embark

…..vale la pena una vez mas

it’s worth the pain one more time

Color Esperanza

One of Three

Believe it or not there are three Ashley’s in our group as well as three Jessica’s. To differentiate between the three Ashley’s, Teresa calls me Arora, meaning rise of the sun…I thought that was really cool. It’s a pretty name, I don’t mind the temporary name change.

ESCUELA

School is so much fun! We go Monday through Friday, nine to twelve. I absolutely love our teacher; Teresea. She is so great, and I think I follow her pretty well. There’s times she looses me, and others, but she has no problem repeating and slowing down. I really love classes. For the first two hour block we go over vocab and grammar. For the second hour, we have conversation class (however, the last week or so that we have been here we have had song practice during this time…another story for later).

mamacitas!!!!!

“Hey baby! You fine!” this place is great for my self-esteem!!!!!

“You have to take control of the kiss!” –Jessica

In Mexico, it is proper, when you say hello to someone to embrace and kiss on the cheek….which I am catching on to and becoming comfortable with – it’s very endearing and personal. However, we have concluded that some boys seem to be confused where our cheeks are and where our mouths are located…they get awfully close…..

Si lo puedes sonar, lo puedes lograr

Service is amazing! We work at the Instituto de Helen Keller, it’s a school designed to help those who can not see. There are no words to describe it. It’s amazing… and the feeling that we get when we are there is absolutely overwhelming. Right now we are helping out a lot as teacher’s aids, helping to get ready for graduation. However, we get to spend some time playing with the kids, and every Wednesday we get to go swimming with the children. Woo-hoo! We also take turns, rotating, in the computer lab, helping out a friend. There, we work with Bernardo. And golly….does he have a story. Today I got to work with him. He is completely blind, and his job is to help those in the computer lab, and our job there is to read to him the screen when there is a problem with the computer so he can fix it. Today, there was only a couple times when there were problems with the computers, so there was lots of time to chat and for me to practice my Spanish.

Bernardo was five when his brother accidentally shot him in the face…leaving him completely blind. He is an incredible guitarist!!! I listened to him for quite some time; I think I could listen forever. He sings as well. He is in a band with some of his friends, where he writes the music, plays and sings. He loves to run, and has won several medals in the Special Olympics here. His story is amazing, and very humbling. He showed me a video today, about him, and during the video popped up this quote…… “Si lo puedes sonar, lo puedes lograr.” If you dream it, you can do it. – Walt Disney …

I’m excited for our new friendship. He is very touchy….I don’t really know what I mean by that…but all of the children are. At first I felt a little nervous, but it is totally normal to me. He is trying to draw a picture in his mind of what I look like; touching my face and feeling my hair. He is constantly holding your hand (however,…I believe mine more than others, and probably more than necessary…. J…..) and touching your back. All of the children are very touchy. When they talk to you, they want to know you are there, listening. All together it is truly a humbling experience…I really can not put what I feel into words.

hello from guadalajara! TOP 5

wow! i can not believe we have only been here for less than a week!!! im loving it though!! and kind of catching on to things. our stomachs are a little behind, but well see if they catch up. so let's see....there is absolutley so much!!! im going to give you my top five! so...here it goes;

5. ate an exocitic mexican fruit!

Saturday for lunch we were all eating together in the house, Jessica, myself and our family. After asking what this noise was outside, like a person talking through a microphone, we listened for a bit and Carlos, nuestra padres, took off running outside. It was a street vendor and he was selling pitallas, this rare fruit our family was telling us about the day before. It only comes one month out of the year, may. and it comes off of a cactus. It had the stangest texture out of anything i have ever tried before. Im not so sure I liked them, but it was so much fun to try. He actually bought a couple, and as he pealed each one it was like magic!

4. got lost! twice!

so i think slowly we are figuring out the bus system. and its fun to talk to people on the bus, mainly because we are trying to figure out if we are on the right bus, if we are going the right direction, and where we need to get off. but also we talk just to talk, and really to make a fool out of ourselves. at least they all ready now we are american by looking at us, and we're trying! sunday was definetly an adventure getting to church (note to self, even though the boys say they know how to get there, that does not entail that they really do) and again yesterday, we got lost trying to find hermana stalling's apartment for noche de hogar, FHE, and we were in charge. i just have to laugh! it makes everything so much more interesting!

3. i've developed my own kind of morning sickness.

so...Our stomachs are still adapting i think. we really haven't eaten any street food. or drank any of the water. but we are sure going though pepto bismal pretty fast. i don't want to give you any more information than what you want to know...but the last couple of mornings Jess and I have both been waking up pretty sick. luckily by mid morning, we are feeling much better. our mom keeps us updated on what we can and can not eat and what we need to do and such. hopefully its just kind of the change of things, new bacteria, and give it some time...and we should be good to go!

2. salsa dance and thrown into the pool!

yesterday for cinco de mayo we had a large barbeque with the branch. it was so much fun. and there was so much food. the kids in the branch are so nice and really try and help us with our spanish. most of them know english as well, but for the most part we talk in spanish the whole time...that is our goal! :) we got to dance, true mexican salsa, and another kind...which i actually can't remeber the name of. it was so much fun! and we are actually going some where to go dancing this friday with some guys in the ward! can't wait!!!!!
the barbeque itself was so much fun! its fun to try and communicate with everyone...they just sit and smile and wait for you to stutter through your sentance.
oh..and i almost forgot!!! i got to go swimming! it was after FHE. my friend started to push me in the pool, and i yelled i still had my camera so he stopped. i told if i didn't have my camera, and if we werent going to go dancing later (which we were) he had full permission to push me in. well, we found out we were not going to be able to go dancing...not too many places open on a monday night. and he asked if he could see my camera, and me honestly not catching on, said okay. one second later i was in the pool! it felt great. and its so dry here that i was almost dried out from the walk home afterwards.

1. first day of classes!

i love school! the campus is great and our teacher is amazing! maestra teresea! she is very sweet and really not the difficult to understand. when i can't understand her i feel like i can at least get the main idea what she is saying. i am really glad to be formally learning new things in addition to just absorbing things off the street...if that makes any sense. it is going to be really helpful to review the tenses and verbs, and learn new ones to be able to use.
today after class we began preparing our song, that we have to sing, in spanish...no joke for the closing and opening social next week. (there is a big party on campus for those who are just starting classes and for those who are finishing) it is so much fun! and really fun to sing! i hope we get an audio copy of the music. i'd love to share it with you! ill keep ya updated though on the next biggest version of Mexican Idol.

Wow! There is still so much more! and so much more to come! We get to go to a game today!!!! ahh! can't wait! it is one of the things on my list that i had to absolutely do when i came to mexico...go to a Mexican soccer game in Mexico. we are going to a game also on thursday, as a group. (today we are going with some friends we met here) we were told this is really the only week to see the teams here play, so we are taking advantage of it. we getting our talent show together, for the end of the term...something we can do to kind of give back to the ward, we've got a trip planned for this weekend to visit some sites that are of historical importance to guadalajara, we got a dinner date with a mariachi band on friday, followed by..of course, dancing, and instituto!!! so much to do! we are kept busy, and by the end of the night, you can almost hear your bed calling your name . ;-) its great, and all of it is centered around spanish....no anatomy homework and such....ya follow? its been great!

oh...and i almost forgot, yesterday after everything, on our way home for the night, there was a churro stand open...and we had to stop, a real mexican churro. and we were in heaven. it was filled with dulce de leche (my favorite)....it was so good. and the bad thing is that stand is not too far away from us.....

love ya all!!!

te amo ! te extrano!

estamos aqui

hola familia y amigos! estamos aqui!!! we made it! the weather here is absolutely fantastico!!!! la me gusta mucho!!!! y nuestra familia is amazing!!!! they are so patient, and actually for the most part Jess and I feel like we can understand them. it is so much fun to talk to them.

I'm addicted to speaking Spanish, at times it's frustrating, though, because I know what I want to say, I just don't know how. I feel like I am already learning a ton.

There are so many cars here...holy cow!!! no wonder they have problem with car accidents and Americans when they come down here. yikes!!!! our goal is to look like we belong here within the next day or so... no more looking around like wow...or the occasional yikes! actually, today's been better. We are catching on to the traffic laws and such. :) but i don't think the weird looks will stop.

Last night, Liz, nuestra nuevo mama o mi mama Mexicana, cooked dinner for us. It was really late, they eat dinner between eight and nine, so I should feel right at home, right padres?! :) It was delicious, though. She said she didn't want to cook anything to...mexican yet, while we let our stomachs get used to the change in diet. We had some tortillas and some home made chilli sauce. She also made this jello/yogurt dish, con fescos, or strawberries. It was so good, and cold...which was even better.

Jess and I are trying to get used to brushing our teeth with our water bottles, or rather using that for water when brush our teeth, enjoying all the tastes and sounds, and soaking up every minute of Mexico that we can.

Love you all! Ambrazos.

eebers!

Erin!!!! I got to see her between our two flights. Our first flight left Salt Lake at seven in the morning (many thanks to grandma and grandpa for the transportation so early in the morning), where we then flew into Phoenix. I got to meet up with Eebers there for a bit, where we freaked out for a bit, calmed each others nerves and freaked out some more. After our goodbyes, we then flew from Phoenix into Guadalajara, Mexico. Woo-hoo!

ahhhhh! so soon!

Mexico... aqui vengo!!!!

wow!!! i can't believe it....two weeks from today! ill actually be there!!!! i can not even stand the anticipation!!! i am so excited!! and as the count down continues... i get more and more nervous!!!! boom bam baby!!!! mexico...here i come!