Hora Mexicana

Since I am once again living abroad, I thought it would be appropriate to re-start my blog.  Not because I'm not a great blogger (clearly I'm not because it took me quite a bit of time to find my blog online not to mention the time it took me to figure out how to log into my account) but it's fun for me to process all the ridiculous things I have done, said, or experienced and perhaps something I write will be amusing at some point along the line. So here goes!

For those of you who haven't heard (or didn't realize I had left), I accepted a position as a director's assistant on a study abroad program that Westmont College runs in Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, Mexico. What exactly does a director's assistant do? Great question! Ask me again in four months and I will (hopefully) be able to tell you all about it.  For now I have a vague description that involving caring for the professor's two sons, Miguel and Roger, 11 and 12, being an RA type of person for the 9 students from Westmont, and helping to organize the trip. But of course the whole things is a bit ironic because we found out yesterday that the boys were supposed to begin school today (and of course we haven't signed them up yet nor have we bought them any materials!), I don't know when the Westmont students arrive exactly, I just got the handbook for the semester, and while I am the go-to finance person I have no idea what the budget is!

As you may have noticed from that short intro, planning and Mexican culture are not stereotypically compatible. I often find myself using the phrase "hora Mexicana," which essentially boils down to the fact that nothing happens at its appointed time but can be expected to occur within a few hours, possibly days. For example, if someone says let's meet at eight, you will probably see them around ten or eleven. The Spanish word for "now"(ahora) can mean any time in the near future, which is no where near the punctuality that we are used to in the USA. When I first studied abroad in Ecuador, this drove me nuts. I wanted to know where I should be, when I should be there, and became quickly irritated when things didn't go as planned. But as time went on I began to appreciate the way people perceive time in Latin American countries. People don't let time control them, but rather they control time. It's not that people don't plan things; they most certainly do. They just don't hold onto their plans as tightly as we do in the USA.  There is a general assumption that things will happen when they happen and with an (extremely general) agenda everything will be okay.  As I began to embrace this way of thinking, I realized how much freedom there was in it. I walked at a leisurely pace and noticed more of the little things around me, as cliche as it sounds. I wasn't so focused on where I had to go so I fully engaged in whatever I was doing without expending half of my mental energy on what was to come. When things didn't go as planned- which was almost always the case- I called whatever I was doing an adventure and got excited (or at least did my very best to get excited) about how I was going to take part in something new and exciting, not knowing where it would lead. (And of course there was always the plus that I stopped wearing my watch so I got rid of my watch tan, but that is beside the point.)

Now that I have graduated from Westmont and have entered the "real world," this is what I want for my life. I want to intentionally go through life at a more leisurely pace, to notice the beauty God has surrounded me with. I never want to be so worried and focused on what is next that I miss what God has planned for me in the present. And most of all, I want to hold onto the general plan for my life that God has already revealed to me, but be ready to call anything unexpected that He throws my way an adventure and be excited to see the new and exciting things He has planned for me, not knowing how they will turn out.

I want to live out the idea of "hora Mexicana."

i don't like soup anymore

Just like every other friday... NOT!!!!

I would like to note that the television we have does not work. It only gets sound. And my brother, dad, and the man that constructed the house tried for another hour to fix the satellite dish. And I think the dog tried to help to by chewing the cable, which might have been part of the problem.

I would also like to note that the soup that takes six hours to make is not worth the pain. I might have spent the night writhing in pain. okay maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration, though not much. I spent most of the night leaning over my bed at the point of puking into the trashcan I strategically placed there. Apparently, so I am told, the maní (peanuts) in the soup affect some, but not others. Out of the 12 people that ate it, 2 went down. Me and my uncle who is half Spanish, half native american. I guess the gringo blood failed us majorly. (someone please explain to me why they have this tradition if every year someone gets sick. every year. but its still this huge deal! i really don't get it...) Anyhow, I didn’t eat today really. I mostly just laid in my bed all day after we went to milk the cows, and drank whatever remedy my mom gave me. It was probably better that I didn’t ask what each was. Except the glass of straight up lemon juice. I definitely understood what that was (though I’m pretty sure it just made it worse…) Then my family was going to my aunt’s house for dinner at which point my mom convinced me that I would feel better if I went, walked a little, and played some games. Okay, so she pretty much guilt tripped me into going. And everyone ate a new batch of the soup. I didn’t even chance it. I happen to be a math major and know that 2/12 (16.67%) is not very good odds for a soup that I don’t like all that much. They said if I ate more I would feel better. I didn’t believe them. Instead my aunt came up with the idea that I should go for a run to gather energy. Which was a sight to see!  First of all, there aren’t any gringas here- yes I am the only one with blond hair blue eyes- and already I stuck out like a sore thumb before I even started the whole "I like to run thing." In general, when I say hi to all the neighbors, they mostly they just laugh.  But I guess I could do anything and they would just laugh and say, "Oh- la gringita! Mira!" But on top of it all, I didn’t have my running clothes with me and i didn't feel like crossing the bridge to get them. So I borrowed some black leggings, a v-neck shirt, my cousin’s nike high-tops from way back in the day, and tall white socks. Yep, I looked like I came out of an 80s workout video. Then my family decided that it would be fun to run with me. Not sure where they got the idea but I swear I didn’t trick them into anything. They came willingly. And I’m still not sure why because my aunt has probably never run in  her life. And my two cousins, 11 and 12, like to spend the day watching television. But we managed to go 100 yards without stopping- and yes if you were wondering, it was uphill so they’re not that bad. Just mostly out of shape. What a spectacle we were!

I would also like to note that learning card games in Spanish is a lot harder than it appears. I swear they kept inventing new rules!!! And i kept losing. But only corn kernels, nothing more. :)

soups, machetes, empenadas, and life

so i guess i forgot to upload a story yesterday... it might have been because i happened to be hiking a volcanic crater lake. NBD. :)
But the saga continues...

Have you ever spent 6 hours making soup? No, I bet you haven’t. But I have. It was supposed to be the best soup of my life, but honestly it tasted just like every other soup. Except it took forever and a day to make it. I’m pretty sure here they assume that if you put 8 kinds of beans, corn, other exotic bean-like things, and enough grains for a grand total of 12, plus fish you have the best soup ever. I don’t completely agree, but on the bright side? I learned how to make empanadas, with the cool little fringy thing and everything!

Today like every day, I rounded up the cows to milk them, and in the evening I herded the calves so that tomorrow we will have milk. Although today as I was leaving the house, I was reminded “no te olvides el machete!” Never in my life did I think I would ever hear those words… don’t forget your machete. Generally its don’t forget your cell phone, or your lunch, or your wallet. No, here it is more important that you always have your machete. Safety first! (oh wait. we run with machetes in hand...maybe its not so safe...)Yes, I have decided that I’m living a strange vacation.

Today i also learned that cows only like to eat ripe bananas. And that rain brings out the crabs, which to me didn´t make sense because the crabs live in water already...

On another note, I slept talked and walked last night. Now my family thinks I’m really crazy. Well, they already knew i was crazy, i just I think I’ve got them pretty scared now. my mom told me to lock my door tonight. i´m still not sure how that helps, but sometimes i just go with the flow and do it despite my better logic.

I also learned how to make cheese. I swear my family cheats. They use this packet of stuff, add it to the milk. Stir it in an hours, and an hour later- presto! Cheese. No churn, no nada. One packet, a few stirs, and a bit of waiting and you have cheese. Not exactly fair, eh?

And finally, on another machete note, i would like to let you all know for your own safety, that some machetes have a blade on one side. Others have a double sided blade. You should always check before you grab the blade. I still have all ten fingers, but will always have a reminder mark on my hand because of this.

Your very own cattle herder

You are just going to have to use your imagination. And i´ll try and use my descriptive words. So I spend the night at my 11year old cousin´s house and have a blast coloring with her late into the night. (yes, coloring. i like to do it still. i hope that's okay with you. and if you were honest with yourself you would say you love it too :)  

We arrive at my house promptly at 9 to go to the other farm to change out the cows. (of course there was an hour+ long pause here because no one had bothered to milk the cows yet, and we had to go do that…) But clearly I was mistaken in what we were going to do. I actually have no idea what I thought “changing the cows” meant. I've just learned to accept that all days are adventure days here.

First it began with my brother getting kicked by the mule- thankfully he turned around really fast and it hit him in the butt and not somewhere else.

Then I proceeded to mount the same mule (yes, probably a crazy thing to do given the circumstances) on a hand made wooden saddle. (Yes, my butt hurt the next day.)

My cousin hopped on behind me on just a piece of carpet-cloth.

My brother mounted the pregnant mule who was “learning”, whatever that means.

My dad, mom, and farmhand took the car and of course of their machetes. 

We got to the other farm, probably about a mile away and proceeded to herd- I kid you not- 32+ cattle on this giant hill of a farm. 

Side notes: no one bothered to tell me that this is where they put all the brutes, the really mean cows. Consequently: all the guys decided that now was the appropriate time to fight, or to mount the girls, or to alternate between the two; when given a chance, they always took off for the door of the coral and bolted; they hate shots for infections- yes I witnessed this; and machetes are my favorite weapons of choice to scare them into obedience  (or I would just take to the other side of the barbwire fence J ). I also almost got kicked by the mule while i was running away from a charging cow. Apparently though i am faster than my brother (thank you soccer!) and didn't get kicked. 

And after all the work of rounding them up, deciding we were missing some, rounding more up, etc, we take 5 of them. Five. Cinco. Seemingly at random. Why we didn´t just take the first five we saw on the farm is a great question! Would have saved us a whole lot of pain! Anyway, we head back to our other farm, again me on a mule trying to herd them with my brother and my parents followed in the car. In total? 6 hours. And probably some of the funniest hours of my life. Please just picture me in sweat pants, rubber boots with crazy hair, sweating, on a mule and trying to herd cattle. And do yourself a favor and; laugh. Because I know I am. :)

Life on the farm... Day 2

Sunday on the farm... not exactly typical... :)

I was told that 7:30 would be a good time to get up so I could shower and eat before church. I thought I had learned really well about the "Ecuadorian time" when I didn’t leave my room til 8. Once again, however, I was fooled, because no one else was up. But when they did emerge, we ate breakfast, and then embarked on the adventure to milk the cows which is an event that takes practically the whole family to herd them, guard the milk from the dogs, keep the calves away from the moms until we milk them first, and actually doing the milking.  About 10:30 we returned, effectively missing church. But with lots of milk? 

So since we didn´t go to church, we decided to go to town to buy the food for the week that we don’t have on the farm. My brother was in jean shorts and a shirt, so I thought I’d follow suit and put on soccer shorts, shirt, and rainbow sandals. Then my mom emerges with a long white skirt and nice shirt, and nice shoes. I think she was trying to hint that I should probably look a little nicer, but then just ended up deciding that I’m the gringa and everyone’s just going to assume that I don’t know what i´m doing anyway. J

Highlight of the trip? My mom convincing distant relative and old friends that I’m her daughter. One just commented, oh wow! She turned out more like your grandpa (who was almost full-blooded German with blue eyes). I think it was a joke. Maybe.

On another completely random note, I actually don’t know why I was fretting about not having brought face wash! As it turns out, the mud by the waterfall is like a face mask from the spa. What’s more the waterfall is like a massage and the rocks are perfect for ridding my feet of callous. Thank you Mami for teaching me that... Hahaha

Also, I think today found signal up to 30 channels or something on the satellite dish. Not that I’ve ever seen my family watch more than the 5 major ones. 

Your very own farmhand!

Well hello there! I have just gotten back from a week+ of vacations, which I opted to spend at the farm my family owns in the coastal region (the same one I had gone to before…) and it was probably one of the best decisions I have ever made! Soooooo fun. The new plan: I’m going to buy a farm next to theirs (there is one selling for $100,000 dollars right now that has a waterfall and everything though I think the price is a bit steep for me right now). My uncle volunteered to take care of it for me while I’m in the states. And I already found a contractor to build the house with plenty of room for my husband and 5 kids that I’m planning on having. Then I’ll live in the states and vacation in Ecuador. You can all come visit me! It’ll be great! We can go milk the cows, and eat fresh corn on the cob (choclo they call it here, and it is wayyyy better than corn on the cob), and we can make cheese and chocolate and everything.

But anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed myself being a farm hand for the week, and this is the story of my adventures. I tried to write every day about what we did, but somehow I lost a few days somewhere. I’ll post a bit every day for ya’ll to (hopefully) enjoy!

Saturday

When my brother said we were leaving at 7:30, I don’t know why I decided to believe him and get up at 6:45. We didn’t leave til nine.

We almost missed a bus connection because I was dying of hunger and we HAD to stop for food. We lieterally ran after it as it pulled away, with sarcastic shouts of “mira! La gringita!” I literally am always making a scene. I don’t even have to do anything.

My mom made us Agua de Panela for dinner! Super good- like hot tea! However, I’ve come to realize its sugar water. Literally. Panela is the coast’s version of sugar, and she boils the water with the Panela.  I knew there was something fishy about it how good it tasted…

Well, one of the funniest things I have seen thus far is my dad and brother arranging the satellite dish. Yep! We got a tv this week here and a satellite dish. We don’t have Internet (yes I went a whole 8 days without facebook! J), and we only have cell reception in a spot that’s about 2ftx2ft, but now we have a satellite dish. Anyway, so my dad decides the best place to put the dish is in the middle of the road. I guess no one really drives there anyway, but still. So my dad is down by the road, rotating the dish and tilting it in every direction, and my brother’s in the room, shouting how many channels the new position gives. 

One day down... many to go! you'll have to wait until tomorrow!!! :))) Te quiero!

Desert Time

Wow! so its been more than two weeks since i've blogged. Its not that i haven't done anything adventurous, like go to the premiere of Hunger Games and lose my wallet with my credit cards (thankfully i had an Ecuadorian who had international calling and canceled my cards before anything happened), or learn how to dance the salsa (don't even ask me to demonstrate. i'm awful at it!), or try to play soccer with your 6v6 team when we're down a man and the rest of the team is drunk (so it was really more like 2.63v6), or spend the weekend studying the development of pueblos due to the destruction of oil companies like Texaco (incredible trip, horrible stuff that happens! blog post to come on that), or eat dog food (sooooo not my fault. there was a pot of food on the stove and i was hungry so i decided to try it. i asked my brother what it was and all i heard was comida and some exotic name. when i asked if it was for us, he didn't answer, so i tried it. And it actually tasted really good because it consisted of our left over-food from last night and today. Then i found out that it wasn't dinner. it was food for the dogs. good times. never ever going to live that one down...).

But I have to admit, twas a longer two weeks than i expected. I'll be the first to admit i got hit with homesickness. I hadn't felt it at all really until then. My team back home had some spring games, i missed the soccer banquet, i was altogether ready for spring break (and am still waiting actually... :P ), i had a million things to do, and i just flat out missed home. But the greatest thing about it was that in the hardness of it all, i really found God. More than ever before. Through lots of prayers and great conversations with people back home, (and some tears of course), I came to realize a lot of things, though mainly that the best thing to do is when in doubt, take more time to be with God. My quiet times with God are the absolute richest that they have ever been in my life. It was just incredible.  The more time i spent with Him (whether in English or Spanish :P ) the more filled and loved i felt. I just learned so much, and i just understand more now.

I understand more about why we have the church, both as a center of worship and as a center of support. Since i've been here, i have almost always been gone on the weekends and because of that, i haven't really gone to church. And one of the things i miss most is the worship sessions we have. Oh i miss them terribly. But God, being the gracious God that He is, gave me an opportunity to go to church with one of my friends from the university and i was overjoyed worshiping with the college group, the majority of the songs i either knew in spanish or knew the same song in english. It was soooooo filling to be able to worship in the company of other believers!

 I understand why Jesus went to the desert to be with God.  There are times in our life to be in fellowship with others, like the times Jesus was with his disciples. But there are also other times in our life to be just with God. In my desert time, I came to understand the greatness of the desert, the time that you are drier than dry, without anyone else, but are closer than you ever have been to God. There's something about being broken that brings you so much closer to God, and i can tell you that in my worst days when i should have been depressed i felt happier than i ever have been.

I came to identify with a lot of metaphors, this being one of my favorites:
"The land is a land of hills and valleys. It is not all smooth nor all down hill. If life were all one dead level the dull sameness would oppress us; we want the hills and the valleys. The hills collect the rain for a hundred fruitful valleys. Ah, so it is with us! it is the hill difficulty that drives us to the throne of grace and brings down the shower of blessing; the hills, the bleak hills of life that we wonder at and perhaps grumble at, bring down the shower. How many have perished in the wilderness buried under its golden sands, who would have lived and thriven in the hill-country; how many would have been killed by the frost, blighted with the winds, swept desolate of the tree and fruit but for the hill-stern, hard, rugged, so steep to climb. God's hills are a gracious protection for His people against their foes!"
Ï just love the imagery. and everything it says...

Anyway, I'm doing great now! I mean i still miss home, who wouldn't with family and friends and a community like i have? :) But i've come to accept were i am, to cry when needed but to laugh more than i think is possible, to enjoy all the moments -even the ones that every ones says are "terrible" or your "hard days," to depend on your friends because they'll be there for you, to live every day like its an adventure- though here it actually is one so that isn't hard, to sleep a lot because you just feel better (not that i've ever had a problem with the sleeping part :), and to enjoy the little things in life- the flowers blooming, the bird that flies by with really pretty colors in its plumage, your crazy kitty falling asleep in your arms, watching the rain fall on the lake at your school, the days your mom makes you your favorite food (and also the days she remembers you don't like mayonnaise on your vegetables), the reaction your mom has when you scrape your knee playing soccer and she thinks the world is going to end, when you find a dime on the ground and realize you can get 1/5 of the way to school with it, the hugs you get at your internship from the kids, the packages that come in the mail, skype dates (you can sign up for yours today! :), the the roses and chocolate your boyfriend sends you (okay so that's a BIG thing, but i sure enjoyed it :);  AND.. to do the things on your to-do list but remember that God has a different schedule and His is always better, to run towards God, to enjoy His presence, to spend more time with Him than with anything else.

That's all the thoughts i have. Probably way to many to read, so i don't blame you if you didn't read them all. Or if you didn't even make it to this line, though clearly you must have, because you're reading this... :)
TE ECHO DE MENOS!!!!!!!! :P

p.s. i'm going off to my family's farm til after easter so i won't have internet. if you were thinking of trying to contact me or something like that i probably wont get it til the 10th of April.

<3 aL