Ok, so the point of this post is that I am white, not green. And it isn`t all that bad, really. I just couldn`t resist using that line since it sort of kind of relates to my topic today.
Which is, as you may or may not remember, that I stand out here in Mexico. I am very much in the minority, and very much not Mexican any way you want to look at it. I draw attention on a regular basis, both good and bad.
Ever since that last post on this topic, I have actually had very little of the undesirable type of attention - with one notable exception that I will share shortly. But I have had lots of the innocent type of attention lately. It is a good thing it doesn`t bother me much (I mostly find it slightly amusing), because I have this feeling it isn`t likely to end any time soon. You see, it is based in large part simply on the fact that I look very different - and I don`t forsee that changing. There`s times that it might have to do with my not yet fluent and strongly accented Spanish, so maybe as my Spanish continues to improve it`ll cut back on those times. But really, I think no matter how at home I feel here, I will always be a curiosity to others here.
Some recent examples:
*I stopped in at a papeleria for some copies a couple weeks ago, and the woman launched right into a whole interview/discussion of where I am from, why I am here, the time she spent in the US and her desire to return.
*We recently found a new little grocery type shop that is closer than the others we already knew about and has good prices - round about my 3rd visit, the woman who runs it apparently couldn`t stand her curiosity any longer. `Maam, you aren`t from here are you?` `Where are you from?` `Why are you here?`
*I went along with my friend last week to pick up her son from school. Her son`s teacher took one look at me, turned to my friend and asked, `Where is she from?`. She then turned to me and began to explain in strongly accented and not quite fluent English that she lived 12 years in California.
*Our church helped host a large women`s conference this past Saturday (large = over 200 women). At the beginning of the first service, as everyone turned to greet one another, one woman looked at me and greeted me in English. Later on, I was asked many a question by the women who know people in our church and wondered about me.
You get the idea. It really is interesting to see when and where someone`s curiosity will get the better of them around here!
Now, for the one notable not-so-nice instance of attention. I was sitting on a public bench in the shade downtown, reading my Bible and waiting for my husband to get out of the office. A middle aged couple came and sat at the other end of the bench for several minutes, I think to enjoy a moment in the shade. So at first, when a bit later an older man (in his 60s?) came along and sat down, I didn`t think too much of it. He greeted me, I responded politely and kept reading. A moment or 2 passed, and he said something brillant like, `reading the Bible...?`. I nodded and kept reading. He continued every couple of minutes or so to say things like how pleasant it was to sit in the shade, or to ask if I lived here in Saltillo. He explained he lived in one of the small towns a bit outside of the city. Small talk, you get the idea. I never uttered more that 1-2 words at a time, always going right back to reading. You know how sometimes you just have a feeling about people? He seemed pleasant enough on the surface, but I just had this gut reaction that I didn`t want to interact with him. I kept waiting for my husband to arrive - it was taking longer than he expected. Finally, the man began to work his way around to a point. `I really like ice cream.` Pause. `Do you?` Pause. `Can I invite you to get an ice cream?` I was so thankful to be able to truthfully answer, `I`m sorry. I am waiting for my husband.` He continued with his small talk type comments for another few minutes, and finally got up to leave. At which point it occurred to me that maybe I`d be better off waiting outside the office. :)
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Saturday, May 24, 2008
New Favorite Frozen Treats
I now live in a place that is hot at lot of the year, and where most don`t have a lot of extra money to spare. So cheap frozen treats, many of which can be made at home, are very popular here. In fact, lots of people make them at home and stick a sign in their front window announcing that they are selling them, from anywhere from 20 to 50 cents. One of the nice things about making these yourself is that you can control portion size and how healthy it is (or not).
So, I thought I`d share a few of my favorites with you, in the order I tried them.
Bollos (pronounced boy-ohs)
Ok, so the idea here is to use your blender to basically make a smoothie, and then freeze it in a plastic baggie that has been knotted closed. Any fruit, mixed with a little water and sugar to taste. Or you can make milk-based ones - chocolate flavored or with fruit and a bit of sugar to taste. I happen to enjoy the milk-based banana flavor. Like I said, pour it in a plastic baggie and knot it closed. A few hours later, take it out, bite or cut off one corner, and eat it kind of like you would a freeze pop.
One time, I really wanted a bollo, but didn`t have baggies. So I made chocolate milk (with a little vanilla yogurt to thicken my skim milk a bit) in a coffee mug, and stuck it in the feezer. An hour or 2 later, due in part to my impatience and in part to wanting to be sure I could eat it out of the coffee mug, I took it out partially frozen. It was remarkable like a W`s Frosty! Yumm! And I am pretty sure much healthier.
Chocobananas
This is simply a frozen, chocolate covered banana. They sell chocolate here expressly for this purpose - it kind of reminds me the kind of chololate you would use for chocolate fondue or a chocolate fountain. But I think basically any easy to melt chocolate would work. Ususally these are made with half a banana, cuz it is easier to work with and generally satisfies you. So, simply cut your bananas in half, and stick a popsicle/craft stick or fork or something similar in the cut end to hold it by. Then spoon the chocolate over it (it seems to stick to the banana better if you spoon it over than if you dip the banana in it), and freeze. Ready to eat in about an hour. Tip : Freeze on a plastic plate or top of a Tupperware or something similarly flexible, as it is easier to get them off the plate afterwards.
Frozen Yogurt
Ok, so here they say paleta, but that basically means any variety of popsicle. So I thought I`d be more specific. Don`t know why it never occurred to me to simply freeze yogurt before, but it is a new favorite of mine. I follow my sister-in-laws advice and just mix in a little milk before pouring into old but washed individual yogurt containers (you could any small plastic cup), and sticking in a popsicle stick or spoon (plastic works). Freeze a few hours and enjoy! Tip: to get it out of the plastic cup, you want to warm the outside of the cup until the frozen yogurt slides out.
So, I thought I`d share a few of my favorites with you, in the order I tried them.
Bollos (pronounced boy-ohs)
Ok, so the idea here is to use your blender to basically make a smoothie, and then freeze it in a plastic baggie that has been knotted closed. Any fruit, mixed with a little water and sugar to taste. Or you can make milk-based ones - chocolate flavored or with fruit and a bit of sugar to taste. I happen to enjoy the milk-based banana flavor. Like I said, pour it in a plastic baggie and knot it closed. A few hours later, take it out, bite or cut off one corner, and eat it kind of like you would a freeze pop.
One time, I really wanted a bollo, but didn`t have baggies. So I made chocolate milk (with a little vanilla yogurt to thicken my skim milk a bit) in a coffee mug, and stuck it in the feezer. An hour or 2 later, due in part to my impatience and in part to wanting to be sure I could eat it out of the coffee mug, I took it out partially frozen. It was remarkable like a W`s Frosty! Yumm! And I am pretty sure much healthier.
Chocobananas
This is simply a frozen, chocolate covered banana. They sell chocolate here expressly for this purpose - it kind of reminds me the kind of chololate you would use for chocolate fondue or a chocolate fountain. But I think basically any easy to melt chocolate would work. Ususally these are made with half a banana, cuz it is easier to work with and generally satisfies you. So, simply cut your bananas in half, and stick a popsicle/craft stick or fork or something similar in the cut end to hold it by. Then spoon the chocolate over it (it seems to stick to the banana better if you spoon it over than if you dip the banana in it), and freeze. Ready to eat in about an hour. Tip : Freeze on a plastic plate or top of a Tupperware or something similarly flexible, as it is easier to get them off the plate afterwards.
Frozen Yogurt
Ok, so here they say paleta, but that basically means any variety of popsicle. So I thought I`d be more specific. Don`t know why it never occurred to me to simply freeze yogurt before, but it is a new favorite of mine. I follow my sister-in-laws advice and just mix in a little milk before pouring into old but washed individual yogurt containers (you could any small plastic cup), and sticking in a popsicle stick or spoon (plastic works). Freeze a few hours and enjoy! Tip: to get it out of the plastic cup, you want to warm the outside of the cup until the frozen yogurt slides out.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
21 days and counting!
(Quick heads up - I double posted today. Thought I´d warn you all, since it is unusual for me and I don´t want you to miss anything...)
21 days from now I will be in Rochester!! For my first visit home since moving here this past December! I am obviously very excited!
I had not anticipated being able to make a visit home for quite some time, considering our tight budget and all. But a couple of weeks ago, my parents informed me that my dad has enough frequent flyer miles for a free ticket home. Yes, just one - I will be coming alone this trip. But my parents want to gift us with a trip up once the baby is born, for the 3 of us, so that we can introduce our little one to everyone back home. So I´ll be headed up again sometime next winter. All very exciting :)
I´ve been waiting to post about the trip until we settled on some dates. At first it was anytime between now and early August (when I will be too pregnant to make such a trip - airlines actually don´t allow people in their last month or month and a half to get on the plane.). Then we narrowed it down to either mid June or mid July, to work around family plans here and there. Then it looked like we would have a hard time using the free miles in July, and so mid June it would be.
THEN...My husband and I went to immigration on Friday to work on getting all my papers in order for continuing to live here. I currently just have a tourist visa, good for 180 days. Meaning it expires June 7th. So we started asking what we needed to do and working on all the paperwork back in April. Then we didn´t have a car for 2 weeks, and so couldn´t get any errands, etc, done. We got the car back last Tuesday, got the pictures I needed taken done on Wednesday, my love went in Thursday to ask the immigration folks about a couple things we weren´t sure about, and we headed in Friday thinking we had everything in order and ready to go.
Only to have the very immpatient and somewhat annoyed official suddenly start telling us that there are 2 types of visas from which we need to choose, involving different costs, different restrictions, and different outcomes (like the possibility of one day being a permanent resident or citizen here). She explained all of this very quickly, neither of us could quite keep up, forget making a good decision. And to top it off she informed us that we had forgotten one of the papers we needed, and if we didn´t make it back with it same day, it could stall things for 10 days.
Let me just say that one pregnant woman left that office crying.
Well, between the Dr´s appointment we had that morning, my beloved needing to work, and the short hours of the immigration office (they close at 1pm), we weren´t making it back same day. I where before I was slightly nervous about getting all the paperwork done before my trip home, now I was panicked. I begged my family to get some people praying for favor when we took the ´missing´paper in on Monday, as well as asking my Pastor and his wife here to pray. And I worked hard and trusting the Lord and not completely freaking out. I reminded myself that if the Lord could open the door for a trip, He could open the doors for the paperwork as well.
All thanks to the Lord, it turns out there is a very simple, straightfoward process for getting temporary paperwork that will allow me to make my trip, with only a relatively small fee of about $25. So, God willing, I will be in Rochester from June 10th to 25th!
(Umm, I don´t suppose Otrgirl/Jrex, Val, or Becca, or any other out of town friends were planning on stopping in Rochester for those dates...? Just checking....)
At first I was a little hesitant about leaving my husband for very long - we are newlyweds after all, and this will be our first time apart. Plus, he´s gonna have to move home with his mother or something while I am gone, because the man does not cook. But he really wants me to make the most of the opportunity, and it was he who encouraged me to go for at least a week, if not 2. And now my mind is quickly filling the 2 weeks up with all the people I want to see and things I want to do :)
As for the confusion of immigration - please pray. For reasons we do not understand, the immigration office went ahead and started the process for my visa despite missing that one paper and payment, and despite the fact that we never actually determined which we wanted. Of course, they started the paperwork for the other visa, the one we don´t want. So now we have to decide whether to enter into a complicated process of stopping the one and switching to the other, involving re-doing everything.....or going with the flow and waiting till next time around to get the one that puts me on a path to citizenship.
But, at least the door is open for the trip back to Rochester. You all better start blocking out some free time for me ;)
21 days from now I will be in Rochester!! For my first visit home since moving here this past December! I am obviously very excited!
I had not anticipated being able to make a visit home for quite some time, considering our tight budget and all. But a couple of weeks ago, my parents informed me that my dad has enough frequent flyer miles for a free ticket home. Yes, just one - I will be coming alone this trip. But my parents want to gift us with a trip up once the baby is born, for the 3 of us, so that we can introduce our little one to everyone back home. So I´ll be headed up again sometime next winter. All very exciting :)
I´ve been waiting to post about the trip until we settled on some dates. At first it was anytime between now and early August (when I will be too pregnant to make such a trip - airlines actually don´t allow people in their last month or month and a half to get on the plane.). Then we narrowed it down to either mid June or mid July, to work around family plans here and there. Then it looked like we would have a hard time using the free miles in July, and so mid June it would be.
THEN...My husband and I went to immigration on Friday to work on getting all my papers in order for continuing to live here. I currently just have a tourist visa, good for 180 days. Meaning it expires June 7th. So we started asking what we needed to do and working on all the paperwork back in April. Then we didn´t have a car for 2 weeks, and so couldn´t get any errands, etc, done. We got the car back last Tuesday, got the pictures I needed taken done on Wednesday, my love went in Thursday to ask the immigration folks about a couple things we weren´t sure about, and we headed in Friday thinking we had everything in order and ready to go.
Only to have the very immpatient and somewhat annoyed official suddenly start telling us that there are 2 types of visas from which we need to choose, involving different costs, different restrictions, and different outcomes (like the possibility of one day being a permanent resident or citizen here). She explained all of this very quickly, neither of us could quite keep up, forget making a good decision. And to top it off she informed us that we had forgotten one of the papers we needed, and if we didn´t make it back with it same day, it could stall things for 10 days.
Let me just say that one pregnant woman left that office crying.
Well, between the Dr´s appointment we had that morning, my beloved needing to work, and the short hours of the immigration office (they close at 1pm), we weren´t making it back same day. I where before I was slightly nervous about getting all the paperwork done before my trip home, now I was panicked. I begged my family to get some people praying for favor when we took the ´missing´paper in on Monday, as well as asking my Pastor and his wife here to pray. And I worked hard and trusting the Lord and not completely freaking out. I reminded myself that if the Lord could open the door for a trip, He could open the doors for the paperwork as well.
All thanks to the Lord, it turns out there is a very simple, straightfoward process for getting temporary paperwork that will allow me to make my trip, with only a relatively small fee of about $25. So, God willing, I will be in Rochester from June 10th to 25th!
(Umm, I don´t suppose Otrgirl/Jrex, Val, or Becca, or any other out of town friends were planning on stopping in Rochester for those dates...? Just checking....)
At first I was a little hesitant about leaving my husband for very long - we are newlyweds after all, and this will be our first time apart. Plus, he´s gonna have to move home with his mother or something while I am gone, because the man does not cook. But he really wants me to make the most of the opportunity, and it was he who encouraged me to go for at least a week, if not 2. And now my mind is quickly filling the 2 weeks up with all the people I want to see and things I want to do :)
As for the confusion of immigration - please pray. For reasons we do not understand, the immigration office went ahead and started the process for my visa despite missing that one paper and payment, and despite the fact that we never actually determined which we wanted. Of course, they started the paperwork for the other visa, the one we don´t want. So now we have to decide whether to enter into a complicated process of stopping the one and switching to the other, involving re-doing everything.....or going with the flow and waiting till next time around to get the one that puts me on a path to citizenship.
But, at least the door is open for the trip back to Rochester. You all better start blocking out some free time for me ;)
Baby Update
We finally made it to the Drs on Friday. I say finally because it was 6 weeks after our last appointment due to some rescheduling, etc, and felt like a long time to wait to check in on our little one. Plus, I don´t know if I have mentioned that I am basically addicted to ultrasounds! :)
The baby is doing great - on the measurements the Dr took show good growth and continue to suggest slightly early delivery dates (meaning the baby is a little bigger than would be expected for how pregnant I am). The position of the baby prevented us from being able to check the gender for sure - if you remember, last time we went in, the Dr said he was 80% sure it was a boy, but since I was only 3 months pregnant, it was a bit early to tell. So, I´ll be using the male pronouns in part in the generic sense, in part because we think it is a boy.
The baby was lying on his back (picture me lying on my back for the ultrasound, the baby´s back facing my back), bent double so that his feet are up in front of his face. Which explains why I feel almost all of his movement so far in pretty much the same place - he just keeps kicking those little feet.
We were able to see his little arm and hand, and the Dr counted his 5 little fingers. Then we saw his face, and he opened his mouth just as we were watching (my husband´s favorite part). It is amazing to compare the ultrasound pictures from each visit and see how much bigger he has gotten! I don´t understand how the Dr can estimate weight based on an ultrasound, but he says the baby weighs just under a pound already.
I checked out fine as well, with all of our minor questions being answered with, ´that´s normal´, or ´try this simple remedy´. I only gained 2 pounds in the last 6 weeks, for a total weight gain of 3 pounds since our first appointment 2.5 months ago. Our first appointment wasn´t until I was 2 months pregnant, and I am not totally sure how much I weighed before that as I hadn´t had the opportunity to weigh myself since I left Rochester in December. But I don´t think I gained much before that first appointment either. So here I am, just past the halfway mark of the pregnancy and only up something like 4 pounds. Which amazes me since I feel a lot bigger. I mean, I have the noticably protruding stomach and all. I would be slightly concerned at such little weight gain, as all I´ve read suggests I should have gained closer to 10 pounds. But since the baby appears to be healthy and growing well, I´m just grateful to not be putting on too much too fast.
Sooo...so far so good :) We are more and more excited to get to know this little one, enjoying that we can feel him moving now (did I mention yet that my beloved has even felt the baby move a couple of times already?), and knowing that he can hear us talking to him. Speaking of the baby moving, I can´t be sure since this is my first pregnancy, but I think he sure moves alot! I´ve read where if the baby moves less than 10 times over the course of a few hours, you should check in with the Dr. My baby moves 10 times in under a half hour! Repeatedly throughout the day! But I like having that little bit of connection with him and feeling like I know he is ok.
The baby is doing great - on the measurements the Dr took show good growth and continue to suggest slightly early delivery dates (meaning the baby is a little bigger than would be expected for how pregnant I am). The position of the baby prevented us from being able to check the gender for sure - if you remember, last time we went in, the Dr said he was 80% sure it was a boy, but since I was only 3 months pregnant, it was a bit early to tell. So, I´ll be using the male pronouns in part in the generic sense, in part because we think it is a boy.
The baby was lying on his back (picture me lying on my back for the ultrasound, the baby´s back facing my back), bent double so that his feet are up in front of his face. Which explains why I feel almost all of his movement so far in pretty much the same place - he just keeps kicking those little feet.
We were able to see his little arm and hand, and the Dr counted his 5 little fingers. Then we saw his face, and he opened his mouth just as we were watching (my husband´s favorite part). It is amazing to compare the ultrasound pictures from each visit and see how much bigger he has gotten! I don´t understand how the Dr can estimate weight based on an ultrasound, but he says the baby weighs just under a pound already.
I checked out fine as well, with all of our minor questions being answered with, ´that´s normal´, or ´try this simple remedy´. I only gained 2 pounds in the last 6 weeks, for a total weight gain of 3 pounds since our first appointment 2.5 months ago. Our first appointment wasn´t until I was 2 months pregnant, and I am not totally sure how much I weighed before that as I hadn´t had the opportunity to weigh myself since I left Rochester in December. But I don´t think I gained much before that first appointment either. So here I am, just past the halfway mark of the pregnancy and only up something like 4 pounds. Which amazes me since I feel a lot bigger. I mean, I have the noticably protruding stomach and all. I would be slightly concerned at such little weight gain, as all I´ve read suggests I should have gained closer to 10 pounds. But since the baby appears to be healthy and growing well, I´m just grateful to not be putting on too much too fast.
Sooo...so far so good :) We are more and more excited to get to know this little one, enjoying that we can feel him moving now (did I mention yet that my beloved has even felt the baby move a couple of times already?), and knowing that he can hear us talking to him. Speaking of the baby moving, I can´t be sure since this is my first pregnancy, but I think he sure moves alot! I´ve read where if the baby moves less than 10 times over the course of a few hours, you should check in with the Dr. My baby moves 10 times in under a half hour! Repeatedly throughout the day! But I like having that little bit of connection with him and feeling like I know he is ok.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
A little bit about life lately...
We finally have a car again! Woo hoo! 2 weeks after it broke down and almost as long in the shop (basically just waiting to do a simple repair until the part arrived). But it has been an interesting couple of weeks, and more poor husband`s feet are about to fall right off! He still had to make all his client visits, but by bus and foot.
In the meantime, I have become an official bus rider, making my first few solo rides in the last few days. Gives me a new level of independence, as I could go visit my in-laws or the Pastor`s family by bus now even if my husband is busy working. Admitedly, it takes much much longer by bus, but it is better than nothing!
My other big news of late is that I am definelty feeling the baby move these days! All of a sudden, a week ago today, I was sure that it was the baby I was feeling, and ever since, I have been feeling him a lot! Very exciting. And yesterday morning, he was kicking unusually strongly, and my husband could feel it already!
Thanks to the car issues, the lastest Drs appointment, that should have been last Thursday has been postponed 2x, and we will finally go this Friday. So you can expect a baby update soon :)
Ok, all out of time - until soon...
In the meantime, I have become an official bus rider, making my first few solo rides in the last few days. Gives me a new level of independence, as I could go visit my in-laws or the Pastor`s family by bus now even if my husband is busy working. Admitedly, it takes much much longer by bus, but it is better than nothing!
My other big news of late is that I am definelty feeling the baby move these days! All of a sudden, a week ago today, I was sure that it was the baby I was feeling, and ever since, I have been feeling him a lot! Very exciting. And yesterday morning, he was kicking unusually strongly, and my husband could feel it already!
Thanks to the car issues, the lastest Drs appointment, that should have been last Thursday has been postponed 2x, and we will finally go this Friday. So you can expect a baby update soon :)
Ok, all out of time - until soon...
A little more on `Life Here`...
Of course, after writing that last post, I thought of several other things I should have mentioned...
For starters, it has been hot here since sometime in early March. By hot I mean generally a high in the 80s, somtimes a bit more. It is a very different type of hot than back home in Rochester. For one, it is dry heat - Saltillo is almost a desert. In contrast, the sun is way more intense here. Unlike people in Rochester who try to soak up every minute of sun they can, those who live in Saltillo rarely spend time in the sun on purpose if they can help it. The nice thing is, this city is apparently known for its natural air conditioning - there is almost always a breeze, and since we are in the mountains, it pretty much always cools off at night. Somewhere around late afternoon or early evening the breeze and air turn decidedly cooler, and although sometimes the houses stay warm for a while, we almost always end up pulling up the covers in bed at night.
On a related note, although I have become an even more religious sun-screen user (with very high SPFs), it is only mid-May and I am already the color I normally am in mid to late summer back in Rochester. I have a feeling I will be discovering new shades of tan I didn`t know I could reach.
Probably in part related to the differences in weather, and in part because people here operate on much smaller budgets, houses here are not made anything close to air-tight like they are in Rochester. So lucky me sometimes finds all manner of insects inside the house without a clue as to how they got in - we`ve had plenty of flies, several crickets, and assorted other bugs I don`t know the names of. I`m not overly squeemish about bugs, but I do generally leave the bug killing to my husband.
Also thanks to the random cracks in the house (especially around window and door frames), lots of dust/dirt gets in. Yes, more gets in because I like to have the windows open, but even closed, dirt gets in. In part this is a function of where we live and the construction going on around us - it is less of a problem for people in well-developed neighborhoods. But you would not believe the amount of dirt I sweep and mop up on a regular basis, and more so after a strong wind or storm of some kind.
And I think my final note on life here will be on church. I miss being able to enter freely into worship - I`m often trying to remember what the song is saying. Ok, often may be a bit strong, as my Spanish is improving. But you get what I mean. And it is a struggle to understand the sermon. I have always been more of a visual than auditory learner, so I have to work to keep up with sermons in English. If I don`t make a real effort, take notes, etc, I don`t remember much afterwards (in English). So I haven`t felt very fed here yet, although I think I am starting to understand enough that maybe I will try taking notes soon and see how I do.
Well, in typical blog fashion, somehow I feel better for having shared all this with you! Hopefully it is somewhat interesting to read :)
For starters, it has been hot here since sometime in early March. By hot I mean generally a high in the 80s, somtimes a bit more. It is a very different type of hot than back home in Rochester. For one, it is dry heat - Saltillo is almost a desert. In contrast, the sun is way more intense here. Unlike people in Rochester who try to soak up every minute of sun they can, those who live in Saltillo rarely spend time in the sun on purpose if they can help it. The nice thing is, this city is apparently known for its natural air conditioning - there is almost always a breeze, and since we are in the mountains, it pretty much always cools off at night. Somewhere around late afternoon or early evening the breeze and air turn decidedly cooler, and although sometimes the houses stay warm for a while, we almost always end up pulling up the covers in bed at night.
On a related note, although I have become an even more religious sun-screen user (with very high SPFs), it is only mid-May and I am already the color I normally am in mid to late summer back in Rochester. I have a feeling I will be discovering new shades of tan I didn`t know I could reach.
Probably in part related to the differences in weather, and in part because people here operate on much smaller budgets, houses here are not made anything close to air-tight like they are in Rochester. So lucky me sometimes finds all manner of insects inside the house without a clue as to how they got in - we`ve had plenty of flies, several crickets, and assorted other bugs I don`t know the names of. I`m not overly squeemish about bugs, but I do generally leave the bug killing to my husband.
Also thanks to the random cracks in the house (especially around window and door frames), lots of dust/dirt gets in. Yes, more gets in because I like to have the windows open, but even closed, dirt gets in. In part this is a function of where we live and the construction going on around us - it is less of a problem for people in well-developed neighborhoods. But you would not believe the amount of dirt I sweep and mop up on a regular basis, and more so after a strong wind or storm of some kind.
And I think my final note on life here will be on church. I miss being able to enter freely into worship - I`m often trying to remember what the song is saying. Ok, often may be a bit strong, as my Spanish is improving. But you get what I mean. And it is a struggle to understand the sermon. I have always been more of a visual than auditory learner, so I have to work to keep up with sermons in English. If I don`t make a real effort, take notes, etc, I don`t remember much afterwards (in English). So I haven`t felt very fed here yet, although I think I am starting to understand enough that maybe I will try taking notes soon and see how I do.
Well, in typical blog fashion, somehow I feel better for having shared all this with you! Hopefully it is somewhat interesting to read :)
Monday, May 5, 2008
On Life in Mexico...
So sorry! Last time I posted, which was a very long time ago, I promised to get more posts up. And I actually started this post a week ago - but couldn´t finish because my time was shorter than I thought. And then, due to car troubles and the related fall out, I haven´t been on since. Finishing this post was on the top of my list for today,and then for the longest time I couldn´t sign in to Blogger. But I am in now, and hopefully have the time to finish this. Maybe I´ll post it unfinished if my husband comes for me - some news is better than no news, right? :)
I´ve been meaning for ages and ages to write an update on my life here and how I am transitioning, etc. Back when I first wanted to write it, I had the post half written in my head already. A lot has changed since then, but I don´t want to put it off any longer. So here´s hoping this post at least half way flows! ;)
First of all, I know that it is easy to use the blog to dump frustrations at times. And so you all get to hear about tight money or my naseous stomach sometimes.
But what I really want to be sure to say is how very happy and content I am here in my new life. I can´t tell you how many times I think in a week (or sometimes in one day) - how is it that I am soo blessed? Or - I can´t believe how very much I love my husband and he loves me! Or - Is this life really possible or only a dream? Will it last?
I really am very happy married to this man. I know he isn´t perfect, and we´ve already had assorted issues to work through, things from past and present, areas we don´t necessarily agree on. But overall, we are a really good fit for each other. He takes such good care of me - I´m not sure if I could have told you before I got married that I was looking for that feeling, but I sure am content now that I feel I have a husband to cares well for me. And somehow, although I tend to see where I fell short or the things I haven´t gotten done yet, he says the same about me. Do you know what a good feeling it is to have your husband take your hand to pray before a meal, and every single day include a thanks to the Lord for giving him his wife, and the coming child?
Now, as I´ve alluded to in other posts, his job is very demanding and low-paying... obviously I´d love to have a little more time with him and a little less tight of a budget. Really, as far as marriage goes, the biggest change I´d like to make is having more time with my husband. But I think that´s a pretty average for the course kind of request, one that lots of wives have. And in my case, it is one my husband echoes (sometimes the husband chooses to not be home for whatever reasons). So most of the time I don´t even give it that much thought. I just try to make the most of the time we do have together.
Switching topics, everyone always wants to know how my Spanish is coming. Honestly, I feel like I am coming along. I actually go places sometimes without my dictionary (and haven´t regretted it yet)! :) I usually can make myself understood and understand without too much mental effort at this point. I feel like I still have tons and tons of vocab to learn, but I have enough under my belt to get by. I often find myself thinking in Spanish, which they say is a sign of fluency or something to that effect. Of course, lots of times I get half way through the thought in Spanish and realize I don´t have the vocab to finish it and wonder why I am not thinking it in English. But Spanish is beginning to take over to the point that when my husband and I are trying to pratice his English, I am the one that keeps slipping into Spanish!
Talking to strangers and on the phone used to be the biggest struggles. Well, I can´t remember the last time I really struggled to understand/be understood by a stranger. And the other day I found myself talking to one of my closest friends here for 2 hours on the phone!
Speaking of friends - that seems to be another one of the biggies that people ask about. That particular friend has probably become my closest friend. She is in walking distance, and has made a point of telling me how she gets frustrated when I don´t come to visit her in a given week. (She has a baby and a child who needs to be walked to and from school everyday, so its a little harder for her to come to me...) I think second in the running is my sister-in-law. We´re close in age and connect well. And it helps that I get to see her regularly since we always head over there at least on Sunday´s after church (all my in-laws pretty much live together/next to each other). There´s others I´d like to get to know, but it is a bit hard to go visiting (we only have one car, and my husband has it all day for work) - which would help get a foundation started. Little by little I am getting there thru just the little bits of conversation at church.
Hmmm, those are the big points I think. If I missed something obvious, leave me a question in the comments to answer next post. I´m gonna go ahead and post this now while I still have time and everything. And hopefully I´ll be on more consistently again and able to post again soon!
I´ve been meaning for ages and ages to write an update on my life here and how I am transitioning, etc. Back when I first wanted to write it, I had the post half written in my head already. A lot has changed since then, but I don´t want to put it off any longer. So here´s hoping this post at least half way flows! ;)
First of all, I know that it is easy to use the blog to dump frustrations at times. And so you all get to hear about tight money or my naseous stomach sometimes.
But what I really want to be sure to say is how very happy and content I am here in my new life. I can´t tell you how many times I think in a week (or sometimes in one day) - how is it that I am soo blessed? Or - I can´t believe how very much I love my husband and he loves me! Or - Is this life really possible or only a dream? Will it last?
I really am very happy married to this man. I know he isn´t perfect, and we´ve already had assorted issues to work through, things from past and present, areas we don´t necessarily agree on. But overall, we are a really good fit for each other. He takes such good care of me - I´m not sure if I could have told you before I got married that I was looking for that feeling, but I sure am content now that I feel I have a husband to cares well for me. And somehow, although I tend to see where I fell short or the things I haven´t gotten done yet, he says the same about me. Do you know what a good feeling it is to have your husband take your hand to pray before a meal, and every single day include a thanks to the Lord for giving him his wife, and the coming child?
Now, as I´ve alluded to in other posts, his job is very demanding and low-paying... obviously I´d love to have a little more time with him and a little less tight of a budget. Really, as far as marriage goes, the biggest change I´d like to make is having more time with my husband. But I think that´s a pretty average for the course kind of request, one that lots of wives have. And in my case, it is one my husband echoes (sometimes the husband chooses to not be home for whatever reasons). So most of the time I don´t even give it that much thought. I just try to make the most of the time we do have together.
Switching topics, everyone always wants to know how my Spanish is coming. Honestly, I feel like I am coming along. I actually go places sometimes without my dictionary (and haven´t regretted it yet)! :) I usually can make myself understood and understand without too much mental effort at this point. I feel like I still have tons and tons of vocab to learn, but I have enough under my belt to get by. I often find myself thinking in Spanish, which they say is a sign of fluency or something to that effect. Of course, lots of times I get half way through the thought in Spanish and realize I don´t have the vocab to finish it and wonder why I am not thinking it in English. But Spanish is beginning to take over to the point that when my husband and I are trying to pratice his English, I am the one that keeps slipping into Spanish!
Talking to strangers and on the phone used to be the biggest struggles. Well, I can´t remember the last time I really struggled to understand/be understood by a stranger. And the other day I found myself talking to one of my closest friends here for 2 hours on the phone!
Speaking of friends - that seems to be another one of the biggies that people ask about. That particular friend has probably become my closest friend. She is in walking distance, and has made a point of telling me how she gets frustrated when I don´t come to visit her in a given week. (She has a baby and a child who needs to be walked to and from school everyday, so its a little harder for her to come to me...) I think second in the running is my sister-in-law. We´re close in age and connect well. And it helps that I get to see her regularly since we always head over there at least on Sunday´s after church (all my in-laws pretty much live together/next to each other). There´s others I´d like to get to know, but it is a bit hard to go visiting (we only have one car, and my husband has it all day for work) - which would help get a foundation started. Little by little I am getting there thru just the little bits of conversation at church.
Hmmm, those are the big points I think. If I missed something obvious, leave me a question in the comments to answer next post. I´m gonna go ahead and post this now while I still have time and everything. And hopefully I´ll be on more consistently again and able to post again soon!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Blessed and a Baby Update
Hi again! I`m back :) And thanks to a special provision from a completely unexpected source made especially for internet time, I`m back to stay (at least for a while)! :)
The provision for internet time and the fact that I am getting tax refunds from both the state (unheard of for me) and the federal governments, along with that economic stimulus rebate, are the small but significant financial improvements in my little world. And somehow, by God`s grace, yesterday`s paycheck should cover the things we still need to cover from the beginning of the month as well as everything left till the end of the month, and there may even be a little bit left over. So, no huge changes, but the Lord is providing enough, and for now, that is enough.
I`d love to see the whole plan of provision at least through the baby being born - you know, how we will aquire everything we need for the baby, continue paying for prenatal check-ups and the birth, etc. But I think I`d better follow the advice of scripture and not worry about tomorrow. For today, there is enough, and I am grateful. And the special blessing of internet time reminded me yet again of God`s faithfulness and love for me. Internet time falls at the bottom of our list of priorities (you know, somehow food and electricity and things trump email and blogging). But God knew how special it would be for me to continue staying connected in this way and put it on a special friend`s heart to provide a means to do so.
Let`s see, a quick recap of the ways I`ve been blessed since my last post, and felt God taking care of me:
-Last Sunday a conversation began with my husband that opened up all kinds of things inside of him to receive healing and forgiveness and restoration from the Lord. We are still walking it all out, but are very blessed at what the Lord is doing, and know that, `He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion`.
-Last Tuesday, I burnt myself pretty badly (I foolishly reached out to catch a falling frying pan while making breakfast, giving myself blisters on 2 fingers of my right hand). You may be wondering how this could possibly be a blessing, but it worked out that one of my closer friends here, when she realized I basically couldn`t do a thing for the day, invited us over to eat. I ended up staying thru till my love finished work, and we hung out even a bit longer when he came for me. It was a really good time of hanging out. And my friend`s mom prayed over my hand, and within about an hour all pain was gone!
-On Thursday (I think) one of my best friends called me for the first time since I moved here. She had fun news to share, plus we were able to share and encourage each other in something similar we are each walking through. Very encouraging!
-On Friday, I received a really fun package from my aunt (Thank you sooo much!! Real thank you letter to be forthcoming!) She sent along a few things that are hard to get here, as well as baby gifts - and every single item was wrapped in pretty paper. Such fun to open :)
-On Saturday, I went to a baby shower for the Pastor`s wife thrown by a cell group (a Bible study type group). Several of the women there I have only interacted with a handful of times, but they were already working on planning a baby shower for me in the not so distant future!
-On Monday, I received a letter from a good friend I miss very much. I`m so glad she`s a letter writer :)
-On Tuesday, I received a letter from Inkling, a blogger friend with whom I have made a very special connection. Thank you soooo much for blessing me!! Real thank you letter to be forthcoming!)
So, as you can see, I have been blessed by a variety of friends and family. I was a little worried about feeling lonely during my `leave of absence` from the internet. But God is faithful and loving!
_______________________________________________________
Now, for a baby update :)
We headed to the Dr about 10 days ago now. I`d had a blood and urine analysis done earlier in the week, and so the first bit of good news was that all my levels were perfectly normal and healthy and where they should be. He gave me a couple of tips to avoid some random, mild symptoms I`d been having, and prescribed a mild daily medicine to try and curb the many intense headaches I`ve had. (We only just managed to buy the meds this week, but so far so good...) He was extrememly pleased that I only gained about a pound and a half, and all in all I came out with a clean bill of health.
As for the baby, we had another ultrasound. It was amazing, again! The baby had almost tripled in size (length) since the last appointment, and was moving quite a bit - at one point obviously in reaction to the Dr moving whatever you call the thing he uses to do the ultrasound. All the measurements the Dr took of the baby showed healthy and appropriate growth, most of them predicting due dates 2-7 days earlier than the calander due date (I just take that to mean that the baby is growing well). The Dr showed us that there don`t appear to be any signs of birth defects or other signs of worry at this point.
And then the Dr turned to us and asked if we wanted to know whether it is a boy or a girl. He said it is still a little early to be sure, and so he`d say he is abotu 80% certain that it is a..... boy! My beloved is thrilled, as he has been hoping for a boy since the beginning, and walked in the clouds the whole rest of the day :) For me it isn`t so important if we have a boy or girl, but it is fun to start thinking more specifically about who is inside of me, and to be able to use his name, etc. Don`t worry, though - we are both well aware that the Dr wasn`t sure, and are waiting for future ultrasounds to confirm.
So, in summary, we have a healthy, growing baby inside a healthy, growing (but not too much) mom.
Oh, and we did take pictures of my belly right around that same time, as I finished my 1st trimester, and plan on continuing to do so monthly. I also want to take pictures of our house to show you all. I just have to figure out how to post them from a public computer. But they are coming...
Now that I am back on with some regularity, I`ll work on getting some of those promised posts written :)
The provision for internet time and the fact that I am getting tax refunds from both the state (unheard of for me) and the federal governments, along with that economic stimulus rebate, are the small but significant financial improvements in my little world. And somehow, by God`s grace, yesterday`s paycheck should cover the things we still need to cover from the beginning of the month as well as everything left till the end of the month, and there may even be a little bit left over. So, no huge changes, but the Lord is providing enough, and for now, that is enough.
I`d love to see the whole plan of provision at least through the baby being born - you know, how we will aquire everything we need for the baby, continue paying for prenatal check-ups and the birth, etc. But I think I`d better follow the advice of scripture and not worry about tomorrow. For today, there is enough, and I am grateful. And the special blessing of internet time reminded me yet again of God`s faithfulness and love for me. Internet time falls at the bottom of our list of priorities (you know, somehow food and electricity and things trump email and blogging). But God knew how special it would be for me to continue staying connected in this way and put it on a special friend`s heart to provide a means to do so.
Let`s see, a quick recap of the ways I`ve been blessed since my last post, and felt God taking care of me:
-Last Sunday a conversation began with my husband that opened up all kinds of things inside of him to receive healing and forgiveness and restoration from the Lord. We are still walking it all out, but are very blessed at what the Lord is doing, and know that, `He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion`.
-Last Tuesday, I burnt myself pretty badly (I foolishly reached out to catch a falling frying pan while making breakfast, giving myself blisters on 2 fingers of my right hand). You may be wondering how this could possibly be a blessing, but it worked out that one of my closer friends here, when she realized I basically couldn`t do a thing for the day, invited us over to eat. I ended up staying thru till my love finished work, and we hung out even a bit longer when he came for me. It was a really good time of hanging out. And my friend`s mom prayed over my hand, and within about an hour all pain was gone!
-On Thursday (I think) one of my best friends called me for the first time since I moved here. She had fun news to share, plus we were able to share and encourage each other in something similar we are each walking through. Very encouraging!
-On Friday, I received a really fun package from my aunt (Thank you sooo much!! Real thank you letter to be forthcoming!) She sent along a few things that are hard to get here, as well as baby gifts - and every single item was wrapped in pretty paper. Such fun to open :)
-On Saturday, I went to a baby shower for the Pastor`s wife thrown by a cell group (a Bible study type group). Several of the women there I have only interacted with a handful of times, but they were already working on planning a baby shower for me in the not so distant future!
-On Monday, I received a letter from a good friend I miss very much. I`m so glad she`s a letter writer :)
-On Tuesday, I received a letter from Inkling, a blogger friend with whom I have made a very special connection. Thank you soooo much for blessing me!! Real thank you letter to be forthcoming!)
So, as you can see, I have been blessed by a variety of friends and family. I was a little worried about feeling lonely during my `leave of absence` from the internet. But God is faithful and loving!
_______________________________________________________
Now, for a baby update :)
We headed to the Dr about 10 days ago now. I`d had a blood and urine analysis done earlier in the week, and so the first bit of good news was that all my levels were perfectly normal and healthy and where they should be. He gave me a couple of tips to avoid some random, mild symptoms I`d been having, and prescribed a mild daily medicine to try and curb the many intense headaches I`ve had. (We only just managed to buy the meds this week, but so far so good...) He was extrememly pleased that I only gained about a pound and a half, and all in all I came out with a clean bill of health.
As for the baby, we had another ultrasound. It was amazing, again! The baby had almost tripled in size (length) since the last appointment, and was moving quite a bit - at one point obviously in reaction to the Dr moving whatever you call the thing he uses to do the ultrasound. All the measurements the Dr took of the baby showed healthy and appropriate growth, most of them predicting due dates 2-7 days earlier than the calander due date (I just take that to mean that the baby is growing well). The Dr showed us that there don`t appear to be any signs of birth defects or other signs of worry at this point.
And then the Dr turned to us and asked if we wanted to know whether it is a boy or a girl. He said it is still a little early to be sure, and so he`d say he is abotu 80% certain that it is a..... boy! My beloved is thrilled, as he has been hoping for a boy since the beginning, and walked in the clouds the whole rest of the day :) For me it isn`t so important if we have a boy or girl, but it is fun to start thinking more specifically about who is inside of me, and to be able to use his name, etc. Don`t worry, though - we are both well aware that the Dr wasn`t sure, and are waiting for future ultrasounds to confirm.
So, in summary, we have a healthy, growing baby inside a healthy, growing (but not too much) mom.
Oh, and we did take pictures of my belly right around that same time, as I finished my 1st trimester, and plan on continuing to do so monthly. I also want to take pictures of our house to show you all. I just have to figure out how to post them from a public computer. But they are coming...
Now that I am back on with some regularity, I`ll work on getting some of those promised posts written :)
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Temporary Leave of Absence
Remember that budget I mentioned a coupleof posts ago? And the creative ways we were gonna try to stretch our money out?
Yeah, well, all those creative ideas seem to have backfired,we owe more and have less than we thought, and all of a sudden there is no money to be found.
In part, this is due to the end of last month being especially tight (you can imagine we went through groceries considerably faster with 3 children in the house...), and it´s still affecting us.
But the long and short of it is, after today, I don´t know that I will be able to get online until at least the next paycheck (mid month),and I am not promising anything there. There just is no money for it.
In the meantime, prayers would be appreciated.
1) That the doors would be open for God´s provision to be manifest. I know He is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider - it is just a question of seeing that provision manifested. How cool would it be if the next time I post, I can post about His miraculous provision?!
2) For peace and faith rather than anxiety or discouragement.
3)That I don´t get too ´lonely´ without my online connections.
THank you so much for your prayers - I feel so much better just knowing there are people praying!
Until sometime soon...
Yeah, well, all those creative ideas seem to have backfired,we owe more and have less than we thought, and all of a sudden there is no money to be found.
In part, this is due to the end of last month being especially tight (you can imagine we went through groceries considerably faster with 3 children in the house...), and it´s still affecting us.
But the long and short of it is, after today, I don´t know that I will be able to get online until at least the next paycheck (mid month),and I am not promising anything there. There just is no money for it.
In the meantime, prayers would be appreciated.
1) That the doors would be open for God´s provision to be manifest. I know He is Jehovah Jireh, our Provider - it is just a question of seeing that provision manifested. How cool would it be if the next time I post, I can post about His miraculous provision?!
2) For peace and faith rather than anxiety or discouragement.
3)That I don´t get too ´lonely´ without my online connections.
THank you so much for your prayers - I feel so much better just knowing there are people praying!
Until sometime soon...
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Vacation Days, Or Not (and an announcement at the end...)
Week before last was Holy Week - and in a predominately Catholic country, that is a big deal. Everyone gets lots of time off. Kids had last week and this week home from school. Something like 90% of the country got off Holy Thursday and Good Friday. And the way it works out this year, with Easter being so early, 90% also got off last Monday in celebration of some famous President here.
We were under the impression, leading up to Holy Week, that my beloved would have off Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (he generally works 1/2 days Saturdays, which means half the number of clients visited - not necessarily half the time). So we made plans for a day trip on Monday, thinking later in the week we´d have a lazy day. Lazy days are few and far between (meaning in large part we can sleep in, and get up when we are in the mood, istead of rushing out) - since FB works Monday thru Saturday and the last Sunday of every month, that only leaves Sunday. But of course we get up and go to church on Sundays. So, lazy days...? I think we´ve had one since we returned from the honeymoon.
Instead, he had to work Thursday, Saturday, and....drumroll please....EASTER SUNDAY!
I am sure you all understand the logic there - since clients really want to open their door to a stranger to talk about being behind in their payments on EASTER SUNDAY, if they are even home and didn´t take off on a vacation somewhere. No, the logic was - you all had off Monday and Friday - better work Sunday. And since the office closed a little early Thursday, FB had to hit up the office before getting started on Saturday to finish up from Thursday. Then when he finished for the day, he had to prepare all his visits for both Sunday and Monday. So Saturday was a long day of work.
Monday and Friday, the days he did get off, were´t bad, just not lazy days like we´d been looking forward to.
Monday we did the day trip to a pretty and quaint little town about 2 hours away. The 2 of us had been there once before. This time we took along another young married couple and their little boy. I had just recently been thinking we should hang out once in a while (when there´s time - which is the whole issue) with other young marrieds, so I was fine with Herme´s spur of the moment idea to invite them Saturday night. The weather was weird that day, lots and lots of wind, carrying lots and lots of dust. And spring hadn´t quite arrived there like we´d hoped. But we ate at a nice restaurant and then spent several hours at a park where they have created a pond (they call it a lake, cuz there isn´t much water here. but it is only a pond). The temperature was nice, even if it was windy, and we had an enjoyable time, a mix of keeping to ourselves and hanging out all together. Just before heading home, we hit up a vineyard museum, which was interesting, but would have been more so if the guide talked just a little bit slower.
One highlight for me was a stop at the street market on the way out of town. FB and I had stopped there when we were there a little over a year ago, and he bought me a pink shawl. I wore it when announcing our engagement here and in Rochester, and subsequently on any chilly day when I wanted to feel like my fiance was a little closer to me. It was very pretty, and an important memory item for me. But I lost it a couple of months ago. I think what happened was that it was on my lap in the car, and I forgot when I got up to get out and it fell. By the time we realized it, it was long gone. I was devastated. (And for those of you who know, this happened like the same week as another major possession loss.) But anyways, we found the same vendor and bought another shawl. She didn´t have the same color, but otherwise it is the same, and it comforts me to have it.
Friday, we got up about the same time as a workday and headed to a Good Firday service. It`s a gathering of many churches that all form an alliance, and different people from different churches take turns reading the last 7 things Jesus said during the crucifixion. Afterwards, there was a picnic style lunch and everyone fellowshipped for a bit. And in the culture here, that means everyone packed a whole lot of one thing and shared it with everyone else. Everyone always shares here. It was good, and lasted til about mid afternoon. I got sunburned - didn`t know it was outside, and apparently the tarps providing my shade were not all that protective. AFterwards, we spent some time with my in-laws, then headed home to get that budget done.
Easter Sunday our church did a sunrise service (although the sun never rose, it was one of those rare cloudy and chilly days here), so we were able to go to service before FB had to work, which was nice.
The other part of that week that kept life interesting was that when we returned to town Monday evening from our day trip, we headed straight over to my in-laws to pick up 3 very excited children. Our 2 nieces (10 and 7) and great-nephew (6) had been dying to spend the night at our house for weeks. And since they were on vacation for 2 weeks, they came and stayed with us until Thursday morning. Great vacation for them - a bit exhausting for me!
Remember the weird windy weather we had Monday? Well, Tuesday morning, the temperature dropped to the 40s, and there was so much dirt being carried in the wind that visibility was bad. And dirt was coming in thru every crevice of the house - door jams, windows, you name it. So, I had 3 very excited children stuck inside for the better part of the day. I have no toys other than a game of Dominos, a few childrens books, but mostly in English, and no TV - and a pretty small house. The saving grace was when I remembered late in the day the Play-Doh recipe I had - all dead time from that moment on was spent pretending to be a bakery or restaurant. (By the way, the recipe was from a cook-book the church ladies put together back in Rochester a year or 2 ago. Any one from there reading this - I love that little book and reading what you all wrote, and have used several recipes already!)
The next day we had much nicer weather, walked the 20ish minutes to visit someone from church and later hit up a nearby playground. Still tiring, but in a less anxious, pent up kind of way. I taught the kids Mother, May I? and Red Light, Green Light. Since hardly anyone here has any yard to speak of (homes are usually all built right up against each other), any time spend at a playground or even in an open patch of grass is much enjoyed.
Ok, this post is a book. I promise the others I am planning to write shouldn`t be quite this long. But as computer time in the next few days will be devoted to getting my taxes done, I`m not sure when the next post will be. I do hope to write fairly soon, though, because my second prenatal appointment is Friday. Can you believe that today officially marks the beginning of my 2nd trimester already?! And yes, I am trying to figure out how to post the occassional picture of my growing belly.
Oh, and I forgot to post last week in the midst of all my catching up, that I am an aunt again!! My brother and his wife welcomed their first into the world Saturday, March 22. From what I am told, she`s beautiful, with lots of hair. It`s crazy hard not knowing when I will meet her. But then, as they live just that far away from the rest of the family, only my parents have been able to meet her so far, and the others aren`t sure when they will. This is the first baby that we all (or almost all) didn`t meet in the first 48 hours - times are changing in our family I guess.
We were under the impression, leading up to Holy Week, that my beloved would have off Monday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday (he generally works 1/2 days Saturdays, which means half the number of clients visited - not necessarily half the time). So we made plans for a day trip on Monday, thinking later in the week we´d have a lazy day. Lazy days are few and far between (meaning in large part we can sleep in, and get up when we are in the mood, istead of rushing out) - since FB works Monday thru Saturday and the last Sunday of every month, that only leaves Sunday. But of course we get up and go to church on Sundays. So, lazy days...? I think we´ve had one since we returned from the honeymoon.
Instead, he had to work Thursday, Saturday, and....drumroll please....EASTER SUNDAY!
I am sure you all understand the logic there - since clients really want to open their door to a stranger to talk about being behind in their payments on EASTER SUNDAY, if they are even home and didn´t take off on a vacation somewhere. No, the logic was - you all had off Monday and Friday - better work Sunday. And since the office closed a little early Thursday, FB had to hit up the office before getting started on Saturday to finish up from Thursday. Then when he finished for the day, he had to prepare all his visits for both Sunday and Monday. So Saturday was a long day of work.
Monday and Friday, the days he did get off, were´t bad, just not lazy days like we´d been looking forward to.
Monday we did the day trip to a pretty and quaint little town about 2 hours away. The 2 of us had been there once before. This time we took along another young married couple and their little boy. I had just recently been thinking we should hang out once in a while (when there´s time - which is the whole issue) with other young marrieds, so I was fine with Herme´s spur of the moment idea to invite them Saturday night. The weather was weird that day, lots and lots of wind, carrying lots and lots of dust. And spring hadn´t quite arrived there like we´d hoped. But we ate at a nice restaurant and then spent several hours at a park where they have created a pond (they call it a lake, cuz there isn´t much water here. but it is only a pond). The temperature was nice, even if it was windy, and we had an enjoyable time, a mix of keeping to ourselves and hanging out all together. Just before heading home, we hit up a vineyard museum, which was interesting, but would have been more so if the guide talked just a little bit slower.
One highlight for me was a stop at the street market on the way out of town. FB and I had stopped there when we were there a little over a year ago, and he bought me a pink shawl. I wore it when announcing our engagement here and in Rochester, and subsequently on any chilly day when I wanted to feel like my fiance was a little closer to me. It was very pretty, and an important memory item for me. But I lost it a couple of months ago. I think what happened was that it was on my lap in the car, and I forgot when I got up to get out and it fell. By the time we realized it, it was long gone. I was devastated. (And for those of you who know, this happened like the same week as another major possession loss.) But anyways, we found the same vendor and bought another shawl. She didn´t have the same color, but otherwise it is the same, and it comforts me to have it.
Friday, we got up about the same time as a workday and headed to a Good Firday service. It`s a gathering of many churches that all form an alliance, and different people from different churches take turns reading the last 7 things Jesus said during the crucifixion. Afterwards, there was a picnic style lunch and everyone fellowshipped for a bit. And in the culture here, that means everyone packed a whole lot of one thing and shared it with everyone else. Everyone always shares here. It was good, and lasted til about mid afternoon. I got sunburned - didn`t know it was outside, and apparently the tarps providing my shade were not all that protective. AFterwards, we spent some time with my in-laws, then headed home to get that budget done.
Easter Sunday our church did a sunrise service (although the sun never rose, it was one of those rare cloudy and chilly days here), so we were able to go to service before FB had to work, which was nice.
The other part of that week that kept life interesting was that when we returned to town Monday evening from our day trip, we headed straight over to my in-laws to pick up 3 very excited children. Our 2 nieces (10 and 7) and great-nephew (6) had been dying to spend the night at our house for weeks. And since they were on vacation for 2 weeks, they came and stayed with us until Thursday morning. Great vacation for them - a bit exhausting for me!
Remember the weird windy weather we had Monday? Well, Tuesday morning, the temperature dropped to the 40s, and there was so much dirt being carried in the wind that visibility was bad. And dirt was coming in thru every crevice of the house - door jams, windows, you name it. So, I had 3 very excited children stuck inside for the better part of the day. I have no toys other than a game of Dominos, a few childrens books, but mostly in English, and no TV - and a pretty small house. The saving grace was when I remembered late in the day the Play-Doh recipe I had - all dead time from that moment on was spent pretending to be a bakery or restaurant. (By the way, the recipe was from a cook-book the church ladies put together back in Rochester a year or 2 ago. Any one from there reading this - I love that little book and reading what you all wrote, and have used several recipes already!)
The next day we had much nicer weather, walked the 20ish minutes to visit someone from church and later hit up a nearby playground. Still tiring, but in a less anxious, pent up kind of way. I taught the kids Mother, May I? and Red Light, Green Light. Since hardly anyone here has any yard to speak of (homes are usually all built right up against each other), any time spend at a playground or even in an open patch of grass is much enjoyed.
Ok, this post is a book. I promise the others I am planning to write shouldn`t be quite this long. But as computer time in the next few days will be devoted to getting my taxes done, I`m not sure when the next post will be. I do hope to write fairly soon, though, because my second prenatal appointment is Friday. Can you believe that today officially marks the beginning of my 2nd trimester already?! And yes, I am trying to figure out how to post the occassional picture of my growing belly.
Oh, and I forgot to post last week in the midst of all my catching up, that I am an aunt again!! My brother and his wife welcomed their first into the world Saturday, March 22. From what I am told, she`s beautiful, with lots of hair. It`s crazy hard not knowing when I will meet her. But then, as they live just that far away from the rest of the family, only my parents have been able to meet her so far, and the others aren`t sure when they will. This is the first baby that we all (or almost all) didn`t meet in the first 48 hours - times are changing in our family I guess.
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