Mas Fotos

!Saludos! Can you believe I´ve been here almost a month already?? I sure can´t!! Thank you all so much for the comments--the response has been so awesome and encouraging! I edited some of my settings the other day and didn´t realize that you had to set up a blog before you could leave a comment--so sorry for the inconvenience that may have caused! Now you can post a comment anonymously, which some of you have already begun to do. But those of you who went through the trouble before of creating your own user name, I especially commend you! While we´re talking about comments, I would like to address a few of them...

The city I´m living in is actually called San Cristobal De Las Casas. I don´t know why there are so many San Cristobals in Mexico, but San Cristobal literally means ¨Saint Christopher¨...and you know how Catholics are about naming saints! I do know that ¨De Las Casas¨is the (1.) apellido of one of the hombres that fought for freedom in the area. The(2.) población is about 100,000. And no, the hurricane never came close to here; in fact, I hadn´t even heard anything about Hurricane Dean until I started talking to fellow Americans! (Yes, I do need to do a better job keeping up with the news, but that´s beside the point : ) We had a few really rainy, really cold nights in a row, but that´s pretty normal for this time of year.

As you can see from this photo, it rains so much that the streets stay constantly flooded...but unlike in the U.S., cars still pass through puddles as big as this one! And no, I did not forget about the Spanish the last time, I just ran out of time. But to make up for it, I´m going to include twice as many (3.) palabras this time.

The Hebrews class ended on Friday, and John (4.) (el maestro) went back to the U.S. on Saturday. Because Chantel and I had to take him to the aeropuerto in Tuxtla Gutierrez (the next closest city), we took advantage of the (5.) oportunidad by shopping at Super Wal-Mart (which San Cristobal does not have), and a few other (6.) lugares. We were able to buy some foods and a few items for la casa that we can´t get here in San Cristobal. Part of our job is to show around the American teachers that come and help make them feel more comfortable. As John said, we are ¨his ears and his mouth.¨ So I spent a great deal of last week accompanying him and Chantel to various locations, including these Mayan ruins in Ococingo (about 2 hours away).

At times I still feel like I am just as much a (7.) tourista as he was. I am still getting to know my way around la ciudad and getting to know more of the (8.) miembros de la iglesia. I did get lost in el centro one day, but the nice thing about being ¨lost¨here (unlike the U.S.!) is that you can just have a (9.) taxista bring you right back to your casa—and that´s exactly what I did! So the experience took up more (10.) tiempo and (11.) dinero than I would have liked, but it could have been a lot worse!! Most of the (12.) calles and most of the (13.) tiendas in el centro look almost exactly like this picture,

so it might still be a while before I can comfortably get around by myself!

On the other hand, I also feel like I´m acting more and more like a Mexicana every day. For example, I am doing a better job following the food schedule of big late breakfast, big late lunch, and small late dinner. Yesterday I ate (14.) la almuerza with some fellow (15.) cristianos who live only a few blocks from us. They do not attend the same Church of Christ I have been going to, but their daughter is about my age and teaches computer classes at the escuela. We did not eat until about 3 p.m. (typical), but it was soooo good—well worth the wait! (also typical). The Christians here have some faults, but one of their biggest strengths is definitely their hospitality.

I am also adjusting to the non-punctuality. On Saturday I thought I would have the opportunity to see my first Latin American (16.) boda, but actually I missed the ¨wedding¨part and arrived only in time to eat and meet. The wedding was supposed to start at 8:00 and did not start until about 8:30, but nevertheless we arrived during the middle of the sermon and decided to wait in (17.) el coche for the ceremony to conclude (long story).

These past two semanas have also served as a good lesson in (18.) paciencia. Some days, unfortunately, I feel like my whole day flies by without me being able to say I really accomplished much of anything. But because of (19.) la cultura, nearly everything takes longer to do here than it does in the states. If I need to wash my clothes, for example, I first have to fill up the wash machine with four to five bucket fulls of water. Then, because we don´t have a dryer, I have to hang everything up on (20.) el techo to dry...but only early in the morning, so that they don´t get rained on in the afternoon! (This is a picture of our roof.)

If we need more water or gas, we have to stand in front of our casa and wait for (21.) un camión to come by at just the right time (so if we leave in la mañana, we miss out!), then haul the huge, heavy jugs up the stairs to our kitchen. This morning we ran out of gas and I had to take a freezing cold (22.) dulcha. And if I need to go somewhere, I can´t just get in a coche and go; and sometimes I have to take 2-3 different taxis or busses to get to one place. Our bus ride to Ococingo on Friday, for example, was nothing more than a crummy 20 passenger van crammed full of strangers, and then from there we had to take a taxi to the ruins.

But don´t get me wrong...I am really enjoying living here still, and the living arrangements are really quite (23.) comodo. But I hope that we (24.) Americanos will realize every day that there are so many (25.) gente in (26.) el mundo with so many fewer privileges than us, yet who live such happier lives. Now that my (27.) noches will not be taken up translating, I hope to focus more on my English class that will start in about 2 more semanas. Even though preaching students are required to take the class, it is also intended to serve as an outreach method for (28.) la comunidad. So (29.) primero I will have to advertise for the class. I have debated whether to put ¨free English classes¨on the brochures. Some people might be more willing to come if they know they don´t have to pay, but some may also assume that ¨free¨means poor quality (which I certainly hope they won´t be!) Please pray for the success of the (30.) clase and share with me any thoughts or suggestions you might have about that.

Hasta luego,
Elizabeth

1. last name

2. population

3. words

4. the teacher

5. opportunity

6. places

7. tourist

8. members of the church

9. taxi driver

10. time

11. money

12. streets

13. stores/shops

14. lunch

15. christians

16. wedding

17. the car

18. patience

19. the culture

20. the roof

21. a truck

22. shower

23. comfortable

24. Americans

25. people

26. the world

27. nights

28. the community

29. first

30. class

Los Días de la Semana:
domingo
lunes
martes
miércoles
jueves
viernes
sabado

Los Números 1 a 10:
1. uno
2. dos
3. tres
4. cuatro
5. cinco
6. seis
7. siete
8. ocho
9. nueve
10. diez

P.S. Sorry for the delay in posting this blog. Our internet has not been working, and I have also been gone a lot.