¿Que tal, mis amigos y parientes? ¿Como les va?
I have just returned home from Tzucabab, the pueblito where I stayed this weekend with my new amigo Brendan. Boy was it a riot, but holy cow did we work hard! Stay tuned for more... First, though, I need to respond to some comments written on my blog about my choice of attire. Unfortunately, observant family members, I do not have a choice about what I wear below my waist. Unless I am swimming, showering, or sleeping, I must be wearing pants of some kind at all times. It is a cultural thing, and yes, it is uncomfortable on those 90 degree days. So you can stop lecturing me about the type of clothing one should wear on a hot day; I am well aware. Hehe. My time will come; I set off for Playa del Carmen next week, which brings with it more freedom in terms of clothing options. Thanks for the concern...
Okay, on to my weekend. Let´s just say that I played missionary for a few days to entertain some church members who needed someone to supervise and teach 25-50 kids living in the pueblito. Rather than spend the weekend relaxing and paseando, I spent the weekend singing, instructing, preaching, painting, running, stumbling (both over my feet and my words), eating, regretting eating (my stomach didn´t agree with a few of the saucier things I ate), and sleeping (a hammock becomes less uncomfortable when sleep is altogether necessary). If that isn´t entertaining enough, Brendan and I received 2 free tickets to an ongoing mating ceremony between the turkeys living in our backyard. And you thought crowing was a bothersome noise...
I thought I would leave you with one of my journal entries from this weekend and a photo of Maria and me (Maria was one of our little helpers this weekend). Enjoy! Sorry about the length...
"Boy, am I tired. What a whirlwind this past day and a half has been. I am still stupified by how spontaneous and uninformed and patient I have remained throughout the past 36 hours. I guess I should explain. Brendan and I were "supposed" (I put the word in quotations because I don´t think any clear directions were passed along when we attended the orientation for the trip to the pueblo) to arrive in the pueblo to find both a seminarian waiting to take us to our temporary lodgings and a family reading and willing to feed and shelter us. We found the seminarian, but the family part of the deal never arrived. Instead, we were taken to an empty house which we were told was owned by the seminarian´s mother-in-law--a woman too weak to live on her own. We were informed by Apolo, the seminarian, that we could use the facility (immaculate in appearance except for all of these ants) however and whenever we wished and that we might see the viejita pop in every so often to feed her chickens and turkeys (the frequently flustered flock live in the backyard). We were then informed that we would be in chrage of leading a group of children whose parents are not "creyentes" (in other words, the parents are anything but Presbyterians) and that we should be prepared to coordinate an entire day of fun and learning (of Scripture). I envy Brendan´s lack of understanding at this point... I figure, though, that parents of the 10 children who attend will be there to assist in any way possible. I couldn´t be any more wrong... Apolo conveniently left us today to go to Merida for a meeting of Presbyterian pastors. I repeat: he left us. All alone, Brendan and I were responsible for the safety and entertainment of 50 niños of varying sizes, shapes, and ages. All alone, I tell you. Let´s just say that I had to quickly conquer my fear of singing in front of others... We sang, we prayed (Brendan with his "Gracias para"s), we drew, we played games, but most of all, we smiled laughed, and screwed up....joyfully. We spoke broken Spanish, but we spoke it with pride. In truth, I spoke Spanish; Brendan spoke broken. Hehe. I even made up a song in the process ("Jesus es mi amigo") and converted tons of my favorite childhood games into Spanish (Red Rover= Quebrala, Spider in the Web= Arañas en las Telarañas). It was a challenging, backbreaking, (and burning) day, but I made it."
¡Viva el pueblo porque Dios definitivamente esta alli!
I have just returned home from Tzucabab, the pueblito where I stayed this weekend with my new amigo Brendan. Boy was it a riot, but holy cow did we work hard! Stay tuned for more... First, though, I need to respond to some comments written on my blog about my choice of attire. Unfortunately, observant family members, I do not have a choice about what I wear below my waist. Unless I am swimming, showering, or sleeping, I must be wearing pants of some kind at all times. It is a cultural thing, and yes, it is uncomfortable on those 90 degree days. So you can stop lecturing me about the type of clothing one should wear on a hot day; I am well aware. Hehe. My time will come; I set off for Playa del Carmen next week, which brings with it more freedom in terms of clothing options. Thanks for the concern...
Okay, on to my weekend. Let´s just say that I played missionary for a few days to entertain some church members who needed someone to supervise and teach 25-50 kids living in the pueblito. Rather than spend the weekend relaxing and paseando, I spent the weekend singing, instructing, preaching, painting, running, stumbling (both over my feet and my words), eating, regretting eating (my stomach didn´t agree with a few of the saucier things I ate), and sleeping (a hammock becomes less uncomfortable when sleep is altogether necessary). If that isn´t entertaining enough, Brendan and I received 2 free tickets to an ongoing mating ceremony between the turkeys living in our backyard. And you thought crowing was a bothersome noise...
I thought I would leave you with one of my journal entries from this weekend and a photo of Maria and me (Maria was one of our little helpers this weekend). Enjoy! Sorry about the length...
"Boy, am I tired. What a whirlwind this past day and a half has been. I am still stupified by how spontaneous and uninformed and patient I have remained throughout the past 36 hours. I guess I should explain. Brendan and I were "supposed" (I put the word in quotations because I don´t think any clear directions were passed along when we attended the orientation for the trip to the pueblo) to arrive in the pueblo to find both a seminarian waiting to take us to our temporary lodgings and a family reading and willing to feed and shelter us. We found the seminarian, but the family part of the deal never arrived. Instead, we were taken to an empty house which we were told was owned by the seminarian´s mother-in-law--a woman too weak to live on her own. We were informed by Apolo, the seminarian, that we could use the facility (immaculate in appearance except for all of these ants) however and whenever we wished and that we might see the viejita pop in every so often to feed her chickens and turkeys (the frequently flustered flock live in the backyard). We were then informed that we would be in chrage of leading a group of children whose parents are not "creyentes" (in other words, the parents are anything but Presbyterians) and that we should be prepared to coordinate an entire day of fun and learning (of Scripture). I envy Brendan´s lack of understanding at this point... I figure, though, that parents of the 10 children who attend will be there to assist in any way possible. I couldn´t be any more wrong... Apolo conveniently left us today to go to Merida for a meeting of Presbyterian pastors. I repeat: he left us. All alone, Brendan and I were responsible for the safety and entertainment of 50 niños of varying sizes, shapes, and ages. All alone, I tell you. Let´s just say that I had to quickly conquer my fear of singing in front of others... We sang, we prayed (Brendan with his "Gracias para"s), we drew, we played games, but most of all, we smiled laughed, and screwed up....joyfully. We spoke broken Spanish, but we spoke it with pride. In truth, I spoke Spanish; Brendan spoke broken. Hehe. I even made up a song in the process ("Jesus es mi amigo") and converted tons of my favorite childhood games into Spanish (Red Rover= Quebrala, Spider in the Web= Arañas en las Telarañas). It was a challenging, backbreaking, (and burning) day, but I made it."
¡Viva el pueblo porque Dios definitivamente esta alli!
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