Politics, Birria, and Soccer

FOR SALE

MALE CHIHUAHUA

BLACK AND BROWN

BARKS ALL NIGHT

5 PESOS OR BEST OFFER

~~~

I got ready for church on Sunday morning and graded Ana's Bible study test. I had to consult Donna on some of the answers. Then by the time I ate breakfast, it was almost time for church. Marlen sat with me. Alma and Jaciel came in and sat on the other side of me. Alma had combed Jaciel's hair into a point; it was so cute! Marlen and Mario were around for lunch. We discussed Mexican politics. The town was eerily silent... everyone was voting. I called home in the afternoon. It felt good to talk to Mom for a bit. During the San Pedro service, Janessa, Marlen, and I watched a cat throw up three times. The cat looked at its vomit in surprise, sniffed it, tasted it, and finally walked away. After church I saw a chicken eating it. Nice, huh? We had a windy ride home with a tiny bit of rain. There was a mouse waiting for us in the kitchen under a dishtowel in a basket. Dumb mouse! Donna brought the cat inside. The cat sniffed around and finally settled down to sit in the basket on top of the towel, oblivious to the escaping mouse. Dumber cat! I ate dinner and sat out in the living room to journal. I heard a truckload of people go by, shouting one of the candidates' name: "¡Oscar! ¡Oscar! ¡Oscar!" But I didn't find out until the morning that he had won the election.
~~~
Monday I almost felt sick. I didn't feel like doing any of the things I needed to do. But I did them anyway. I studied verbs after breakfast. I even had the chance to test out a new verb tense with Ian who was sitting on our front porch. He retorted with a fancy "hubiera" tense that shot down all sense of accomplishment. I visited Vanessa's family. We played Phase 10 and talked. I got home in time to help set the table for lunch. I almost slept during my time off, despite the noise of all of the children. We didn't have the San Pedro kid's club since Rod and Christa were in El Fuerte. Instead, I helped Donna by writing out verse posters for a "modesty seminar" we're having this month. Unfortunately, my creativity was zilch. I helped with dinner when visitors came to the porch to talk with Donna. That evening I had a pathetic shower that was little more than a trickle. The water actually stopped in the middle of my shower; I hardly noticed.
~~~

I was in a hurry to get my laundry done on Tuesday morning. A plumber was coming to fix the leaky pipes (Hurray! A real shower again!) and I wanted to make sure that I didn't get in his way. I went to the store and bought a lot of stuff from Don Josecito who seemed pleased with so much business. I made cookies. I got distracted by some people at the window while I was making them and added too much flour. The dough felt sorta spongy. I burnt some and quickly disposed of the evidence on all of the happy victims scattered around the house. I made lunch and after we ate, I did the dishes, finished my laundry, and cleaned my room. The man working on the pipes said something to me. When I didn't understand him the second time, I just smiled dumbly and hoped he hadn't asked a question. In the afternoon, I worked on two projects for Donna. Marlen came over and helped me make some posters. We discussed Sunday's cat/chicken episode over bean burritos for dinner; Marlen hopped up from the table and ran into the hallway with her hands over her ears. I talked on the phone after dinner. I was up on the roof until it started raining. Then I took a heavenly shower! I felt like I was in the States again.
~~~

Must I admit that I stayed in my PJs for most of the morning on Wednesday? Part of it was sheer laziness and part of it was due to the fact that the plumber was working in the bathroom again. So I sat on my bed and ate Cheerios and worked on the computer. I got ready for the day so that I could walk to Marlen's house and take her out to eat for birria. Birria is a soup with some very delicious spices and goat meat. I've been told to eat it hot, because once it gets cold, it's very greasy. I was having enough of a problem trying to work up the courage in the first place! Marlen waited until I took my first bite. It took me awhile. The restaurant ladies watched us curiously as we giggled over our bowls of untouched goat soup. Finally we started eating... and it wasn't bad. The meat didn't taste like goats smell, like I had expected. And with fresh, homemade tortillas, I even might have been able to call it good. On our way to the post office, we met Diego the post office man, on the sidewalk. "Where are you going?" he asked us. "Ummm... the post office?" So we hung out at the plaza until he returned. I got a box! That made my day! Marlen helped me open it at the plaza. I walked home in the hot sun. A while after I got back, I realized that my neck was tender. SUNBURN! I ate a sandwich and talked with Kyle about the green men living under his fingernails and about how healthy chocolate is. After all that, we had prayer meeting. It was raining just a little, but enough to get us wet on the way to Mochiqui and back. We made two separate trips to Don Josecito's store before Donna had enough ingredients to make the smoothies.

Birria...the goat soup.
Marlen with my package. She claimed she was more excited than I was.

This picture explains itself, I think.

The boys raced around the yard, catching chickens on Thursday morning after breakfast. Kedric sneaked up with a net on the featherless adolescent hen; he reminded me of the pink panther. At the orphanage I was in charge of lunch. It went smoothly with nothing noteworthy and definitely nothing exciting. I started lunch clean up before I took my time off. I got up in time to get Chuy up. He reeked! Poor, suffering little boy. I took him outside once I cleaned him up. We were hanging out on the back step with Suzanne and Rhonda joined us. We talked for a long time. And then I went in to start getting things ready for dinner. Debbie finished dinner and then we all sat down to eat. After dinner I went outside and Roxina announced to the rest of the world that I was going to play soccer. I am? So I humored her for a bit, or maybe I was the only one humored. Nothing I did helped my poor team, so I played with Jeffrey because he was at my skill level. Lenn brought me home. I was walking down the hallway when I saw the cat nestled on top of Loren's clean pile of laundry. I tried to execute justice and now the cat hates me even more. All in a day's work, I say.

~~~

On Friday morning I made my way out to the orphanage, no thanks to Lenn. He passed me up on the moto with a guilty chuckle that tells me he still has a conscience. I also saw a dead cat, mostly eaten except for the head which was posed in an open-mouthed, wild-eyed scream. When I arrived at the orphanage with sweat dripping off my weary brow, Lenn was eating breakfast and fearfully hiding behind a cereal box to avoid my evil eye. I started in with the laundry right away. Something was in the air outside that made me sneeze and my nose run, so I hung out inside as much as I could. I had a headache when I left after lunch and by the time I got home under the hot sun, it was throbbing. So I laid down for a nap with a fan blowing on me. I felt much better when I got up! Marlen joined us as we left for Mochiqui. When we got there, Ana wasn't around. So we joined Donna at Salvador and Enriqueta's house. Tita accidentally pushed Delia into a wooden cot. Delia was crying and then got angry and stood up to beat Tita with her fists. I physically held her back as everyone else looked on in amusement. I felt dumb, but I would rather feel dumb than watch a girl fight. We studied with Carla, Tita, Alma, and Delia at MariCruz's house. Rumaldo fed us tortillas and some sort of soup that he said contained iguana meat (he was joking). That night was our singles' night out. We wanted to eat at a nice restaurant, but we ended up where we usually do... the taquería. We sat and talked until the restaurant started to get busy. Then Lenn picked us up and we went to the orphanage to hang out in the bodega. Scott bought ice cream lasagna (capuchino flavor) and we played scum. We ended just before the round that I would have been scum. Whew! Lenn took me home.

~~~

I woke up early on Saturday morning and decided to get a few things done before class. I was alert during breakfast for once, and the Yoder family marveled that I could talk so early in the morning. They're used to my typical glowering morning face. After breakfast I swept the floor while brushing my teeth. Of course, several people chose those three minutes to enter the house as I performed my multi-task. "BEENBIHNITHOS" *slobber *spit *foam. Just before class started, Santos plunked down beside me and Jorge sat across the table from me. T-R-O-U-B-L-E. They wrote "Salchicha Fud" on their papers. After class, I had a little run-in with Santos that got him in trouble and me feeling like a little kid. Lunch went good. Clean up went badly. We had two problems happening simultaneously: one that included soap in an eye and another that included a bad word. Fortunately, the guys took care of one while I took care of the other. Roxina mopped the floor and I couldn't get into the bedroom to get their Saturday afternoon candy out without traipsing across the wet floor. Fernando wanted his candy really badly, so he propped the fan on his sandal so that it blew directly on the walkway to the bedroom. Roxina counted to 100 in English for me as I relaxed in front of a fan. When I got Chuy up, he entertained us by trying to stomp on the ants on the floor. The children prompted him with "Kill it, Chuy! Kill it!" I had AC for my time off in the bodega. I took a nap before I emerged from my cool cocoon to help Rhonda with the final stages of dinner prep. After dinner, the children went out on the property to find worms for the chickens. Rhonda and I sat and talked until Loren and Janessa came to pick me up. That's when I heard the news that made my day: Reina's husband accepted the Lord!

"Kill it, Chuy! Kill it!"

Lemons, Bubbles, and Hamburgers

I went for a walk on Sunday morning. I met some of MariChuy's cousins. I meet her cousins no matter where I walk; she must have a million who live along the boulevard alone. Or maybe I just keep "meeting" the same ones over and over again. I dropped by Marlen's house to talk with her and her grandma for a bit. At the Choix service, Loren preached a sermon about "To Judge or Not to Judge", a political thriller with a Shakespearian twist. Okay, just kidding; the text was from Matthew chapter 7. I was sitting beside Ana, but she left immediately afterwards to go to the store. Uriel came up to MariCruz and asked for pesos to buy some chips. I tried to convince him that he wanted besos (kisses) and not pesos (money). I filled up my afternoon with emailing, facebooking, etc. Mario and Marlen were around for most of the afternoon. In San Pedro, Doña Artelmia was back for the first time since her surgery and it was good to see her again. The weather got a little dark during the service. Fransisca sent us off with glasses of coke. During the night, the electricity went off for awhile... and so did the fans. I remember waking up soaked with sweat. The air was dead and the night was silent.

I made myself some tea to go with my Monday morning verb study. Yippee. The 8th tense was much easier than the 5th, 6th, and 7th tenses. I took my practice verb sentences over to Vanessa's house with the groceries. Vanessa looked over my sentences while I helped the rest of the family with house cleaning. I mopped the two-room house and the front porch. Then I helped Lupita with lunch. I came home, happy. Reina and Davíd ate with us for lunch. I studied more verbs during my time off. Janessa was helping me when Rod came and we left for San Pedro. The day was beautiful and more children came to the class than last week. After class I cleaned up and talked with Fransisca, Nayely, and Jesús. Loren had cebiche almost finished when we got home. YUM!

On Tuesday morning, I started in with my laundry and making lemon bars for the prison. Then I made baked fish marinated in lemon juice for lunch and some lemonade. Donna keeps buying bags of lemons from whoever walks by selling them. So we have lots and lots of lemons in the frig right now and I am trying fruitlessly (pun intended) to use them up. After lunch I did up the dishes, finished up my laundry, and then took my time off. I wrote out a song for prayer meeting. Suzanne was on the front porch and wanted a tour through Facebook. Then I helped get ready for dinner. Well, actually all I did was find a fan... which is a very important part of dinner preparation. I talked on the phone for two hours after dinner and I had a blast! (Very unusual for someone who generally dislikes talking on the phone.) The rain chased me back inside.

Wednesday was my day off, of course. But I got up early to work on my quarterly financial report and get a few more things done before I goofed off for the rest of the day. I walked up to the plaza and spent time just sitting, writing and relaxing. I saw a lot of people I knew and/or recognized. On my way home, I came up behind Santos, Jorge, and Sergio. They were walking veeeeeeeery slooooooowly. I said "¡Apúdense!" (Hurry up!). They tormented me as I passed them up. "¡Salchicha!" "¡Fud!" "¡Nana!" When I got home, I relaxed and talked to my mom and my sister online. I tried to sleep, but I had a headache...which disappeared when I got up. I ate dinner with the others. About ten minutes before prayer meeting, the electricity went out. Donna passed out the Antorcha magazine to everyone to use as fans. That helped, but I felt like I was suffocating by the end of the meeting. I kept an eye on Chuy afterwards. Janessa and I hopped in the back of the truck to go to Mochiqui. When we got back, we bought smoothie ingredients. There was a big political fiesta in town. The election is on Sunday and then the "Lindolfo Reyes es como tú ¡gente de trabajo!" and "¡Oscar Lara! ¡Oscar Lara!" will finally stop. Janessa and I went up onto the roof to watch the PAN group go by in their cars. They wildly waved flags out of their windows and honked and yelled and were having tons of fun, apparently. Some man stumbled by on the sidewalk waving a PAN flag. He gave a cheer for PAN at a passing car and got a response something like "¡Somos de PRI!" (We're for PRI). It was funny, even for someone who does not understand Mexican politics. Janessa and I stayed on the roof for awhile, talking about cars and ghosts. I enjoyed the gently cooling night rain.

Then came Thursday. Suzanne had things well under way when I arrived at the orphanage. All I had to do was take over. I got done in time to play with Chuy. He loves bubbles so I let him play with bubbles from the dishwater. Sometimes he'd just get so excited he couldn't touch the bubbles; he'd just giggle and stamp his feet. The girls dressed him up like a little girl. He wasn't too impressed until he realized how much attention he was getting. After lunch, (and no, the potatoes were not crunchy) Miguel amused himself by playing with a doll. I watched as he gave the doll a spanking, set it on the couch and gave it, "Quince minutos" (Fifteen minutes) for time out. I took my siesta time in the bodega after clean up. It was a nice break from the ovenlike outdoors. After break, I helped in the kitchen and then sat outside with Chuy and the visitors. We went to admire the chickens. Well, Chuy admired them, I gazed on them disdainfully. It started to sprinkle. After dinner, Lenn took me back into town.

[My bubble boy]

Friday mornings are those mornings that I set out, determined to do what I least like to do. And I did it. I biked all of the way out to the orphanage...except for the two HUGE hills *gasp!*. The laundry was awaiting me and it smelled as bad as ever. I only did six loads, and entertained Chuy in between. He liked to watch the bubbles form under the spray of soapy water. He had to taste them too. Rosalina decided she wanted to sit on my lap and crush me with a mighty hug after she'd finished the laundry. The twins were in excellent moods and did everything we asked them to do without complaining. We ate delicious taco salad. Then I found out that Domingo's new favorite phrase is "What the world?" I was hot and sweaty when I finally got back into town on bike. I didn't even have enough energy to respond to emails. (Sorry!) We left for Mochiqui after 4:30 despite the fact that we were "leaving in ten minutes" at 4:00. We dropped off a puppy at Doña Aurora's house. Suzanne accompanied Donna and I. We didn't have much time to visit. Ana wasn't home, but we studied with Carla and Tita. MariCruz fed us cake and Rumaldo fed us Zuko. Suzanne and I bought viejitas with Chamoy on the way out. Mmmmm.... When we got back to the orphanage, the hamburgers were still on the grill. We were celebrating the 4th one day early. Jorge and Santos were picking out their puppies. Jorge told me that he was going to name his puppy "Salchicha" after me. After the delicious hamburgers, Johan set off some fireworks for the kids. Then the kids set off some of their own. I lit one and quickly threw it so it wouldn't go off in my hand. I know, I know; I'm a chicken. We had a "punching piñata" because we were too lazy to string up the piñata in the rain. Everyone took a swing at it with their fists, but we discovered why most parties use sticks; it wouldn't break! Lenn finally just pulled out the candy bags.

[Yum! Hamburgers! Almost consisting entirely of beef!]
[Two troublemakers, Santos and Jorge, with their puppies]

[Me, Domingo, and Miguel]

[Jesse pretending to eat Miguel's burger]

[The evening sky was gorgeous!]

[The Three Stooges, Suzanne, Janessa, and Regina, with their watermelon]

[Teo with a piece of the piñata]

We took our time getting around on Saturday morning and then we suddenly realized how late it was. We quickly got ready for class. After class, I asked Jorge if his puppy had died yet. He gave me an incredulous look. I bit into my ice pop and the juice squirted on my skirt and dripped down my chin...not a good omen for my day. Rhonda and I made lunch at the orphanage. The fan blew the flame out under the cooking rice... so we had crunchy rice. I overheard Miguel whispering to Diego, "¡Es duro!" (It's hard!) and then he gave me a guilty look when he saw that I'd overheard. Domingo complained and Johan told him to try to make rice for dinner. "No, I would burn it!" he admitted. After clean up, the boys tried to drag me outside and lock me out. I managed to hold them off for a while before Miguel discovered that I was bracing myself against the door with my arm. Rosalina told me she'd help me, but she didn't really want to get involved. When the boys left, the girls, Fernando, and I drank lemonade and Zuko and hung out in the kitchen. The twins took Fernando out to pick some sort of weed to cook up. A very sweaty Rumaldo came in from the property for some water. I took my time off and even managed to sleep a little. We had a quick and uneventful dinner. After clean up I went outside to play soccer with Fernando, Roxina, and MariChuy. After a couple of wild kicks that made passerbys chuckle, I made a goal! I went inside to talk with Rhonda. Chuy stepped out onto the freshly mopped floor just after Rhonda had said, "No, Chuy!" He managed a mischievous look our way before his feet flew up and he banged his head on the tile floor. We felt sorry for him, but I won't deny that we laughed just a little. When I got home, I took pillows and a dark chocolate bar on the roof to enjoy the evening. The waxing moon peered down at me as I thought about my little problems and my great God. The chocolate kept me awake for awhile after I crawled into bed. I finally fell asleep after midnight. But I woke up when Charco, the Yoders' dog, was barking. He wouldn't stop even though both Loren and Kedric when outside to check what was going on. After an hour or so, I started dreaming of chihuahua barbecue. I think I also authored an entire book... "101 Reasons NOT to Own a Dog!"

Father's Day, Dust Bunnies, and Viejitas

Chuy the nerd.
A very common site until July the 5th.

Roxina, Rosalina, and MariChuy making lunch on Thursday.

Fernando and me.

Trying to find the bread crumbs on the floor.

Sunday: Happy Father's Day to the best dad in all of the world! Carla and Tita sat with me during church... and were naughty. I met Rebecca; the children had been eagerly awaiting her arrival. Then I went to Mochiqui with the villagers. I helped MariCruz carry a few buckets of water from the street to her house before we came back home. We had a delicious Father's Day meal. Poor Mario had to endure American food again. In the afternoon, we left for San Pedro with a lot of Mochiqui villagers. Yesi came to church; I hadn't seen her in many weeks and I'd missed her a lot. After the service, I talked with Rebecca and then came home in the back of Loren's truck.

Monday: I drank tea and ate chocolate while I studied verbs. Then I bought groceries and went to Vanessa's house. The family was very newsy and they told me all sorts of juicy information about their lives. Alejito enjoyed the chocolate Tootsie pop I gave him; his grandma gave him a bath afterwards! During my time off, Reina's son David kept wandering into my room. I made a Tricia-fied version of lemon bars and walked over to my landlady's house to give her some. She wasn't there, but I saw some of my former neighbor boys... and I can still tell the identical twins apart (or I got lucky. LOL). I went in search of Marlen and didn't find her. But I talked with her mom instead. I saw lots of people I knew on the way home, but I hadn't found anyone I was looking for. Some days are just like that.

Tuesday: Another humid day. I did laundry and burned some snickerdoodles, which I passed out to the gringo victims on the front porch. Then I made lunch and mango cobbler. The mango cobbler was good, I guess. It was my two worlds colliding: American cobbler and Mexican mangos; it just didn't taste quite right. I made out verse posters. Someone turned the AC on in Loren and Donna's bedroom and we all hung out in there. Janessa and I walked to Marlen's house to see if she was around. She wasn't, but her uncle went to find her for us. She came soon, full of things to tell us. We lost track of time and came back "too late for supper." So we ate alone. Then I cleaned my room. The dust bunnies under my bed multiply faster than real bunnies!

Wednesday: I slept in. Then I walked uptown for a few things and back home to talk on the phone and get on the Internet. I enjoyed eating junkfood and spending time alone. I sat in front of a fan and waited for the rain to take the humidity out of the air. (I didn't know that I would have to wait until Thursday night.) I tried to take a nap, but gave up and went to eat dinner with Donna and Janessa. Every Wednesday night during prayer meeting I think of how much I missed the orphanage children from Sunday to Wednesday. After the orphanage crew left, Janessa, Rebecca, and I went along to drop off the villagers in Mochiqui. Along the way, Jorge decided that I was his grandma and spent the rest of the time calling me "nana." Janessa, Rebecca, and I went to get yogurt. Then Janessa and I attempted to make smoothies. They turned out with big chunks of ice and a kitchen that smelled like a hot blender.

Thursday: [I've been away from home for ten months.] I woke up after a pathetic night of sleep. I walked over to invite Lupita to the youth night on Friday night. When I got to the orphanage, I discovered that because some lady had donated a large chunk of meat, the twins were in charge of lunch. I was a helper. That was a switch; and a lot of fun! They worked frantically, chopping, frying, slicing, tasting... Roxina and MariChuy pulled stools up to the stove to reach the back burners. Fernando tried on a dress and I called him "mi hijita" (my little daughter) for the rest of the day. Lunch was delicious and we had no leftovers. Dear Rebecca spent a slice of her afternoon drawing pictures for the boys. After my time off, Chuy and I had the house to ourselves. I fed him bread while I made biscuits. I sat out with some visitors and watched Chuy. Debbie came home and finished the dinner Scott had started with his tuna gravy. Then came the rain. The boys ran up on the hill and the other children played in the rain until they were soaked. Debbie brought me home.

Friday: [I've been in Mexico for nine months.] I was walking my bike past Don Josecito's store when I heard Lily yell, "Subase!" (Climb on it!). I did eventually. I washed lots of smelly laundry. I helped in the kitchen and hung out with the kids in between laundry loads. Roxina sang while she hung the laundry for me. We had a delicious meal after which I biked home to use Internet and take a nap. Rebecca was at our house when I got up and so I talked with her until we left for Mochiqui. Maria and I visited Ana. We sat under the awning by the hot tortilla fire. I took my time, studying with Carla. Maria and I went to the store and she bought viejitas with Chamoy (a big sheet of ice cream cone-like stuff with hot sauce on top). Mmmm... We then hung out in the back of the truck with Alma and Jaciel until Loren, Donna, and Kyle came back. We had youth night at Rod and Christa's. Not a lot of people came, but it was fun. We played volleyball and then sat down to watch "Facing the Giants" in Spanish. Christa served us nachos. The youth really seemed to enjoy the movie. Afterwards, I helped to clean up and we came home. I stayed awake just long enough to tell Rebecca goodbye.

Saturday: We set up for Saturday school. I didn't think that class was fun or boring. It just was. I colored my picture ugly and put Ana's name on it. Domingo somehow talked me into playing soccer with him. So I was all sweaty before we even climbed into the van. The van was so full that I sat in Rhonda's lap; Chuy was jealous. After lunch, I was in charge of clean up. Domingo claimed his stomach hurt, but he still had enough energy to spray me with water. Johan warned me not to start something he would have to finish. Roxina and Fernando sat cuddled up to me on the couch until I got too hot and pushed them away. Rosalina was working on writing. She sounded out words she'd never written before; I was so proud of her! After my time-off I actually had a few minutes to talk with Rhonda until dinner. During dinner clean up we ran into a problem that exhausted me. Loren came for me right on time. He had to get gas and handed the man at the pump a large bill. The man accused Loren of having lots of money as he pulled out a wad of cash to find the correct change.

Tortillas, Volleyball, and Salt

Ana rolling out a flour tortilla.
Ana and I.
Rosa making corn tortillas.

The Yoders' puppies... in their cute stage.

I like this picture; it looks like the puppy is giving the camera a "come hither" look.

Sunday, June 14, 2009.

Good grief. I can't even remember this morning; it feels so long ago. Let's see... I went prayer walking before I came back to help set up for church and help with lunch. Roxina, MariChuy, and Fernando sat with me since Suzanne was sick. Carla, Tita, and Uriel also sat on our bench. Therefore I was distracted for most of the service. Rod had the sermon about the second commandment: idols. When we dropped off the villagers in Mochiqui, Loren went to visit someone and Janessa, Ricardo, and I were left in the truck to wait. Bella discovered us and she and Ricardo had a little spat. After lunch, I emailed and tried to sleep... but it was just too hot. So I settled for laying on my back and "relaxing my brain." A crew from Mochiqui came along to the San Pedro service. Good thing too, because not many of the other attendees did. The San Pedro service was very relaxing. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Rod dropped me off afterwards and I smelled popcorn before I rounded the corner to the house. I was so hungry!

Monday, June 15, 2009.

Maybe I ate too much last night. Whatever the case, I was awake long after I turned out the light... thinking and thinking and thinking that I wishing I wasn't thinking. When I woke up, I laid in bed and didn't check my clock. If I would have, I might have noticed that I'd set my alarm for p.m. instead of a.m. Whoops. I got ready really fast. After breakfast was the 1 and 1/2 hours I've set aside for my weekly torture... er... verb study. I actually enjoy studying again; after doing it for 16 years of my life, it becomes habit I guess. Then I went to visit Vanessa's family. There were a million things I would have rather done. One of the scenarios I imagined was crawling into a bitter Illinois winter and curling up in flannel sheets and thick blankets and a mug up hot chocolate on my nightstand with just a bit of soft Tchaikovsky in the background. But there I was at the gate under the blazing Mexican sun, squinting in at the inhabitants and realizing the power they had over my emotions. We did a lot of sitting and not so much talking. Alejito charmed me with adorable smiles. After lunch, I hid out in my room with lemonade and chocolate covered coffee beans. We had a typically hot ride to San Pedro for Kid's Club. Reina's dog wandered around under the van seats and kept bumping into my legs. I gave her a soft kick to remind her that under no pretenses did I enjoy her sharing hair with me. Only four boys came to class. I couldn't blame the kids that didn't come; it was so hot, who would leave their houses unless held at gun point... or unless they happened to be persistent missionaries? While Rod read the story to the class, Guillermo leaned over and whispered that he remembered the story from the Jesus film we'd shown in San Pedro. That was encouraging to think that this little six-year-old still had images from Jesus' life in his mind. I helped him and Juanito to memorize their verses. This is how my study session went with Juanito: Together- "Amaras al Senor tu Dios con todo..." Juanito- "...tu alma." Me- "tu corazon." Together- "y con toda..." Juanito- "...tu alma." Together- "...y con toda..." Juanito- "...tu alma." Me- "tu mente." At least he'll know to love the Lord his God with all of his soul, if not his heart and his mind. When we left, Rod put on a blaring Southern Gospel CD and away we roared. Ana stopped by to see me in the evening. It was a good distraction from my boring evening routine. Her visit really blessed me and I didn't do anything else worthwhile all evening... besides shower (very worthwhile!).

Tuesday, June 16, 2009.

I bought groceries. I had to walk uptown to get vanilla. I made cookies, did my laundry, and stamped tracts. I made red rice and bean burritos for lunch. That meal always reminds me of Stacey. *sniffs*. I had a list of things to do on my time off, but I opted for laying on my back, staring at the ceiling, and listening to music. It was relaxing. We passed out tracts in Aguajito and Colexio. Only a few people from the orphanage came due to the flu making its rounds. The new girl, Margarita, and I passed out tracts together in Colexio. She so quiet and I pretended that I didn't know much Spanish... okay, not really. We did talk a little. On the way home, I had one of my moments again when I just look at the kids and mourn their lost childhood... their unhappy years they can never reclaim. Thinking about what humans do to other humans just makes me angry. But praise God that they are in a better situation now and surrounded by people who love them! We got home, hot, sweaty, and dirty. After dinner, I found Lindolfo Reyes (a Choix politician running for Congress) on the Internet. I played the video clip over and over again until we all had his theme song running through our heads.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009.

I woke up several times during the night with the realization that the evening had not cooled off. Then morning came and instead of the forecasted "scattered thunderstorms", we had "scattered electricity." Finally it made up its mind to stay off for awhile. It was suffocating in the house without fans. I told Donna that "I should NOT be literally dripping with sweat at 8:30 in the morning!" The air was thick. I went shopping and found that all of Choix was out of electricity. I mailed a letter. Poor Diego was practically suffocating in the hot little office as he waded through stacks of undelivered mail and a line of customers. I told him, "Ojala que tenga un buen dia!" (I hope you have a good day!) and he said "Your Spanish is good!" Inflated with pride, I marched out of the office, confident that my Monday morning "torture" was finally paying off. I shopped around a little and bought myself a coke. I don't even like coke, but it was so hot that I needed one. And, yes, I understand the fine line between "need" and "want." I talked on the phone and tried to finish up my "to do" list as I ate junkfood. Right before prayer meeting, I ate a large salad and went for a short walk to make myself feel better; my conscience was temporarily soothed. After prayer meeting we picked up Santos on our way to Mochiqui. He was walking, apparently left behind by the orphanage van. I asked him a few questions regarding his behavior and why he was walking. We had almost reached Mochiqui before Sergio and Jorge clambored onboard. Santos and Jorge motor-mouthed all of the way into the village. "This village looks a lot like a little village called Mochiqui that I visited once." When they saw Jorge's grandma and cousin: "That lady looks a lot like my grandma. That girl looks like my cousin!" Back in Choix, Donna made smoothies, which I am currently enjoying.

Thursday, June 18, 2009.

Happy anniversary Dad and Mom! The storm last night cooled off the world again. Our backyard has a lake. Caleb wanted to dig a hole and have a swimming pool. Lenn took me to the orphanage. Going through the valley was chilly; I'd forgotten what it was like to be cold. I took over lunch prep. The day was difficult... Rosalina and Roxina just found out that their brother was killed. It was hard for them to deal with the thought of never seeing him again... even in eternity. Suzanne creatively helped me create a dessert. In the afternoon, all of the kids went up to the dorm to have school. The house was blissfully quiet. I sat in the house and talked with Suzanne and sipped on some iced tea. A truck load of visitors came to visit Margarita. Debbie took care of them while Rhonda, Suzanne, and I hung out in the air-conditioned bodega for our time off. Eventually I emerged to entertain Chuy and help Suzanne with a task I'm not going to write about... (because I don't think he knows yet and I'd rather he not find out via my blog). I tried to throw dinner together while dear Debbie was still entertaining Margarita's visitors. We ate leftovers. Chuy was fussy. He ate a ciruela, part of a mango, and a pitaya (I didn't stick around to see the after-effects). Then came the rain. It poured and a liberal, cool breeze wafted through the open windows and doors. Chuy wanted to play in the rain and was upset when I pulled him out of it. When Lenn brought me back into town, the Yoder family was sitting on the front porch in the dying light. No electricity. I took a cold shower by candlelight and had just decided to go to bed when the lights came back on.

Friday, June 19, 2009.

I thought this morning would be a good morning to ride bike. Fat chance. No morning is ever a good morning to ride bike! The outside air was cool... but muggy as I soon found out. I wasn't dreadfully hot, but I was dripping with sweat by the time I got to the orphanage. I got a late start on the laundry and had nine loads to wash before lunch. Margarita left with social services just before lunch to return to her home. I ate lunch while feeding Chuy his beans and rice. I went straight into time off. When 3:15 p.m. rolled around, I was relaxed, cool, and ready for the next step of my day... making tortillas. I walked to Mochiqui and was all sweaty by the time I got there. This humidity is worse than the dry heat! I sat and talked with Ana for a while as she showed me her drawings. And then we moved under the awning to the "kitchen" to make tortillas. I had to endure the eyes of her parents and her sister as I made my first attempt at flour tortillas. They laughed at me, and I did my best just to laugh along. Ana rolled out perfectly round tortillas; I rolled out Africa, Asia, and Antarctica. One was so bad that Ana's sister, Rosa, hooted with laughter and carried it over to show her amused mother. Jesus and Julio (Ana's boyfriend and brother respectively) also stopped by for a little to add some amusement to their day. Regardless of all of the ridicule, the tortillas were delicious. But standing around a fire in the hot and humidity, I was soaked. But then came a cool breeze and then the rain. Some of the little Mochiqui girls stopped by and we played in the rain. I helped with making corn tortillas and then we walked to the orphanage for "power fun night" (fun night with the church). After we ate, we played volleyball. Janessa and I were on Carlos' team and he gave up on us after several games. He claimed that his leg hurt, but soon he was riding bike and then playing for another team. The night was fun and I was very tired by the time I collapsed on my bed.

Saturday, June 20, 2009.

I ate tortillas for breakfast and felt like a true Mexican. After class we all piled into the van. I had Tita on top of me, Roxina blocking the window breeze on one side of me and Rhonda and Chuy tight against my other side. I was so hot, but I made it. We worked on getting lunch ready and keeping Chuy out of trouble. Just before lunch, Johan radioed to ask if the boys should bring pitayas down for lunch. I thought Rhonda was running upstairs to ask Lenn, and I told him so. Then: "What is she, your servant?" "Pretty much!" I replied happily. Rhonda told me to boss her around once the boys came down. So while Johan was sticking the pitayas in the freezer, I yelled, "Rhonda! Get outside and give this to the dogs!" Both Rhonda and Johan burst out laughing. "You can't even sound mean when you try to!" Domingo whined about everything during lunch clean up. I had to take care of an issue outside on the back step after I chased a curious Miguel out of the doorway. As soon as the boys were gone, another issue arose. I was weary of problems, but hanging out with the girls and Fernando brightened my day again. MariChuy and Roxina were drinking salt water. I let them go until Roxina started dumping more salt into her water. I started a mini-lecture: "Salt is not good for your veins! Salt goes into your blood and your heart gets tired of pumping salty blood and it will stop and you will die!" Roxina gave me a terrified look before both she and MariChuy dashed to the sink and dumped their salt water down the drain. Quickly, they rinsed out their cups and drank several glasses of clear, fresh water. "Nos asusto la Tricia!" (Tricia scared us!) the panting Roxina exclaimed to Maria who was laughing in the next room. She said her heart was pounding wildly and still looked a bit wide-eyed. I laughed and laughed. The kids got their candy when "Gronda" (as Roxina calls Rhonda) got up. Roxina wanted more than her share because she claimed that the candies were small and "like vitamins." She gave me a guilty smile when I laughed at her. I love that girl! I took my time off with some iced tea. I helped finish dinner after my time off. Roxina didn't put any salt on her sopa fria and I had to check and make sure that her heart was still pumping. After dinner clean up, I played a quick game of soccer with Domingo and Roxina. I was goalie. When Domingo came in to score, I kicked the ball away from him. Without a defense for the other team, the ball bounced merrily along and straight into his goal. After he left, Roxina, Fernando, and I played volleyball. Eventually Maria and MariChuy joined us. We had tons of fun although most of our time was spent in fetching the ball from various places of the property. We were still playing when Loren and Donna came to pick me up.

Alice in Wonderland, Ice Cream, and Tuny Gravy

Clockwise: Roxina and MariChuy dancing/ Fernando and Dietrich on the swing/ Domingo, Rhonda, and Miguel working in the kitchen/ Domingo "not crying" while he cuts up onions.

On SUNDAY... not enough sleep... Uriel and Tita sat beside me... Ricardo and his mom came... I fed Chuy ciruelas and got some happy grins as juice dripped down his chin and onto his shirt... pazole and cebiche for lunch... lots of people from El Tepehuaje for San Pedro service... heat, dust, wind, sweat... Fransisca told me I was more "gorda" (fat) than I was when I first came... home again, home again jiggity-jog... Caleb thought the "Allison Chronicles" was "Alice in Wonderland": "Isn't that were she goes down into a hole?" "Huh?"... Loren thought that "Charlotte's Web" and "Alice in Wonderland" were somehow connected... I give up...

On MONDAY... Caleb called me grumpy... felt grumpier after being called grumpy... Spanish verbs, verbs, verbs... Yo cantaria para ustedes si no tuviera gripa... Yo queria que en que Santos se quedara en silencio... confiscated Janessa's book to make her do her schoolwork... Vanessa's house... off to buy groceries... back to Vanessa's house... leftover pazole for lunch... heard scraping at our bedroom door... Janessa investigated to find David with a collection of wood pieces he'd peeled off of our door... so so HOT!... long hot ride to San Pedro... small class... entertained by Fransisca's funny comments and stories... read my book the remainder of the evening.

On TUESDAY... grocery shopping... made cookies... did laundry... no hamburger at SuperChoix... made chili and cornbread for lunch... dishes... emails... passed out tracts... Miguel and Dietrich brought sticks to ward off attacking dogs... Dietrich's stick was almost a club... "Take the tract or answer to my stick!"... Roxina insisted on passing out tracts with "Chutcha" (me)... down a street... the wrong street... "Whorps!"... didn't meet up with the others until they'd formed a "search party"... kids played dodgeball afterwards... Jesse and Miguel had ciruela dodgeball in the tree with flying fruit... salad for dinner...

On WEDNESDAY... Janessa laughed at me when I ate Golden Grahams in bed... read and journaled at the plaza... went to visit Lupita for her 18th birthday... emails... chicken for lunch... talked on the phone... napped... iced tea... laziness... was still eating chili as people arrived for prayer meeting... chicken curry from Suzanne... prayer meeting... left immediately afterwards to take Lupita out for ice cream... chocolate/cappuccino/vanilla/cookies 'n' creme ice cream... talked... pictures... went for a walk...

On THURSDAY...smoky kitchen... Kedric: "Why is the kitchen always so smoky when we have French toast?" Sheepish Loren: "Probably because I make French toast."... at the orphanage... groceries on time equaled lunch on time... bad attitudes and resolved issues... being a "witness"... time off in the same room as Suzanne equaled lots of talking... cut up potatoes... took Chuy and Jeffrey for a wagon ride... they enjoyed watching the world go by through the hole Chuy discovered in the bottom of the wagon... Scott's tuna gravy... fed Chuy his rice... he saw me getting his bowl ready and tottled off to his high chair... smart little kid... ate pitayas with Chuy sitting on my lap... he loves pitayas... got home to find a box from Aunt Kelly waiting for me... such a blessing for the end of my day!!!

On FRIDAY...climbed on the bike and suffered my way out to the orphanage (note: "climbed on my bike" does not mean that I actually rode it all of the way to the orphanage)... watched the little boys cut up vegetables for lunch... watched Domingo "not cry" as he cut up an onion... mounds of dirty laundry and eventually clean laundry... "danced" with Chuy, Roxina, and MariChuy... taco salad and then the bike ride home... hot hot hot... time off... new girl came to the orphanage as a "temporary" placement... Mochiqui with Maria... visited Ana... studied with Carla and Tita... ate at the taqueria with the singles... decided it might be awhile before our tacos came since they were still cleaning up the grill... street meeting in our front yard... live music compliments of Rod's music class, Julian, Fransisca, Loren, and Lenn...

On SATURDAY... were finishing up with breakfast when we let the first kids in... had some help setting up tables and stools for class, lol... good class minus Roxina choosing me to hold the posterboard song... hot ride to the orphanage... made lunch and did clean up... tried to help Margarita, the new girl, find her place in our routine... fought emotional turmoil while listening to one of the kids reveal a tiny piece of a stormy past... "how can parents do that to their kids?!?"... time off... made dinner... solved arguments... entertained fussy Chuy... dinner clean up... played with the kids... home again...