Updates....

I think I might be adjusting finally. Maybe. At first glance, I thought this city was pretty much like any American city you could live in, except maybe even safer. But every day I´m learning how different it is. Everyone takes a 3 hour break in the middle of the day, and then goes back to work or school only to return at 7 or 8 at night! And then only to eat dinner at 8:30 or 9, right before bed. This is probably the hardest thing for me to get used to. Although I´d love an hour siesta in between my classes, 3 hours is too much. Aun los dulces son diferentes aqui (Even the candy is different here). When I got to my afternoon class, my teacher greeted me with, "Buenas tardes. ¿Te gustan dulces?" (Good afternoon. Do you like candy?) I responded with a yes of course and she proceeded to empty a bag on the table with lots of candy. Take note: Only one candy in the entire bag was NOT spicy. Weird. Who likes sweet and spicy together? Mexicanos...

Anyway...tonight I´m babysitting los niños while Yazmin y Pompeyo go out to a movie. Apparently they do this every Wednesday. This is fine because I have a lot of homework tonight anyway. I never realized the challenge of babysitting kids who don´t speak your language. I´ll admit..I got onto FreeTranslation.com to figure out how to say, "What did I say? Please stay in your bed!" (Which, in case you´re wondering, is "¿Que dije? Por favor, se queda en la cama!") I think I finally got this across to Sara (she´s 5). And David cried and cried and cried, but is finally asleep. Again, it´s hard to tell a baby who doesn´t understand English to lay down, hush, be quiet, close your eyes, etc.

Tonight at dinner, Sara told me that she has a nickname for me: "Te llamamos Dora la Exploradora; tu hables español, y mucho ingles tambien!" ("We call you Dora the Explorer; you speak Spanish, and much English too!") I thought that was special. :)

I took lots of pictures today, but just of Jenny Beth and Co. and the school. Someday I will take pictures of all my teachers and of mi familia tambien.

Oh! My friend Kristen (Olsen, for those of you that know her) emailed me today and told me that she found out I was in Chihuahua for the semester and thold me that she is in Chihuahua too! She is in the city of Parral, which is about 2 1/2 hours away from Cd. Chihuahua, teaching Enlish at a school there. She´s already been to Chihuahua 3 times since July, so the next time she comes, we´re going to get together. Or I might take the bus out there, because I hear it´s very safe and direct. This made me really happy to know I have a friend from home so close to my new home. My friend Craig is studying in Mexico too, but he is in Merida, which is way south in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Classes today were frustrating as usual, but I can tell I´m progressing. It just takes me a long time to think about it. I think tomorrow I´m going to ask my host parents to only speak to me in Spanish (they feel bad because it takes me so long to communicate, so they let me speak in English).

I made my first plans to do things outside of school today! (You have no idea how happy this makes me...I prayed last night that I would either be content with how things are, because let´s face it, there´s no changing it, or that God would give me something to look forward to...other than day in and day out of class.) So...on Friday night, I´m going with Yazmin´s sister Sonja, out with some of her friends (Sonja is 21). And on Saturday, Yazmin, Sara, and David, and Jenny Beth and her kids, and I are going to a big park in the city and out to lunch. Saturday night, Jenny Beth and Tommy are having me and Dwayne (the other student) over to their house for dinner. On Sunday, we are going to church and then to a birthday party. And next weekend, I think Jenny Beth, Tommy, the kids and I are going to drive out to a small town called La Junta, that´s like due east of here. Jenny Beth worked with a church there over spring break and she wants to go to it again. So that will be a fun little road trip. Then at the end of September when Jenny Beth´s husband, Benton, comes to visit, we´re going to take the train, hopefully, out to Creel and through the mountains to Copper Canyon. I´ve heard it´s amazing. Yay for plans!

Well, I must go do my homework now...I´m giong to try to do all of it tonight, even though my teacher, Judith, said it´s ok if I don´t get all of it done since I´m babysitting. Pues, hasta mañana!