Thoughts from Before.

>> probably from the spring-time. <<

"Am I a missionary? I didn’t consider myself to be one. I just move to a foreign country. I got a job as a volunteer. I'm loving Jesus and loving people like I would have anywhere else. It's just a different group of people with a different expression of needs. 

So if I'm a missionary, you are, too."

photo credit: erick garcia

this panorama was taken inside the gym. i am on the left. 

it was at my last "espacio" (NOE youth gathering). i was asked to share some words with them. so i did. i thanked them for the impact they had on MY life (and i did it by myself in spanish)! 

The Time in Between

Classes at NOE finished at the end of June and I left Mexico in the beginning of July.

at the airport// 4am

Then I spent a month with this good-looking group:

we went camping : )

The NOE Center has four years of "secondary" English. Upon graduating from the fourth year, students can apply to be on "The Dream Team" as exchange students to Portland, OR. (WOO HOO!)
It was a blast and a blessing to continue hanging out with them (this time on my "home turf" : )).

[Class Photos]

To some they were "Mexicans". 

Others called them "NOE students". 

Still others referred to them by the curriculum, "Green Book". 

But me? I called them "mine".

10 AM: The quietest ones.

(minus a few)

5 PM: The most confident ones.

 6 PM: The friendliest ones.

 7 PM: The most studious ones. 

"Oh, dear children, I can't believe you were mine..."

"My Thoughts on Traveling as They Relate to Costco."

<<I don't remember specifically when I wrote this. Probably a few months ago. I just found it. And if you take the time to read it, it will give you a clear expression of the state I had been living in. >>

Some people go abroad for a week. It’s an introduction to something foreign. Quick and exciting. You get to see the surface and experience the culture, without much commitment. Like the sample-tables at Costco. And this makes it fairly fun and enjoyable. Minus the diarrhea because your digestive system didn’t have time to adjust. (See: every spring break missions trip)

Others drop everything and move. Permanently. They have let go of one lifestyle and grabbed completely on to another. The day-in-day-out challenges that make you exhausted and dirty and some people think you are a crazy person, but to others you are a hero. These people are the ones that have invested in the Costco-sized jar of pickles, if you will. You only buy it if you are pretty darn certain you are going to eat all of it. Or die trying. (See: Hudson Taylor, etc.)

And then there is me. And this is what is tough. Really, the hardest thing. I am not “just visiting”. I’m not sampling. I live here now. But, at the same time, I’m not living here forever. There is a timeline. (I can’t eat all the pickles.) And so, here I am, somewhere in between hola and adios, and holding on to life in two different countries because I cannot fully commit to one or the other. And it breaks my heart.

"What a Coincidence!"

Potter likes dubstep and Chelsea does, too.

Vero is a teacher and so is Lainie!

Citlalli doesn't like to eat onions and Fany doesn't either.

Karen doesn't like basketball and neither does Carmen.

Ivan likes Barcelona (the soccer team) and Sara does, too. So does Armando.

Brenda likes "Pretty Little Liars" and so does Andres D. 

Litzy Alondra doesn't listen to metal music and neither does Andre A.

Glory likes milk and Dani does, too!

This is unit we are currently in. (The last unit!)

It is about "connectors". So. Too. Either. Neither.

And we also learned a new vocabulary phrase: What a coincidence!!

So bringing these all together is this lovely "tetris" on our little bulletin board.

What a coincidence! Look at all the things we have in common. : )

Slightly Neglected

"Why are you in Mexico, Lainie?" To teach English and love my students and the community.
"What is your blog about, Lainie?" My adventures in Mexico.

Which has been good. But selfish.

I have neglected to keep you updated on what WE have been doing in class and about THEM (my students).

The year is nearly over. But I might as well start now.

So, this happened : ).

I went back to the USA for a week.
A surprise for the birthday-graduate.
Way to rock it, baby sister.