It's been one week since we got back from Zapotitlan, and what a week it's been! September 16 is independence day and a pretty major holiday. Lots going on, lots to see. Mexico City is a great place to be all the time, but especially at this time of year.
I've been trying to write this post for a few days and haven't known where to go with it. I decided I have so many random thoughts floating through my head, I'm going to express them all here.
On Friday evening, there was a shooting on the Mexican metro. It happened on the same day I decided to ride it alone for the first time. There's an image from the news that keeps haunting me. The shooter was doing graffiti and when a guard asked him to stop, he shot guard. Everyone fled the scene. Except this one guy. I can't seem to shake the image of this man, he wasn't uniformed and I don't know if he was a cop or not. He just kept running at the shooter. Again, and again, even though he was apparently unarmed, he kept running at him. That man had to know he was going to die to save all those people. He had to know that eventually the gunman would shoot him. But all alone, next to the metro train, he charged at the man several times. I have to wonder what was going through his head as he laid down his life. Perhaps he knew some people on that train, but most he doesn't. It was possibly one of the greatest displays of love I've ever seen. Maybe he didn't know it was love, but it was because John 15:13 says Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Last night papa Roberto stopped me from putting something in the microwave because he thought I was putting something metal in it. I wasn't. Why would he think I don't know any better?
Because Ben is so smart, a certain Mexican who is learning English wanted to ask him if he got good grades in school. (I'm going to use a bad word, so if that offends you don't read the next sentence.) But the person mispronounced A's, and asked Ben if he got a lot of ass in college. I try not laugh when Mexicans mess up English, but that time I laughed hard.
Faith. I hear people say things like, "I wish I had your faith" or "pray for me because I need more faith." Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think faith is given out in quantities. I don't think one person has more faith than another. I think it's more like muscles. Like I have as many muscles in my arms as, say...Ben, but his are bigger because he has used them more. I think we all have faith, but you have to use it for it to get bigger. You can argue with this in all kinds of ways, but generally I would say if you think God is telling you to do something, take a step. If you don't have enough faith to go any further, take another step. If you're worried that God won't meet your needs, take a step to glorify him. Eventually it's easier to take leaps because you meet him at every step you take. Well, it's something like that. But that also doesn't mean I think you should run like crazy not knowing if you're in God's will. In those times, you need to seek his face. Well, all the time you need to seek his face like crazy!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Friday, September 18, 2009
Russian food and Mexican lights
Last night I got in trouble with my Mexican papa. Would it sound terrible if I said it was worth it? To me at least, I think my Mexican parents would say otherwise.
Recently my family acquired a new member. I now have sort of a host-brother. Previously, it was just my 3 sisters and I, but now we have Chucho. He's 19, a good friend of the family and a really good guy. He's starting college soon, and he'll be staying with us. I should mention Chucho doesn't speak any English, but he's going to learn.
Yesterday afternoon I told Chucho (which is a nickname for Jesus), in my best Spanish, that I was going to Insugentes to meet up with Ben & Eliezer, we were going out for dinner, then to Zocalo for a light show and asked if he wanted to come. He said he did, and around 5:00 off we went. It was a huge relief to mama that I wasn't going to attempt traveling alone.
We had no problems meeting up and getting to restaurant. The only problem was that sometimes I don't so much enjoy Ben's relaxed, we'll-just-keep-walking-around-and-around-until-we-figure-it-out nature. We ended up at a Russian restaurant, which was good. It's not a place a would rave about, but it's a place I'd go to again.
Once our tummies were full, we hopped the metro and headed to Zocalo. In Zocalo is a square that is described on a website as "massive concrete area signed with a giant flag". It has the the National Palace on one side, a cathedral on another, and city hall on another. Because Independence Day was 2 days before, the buildings in the square are magnificently decorated in lights, and there are people dancing, performing, and throwing lighted objects into the air. And, man, are there people. The four of us wiggled through the crowd and found a place close to the palace to watch the light show which is on the front of the palace.
Words can't even describe how magnificent the light show was. I feel to use the words light show doesn't do it justice. You are standing there, looking at the palace as it lights up and the facade seems to move in waves. Before you know it you're watching as flowers appear to have grown on the front of the palace, skeletons appear and dance, and it's turned into a huge aquarium, not to mention various other effects. Truly amazing, or at least that's what Chucho said. Ben videoed the whole thing but, obviously, the videos don't do it justice.
So, you're probably wondering where the getting in trouble part comes in. It seems that when the gringa and 19 yr old faux brother get home a bit after 11:00, it causes quite the stir. Sometimes it's hard to be grown and living by someone's rules. But I know it's my choice to either follow their rules, or find a new place to live. So for now I'll be a rule-follower.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Adventures in Zacatlan....or rather Tepango
Adventures in Zacatlan
This past weekend Eliezer, Ben’s roommate in Mexico City, came to visit us. It was so great having him here, I came up with the brilliant idea of extending our time together by going with him part way back to the city. From Zapotitlan you take a combi (a van that’s made to fit about 15 people[important info for later in the story]) to Zacatlan, then you get a bus to Mexico. For those of you who came to Zapotitlan on the church trip this year, Zacatlan is where we stopped at the gas station with the 7 peso coffee machine. The drive from Zapotitlan to Zacatlan should take about 1 ½ to 2 hours. This time the trip took 2 ½ hours. We arrived in Zacatlan at 5:45, the bus to Mexico was leaving at 6:00 and we were told the last combi back to Zapotitlan left at 7:00, but that we should get on at 6:30 to be safe. We went and bought some apples, said adios to Eliezer, grabbed some cheap dinner, and got on the combi that said Zapotitlan at 6:30, just as we were instructed. I also need to mention that it was raining and probably about 30 degrees colder in Zacatlan than Zapotitlan which we weren’t at all prepared for. I was started to doubt the choice we made to go with Eliezer and explained to Ben that when I come up with something like that it’s because I make irrational decisions based on the feelings I have towards the people I’m with, and that he shouldn’t let me get us into dumb situations. The funny thing is that he didn’t want to go, but I convinced him it would be a good and we would have fun. The benefit of the trip, up to this point, was that I had a cell signal for a few minutes so I checked in with mom & dad and got to check my email.
I hope you’re not bored by this story because I’m really having fun writing it.
The combi we were on left the bus terminal and sat along the street for maybe 15 minutes as more and more people got on. I tried to count, and by best guess there were about 28 people on the combi. Remember, when I said they’re made to fit about 15? Yeah, that’s a lot of people, but that’s Mexican style. Pastor Gerardo once said we were taking a Mexican car to church. I knew that meant there would be way too many of us in a car that’s way too small. In the states we might cram 5 into a compact car, but here a compact fits 10 easily. I digress…
The conversation between Ben and me in the combi was deep and good, but also emotionally heavy. I was started to feel pretty worn out by the rain, the cold, the bumps and curves, and just wanted to be home. We got to the town of Tepango and the driving informed us that we’re not going to Zapotitlan, we’re not going any further actually. I assured Ben, who never actually needs any reassurance, that Israel would surely pick us up and all we needed was a public phone. The driving took us to one and Ben checked where the hotel was, just to have a backup plan. That’s why I love travelling with Ben, he’s more generally more logical than I am. The public phone was in a store owned by an older man who didn’t seem to understand Ben’s Spanish, and told Ben he didn’t speak English when Ben was talking to him in Spanish. I found this situation to be pretty humorous. I pulled out my cell, got Israel and Aby’s number, and proceeded to give it to Ben who said it to the store owner. It’s not that I couldn’t have said it myself, but I didn’t want the responsibility of making a mistake. The store owner dialed the number and told us it was busy. Well, that’s not really a big deal because Israel and Aby are never on the phone very long, so we’ll just wait. For ½ hour we kept trying to call and the phone was busy. Ben bought burnt animal crackers to thank the man for his time. Around 9:30 we asked when the store was closing and the man said he was closing, so we left and headed to Tepango centro where the man assured us we could get a (I forget the term) pickup truck taxi (where you stand in the back) back to Zapo.
Centro consists of the municipal building, and a pay phone. I think this is just fine because we’ll keep trying to call Israel until we get him. How long can they possibly be on the phone, right? After walking a few minutes in the rain, and talking about how God’s blessing was not on our trip, we get to the municipal building. Someone is on the pay phone, so Ben commands me to “sit down and pray,” which I do willingly after calling Ben bossy. By this point, our moods have changed from similar to the rainy, cold weather, to jovial knowing full well that God will pull through and be glorified. We prayed and we waited. I would like to point at that at 10:00 at night there are not many people driving through Tepango, and hardly anyone on the streets in the rain. So, we’re kinda outside alone with just the guy on the phone and some random dogs. The guy finished on the phone and walked away. So I went to use the phone. But to use this type of phone you need a phone card. Well, we couldn’t buy a phone card because everything was closed. We had already decided that we would either get a room in the hotel, or sleep on the benches in front of the building and maybe some dogs would come cuddle with us to keep us warm. As we were standing there trying to figure out what to do, and man pulled up to the municipal building got out of his truck and went into the building. We greeted him, and I was hoping after seeing our poor, pathetic gringo faces, he’d offer some help. He went inside and returned a few minutes later with another man. Ben talked to them, and (I think) told them about our plight to get to Zapotitlan. They asked us where we’re from, if I’m Ben’s mom (what the freaking heck!?!??!), and other normal conversational things. All I added was “we need a phone” in my best broken Spanish. The man who arrived in the pickup offered to drive us to his family’s house so we could use the phone. Well, that sounded wonderful so off we went.
The house was probably a 90 second drive up the street, and the man driving said he’s the municipal president. When he said it, Ben asked something like “you are?” And I had to check with Ben to make sure I understood, so Ben told me in English what he said. The man said it again, more simply this time “soy Presidente Municpal” (sorry if my spelling is wrong). And I said “usted?” To which he confirmed it 1 more time to the seemingly dense gringos. We got to the house and called Israel one more time, just to find out that the phone was still busy. Well, that’s about it for us. There’s absolutely nothing left for us to do. I guess we find a hotel and call it a night. Or not.
The president offers for his chauffer to take us in his car. We were like, “really?” So we walk up the street a little further and get in the car with the president’s chauffer. After several “muchos graciases” from the gringos, the chauffer drives us back to centro to pick up a man at the municipal building, and we turn around head towards Zapo. The driver and the man (who I hadn’t yet learned the identity of) joke about the music they start playing and about not having and music in English. A few minutes into the drive we stop along the road and the chauffer disappears for a few minutes. While we wait, was ask the man his name he introduces himself as the Commander of the police, and shows us his police ID. Ben informs me that said he came along for security and I start to wonder what kind of trouble they’re expecting. Honestly, I also start to get a little nervous because Mexican cops aren’t known for their trustworthiness. (Ben and I just watched Man on Fire the other night.) The chauffer comes back a few minutes later with cds in hand. I’m starting to think all Mexicans thrive on music.
We had the most comfortable ride ever on our way back to Zapotitlan. And we couldn’t help but talk about how apparent God was in all of that. We arrived in Zapo, and let the chauffer know he could just drop us off in town, but he insisted on driving us to our door. Ben gave the driver some money, we said many more “muchos graciases” went inside and were eating animal crackers, Cup O’noodles (me) and cereal (Ben) and laughing about our adventure in no time. Even someone who says he doesn’t believe in God, had to admit that was God. To God be all the glory.
This past weekend Eliezer, Ben’s roommate in Mexico City, came to visit us. It was so great having him here, I came up with the brilliant idea of extending our time together by going with him part way back to the city. From Zapotitlan you take a combi (a van that’s made to fit about 15 people[important info for later in the story]) to Zacatlan, then you get a bus to Mexico. For those of you who came to Zapotitlan on the church trip this year, Zacatlan is where we stopped at the gas station with the 7 peso coffee machine. The drive from Zapotitlan to Zacatlan should take about 1 ½ to 2 hours. This time the trip took 2 ½ hours. We arrived in Zacatlan at 5:45, the bus to Mexico was leaving at 6:00 and we were told the last combi back to Zapotitlan left at 7:00, but that we should get on at 6:30 to be safe. We went and bought some apples, said adios to Eliezer, grabbed some cheap dinner, and got on the combi that said Zapotitlan at 6:30, just as we were instructed. I also need to mention that it was raining and probably about 30 degrees colder in Zacatlan than Zapotitlan which we weren’t at all prepared for. I was started to doubt the choice we made to go with Eliezer and explained to Ben that when I come up with something like that it’s because I make irrational decisions based on the feelings I have towards the people I’m with, and that he shouldn’t let me get us into dumb situations. The funny thing is that he didn’t want to go, but I convinced him it would be a good and we would have fun. The benefit of the trip, up to this point, was that I had a cell signal for a few minutes so I checked in with mom & dad and got to check my email.
I hope you’re not bored by this story because I’m really having fun writing it.
The combi we were on left the bus terminal and sat along the street for maybe 15 minutes as more and more people got on. I tried to count, and by best guess there were about 28 people on the combi. Remember, when I said they’re made to fit about 15? Yeah, that’s a lot of people, but that’s Mexican style. Pastor Gerardo once said we were taking a Mexican car to church. I knew that meant there would be way too many of us in a car that’s way too small. In the states we might cram 5 into a compact car, but here a compact fits 10 easily. I digress…
The conversation between Ben and me in the combi was deep and good, but also emotionally heavy. I was started to feel pretty worn out by the rain, the cold, the bumps and curves, and just wanted to be home. We got to the town of Tepango and the driving informed us that we’re not going to Zapotitlan, we’re not going any further actually. I assured Ben, who never actually needs any reassurance, that Israel would surely pick us up and all we needed was a public phone. The driving took us to one and Ben checked where the hotel was, just to have a backup plan. That’s why I love travelling with Ben, he’s more generally more logical than I am. The public phone was in a store owned by an older man who didn’t seem to understand Ben’s Spanish, and told Ben he didn’t speak English when Ben was talking to him in Spanish. I found this situation to be pretty humorous. I pulled out my cell, got Israel and Aby’s number, and proceeded to give it to Ben who said it to the store owner. It’s not that I couldn’t have said it myself, but I didn’t want the responsibility of making a mistake. The store owner dialed the number and told us it was busy. Well, that’s not really a big deal because Israel and Aby are never on the phone very long, so we’ll just wait. For ½ hour we kept trying to call and the phone was busy. Ben bought burnt animal crackers to thank the man for his time. Around 9:30 we asked when the store was closing and the man said he was closing, so we left and headed to Tepango centro where the man assured us we could get a (I forget the term) pickup truck taxi (where you stand in the back) back to Zapo.
Centro consists of the municipal building, and a pay phone. I think this is just fine because we’ll keep trying to call Israel until we get him. How long can they possibly be on the phone, right? After walking a few minutes in the rain, and talking about how God’s blessing was not on our trip, we get to the municipal building. Someone is on the pay phone, so Ben commands me to “sit down and pray,” which I do willingly after calling Ben bossy. By this point, our moods have changed from similar to the rainy, cold weather, to jovial knowing full well that God will pull through and be glorified. We prayed and we waited. I would like to point at that at 10:00 at night there are not many people driving through Tepango, and hardly anyone on the streets in the rain. So, we’re kinda outside alone with just the guy on the phone and some random dogs. The guy finished on the phone and walked away. So I went to use the phone. But to use this type of phone you need a phone card. Well, we couldn’t buy a phone card because everything was closed. We had already decided that we would either get a room in the hotel, or sleep on the benches in front of the building and maybe some dogs would come cuddle with us to keep us warm. As we were standing there trying to figure out what to do, and man pulled up to the municipal building got out of his truck and went into the building. We greeted him, and I was hoping after seeing our poor, pathetic gringo faces, he’d offer some help. He went inside and returned a few minutes later with another man. Ben talked to them, and (I think) told them about our plight to get to Zapotitlan. They asked us where we’re from, if I’m Ben’s mom (what the freaking heck!?!??!), and other normal conversational things. All I added was “we need a phone” in my best broken Spanish. The man who arrived in the pickup offered to drive us to his family’s house so we could use the phone. Well, that sounded wonderful so off we went.
The house was probably a 90 second drive up the street, and the man driving said he’s the municipal president. When he said it, Ben asked something like “you are?” And I had to check with Ben to make sure I understood, so Ben told me in English what he said. The man said it again, more simply this time “soy Presidente Municpal” (sorry if my spelling is wrong). And I said “usted?” To which he confirmed it 1 more time to the seemingly dense gringos. We got to the house and called Israel one more time, just to find out that the phone was still busy. Well, that’s about it for us. There’s absolutely nothing left for us to do. I guess we find a hotel and call it a night. Or not.
The president offers for his chauffer to take us in his car. We were like, “really?” So we walk up the street a little further and get in the car with the president’s chauffer. After several “muchos graciases” from the gringos, the chauffer drives us back to centro to pick up a man at the municipal building, and we turn around head towards Zapo. The driver and the man (who I hadn’t yet learned the identity of) joke about the music they start playing and about not having and music in English. A few minutes into the drive we stop along the road and the chauffer disappears for a few minutes. While we wait, was ask the man his name he introduces himself as the Commander of the police, and shows us his police ID. Ben informs me that said he came along for security and I start to wonder what kind of trouble they’re expecting. Honestly, I also start to get a little nervous because Mexican cops aren’t known for their trustworthiness. (Ben and I just watched Man on Fire the other night.) The chauffer comes back a few minutes later with cds in hand. I’m starting to think all Mexicans thrive on music.
We had the most comfortable ride ever on our way back to Zapotitlan. And we couldn’t help but talk about how apparent God was in all of that. We arrived in Zapo, and let the chauffer know he could just drop us off in town, but he insisted on driving us to our door. Ben gave the driver some money, we said many more “muchos graciases” went inside and were eating animal crackers, Cup O’noodles (me) and cereal (Ben) and laughing about our adventure in no time. Even someone who says he doesn’t believe in God, had to admit that was God. To God be all the glory.
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