Nomad no more…well…almost

For the past two weeks I was home in Texas for my school’s two-week spring break (Semana Santa- Holy Week).  Instead of traveling around Mexico during those two weeks, I thought it would be smartest to take a quick flight home to do wedding plans for two weeks.  I have put it off since arriving in Mexico in early January, so it was the best decision.  We got a lot done (thanks Mom and Mark!), and it was really good to spend a little extra time at home with family.  It was my first Easter at home since beginning college.

Currently I am cramped on an American Eagle flight back to Guadalajara (computer in my lap with my Diet Pepsi and pretzels tucked neatly behind my computer screen on the flimsy table- the seatback in front of me is of course fully reclined) for my last week at Lincoln School.  I am going back care-free as I have finished teaching and will be observing and doing little teaching.  This is part of the “phase-out” process so the students aren’t shocked when they jump back to their real teacher.  I’m thankful I have a week to spend with friends and saying proper goodbyes.  I will miss my students very much.  It feels so unnatural to spend 4 months with people and then lift out of that world and plop down in another- like a stuffed animal in those over-priced prize machines with the metal drop-down claw.  I truly feel like I’ve been living a nomadic life the last few years, but more so this last year.  China, PA, OH, TX, Mexico…all places I’ve spent significant amounts of time (Texas being the least) in the last year.  It’s exciting and fun with all of the changes, but I still hate goodbyes.

Is this nomadic lifestyle coming to an end?  Yes, but not until the end of July.  I am excited to say that Mark accepted a job as the Director of High School Ministry at Hope Community Church in Andover, KS (located just East of the thriving metropolis of Wichita- sarcasm).  In all honesty, I am thrilled about moving there.  Though neither of us had considered Kansas in our grand plans for the future, the church is a wonderful fit for Mark’s abilities and giftings.  The staff has been so warm and welcoming to me already.  It will be an adjustment, but one that we are both excited to make.  I am looking for teaching jobs, and thanks to the church I have been given some great connections.  Unfortunately teachers are being laid off left and right, so I might have to find alternative employment opportunities if I don’t get hired.

This next month and a half will be bittersweet.  Enjoying my last week in beautiful Guadalajara, but saying goodbye to wonderful friends and such gentle and loving students, spending a few days in TX with my family, flying up to CU (can’t wait to see my dear friends), GRADUATION (sad, but EXCITING!), taking my last trip as a single girl to NC with my gal pals from CU, spending time with Abbey in Indiana, driving up to Mark’s graduation from Trinity in Chicago, then helping him move out and back to Pennsylvania where we will spend time with his parents.  A lot of goodbyes these next 6 weeks, but I’m ready to finally be married to Mark and finally end the saga of long distance once and for all!

Thanks to each one of you for praying and keeping up with me.  You have been such an encouragement to me.  I am so grateful to have such loving family and friends- I don’t deserve it, but I am grateful the Lord has blessed me with each of you.

I’ll post one last update next week after finishing up here in Guadalajara.

Love,

Sarah

Three blondes :) Cara (my brother’s girlfriend), Kimberly, and Sarah

Cake tasting…mmmm!

Mark’s 25th birthday!

Dinner with Elizabeth before the break

Mini Olympics, Arabic Tacos, and Flag Salute

We’ll start with Arabic Tacos- I went out with my cooperating teacher last night to get Arabic Tacos.  The little restaurant had murals of camels on the wall…haha!  Anyway, they were pretty good…meat (no idea what kind), lettuce, onions, etc all rolled into a flour tortilla.  Sounds pretty normal I’m sure, but tacos here are usually really really small CORN tortillas with a small pile of meat on top.  They are very different than tacos we normally eat in the US.  Anyway, it reminded me of Chipotle a little the way the taco was rolled up.

This week our elementary students had “Mini Olympics” on Wednesday.  The whole day we were at an outdoor exercise club.  This club had soccer (futbol) fields, numerous pools, a track, playgrounds, etc.  It was really big- think acres.  We had a torch lighting ceremony at the beginning (don’t worry- it was a foam cut-out of a flame), and then a few different events that the students could compete in.  There were 100m hurdles (they were small ones) and a regular 100m dash.  There was also a throwing competition as well as a jumping (long jump) competition.  As for me, I was paired with another student teacher and two other teachers (both of whom did not speak English) and we were in charge of timing the 100m hurdles and 100m dash.  So, for 4 hours, I timed little kids races.  My nose is still sunburnt  It was a lot of fun though, but I was ready to be done by the end.  At the end of the day, they had a race for teachers.  Our school has a good amount of young teachers, many are in their 1st year out of college.  So, there were about 6 of us girls lined up for the 100m dash.  Being the competitive person that I am, I knew I had to give it my all…especially since all of my students were watching!  I was in the lead the entire race, until the last second when my cooperating teacher beat my by a nose!  She’s a soccer player so I wasn’t too crushed, but it was really fun that the two of us came in 1st and 2nd for the race.  All of our students were debating who won…it was fun for them to see their teachers run.

On Thursday morning we had our monthly Flag Salute.  This is a Mexican school tradition where students dress in military garb and parade the Mexican flag around.  The anthem plays, and they also say their pledge of allegiance.  Because Lincoln is an American school, we also show respect for the American flag and we sing the national anthem and say our pledge.  I always feel really patriotic during these times  At Lincoln, they take the ceremony a step further by doing fun little skits after we show respect for each flag.  Different grades and classes will put on these skits each month.  However, this month at the end of the skit, the school administrator/principal began to say, “We’ve been blessed to have some people serving here the last few months, and they are nearing the end of their time here.  We’d like to honor and recognize each one…”  Needless to say, I started getting really embarrassed…and I had to walk up in front of the whole school!  My roommate was at the Flag Salute and just started laughing because she knew how embarrassed I’d be.  Luckily there were two other student teachers from Columbia University at Lincoln, as well as a volunteer from the US.  The other three girls leave this coming Friday, but I’ll be here until April 17.  Even though it seems like I will be here a lot longer, I really only have two weeks of school left.  I will be going home next Saturday for Spring Break.  Their break here is 2 weeks long, so I decided to go home during that time to work on wedding stuff (I’ve put it on a back-burner since I got here) and hang out with my family.  I fly back to GDL on April 10, I’m at school that last week, and then I say goodbye to Mexico for good and fly home April 17.

This past week has been good, but I’ve actually been a little bored!  I was used to teaching full-time, and then Mark was here during that time, and then this week my teaching schedule was cut in half.  Next week I’ll just be teaching 1-2 classes per day- I am not used to all of the free time!  I am trying to be proactive and work on Cedarville requirements during this time.  I am viewing my time in Mexico as “the calm before the storm.”  Graduation, marriage, moving…somewhere.  Lots of changes coming up, so I really want to soak in this time!

Thanks for keeping up with me- I feel so loved by you all!  Looking forward to seeing you CEDARVILLE people soon!  April 22!!

~Sarita

All the students lined up to march in a mini-parade at the beginning of the day.

My fellow student teacher, Sheila.

My cooperating teacher (AKA soccer super-star), Marin, and me during the race.

On the downward slope…

I cannot believe that I am done full-time teaching now!  Yesterday was my last day of full-time.  It was such a good last day.  In Reading class the past two weeks we have been studying and writing poetry.  At first the students had a difficult time, but they really rose to the challenge and I was astonished at what 5th graders could write.  I explained to them at the beginning of the unit that writing poetry will not only help expand their English vocabulary, but that it is a way that we can express creative thoughts and ideas.  God has made us with a desire to create and long for beauty, and poetry is a great way to develop those God-given abilities.  So, yesterday during Reading we had “Miss Miller’s Poetry Cafe.”  The students brought in pillows to sit on in class, and I had drinks and cookies.  All of the students shared 3 poems from their books with the rest of the class.  Needless to say, the kids enjoyed themselves (mostly because of the cookies I’m guessing!).  It was a great celebration, and it marked the end of me teaching Reading class, so it was a good note to end on.  Cutting out Reading will really pear down my schedule which is a relief!

We have a three day weekend this weekend which is wonderful.  Mark left really early this morning, which is a bummer, but in two weeks our school has Spring Break, so I will be going home to TX during that time.  I will actually get to see Mark during that time because he is speaking at a youth retreat at Pine Cove (camp in Texas about 2 hours away).  This is actually the same camp that I worked at 3 summers ago, but one of their other locations.  Anyway, our trips will overlap and we get to spend an entire day together.  Saying goodbye isn’t as hard when you know you will be seeing each other relatively soon.

This Monday I plan to take a day trip to Chapala, a city about an hour and a half away from Guadalajara.  This city is known for a number of things, but it has beautiful surroundings, good shopping/food, a large retirement population, an American school, etc.  I am not exactly sure what to expect, but I am looking forward to exploring with my friend Hannah.  She is a volunteer at Lincoln, a Junior at Edinburg in Scotland, and has been one of my biggest spiritual encouragers while I’ve been here.  She was saved about a year ago, and her passion for the Lord is so challenging and encouraging to me.  Because she is British, we joke about me having to learn her language (she’s got the British accent).  I have to ask her to repeat herself all the time.  She also uses all of those little British phrases, so we have good laughs about those as well.  It’s been fun discovering differences between British and American culture and talking about different stereotypes.  Anyway, she is a great travel partner and friend- I’ll give you an update on Chapala sometime next week.

Attached are some more pictures from this week.  Here are the highlights:

Tuesday: went to a Lucha (Mexican wrestling).  If you’ve seen Nacho Libre, you would have appreciated the experience.  It was so dumb, but very funny.  Mexicans actually get really offended if you say that the whole thing is fake, and they don’t believe it!  I find this hard to believe…

Wednesday: Went to a student’s house (Nathaniel) for dinner.  His parents are missionaries to the area from Jersey, though his mom grew up in a remote village of Guatemala during her younger years.  They are an amazing family, so fun to talk with, and easy to relate to.  Their son is probably one of my favorites in the class (oops! Can I say that?!), and this was the second time I’ve been to their house for dinner.  It’s so nice to feel like part of a family for a few hours

Thursday: Parent-school.  Parents from Lincoln came to the school at 8:00 Thursday night to hear a short sermon from a local pastor and to meet with teachers.  This is really neat because a lot of the parents of students are not Christians, so it is a great witnessing opportunity.  I had met a lot of the parents during parent-teacher conferences, but I was able to meet a few more that I hadn’t met before.

Friday: last date night with Mark.  We went out for pizza (same place as last Thursday), and we just sat outside and chatted for a couple hours.

Love you guys!  Thanks for keeping up with me- I love hearing from you!

It’s been nice…

Mark has been here since last Thursday.  It has been so great to have him here.  Friday evening we went out for a date, and at one point I found myself tearing up.  It just felt so good to have someone with me who knows me, loves me, and I can just be myself with.  It’s been awhile since I’ve been able to feel that way here in Mexico.  Though I have plenty of great friends here, it is hard to develop deep and loving relationships in a matter of a few short weeks.  So needless to say, it’s been a HUGE blessing that he was able to come.

This is my last week of full time teaching.  It’s been a really good experience, but I find that I am wearing out a little, and getting ready to wrap things up.  I think this time here in Mexico has been the perfect amount of time.  I will be sad to leave, but I think I’ll be ready when it comes.  Having Mark here reminds me of the life that I have at home (Cedarville, Texas, etc.), and the life I have to look forward to.  It makes me anxious (in a good way) to start the next chapter.  But as for the next few weeks, I will be enjoying my life here in Mexico!

If you think of it, please pray for Mark and I as we continue to look for churches to serve in this coming summer/fall.  It’s an exciting time, but we will making big decisions and we’d appreciate your prayers!

You can see all of GDL from here.

A new culture…

By the title of this post, you may be thinking that I will delve into the deep topic of cultural differences, how I’ve interacted with them, adapted to them, etc.  This is not the case.  I would like to talk about the exercise culture of Mexicans.

Many Mexican women (and men as well) do not exercise as we do in the US.  As a result, there are not many places to exercise, and there is little emphasis on physical activity.  However, I was told about a gym that is a 10 min walk from my apartment.  I wandered over on Wednesday and found that a Spin class was just beginning.  Eh, why not?  Never having taken a spin class, I paid and found myself in the middle of about 8 HARD CORE spinning women.  I had a blast!  The class was very difficult (I must say I had to cheat a few times and lower the resistance instead of upping it), but it was really great.  Aside from the good exercise, I’ve found that when I go off on my own (don’t worry, Mom), I really am forced to try to communicate and use the Spanish words that I know and remember from high school (not too many…)  I learn best when I have these little outings and random “adventures” -if you could call going to a gym an adventure!  I went again on Friday, and I plan to make this a habit.

So, Week 7 out of 12 completed.  The end is in sight.  I have mixed emotions about it all.  One part of me feels that I am still just scratching the surface of life in Mexico.  I still have so much to learn, and so many things I want to experience.  At least for me, I want to explore Mexico, but I have been guarding my time as I’ve been busy with teaching preparations.  Because of that, I feel like there is still so much more for me to experience here before I can leave.  The other part of me likes knowing that I am wrapping up my last big “project” in college.  It is a good feeling when you know you are finishing up a requirement.  I will really miss the school here, its laid back atmosphere, and more than all of that, I will really miss my students.  They are wonderful, and they have brought me so much joy.  Though I can say I do NOT want to teach on the elementary side of my certification (4 and 5), I really have enjoyed elements of teaching younger students.  Since I have them all day, I am really able to get to know them better.  Since 5th is not a grade I would say that I am most effective as a teacher, this experience has definitely been a stretching and learning experience.

Since I’ve been teaching full time, I haven’t had too many exciting things to report other than the exercise class , but last night I went to a soccer game (Chivas)!  It was fun dressing up in the jersey, cramming 7 people into a 5 passenger car (I was on the lap of someone in the front passenger seat), waiting an hour and a half to buy our tickets, sitting in front of CRAZY Mexican Chivas fans, learning chants and cheers in Spanish, sitting right next to the only small group of opposing team fans, getting stuck exiting with the fans from the other team and getting cups of beer thrown at us, going out for a leisurely late dinner after the game…long night but definitely a fun cultural experience (minus getting sprayed with beer).  We also got on TV while waiting to get into the game.  I have to come all the way to Mexico to get on TV…go figure!

Love and miss you guys!  Mark comes Thursday- I couldn’t be more excited!!

Bev and I having a good time at the game!

We are excited to buy tickets!

Well, that’s a first!

Almost done with Week 6 out of 12.  It feels good to be at the half way point, but I am also sad knowing that it is half over.  I have really started to feel at home here in my apartment, and I’ve been learning a lot of new things.

I cooked this week!  For those of you who know me well, you know I am not too enthusiastic about cooking.  I decided to give it a whirl and this week I made beef stew one day and chicken fried rice the next!  I enjoyed myself, though I didn’t enjoy the clean-up process!  Though these are pretty simple meals, I felt like it was an accomplishment  Gotta practice up for Mark so he can have stuff to eat when we get married!

This has been a week of firsts.  My roommate is the Bible coordinator for our school so she plans the monthly chapels.  My class was asked to perform a song for chapel, so Elizabeth (roomie) re-wrote some lyrics to the Beatles song, “Let it Be.”  She thought it would be a good idea for me to play piano accompaniment with my students, so I brought a keyboard in to my class this week and have been teaching them the song.  The song is called, “Tell the Truth.”  It’s pretty cute, and the students are really enjoying themselves.  We’ll see how everything goes on Monday…I haven’t played for people since my last piano recital in 7th grade!  Talk about being challenged and stretched (in areas where I am pretty shy) here in Mexico.  Speaking of music, I also lugged my guitar to school today for a Science lesson on sound energy and sound waves.  My class begged me to play a song after the short science demo, so I obliged and played a worship song.  They were completely subdued after the song, and they asked me to bring the guitar in again for Bible class next week so we can all sing together.  So cute  I feel like Jack Black from the movie School of Rock!  Haha…

Here are some highlights from the week:

Sunday- I was able to participate in another Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child distribution.  It was cool because it was much smaller than the last one so I was able to be more involved with the children.

Monday- Sex Ed talk at school.  We had a special program for the girls…a tea time with their moms while one of the 5th grade teachers talked about all the changes they had to look forward to.  Since I was home-schooled for just my 5th grade year, I joked around with my friends about finally hearing “the talk.”  Haha!

Tuesday- I went roller blading at “Disco Roller” with my roommate- we played the limbo game with all the little kids.  I lost during the first round.

Wednesday- Went to my British friend’s (Hannah) house for comida with her host family.  Comida is the big meal of the day around 3:00.  It was delicious!

Thursday- I was a judge for the school’s pet show today!  So much fun!

Tomorrow is the 5th grade girls sleepover at my cooperating teacher’s house.  I am really excited!  We are leaving straight from school and we will have an evening full of pizza (YES!), nail painting, game playing, movie watching, pillow fighting, etc.  It will be a great night to bond with the girls.

That’s about all for now!  Love and miss you guys!

Oh the joys of eating Mexican food…

So I got sick. Yep- Montezuma has had his revenge… (for those of you who don’t know- ask someone or google it)

On a lighter note, two weeks ago was great. I got to go to the Science Museum I was talking about (Trompo Magico), and it was a lot of fun. The only scary part was that we went to an exhibit that did a “living with blindness” role play. Now, imagine me- supervising my group of 7 5th graders, and being in COMPLETE and UTTER darkness for 1 hr and 15 minutes. Not only that, but the guide that was leading us through different rooms that imitated real life situations (a busy street, a market, a forest, a boat ride, etc.), and she only spoke Spanish.  So I couldn’t see, and I couldn’t understand.  Even with the language barrier, it was a really cool experience.  It’s really weird to have your eyes open without being able to see a thing.  My students handled it great!

Two weekends ago, I went to Manzanillo- a beach a few hours away.  Two girls that volunteer at Lincoln came with me.  We bought bus tickets, booked a hostel, packed our swim suits and hit the beach.  It was wonderful- unfortunately this is where I got sick.  I must have had something that had bacteria.  After a trip to the hospital when I got home from the beach, a day of throwing up, a day in the bathroom, and 5 days of antibiotics, I’m feeling almost normal again.  Ha!  This past week has been somewhat of a blur with the sickness and getting back to school after a long weekend.

This past weekend my dad came in to visit.  We had a great time seeing parts and pieces of Guadalajara, hiking up a big hill near my house, and going to see Avatar in 3D.  It was really great having him here.  Unfortunately I didn’t get to give him a lot of Mexican food as I was still a little gun-shy.  He did have tacos last night, and the restaurant had a TV so we watched the last 10 minutes of the Super Bowl (not that I was too concerned with seeing it).

I’m full time teaching now- it’s amazing how much more work it is, but I am enjoying it.  I started teaching Reading today, so now I’m up to Math, Science, Bible, and Reading.  Luckily my students are pretty cooperative, so that makes teaching a lot easier.

Thanks for the continued encouragement.  I am really enjoying my time here, and I can’t believe I’ve begun Week 5 out of 12!  It’s flying by.  Just a few short weeks and Mark will be here!