One year!

Yesterday officially marked one year of being with the IMB. On August 15 of last year I was arriving at MLC in Virginia for 7 weeks of training before coming to Mexico for 2 years. It's hard to believe that now I am halfway through my term and only have one year left here in Mexico! Taking some time to read back through my journal from this past year I am amazed at how much my life has changed and how many amazing experiences I have had. I met some people at MLC who are now some of my best friends, I said what seemed to be a thousand goodbyes, I packed up 4 suitcases and moved to Mexico, I studied Spanish for 10 weeks in Queretaro and made new friends, I said goodbyes again and left Queretaro and moved to Guadalajara, I made new friends again, I moved into an apartment with a new roommate, I adjusted to speaking a different language and living in a different culture, and just recently I traveled to Thailand to see some good friends. Also reading back through my journal I noticed that the overwhelming theme was God's faithfulness. There have been some difficult days this past year, but through everything he has taught me more of Him and He alone has sustained me. I am thankful that I know Him more now than I did a year ago because of each experience I have had and I am excited to discover His plans for this next year.

After living in a different country for 10 months, some things become normal to you that would not have been normal 10 months before or that will not be normal when I return to the states in a year. I've attempted to make a list of some of these things, but it was a little hard since these things don't feel out of the ordinary anymore.

Normal now is....

-eating lunch between 3:00 and 4:00 and not eating dinner until between 8:00 and 9:00

-putting lime and salsa on everything

-going out with a group of friends and not speaking a word of English

-putting toilet paper in the trash can instead of the toilet

-going to the movies for $2.50 on Wednesday nights

-seeing public displays of affection everywhere you go

-guys making comments towards me, whistling at me, and honking at me innumerable times a day

-getting stared at constantly

-being the only white person in crowds of hundreds of people

-having no fear in casually crossing major highways with oncoming traffic

-leaving my house with plenty of time to get somewhere because I rely on public transportation

-standing shoulder to shoulder with way too many other people crowded into the aisle of the bus

-eating tacos and other food off of street carts

-wearing flip flops almost year round

-being late to places because everyone else is too

-always being prepared by carrying your own toilet paper and having to pay to use public restrooms

-seeing people begging

-tipping everyone including grocery baggers and people helping you back out of the

parking lot

-washing dishes by hand all the time....a dishwasher...what's that?

-forgetting english words for things and substituting the spanish word instead

-getting really excited in the grocery store when you find imported products

-rationing out imported items, like muffin mix, that people bring you from the states

-living in a city of 6 million people where there is always traffic and noise....not like back home where you can go to the grocery store and always run into at least one person you know

-walking down the sidewalk and not thinking twice if you see a rat cross in front of you

-having a supply of baby wipes to clean your feet with at the end of the day because they are black and dirty

-seeing every body part of animals for sale to eat....whether it be in tacos, in the market, or

just canned at the grocery store

Anyone in the mood for some ears?

-greeting people like you are giving them a kiss on the cheek

-greeting everyone when you enter a room and going around the room and telling every single person bye when you leave

-buying fresh fruits and vegetables at the market and soaking them in disinfectant before eating

Some of these things may sound weird, but just because things are different doesn't necessarily mean they are wrong. There is just a different way of doing things in different places. I have enjoyed getting to learn a different culture and feel like every day I still learn something new.

What hasn't become normal:

That living in Mexico, hanging out with students, and telling them about Jesus is actually my job! Every week I have days where I stop and think "Wow I really do live here!" and am amazed that God has given me this opportunity.