The adventure started off in a kitchen in the Concrete Jungle, with six weeks of daily preparation of food.
It continued with a trip down south to my new home: an absolutely stunning country, a new language, a new culture; you know, all that good stuff.
As I began settling in to my new life,
I quickly became the object of much laughter here. As I struggle to master the arts of my new culture, trust me, there are plenty of slips and clueless moments to laugh at! My tortillas come out in odd shapes, I don't know exactly when and how to greet people properly, I am the new white girl in the village, etc. I knew that learning a new language was going to be, umm, interesting. I was right! :) I say funny things (although usually I don't even realize my mistakes till awhile later), I mentally construct my sentences before I say anything (yes, I miss talking!), I carry a dictionary and notebook with me everywhere I go, and I sorta gawk at people sometimes when their mouths create funny words/phrases that I am expected to respond to.
I am beginning week three of my stay in Guadalupe, where I am immersed in Mexican culture and Spanish. I quickly realized how difficult it is to communicate with someone when you do not have a mutual language. However, I also quickly discovered that when Spanish is all you have, Spanish is all you really need. Is it easy? No, not by any stretch of the imagination. I find myself feeling like I am a lone sailor in a vast sea. Like a turtle on a racetrack. Like a beach ball in the snow. Out of the loop sometimes, struggling for words most of the time, wracking my brain constantly. However, through it all, there is a complete peace that I am exactly where I need and want to be. Because He is my patient Father, I can face every single challenge, learn from it, and become a stronger, better person.
There are plenty of humour moments, like the time I was introduced to a bachelor relative of my host family, and promptly informed him that I really like him, instead of saying it was a pleasure to meet him! {insert blush}. I was kindly informed of my error a few days later, and was told that I had merely switched a few words around. Ah, the excitement of linguistics!
There was great excitement at "my house" the other day when a friend discovered an armadillo and brought it out to show us. I was looking at this strange looking creature, and asking about the Spanish pronunciation of the aforementioned word. Funny how "armadillo" and "amarillo" (the colour yellow) sound so similar. I soon found them laughing when I unintentionally began talking about the "yellow" on the ground. :)
I am being educated in many areas of life, like making tamales. *delicious*
My daily life right now consists of studying language and culture, basically. This consists of conversing with my host family, visiting their friends in the village, taking notes, studying my Spanish textbooks, and many other things. Along with this, there is never a shortage of kids around who want to play futbòl (aka Soccer), and a myriad of other things.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart for praying for me! I have felt it strongly, and praise God for what He is doing in my life and in the lives of the people around me. May you be blessed today as you recognize the opportunities He gives you to glorify Him. It's all about Him; it's all about His glory.
All is grace.
"But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Ex 9:16
