El Ranchito

It has been a tough past few days.

I've felt a liiiiiiitle emotionally and physically drained. Which is never fun.

But let me tell you friends- there is a cure.

Camping!!!

What?

You don't agree? Well, I happen to love camping. I love being outside, and having a campfire, and sleeping in a tent, and getting away from the city.

So on friday night the 5 of us teachers, plus our other teacher friend Kristin and a bunch of our host families headed out to a family ranch about 20 minutes outside of the city.


I was really excited to just get away for a while and enjoy the un-cluttered lifestyle.

I won't lie though, camping has its downfalls.

Like:

• Being greeted by about 100 daddy-long-leg-spiders in the shed
• Freezing my toesies off at night cause I didn't bring enough blankies
• The teeth-brushed face-washed clean feeling doesn't really exist
• Sometimes, no matter where you sit, the campfire smoke always finds you

The food we ate was pretty interesting though.

Mexicans like hot dogs. They call them 'salchichas' here, and its kind of their replacement meat. They use it on sandwiches and put it in their eggs, and do all sorts of other things with them. They ALSO use them while camping. Kind of chalky tasting, but it helped keep the camping spirit alive.

My awesome ingenuity at work.

Branch with 10 pokey things on it makes for excellent quick-time hot dog roasting.

Then I held a chicken

And rode a horse.

Jordan on his horse.

Carly, Abraham and me.

This kid is so funny.

He is constantly turning to me and saying "Cool, huh?" in a cute Spanish accent.

Then we took a nice drive to a nearby park to have our picnic. We ate rabbit. Kid you not, the stuff tastes like turkey. Sorry Thumper!

Awkward and Awesome Thursday

Sometimes it's easier to blog with a format. So I have decided to document this weeks events with a list of some awkward and awesome things that have happened.

Awkward

- I swear there have been more times I have walked into my family's bathroom (our 1 bathroom shared by 8 sometimes 9 people) and there being no toilet paper, than walking in and there being toilet paper. Exactly when do I realize there is no toilet paper? You can use your imaginations.

- Watching entire movies in Spanish

- Witnessing a crazed fan in a man thong run out onto the field during the Mexico, Bosnia soccer game last night on TV. Poor kid. Probably wasn't hugged enough as a child.

- Hurricane like winds on the beach. You thought sand got everywhere? You don't even know..

- Parents who like to leave kids who aren't in our classes at our school. One day a mom left not only her 5 yr old who is a student, but also her 3 yr old who doesn't speak at all let alone english. She just left! We are not babysitters people.

-Realizing we were staying the gay district of Veracruz for our 4-day weekend

-Sitting in cars that are too small for you. Still fun

- Koreans in Mexico

- The weird corn thing with mayo and chili powder that people eat here. Not sure I'll be brave enough to try out that delicacy

- Explaining the difference between 'see' and 'si'. We have a 'No Spanish' rule in my class so every time I say "See?" they all gasp and point there fingers at me. Children are good at making you feel similar to a leper. 

- Hearing my sister and brother speak really fast in Spanish while throwing my name into their conversation at least several times, then when I pop my head up and say 'Huh?' they insist that they were talking about their 'friend'. I'm white kids, I'm not stupid. 

Awesome

- Coconuts cut fresh with the juice still inside. It is absolutely delicioso

- Being called bonita (beautiful) everywhere I go. I tell ya, you can endure a lot when the whole world seems to think you're attractive

- Conversations with my group. It's funny because most of us have very different communicating skills, so watching two people try to explain something simple to each other can take a few minutes 

"What's golf?"

"The game we played yesterday"

"We played golf?"

"It's a game, that's just what its called."

"I know, but what kind of golf are we playing?"

"The card game from yesterday."

"Ohhh. That golf."

other party " Wait, what's golf?"

. And the rest of us just laugh. 

- Coconut popsicles

- The amount of Birthdays we have while here- 5!! And a party for every one.

- Our lovely 'Office' calendar, which is now on the month of February- Phyllis Vance. "I don't trust you Phyllis.."

- English institute class. I am going to have so much fun going to Church when I get back and understanding what people are saying.

- When my kids catch onto a concept I'm trying to teach. Best. Feeling. Ever.

- Emails from family, missionaries, and other people I love.

- Punch dancing on our roof. Carly and I have very unique methods of releasing aggression.

- Fresh mangos for breakfast. Be jealous everyone.

- Our Happy Mexico playlist. Just to give you a little taste, we have M.C. Hammer, Tarzan Soundtrack, Shakira, and Brian McKnight as a few cast members. 

- Decorated fruit. Don't you want to just dive into it??? No? Oh, just me then.

these People

Have you ever gone on a trip somewhere?

Well, duh.

BUT

Have you ever gone a trip somewhere, and the thing that made it most incredible wasn't so much the place you went or the things you did - it was the people who you were with?

I myself have had many trips like that. My family and I went on quite a few roadtrips back in the day and took some pretty cool vacations every once in a while that I'll always remember because my family is just fun. They make me laugh a lot. And I enjoy laughing.

I've also had trips with friends and college roommates which are unforgettable.

Like last Fall my roommates and I took a road-trip to Montana for our other roommate, Trenna's, wedding and it was a BLAST! It was the most fun 9 hour plus some change drive I've ever had because I was with my best friends. And lemme tell you, it's impossible for us not to have fun.

Me and my lovelies outside of Trenna's reception in Montana.

So now I want to take a second to talk about these people...

They are kind of my favorites right now.

Jordan, Kate, Cryshel, Carly and I have done lots of bonding since being here. 

Kind of hard not to considering we spend all of our time together and there's only five of us, which we kind of love. 

But I'm sitting in a hotel in Veracruz right now with these four awesome people and I am just very appreciative of the following things:

1. That we're all such different people, personality wise, but we somehow get along seamlessly

2. That no matter what it is we do we have fun together. 

3. We play scum (pee-on) daily.

4. There's enough of us that I feel safe, but not so many that planning or doing things is a hassle

5. We all run on pretty similar energy clocks so there's no disputes about whether we need to take naps or hit the town.

6. Everyone plays an important role in this group dynamic. Everyone is needed, and not having one person there just makes whatever we are doing not as fun.

7. In case you are wondering what this group dynamic is, I will sum it up for you: 

Kate is our head teacher, therefore our leader. She speaks Spanish the best of all of us and is very good at getting things done and making things happen. She is small, but very tough and is really bothered when Mexicans try to take advantage of us. She is open to all sorts of people and opinions which makes her an awesome leader. Plus she's also very motherly and likes to make sure were taken care of.

Cryshel is our walking encyclopedia. She is studying to be a teacher and she is going to be the best teacher ever, because she seriously knows everything. This has come in handy and is so entertaining in so many ways. She also is the one with all of the crazy-fun ideas that none of us would ever think of, and is always good for a story when we're sitting around wondering what to do with ourselves. She's a gem.

 Jordan (the only male, which obviously means he is extremely patient if we get along so well) is our fun-guy. He can make a joke out of anything, therefore make any somewhat not-so-fun situation much lighter and even funny. He has a very go-with-the-flow attitude but he's also really good at making plans for us. Plus it's very assuring to have a 6'3 guy walk with you everywhere in Mexico. Really, it's nice.

Carly is our peacemaker. She dissolves tension and puts everyones wants before her own, while still giving logical opinions for us all to consider before we make decisions as a group. She is also very funny. Its been really fun for me to see Carly be completely herself around people other than my roommates, because seriously the girl is a crack up. I don't know many people who can make you laugh just by looking at you. She's also the mediator which makes her a good person to talk to for everyone. 

I would tell you what my role is, but I honestly have no idea. I feel that my role has merely been to just enjoy all of these people and their personalities while seeing and doing some incredible things in Mexico.  And lemme tell you- it is one great role that I play.

I love my group!

And yes. We are always this goofy.

My Month in Mexico

It has been exactly 4 weeks from today, Thursday, that I have been in Mexico

Give or take a few hours.

My brother Nate recently came back from a trip to Tokyo, and will soon be going to Singapore for another business trip this week. He and his wife Jessica (who is currently carrying my very first ever niece!) have a cute little blog about their adventures in Chicago that Nate occasionally posts on. He posted a Lessons Learned blog about his experience in Tokyo so I thought I would steal that to document things that I have learned in the past 4 weeks that I have been here.

1. The Spanish word for 'tired' is one letter off from the word that means 'married'

I can't tell you how many times my Dad has tried to get me to say 'I'm married' as opposed to 'I'm tired'. He thinks it's the funniest thing in the world. I also can't tell you how many times I have mixed those up in public settings. I have decided to just stop telling anyone that I am tired.

2. You always eat more tortillas than you think you are

Our family eats tortillas with every single meal here. It doesn't matter what we're eating, there has to be tortillas on that table so you can put whatever your main entree is inside of the tortilla and stuff your face. You may think that you've only eaten one when actually you might have just put away 10 of those small little flour demons.

3. Don't take anything personally.

If you are light skinned and don't have dark hair in Mexico- you are going to be stared at. It's just a fact of life. If you are light skinned, don't have dark hair, and have blue eyes- it's worse. I have decided to just take this as a license to do any sort of silly, random thing I want whilst walking on the street because they will still continue to stare at me the same as if I hadn't done anything at all. It's kind of liberating...

4. When someone whistles, it does NOT mean you should turn around.

I feel this doesn't need an explanation

5. Leave the seller someone irked.

If you see a trinket at a local market that you really really really want- you should always leave having paid less than they initially tell you. They start the prices out really high any way, so if you are able to get the price low enough that the seller seems a little peeved, that means they made far less of a profit than they wanted. It doesn't mean they didn't make one,  you just got a good deal.

6. Get really good at taking 2 minute showers.

I have this down to a science now. Because if I am lucky enough to get a hot shower, I am never naive enough to assume it will stay that way. I wet my hair in the sink first to save me that thirty seconds of soaking my head. Forget about doing those little extras like washing your face or brushing your teeth. 

* I am so grateful for shower shoes.

7. Over prepare, and then go with the flow.

Teaching has been one of the funniest experiences of my life. My kids are SO adorable, and I love them to pieces. But one thing I realized quickly is that lessons rarely go exactly how you plan when you are teaching English to 6 year olds. One class I had that was supposed to be about Big Cats and Little Cats somehow turned into a 10 minute game of Bubble-gum. Don't ask me how. So I immediately came to the conclusion that the way I initially planned on teaching wasn't going to work out. I had to plan for every possible re-route or U-turn that my lesson could take, because when your teaching method is based purely on the concept of speech- it can run wild. So I decided that even though the preparation would take longer than the actual class, it was worth it to see a class that went smoothly and was filled with good conversations. 

* I have a little girl in my class named Aylen. Whenever I ask her a question and she gets it right, she does a cross over her body then kisses her hand and puts it towards heaven and says "Oh! Tank you teacherr.". One of the cutest things ever.

8. If a Mexican ever offers to make you a hamburger, LET HIM.

Last weekend we went to see the Pyramids in Teotihaucan

Anyway we had to get up at 2 to catch our bus and we didn't get home until about 8. So, needless to say, we were STARVING after. So we went to this cart close to our school and saw this guy making hamburgers! They didn't look very exciting at first, until he proceeded to put salsa, jalapenos, diced carrots, bacon, ketchup and mustard on top. I realize this might repulse some people, but lemme tell you- it was heaven.

9. Sometimes, all you need is a hug.

It has been a crazy experience being here. The culture shock, the distance from America, trying to get my handle on teaching kids who speak a different language, sometimes even trying to figure out which bus to get on is a huge struggle. I have probably only cried once, but I have had several times where I just think to myself, "What am I doing here?" 

Needless to say my other group members have had their moments as well, and my roommate Carly has been a huge asset to adjusting to this transition. And one day I was having a really hard day, and my head teacher Kate just pulled me into a nice big hug. It was very familiar, and made me realize that I hadn't hugged anyone for a while! It's something I did all the time in the States (for all of you people recoiling at the mushiness of this subject, I'm sorry, I'm emotional like that). And it helped a TON. 

10. You can never have too many cathedrals.

They are everywhere. Especially in city centers (which are called Zocalos here), they are on every corner. A lot of them have incredibly beautiful architecture, with really elaborate designs and murals and such- most of them depicting Christ being crucified. 

They are all beautiful in their own way, but you know what Church I still love most? 

It's the one with the little room that I meet in every Sunday with just enough room for about 40 people. 

The one with very little decorations on the walls.

Where I sing Hymns that I don't understand very well.

Where I get a hello and a handshake from every person I pass.

Where even though I don't understand the words, I still understand the feeling.

The one with some of the most humble, faithful people I have ever met.

And the one that I plan on sticking with for as long as I can fathom.

This is my Church. And it's the same in any country.

And that is the only consistency that I need.

So, here is to a great month of lessons and many more to come. 

Love you all,

McKenna

Did you know

that Mexicans don't waste anything?

I mean seriously, when it comes to cooking or storage, or any sort of domestic thing- they know how to re-use things. 

You know how Americans always have one of those cupboards filled with tupperware and somehow there's always a million lids missing, and it has to be organized every month because you just need so many tupperwares to store your food in?

It doesn't exist here.

All food that is stored or refrigerated is held by either a yogurt container that the family has gone through, a used jar, or the wrap that it came in in the first place.

It's a no-hassle, no-tupperware world I am living in. 

And you know what, I don't think it has anything to do with the fact that more families can afford niceties like that in America, or that tupperware isn't as well-known here. I think that the Mexican family community just realizes that there is a necessity in everyones lives to make sure that nothing goes to waste.

Do you know what my kitchen garbage can looks like? (Everyone quickly visualize the monster in your kitchen with the fancy lid that you have to step on in order to open it)

Mine looks like this.

That little grocery bag is my garbage can.

And you know what?

It's perfect for this family of 7 PLUS 2 American english teachers.

Amazing, isn't it??

I'm not saying I would successfully be able to adopt this sort of lifestyle back in my homeland, but I definitely think it's a quality to be admired. 

Far Overdue

Wow.

It has been one of the craziest weeks of my life thus far.

I have been going through some intense culture shock people, an yesterday was rooouugh.


I felt like going and sitting in the Wal-Mart just to feel closer to America.

But it's okay because guess what?

Today is Sunday!

Why do I love Sundays so much? 

Well let me see...

It's not just that I get to go to Church and be sprititually edified, no matter WHAT language I am listening to...

It's the peace and quiet of many other people and homes revitalizing themselves for the week ahead and contemplating on the past weeks events.

It's the meal that is near if not the exact same as every Sunday, and the feeling that you can never ever escape of being absolutely FAMISHED when you come home from Church (fasting or not, you come home from those 3 hours of meetings and you head straight for the box of cheez-its)

It is the family walks, and games and time that is spent to just forget the rest of the world and enjoy the awesome gift we all have of being here.

A Sunday in the Cruz home:

- Carly and I wake up at 7:45 to get in the shower

-Carly gets out of bed, I don't

-The shower is occupied so Carly sits and waits while I catch up on snuggling with my blanket

- We realize that this someone in the bano is having a bad hair day, can't shave well, or REALLY likes to brush their teeth so we clean our room and pick out our outfits while we wait (while doing so realizing that living together has caused us to start dressing a little bit like twin sisters..)

-Hallelujah! The door to the bathroom is open so Carly sneaks in and hops in the shower while I brush the teeth and wash the mug

- We get dressed and load up in the van to go to our 9 o'clock church

- We read other literature during the Sacrament meeting (sriptures, preach my gospel, ensign etc.)

- Sunday School= repeat sacrament activities

- Today our sunday school teacher asked if we could read the verses she asks us to to remain "part of the class" I give her an example of me reading a verse in Spanish. She gets it.

- I make a goal of learning more Spanish 

- Intently watch the passion and conviction that is our group of women in Relief Society. I don't care that there's language barriers, I know exactly how these women feel about the Gospel and being members of the Church. It is a wonderful thing to see in a tiny, cramped, cold space of a room. Talk about inspiring examples? Tyra Banks cannot even touch the word fierce in comparison to Mexican women.

- Go home and stub my foot hard core stepping over the metal door frame. There was blood.

- Watch while stunned as my sisters and cousin rush me to the bathroom, stick my foot in the sink, wash my grody toe, put a cotton alcohol swab on it and band-aid it to perfection. Total. Sweet. Hearts.

Thanks so much for documenting this Carly Kay. You're a gem.

- Mess around with Carly in our room taking pictures.

- Then we all make dinner together, and just like last Sunday Carly and I get to make the orange juice!! We really like this job. Even if it is a way for our madre to get us out of the kitchen and stop saying "Necessitas ayudar? Necessitas ayudar?" Which means, need help?

HA! I think she looks kinda funny in this one.

Love ya Berg.

Pops showin us how its done.

-After we have stuffed ourselves to the brim with chicken, beans, tortillas, salsa, and the best guacamole you have ever tasted, we all take long nice siestas. 

-Wait, that might have just been me.

- THEN my favorite part of the day! Carly, Dad, Mom, Melany, Frida and me (grammar?) took a nice Sunday walk up up up the hill to this bad boy 

Puebla is the Capital of the state of Puebla, but this is just a Church and they're everywhere

- Our parents are adorable. So we stalked them up the hill.

 

-Finally got to the top of the hill

- Frida was trying to show off her push up skills so I thought I would join and make it a little competition.

-Victory! Age makes no difference.

-Playing hide and seek with the little sisters. Totally fun.

- Just some good ol' nonsense on the way back home 

So that was our Sunday, and now we are about to go eat a small dinner. 

If you will excuse me, I have to go and roll out some tortillas for my meal.

Because that is what people do in Mexico.

I'll tell you all about this little beauty down here next time :)

Missing and loving you all!

First Day of School

I've got my lunch pack packed, my boots tied tight, I hope I don't get in a fight. Ohhhhh back to school

Name that movie!

Greetings everyone from my humble room, which looks like this...

Soccer posters of our brother Alonzo's adorn our walls. This is technically his room but he goes to a private LDS school in Mexico City and is away most weeks.

Our closet space and end of the bunk beds.

That's right. BUNK BEDS!

So fun.

Mine is the top bunk (the nicely made one, eh em Carly) and of course our Office calendar currently featuring Dwight K. Schrute.

No better way to feel at home then have Dwight stare at you while you're sleeping...

Lesson planning.

First Day of School!

Today was the first day of meeting our kids and introducing ourselves to what we are going to be spending most of our time doing here. The kids were absolutely adorable, albeit a little shy with a fresh batch of new teachers, but they were so well behaved, it was wonderful! This is Carly and I before school started, in our awesome teaching polos.

And after school ended and we had cleaned up. I said it was great, I didn't say it wasn't tiring..

This is Carly's classroom on the top floor of the school. She teaches the youngest batch of kids, mostly trying to get them used to speaking English, not as much comprehension as it is practicing the muscle movements and memorization.

My classroom is downstairs in the kitchen area. Our school is quite small, and doubles as a living space for our local coordinator Moroni (pronounced Moronee here) so we work with the space that we have. I will put up more pictures tomorrow of my school and the past few days we have been here.

My class roll:

Aylen

Cesar

Constanza

Luciana

Diana 

Gerrardo

Aranza

Gerlinda

My job is teaching the kids to read and practicing their functional fluency. The better they speak, the better they read so we go back and forth between word skill practice (consonants, digraphs, phonograms and prefix/suffixes) and activities that require extensive discussion.

Lesson planning is turning out to be a little bit more challenging than I expected, but its honestly a blast. I love teaching the kids, but its just so hard not to be friends with the little munchkins! Seriously, they're adorable. I would put pictures up, but I don't want to get sued or anything..

Fun fact: Saying goodbye to a group of people takes about 20-30 minutes because you kiss and hug each individual before you go. It is very endearing.

Fun fact: You ever head the "If it's yellow let it mellow.." phrase? That applies here.

Fun fact: I am going to get fat from all the scrumptious-ness that is served in this home.

Zumba, anyone?