My Mexican Church

La Iglesia Betel

Diego, Laura, Me, Betsy and Emily in IHOP!

Hola amigos! I just want to talk a little bit about my church here and how it's been such a blessing to me. 

I, along with other WIM members attend La Iglesia Betel (Bethel Baptist), and it's about 15 minutes from my house in taxi. I don't know much about denominational beliefs in the States, but apparently Baptist is a lot different from the EV-Free church I grew up in. But more on the differences later... Anywho, they have different services, but my favorite is the Saturday night youth group. The people at Betel are awesome! They make an effort to introduce themselves, and I've already made a ton of friends (shout out to Alex, Luis, Samuel, Memo, Luise, y los demas). One guy who has gone out of the way to get to know us is Diego. He drives us places and always invites us to events. We have played volleyball together (with his dad too), eaten at IHOP together, and he even is gonna play at Vesper's tonight. He truly is "el hombre". 

Obviously, Betel is way different than what I am used to. But that's part of why I love it! Obviously everything is in Spanish, but that has made me concentrate and improve my comprehension skills. Next, the services are over 2.5 hours long every time. I was sitting in church an hour and a half in and couldn't help thinking about how the people at my home church would be wanting to go home or giving the pastor signals to wrap it up. Now I'm not saying it's a bad thing to have a certain schedule for the service every Sunday, but it's just cool to see how many different things go on in addition to the service (altar calls, prayer requests, sit and stand many times). No one is in a hurry to leave, making it a more sacred time in my opinion. It's a very nice looking church in the middle of a rather poor neighborhood, but it definitely is a light in the community. Furthermore, as far as I can tell (some is lost in translation), it's a very Biblically based church. This is why I love my church!

Activities throughout the week:

*On Monday, about 10 WIM members had the opporunity to Skype Westmont's first year chapel and tell them how great abroad programs are. Watch it: http://vimeo.com/75921429?utm_source=email&utm_medium=clip-transcode_complete-finished-20120100&utm_campaign=7701&email_id=Y2xpcF90cmFuc2NvZGVkfDg4N2JkM2Q5YzQyZmU3MWVkMWU3NTZmNTcxN2YzODZhODg4fDQ4NjUxMTJ8MTM4MDY3Mzg5NQ%3D%3D

*I watched Duck Dynasty in Spanish. 

*We found a hipster restaurant with cheap salads and great service (es mi mermelada!). 

*Gisela made me chicharon (pig neck or something), and it was the first food here that I couldn't eat. I just couldn't do it.

*On Friday, we went to another Gallos game: here's a picture after the first goal (apparently made SC Top 10!):

Now watch the goal! It happened in the rain too!: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCzTlglP-3A

*The bullfight we were supposed to attend on Saturday got cancelled (again). The picture above is us waiting to hear the verdict (after we paid 120 pesos to get there). All good tho. Instead, we ended up watching a movie and going to IHOP. In case you couldn't tell, I was really excited to go to IHOP (solamente en Mexico) and even more excited during the sugar rush after.
*I gave a 20 min presentation over Chiapas (in Spanish, por supuesto) and we helped out at La Cruz Roja otra vez :)

And an extra goodie for the faithful readers:

 unintentional Twin Day Friday :)

Zona Dos (y tres)

ZONA DOS (this part written on Tuesday)

What is Zona Dos, anyways? Thanks for asking, it's the second phase of culture shock, and definitely the least enjoyable. Picture a U: Zone 1 is the honeymoon stage, Zone 2 is the valley, Zone 3 is acclimating, and Zone 4 is being multi-cultural. At the beginning of this week, I, along with other members of the WIM group, entered the dreaded Zona Dos. I never thought it would happen but IT DID and without warning. A lot of things have lost their glamor to me, I am consistently physically and mentally exhausted, and I seem to be bothered by small things. I miss Westmont, my family and friends, hamburgers, putting the toilet paper in the toilet, country music, the beach (hence the photo) and the English language. These are all signs of being in phase two, and even though it sucks, I know it is necessary to become fully aware of the Mexican culture. To combat this dreaded disease, I have gone out and immersed myself in the culture rather than throwing myself a pity party in my room (those are never worth the effort, anyways). 

The following are my coping mechanisms:

 Wednesday morning, I played basketball with the team at the school we're attending. That night, we went to the taqueria that Juan (a friend we made on the street) works at. Such a nice guy. Got his e-mail and I hope we'll hang out soon. To get a taste of America, I went to Subway on Thursday and Saturday and attended "White House Down" on Friday night with three other WIM students. Finally, Sunday morning I played b-ball with Emily's host dad and 11-year-old brother.

The Turnaround (written on Thursday)

I am no longer in zone 2 (PTL, Zona Tres es mucho mejor) and this is how it went down: On Wednesday, I had a DIVINE time with God. I listened to Worship music in English, and just thanked God for everything He is doing/has done in my life. Also, to get my thoughts off myself, I prayed for others. I wrote a list about who I am in Christ, based off the book Victory Over the Darkness.  Then I took a nap. I felt refreshed physically and spiritually. 

Saturday morning, about 10 of the WIM members and I went to a Red Cross food drive to help out the Mexicans affected by the recent floods. It was crazy to see how many people (mainly kids) wanted to help out people they've never even met.

Anywho, I hope this blog sounded real rather than whiny. As little fun as zona dos was, I have so much to be thankful for in my life:

- I have a God who is watching over me and doing His will in my life. All of these light and momentary afflictions are making me into the man God wants me to be.

-Mary (our team leader/professor) is AWESOME. She always cares about how we're doing and is very quirky at the same time.

-I can't say enough about the WIM team. They are always so real and honest, and we get to share where we're at together. They da best. One of the members (Emily) just switched presentation times so I can have more time because I felt sick. How nice!

-Gisela! Great food and a great mother to me. We've gotten a lot closer this week.

-I have friends in California and around the world (Europe) that care about me :)

 This is me on the zipline in la Sierra Gorda.

Me and my friend "Gato".

La Cruz Roja! Going ham with Alycia, Maya, Erin, Irlanda, Jorgito, Emily, Luis, y Alanna.
 In Conclusion
Now that I am in Zone 3, I am no longer ignoring cultural differences (Zone 1) or being defensive and overly critical of them (Zone 2). I realize that they exist, that they are significant, and that I will like some and not like others.
Here are a few things that are different from in the States:
1) When passing a woman in the narrow sidewalks, the man always goes on the side closest to the street (I don't know if this is universal or not, but it's a good sign of respect)
2) There is a paradox in cultural roots. While the Mexicans celebrate their indigenous culture with festivals and dances, citizens with lighter skin are favored and an adjective used to describe something ugly or defective is indio.
3) The Catholics here are big on bloody Jesus. At first, the images of a battered and beaten Jesus on a cross were too graphic and made me uncomfortable. But now I see that they focus more on the suffering that Christ went through than Christians in the US do. With this in mind, some faithful church members walk over a 1/4 mile on their knees to Mass. Many arrive with bloodied knees.
4) Not really cultural, but movies cost less than $4 and the theater is nicer than those in the States. 

EL GRITO

This week's haps, yo

On Wednesday after class, Laura and I witnessed a protest against something or other to do with education (chants in Spanish are gibberish to me). Lots of passion involved.

Thursday night, about six WIM members headed to a club called 4-play (I was very embarrassed telling the cab driver) for Senorita ITQ, a fashion show for the university we are attending. After dancing for a bit, they started the show and we left. Nothing too crazy, but just a reminder that it's possible to have good, clean, family fun even in a club with that name.

Friday was nuts. It was Desfile de los Conchero, which has something to do with lots of people dancing through the streets in cool outfits. A lot of male skin shown this night. Demasiada piel para mi. I've included some pictures of that, very cultural. After that and some tacos, we saw fireworks outside Templo de la Cruz. Later (packed night, huh?) I went exploring through the city and found an awesome building. Don't believe me? Look at the pics :)

Saturday, I got to watch college football AND The Notebook in Spanish. I felt at home kinda. That night, due to some rather interesting circumstances, I had some good pillow talk with my Mexican mother... Good times with Gisela.
After church on Sunday, we fit 10 people into a Ford Focus (5 seater). We bottomed out at EVERY speed bump, but vale la pena, right? In the nighttime, a few amigas and I went to a nearby plaza to view El Grito, which is basically the 4th of July of Mexico. best. fireworks. ever. #vivamexico

Lots of Interesting Pics:

 Desfile de Los Concheros. Imagine dancing with that outfit for hours on end. JEFE (boss).

 Templo de la Cruz con fuegos artificiales

Thought I'd be artsy and get the moon in this one :) i think i GOT HEEEM!


If you like Worship in Spanish, check these out!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKqKKLqn3h8 (Sweetly Broken)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBN-eoAClRE (Oceans)

The Fat Saw (La Sierra Gorda)

 

What I Have Done with the Last 9 Days of my Life 

First, on Labor Day, we had four classes... FOUR! I felt very unpatriotic, but I guess I lived up to the whole 'labor' part. Then again, I don't think Mexicans really celebrate this holiday anyways. 

Anyways, this has been an awesome week, filled with events ranging from playing soccer with some ninos in the Plaza to chatting away with the owners of our favorite taco shop to visiting the Sierra Gorda (more on that later). Ben and I played volleyball with some guys from our church and I think we'll be spending a lot of time with them. 

All this is great, but rather  redbrick, and so now I digress (actually the opposite, but I really like using that word, it makes me feel smart) to reach a subject far more fascinating. On Friday, we left for the Sierra Gorda, a large mountain range in northeast Queretaro. We visited 3 of the 5 missions founded by Fray Junipero Serra.

 Sierra Gorda

First, we went to some ancient ruins, where they played Juego de Pelota (a ritual/ sport in which the winning team was sacrificed). Then we went to a HUGE waterfall (90 meters and rushing mightily). It was awesome to worship God, singing "Cuan Grande es Dios" under a flood of rushing water. His creation is beautiful, but the best thing is He still cares about a messed up piece of work like me. For me, this is a very humbling thought, and I've been reminded of it constantly on this trip.

 
The next day we hiked to Puente de Dios (God's bridge), another rushing rapid with a naturally formed bridge with water flowing underneath. That night was Karoake night, and let's just say I went a little wild.

Anywho, our third day we got to take part in a Prehispanic sauna and it was MAGICAL. We crammed 22 people into a large rock, where we sang worship songs for 45 minutes in sweltering heat. It dawned on me that we can worship God wherever we may be, EVEN in a place that feels like hell. But seriously, no matter what the situation may be, we have a God that is always with us (no matter how distant we may feel). 

The final day we got to swim in a 78 degree river with a rope swing. It was an enjoyable time for all. Shortly after, we got to ride a 100 meter zipline across a canyon of 700 meters depth. It was not as scary as it sounds, but still a good time. 

Overall, this was a great weekend trip. I learned a lot about God's love for us and how artistic He was/is with His creation. Also, the team got to bond through real talks on the bus and pillow talk too. The group is so honest with each other, and I think that will put us on a good track for the next three months!

Pictures!

 Laura pondering something while looking over ancient ruins.

You can't really see how tall (90 meters) or powerful (very) the waterfall is from this picture, but it was pretty crazy, just trust me. 

 The "Puente de Dios"

 

Cristiano with a waterfall in the background.

 

Here is the Mission of Conca, the smallest but also my favorite. 

La Mision de Conca, mi favorito. 

 I'm back in Cali!

 Inside the mission of Jalpan, with Erin and one of my new friends right behind her.

A Prehispanic tree turned cell tower. 

Some Fun Facts

1) I'm on YouTube!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awVcS6G2H64
 Check out minutes 1:08 for the serious stuff, 1:34 for a shaka, 1:52 for some dancing, and 2:53 for some more dancing with Benjamin
 2) Four of my fellow Westmonsters and I watched the US-Mexico soccer game in an Irish pub. The US won 2-0! Kinda awkward when we started to cheer after an American goal but we walked away unharmed :)

On a scale of 1 to serious, this is PRETTY SERIOUS

Warning: this post might be a little deep coming from my mouth (or fingers that are typing), so hold on tight or just skip to the pictures:

Reflective Thoughts

Since we've been here about two weeks, one particular theme has stuck out to me: THAT WE STICK OUT. It's unreal, you would think that we're a traveling circus by the amount of stares we receive daily. For fun, I counted and found that 9 out of 10 passing cars stared at our group of 4 gringos.

But more than just the superficial self-confidence/slightly offended duo that this has caused me, it has really changed my view of minorities. You see, growing up in San Diego and attending Westmont have meant being part of the majority my whole life. But for the next 3.5 months, I will live life through the eyes of a minority group. I'm praying it opens my worldview and gives me compassion for those that don't fit in, whether it be social differences, racial differences, religious differences, or the such.

Even in only 15 days here, I can tell my sympathy for minorities is changing to empathy. I'm not being persecuted here like many minorities throughout history have, but I finally understand what it feels like to stick out like a sore thumb. This isn't a bad thing; actually I think it'll change me for the better in the long haul!

This Week's Events

This week was as close to normal as it will get. No hiking, no encounters with the police, etc. We all went out to an antro (nightclub) on Thursday night. It was lots of fun but not really my scene, especially when there are a lot of barrachos (look that one up hehe). On my way back, I saw a dead cat. It was so dead! If you want more details, read the bottom of this post (the P.P.S., not the P.S.).

My friends and I faithfully went to the same taqueria four nights in a row (6 times in 8 days). We're becoming locals there! The juice is out of this world.  

Last night, I attended Betel Bautista and attended a birthday party after with a pastor and a few guys from the college group. It was a time full of laughs and cultural mishaps. 

This morning, most of the group participated in the color run! It was a 5k run for funsies (aka not a charity run or anything, but rather purely selfishly motives) and about 10 people from our group participated. I even got a medal for winning! ...(or finishing, I forget)...

Anywho, in other news, we made international news!!! check it out if you dare.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8SllWXaZ7U (around 1 min mark)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzQ_Sz-mmlw (first few seconds)

Everyone's Favorite Part of the Week

...Looks like I don't have a future in sculpting but it was worth a try. Prehispanic ceramic (unintentional rhyme)

 The locals (minus Laura and Betsy) at "El Lugar".

 THE COLOR RUN! This is Benjamin (ben-ha-mean), but he's actually really nice.

 I couldn't keep my moves on the ground, so I decided to utilize them on stage. Looks like I was the only one really feeling it when this picture was taken.



P.S. By the way, I plan to post every Sunday, just in case you plan your week around reading this life-changing blog.

P.P.S. The cat (warning: pretty graphic scene depicted here): It was a full-grown cat, and it was by the sidewalk, blood everywhere, with one really big eye. I almost stepped on it :/ poor guy, what a bad day. Just a reminder of the fragility of life, even when you supposedly have seven of them.