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.