My first week in language school: a recap

In starting my first week I felt a lot of things. I felt scared, excited, nervous, hopeful, lonely, sad, and mostly felt overwhelmed. :) I felt too much! Hahaha 

God is so good. Right when I had reached the breaking point, I had just felt too much... He rescued me. :)

Classes started, and I began to get into a routine. Life seemed a little less scary. :) I relaxed, and began to enjoy the ride. 

I started taking everything in. Enjoying all the new places, the new people, the new experiences. :) 

This has been such an adventure! I was praying last night as I was falling asleep, just thanking God for taking me on this adventure with Him. :) How fun and exciting it has been going through this with Him, and how much I have learned. 

The truth is, He doesn't need me. He doesn't need me to do anything to further His kingdom. He doesn't need me to learn another language, or travel to another country, or care for my girls. He can handle it on His own just fine. :)

But he lets me join in. He wants to share this experience with me. :) Wants me to grow closer to Him, to go on this ride, holding His hand, and jumping off the ledge. 

At times (like...all times) I can be a bit of a control freak. :) More on that later. God has really been showing me (gradually, because He is so kind and gentle to me) that this life can be so fun. :) it can be such a journey, so overwhelmingly beautiful and exciting. If we just learn to jump first and think later. 

It takes trust. :) Confidence that we know He'll take us on a trip better than our best plans and wildest dreams. :) Trusting even when the plan isn't clear. Walking out when we can only see the next step, not the whole staircase. It takes being brave. (This absolutely does not mean not having fear. It means being scared to death, then doing it anyway. :)) It takes a complete change of mindset. It did for me, anyway. Counting every blessing (big and small), being grateful, realizing how insanely blessed I am, and truly taking time to thank God for that. 

I keep telling people so far in the first week of language school, the main thing I have learned is how much I don't know. :) It's good, but tough too! I have such a far way to go. 

I've had to work hard. Make really tough choices. I've had to persist when it seemed impossible. Push when I felt like I couldn't go on. The has been the best and hardest time in my entire life. I absolutely could not have done this without God. This past year I have been the most happy, sad, scared, and excited than I have been in my entire life. :) 

And boy, has it been worth every single second. :) 

Tu vs. usted- life lessons in Spanish (no pics)

Most people have heard some of the embarrassing stories of a life lived while learning Spanish. How I accidentally told my boyfriend (the very first time we met) that I was married, and then told him I was pregnant. 

How I have confused words and accidentally told a child I was... "Excited" when I intended to say it was rather hot outside. 

How I almost got kicked out of my Spanish class in high school because my lack of studying for an oral exam caused me to say a horrible word in Spanish instead of saying "shellfish" like the teacher had asked. 

I have (way too) many stories of how my misunderstandings or misinterpretation of words have caused me to say some pretty embarrassing things. Usually it involves messing up or mis-saying a particular word. 

On our field trip Thursday, I apparently had an entire day of mishaps.

You see, in Spanish, there are two different ways to say "you."

For example, if I wanted to say "you are nice," I could say:

"Eres amable." Using the "tu" form of the verb, indicating I have a close relationship with the person. 

OR I could say 

"Usted es amable." Using the "usted" version of the verb. This indicates that I have more of a professional relationship, or that I have not gotten to know the person well yet. It's also used for people older than you, as a form of respect.  

For some reason, I always end up using the tu form when talking...to anyone. Whether I know them well, or we just met. It's a horrible habit I've gotten in. I don't know if in my mind I just feel like everyone's my friend or what! Hahaha

But it's a bad habit I keep meaning to break. It can come off as very disrespectful. Or, as I soon found out....

Anywho, so on our field trip, I kept speaking with our guide, Arturo, in the "tu" form when I would conjugate verbs. I would catch myself and try to correct myself, but inevitably I would mess it up over and over again. Sometimes catching it, sometimes not. 

About 1/2 way through our boat ride, Arturo calls his brother, and asks that I speak with him on the phone. It was rather confusing, and I'm still not too sure I understood why, other than his brother spoke English. He did this not once, but TWICE. :/ 

Well Friday during class, my teacher Angelica  says, "well, now do you understand why it's important to use the usted form of verbs?"

I didn't follow what she was saying...

She explained," You kept using the "tu" form of verbs when talking to Arturo. For some men, this indicates to them that you are very comfortable with them... It's a way of showing interest. He thought you were flirting with him! 

Well my goodness!! :/ Isn't that embarrassing!! You better believe I will be doing my VERY best to use the usted version of the verb, ESPECIALLY when speaking to men! :/ lol

Lesson learned. And I'm sure there are plenty more to come. :)

And there is your Spanish lesson for today, folks. ;) 

Field trip: lagoon time

Here we go! Alicia (left), me, Mago (right), and Angelica (not pictured) all went to La Mancha. A lagoon type boat ride with an excellent lunch when we were done. 

This is us in the taxi. Angelica was in the front seat, so we couldn't get her in this picture. :(

We took a bus ride to the area where La Mancha was. While making a stop at a different bus terminal, people came onto the bus to sell different snacks and such. I tried this little (DELICIOUS) snack:

It's some flaky pie crust thingy. They had a bunch of different kinds, but mine had pineapple and cream cheese in it. SO GOOD. They also had pineapple and ham, ham and jalapeño, and ham and cheese. We all decided we should go into business making different ones with chocolate, strawberry, and/or peaches. Pineapple was the only sweet one they had. Did I mention I love talking about food? lol 

Once we got there, we went to order our lunch (so it could be made while we were on our tour). The palapa in the background is where we ate, right next to a little man-made pond with two HUUUUGE fish in it. 

Arturo (our guide) got the little boat set up for us to hop in. 

And off we went!

Again attempting the group selfie. ;) 

We had a great time, and Arturo thought it was funny to see our reaction when talking about the different kinds of snakes, crocodiles, and other scary creatures in the water. I think his favorite moment was when he yelled "LOOK!! There it is!!!" And I screamed like something was pulling me overboard! Hahaha He was quite the jokester. 

Since I couldn't master the art of the group selfie just yet, Arturo was nice enough to lend me a hand and take a group pic. 

And then he posed for his own picture. :)

Such a cheeseball. :)

There was this little island where hundreds of black and white birds lived in this tree. It was neat to hear all of em in there.

The sight once we got deeper into the lagoon was pretty cool too. This is where Arturo's crazy stories about anacondas and pythons came out. 

You can see the water level was very low... We actually got stuck for a second when we got too close to a shallow area. 

There were these meat viney trees everywhere. 

 

Even above us! 

Then we got back and sat down for lunch. :) they had two choices: fish or fish. lol

I'm not usually a fish eater, but when in Rome! I couldn't quite understand the one type of fish they had, so I went with the one I knew: fried. I had imagined something along the lines of a breaded fish filet, fried up and golden brown. 

Here's what was placed on the table:

The fish.... WITH. THE. HEAD. 

Here's a view of the whole plate. 

I actually ate some, and was quite proud of myself... Until I looked over and saw Mago and Angelica's plate- completely clean. The ate almost EVERY part- head included!! Maybe I'll be brave enough to try that part next time. Baby steps, ya know. ;) 

I really enjoyed the juice made from guava that they gave us. :) 

While waiting for the bus back home, Mago decided she wanted to be queen of the mountain. ;) 

I'd say my first field trip was a success! I learned a lot! 

I also learned a VERY important Spanish lesson. So important it deserves it's own post. Stay tuned! :) 

 

Daily outing-historical town

Sometimes our daily outings consist of museum trips, market shopping, or trying different experiences native to Veracruz. 

The other day we went to a really old, historical town. The houses are not allowed to be renovated, in order to preserve the historical value. 

Angelica (one of our teachers) explained that a lot of the houses there don't have deeds or paperwork of any kind, because they've all been passed down from generation to generation. The colors and differences in the housing are really beautiful!! 

It's pretty weird to see new cars next to houses like these. Almost like time travel. :) 

I was just in awe of all the bright colors and how the houses aren't all cookie cutter, exact replicas of each other like we seem to have now-a-days. 

I also saw an Alcoholics Anonymous house. 

And a puppy that looked JUST like my Ozzie back home!! So cute! Guess what his name was?!?!

Vodka!!! Hahahaha 

Here are statues of two historical peeps in Veracruz. Sadly, I can't remember their names. :/ 

The man was a poet, an actor, and he sang. As I was told, despite being quite unattractive, due to his poetic abilities he was quite the ladies man and often had quite a few girlfriends. 

The we walked near the beach a little. :) Sadly, I still haven't had the chance to go onto the beach quite yet. Soon!!

Dinner with Dani

So every Tuesday evening, we get to go out I. The evening, as well as our usual daily outing. This past Tuesday we went to Giros (sounds like He-rows) for dinner. 

Before we even ordered, this was brought to our table. :D 

Dani (Sounds like Danny, short for Daniel) helped us order and recommended different dishes. 

This was our appetizer!! Hahaha a giant piece of folded, fried cheese. Called chicharon de queso. :) (Chee-chah-ron day kay-so) So bad, but soooo tasty. :)

The also have meat dishes or tacos "al pastor" which means it is roasted on this giant spit (as shown) and small pieces are shaved off. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks good! Often there is a pineapple ( piña- sounds like pee-nya) on top, and all the juices run down the meat. 

For dinner I got arrechera (a type of steak-really tender). Sooooooo good. 

I really do more than just eat at language school. :) It just so happens that pictures of me sitting at a desk practicing or do flash cards just aren't really that interesting. :) 

We also saw some beautiful scenery on the walk home. We try to speak in Spanish all the time, even at night when we're "out of school."

I'll try not to bombard your computer with thousands of beach pictures. :) Pictures don't really do it justice, anyway. :) It is very beautiful here!

El grand cafe de la parochia

We went to this really fun place on our daily outings, to try something called Lechera. 

So basically, they give you a cup, with a little bit of coffee in it, the do this little show while pouring the milk in. :) It was a neat outing! And we got to order in Spanish! :)

The goal was to cheer the waiter on to get him to pour the milk from REEEEEALLY high up. :) 

Really good! I also tried "torta del elote" It was delicious. :) Sort of like a corn cake/sweet bread. (Side note: I was meant to live here- they have SO many ways to eat corn. :))

I ordered yogurt, which was SO good! I initially thought it was just yogurt with granola and honey, BUUUUUT.....

It had minced apple inside!! JACKPOT!! :) So yummy. 

Our group enjoying the coffee! And me trying to get better at taking a group selfie without having crazy face. :/ Maybe next time. Hahaha

Dinner en español

Our first night out in Veracruz was fun! We took a walk as a group, and headed to a restaurant for dinner. The sea was beautiful and dinner was delicious! It was fun practicing Spanish with people we weren't comfortable with. Ordering from a waiter who didn't know any English, getting directions, and living life en español!! :) 

Some pics of our night:

There are venders selling EVERYTHING you could imagine. They have no problem walking right up to your table while you're eating. :) 

We had a beautiful view of a harbor during our dinner. :)

Some of my dinner buddies. :)

My other two dinner buddies. :)

Group selfie!!! Hahaha 

My dinner: taquitos!!! :D soooo good

And some beautiful scenery on the way home:

Veracruz is a popular tourist spot and historical spot for Mexico, so they have a bunch of double-decker bus torus as well as boat tours. :)

Gorgeous harbor sunset!!

Pretty boat pics

A beautiful walk home to finish off a fun night! :)

A day in the life

Here's a brief explanation on how each (week)day at language school goes:

-wake up

-breakfast together (speaking Spanish, of course)

-first class: 

       Two students/1 teacher, working on our specific downfalls on the language, questions we have, etc. 

-mini outing:

         Museums, different sight seeing, etc (to practice speaking to strangers)

-La Comida (lunch- their big meal of the day)

-second class, reviewing what we went over that morning, with a different teacher. 

****end of school day****

Then, we can do whatever we want. Usually, we go out to dinner (sometimes as a whole group, sometimes just pairs of us) 

The only days that are different are Tuesdays (we have two outings- one at the usual time and one after our second class for dinner) and Thursdays (the whole day is an outing/field trip. 

Language school: a tour in pictures

Here's a short tour of where I will be living for the next month. :) By the time I write these posts in the evening, my brain is so fried I often have a hard time forming sentences in both English AND Spanish. :) hahaha Forgive me if I sound like English is my second language. :)

First up on our tour is my house! :) By the grace of God, it is BRIGHT YELLOW, so I haven't gotten lost yet! :) In front of the house is one of our teachers. She is really fun to talk to, and is very good about using phrases I know, and she speaks at a medium tempo- slow enough that I understand, but fast enough that it can be a challenge. :)

Next up is my room! My bed (mi cama) and my bathroom (y mi baño)

Next we have my dresser, where a pretty awesome niece of mine wrote my FAVORITE bible verse (Romans 8:28) on a piece of paper IN SPANISH and decorated it beautifully! How stinkin cool is she?! 

Next up is my desk :) nothing too too exciting. :)

The bathroom has beautiful tile, and a gorgeous window. Couldn't get a good shot of the window though. :(

Another view of my room :)

This is totally not important, but how cool is this room key?! I love it. So old-timely and pretty. 

And now for pictures around the house/school:

Where we eat breakfast/lunch. 

One of the "classrooms" where we study.

Another view of our eating area. 

Our kitchen. (Haven't used it yet- is anyone surprised? Yeah...me neither.)

Our living room. 

We also have a beautiful patio on the roof. This was my view :) 

I hope you liked my tour! :)