Showing posts with label Tierra Blanca. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tierra Blanca. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Mexico Transfer 1. Week 5.
My first transfer in Mexico is about to end! But I have 6 months as a missionary... I feel like a daggum gold fish in a whilrpool!
Health
So, I have officially diagnosed myself with a cold. The cold started in Park City because we slept with the windows open, and it has continued and fluctuated ever since. So I am planning on obtaining some cold medicine pronto! So other than not really feeling so well in the cranial cavity I'm enjoying myself.
Man, I cant believe how my physical health can have such a drag on me! But, it's good. I decided once I feel better I'm getting back on track with my exercise plan. I'm pretty convinced that I have lost all my baby missionary fat (thak you MTC for that). But things are well.
Introspection
This week has been rather slow due to the lack of work, but its all good. These last few weeks have been more just looking inside I guess and sorting some things out, discarding other things, and I guess just preparing for what is coming. To tell the truth, I feel somewhat that feeling you get like in a game of risk or some strategy game where you are about to make some big move that are going to get things set for the rest of the game. Or that feeling I would always have before a wrestling tournament (man I miss those days). But I will just talk about my observances of the culture pues.
Mexico Culture
So, first the food! I love mexican food soo much. All i=I can say is you don't know mexican food, you really don't. MY favorite dish is molley. I love molley, it's soo good! A lot of the food is just homemade tortillas made of masa and some lettus, cream with chile (salsa) and sometimes meat. I'm in a pretty poor area, so meat is scarce. Most of the food is just made of things you can buy in larg quantities for a cheap amount of money.
The people are really great people. Here, people have a very different mindset about life. They don't exaclty have the "ladder system" as we do the los Estados unidos. For them, the philosophy is that you work so you can pay your rent, luz (electicity), and food, with a side of coronas. They work to live here. The environment is a lot more relaxed as well because of this. They aren't worried about losing opportunities or promotions and what not. It's just the same work every day until you cant work anymore or are lucky enough to find a better job. I beleive one of the reasons I was sent to mexico is to somewhat learn this method of a chill lifestyle.
Here in Tierra blanca, not a whole lot of people have cars. It's a lot of motorcycles and those scooter things. Most people are not married, or were married but have lived with like 3 other people since then. These people love the techno/pop sounding music, so I have heared a lot of the new songs that have come out on the radio in the states. To tell the truth, I don't like them, ha! A lot of people here have never been much farther than Tierra Blanca in all their lives.
I am the only blond haired, blue eyed 6' plus person here for miles, so that certainly draws some attention. Fortunatly, missionaries have spent a good deal of time here so it's not somethnig completely new! But all is well, I'm acclimating just fine.
I love you all, and thanks so much for everything. I hope all is well wherever you are, whether it's a completely random trip to Hawaii or whatever, I hope you are enjoyng yourself!
Health
So, I have officially diagnosed myself with a cold. The cold started in Park City because we slept with the windows open, and it has continued and fluctuated ever since. So I am planning on obtaining some cold medicine pronto! So other than not really feeling so well in the cranial cavity I'm enjoying myself.
Man, I cant believe how my physical health can have such a drag on me! But, it's good. I decided once I feel better I'm getting back on track with my exercise plan. I'm pretty convinced that I have lost all my baby missionary fat (thak you MTC for that). But things are well.
Introspection
This week has been rather slow due to the lack of work, but its all good. These last few weeks have been more just looking inside I guess and sorting some things out, discarding other things, and I guess just preparing for what is coming. To tell the truth, I feel somewhat that feeling you get like in a game of risk or some strategy game where you are about to make some big move that are going to get things set for the rest of the game. Or that feeling I would always have before a wrestling tournament (man I miss those days). But I will just talk about my observances of the culture pues.
Mexico Culture
So, first the food! I love mexican food soo much. All i=I can say is you don't know mexican food, you really don't. MY favorite dish is molley. I love molley, it's soo good! A lot of the food is just homemade tortillas made of masa and some lettus, cream with chile (salsa) and sometimes meat. I'm in a pretty poor area, so meat is scarce. Most of the food is just made of things you can buy in larg quantities for a cheap amount of money.
The people are really great people. Here, people have a very different mindset about life. They don't exaclty have the "ladder system" as we do the los Estados unidos. For them, the philosophy is that you work so you can pay your rent, luz (electicity), and food, with a side of coronas. They work to live here. The environment is a lot more relaxed as well because of this. They aren't worried about losing opportunities or promotions and what not. It's just the same work every day until you cant work anymore or are lucky enough to find a better job. I beleive one of the reasons I was sent to mexico is to somewhat learn this method of a chill lifestyle.
Here in Tierra blanca, not a whole lot of people have cars. It's a lot of motorcycles and those scooter things. Most people are not married, or were married but have lived with like 3 other people since then. These people love the techno/pop sounding music, so I have heared a lot of the new songs that have come out on the radio in the states. To tell the truth, I don't like them, ha! A lot of people here have never been much farther than Tierra Blanca in all their lives.
I am the only blond haired, blue eyed 6' plus person here for miles, so that certainly draws some attention. Fortunatly, missionaries have spent a good deal of time here so it's not somethnig completely new! But all is well, I'm acclimating just fine.
I love you all, and thanks so much for everything. I hope all is well wherever you are, whether it's a completely random trip to Hawaii or whatever, I hope you are enjoyng yourself!
Monday, September 20, 2010
Transfer 1. Week 1. (in Mexico)
Well, I finally made it to Mexico. And let me tell you, if the MTC hadn't been so bad, I would say this was the longest week of my life. Culture shock has taken on a whole new meaning in my mind. During my first few days, I was absolutely blown away, not to mention how hot it is. It's so freaking hot and humid here.
Location
So, where I am . . . I am in Tierra Blanca. It's a city in the southern part near the border with Oxaca. This is the hottest area in the whole mission, but I guess I would rather start here so that everywhere else seems to be a lot better.
Culture
The culture is so different than I expected. We can speculate based on what we see at home, but really, it's so different than what I ever imagined. It's crazy. The food has been alright. Most of these houses are made out of cinderblocks and tin roofs, which is nice. I guess it keeps us dry. I learned how to wash my clothes by hand today, and I'm working really hard at getting used to using only cold water for a shower. But I'm here for a reason!
Companion
So my companion is Elder Castaneda. His parents are the Mission Presidents of the nearby Villermosa Mission. He is a good Elder, and most importantly he is obedient. I have a lot to learn about living here--it's crazy. There is just so much that I don't know yet, but I will learn in time. Fortunately, I'm not dong this alone.
The Mission
The baptism rate here seems to be about the same as SLC South Mission surprisingly. It's kinda crazy, but many of them sadly go inactive, so I'm starting to think that I would rather baptize people that will actually stay members instead of just baptizing tons of people. Quality over quantity I guess. But no worries, all is good. Because of the hurricane, they had us all stay in the stake center. There were about 15 missionaries there. I got to talk to other greenies and learn a lot about how to live in this mission and what not, which is really helpful because any Mexican companion won't be able to understand where I'm coming from and why I do things the way I do. The way this culture thinks is so very different from our own--it's crazy. But all is well. I'm learning and doing my best to stay positive and just process everything. We don't have any flodding here, we just got some rain. There are alot of fruit trees everywhere, but unfortunately it's not mango season yet. But all is well.
Family, I love you and thank you for everything. My piece of advice for you guys is to enjoy everything you have because a lot of the things you have don't exist all over the world. Believe me, I know. But I love you all! Hopefully I will have more interesting things to tell you next week!
Location
So, where I am . . . I am in Tierra Blanca. It's a city in the southern part near the border with Oxaca. This is the hottest area in the whole mission, but I guess I would rather start here so that everywhere else seems to be a lot better.
Culture
The culture is so different than I expected. We can speculate based on what we see at home, but really, it's so different than what I ever imagined. It's crazy. The food has been alright. Most of these houses are made out of cinderblocks and tin roofs, which is nice. I guess it keeps us dry. I learned how to wash my clothes by hand today, and I'm working really hard at getting used to using only cold water for a shower. But I'm here for a reason!
Companion
So my companion is Elder Castaneda. His parents are the Mission Presidents of the nearby Villermosa Mission. He is a good Elder, and most importantly he is obedient. I have a lot to learn about living here--it's crazy. There is just so much that I don't know yet, but I will learn in time. Fortunately, I'm not dong this alone.
The Mission
The baptism rate here seems to be about the same as SLC South Mission surprisingly. It's kinda crazy, but many of them sadly go inactive, so I'm starting to think that I would rather baptize people that will actually stay members instead of just baptizing tons of people. Quality over quantity I guess. But no worries, all is good. Because of the hurricane, they had us all stay in the stake center. There were about 15 missionaries there. I got to talk to other greenies and learn a lot about how to live in this mission and what not, which is really helpful because any Mexican companion won't be able to understand where I'm coming from and why I do things the way I do. The way this culture thinks is so very different from our own--it's crazy. But all is well. I'm learning and doing my best to stay positive and just process everything. We don't have any flodding here, we just got some rain. There are alot of fruit trees everywhere, but unfortunately it's not mango season yet. But all is well.
Family, I love you and thank you for everything. My piece of advice for you guys is to enjoy everything you have because a lot of the things you have don't exist all over the world. Believe me, I know. But I love you all! Hopefully I will have more interesting things to tell you next week!
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