Old Blogs, Postings

Here are some of my old blogs and postings, so everything is in one spot! October 25-ish My director brought some changes. I've been doing language classes in the morning and have spent the rest of the day either studying or filled up with some other things, none of which I can think of now. But I had been out of "work" for the last two or three weeks. It sounds good but it was needing something to do. Well, I am glad that I am back with my kiddies now teaching music with one of my housemates. I was in with the babies the last two days for a couple of hours and I was loving the time I got to just be with them and to talk to the teachers in Spanish. I have to speak it full time now and I am finding that challenging, but on the same hand a little invigorating when I get to speak it with willing Mexicans. I find it a little more trying to try to speak it with my companions at home, just because I want to be able to say more and want a space to be fully heard/understood. But things are improving in the Spanish and other areas. We got a lot more direction from this last visit and our main goal right now is to get to know the teachers and parents at our school and, once my spanish classes end this week, we are charged with the task of trying to minister to the single mothers in the area by starting up small support/prayer groups. I had been interested I small groips from the beginning, but I don't know I feel about the single mother focus. I have been taking a little survey and I found out that our of the 5-6 babies in the day care, only one has two parents. The rest all have single mothers. There are about 90 kids in all at the guarderia (preschool/daycare), but that ratio of 1/5 I. The babies has to say something about the rest of the population. I am looking forward to getting to know the kids/moms/families better. I also have fell into taking over the children's choir at church. We have another missionary that stayed after her two years were up, took a job teaching English in an area school and continued on with the choir. She is now majorly overwhelmed with everything and wants to drop it. We look like the heir apparents to take it over. Another thing I am looking forward to. Hi Everyone! I am just finishing my third week in Mexico, and just wanted to fill you in while I have a fair minute.  Everything here is fine.  The smog and pollution are starting to get to me on my walk to and from work, but other than that, I am quite content here.  The area I live in is about one hour outside of the center of Mexico City, but it is still very much a part of the city.  There is nothing rural about where I live.  I live in a house with a chapel directly off a four-lane road with much traffic congestion.  Some people describe it as utter chaos (I was told to add this in), and it can be.  What you have, or have not heard about Mexican driving is in fact true.  I do not know the traffic rules, but stopping, one ways, traffic signals, and blinkers all seem to be optional.  Frequent use of the horn, weaving in and out of traffic, and passing within inches of cars and pedestrians seems to be, if not required, very much in effect here.  Rooftop Dogs (from Cuernevaca) There are dogs everywhere.  Many of them are kept on roofs, but most wander the streets or sleep in doorway of houses and stores throughout the day.  Most of them do have owners, but it is very uncommon to see a dog on a leash.  The city is a mass of concrete, and people.  Little stores as little as five or six feet wide (most a little bit larger) are lined up on both sides of the street.  There are garages and some bigger stores mixed in there as well, but it seems like everyone is selling something.  The "car guys" next door to us. Upside down picture of our "street rivers" It has been raining here...alot.  Our roof is made out of a wavy plastic, and I truly love the sound the rain makes as it hits it, but at times it can be difficult to hear the person in front of you.  It is the rainy season here, and our rain combined with the rain further up the hill turns our main street into a rushing river on a regular basis.  Thankfully, after the rain things return back to normal quickly, but I yet to find out where all the water ends up.  I have been very thankful for sewers lately. The parish here is the center of our part of the city.  Their nice big courtyard is a welcome refuge from the compactness of the rest of the city.  They have 7 masses each Sunday and the parish really is home for a number of people here.  I am still meeting people and finding my way around the parish and have been mainly working in the preschool during the day and spending some time at the parish in the evenings.  There is a huge push to survey and reevaluate the needs and assets of the immediate community, and I am very excited by the amount of time and effort that is being put into the process.  I also have been enjoying the fellowship and prayer time with my two housemates.  God is good :) I could write more, but this is it for now.  I hope this finds you all well, and I am thankful for your interest and prayers in this new endeavor.  You are in my prayers, and I would love to hear from you. Much love, Kirsten PS- Below is a blog post I wrote for the missionary organization.  I hope you enjoy! Me in front of my house "capilla" (chapel) New Beginnings I have almost finished my second week in Santa Fe and, apart from a large lack of spanish on my part, the place already feels like home.  Everyone has been so much more than friendly.  There is a singing-fest going on outside of the long-term missionary's door as I write this and we as missionaries have been welcomed into this rather boisterous, large family.  Yesterday a eleven piece mariachi band just "happened" to stop by and serenade us for about an hour during a baptism reception, another nine piece one tonight, and any night of the week at least 8-10 people are gathered around the table talking and eating until ten or eleven at night. My first night here there were fireworks.  Literally, both inside and outside the church.  We arrived on the Assumption of Mary, a huge day of fiesta in Mexico.  The church was packed, and myself and the other two short term missionaries were called upon to place the crown on Mary's head as fireworks went off over us inside the church.  Outside, after mass, was a concert and los toros locos, the crazy bulls.  Los toros locos  re bulls built into a two foot frame filled with fireworks.  These fireworks are lit, and then someone places the entire frame, fireworks and all, on their head and runs through the crowd with fireworks shooting off their head into the crowd at entirely unexpected times.  What an introduction!  The rest of my time here has been less flammable.  Last week myself and the two second year missionaries I am living with trooped around Mexico City.  We saw many of the sites, visited the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the government palace, the central Cathedral, and marketplaces. Part of downtown Zoccolo The plaza in Mexico City is one of the largest in the world, second only to Moscow's, and it faces the main government building.  It was very powerful to see that most of the square was full of tents/banners protesting government corruption, and foam tombstones representing the over 40,000 people who have been murdered in the last four years.  The central part of the square is dedicated to concentric painted red squares with each tile containing a message of love for Mexico or a call to end the killings/corruption. Part of the protests in the Zoccolo This second week began with the colors of a two hour Aztec dance of thanksgiving for the harvest in our parish courtyard and Emma and I started back at the Guardaria working with the 4 year old preschool class.  Our first day began by being placed in charge of the class when the teacher in charge quit rather unexpectedly.  A couple of later nights ensued while we tried to come up with art projects, songs, and lesson plans to fill up the time before they find a replacement teacher.  I ended the week by coming down with a 101 fever that took me out for Thursday and Friday, leaving Emma alone with the kiddies.  Thankfully, Wed, we got some help and were able to finally set up the room, and that person was able to help Emma the last two days while I was out.  We were all a little tired after our first week, and welcomed the last few days of festivities.