3 weeks and counting...

As of Thursday, I had three weeks until I come home. May 17th. I'm trying not to become too stressed out by details at home, but some of it is unavoidable. The good thing is, these last few weeks are going to fly.
My friend Elizabeth recently came to visit me. I met her in language school and she has since been working as a YAV for PCUSA on the border in Arizona. Nearing the end of her term, she has realized that mission work is for her and has signed on for 2 more years in the field. She leads groups across the border to work with Mexican churches and to teach people more about real life in Mexico. It was really great to have her come down here, a part of Mexico that is quite different from the border states. We went to church, ate at all of my favorite places, and she had a chance to meet all of the key players in my life here. She is an example of someone with great responsibilities but also a reason why mission work is so successful. I am excited for her and can't wait to visit her in her job someday soon.
So, the rest of my time here...Next week, we have a 2 day, one night Family Camp at the beach, then, I leave for 4 days in the mountains. Dr. Carmelo, me, a few helpers, and people from local churches are going to travel about 4 hours from here to give free medical visits to people that live in the mountains. We have a collection of medicines to use and will basically go from town to town until we run out. It will be pretty intense, but I think it will be a great way to round off my time here. I am hoping then to visit Oaxaca, Oaxaca, the capital of the state with my good friend Mari for a few days. It seems to be a must see city although it's another 15 hour bus ride from here. Then, a few days and I'm on a plane.
Anyways, thank you all for supporting me and remember to support your local missionary!

Back from the Jungle...

We've returned from the jungle...unharmed, enlightened, and only with a few mosquito bites. We left for our adventure Easter Sunday, after the sunrise service and Sunday School. We drove 4 hours to Puerto Escondido, a cool beach/surfing town and after a quick dinner caught our 12 hour bus to the capital of Chiapas, Tuxtla. From here, we took a boat ride into a canyon in the jungle, complete with a monkey and a crocodile. We made our way to a town, Ocosingo, where we set up our base camp. Edith's former roommate is a doctor here in this town and we stayed with her and her family. They were so welcoming. Our first trip was to a national park that has lakes of all different colors. They were shades of green, blue, and turquoise depending on their depth and vegetation. They were each so pretty and the colors were amazing. The next day, we left for Palenque, a famous Mayan city. The ruins were very impressive and the architecture was amazing. This was a town of 8,000 and only 5% of the ruins are excavated. Once again, the archaeologist in me wanted to grab a shovel and start digging! This Mayan city is hidden in the HOT jungle next to a water fall, one of the reasons it was such a successful city. Then, we rode a few more hours and camped over night at a park in the jungle that over looks a beautiful river, Agua Clara. The next day, we went to Agua Azul, a famous waterfall where we swam and enjoyed the sights and sounds. We rested and prepared ourselves for our return trip the next day. We stopped in San Cristóbal, a cute little town with local indigenous vendors and lots of cool stuff!
There were five of us, Erin and Edith, my roommates, Andy (who turned 16 during our trip), and our friend Pati. Pati is my age and this was the first time she has traveled anywhere outside of Ometepec except one trip to Mexico City. She is Amuzga, from the local indigenous here in Ometepec. It was so fun to see other parts of her country and for her to see other groups of indigenous people. Yesi, Edith's friend is a descendant of the ancient Mayans and speaks 2 indigenous languages in addition to Spanish. Between the 6 of us, we spoke 5 languages. The trip once again reiterated for me how big Mexico is. It's so diverse and full of history and culture. It's just an amazing country.
Check out my two new web albums from Easter and Chiapas!

Holy Cow, It's Holy Week!

Holy Week or Semana Santa has arrived and Ometepec has been transformed. Easter is the big holiday here, much bigger than Christmas, New Years and Cinco de Mayo combined. The schools and most people get the week before and the week after Easter as vacation so you can imagine the excitement that has been building. They have transformed our calle principal, main street, into a tent city filled with vendors selling everything from pottery and crafts to sandals and pirated CDs. (each for $.50, what a deal!)

For our church, this is a great time to have a youth camp, the kids have no excuses not to come! The camp was in the same location as the previous camp but it was for children...ages 7-14. They were separated into 2 separate camps, 45 teenagers, and 45 younger kids.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I, along with my partner Cesar, were leaders of our own group of 12 teenagers...the Blue Team. During the camp they had lectures, games, time to swim, the usual camp stuff. I was the 'adult' in my tent that I shared with 7 other girls...none of which complained about a thing! They were really great, and even though they got up early in the morning to do their hair, I couldn't complain.

The turtle biologists were still there and in their last month of work...which means, hatching turtles! The let us see the hour-old turtles and then, at about 10 at night, we lined up on the beach and set them free. I got to hold one of them before we put them in the sand and watched them waddle their way into the ocean. Everyone was fascinated (including me!) and I think it really gave the kids a hands-on way to learn about protecting animals. This is especially important in an area where turtles eggs and iguana tamales are sold illegally on the black market.

We have communion tonight, a service tomorrow for Good Friday, then a sunrise service and church on Sunday. Then, after the service on Sunday morning, a group of 5 of us are traveling to Chiapas for the week. It's about an 18 hour trip to the Mexican state that borders Guatemala. Chiapas is one of the poorest states in Mexico and much of it is jungle. I'm really excited to get to see a different part of the country!

Hope you all have a Happy Easter and eat a Peep for me!

Oh Yeah...It's Spring!

I must admit I am not the best at identifying the changing seasons here. Autumn was hot. Then, it changed to Winter, still hot. And now, it has changed from Winter to Spring and it's still hot. Maybe even a little hotter than before.

In a place that only has 2 real seasons, rainy and dry, how DO you tell when the seasons change??
You have a parade! Each elementary school and kindergarten has their own 'Jardin de Niños' or Garden of Children. The kids dress up in costumes and parade through the streets in front of their 'Reina de Primavera' or a Queen of Spring. She rides on a float behind her garden and throws candy to the crowd. There were marching bands, silly string, and a host of parents guiding their children down the main down town drag. Some floats were simple, some were elaborate, and one even shot sparks and confetti out the top (this one also had a man who rode on the float and using a big wooden pole, lifted up the power lines as the float passed under. I wonder how he got that job!). Overall, the parade lasted 2 hours and here in Ometepec, we have officially welcomed Spring!

Spring Break '07...Fun with the Schempp Family

Ahh...Spring Break....a time when we are given a week away from school to enjoy some time to relax, reflect on the passing year, know that we can count the remaining weeks of school on two hands.....and in the case of my parents, come to Mexico on a plane full of obnoxious college co-eds who have forgotten all the basic rules of civilized society.
Luckily, this was the worst part of the trip, and though I don't know for sure, I imagine their return flight at 7:00 Sunday morning was a little more subdued.

I really enjoyed the week I had with my parents and I managed to keep them healthy, feed them some good food, and of course, put them to work a little! We stayed together in a little hotel here that is owned by one of the doctors at the hospital. It's cute, clean, has a/c and hot water, and all for about 7 dollars a night per person....they even throw in a toilet seat for no extra charge! We had to spend one night coming and one night going in Acapulco but were able to enjoy breakfast on the beach, take in a movie at the really nice theater (we don't have movies in Ometepec), special order quesadillas, and avoid as many spring breakers as possible. Of course, life in Ometepec is a little different.

I was able to introduce my parents to my favorite ice cream/aqua fresca store, which was visited almost daily. The owner was proud the share her unique flavors of ice cream with us, giving us sample after sample until we decided on our favorite (ask Mom about the corn ice cream!). We sampled tacos at my favorite restaurant, made sopes in our kitchen after a trip to the market to buy the ingredients, ate a torta and a fresa frappé in the town square, and even tried my favorite snack, the Máximo, right out of the fridge in Xochis. Dad painted our bathroom, mom cleaned the kitchen and covered our shelves to keep the dust from everything (it hasn't rained in 6 months, so there is always dust everywhere). Dad loves the geckos and Mom can now identify gecko poop if every there be a need.

We awoke one morning to an earthquake rattling our beds and doors, the strongest one since I've been here. Everydayl, we enjoyed the sounds of the confused rooster who crows at all hours of the day right outside the hotel window and the fireworks didn't disappoint. We rode to Xochis in a combi shared with a few other people and 2 open containers of gasoline...without vomiting or falling out. We had a good visit with Dr. Carmelo and got the see the clinic first hand. We got a weaving demonstration by the Amuzga women at the artisan center and of course couldn't resist buying some of their handiwork.

I impressed my parents with my bargaining skills and was even able to bargain down a taxi with a pack of gum and a sad story about my mother's swollen, tired feet.

Mom and Dad, I am so thankful that you could come and spend some time with me, met my friends, say hello to the people I see in church, on the street, and in the market. You saw, smelled and heard all the things I see, smell and hear everyday. Life isn't exactly the same here but we had fun experiencing the differences. Of course, I had to take a three hour nap after you left, a testament to your ability to still wear me out.

Enjoy the new pictures and on a funny note, someone asked me today how I could be so brown and come from parents who were so white.

It's Christmas in March!

After crossing the desert, braving the mountains, and who knows how many hours on a donkey, my package from AFP has finally arrived...three months later.
Thanks guys, for the card, the calendar of Spanish phrases, and especially The Black Book of Psychotropic Dosing and Monitoring, 10th Edition....was that a gift from Dr. Gustin and his drug rep friends?

I am also very excited because my parents are coming to visit on Saturday for a week...my first real visitors! Now that the pigeons are eliminated (don't ask how) the house and the yard are clean and ready for my dad to paint!...of course only if he wants too....

Well, now I have no choice but to go and eat a hand full of kisses, wash my hair with my new shampoo, apply chapstick, use my new ponytail holders, take some advil, all while eating a blow pop and a candy cane at the same time...¡Muchas gracias mis amigos!

There have been a lot of things going on here in the past few weeks, but one of the most important...we finally got our internet. The house is fun, we've had a few bumps along the way, but this is to expect, right? (part of our tile roof fell down, we ran out of water for a few days, a swarm of bees came looking for a home but decided to leave, etc...) It's been fun to see how we have to adapt! We are hoping to get a refrigerator soon realizing that life is just not fun without one. But, for now, we have a cooler with a huge 60 pound block of ice that keeps things relatively cool.
We also had 3 groups from the states visit in the past 2 weeks. One group was here from Seattle and came to teach English classes and do some maintenance work around the church. One group was from Tennessee and came to install a clean water system in the school. They are a Presbyterian Church who is working with Living Waters for the World. This is a really interesting worldwide mission project to give clean water to communities and educate the people about clean water. The third group was a smaller group of eye doctors again from the World Cataract Foundation. It was fun to see some familiar faces and some new ones as well. I worked with them all last week translating the first day during the screenings and circulating in the operating room during the surgeries. I had screened about 40 patients myself in Xochis over the past 4 weeks and had a group of 6 patients who desperately needed surgery. Tuesday, the first day, they took my group in the evening and finished all of their surgeries, just for me! Unfortunately, I had been fighting off a illness over the past week and spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday in bed with a fever. (Don't worry, I'm fine now, but it was a rough one!)
This week, we are back to our regular schedule and this morning, I have to leave soon to get to Xochis! Hope you all are doing well and enjoy the new pictures!

I have survived my first whole week in my new house. We are waiting for our intenet to get connected and when that happens (hopefully within a week) I will post more pics and a new and exciting blog!
and just so you know, I am slowing winning the battle over the pigeons that had taken over the house...and bought rat poison yesterday. You can probably guess why...

and that's why I HAD to go to Acapulco for the weekend...

I have something to confess...now, please, hear me out. Last weekend, I was forced, against my will, to spend the weekend in Acapulco. Ok, not really against my will, but I had no choice. Well...I guess I had a choice, but there really was a valid reason. Every week, we are getting closer and closer to moving in to our new house, a task that has taken four times as long as I originally expected. Unfortunately, here in Ometepec, it is not possible to buy certain items and one must travel to Acapulco in order to get to the Costco or Walmart-type store. One of the final steps in the moving process was going to the big city to do just that. I had been in Ometepec for a solid two months, and I will admit, I did forget that there are towns with big buildings, streets without huge car-swallowing potholes, and tourists. I'm not so sure I liked it either. You may be imagining me, toting sunglasses, in a cute little sundress, sauntering through the city, returning to my plush hotel room to order room service. Well...not so much. It is a pretty brutal 3 hour bumpy, windy cab ride to Acapulco in a small 80's era Corolla, five adults, no a/c, and a speed bump, cow, goat, or pig every 50 feet. We rented a hotel room, $10 a night per person, without a/c, window screens, towels, hot water or a toilet seat. Apparently, one must pay extra in this country to have a toilet seat! We had fans, but the temperature in the room was at least 95. Actually, we needed the cold water just to cool off. We all wore the some clothes the whole weekend, we needed to conserve space for the car ride back. My friend Mary came with us, she lived there for 5 years so she showed us all the good cheap places to eat and hang out. We hit the Costco, bought the things we needed to buy, and ate pizza and a pop for cheap! (and luckily, the Costco here doesn't follow the age old Mexican tradition of putting cut-up hot dogs on their pizza!) We did manage to have some fun, spent a little time at the beach, took a low budget boat ride around the bay, and made fun of the tourists in Spanish. Sunday afternoon we packed up our cab, strapped some things onto the roof, and ventured back to Ometepec. Enjoy the new photos and if you get the urge to come and visit, I'll do my best to find you a hotel WITH toilet seats!

When Scorpions Attack...

Well, let's see....since my last post, several interesting things have happened. I went to my first Quinceañera, the big party that girls have for their 15th birthday. It is a big deal, really fancy, and truly very similar to a wedding, for one. There is a church service where she makes a special entrance dressed in a fancy dress, a sermon all about her, a pillow, a ring, pictures afterwards, and a reception complete with a dj, food, dancing, gifts, and of course, cake. It was quite fun and of course made me want to be 15 again, just to have half a wedding of my own.
Also, I went on a hike with 6 other people to a little town called Piedra Labrada (Worked Rock). This is a tiny little remote town that is an ancient town inhabited before the Aztecs. We had to drive 30 minutes, park the car, cross a river on foot for 15 minutes, and then hike straight up for an hour. As you can imagine, not many 'tourists' get to visit this place. It was really fascinating (especially because of my longing desire to be an archaeologist), but this town is an example of ancient ruins that haven't been touched. The people just live on the land, meanwhile their house is on top of an ancient pyramid, or their backyard is a ball court with carved rocks and artifacts here and there. We did enjoy a little swim in the river on the way back, but had to share the water with a few cows and horses.
Finally, last week, I was awakened in the middle of the night by yelping from my roommate...she felt something like a needle in her toe that woke her up. Well, we turned on the lights and after a little searching, found a scorpion walking across her pillow. Luckily, it wasn't the deadly type (little and yellow) it was only the kind that really hurt (big and black). We woke up Tim to come and kill it, I wasn't going near that evil creature. Then, I stayed up with her to make sure she was still breathing and waited until the Benadryl kicked in. Needless to say, in addition to checking our shoes, we now check our beds every night for any surprise visitors. I didn't get any pictures of the scorpion, but I have put up a new web album...enjoy!