Mucho Gusto

Mucho Gusto, which means its nice to meet you, is a phrase I have become very familiar with the last few days. It seems everywhere we go I have more people to meet!! I guess with a city of 24 million that is something I am going to have to get used to.

So far we have been to the Parish a few times, to the Guarderia for a visit and to San Angel to visit the main Sisters house. The Guarderia is great! I am really excited to work with my boss Paquita and with the "niños grandes" (big kids- ages 4 &5). The kids were all super friendly and didn't seem to mind at all that I was a white girl who barely knew spanish! Sometimes it can be a little uncomfortable sticking out so much, but I know that it will take a while for Santa Fe to get used to the new gringas.. Everyone has been pretty friendly and very welcoming to us.

Spanish has been challenging but not horrible. Some people I just cannot understand and others are crystal clear. I think once I am able to be on my own and know my way around I will actually speak more. The past few days Jess or Caro have been around to translate or help us. Lisa's spanish is coming along good too. Everyday a little more (poco a poco).

After 3 days I'm still kind of in Culture Shock. Life is different here and this is definitely not college anymore. Last night I just had a moment of, this really is going to be hard. Probably harder than anything I've done before. But the people are great and full of life. Santa Fe is really busy, lots of cars and narrow streets with lots of people.

This morning we went to Carolyn's work with the Missionaries of Charity (Mother Theresa's order) where they have a home for disabled and mentally handicapped girls. It was sad to see so many children who had been orphaned because of their disabilities. It shows how bad the stigma of Mental Illness and Disability really is... The girls just wanted to be hugged and played with. It was nice to be able to do that.

Today we head to the Market. It's supposed to be even bigger than the one from yesterday! I can't wait. I love eating all the fresh fruits and veggies! We are also having a party tonight!! I hope it will be fun!!

My New Home in Santa Fe

Hi Everyone! I am safe and sound in Santa Fe. The bus trip down from Texas was actually really wonderful. I didnt remember how much I love road trips and staring out the window. Somehow Lisa and I made it with our minimal spanish on the bus and made sure not to stay at the stops longer than the quince minutos or cinco minutos, so that we didnt get left behind. That was usually the only part that I understood when the bus driver spoke over the internet. Another big shock was when we went to use the bathroom at a bus stop and it had a turnstile to enter and a lady that worked there pointed at the wall that showed the bathroom cost 3 pesos! Granted that is only like 30 cents but I had never had to pay to use a bathroom before! How crazy. I had to buy a pepsi light (diet) in order to have the change. Along the way there were lots of lose animals, horses and cows and little one bedroom shacks where people lived inside. Many of them were made out of paper and old cardboard that were found. Just a reminder, I am not in Naperville anymore, and the things that I will be seeing are not going to be anything Ive seen before.

Anyway, we made it to Mexico City and Padre Salvador, Caro and Jess were sitting there waiting for us!! I was so relieved. Then we made the some-what scary car ride to Santa Fe. Since it was about 10pm by the time we got home, we only drove by the Parish and where Carolyn works and went straight home. Our house is really different than most American homes. It has completely tiled floors and has a door coming out on the side to the alley (right off of a big street though). I cant really figure out how to explain it but I will take some pictures and post them. Coming in I could already feel myself a little culture shocked at how busy it was, and how the buildings are so close together. Also there are lots of stray dogs everywhere that I just want to wash and feed and pet. Probably not the best plan?

Today, we are getting a tour of Santa Fe and we had a tour of the Parish. There are lots of gruseome statues of Jesus and less gruesome more beautiful ones of saints all around. There are lots of people in the Parish and always women praying in the Church. I am starting to get used to having tortillas because a major part of my diet, but it looks like I will be eating pretty well here. My roomates try not to eat processed or genetically modified food (corn), so lots of fresh stuff. I get to see the Guarderia soon!! I am very excited!! I will write again when I know more!

GoodBye U.S.A.

Here is a picture Marcelle took of the whole group of new IWM missionaries.

Left to Right, Paula, Marcelle, Jenn, ME, Lisa, Andrea, Mike and Linda. I will miss this group. But excited to get to México.

Talk to you when I'm there.

Just days away folks!

folks is a weird word, say it 5 times and think about it.


folkss.... weird.


Anyway. This week flewwww by. It might be partly because I came down with something and was sick for a couple days. Unfortunately, that was probably just the first of many sick days to come. Hopefully my stomach will become very strong after this! ha. (And don't worry Lisa, I brought lots of Dramamine for the bus ride down!)


Yesterday Tere (Director) and Meg (asst. Director) went through all the little details of the program. We also signed our contract. Which I must admit gave me a moment of DO I REALLY WANT TO SIGN MY LIFE AWAY TO MEXICO CITY FOR A YEAR! AHH! and then a moment of wait, Yes. I do want to do this! We also got our health insurance info, so I won't die down there. Or if I do they will at least pay to fly my body back. haha. (sorry bad joke?). We were also able to speak to Jess and Caro our roomates and ask questions about our future home. Apparently it has a church bell on top? I'm hoping that means I get to ring it when I want people to come over and hang out with me.


We are in the homestretch here. Today was our last and final day of orientation. We had a speaker and then had a nice sending mass with all of the sisters. We also were able to meet some of the missionaries family members and friends that were able to come down for the ceremony. Just when we were all supposed to recite our mission statement 90% of us completely forgot it. Thanks to Jen for saving the day on that one! Now I have Saturday and Sunday to rest and we will be officially on the road to México. First the Monterrey group, and Lisa & I, will take the bus all together from San Antonio to Monterrey on Monday. Then Wednesday morning Lisa and I continue on to La Ciudad de México. I'm excited to travel through México and finally get into this whole experience. I feel prepared, excited, but nervous. I can't wait to see my house and neighborhood. I will definitely take pictures and send or post them when I can.

Spread Peace & Love.

Esperanza (Hope)

Just one more week left and everyone is starting to get a bit anxious around here. We spent the last two days in retreat=lots and lots of praying. It was nice to try and calm down my thoughts for a minute though, and just be present to where I am and what my future entails. Sister Luli came up from Monterrey (MX) to lead it for us and it was really fun. The first day she spoke to us mostly in Spanish and I could follow pretty well which was good, again comforting. I have to say, my roommate Lisa is so brave to be doing this. She has had very little Spanish training and is still positive and excited for the trip. I can only imagine how hard it has been when she can't keep up with the conversation but I am really impressed with how she continuously keeps trying.

This week has been a little too busy for my liking, however the retreat did give us a couple days to process all of this information. I must admit, I have been to mass more in the last week than I went this whole last semester. I am even going again today, with my Spiritual Companion Sister Betty. Our Spiritual Companion is the person that will be praying for us while we are abroad. She is taking me to lunch so it will be a nice opportunity to get to know her and vice-versa.

Last night I had my first sting of homesickness. It can be a little exhausting trying to keep up conversation with new people all the time. Its been very unlike me but I can tell that I want everyone to like me. Don't get me wrong, I love the other missionaries, but I just wanted to be with someone who knew me, completely, for the night. I did get a email from Mary and a picture text from Kelsey that gave me a little uplift. I've been keeping you all in my thoughts. I hope things are going well.

Staying positive, I am really excited to be in El Pueblo de Santa Fe in a little over a week. I can't wait to be there and see my house and neighborhood.

Oh, I forgot one thing. I had my second dream with my mom in it the other night. I had one before I left where my mom was at the training, here in San Antonio. And 2 nights ago I had a dream that she called me and I had to go meet her and pick her up. I think maybe this is a sign that she is happy I am doing this. Either way, its nice to see her again.

All my Love.

watch for lizards in the bathroom

So, Its been kind of an up and down week so far. Excited to catch up with some friends but trying to catch up on sleep. I've been having lots of crazy dreams lately and I'm not quite sure why. Maybe its just anxiety, but I haven't been sleeping too well here. So I was originally misinformed and am now only committed to a year in Mexico City. Apparently the contract only allows one year or two year comittments and two just seems a little too long right now. However, if I really like it after a year I will most likely extend it for two years if that seems right.

One thing that has been really great during training is being able to read. I finished a book in a week and it was nice to be able to have that to relax into. I am excited to have the time to be able to read the things I want and to not have to run off and do my homework! I may be requesting to have books sent down!

We had a talk yesterday on health and it cleared up a few areas of confusion. The whole "don't drink the water situation" unfortunately there is not going to be a way to get around that. I have heard from Jess and Caro that they buy their water. But at some point I will probably end up getting sick from ice or unwashed veggies at restaurants or things like that. There are some kind of drops that we can allow our water and veggies to soak in, but it will be somewhat difficult to ensure that everywhere. Other than that, general cleanliness should keep me healthy.

I encountered a couple cute crawly creatures in the past week in Tx, a little green lizard ran across the ground as the group walked to the lake. Just when I noticed it, it got scared and crawled right up lisa's leg! haha. But she moved and it fell off harmlessly. Also, when I was in the bathroom in one of the buildings I noticed a tiny little lizard crawling across the floor. I was told it was a gecko... but what do I know about lizards. I keep expecting to see it crawling up the stall when I'm in there now though...

Lastly, my hair is getting intensely long (I know Mary, you hate me). I've decided that I am going to start cutting my own hair. Maybe get Lisa or one of the other roomates to make the back straight but I no longer want to pay to get it "styled." I will let you know how that goes once I actually do it. Thats it for now. Unexciting week. Starting a new book, Being Peace.

Love you.

Training in San Antonio

One week of training done already. At first the training was going pretty slowly... but now it is flying by. It is verry hot everyday and I'm starting to feel like a lazy bum for staying inside and sitting most of the days. I'm gonna try and get out and walk more so I feel better. So, they have told us that it is natural to be exhausted the first couple months of mission. Apparently all the thinking that goes with speaking another language and the adjustment to a new life can be rather exhausting. So far we have all been taking lots of naps and going to bed early. We have also started having dinner in Spanish only. I actually like it a lot. It is reminding me of words that I have forgotten and also making me feel like I actually will be able to speak Spanish on a daily basis. We also went to bilingual mass yesterday, it was great, except for that whole, starting at 8am part.. There was a Mariachi band as the choir too!



I have also started finding out more and more about my site in Santa Fe as the week goes on. I am apparently working in the Guardaria, which is a Day Care for children. I have also heard that the weather in Santa Fe is relatively enjoyable. Usually around 75 degrees Fahrenheit and winters are not much lower than 30 degrees. It gets cold at night and in the morning, but compared to Chicago winter this sounds delightful! The only part that will be a big change will be not having air conditioning or having heat. But if there is one thing I know how to do it is to layer!! I am already starting to regret having left my red blanket (that Katie and Mary are all too familiar with, which I wear as a dress in winter) at home. Also, we are taking a bus down. Stopping in Monterrey to drop off Paula, Mike, Andrea and Linda and then Lisa and I are continuing to La Ciudad de México. I'm looking forward to road tripping through México. There is also a fresh food market that apparently sets up everyday right outside our door, so I am looking forward to being able to eat fresh veggies and fruits everyday! It will be nice to actually eat non-processed local food for a change and support small farmers. Also, our house is at the top of a hill. I'm sure after months of walking up it I will get annoyed but I'm looking at it as a way to get nice toned muscles! haha. These posts are starting to get just too long.. I'm going to try and start being more concise.


I'm hoping to talk to each of you soon. Peace.

Decision Time...

So, as many of you know by now, I have decided to become an Incarnate Word Missionary and live in Santa Fe, a part of Mexico City for the next year and a half. I had always planned to go abroad after I graduated from college, but imagined that I'd join the Peace Corps and end up in some exotic country in Africa. However, about a month before graduation I still had not applied anywhere and decided to apply to IWM, where my good friend Courtney Cranston had gone to serve abroad. Still hoping to go to Africa, I quickly realized that the image in my head was not exactly what was going to happen. I headed into my "missionary" program very apprehensive but more scared of becoming a real adult and having to look for a job, so, I wrapped my head around living in Mexico and jumped into a brand new experience without any idea of what I'd actually be doing there.



Saying goodbye to Chicago was one of the hardest things I have done so far (wait until I'm living in Mexico with the Spanish, eh?). I had finally found a home and established great relationships with my friends and family. Just as I started to think that I had made a bad decision, tearing up in the airport in front of all the cute sailors, I remembered that I was running toward an amazing opportunity. I am seeking an inner peace that I have only found when doing honest, humble work with those who need it most and I am hoping that I will be able to encompass that peace and learn how to keep it and live it, in Chicago. I will be learning how to live simply, in community and reconnect with my faith while serving the people.

Now, I am here in San Antonio (TX) in three weeks of training. Still with my old cell and computer access. Its funny to say goodbye to all these people and then still have the ability to talk to you all for another 2 weeks... But I am trying not to be obsessively on my computer or phone so that I can get to know my fellow missionaries. To be honest I was a little nervous that the program was going to be overly Catholic for me, but now that I am here I am sure that this was the right path for me. The Sisters of Charity that started the Incarnate Word Missionary program are wonderful women! They are dedicated to moving wherever people are in need and trying to relieve some of the problems there. Just normal women who have used their faith as a motivation for promoting social justice around the world. Originally in San Antonio, now in MX, Peru, Zambia, Guatemala and Tanzania.

The Missionaries with me are great!! Lisa is my current and future roomate in Santa Fe, and is amazing. She went to school just a hop skip and jump, away from me at Depaul and I didn't even meet her until we were living together here in San An! She is great, from a small Missouri town, very positive, always smiling and very athletic. (I'm hoping that will rub off on me and eventually I will be able to run marathons too..maybe? ha.) I am really excited to be spending these next years with her. The other newbies, are Marcelle (good one-liners), Andrea (entertainer), Jenn (the activist), Paula (the Brit), Linda (the Chauffeur) and Mike (token male), are all great in their own ways.

Okay, well it has been 100 degrees everyday here and we have been in talks 9 to 5 (or later) everyday since Monday, so I think I'm gonna go read and make this my first official blog post. I will be writing more tomorrow, I have a feeling I'm going to be addicted to this. I'm happy to have you here with me on my journey so keep me up to date on your life as well.
Miss You all and love you. Peace.