Starting to feel at Home

Hey Everyone- Sorry I haven't written in a while, things are starting fall into a routine here. My days just seem to keep passing by and by...

Things are going really well. I'm finally starting to feel like my cold is gone (knock on wood). We've made some enjoyable friends here and see them most days. A whole group of us: Isaac, Lisa, Juan Carlos, Claudia, Cristobal, Jess, Marcos, Caro and I all went to a water park in Ixtapan this past Saturday. It was about a 2 hour drive and we left at 6 am--eeek. While I was somewhat hesitant about going to the water park out of swimsuit season (so many tortillas), it turned out to be an amazing day. The Water park was beautiful. I've never seen a water park like this in the U.S. It was huge and so spread out, it took like 20 minutes to walk from one end to the other... But it was in between these beautiful hill/mountains. With tons of trees and lakes. The view was just amazing. And of course the wave pool, wave river, and all the slides were so fun. Also there were pools of hot springs that you could sit and swim around in. After I got over the fact that they weren't crystal clear I really enjoyed them. After I got over the fact that people were staring at the only white people in the water park we had an amazing time. While I sometimes struggle to decide if its fair that I should be doing these things as a missionary, I also realize how completely important these fun days are. It was nice to be present to the moment and just feel laugh and play like a kid again.

The Guarderia is going really well. Ariana and I have been spending part of everyday just talking about our lives. She recently went through a difficult time and it has been nice to share in the joys and difficulties of our lives. I think we are starting to become good friends and I couldn't be happier. Also, I love the kids. They bring me so much joy, and I love all of our students. Even the bad ones who act up all the time and hit, will come up and giggle about the smallest things and give me a hug for no reason at all. I am greeted most days with running hugs and meliiiiiissaaa greetings. What a fantastic way to start your day... I brought my camera in today to take some pictures for a presentation we have to give tomorrow at a high school about being a missionary, and the kids were sooo excited about the camera. They all wanted to pose and then promptly see themselves. I am going to post some of those pics up on here to show you hopefully later this week.

Also, Ive had some exciting firsts in the last few weeks that I have neglected to share.

1) With some help from Lisa I cut my own hair for the first time ever. It really needed it and I think it turned out well. I am going to work on cutting layers into my own hair. They are very chill this time. But still..woo for saving money and being a little B.A.

2) Lisa and I went to the Market all by ourselves!!! This may not seem like a big deal but imagine like 30 stands smashed into one block crowded with people and people yelling in Spanish at you. My first time I went there I was like whoaa this is a bit much, and I remember thinking, its going to be a while before I will be able to go and buy things by myself. I had to have Jess and Caro help me with some of the Spanish names for things but I did it! and I felt so excited and proud.

3) Yesterday I made salsa roja all by myself!!! It isn't a super difficult process but you have to cook the tomatoes and peppers in a pan before mixing it all. It was just a very exciting Mexican thing that I am now able to make!! YAY. And it tastes delicious. A little spicy but I am getting used to EVERYTHING being spicy. Literally. Even candy. (Yuck.)

That's all I have for today. As Im getting into a routine its getting a little more difficult to make posts but I will try and work on capturing my weeks and write each week. It may end up being a little less frequent but I will really try and keep it going. All my Love.