My familia es bueno! Yo no estoy nervoisa y es mejor.

So, Mexico is awesome! I was really nervous about moving into the home-stays but it is going really well. I moved in on Friday the 17 of March and I am already learning so much! Nice! They are sooo sweet! Friday, I was really nervous and I came into the house and they were all staring at me and wanting me to talk but I was so nervous I didn’t know what or how to say anything so I just told them I was tired so I could hide in my room.

Saturday, was a lot better. I had to give myself a pep-talk before going out to breakfast though…haha... I did better and I can tell each day I am getting better. It is hard in classes though b/c we talk about things that I have a hard time in English let a lone in Spanish…. So anyways, Saturday I went shopping with Marisela and her fiancé on the AZ side of the border for a present for a quién cenara that they were going to. It was really interesting to see how money escapes Mexico. After that we watched Room Raiders en Español, which was very interesting. Susana and I then went up the street to visit with Vanessa and Aaron and Tina was there so that was fun. We talked about our morning and made plans to go out that night with everyone. So that night, Vanessa, her boyfriend, Tina and her sister, Aaron, Susana, and me went out to coffee then rented movies and watched them. That was a lot of fun.

Sunday was a lazy day for my house. IT SNOWED!!! I was sooo cold; I had about 5 layers on! Haha! Aaron said it got to 5 below last night! So we just stayed in and ate warm food, read, slept, did some homework, watched some TV and went to bed. It was nice to relax and just get the feel of everything.

Monday was a stressful day. I got up and out and to school fine but once I got to school the stress came. We had Liberation Theology in Spanish. That was hard. And I was really interested in the subject matter, which was mujerista theology, but I could barely understand what was going on so it was a little bit of a disappointment. After that we had to get to Spanish class which took forever because there was sooo much traffic. Not many places had school today b/c of a holiday for Benito Juarez and tomorrow they are off too. Nice huh? I wish we did too... haha… Well, when we went to Spanish we were just talking about little things then we all of a sudden started talking about external debt. WHAT IN THE WORLD!?! I had no idea what it was in ENGLISH, how am I suppose to know what it is in SPANISH!?! Well, I had a break down. I wasn’t feeling well, my head hurt and I was just super overwhelmed and when the teacher asked me a question, tears came out. I was so stressed! Amara explained to me what it was in English which helped A LOT but the teacher got mad at her saying that I won’t ever learn if she spoke English to me. Um… to a point that’s true but I am at a kindergarten level of understanding Spanish how do I just jump into external debt? Whatevs. After that horrible class we had a reflection and then came home. It was nice to come home. Even though I have to speak Spanish at home it is stuff that I can talk about. AND when I came home from class, I had a conversation with them for 5 minutes!!! Like a real conversation, not just them asking me questions and me saying yes or no but me actually saying stuff. I don’t know if it made any sense but we did it and during dinner we were laughing and talking…. It was so much fun!

Okay so this is my family: Mi mama, Rosa Maria, is just so cute. I can’t get over it! She works in the home and teaches a dance class on Saturdays with kids for an hour. (I want to go and learn how to dance! It would be so much fun and I would def. be the oldest one there!) I was watching her fix my breakfast today and she was just so happy and cute in her apron and slippers with her towel on her head. She is more than I could ask for. And they are sooo patient with me and help me out so much. It’s wonderful. Susana is my younger sister and she is 16. She has been helping me a lot and she is friends with some other girls that are hosting some of my friends from Borderlinks so we get to all hang out. Marisela is my older sister and is getting married in November! She is really great too. She and I have this thing where we teach each other words in English and Spanish. She helps me with Spanish and I help her with English. It’s fun and very helpful. My papa, Roberto, works in a Maquiladora and works in the stockroom and seems to be doing well economically.

My family is in the middle class. Their house is a good size. One story, 3 rooms, 2 bathrooms, running water, 3 TVs, a large patio with vegetables and fruit trees, a big open kitchen attached to the living room, tile floors and pluming. I didn’t expect this. I thought we would be going into homes like I stayed in a month ago. This is also how some people live on the border so I’m not missing the point just seeing a different point.

On Saturday, I think my family and 2 others are going to go to give out food to some of the migrants crossing. That will be cool. This morning going to La Casa de Misericordia, Lupita (Shannon’s mom) had Amara stop the car so she could give out food to some migrants. Our house is right on the border. You can see it from my patio and it is just part of the landscape here. Amazing that it can blend it but somehow I didn’t see it until Susana pointed it out to me. Haley said that she saw some migrants just hopping over the fence yesterday. I didn’t think they would try to cross here b/c of all of the lights and how it is guarded heavily but she said that there were a lot trying to cross. We think that b/c it was snowing and overcast that they might have been able to get past the cameras but Anne said that they were catching and sending them back over when she and Jenni were handing out food. They also said that they had no coats on and it was freezing yesterday. I can’t even imagine what they were feeling.

All in all I really like it down here. I wish we were staying longer but oh well. I guess I will just have to come and visit. I told my dad that I was only going to speak Spanish when I get home and I really want to. I want to be able to talk better and more. The more I learn the more I like this language and am kicking myself for being so stubborn during our “Spanish dinner Thursdays” at home when I was little. Oh Well, shoulda, coulda, woulda. Well, I should get going… the bed is calling my name. Buenos Noches.

Until Next time…