Feeling like Hansel in Mexico

Hey everyone! I'm finally forcing myself to post because I know the longer I wait the guiltier I'll feel about not posting. Soooo...I'm in Mexico! Yep, I got here around 11:30 am yesterday morning. I feel like that was a long time ago by now. 

I was doing pretty good this weekend and although I was dreading leaving everyone, I managed to stay mostly in denial until Saturday evening.  I was on-and-off teary from the time I said goodbye to some friends after watching the USA game (aka the US loss....every country I go to loses when I'm there btdubs..that's just based on the past 48 hrs but still...I'm bad luck!) to when I got on the plane. By the way, that was a hardcore night/morning! We finished packing around 11 pm (sooo grateful for help from Mom and Kati!) and then after showering I got to bed around midnight, only to get up at 3:15 am to head to the airport for my 6 am flight. Needless to say I was pretty annoyed my dad and I thought 6 am would be the perfect time to travel. Oh well, it worked out just fine. On the plane whenever I started to feel sad about leaving (and anytime since then), I just forced myself to close my eyes and think about how awesome this coming year will be, how I'm starting something new, and how I should replay Zoolander in my head to cheer up. It may be weird, but my diversion/denial technique is foolproof. 

I can already feel this getting too long and potentially boring. When contemplating what I should write about today, I was somewhat disappointed in that probably the things I found most hilarious or interesting or awkward from my first 2 days here are things I shouldn't post about. Nothing scandalous, just probably not the best things to share in mass. So there's a good reason to talk to me on fb chat or gchat if you still needed a better one. 

Bueno, so when I got to the airport, two current volunteers who are volunteering at the NPH house in Miacatlan (about 1 hr south of Cuernavaca) were there to greet me. Good sign already. NPH actually exists and the people (so far) are nice. Score. Two guys from NPH had a van there to drive us to Cuernavaca. But not so fast! We got pulled over by the policia before even leaving the airport. Apparently, it doesn't look so great for 2 Mexican men to drive 3 gringa-looking girls in a van away from airport. The cop gave them the third degree, it was pretty ridiculous. After he finally let us go and we went on our way, our driver said we were lost. I just assumed he was joking but turns out he wasn't. The ride from Mexico City to Cuernavaca is supposed to be 45 min but it took us muuuch longer, but we finally made it. We listened to the first half of the Mexico/Argentina game on the radio in the van and when we arrived to NPH, they had a screen set up on the patio which is in between the dorms and dining room and lots of folks were watching it there. I met all the current volunteers and the new ones as well. Most of that day is kinda a haze to me because I was so exhausted physically and emotionally (despite my successful denial). I do remember I had my first meal from a buffet they had out on the patio, I think it was beans and an interesting pork/pea/carrot mixture that wasn't half bad. Everyone keeps saying how great the food is here compared to in Miacatlan, so I'm glad for what we get. 

I took my stuff to the temporary apartment that I'll be staying for the next 2 weeks while all the new volunteers go to language school and get adjusted. When I say "all the new volunteers," I really just mean the 2 new volunteers for Miacatlan and another girl and myself for Cuernavaca. The place we're in now is okay, I sleep on a bunk bed in the main room which coincidentally is also the living room and kitchen. The other two new girls are in a bedroom that's attached to the bathroom. k. After a nap that afternoon, we went to dinner with the volunteers and the volunteer coordinator. We went to a little restaurant down the street where I was misinformed about serving sizes and ordered way too much food! Oops. I at a yum quesadilla and a chicken taco. I have a huge order of tortillas with pork with cheese in the fridge, but I can't figure out how to light our stove and we don't have a microwave so who knows how I'll eat it before it rots.

After that, we went to the dining room to be introduced to the kids. They showed us the process of picking up your bowl and spoon (who needs plates and forks anyways? not necessary), getting food, and washing your dishes. Meanwhile, I was feeling kinda guilty for not putting myself out there and going up to meet all the kids immediately. Like I mentioned before, I was a little brain-fried/dysfunctional yesterday. 

Yesterday when I tried to plug my laptop charger into the only 3 prong plug in the apartment, it shocked me like whoa. I am so glad they repaired that today so I can get on the computer. 

So today I got up at 7 am to get ready to leave for our required language school classes at 7:45. One of the current volunteers showed us how to walk down to take the bus to the school, eesh I hope I remember the way tomorrow morning. It was a 45 min bus ride to the school. So my feelings are pretty ambivalent toward language school. I was feeling a little annoyed by it this morning because I didn't think I needed it but a couple times in the 2 hours of grammar class, I was handed a bit of humble pie to munch on. There were 2 other people in that class, a woman from Holland who's in Mexico with her husband working for Wycliffe Bible translators (cool, huh?) and a over-eager and self-chastising teacher from the states who explained several times that she won a scholarship to come study Spanish. I know my cynicism is rude, language school kinda made me feel a little cynical. For the second 2 hrs, we were placed in conversation groups. I followed the two ladies from grammar class to their conversation table which, after enjoying a few minutes of somewhat pleasant discussion, I was told I went to the wrong group and was moved to a group of slower people. C'est la vie, haha.

After we finished Spanish classes, the two new Miacatlan volunteers and I (it's so impractical not to use their names but I think they told us not to use volunteer names on blogs w/o permission) hit up a Mexican dollar store before catching the bus back to our hood. I bought a flashlight and batteries so I can read in bed at night. 

By then it was 2 pm and we grabbed some lunch in the comedor. I ate some mixture of tuna/carrots/peas and pasta/chicken soup and tortillas and beans. Delish. I kinda like the whole "throw it all together in a bowl" aspect of things, it's good I'm over my days of needing to separate all foods. 

After lunch, I went to the scholarship office to meet my new boss and train with the volunteer who's post I'll be taking. She gave me a few general instructions, but most of the time until 5:30, I was translating letters the kids wrote to their godparents. It was surprisingly draining/challenging. I'm glad for the challenge because based on the volume Sophie mentioned I'll be translating, it may become boring before too long. 

At 6:30, I decided I should jumpstart my whole "healthy new life" deal and go to running club, a pet project of my future roomie and fitness junkie. I'm so excited to piggy back off of her enthusiasm and benefit from being guilted into exercising more. Two pequenas came and 3 other volunteers, we went to a track that was a short walk away. I was impressed by how many people from the community were out there exercising. Way to go, Cuernavaca! Side bar: A bummer is that obesity really is a problem in Mexico. On the up side, as opposed to when I was in Peru, I'm usually not the heaviest person in sight, which used to be a little depressing. One goal for this year for me is fitness! I only ran a little over a mile tonight but it's a start. Also, the town is at a very high elevation so they kept telling me that takes some getting used to. I just thought I was out of shape. Ha! 

Okay this is beyond too long, see if you ever ask me to post again!!! Bless your heart, though, if you are still reading (love you, Mom!!). Going to the track was a great chance to finally talk to some of the pequenos for the first time and got to really talk to two of the girls. When we got back, I joked around outside with some more of the kids until dinner. They kept trying to get me to say "Sexy beach" and it took me wayyyyy too long to figure out why that was just so hilarious to them. To be honest, it actually is pretty funny when they say it. I don't know how many people I've told today and yesterday that my name is Whitney, like Whitney Houston. Whew, what would I do without her? At dinner several kids yelled at me to come sit with them and I had a really fun time asking them about their favorite actors and movies and telenovelas. They were so excited when I told them I've seen El Manantial and Esmeralda (gracias, Sra. Blythe!). One boy told me he was Brad Pitt when I asked him his name.

All in all, it has been an exciting welcome to Cuernavaca. I've been just trying to find my bearings and establish some sort of normalcy or routine. I know that will take time but I'm sure it will come before too long. I can't wait to get to know the pequenos and the other people I'll be around better!

Okay, so it would be really messed up to not explain the title to this entry. Hansel....so hot right now. For one, it is pretty hot here. Not unbearable, it's actually close to the same temperature as NC right now, just we don't have AC so that makes it warmer. Also, and this is the biggest reason I feel like Hansel, I really relate to him in his awesome quote: 

"I wasn't like every other kid, you know, who dreams about being an astronaut, I was always more interested in what bark was made out of on a tree. Richard Gere's a real hero of mine. Sting. Sting would be another person who's a hero. The music he's created over the years, I don't really listen to it, but the fact that he's making it, I respect that. I care desperately about what I do. Do I know what product I'm selling? No. Do I know what I'm doing today? No. But I'm here, and I'm gonna give it my best shot." –Hansel

I care desperately about what I do. Do I know what the kids need from me? No. Do I know exactly what I'm going to do this year? No. But I'm here, and I'm gonna give it my best shot. -Whitney

I love you so much and miss you a ton! Please keep in touch and let me know about your life, because I hate to miss it. Pero, como la maestra les explico a los demas en mi clase hoy, aunque a veces me sentire que estoy perdiendo un año de mi vida normal, no es un año perdido! I don't want to forget that.