After two long weeks... I'm back! I hope you all are well. As you can probably guess, I've had a lot going on over the last few weeks. We officially have just 3 weeks left in the semester so I've been working on final projects, presentations, and a debate. Everything's due within the next two weeks! :-O haha I actually have a good schedule for getting everything done, so I'm not too worried about it. It's hard to believe 16 weeks have already come and gone!
Apart from work at Tec, I've had a lot of fun the last two weeks! On Halloween night I went to a football game against our inner-city rival. Of course, we won by a lot and afterwards we went with the group at church to eat tacos, mmmm. Tacos are a lot different here. The meat isn't ground like the meat we use for tacos at home. I don't know how they prepare it, but it's really good! I didn't expect people here to celebrate Halloween, but some of them do. Mexicans have a holiday around this time called Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). It's a very old tradition that dates back to pre-Hispanic times (before the Spaniards came to Mexico in the 1500s). Between October 31st and November 2nd a majority of the population goes to the cemetery where their relatives are buried to clean their tombs and set up a mini-altar. They put the dead relatives' favorite foods, candles, pictures, flowers, a certain type of bread called Pan de muerto, tequila, and other momentos on the tombs. After they have everything set up, they sit around the grave and share stories and memories about the person throughout the night and into the morning, eating the food they brought as they go along. I chose not to be a part of the Halloween or Day of the Dead celebrations and instead went to a Maroon 5 concert here in Monterrey on Sunday night! My friend and I couldn't believe how cheap the tickets are here. We only paid $17 dollars to see them! We had a great time, even though they didn't play my favorite song! :-)
Last week flew by because I had two exams and group meetings for final projects. Friday afternoon I went with my class to a market in the center of Monterrey that's called Mercado Juárez. When we first entered the market, I sensed that I wasn't comfortable with the atmosphere. There were a lot of herbal shops, palm readers, and stores that sold images of saints. It also smelled bad because of all the herbs and people smoking in an enclosed area. I did the homework that we had to do then left because I wasn't comfortable at all. Later that night two friends from church invited us to come to their apartment for a cook-out. We had hamburgers with all the fix-ins and ended up learning how to dance samba and Tex-Mex. Tex-Mex reminds me a lot of country music because it's a combination of the music from Texas (and other Southwestern states) and Mexico. The time passes so quickly when you're having fun! We finally made it home at 2 in the morning!
Saturday morning and afternoon I went to the Tec to work on the debate that we had today. We had a service at the church with the young adult groups from 2 other churches in the area Saturday night. Rafa, the leader of the group at our church, asked me to play drums for the service, and of course, I jumped at the chance! We rehearsed a little Friday night and Saturday before the service. I already knew the songs because we sing them at my church at home too, but it was hard to hear when I was playing because there weren't any monitors. I could hear the piano somewhat, but I couldn't hear the guitar or the two singers. That made it a little difficult to play, but it's great to know that the Lord inhabits the praises of his people and loves it when we sing and praise him regardless of the circumstances! I got to play guitar as well because I was the only one who could remember the chords for one of the songs. That was nice, but I really missed the sound of my guitar! Just one month until I'll be able to play it again! :-) After the service we ate chili dogs and went downtown to walk along Paseo Santa Lucía. It's a man-made river with walkways and restaurants along the way that is absolutely beautiful, especially at night. It's pretty romantic too, so of course, I thought about Esteban...
This week is off to a good start. We had our debate this morning, and I'm pretty sure my friend Edith and I won! Our topic was the death penalty in Mexico (it's not legal here), and she and I argued against while the two guys in our group argued in favor. Our arguments were strong, and we did a great job during the question and answer session with the class. I think the majority of the people in our class are for the death penalty, but we're supposed to vote for who had the most convincing argument so we'll see they voted on Wednesday! I felt so relieved when we finished because that was the last oral presentation in my Oral Communication class. The only thing left for that class is the final exam! Now I can focus on my other final projects for my other classes...
Well, that's what my last two weeks have been like. I'm really excited for this coming weekend because I'm leaving for Costa Rica on Thursday! We don't have classes on Monday, so I'll have about 4 or 5 days to spend with Teban and his family. I'm also hoping to catch up with some friends as well. There are so many people to see in so little time! Keep me in your prayers as I'm traveling, and as always, you all are always in mine! God bless!
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