Cinco de Mayo

The fact that today is the Mexican booz fiesta reminds me to think back about some of my fond memories of living in Mexico City for a summer while finishing my Spanish minor. I really miss the people that were part of my usual routine there, and thought I'd tell you all a little about them.

Jonathan was the guy I was living with. He was 27 at the time (about 5 years ago now) and was such a great guy. His mom had left for the summer to stay with his sister in Cancun and so it was just him and I, and his brother David, who was never really around.

Here was a typical day while I was in Mexico. I'd wake up at about 6:30. School didn't start 'til 8am but if I wanted a hot shower I had to wake up early. I'd wake up and put on a sweatshirt to climb up the outside staircase to the top floor where I'd have to light the water heater in order to get a hot shower. Then I'd run back down the metal, spiral staircase and hop back in bed for a half hour...at which time I'd reclimb the stairs and hop in the shower. The shower head came up to my shoulders so the whole showering experience was interesting. Plus the toilet is in the shower, so that was also interesting. Hey, at least they had a faucet, which didn't spray but dripped. I was grateful for the faucet! (When I went back to visit, hot showers weren't an option at all, and the faucet was broken so I spent my morning pouring buckets of cold water over my head. Wow, did that wake me up!) I'd get dressed and head down for breakfast.

Jonathan was so great. He'd make me breakfast, well...usually just bread and butter and coffee, which they put yogurt in. YUM! And some days he'd prepare me a lunch, which would consist mainly of a sandwich and a piece of fruit. Eventually I had the courage enough to tell him that I didn't want refried beans on my sandwich. (They use it like butter. Yes, you heard me right.) Anyway, then I'd be off to school. I'd walk down the street to a ton of yapping dogs, mostly strays. Actually, one of the neighbor dogs scared the crap out of me every single day. I'd always think, "If that thing ever jumped off the upstairs porch, it would definitely kill me and feast for a week." I'd wait at the corner for my minibus and I'd squeeze on, pay my peso and a half and get a ride to school (or close to it). When I say "squeeze on", I mean just that. My morning bus was always jammed with people. Normally I'd be standing in the doorway and leaning outside the bus, just holding on to the railings to keep from plummeting to my death. The really scary part would come when we'd be passing parked cars and I'd have to squeeze myself into the people in front of me in the doorway so that I didn't get crushed by the oh-so-dangerous parked vehicle. Weird, huh? I'd hop of the bus and walk 3 blocks to the church where we had class.

I loved class! I took theology and dance and music and my Spanish class mainly consisted of me going to the town square to talk to people. It was great. Actually I committed to share the gospel every time I was in that square, and I did. It was a wonderful experience!

School would end and some days I would head out to see "las ninas". "The girls", I know...this is extremely technical verbage here, were being raised in the care of World Vision, and they were being raised in a Christian upbringing. Most of them were wards of the state, as they had been picked up on the street and were not drug addicts or prostitutes, just lost and lonely kids that had nowhere to go. Most of the girls ran away from home due to being beaten or unwanted, and some were just there because their families couldn't afford to keep them alive. It was the highlight of my summer to spend time with them. We'd catch a cab and drive for a long time to see them, and then we'd walk and play basketball or they'd play music and make us dance and laugh at us, or we'd just sit and smile at each other. They were (are) so precious! I actually wear a ring in rememberance of those girls. I bought it one day when we went to the market with them. I pray for them regularly and love them very much.

Then I'd head home and we'd go play basketball for a while or just hang out. All the guys we'd play against would get mad that I was 6'4. Like I have any control of that, but it was fun to beat up on them a little bit. We'd stop for dinner after basketball, which was always late. My favorite place to eat was around the corner from our house and we'd sit on stools on the street and eat right outside this lady's house. She would make the best quesadillas ever! So yummy.

Then we'd head back to the house and watch a movie or just crash. It was so fun!

God really blessed me that summer in Mexico and taught me a lot about His heart for those less fortunate and His care for all of His children. I miss my friends in Mexico City very much and I'm thinking about them on this Cinco de Mayo.