I am here. It is real. I have enjoyed every single second of this experience. I really don't know if I can adequately describe my thoughts and feelings, but I am sure that you are interested as to what we have been doing since we have been here. We arrived at the airport yesterday at around 2:30 and had a volunteer from the parish and the man who was to drive us to San Lucas waiting for us. The city was very loud and very crowded. The drive to San Lucas was beautiful. About half way, traffic came to a standstill and after our driver got out of the bus to check things out, he explained that traffic was stopped because there was a protest going on. This was very interesting to me. Apparently people were protesting about the lack of electricity;an eye opener for sure.
The man in the truck in front of us took the opportunity to sell the pineapples in the back of his truck. This is when I realize that almost everyone was carrying a machete. I was really tempted to buy a pineapple and ask someone to cut it for me with their machete, since that was what everybody else was doing. I also thought that was very interesting.
I really wish I could speak spanish. I apparently say "Gracias" funny, but thats ok. I want really badly to be able to just start talking to people and have a conversation. All the people we have met so far have been very nice. They are very good people.
We had a tour of the parish and its different projects today. I am very impressed with the parishes deep love and concern for the people of San Lucas. It is completely unselfish. Our tour guides explained that all of their projects are run almost completely by the people. They believe in the expressed felt need of the people. This means that the people of San Lucas tell the Parish what they need and the Parish helps them to achieve it. I think this is beautiful.
I love all of the different things that I have seen so far. Alot of things have made me sad, but alot of things have made me happy. Everything is so different from what I am used to but it doesn't seem uncomfortable or awkward.
Apparently I am taking a really long time but I hope my thoughts are not too scattered. I will have much more to write tomorrow. Buenos Noches.
Dear Echo,
ReplyDeleteWe love to read yours and everyone else's posts. I bet it will be a priority for you to learn Spanish when you get home. BYU has the best foreign language classes in the country so you are lucky. We are excited to read about your adventures tomorrow. I hope you are staying warm and learning all you can. What an amazing experience!
P.S. Alema ran Puu-Nui tonight!
Love, Mom