Poco a Poco

The title of this blog says it all. "Poco a poco" is something that I have been hearing from day one of being here in México. It literally means "little by little." We've only been here for a month and a week and I feel like I have already experienced so much. Trying to integrate ourselves and adjust to our new lives hasn't exactly been easy. We have had to learn to expect the unexpected and just go with the flow and accept the fact that we just don't have the same control over our lives as we used to. It's been difficult, but it's also been strengthening. I know that when we look back at these first few months here that we will be grateful for all that we have experienced. Right now it's just about making it through and finding our ways. Anyway, a lot has happened over the past 3 weeks:

• Health:

I am so tired of being sick. I have been sick off and on since we have gotten here and it wasn't until last week that I felt like I had had enough. Although I would usually be embaressed to share this, being sick in México has taught me that nothing is a private matter. Once word got out that I was sick, everyone knew- the nuns, the priest, the parish members, and even the men working on our roof. I won't go into details, but I will tell you that it was NOT Montezuma's revenge- it was the opposite, and it was horrible. I was in my bed for 3 days straight with awful stomach pains, eating only papaya and nopales (cactus, yeah- cactus). Sister Angelita, who is a nutritionist, came to check me out and is the one who put me on the papaya and nopales only diet to try and flush out my system. When that didn't work, she came back and gave me an embarressing laxative (yeah, that one) and it wasn't until the second try that I was able to... feel relieved. I was really weak and shaky the next two days and still on a specific diet which included a spoonful of olive oil and a daily dosage of laxative pills (that can't be good for my intenstines...). Because I haven't been feeling good from the start, she came up with this crazy strict diet that I am supposed to follow while I am here since my body just doesn't want to digest anything. I don't know how I am going to do with following it or if I even want to... I actually really wish that I could see a real doctor to make sure that I'm okay and am going to look into doing so over this next week. Keep me in your prayers!

• Our roof:

We still don't have the normal roof that you may be used to... It's more like a cage surrounded with plastic. We have had men in our house every day working away on it and the supposed end product sounds like it is going to be safe and able to keep the rain out which is good.

Two Sundays ago, we were downstairs eating breakfast and talking about how grateful that were to have workers working away on our roof on what would usually be a day off for most people, and were suddenly interrupted by a loud noise and the sight of one of the workers falling off of the roof, face first, onto our second floor. Our kitchen is on our first floor, but because our second floor is made of metal bars, you can see right through it, and there was Memo, one of our workers, lying flat on his face on our second floor with blood pouring out from his head. Completely shooken up, Jessica ran upstairs while Carolyn and I stared up at him, barely able to move or think. I truly thought that a man had just died in my house! I stepped outside and called Sister Angelita who is a doctor, but there was no answer. Jessica then called the parish who said that they would send someone over. Memo was unconscious for a good two minutes until the other worker who was there rubbed tequila on his head and got him to wake up. When he was finally able to sit up, he was extremely confused and disoriented, asking for people that weren't there and trying to exit our house from a back door that we don't have. He had told us that he was drinking on the job- I think we all felt a rush of disappointment and even a bit of anger. We tried to get him to stay until someone from the parish showed up, but he and the other worker decided to go. Gallito, who is one of Padre's helpers at the parish (Gallito actually means "little rooster"- We still don't know his real name), ended up getting to our house about 5 minutes after he had left so he had just missed him. All we could do was hope and pray that he was okay.

He returned the very next day to work on our roof again which took us by surprise. But then we didn't see him for another couple of days and later learned that he had spent 2 days behind bars for carrying an opened bottle of liquor in his backpack on his way to work on our house. He had asked Padre Salvador to pay the fine so that he didn't have to go to jail, but Padre refused, hoping that he would learn his lesson. When he got out of jail, he went straight to the parish and took a vow of sobreity for the next 6 months. Because we had never seen him sober, it felt like he was a completely different person when he returned. Let's hope he really learned his lesson!

• Teotihuacan:

Going to the pyramids with Padre Salvador was one of my favorite days. There was no rush, the weather was perfect after about 4 straight days of rain, and it was just very relaxing and tranquil- We needed it! We were also joined by Lupita, a 25 year old girl who is the daughter of Soledad, another one of Padre's helpers at the parish. She has a lot of energy, is so very kind, and has become a friend to us. We climbed both of the pyramids, Sol (the bigger of the two) and Luna. At the very top of Sol, there was a swarm of butterflies which was so beautiful. Padre talked about how they were there because of the energy that the pyramid produces. He is such an interesting guy; a mystic as Carolyn likes to refer to him as. He seems really spacey most of the time, but Carolyn is convinced that he is talking to God or angels everytime he randomly stares off into space. We had a delicious lunch that Jessica packed up for us and then we stopped at a nice restaurant on the way home that is built inside these really cool caves where we sang along to mariachi music and enjoyed some cool drinks.

• El 15 del Septiembre:

While most of México was out partying and celebrating all night for their Independence Day, we spent our 15th at the parish with Gallito, Soledad, Lupita, Martita, and Padre Felipe. We ate a traditional Méxican meal and danced in the kitchen until it was time to do "el grito" or "the yell" at 11pm which is basically "VIVA MÉXICO!" over and over. They also sang their national anthem and then asked us to sing ours. It was a really nice and safe way to celebrate the 15th as it is known to be one of the most dangerous nights to be out and about in México City. We did come home to our neighbors blasting music until 5am which prevented us from getting a good night's sleep, but that's México for you.

• Returning to the boys' home:

I was fortunate enough to be taken back to Nazareth to visit the boys 2 weeks ago by our friend Javier, but was unfortunately surprised to learn that more than half of the boys that were once there are no longer there. There are about 40 new boys that I have never met and only about 7 that I still know. Padre José Luís, the priest there that I am very close to has been gone for a year now along with Gabriel, the teacher who was there, which I already knew about but still felt sad not seeing them there. It felt like a completely different place. New structures had been built, the routine had changed, and there were so many unfamiliar faces. While it was really nice to see and catch up with the boys that I did know, it was also really hard to accept how different everything had become.

I did have a favorite part of the day, though- one of the boys, David, who had been there the first summer that I had gone but was not there when I returned the second summer, has come back! He had been one of my favorites and I was so sad to learn that he wasn't there last summer. As soon as he saw me, his mouth dropped and he ran up to me and gave me the biggest hug and kiss and whispered in my ear, "Que milagro" ("what a miracle"). This tiny little moment made up for all of the disappointment that I had been feeling since I had gotten there. I am still supposed to return with Sister Angelita to talk about the possibility of me traveling there once a week to work, but I have no idea when we will get that chance. I hope to be able to connect with the new boys that are there now and hopefully develop new friendships with them.

• La Guadería:

I've decided to stick with the 4 year olds and have been helping la maestra (teacher), Arianna, teach her lessons. I, too, have become "Maestra Jackie" which is always so cute to hear.

School has never been so unproductive. It's been a bit frustrating- the teachers only teach for about an hour out of the whole school day. The rest of the day is filled with playing with blocks, coloring, playing outside, eating, and wasting time. Sometimes we can't even get the whole lesson in because there is no set schedule and the block of time that is supposed to be used for teaching just disappears somehow. It's definitely a completely different learning environment that I am used to and it's been tough trying to accept it. There is a part of me that just wants to take over and get things done, but I realize that it's a completely different culture and that it just wouldn't be my place.

I like working with Arianna. She is young- 23 years old- and we can relate to each other in a lot of ways. We have had more than enough time to talk and get to know each other which has been nice for me. I have also been giving her a lot of ideas for our lessons which she has actually been listening to and using which has been pretty cool. She always asks for my input and really seems to value my opinion so working with her has definitely been good.

I have been studying more Spanish on my free time to try and better my communication with the kids and I feel like it's been helping me a lot. I also keep brainstorming on how I can make our lessons more interesting and what activities we could do to keep the kids engaged. Discipline in the classroom is definitely lacking and there doesn't seem to be many rules. It looks like I am getting the ultimate teaching experience.

Alright, well that is it for now. Sorry that I have been lacking on this whole blog thing, but I really haven't been to the Internet very often. I hope that you're all well... Keep on keeping in touch!

Cariños <3

Viva La Vida

Well as most of you know from the couple of e-mails that I have sent out, I arrived safely in México City 2 weeks and some days ago and have just been trying to settle in and become familiar with the overall community and culture of the area of Santa Fe that I am living in. We were off to a rough start there for a while- half of a roof over our heads letting the daily rain showers pour through and inviting anyone off the street to come in, living out of our suitcases, no money for food but our own personal stipends, a few days without a working stove or hot water, and an extreme lack of sleep due to the loud noises and late night beggers banging on our door. BUT very thankfully, things have picked up a great deal and we currently have our roof being made, closets in our rooms, a working stove and hot water, and lots of yummy food that we've packed into our cupboards. We've already started working and are feeling more and more at home each day so things are definitely moving along! Let me catch you up to speed on what's been going on:

• La Guadería:

I am currently scheduled to work 3 days a week (Mon, Wed, Fri) in la guadería (day center/school). I have only been there 3 times so far because I was sick all of last week with a pretty bad head cold. The first 2 times were really good- I spent my first day there with the 4 year olds in the "Pre-Escolar 2" class and I got to teach a little boy, Luis, how to draw stick figures (the class was asked to draw their families) while the rest of the class went to use the computers. He is only 3 years old and hadn't yet learned how to draw shapes. I also got to read the class a story in Spanish ("Cenicienta" or "Cinderella"). After this, I was asked to help teach the English lesson! La guadería has an English teacher, Miss Geo, that goes from class to class but she is Mexican and is not exactly fluent in English so she was more than thrilled when she met me! She told me that I was an angel that was sent to help her learn English and she asked me to help her become more fluent and also to assist her in teaching the classes. This made me smile! Outside of the classroom, I watch over the kids while they run around like crazy and climb all over me on "el patio" and I also help serve lunch and clean up at the end of the day.

On my second day there, I got to be with the "Pre-Escolar 3" class which has 5 year olds. They were a bit more well-behaved and easier to work with. I went back to the 4 year olds in the middle of the day, though, to help teach English while the 5 year olds had gym class and were exercising to Daddy Yankee's "Gasolina" song- I couldn't help but laugh!

I just worked my third day yesterday and it was definitely the hardest! I was basically thrown into the classroom to teach the 4 year olds for the entire day by myself- no lesson plan, no preparation, nothing. The teacher who I usually help, Adrianna, had to help make a bulletin board which for some reason took the entire school day- that's Mexican time for you. It is a class of 20 kids, half of which have learning and behavioral disorders, and there I was alone with no teaching experience and only a conversational amount of Spanish under my belt. It was HARD! But I did get through it with just a little bit of improvisation and optimism since I didn't really have any other choice. By the end of the day, though, I was exhausted! Hopefully there won't be too many more days like that!

• La Comunidad:

In just the 2 weeks that I have been here, my eyes have seen a great amount of poverty and suffering. I have gone around with Sister Angelita, the main sister that has been taking care of us, to visit different people from the community and to see first hand what life is like here. Sister Angelita lives in the sister's house with 2 other sisters, Niko and Cesey, who are also really wonderful. Their house is a good 10 minute walk from us and is down the steepest hill I have ever seen in a neighborhood! Their next door neighbor, Doña Mari, has become one of my favorite people ever and has stood out among the many that I've met. She is the sweetest and most adorable little old woman (not as much as my grandma though!) that lives by herself and is always inviting us over for comida and cafecitos (food and coffee). I had a really bad day last week when I was feeling pretty awful and I saw her and instantly felt one hundred times better. Like many of the people here, she has very little, offers so much, and has so much love to give. I look forward to getting to know her better as this year goes on.

• La Parroquía:

The parish that we are working through is called Nuestra Señora de la Asunción and is about a 5 minute walk from our house. Padre Salvador, the priest there, has also been taking good care of us and is the reason that our house has been getting fixed up and painted all pretty. He is well-loved by the community and is very kind with a great sense of humor. He has his little "familia" there of people from the community who are constantly at the parish helping out with whatever needs to be done. The amount of faith and dedication to the parish that the community has is pretty unbelievable.

• Para Disfrutarnos (What we've done for fun):

On the first Saturday that I was here, we got to walk up to a market in Santa Fe and get some fresh fruit and vegetables. Mexican markets are always great and have so much to offer. Later in the night, Sister Niko took us into México City to participate in a march against violence which was absolutely incredible. The march started from the Ángel de Independencia and went straight through to the city´s capital, the Zócalo. There were millions and millions of people and everyone was wearing white and carrying candles. It was such a cool experience.

We headed back into México City another day last week- just Jessica, Carolyn, and I- to visit Jessica's host family from when she studied abroad in México City 2 years ago. They live in "La Condesa" which is a much nicer part of town and own a restaurant which we got to eat at. One of her old friends, Memo, met up with us for lunch and walked us around town and showed us the university that Jessica studied at. It was such a treat to be able to escape for a day and I really enjoyed meeting some new people and seeing Jessica so happy!

Before heading back home, we stopped in a café right off the campus where Jessica ended up bumping into one of her other old friend's, Javier, who has ended up being somewhat of a savior to us! We got to go out for a night on the town with him, Maddy, who was Jessica's old Austrailan host sister, and his other friend, Heraldo, last Friday which was a lot of fun. We were in "el centro" of México City and first went to see the boys' friend, Alejandro, play in his band at a bar called the "Beer Hall" (so Mexican, no?) and then we finished off the night dancing away until 5am at a really cool salsa club called "Meneo." They played all kinds of music- including a great song that has been stuck in my head, "Oye" by Sonora Dinamita (check it out!)- and I was able to sharpen up my salsa, cumbia, and merengue skills! Javier was generous enough to treat us moneyless missionaries to this much needed night of fun and even let us stay at his apartment so that we didn't have to worry about our safety going back home. And to make things even better, he was talking to us about all of the work he is doing right now and told us that he has been volunteering at a home for boy's from the street- it ended up being Nazareth!!! That same boys' home that I have worked at the past 2 summers and love so much!!! He said that he would take me there to visit one of these days and I cannot wait! It was definitely one of those "life amazes me" moments...

• Things to look forward to:

Well, very early this morning I went with Sister Angelita to have a meeting with the director of Yolia, which is the girls' home in México City that Scranton sends volunteers to each summer. It's a home that houses abandoned girls living on the street that need homes. They mainly take adolescents so it's an older group of girls. I had told Sister Angelita about both the boys' and girls' homes and she was very interested in seeing if I could do some work at them while I am here so she set up appointments with them for me. How exciting!?!?! The meeting went really well and it was nice to see the girls' home again and how much it has changed. I don't know exactly what I would be doing there, but it sounds like it would be something with counseling the girls because right now they have to be sent far away to talk with a psychologist and it would be helpful for them to have someone right there in the home. My appointment with the director of the boys' home (Nazareth), Padre Miguel who I already know and love, will be sometime in the next couple of weeks and I cannot wait!

Tomorrow, Padre Salvador wants to take the 3 of us on an adventure to climb the pyramids at Teotihuacan to solidify our roles as missionaries here. I have been to these pyramids twice already and it is one of my favorite places in México so I am very excited!

This coming Monday, the 15 de Septiembre is México's independence day which means days off from work and lots of celebrating this weekend. The 13th is also Carolyn's birthday so we are hoping to get to do something fun for that as well!

If you're from the University of Scranton, I am sure that you remember Oscar Torres, the screen-writer for the life-changing movie about the civil war in El Salvador, Voces Inocentes, that we invited to the U to speak this past October. Well, he hasn't stopped making incredible movies and has actually been doing a lot of work here in México City and it looks like I am going to get to meet up with him at some point! If you were fortunate enough to hear him speak, you know how amazing he is and I feel very lucky to be able to meet with him again. He also just recently passed on a link about a new movie that is going to be coming out in 2009 and looks pretty amazing. It's called The Shift and I recommend that you check it out and pass it on as well!

Alright, well that is all I`ve got for now. I hope to be able to "blog" a lot more frequently and keep you all updated on what's going on now that I am getting much more settled in here. Keep the e-mails coming (defilippisj2@ymail.com) because I love hearing from you and ask me for my mailing address here if you don't already have it so that you can write me letters!! :)

***I want to leave you with a great song that has helped pump me up while I have been here. It's called Viva La Vida by Coldplay.

Be well, happy, and healthy... MUCH LOVE ALWAYS!!!! <3