¡Feliz día de independencia!

As of this weekend, I have started my new and improved life here in Puebla as a (semi) healthy individual. This weekend was Mexican Independence day, and it was time to play! We started off on Thursday night, attending a ward party with the "papitos" as we call them (our managers at the employment center) and their families. We watched some of the youth perform traditional dances, and then got dressed up in the costumes at their insistance. I think it was funny to them to see a couple of güeritas, as we are called, all dressed up. It was a little funny to me too. There was food- elote (corn on the cob) and chalupas (nothing like taco bell), more dancing, and volleyball (which I tactfully watched). And I can't forget the traditional "grito de independencia", where the bishop yellled out the names of the heroes of the revolution, while we all echoed, yelling "¡Viva!", and then finished up with a round of "¡Viva México!" 's. The next day, we went to a stake activity with our friends Ezra and Etienne, which was more of the same, but on a grander scale. It was pretty awesome- there was a HUGE turn out, and this time, there were mariachis. The first mariachi group to play was great because it cinsisted mostly of little boys, who were incredible...played instruments, sang, and danced. We ate some more food, met some more people, and generally, had a good time. On the way home, the city was festive, to say the least, and we caught a glimpse of a beautifully lit up church, that we had to stop to take a picture of. Then we passed through the center of the city to buy some flan and some churros, which were delicious. I decided that I definitely like Independence day here in Mexico, and it was exciting, because it was one of the first times that I got to go out without being in a fair amount of pain and getting tired really easily. It was a good weekend at that, but we didn't stop there. Saturday, Ezra and his mom, Isabel, called and offered to take us to a town called Cacaxtla, that has some ancient ruins and some pyramids. It turned out to be an awesome day trip. We walked through the ruins, and saw these amazing wall paintings that have some how been preserved. They are war scenes, and interestingly, depict people of different skin tones, a´la Book of Mormon. That was definitely a highlight, and it was incredible to think about the civilizations that have existed here anciently. After the ruins, we went to a nearby pyramid, and climbed to the top of it. The view was incredible, but by that time my camera had run out of bateries, so I didn't get a picture. We also ate these awesome blue tortilla quesadillas- I had a mushroom and pumpkin flower one, which was surprisingly good. My favorite part about it was that they were made right outside on these makeshift stoves. No pictures of the actual food, but we got one of a sign that informed us of what we would be eating. It was a day of authentic Mexico. We finished off the weekend with a young single adult activity where we met a lot more people our age. It was another volleyball night, but they were making chalupas again, so I had a great time getting in on the action and learning how to make them myself. My job was to put res salsa on the cooked tortillas. Pretty tricky, but lots of fun because of the people I worked with. Good times and good food. :)

Extra, extra!

Just a quick update on the progress os my wound... Tuesday night after teaching the workshop, Kizzy and I were hanging out at home when I looked down and saw a disgusting looking liquid oozing through my clothes. I jumped us (slowly) and ran to the bathroom (carefully) where I pulled off my bandage and proceeded to watch a good amount of this liquid pour out into the sink. It was one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen in my life. We called the doctor who asked us to come into the clinic immediately, and then called a taxi. While we were waiting for the cab, we snapped this photo...sorry it's gross. It's nothing compared to what I saw. When the cab got there, we took what I am pretty sure was every cobblestone street in Puebla to get to the doctor's office, while I dabbed at my oozing wound with nearly an entire roll of toilet paper. When we got there, the doctor had me lie down on the table and proceeded to stick a small pair of scissors into my wound and open them up inside of me. It didn't feel anything close to good...especially without anesthesia. He got the rest of the liquid out, and explained that it wasn't puss like we had thought, but melted fat. How's that for a weight loss program? (To be honest, I wouldn't recommend it.) He cleaned out the wound, bandaged it up, and sent me home. As awful as that experience was, I am happy to report that I have been making stellar progress since then. I guess whatever needed to come out came out. I am feeling great, and just waiting for the hole that burst open to close up all the way so I can be good as new (with a little scar tissue to boot!).

ewww!

Well, here's a picture of my beautiful wound. I didn't dare take the bandage off to get a better shot. It's amazing how such a little thing can cause so much pain! The doctors say I am doing well, and am on my way to full recovery, but apparently it takes awhile. There's a dance tonight, but I might have to just sit it out and watch. I guess we'll see. I got my stitches out yesterday. It hurt, but I'm glad they're gone. I talked to a doctor from International SOS, a company that ensures proper health care to those travelling abroad, and she told me that with a small cut, the recovery is sometimes harder, because they have to stretch the muscles a lot to get to what they're opperating, so maybe that's what's going on with me. Anyway, nothing a little ibuprofen can't fix!

Ouch!

So, things continue here in Mexico. I have gotten VERY familiar with the inside of our house. (Good thing it's a nice house!) I'm still working on getting better, but hopefull I'll be good to go really soon. I actually did get to go out a bit this weekend. I can only walk so much without getting super tired, but on Thursday we went to this cool market after my doctors appointment, and then later that night, a friend took us to the centro where we caught the end of mass in this huge cathedral and also saw a fountain that shot up with lights and music. Mexican Independance Day (which, contrary to popular belief, is NOT 5 de mayo) is this week, so everything is festive and decorated in green, red, and white (the colors of the Mexican flag). I am hoping to be feeling really good for the celebrations on Thursday and Friday. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. Anyway, Saturday we went to the centro again, where they have this amazing open air market where people set up stands and sell all kinds of stuff. I made a few small purchases, but mostly just enjoyed the atmosphere before we got tired and went home. We will be teaching the workshop tomorrow and Wednesday, so I'm excited about that. It's such an incredible program...I expected to be an expert by now, but I'm actually just beginning. The only other time I taught was once, the day before the surgery. I expect it will go well though. Cuidaros

The Adventure Continues

This is part of my journal entry from Sunday, Sept 4th...
Around 2:30 Friday morning, I woke up still feeling really sick. I laid there for awhile wondering what to do. I didn’t want to bother anyone with my complaints at 3 am if it was just nothing, but on the other hand, I had been in pain for about 12 hours at that point, and the thought came to my mind that it could be something serious, and that maybe I should call someone. After offering a prayer asking if I should contact someone, and feeling that I should, I turned to Kizzy, who was on the other side of the king size bed, and asked if I could use her cell phone to call my parents. I thought they could help me diagnose my potential illness. The first thing on my mind, though, was that I could have appendicitis. I remembered when Andrea had it on the mission and the pain she was in, and I just had a feeling that it was the same type of thing. After waking my parents up at 2 am their time, they confirmed my feelings that I should call someone, so after hanging up, Kizzy called Ernesto for me. He talked to me briefly, and told me that he would be on his way. I took a cool shower to keep my fever down, and then waited a while until Ernesto and Edgar (Hno Toris and Pte Flores) arrived. We got in the car and began to drive to the nearest hospital we could find. After passing by one that strangely appeared to be closed, we ended up at el Hospital de Guadalupe. We walked into a dark lobby, towards a door that had light shining from under it. It had a sign that said “Urgencias”, so we went in, and found a young doctor sitting there. He asked me what the problem was and I explained, and he started to do some simple tests, pressing a part of my abdomen to see if it hurt (it did), etc. He concluded that he thought it was appendicitis, but wanted to call in the surgeon to confirm it. He called him, and what seemed like an eternity later, an older gentleman on crutches, who turned out to be a very experiences surgeon, came in and confirmed my and the other doctor’s thoughts, that what I had was appendicitis. I continued to lie in this tiny emergency room (it had two beds, a desk, and a few shelves with medical supplies, and on the desk was a typewriter instead of a computer) for several hours while they ran a blood test, communicated with BYU, Church Headquarters, my parents, and various insurance companies to confirm details and make decisions about where I would be transferred, etc. In the end, I was transferred to a hospital called Hospital Beneficiencia Española. It turned out to me MUCH nicer, and more advanced than Guadalupe, and the same surgeon who checked on me in the emergency room operated. During all the phone calls and conferencing that took place (I felt like a very important person for a few minutes there), my mom decided to fly out, and to bring my aunt Lucy who has flight privileges with American Airlines. So I went into surgery at 2 pm, and when I got back, Ernesto, Crystal, Lindsay, and Kizzy were all there (Crystal and Lindsay had to teach the workshop all by themselves while we were at they hospital, and they did it like champs, I’m sure- in fact, they told me that Luz Elena, one of the participants we worked with Thursday, applied the principles she learned, and found a job Friday morning!!). It was great to see them, and just a little while later, my mom and Lucy arrived, along with a couple from Mexico City who had driven them here to Puebla. It was great to see them. I was still in pain, but was feeling much better, and was really happy to be surrounded by people I love.
I am writing this from the hospital. It’s Sunday afternoon, and aunt Lucy had to go back to Dallas. I am getting better. I am now wearing my own clothes instead of that thin hospital gown, I am eating real food, and they even took my IV out a few hours ago. The nurses have treated me so well here. I am really grateful for the service, and for the opportunity receive treatment. The whole time I have been here, I’ve been thinking about Andrea, and how brave she was to go though this after being in Spain for only 3 weeks. I had only been here 3 days, but the ability to speak the language really made a difference for me. I have been so blessed. I am still hurting, but it’s getting better and better. The plan is that I get to go home tomorrow. Sadly, Crystal and Lindsay also leave tomorrow morning, so I may miss them, but it will be good to be out of here, even though I’ve had great treatment. What a way to start my adventure here in Mexico. I feel really blessed. I am excited to overcome this trial of patience and faith, and to get on with the work here. The tiny taste I got of it on Thursday really got me excited.

La Casita

Now that I am "recovering", I have lots of time on my hands, so I thought I would provide a more thorough description of my home, because it really is charming. I posted a picture of the outside of my house already, so you can scroll down to see that, but when you walk in, there's a great sitting area with a TV, and then a dining area that is great! In the back you can see a bit of the kitchen, and the back door that goes to the little backyard (which, by the way, has a huge palm tree in it) and off to the left there is a laundry room and a tiny half bath. On the way up stairs there's a charming...hole in the wall?...with sunflowers. We have two bedrooms- one for each of us, and they are both great. Kizzy's is bigger, and has a TV, but quite frankly, I like mine better because it's charming, and has an AMAZING view of the city and this mountain called "La Malinche", which is supposedly in the form of a sleeping lady, which I thought was funny, because from home I can see Timp, which is ALSO in the form of a sleeping lady. I wonder how many sleeping lady mountains there are in the world. Anyway, in this picture it's all cloudy, so you can't see the mountain very well, but you get the idea.
From a different angle, you can see the big palm tree in the backyard from my window, which is also great. So basically, I live in a really awesome house, and I am totally loving it here, besides the fact that I can't really bend over, and I this wound in my side. I'm definitely healing though, so onward and upward. ;)

The first few days

I wrote this last night...
What a day it has been. After successfully arriving in Mexico yesterday, I feel like I have been here forever today. Not in a bad way though. I just feel like I am right where I belong. The manager of the employment office is Ernesto Toris. He is an amazing man. He is the one who picked us up from the airport, and we had a great time getting to know him some during the two-hour drive from Mexico City to Puebla. He has been SO helpful and supportive since we arrived. This morning, Edgar Flores, his assistant, and an employment specialist at the center picked us up and took us to the employment office. It is in the business sector of the city, and is absolutely gorgeous. The building is new and all glass. The office is equipped with lots of great resources, and Kizzy and I even have our own office. We had a meeting today where we discussed everything that we are to do here, rules and expectations. Both men (Ernesto and Edgar) are incredible. They are full of faith, intelligent, helpful, and very well educated. Hno. Toris is an ex-Stake President, and Hno. Flores is currently a Stake President here in Puebla. (I think there are 9 stakes here). Anyway, we spent the day learning about the office, about our role here, and preparing to teach the workshop TOMORROW! I don’t feel completely prepared to teach it in Spanish, but I feel confident with the material. At lunch time, they took all four of us out, and I ate a huge meal, topped off with a great flan. I am loving things here, and I really feel like Heavenly Father has a purpose for me. I am not 100% sure what that is yet, but I am excited to find out. I feel so grateful for this opportunity to serve, learn, and grow. I can feel my Spanish improving already…it’s amazing how much you forget, and how quickly, simply by not being surrounded by it. It’s 10:30, and I should go to bed. There’s a lot to do tomorrow, and it’ll be an early morning, but I am sure it will be full of more adventures.

...today HAS been full of adventures. We taught the first half of the workshop this morning, and it went really well. I am excited to continue with it tomorrow. The people are great, and I already love them so much. Too bad after the workshop I started feeling sick. Hopefully it will go away soon. Oh- this morning we took the bus to the office, and it was CRAZY! I honestly thought I was going to fall off if a few times. (Don´t worry mom!)