Vive México

I am, without exception, the biggest wimp on planet earth. As much as I've enjoyed myself the past several days, I miss everyone back home something terrible. This Sunday was especially difficult. If all those chubby cheeks, pudgy knees, button noses, and huge brown-black eyes weren't vying for my attention, I would have been a complete and utter basketcase. Kids don't usually like me, so this was a welcome change. :-)

Narcis Dragomir, 1/6 of the missionary family I'm staying with, came to pick me up from home on Wednesday. We arrived at their home at around 7ish in the evening. They are located about 25 miles south of Tijuana, in Rosarito. I was greeted by four little blonde people. Actually, "greeted" isn't quite the word to use. Mercilessly interrogated is more like it. Even after two hours, the novelty of having a new playmate had not ceased to excite them...a word from their mother, Sarah, sent them all trooping defeatedly up the stairs, shoulders hunched, to bed.

I'm in charge of Ruthie, their oldest, who is going to turn 9 on the 30th. She's a bright girl with blue eyes and waist length blonde hair. She's incredibly smart, but, she tries to get out of doing her schoolwork at the slightest hint of an interruption. Understandably so. Doing school when there are so many visitors dropping by every day is more than a little distasteful. She's a sneaky little thing, but, as she soon found out, the tricks that worked on Mom didn't so much as dent my resolve. Been there, tried that...most of the tricks in that book were written by me anyway. (Other first-born ENTP's might have contributed a thing or two. :P) It was quite a shock to her, as she thought that she had found a friend and confidante in me, not an unyielding dictator. By the end of the second day of school, it was clear that I was the victor of the battle of wills. We're very good friends now, and we understand eachother, being the oldest in a family where boys outnumber the girls. We're both hoping she gets a sister. :-)

The little boys are really sweet. Nathaniel, 3, is still in diapers, and they've pretty much abandoned all hope of civilizing him. I help out with the housework, and babysit, and just do whatever needs to be done. On Sunday we (the youth group and I) helped move a bunch of boulders from the backyard of the house across the street. One of the guys spoke english, so I wasn't completely clueless as to what was being said. We had a lot of fun...everyone here acts like they are family. Oh, and the food is out of this world. We had tacos for lunch on Sunday. To coint a phrase...BEAST tacos. Homemade flour tortillas, served with cheesy beans, fresh guacamole, homemade salsa, and sizzling carne asada served hot off the grill. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

On Saturday we were invited for dinner at a friend's house. Oh, my word. I have two words for you. Chiles Rellenos. They'll change your life. "Hyberbole!" you shout. "Prove it!" you demand. It's a fire roasted chilli pepper with cheese stuffed into the middle that has been dipped in flour and whipped eggs... and then fried. I'd cheerfully die of a heart attack before I ever give those up....now that I've discovered them.

By now it's become painfully obvious that I've only taken one semester of Spanish. The amount of Spanish I understand is directly proportional to the rate at which a person speaks. I can string the bits and pieces I pick up together, to get a general gist of the conversation. It takes a lot of concentration, but I get by. That's what I was trying to do after dinner on Saturday. Everyone was laughing and having a lot of fun. Every once in a while, Sarah would clue me in on what was being said. At one point during the conversation, I must have looked particularly puzzled because Narcis paused the discussion to ask me whether I understood what they were saying. Me (dubiously): "Are you guys talking about putting the kids through the car wash? " This remark, after being translated into spanish for the benefit of everyone else at the table caused a gale of laughter to erupt that took a full minute to subside. Personally, I didn't think it was that funny. They'd actually been talking about bathtime at a certain orphanage. The kids were washed using assembly line technology. All of them stand in a long line, waiting to be rinsed, scrubbed, and then rinsed again by various volunteers. C'mon, it does kinda sound like a carwash. :P People, myself included, have been getting quite a kick out of the language barrier.

On Sunday, Sarah had me help Hermana (Sister) Ruth with the four year olds. Finally, people I don't confuse! I know a few simple sentences, and the little people think I'm just great. Gabby, a chatty 4 year old, has kind of taken me under her wing. She's quite the little spit fire. And she's got a voice on her...loud enough to wake the dead. But I love her. She and the younger Dragomir kids, Joshua (5), and Nathaniel (3) get along quite well...20% of the time.

Today, we had a funeral. For Ginger...one of the family dogs. Someone ran her over. (If you think drivers in California are awful, you need to come to Mexico. They're even worse here than in Romania...and that's saying something.) It was pretty hard on the kids, especially Ruthie. It put her in a sour mood for the rest of the day. They're planning on getting a new dog by the end of the month.

That's about all the update I have time for right now...I wanted to write at least this much down before I forget. Tonight I'm babysitting the Dragomir kids and Gabby. I'm already hearing some questionable crashing and banging upstairs. No earsplitting screams though, so they must all still be alive. (I'm going to make a wonderful mother. :P) I don't really have anytime to proof read this post, so excuse any spelling errors, boring sentences, and stuff that just doesn't make any sense. Do as I do and try to catch the general gist of things. I'm missing everyone back home, and praying for everyone scattered across the States.

Shoutout to my brother from Mom: Jimmy, Mom has tried calling you and e-mailing...but it doesn't seem like you're home. She's on the verge of getting herself a Facebook account. Be a good son and e-mail her your address in TN. Thank you. :-D