The first week

Well, one week ago today I left home and came down here to Ixtlan. I really didn't know entirely what I was in for. A lot has happened in a week. I have a lot to learn about Ixtlan, about the people, about Spanish, about God. I think the same would be true no matter where I would go. We often feel we know so much, when in reality, we don't know a thing. We are just on the edge of knowledge. Every time we go a little further we just realize how much bigger everything is than what we thought.

Anyway, you probably don't want to listen to me wax philosophic. Blehh... get that taste out of your mouth and on to something different.

What have I done in the past week you may be wondering. What does a person do in Ixtlan?

We have a Bible study or Chruch or something every evening down here. That means that I have done a lot of that. I have gotten a lot of practice listening to Spanish that way. The Bible studies are done with groups or couples in the community. It is a great way to get out and get to know people a little better.

I have made a couple of trips to Zamora already. Zamora is were we go for and "Walmart runs" we might need to go to, although here they would be called "Aurrera runs". "Walmart" here seems to be a lot like walking into a Sam's Club. I don't think I will have a problem with not having the things that I need. Zamora is about 30 minutes away. It is a pretty nice city with some pretty good food.

I have had a lot of time to plan for the English classes as well. I am realizing that I have a lot of things to learn about English and about teaching English to people who don't know the language. It is a pretty daunting task, but I am excited about the possibilities that it will open up. I need to work a lot more on the different parts of the class, but it is making some slow progress.

A last thought:
Spencer said it pretty good the other day he said that the reason he came down to Ixtlan was because he heard there was this lady that cooked up really great food down here. Mom, don't worry. Jan will never let us starve, although I may eat too much. And there is always the taco stand down the road.