On Sunday morning I woke up at 5:45 am in order to meet some of the students. The day before one of them had invited me to go running with them, and I agreed. Although I enjoy running, I thought that a 6 am run on Sunday would definately be difficult. Especially since there was a party at our house the night before, though I was asleep the majority of the time (by the way, I am thankful for earplugs). I know that I was asleep most of the time because when I got up to go running, people were still at the house. Anyway, I walked to the school and Roman picked me up and drove to the Cerro (hill) de Bachoco. It was still dark when we got there, though the sun was beginning to rise. There were four of us running: Lupita, Roman, Cristina, and me.
We took off running after a little bit of warm up, and the trail was a dirt trail through some desert-type land. It was pretty cool. And the sun was rising, so that was cool. And I was running with people and being pushed, so that was cool. And sometimes we had an amazing view of the whole city, so that was cool. And it wasn't 100 degrees, so that was cool.
It was an 8 kilometer run which is apparently 4.9712 miles. All of my runs so far have been about 25 minutes. This one, however, took 42:29.35. Much longer than my other runs, and my pace was a little slow, but this one was over difficult terrain and was hilly the entire time. But it was an amazing run. When I finished, my thought was, "wow, that might be in my top five runs ever." I think a lot of that was especially in comparison to my other runs in Hermosillo which have been on half-way decent sidewalks along busy streets.
That made me think about some of my good runs that I have had and what makes a good run. If I had to list my top five runs ever, I think I would choose (and still in no particular order) my three marathons, the second 22 miler that Bland and I did, and the Vatican Run.
I really enjoyed my first marathon because I ran it with Cross Country friends, and though I was slow at three miles, I beat several of them in the marathon. Also, it was the farthest I had ever run, and basically I just thought it was awesome. A couple of side notes, afterwards we jumped into a hot tub at the hotel, and it felt asolutely amazing. Additionally, at Cracker Barrel, I had country ham, and it was awesome.
The second marathon was really good as well, though a lot different. It was much colder, and not with a lot of other Cross Country guys, but I still loved it. Especially since I reduced my time by a lot.
The twenty-two mile training run with Bland was the highest runner's high that I ever had. My legs were sore when I started the run, but we gradually increased our speed throughout the run, and by the time we got to about mile 19, I was feeling incredible. I told Bland so and then really picked up the pace. I think he wanted to cut my legs off at that point, but he stayed with me. I can't explain how it was that I started feeling absolutely incredible. It was just a runner's high. And it was awesome.
The third marathon was with Bland. We had trained a lot, so I was sad that my overall time did not improve much, but my pacing was a lot better. All of my miles were faster than nine minutes. Also, and I am sorry Bland, but after he beat me in all of the other races, I was glad when at about mile 21 or 22 I went by him (RTFOOE). I felt like I finished strong, though not nearly as good a finish as the 22 mile run. It was also fun(ny) to see the K3A guys all wearing pink shirts.
The final of those five runs was the Vatican run, which was basically just very memorable.
I also thought some about what makes a good run, and thought of some aspects, though these are far from absolute. For instance, good weather helps make a run better, but my freshman year at Harding one of my favorites was in a downpour. Anyway, some other aspects would be running with friends, a good course, being pushed, a good time (for instance, sunrise), feeling good during the run (it is hard to enjoy a run if you are sick, sore, or over-hydrated starting at mile eight and have to wait about ten miles). Anyway, I am still debating about what other things make a run better. If anyone has any ideas, let me know.
Finally, similar to approaching a finish line of a race, I am approaching the finish line in Hermosillo. I will be in Monterrey after New Year's, and my final day in Hermosillo is Saturday, December 22nd.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Saturday, December 8, 2007
Just to add a little bit about the baseball game:
-I thought about wearing jeans, but I just couldn't bring myself to take them off the hanger for the first time, so I went in shorts. It was a bit cool, but I am very glad that my, I don't know, maybe, protest against cold weather continues.
-One time I was glancing up at the big screen and this was my thought process: oh, some guy with a must-, wait a second, that's my mustache! Three-Fingered Wave!!!!
Yes, I did appear on the large screen. Several times. Doing V_. Apparently Gringos with mustaches are popular down here.
-The game was tied at four all in about the seventh inning when Vinicio Castillo came up to bat. The bases were loaded and he needed a triple to complete the cycle. Unfortunately instead of a triple and then stealing home, he went ahead and hit the grand slam. The Naranjeros ended up winning 9-4.
-I thought about wearing jeans, but I just couldn't bring myself to take them off the hanger for the first time, so I went in shorts. It was a bit cool, but I am very glad that my, I don't know, maybe, protest against cold weather continues.
-One time I was glancing up at the big screen and this was my thought process: oh, some guy with a must-, wait a second, that's my mustache! Three-Fingered Wave!!!!
Yes, I did appear on the large screen. Several times. Doing V_. Apparently Gringos with mustaches are popular down here.
-The game was tied at four all in about the seventh inning when Vinicio Castillo came up to bat. The bases were loaded and he needed a triple to complete the cycle. Unfortunately instead of a triple and then stealing home, he went ahead and hit the grand slam. The Naranjeros ended up winning 9-4.
So it has been about two weeks since I posted last. My bad. There was a lot of stuff going on with certain things, for instance how I was going to get home for Christmas and then how I was going to get back to Mexico. Monterrey to be specific. The company is opening a branch there, and since I am such a great teacher (that or it is cheaper for me to fly there), that is where I will be teaching. I am looking forward to the change of scenery and hoping that Monterrey will be good.
Last night I got to have dinner (tacos, of course) with a few of the students. It was outside of class, so we got to speak Spanish, which I enjoyed. One time in that class I was asking for some other types of fruits, and someone asked what a tamarindo was in English. I said that I had no idea, so they brought some yesterday for me and the other teachers to try. The ones that they brought were coated in sugar, which goes against my first rule of candy: If it isn't chocolate, it doesn't count. Though similar to English, there are exceptions to every rule. Just none that I have found in Hermosillo. Anyway, I guess I still don't know how to say tamarindo in English.
Tonight I will probably go to a baseball game. Several of the other teachers are going, and the Naranjeros are playing their big rival from a city just a little to the south: the Obregon Yaquis. Last year the Naranjeros were pretty good, but they have not been doing so well this year. Oh well. It will still be fun to go.
Last week as I was walking around downtown, I swung by the Cathedral and the Plaza Zaragoza. I was sitting on a bench in the middle of the plaza watching some kids play when one of the little kids came up to me and started talking with me. It was good to get to talk to him, but the reason he and all the other kids were there was not so good. Apparently there will be a cruise ship that will be stopping by Guaymas, a coastal city south of Hermosillo. In preparation for the cruise, the city is trying to clean up some and have hotels or businesses in advantageous areas. Anyway, one of the apparently advantageous areas was where these people have been living for 5, 10, 20 years. So the families that were being deplaced were out protesting in front of the state capital building. That is why all those kids were running around and playing out in the plaza.
Anyway, it is right now Saturday, December 8th. In two weeks I will be on a bus headed up to Phoenix.
Last night I got to have dinner (tacos, of course) with a few of the students. It was outside of class, so we got to speak Spanish, which I enjoyed. One time in that class I was asking for some other types of fruits, and someone asked what a tamarindo was in English. I said that I had no idea, so they brought some yesterday for me and the other teachers to try. The ones that they brought were coated in sugar, which goes against my first rule of candy: If it isn't chocolate, it doesn't count. Though similar to English, there are exceptions to every rule. Just none that I have found in Hermosillo. Anyway, I guess I still don't know how to say tamarindo in English.
Tonight I will probably go to a baseball game. Several of the other teachers are going, and the Naranjeros are playing their big rival from a city just a little to the south: the Obregon Yaquis. Last year the Naranjeros were pretty good, but they have not been doing so well this year. Oh well. It will still be fun to go.
Last week as I was walking around downtown, I swung by the Cathedral and the Plaza Zaragoza. I was sitting on a bench in the middle of the plaza watching some kids play when one of the little kids came up to me and started talking with me. It was good to get to talk to him, but the reason he and all the other kids were there was not so good. Apparently there will be a cruise ship that will be stopping by Guaymas, a coastal city south of Hermosillo. In preparation for the cruise, the city is trying to clean up some and have hotels or businesses in advantageous areas. Anyway, one of the apparently advantageous areas was where these people have been living for 5, 10, 20 years. So the families that were being deplaced were out protesting in front of the state capital building. That is why all those kids were running around and playing out in the plaza.
Anyway, it is right now Saturday, December 8th. In two weeks I will be on a bus headed up to Phoenix.
Friday, November 23, 2007
Thanksgiving
In case you did not know, yesterday happened to be Thanksgiving. I could have completely missed it, being in Mexico and Thanksgiving not being celebrated here. They do actually know about it, but to them it is mainly the day before all of those big sales that occur in America.
Anyway, I knew it was Thanksgiving for a couple of reasons. One of them was that I got to speak with a whole lot of my family members yesterday. They were all over at my Grandmother's house, and I was able to catch up with them a little bit. Even though I was not with them, it was good to speak with them.
Also, last night the director of the school took us out bowling. I am not a great bowler, but I do enjoy it. One of the teachers even got three strikes in a row, so turkey? It was the only turkey we had that day. I managed to break 100, which is basically what my goal always is. I forgot to do the handstand bowl on the seventh frame, but someone let me bowl their extra one after the spare on the tenth frame. But I got a gutter ball. Oops.
So those are a couple things that I am thankful for. Especially my family. It has been such a blessing to have a Christian family. Also, I am very thankful for all of my friends from high school, Harding, and the HHSF group who were such good people to hang out with. The Christian fellowship throughout my life has helped me so much.
I am thankful for Apocalypse. I am thankful for TNT and ZP. I am thankful for all the long drives (even ones that were 12 hours long and through the wrong cities) and the train rides (really all of HUF). I am grateful for being able to run and do other sports. I am grateful for America and the things it stands for (like life, liberty, and Water fountains). Not particularly grateful for ties, but my clothing yes. I am thankful for good attitudes and would like to try to always have a one. I am thankful for Nicole, that beautiful girl in the picture that should appear on this page. Especially her patience.
I am thankful for the I AM. It is all about him. I am thankful that He loves us and decided that we were worth trying to save. I am thankful that God is good. I hadn't really thought about that much before this summer, but it is a good thing that the creator of the universe commands us to help and love each other instead of robbing, injuring, hating, etc. (It doesn't sound as impressive writing it down as it does in my mind, but I am not the wordsmith that great authors are.) I am thankful for Jesus: his example, life, death, resurrection. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit, despite not really understanding it. And by not really, I should probably say not at all.
Anyway, I knew it was Thanksgiving for a couple of reasons. One of them was that I got to speak with a whole lot of my family members yesterday. They were all over at my Grandmother's house, and I was able to catch up with them a little bit. Even though I was not with them, it was good to speak with them.
Also, last night the director of the school took us out bowling. I am not a great bowler, but I do enjoy it. One of the teachers even got three strikes in a row, so turkey? It was the only turkey we had that day. I managed to break 100, which is basically what my goal always is. I forgot to do the handstand bowl on the seventh frame, but someone let me bowl their extra one after the spare on the tenth frame. But I got a gutter ball. Oops.
So those are a couple things that I am thankful for. Especially my family. It has been such a blessing to have a Christian family. Also, I am very thankful for all of my friends from high school, Harding, and the HHSF group who were such good people to hang out with. The Christian fellowship throughout my life has helped me so much.
I am thankful for Apocalypse. I am thankful for TNT and ZP. I am thankful for all the long drives (even ones that were 12 hours long and through the wrong cities) and the train rides (really all of HUF). I am grateful for being able to run and do other sports. I am grateful for America and the things it stands for (like life, liberty, and Water fountains). Not particularly grateful for ties, but my clothing yes. I am thankful for good attitudes and would like to try to always have a one. I am thankful for Nicole, that beautiful girl in the picture that should appear on this page. Especially her patience.
I am thankful for the I AM. It is all about him. I am thankful that He loves us and decided that we were worth trying to save. I am thankful that God is good. I hadn't really thought about that much before this summer, but it is a good thing that the creator of the universe commands us to help and love each other instead of robbing, injuring, hating, etc. (It doesn't sound as impressive writing it down as it does in my mind, but I am not the wordsmith that great authors are.) I am thankful for Jesus: his example, life, death, resurrection. I am thankful for the Holy Spirit, despite not really understanding it. And by not really, I should probably say not at all.
Monday, November 19, 2007
¡¡¡Desfile!!!
Here in Mexico, today is el día de la Revolución, which for those of you who don't Habla Español, that means day of the . . . Revolución. Basically it means that we did not have work and there was a parade downtown along a street called Rosales. There was also the first anniversary of the Largest Carne Asada in the World right near the Cathedral. Hermosillo is known for its high quality meat, and they were definitely displaying it today. It was strange to see piles of meat in cardboard boxes. Piles. Of steaks. But it was like that down at the Mercado Municipal as well.
The parade was pretty cool. Being an ethnocentric American, I think I enjoy American ones more, but this was pretty cool. Basically any school and other public things had a group walking down the road. There were marching bands, cheerleaders, baton twirlers, and lots of other things. For instance people playing soccer while walking down the street. Or playing volleyball, Karate, basketball, boxing, wrestling, cycling, trick bicycling, and other stuff. Also, near the end came all of the public services like police, hospital, and firemen. Unfortunately, I think they were having a contest to see whose siren could be the loudest. There were also people in traditional Mexican garb. It was pretty cool.
On another note, we now have a very third world type ping pong table. I don't know if you have seen the last Office episode, but they make a ping pong table out of an oval shaped conference table, six pack rings, and tape. Our table is a small rectangular table (about the length of two card tables together, but narrower) and we use a 2 by 4 plank as a net. It is very small, which changes strategy, but it is a lot of fun. In fact, people are playing now and once I finish, I may go join them and get the winner. As a slight side note, we have also decide to keep score in Spanish, which is sometimes difficult even though you would think it is only counting. Hopefully it will be good exercise both physically and mentally.
The parade was pretty cool. Being an ethnocentric American, I think I enjoy American ones more, but this was pretty cool. Basically any school and other public things had a group walking down the road. There were marching bands, cheerleaders, baton twirlers, and lots of other things. For instance people playing soccer while walking down the street. Or playing volleyball, Karate, basketball, boxing, wrestling, cycling, trick bicycling, and other stuff. Also, near the end came all of the public services like police, hospital, and firemen. Unfortunately, I think they were having a contest to see whose siren could be the loudest. There were also people in traditional Mexican garb. It was pretty cool.
On another note, we now have a very third world type ping pong table. I don't know if you have seen the last Office episode, but they make a ping pong table out of an oval shaped conference table, six pack rings, and tape. Our table is a small rectangular table (about the length of two card tables together, but narrower) and we use a 2 by 4 plank as a net. It is very small, which changes strategy, but it is a lot of fun. In fact, people are playing now and once I finish, I may go join them and get the winner. As a slight side note, we have also decide to keep score in Spanish, which is sometimes difficult even though you would think it is only counting. Hopefully it will be good exercise both physically and mentally.
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Excellence
So today was very enjoyable. I went running this morning, which I enjoy, though I know some are prejudiced against running, especially if it isn't night time. I did have to teach a class even though it is Saturday, but for me this is one of the best groups that I teach.
After returning to Los Pinos de los Gringos (the name that we gave our house) and getting some lunch, several of the guys watched the new office episode which one of the teachers had doadloaded off itunes. After that was over, we did something that was far overdue. We went to a park and threw a disc around. It felt incredible. The ground wasn't even near flat and we had to dodge trees and knee high walls, but it was awesome. I feel like I have needed to do that for a while and was finally able to. The yearning for ultimate was slightly appeased (though it was only a quick fix).
After throwing around a disc, I had to oblige others and we played basketball for a short while. Although I am terrible, it was pretty good. I actually scored, so that was good. And I got to run around. Then we returned to the house and prepared for a decently long trek.
We wanted to see the sunset from Cerro de la Campana, which takes awhile to get to, and then you have to hike up it. Anyway, we made it in about an hour walking at a pretty quick pace. I'm not exactly sure how far it is, but I wouldn't be too surprised if it was about 2.5 to 3 miles to get there. Anyway, as we were walking and as the sun was setting, I took a total of 82 pictures. And that was all within about 82 minutes. I thought it was really cool. The one unfortunate part was that although there were clouds to the North, South, and East, there were none in the West. Oh well. Maybe next time.
That is all for now. Until next time.
V_
After returning to Los Pinos de los Gringos (the name that we gave our house) and getting some lunch, several of the guys watched the new office episode which one of the teachers had doadloaded off itunes. After that was over, we did something that was far overdue. We went to a park and threw a disc around. It felt incredible. The ground wasn't even near flat and we had to dodge trees and knee high walls, but it was awesome. I feel like I have needed to do that for a while and was finally able to. The yearning for ultimate was slightly appeased (though it was only a quick fix).
After throwing around a disc, I had to oblige others and we played basketball for a short while. Although I am terrible, it was pretty good. I actually scored, so that was good. And I got to run around. Then we returned to the house and prepared for a decently long trek.
We wanted to see the sunset from Cerro de la Campana, which takes awhile to get to, and then you have to hike up it. Anyway, we made it in about an hour walking at a pretty quick pace. I'm not exactly sure how far it is, but I wouldn't be too surprised if it was about 2.5 to 3 miles to get there. Anyway, as we were walking and as the sun was setting, I took a total of 82 pictures. And that was all within about 82 minutes. I thought it was really cool. The one unfortunate part was that although there were clouds to the North, South, and East, there were none in the West. Oh well. Maybe next time.
That is all for now. Until next time.
V_
Friday, November 9, 2007
Update
So I don't really have anything big to report. Some things that have been interesting over the last few days are that after 26 days without a cloud, I have had several days in a row that have been cloudy. Not really clouds that would block out the sun, but if the sun isn't behind them, they are white.
Classes have been going fairly well. With some classes that have young students (around 7 years old), I do not know very well what to do to try to control the class better. Which is especially unfortunate when one of the people in charge are in the class observing. Oh well. I think in the conversation class that I have tonight I am going to talk about Carlos Hathcock II, aka White Feather. I thought about Davy Crockett at the Alamo or Sam Houston, but decided that might be a bad idea. In order to make it a Conversation class I will ask them about Mexican war heroes. Maybe in the future I will use Phillipides.
I did get to experience Day of the Dead here. It is a pretty big celebration, and I went up to a cemetary to see what all happens. Maybe eventually I will get that video up on Youtube. It was on a Friday, which we had off, but then we still had to come in Saturday. Which wasn't terrible for me since that class is a pretty good one.
Anyway, I guess that is all for now.
V_
Classes have been going fairly well. With some classes that have young students (around 7 years old), I do not know very well what to do to try to control the class better. Which is especially unfortunate when one of the people in charge are in the class observing. Oh well. I think in the conversation class that I have tonight I am going to talk about Carlos Hathcock II, aka White Feather. I thought about Davy Crockett at the Alamo or Sam Houston, but decided that might be a bad idea. In order to make it a Conversation class I will ask them about Mexican war heroes. Maybe in the future I will use Phillipides.
I did get to experience Day of the Dead here. It is a pretty big celebration, and I went up to a cemetary to see what all happens. Maybe eventually I will get that video up on Youtube. It was on a Friday, which we had off, but then we still had to come in Saturday. Which wasn't terrible for me since that class is a pretty good one.
Anyway, I guess that is all for now.
V_
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
