Cantares

Back in high school, I was a wrestler. Every season the people who were also football players came and joined the rest of us part way through the season. They had been in good shape for football, but when they got to wrestling practice, they were always hurting. We said that they were in football shape but not wrestling shape.

Yesterday I went to church, as always, and afterwards went to a restaurant called Pollo Loco, which is a pretty good place for roasted chicken. Anyway, there were twelve of us, so we just got a whole lot of chicken to split. Therefore, I am not sure how much I ate, but there is a very good chance that although I was one of the lightest people there, I ate the most. I enjoyed the chicken a lot. And was apparently hungry (which I guess is not too surprising).

After eating all that chicken, we returned to the church and a group of us decided to play some soccer. At first there were only four of us, and my team got up something like 4-1. Then the other team got another person, so they had three and we only had two. We did not fare so well after that. They won 10-8. I of course ran a lot. I had to. And after all that chicken, I am not sure how good of an idea that was. Especially with the temperature in the 90s (the day before it was over 100, so I guess 90s isn't that bad?).

After we finished, we went into the church and I stood or sat in front of a fan trying to recover until time for the service (during which I led a prayer at this church for the first time). I enjoyed the soccer a lot. But I definitely realized that I am no longer in soccer shape. Cardio at the gym just isn't the same. All the quick bursts and directional changes apparently dominated me. That or too much food coupled with too much heat.

Anyway, after the service, we celebrated one of the church member's birthday. We all went to someone's house and had pizza and sang karaoke. I even got in on it (probably a good thing Linnea was not there to be completely embarrassed by my lack of singing ability). For a long time I could not find a song that I knew. I know some Spanish songs, but most are fairly new and there were not cds with the songs I knew. Then I found "Cantares." Yes, you read that correctly, Luke, "Cantares," as in Todo pasa and todo queda. I karaoked that song. And even have video evidence.

This past extra-long weekend was great. I did not work on Friday or Monday (though I did on Saturday). And even better, Nicole came to visit me. It was wonderful.

I actually felt like a tourist for the first time since coming to Mexico. We went to Cola de Caballo (a waterfall), Presa de la Boca (a lake), Los Cavazos (a market; I bought a sombrero), the Macroplaza (either the largest or second largest plaza in the world), Paseo Santa Lucía (a man-made river through Monterrey that has many fountains), Mirador Obispado (a hill with views of all of the city), and several other things. We also watched several Office episodes and some sports. I know that I enjoyed it a whole lot.

Now switching topics completely, when I woke up this morning, I really did not want to. I tried to think of good reasons to get up and thought of, in no particular order, talking with Nicole, lifting weights, reading Jeremiah (that is where we are in the Bible reading). Even doing that I still did not want to ge up, but I forced myself to. While eating breakfast, I guess I had begun to have a slightly better attitude. I remembered that this is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I stopped and took a second to pray. God has blessed me immensely. And he has forgiven me. For this I am thankful and hopefully I will act like it more.

Yesterday we began a new period. Which means I have a different schedule and different classes. Though actually my schedule is pretty similar and a couple of my classes stayed constant. I do have class at 7 am every morning now (yuk). Anyway, the main part of starting a new period is that it means I have begun my third to last. I will be in Mexico until mid to late July (somewhere around the nineteenth or twentieth).

Also, this period will be better than most. We have a total of three days off. Two of them are within the next week. And even more exciting is that the most amazing person in the world is coming to Monterrey to visit me (specifically, Nicole). I am very excited about that.

I have begun looking at what to do once I get back from Mexico. Hopefully God will open doors for me. I would, of course, welcome any prayers. And speaking of that, I need to go write an email...

_W_

...singing praises

This past weekend was really enjoyable. The weekend began after teaching for five hours on Saturday. After going home to grab some lunch, I took a bus to the church. They were having the monthly area-wide youth group thing. At the beginning we had some awesome singing. I even took some video of it. I had been missing that a lot, and it was good to sing some. After the devo, we did some games. Basically, one person threw a dart at a spinning wheel and it hit either reward or punishment. Eventually, even if you hit prize you had to do a punishment. It was really funny. Afterwards we had the very Mexican meal of hot dogs, and eventually, I went with a large group of people to a movie. It was a very good Saturday afternoon/evening.

On Sunday I had less sleep than I would have liked because we had daylight savings time, but oh well. Apparently the preacher thought I looked very tired because he commented on it a couple times throughout the day. Oops. Anyway, after class and service, we had a potluck. This meal was a lot of Mexican type dishes. And it was very good. And I found out that another guy doesn't drink carbonated beverages. He had water without any ice, which I definitely approve of. After the potluck, we got the church ready for the Confraternidad. This happens every three months, and basically about five different churches all meet together and play games. Think of games like passing a ball over under over under, though we did not actually do that one. Basically, again very humorous to watch and a lot of fun. Then we had a meal of sandwiches. After all the other churches had left, a group of guys played Football. Not Futbol (aka soccer), but football (as in the Tennessee Titans). It was good. My team won, though not necessarily because of me (though I did have a interception returned for a touchdown for the last score). It was interesting to see some of the rule differences that they had. And it was also funny when they asked me if I knew how to play. So, to sum up, a very enjoyable Sunday.

It is now Wednesday and the owners of the school are here. Checking up on things and making sure everything is running well. They came in yesterday and observed a couple people's classes, including mine, and we had individual and combined meetings today.

I am excited about the beginning of May.

_W_

Semana Santa, etc.

So I have been in Monterrey for a while now. I am getting accustomed to this new place and maybe figuring out some stuff, though certainly not everything. Classes have been going well and today is actually exam day. I am excited about going back to the church here after having missed the last couple weeks.

The reason I missed the last couple weeks was because it was Semana Santa, or Holy Week. In Mexico this is big and we had spring break. So I went back home to visit friends, family, and my girlfriend. So instead of going to church in Monterrey, I went to Harpeth Hills in Nashville.

I really enjoyed the break from the routine. I got to play ultimate again (and see how much my skills have deteriorated), I got to see Spring Sing (and I of course thought that TNT and ZP was the best; they got second, so well done), I got to eat something besides tacos (though I did get sick to my stomach), and I got to spend a lot of time with Nicole (and there was no pixelation).

The only bad part was the craziness that happened while trying to get to and from Nashville. The buses were terribly slow going, so I had to get a plane ticket in Laredo in order to make it to Houston on time. And I still missed my flight though they were able to put me on a later flight. Coming back, the bus schedule was completely different from what the company told me originally, so unfortunately I arrived an hour and a half after my first class. Oops. I did, however, go instantly into teaching after riding on the bus all night.

Anyway, looking toward the future, it seems as if I have about 4 more periods, which last four weeks each. And we have Monday off. I has been really weird starting to plan for being back in America, but also very exciting.

_W_

Right now, my right bicep is really sore. Yesterday I went to the gym and someone there explained a workout that I should do. I will probably try to go 4 days a week, and the days are split up like this:
1) Chest and Biceps
2) Back and Triceps
3) Legs
4) I don't really remember but I think traps was part. Maybe shoulders, too. I need him to write it down today.

Also, instead of three sets of 12, 10, then 8, this guy suggested 5 sets of twelve. Yes, I was hurting. Hopefully, though, it will be good. Additionally, with that many reps, it seems pretty endurance-focused to me, which is what I want. Incidentally, abs are every day.

I think the reason my right bicep is so sore is because of the fact that I have it raised all day as I am writing on the chalkboard (yes, chalk). Hopefully I will be able to become accustomed to doing both lifting and writing, but it will probably be a while yet because next week I will get to take a break from all this and return home (meaning...same difference). I am very excited about this and very ready. It will be wonderful to see my family, friends, and beautiful girlfriend again. A couple things I am excited about: Ultimate, Spring Sing (sorry Luke and Bland. At least I put it after ultimate, right?), and March Madness (as well as other athletic competitions).

_W_

Monterrey

Well, after a very long wait I have finally arrived in Monterrey. I was supposed to be here about two months ago, but the school apparently needed me in Hermosillo. It is good to finally be here.

I arrived on Saturday, and the next day I got in a taxi with an address to a church. The address was very hard to locate, but eventually we did get there. I really enjoyed the church. It was really good.

I also have started going to a gym. Yesterday was actually my first day. One reason I wanted to go was to exercise, which I did. A second reason was to practice Spanish, which I did. I got to talk with several people. It was good. I even was invited to a party.

Hopefully things will continue to go well down here and even get better. More importantly, and something I need to do a better job of remembering, is that hopefully God can use me down here.

_W_