Well, we did not have the most golds, but we did win the overall medal count. I like the olympics a lot. Some of my highlights were winning all of the volleyball golds, China not getting all 8 diving golds, Phelps (I am glad that he is an American), and the opening ceremony cookout that we had. I wish I could have seen a wider variety of sports, but I did have to do things besides just watch the Olympics.
Speaking of sports, College Football has started.
Harding University is now one week into its fall semester. That means that I have been teaching for a week. Teaching at Harding is much different from teaching in Mexico. At first I think I was doing too much similar to how I taught in Mexico, and I felt as if I was not doing a particularly good job, especially with our online program. However, as the week wore on, things started getting better. Hopefully that trend will continue.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Harding
I am now at Harding University.
I will be teaching some lower level Spanish classes. And the language labs for the 200 level classes. It will be very different from what I did in Mexico and very interesting trying to figure everything out. I am not sure if I know enough yet to be worried or not. I have everything pretty much set up in my room, and similar to the Israelites who entered the promised land and did not have to build anything, I am using someone else's office. Therefore, I did not really have to do very much there.
Hopefully everything will go smoothly and it will be a great transition.
By the way, in the approximately one month that I was back in Nashville, I enjoyed being there a lot. Spending time wth Nicole was wonderful. It was good to be with my family again.
_W_
I will be teaching some lower level Spanish classes. And the language labs for the 200 level classes. It will be very different from what I did in Mexico and very interesting trying to figure everything out. I am not sure if I know enough yet to be worried or not. I have everything pretty much set up in my room, and similar to the Israelites who entered the promised land and did not have to build anything, I am using someone else's office. Therefore, I did not really have to do very much there.
Hopefully everything will go smoothly and it will be a great transition.
By the way, in the approximately one month that I was back in Nashville, I enjoyed being there a lot. Spending time wth Nicole was wonderful. It was good to be with my family again.
_W_
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
The Tape
Today is Tuesday, July 15th. I am leaving Monterrey and returning home on Saturday, July 19th. The end is approaching rapidly. I can see the tape stretched across the finish line.
This past weekend was pretty cool. On Saturday at the church I got to help out with a VBS type thing. I was drafted as the cameraman, so I tried to do cool things like zoom in a lot on the hands when they were doing crafts and that type of thing. In addition to taping the VBS, I helped out in a few other ways and got to enjoy all the kids, many of whom I had never seen before, though I do not know if they were from nearby neighborhoods or other congregations. After VBS, we played soccer for maybe about three hours. We were all tired by the end, but my team won the final game 7-6.
On Sunday, we had a "Despedida." One married couple is leaving for a preaching school in Texas, a youth group girl is going to study English in Canada for a few months, and I am coming back home. So that is why we had a Good-Bye Party. We grilled out but not hamburgers, but rather some awesome Mexican dish. It was excellent. The members had written notes for the four of us, and they handed those to us and the husband and I both gave short speeches. Also, they had videos for all of us. They were awesome. It was a really good Despedida.
Hopefully I will be able to get the video and put it on You tube with all my others.
This past weekend was pretty cool. On Saturday at the church I got to help out with a VBS type thing. I was drafted as the cameraman, so I tried to do cool things like zoom in a lot on the hands when they were doing crafts and that type of thing. In addition to taping the VBS, I helped out in a few other ways and got to enjoy all the kids, many of whom I had never seen before, though I do not know if they were from nearby neighborhoods or other congregations. After VBS, we played soccer for maybe about three hours. We were all tired by the end, but my team won the final game 7-6.
On Sunday, we had a "Despedida." One married couple is leaving for a preaching school in Texas, a youth group girl is going to study English in Canada for a few months, and I am coming back home. So that is why we had a Good-Bye Party. We grilled out but not hamburgers, but rather some awesome Mexican dish. It was excellent. The members had written notes for the four of us, and they handed those to us and the husband and I both gave short speeches. Also, they had videos for all of us. They were awesome. It was a really good Despedida.
Hopefully I will be able to get the video and put it on You tube with all my others.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Mountains
Yes it has been a while. I'm sorry. I have however, been a part of a couple cool things over the past few weeks.
The most famous landmark in Monterrey is the Cerro de la Silla. This is a mountain that juts up above Monterrey and looks like a saddle. It looks really cool. On one of the peaks there is a huge antenna. Also, there is a path that leads up to the antenna. Four guys from the church and I decided that we wanted to climb up the mountain and reach the top, aka the antenna. One Saturday morning very early I got up and went to the church. After waiting around for a long time (Latin American time), we finally all gathered together and set off for the mountain. We parked at someone's house and the trailhead was maybe a quarter mile away.
The trail was actaully a jeep trail. Though there were some parts that I think would have been difficult even or a Jeep. Not to mention the large vehicle we saw that had rolled off the trail down into the woods a few kilometes up the trail. Anyway, eventually we made it to the top. The view was awesome. Monterrey is so much bigger than I originally thought. It took us about three hours to get to the top, we stayed there and hour, and it took two hours to get back down. My legs were sore for the next two days. It was a great hike.
A couple weeks after that we went to the second-most recognizable landmark in Monterrey-Chipinque. Chipinque is a massive park with lots and lots of trails. All on the side of a mountain. This time instead of five guys, we had six guys and three girls. Chipinque, at least the part we did, wasn't nearly as difficult as Cerro de la Silla. It took us 2 maybe 2.5 hours to reach the "Meseta," which is a large recreational area. It has a playground, souvenir place, food place, and lots of squirrels, which some people enjoy giving food to. After that long getting up (though we did take lots of breaks at various stopping points and playgrounds and for pictures) it only took us 45 minutes to get back down. We were going pretty quickly. The total distance traveled was about 4.5 Kilometers, a little under 3 miles. It was funny the next day seeing people sore at church. I wa glad that my legs were fine.
After Chipinque, the young people had a devo at someone's house. Then four of the guys including me, plus two other people who go to a different church (one from out of town) went to the World Cup Qualifying game between Mexico and Belize. It was their second game and Mexico won the first 2-0. One of the guys bought a jersey for me, my face was painted, and I wore my red bandana, so I was pretty decked out. The game was an absolute rout. Mexico won seven to zero. It was a lot of fun.
I guess those a the big things that have happened recently. In the school we lost one teacher but four others came. Classes. Etc. I have three weeks and two days left in Mexico. I am now on the final downhill slope. Anyway, I guess that is all.
_W_
The most famous landmark in Monterrey is the Cerro de la Silla. This is a mountain that juts up above Monterrey and looks like a saddle. It looks really cool. On one of the peaks there is a huge antenna. Also, there is a path that leads up to the antenna. Four guys from the church and I decided that we wanted to climb up the mountain and reach the top, aka the antenna. One Saturday morning very early I got up and went to the church. After waiting around for a long time (Latin American time), we finally all gathered together and set off for the mountain. We parked at someone's house and the trailhead was maybe a quarter mile away.
The trail was actaully a jeep trail. Though there were some parts that I think would have been difficult even or a Jeep. Not to mention the large vehicle we saw that had rolled off the trail down into the woods a few kilometes up the trail. Anyway, eventually we made it to the top. The view was awesome. Monterrey is so much bigger than I originally thought. It took us about three hours to get to the top, we stayed there and hour, and it took two hours to get back down. My legs were sore for the next two days. It was a great hike.
A couple weeks after that we went to the second-most recognizable landmark in Monterrey-Chipinque. Chipinque is a massive park with lots and lots of trails. All on the side of a mountain. This time instead of five guys, we had six guys and three girls. Chipinque, at least the part we did, wasn't nearly as difficult as Cerro de la Silla. It took us 2 maybe 2.5 hours to reach the "Meseta," which is a large recreational area. It has a playground, souvenir place, food place, and lots of squirrels, which some people enjoy giving food to. After that long getting up (though we did take lots of breaks at various stopping points and playgrounds and for pictures) it only took us 45 minutes to get back down. We were going pretty quickly. The total distance traveled was about 4.5 Kilometers, a little under 3 miles. It was funny the next day seeing people sore at church. I wa glad that my legs were fine.
After Chipinque, the young people had a devo at someone's house. Then four of the guys including me, plus two other people who go to a different church (one from out of town) went to the World Cup Qualifying game between Mexico and Belize. It was their second game and Mexico won the first 2-0. One of the guys bought a jersey for me, my face was painted, and I wore my red bandana, so I was pretty decked out. The game was an absolute rout. Mexico won seven to zero. It was a lot of fun.
I guess those a the big things that have happened recently. In the school we lost one teacher but four others came. Classes. Etc. I have three weeks and two days left in Mexico. I am now on the final downhill slope. Anyway, I guess that is all.
_W_
Monday, May 19, 2008
Niños Héroes
Last Thursday I wanted to get out and actually see a little bit of Monterrey (MTY), so I took the Metro up to a park called Niños Héroes (pictures on facebook). This park is near UANL, which is a University in Monterrey and also near where the Tigres (one of the two soccer teams here in Monterrey) play.
When I got off the metro, there was a velodrome in front of me. I was intrigued, especially since it was full of people and cyclists. I had apparently accidentally come across the National Junior Olympics. They were being held in MTY at various sites all over the city. I thought that it was pretty cool, so I stopped and watched for a bit. I saw my old state of Sonora, my current state of Nuevo León (NL), and many others as well. When I left, NL was winning.
Then, not knowing what was in this park, I went into a small aquarium. It was just a simple one room building with aquariums along the walls, but it was pretty cool.
Then I found the old car museum, but I did not go in. There are two buildings, but only one was open. On the weekends, both are open and still for the same price, so I am going to wait until some open Saturday afternoon and see both parts. From the windows, though, it looked pretty cool.
I next went to the museum of Fuana and natural science. I guess it was a taxidermy museum. There were a lot of animals from all over the world ranging from the polar bear, the ostrich, the squirrel, and the cheetah. It was pretty neat. And definitely worth the 5 pesos (about fifty cents) that it cost to enter.
Along with the aquarium, the aviary is also free. It looked really neat from the outside. I guess like a giant crystal ball, but made of mesh wiring instead of crystal. Inside were several interesting looking birds as well, including several peacocks.
Lastly, I went to where they were doing the National Junior Olympics for Equestrian riding. After watching a little bit, I headed back to the school for a full afternoon of teaching.
Anyway, for a random Thursday just going to the park, I had a really good time. It seems like a cool park (they also had beach volleyball, and I think the MTY Ultimate fields are here if ever I am not working when they are playing). I am also excited about going back and seeing those antique cars.
When I got off the metro, there was a velodrome in front of me. I was intrigued, especially since it was full of people and cyclists. I had apparently accidentally come across the National Junior Olympics. They were being held in MTY at various sites all over the city. I thought that it was pretty cool, so I stopped and watched for a bit. I saw my old state of Sonora, my current state of Nuevo León (NL), and many others as well. When I left, NL was winning.
Then, not knowing what was in this park, I went into a small aquarium. It was just a simple one room building with aquariums along the walls, but it was pretty cool.
Then I found the old car museum, but I did not go in. There are two buildings, but only one was open. On the weekends, both are open and still for the same price, so I am going to wait until some open Saturday afternoon and see both parts. From the windows, though, it looked pretty cool.
I next went to the museum of Fuana and natural science. I guess it was a taxidermy museum. There were a lot of animals from all over the world ranging from the polar bear, the ostrich, the squirrel, and the cheetah. It was pretty neat. And definitely worth the 5 pesos (about fifty cents) that it cost to enter.
Along with the aquarium, the aviary is also free. It looked really neat from the outside. I guess like a giant crystal ball, but made of mesh wiring instead of crystal. Inside were several interesting looking birds as well, including several peacocks.
Lastly, I went to where they were doing the National Junior Olympics for Equestrian riding. After watching a little bit, I headed back to the school for a full afternoon of teaching.
Anyway, for a random Thursday just going to the park, I had a really good time. It seems like a cool park (they also had beach volleyball, and I think the MTY Ultimate fields are here if ever I am not working when they are playing). I am also excited about going back and seeing those antique cars.
Monday, May 12, 2008
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.
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.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
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.
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.
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