this beautiful church called Santo Domingo near downtown Oaxaca. it was built in 1529...making it officially the oldest thing i've ever seen in person. it's absolutely gorgeous inside...
the inside of Santo Domingo. i like this picture, but it's difficult to get good pictures inside because it's not very well lit and flashes aren't allowed. it's amazing. meleah and i are going to try to go to a church service there, doing our part to bridge the gigantic gap between the catholics and evangelicals.
our first day in lachigolo, where we're working with kids. i don't actually like this picture, but that's alright. that little girl was SPUNKY...i liked her.
our first full day in oaxaca, exploring (near) downtown. we can't go downtown right now because the teachers are striking and commendeering buses so they can drive them in to stores, and (maybe) shooting people. and they say our education system is in trouble!? the area near downtown is absolutely beautiful, and i hear the area that is blocked off is breath-taking, so i'm excited to see that.
one of the streets near downtown. there's no story, i just really like this picture. you can't tell so much in this picture, but there is a lot of spanish influence in their architecture.
i'm working on setting up a website with more pictures, but for now, this is what you get. :)
oh, and on a very important side-note, GO WHITE SOX!
much love-
sabrina
dos
update 2.
just a quick one to let you know we're alive and well.
we're going out to one of the villages in about an hour to get aquainted with the bank and meet the women who work there (at least, that's what i got from the information being given to us completely in spanish.) it's very funny...even people who speak english won't. usually i can mostly get what they're saying, but dang! people here talk fast! it's alright though...more and more comes back to me each day, and sometimes when i'm journaling or typing i have to remember to use english words instead of spanish. that's a good sign, i think!
we're not really supposed to go out alone after dark, so if you're ever having some uncontrollable urge to call mexico and it's after 8 o'clock, the chances of us answering are quite high. i think meleah and i being here together has been very good for us, but i know neither of us would mind hearing another familiar voice.
miss you, love you, and continue to covet your prayers as we begin working with the children, teaching english classes (ha! that should be interesting) and working with a health clinic. we're excited, a little nervous, and mostly trusting that God very specifically brought us here.
God is being patient and showing me, in a very real way, what great things He gives to replace those He ¨takes away.¨not a fun lesson to learn, but it's so nice to feel like i'm coming out on the other side of it. i feel happy, energized, and so blessed. the only thing that would make it better would be if each of you were here. :)
much love, all the way from mexico,
sabrina
¡hola de mexico!
welcome to my first experience in mexico, an internet cafe, and a keyboard with the mexican alphabet. please forgive my typos. :)
i'm in the process of trying to upload photos to lovely blogger, but seemingly without much success so far. hopefully that will change before i get to the end of this post.
meleah and i departed early thursday morning for our 10 o'clock flight from O'hare to mexico city, where we would catch our connecting flight to lovely oaxaca. of course, because my luck is my luck, our flight was delayed for about 2.5 hours in chicago (after we got on the plane, mind you) because of an apparent thunderstorm. i saw no lightening and heard no thunder, but regardless...we arrived in mexico city safely, but about 45 minutes after our connecting flight departed. it was an adventure finding the desk we needed, someone who could help us and our gate. we arrived unscathed, but tired, in oaxaca. jo ellen picked us up at the airport, fed us (yum!) and took us to our apartment. it's absolutely beautiful. i'll post pictures of that next time.
friday we learned (sort of) how to use the bus, where downtown is, and other such useful information. we located a laundromat and an internet cafe, some restaurants, two supermarkets, a movie theater (movies are only 3.50!) and other such necessary places.
i've had much practice saying "no comprendo" and "no se" (i don't understand and i don't know) as well as "lo siento"...i'm sorry. meleah and i adventured off to a movie and lunch today. it went fairly well except that apparently after i ordered my lunch i was supposed to sit down, but i didn't know. the staff had a nice, akward laugh at my expense. no harm...i got my lunch eventually.
i'm loving the city, the people have been generally nice, and we're surrounded by mountains. i am excited for monday morning, when we actually get to meet with Isa, who is in charge of fuentes libres, and meet the kids. i'll update again soon, this internet cafe is only $.50 an hour!
much, much love,
sabrina
sorry about the lack of pictures...i'm trying. maybe next time!?
24.
first, can i please take a moment to pledge my love to the show 24 and jack bauer? i thought of it when i was typing the title. every monday night....an hour of heart-stopping goodness with sir jack bauer.
whew, i'm glad i got that out of my system.
no, really though, i leave in 24 hours! i'll be on a plane to mexico. crazy!! i have a ton to get done, but i'm so excited. :) just thought i'd share. next time you hear from me, it will be from sunny (or at least really warm) oaxaca, mexico. woohoo!!
i'm up to my ears in boxes!!!
i'm packing.
i HATE packing.
it's a good thing i'm so excited about this trip...it makes these few days worth it.
i'm off to pack...more.
preparation
i am getting ready. 4 days and counting....
i think that my mind and my heart are being prepared. i was nervous about this at first--afraid that i'd wish it was brazil. after all, i liked my plan. but i'm getting increasingly excited about this trip, and i can tell that my heart is already beginning to be in oaxaca. just imagine how i'll feel after being there six weeks!
in addition, i've been blessed with some absolutely amazing people and times in the past two weeks. i spent almost all of the last 3 days making something for my dad. i got to see friends who live out of state, friends who live close, people who i haven't seen since high school... it's been so good.
i have a ton of packing to do before i go. that's the most daunting thing.
other than that, i'm ready.
it's only the beginning
i haven't left yet, but i wanted to go ahead and start this before i forget that i've made it. (yes, my memory
really is that bad.)
8 days and counting until i'm in mexico!
this beautiful church called Santo Domingo near downtown Oaxaca. it was built in 1529...making it officially the oldest thing i've ever seen in person. it's absolutely gorgeous inside...
the inside of Santo Domingo. i like this picture, but it's difficult to get good pictures inside because it's not very well lit and flashes aren't allowed. it's amazing. meleah and i are going to try to go to a church service there, doing our part to bridge the gigantic gap between the catholics and evangelicals.
our first day in lachigolo, where we're working with kids. i don't actually like this picture, but that's alright. that little girl was SPUNKY...i liked her.
our first full day in oaxaca, exploring (near) downtown. we can't go downtown right now because the teachers are striking and commendeering buses so they can drive them in to stores, and (maybe) shooting people. and they say our education system is in trouble!? the area near downtown is absolutely beautiful, and i hear the area that is blocked off is breath-taking, so i'm excited to see that.
one of the streets near downtown. there's no story, i just really like this picture. you can't tell so much in this picture, but there is a lot of spanish influence in their architecture.
