Twistie the Reindeer

I find myself wandering towards thoughts of Christmas now and then. It manifests itself in the strangest ways. My wife Laura says I become 9 from December through January(my birthday), but I think there's nothing wrong with that.

-John

Speak for America: Work for the National Security Agency!

This week at campus, the NSA was on campus recruiting. They had signs all over campus that said "Speak for America: Work for the National Security Agency." . They were looking for people that spoke other languages.

They were giving away free pizza, soft drinks, and even gifts for those who came to interview or turn in a resume. Those of you that know me think I would have been the first in line to check this out. Even if I did not get the job, free pizza and pop is on my list of cool things in the world. But as much as I want a job where I get paid to speak Spanish, I'm not interested in "speaking for America". At least, not the way we have been talking lately.

With our lack of real policy at the border with Mexico, and the allegations that our military and intelligence forces torture in the name of freedom, I'm not interested in being a mouthpiece for that kind of message.

I know every job we take makes us do things we don't like. There's no perfect job. But I've always said I wanted a job where I could be a bridge between the two cultures. I don't want to help someone else blow that bridge up...

-John

Click here to read a very interesting article on Torture from the Washington Post

Good News From Mexico

Latino countries have never been known as bastions of equality for women, but things are changing for the better in Latino America, just not as often as we hear on the news. Mexico, being such a large country, seems to always be receiving bad press about their record in this area.

Its no wonder, with all of the bad news we have been seeing coming out of Mexico. 431 women have died in Ciudad Juarez in Northern Mexico over the last 12 years in what appears to be sexually motivated murders (Prensa Latina). Many of the women in this same part of Northern Mexico work in Maquiladoras. Maquiladoras are factories owned by multinational companies who use Mexico's cheap labor to increase profits on items sold in the U.S. and other countries.

Many of the Maquiladoras like to hire young women, citing that they have nimble fingers that are suited this type of work and are good workers. The truth in reality has a lot more to do with the idea that some managers believe that these young women are easier to control and are not as likely to organize as a male workforce.

There are many other examples of inequality in Mexico, but I want to talk about something positive. I met a woman that exemplified some of the positive changes in Mexico on my last trip. Her name was Marí­a. She is a dentist in Ciudad Victoria.

We were all stuffed in a van on the way back to our hotel in Tampico after a grueling day of working in the free dental clinic in a village on the Gulf of Mexico. The van was bouncing and dodging rocks and the occasional cow, then came to a complete stop because of a valiant skunk in the middle of the road that threatened to spray the van if we moved any closer.

I started talking to Marí­a about my research paper that investigated the conditions in Maquiladoras. She seemed interested, and then she explained how there were positive changes going on in Mexico in the lives of women. She owned her own dental practice, managed it, and had a good business. Amazingly, her husband stayed at home and took care of the house. There is evidence that this is becoming more common, especially in areas where a lot of women work in the maquiladoras.

What struck me about this conversation was how Marí­a was another example of how preconceived notions about gender and even our prejudices about different countries keep us from seeing the whole truth. Mexico is not inhabited entirely by those outdated caricatures of macho men with big mustaches and dark-eyed, fiery, yet demure women. Mexico is changing like the rest of the world, many times for the better. It just may be hard to see it from the picture the media paints.

Finding who you are and how you fit in society can be such a struggle, no matter what country you live in, but it's not without hope. There are still people who define themselves by more timeless truths, instead of letting their society define them.

-John

To learn more about maquiladoras, visit:http://www.cfomaquiladoras.org

Here's an interesting paper on machismo also:
http://www.fgvsp.br/iberoamerican/Papers/0456_Machismo6-2003.pdf

"Day By Day"

Now you have a reason to visit Casa De Juanito cada día(every day). Even though I don't update everyday, there is something new here every day. You can read one of my favorite political comics,
"Day By Day" here every day. This is a great comic with the biting sarcasm of Doonesbury without the unrelenting Liberal bent, but its not a mouthpiece for Fox News. It knows when to speak out against this administration's mistakes, which seem to be growing worse...

Scroll to the very bottom of the page and it is after the last post.

Thanks,

Juanito

"Disco Queen of South Bend"

You find the funniest things surfing Google News...

Check out this news snippet about our Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice. This is from the Boston Globe,

"...But perhaps the most surprising news came from the editor who introduced Rice, saying the secretary of state once held the title of ''Disco Queen of South Bend, Indiana."

'You've got quite a research department,' Rice responded in the opening sentences of her address. 'I want to assure everybody, it's actually not that hard to be the disco queen of South Bend, Indiana,; Rice said. 'There's not that much competition in South Bend, Indiana.' "

It's official....South Bend is being dissed nationwide as a boring burg.

-John

¡No me ayudas gato!

"You're not helping any, ya know!"
He rolls over on his back and reaches out a soft furry paw. It always appears like he's reaching out in a gesture of friendship, but he's only wanting me to scratch his ears. He doesn't care if I finish my homework or not, rotten cat!

Maybe I'll just scratch his ears for 10 minutes and get back to my Spanish homework...

-John

Visit Sunny Puerto Rico...

I'm really enjoying my new Spanish class,"Spanish For Teachers". We learn to debate, and tell stories, even be rude in Spanish(too cool!). One of the things we have to do for exams is make recordings of ourselves speaking in Spanish.

For the first test I had to make a recording where I read an advertisement for a travel agency in Puerto Rico. I thought it was ok(I still need work on my accenty). Actually, it really struck me as sort of funny. It sounds more like a smooth jazz DJ on Valium. Click below to hear the MP3.

"De viaje a Puerto Rico"

-John

37 years old...

Today is my birthday. I turn 37 years old. It's not as scary as a few years ago when I turned 34. I remember that day, because it was the day I finally made up my mind to go back to school and study Spanish seriously. Growing older isn't bad, when you've got something to work for, as opposed to feeling like you are just swimming in that working-for-a-living numbness that swallows most of us up from time to time.

We had my party yesterday. It was really great. I made such a haul! Here's what I got:

-Three Diego Rivera Art books
-The DVD "Romero" about Salvodoran Archbishop Oscar Romero.
-"Versos Sencillos" by José Martí-One of the classics of Latin-American poetry.
-"Pensées"("The Thoughts")-By Blaise Pascal-great apologetical writing.
-Chocolate!
-Coffee!
-Money!

We had Papa John's Pizza, Chocolate Eclair Cake and Mango Jello Cool-Whip cake, and played cards afterward for a few hours, and I actually won! It was one of the best adult birthdays I have ever had in recent memory.

Here's a picture from one of the Diego Rivera artbooks I got for my birthday. Its called "Night of the Poor".

Marion Fouty

My great Aunt Marion died around 9 am in the morning on Tuesday the 11th of January. She was a teacher for many years near the Mexican border. She taught classes with Native and Mexican-Americans in her classroom. She was extremely intelligent, and one of the most independent women I have ever known. However, I was glad I was never her student, as she was never described as a "softy".

That does not mean that she was not a loving person. There is a memory I have of her that means a great deal to me. When I was sixteen, I dropped out of high school and took the GED exam. I passed the exam and went to some technical classes and later on went to a two year school called Rhema. Now after all of these years, I am on my way to getting a degree. In some ways, Aunt Marion was an impetus to continue school.

After I took the GED, I struggled with a kind of academic inferiority complex for a while. Even though it is the equivalent of graduating high school, some people look down on it. I remember very clearly on several occasions when I was a teenager how Aunt Marion looked me in the eye, and with a very serious tone and said "John, don't you ever feel ashamed about taking a GED! You can still go to college and do well!".

The look in her eyes explained very clearly that there was no discussing the pros and cons of the issue. I had been told the truth, period. For years after that, she was always one of my "boosters". When I graduated from Rhema, when I got published, and other times in my life, she was always there encouraging and supporting me. She was very excited when I started studying Spanish and encouraged me to continue. She always sent hand written cards for my birthday, our wedding anniversary and so on.

Besides her loving actions, the way she and my uncle John presented themselves was always an inspiration to do better. She was an educated person who made the world a better place, and he was a celebrated World War II pilot. They always made me proud to be part of this family. I will miss her very much.

-John

Spanish For Teachers..

Today was the start of my new Spanish class here at Indiana University. It's called "Spanish For Teachers". Its actually a class devoted to oral Spanish and learning how to speak Spanish in different situations, such as to children, or in a professional situation, etc. I really like my professor, she is from Puerto Rico and seems very smart and kind, but also has real plans to make us all work very hard.After class, one of my classmates said "Tengo miedo!"(I'm scared!). I felt the same way.

Fear aside, I really want to put all I can into this class. Sometimes I get sloppy in my Spanish, since I know that Spanish speakers will cut me some slack just because I'm a gringo. But if I truly want to make a living at this, I have to bring my speech up a notch, so I can gain the respect of those I speak to, and not just amuse them with "restaurant Spanish".

-John

My Mission Statement

I hate "corporate-speak". You know what I mean, such as when people throw words like "resource" and "shifting paradigms" into every sentence just so they sound intelligent(most of us can barely spell paradigm, let alone shift one). Multi-syllable words filling vague sentences are not the same as plain, coherent speech.

The company I work for actually has a very succinct mission statement:"We are committed to reducing downtime and repair expense for our customer's trucks." At least that's how I remember it in orientation.

Recently, I was asked in a class we have been attending, what was my personal mission statement. That's a good question. I'm still thinking about it, but here's what I have for now.

I want to be a bridge between English and Spanish-speaking cultures. I want to help the two groups understand the differences between them.

I guess thats as good as I can come up with for now.

-John

My Father..

My father's birthday is this week. I have been trying to come up with something to write about him. It's sort of hard to write about someone that is so important to you and has taught you so much.

The old saying, "When I was young, I thought my Dad wasn't very smart, but I'm happy to say he's made great strides since then." rings very true for my father. I know I have been very fortunate to have such a wise, gentle man for a father.

His name is William Glen Homan, but he goes by Glen. I certainly don't know everything about my dad, but I know more than most people. I know he was born in Southern California. He became a Christian after meeting my mom, and became very active in all the churches he has ever been a part of. He eventually spent so much time studying the bible that he became a Sunday School teacher, and still continues to teach as often as he can. While his bible studies have never been published professionally, he has written and printed many pamphlets and booklets that have been used widely in the churches that he has taught in.

With the perspective that age has finally brought my still slightly flaky mind, I understand a lot more about my dad now. I think he may have wished he could have went to school more, maybe even seminary. I know he may have had a lot of goals and dreams that he could not attain because he was working so hard trying to earn a living.

We all feel like that to some degree, I know I do. But in doing so, we always seem to miss the things that we did accomplish along the way. My dad may not have ever got to seminary, but he has accumulated an incredible amount of knowledge of all things biblical. Even more important than that, he has obtained a Christian philosophy that is both pragmatic and intellectual.

I remember when I finished seminary, I thought I had figured out the entire world and half of heaven. The real world was quick to explain things much differently to me. After that sort of shaking, it was the things that my dad taught me that helped me to make sense of a world that doesn't conform to neat,clean religious philosophies.

There is a lot more to my dad than just what he knows. I remember in the different churches I grew up in that my dad was much more than just a Sunday School teacher. He was the one that counseled people, who looked out for people, who helped people that were struggling to understand things. This didn't just apply to people in church, he was always reaching out to everyone I knew. He has always presented the type of model of sincerity and caring that I still use to measure all that I say or do.

My dad is an example of someone who may not have achieved the sort of notoriety he deserved, but has accomplished so much in the lives of all the people around him that he will always be remembered.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Love, John

Post Election Let Down...

I have been reading a lot of blogs recently from Democrats that are just really distraught over the election. We're not just talking crying in their beer here, there is some real pain going on in the country right now. Australia, Canada, and New Zealand have reported a huge increase in hits to their sites explaining how to immigrate. I had hoped after the election people would "start the healing", but I don't think that's going to happen. I don't know what the answer is. I don't think there is one answer. People's thoughts and values are very complicated.

I can honestly say that I really understand how the people that don't like, strike that, hate, George W. Bush feel. When Bill Clinton was in the White House, I couldn't stand to hear him talk on the TV. It just made me mad for so many reasons.

I remember my grandma would get real agitated when Reagan came on the TV or radio because she could not stand him. We all knew not to discuss politics with grandma, she was a very "passionate" person. I still miss her a lot.

People are more than political parties and beliefs. There is more that we agree on than we realize. Anyone who wants to leave this country now, well, I would doubt if they "get it". By "it", I mean the ins and outs of our political system. We have survived much worse chasms of differences, even a war between the states. Our political system is messy, its not pretty, and it runs more like a '76 Pinto than a Bentley. But it runs...

America remains the youngest country with the oldest constitution. We will survive and eventually thrive, that is, as long as we stick together.

-John

Third Person Madness

The humble blogger who maintains this site was recently asked by his professor to write an autobiography in Spanish. John was pleased with this because he felt he could handle this, and also the fact that first person verbs are the first ones that all Spanish students learn(Yo estoy, Yo Soy, Yo digo, etc..).

Then, the assignment changed. The professor decided that the assignment would still be a biography of the student, but instead of first person, it would be in the third person. John confided to this writer that he felt a little strange about this. Certainly its not as schitsophrenic as describing yourself in the first person plural, "We are writing a biography about ourselves." or "We felt very strange about this turn of events."

But nevertheless, John struggled with the ideas of trying to define himself as if looking from the outside in. He described it as like losing some inward compass, and finally having to look at yourself as others see you. I started to think that the blogger felt a little lost and insecure at looking at his life through the eyes of others. He could always explain the delays in his dreams, his procrastinations, and the large and small failures in his life through the lens of his good intentions his very typical, yet few personal faults. But without that internal narration that the first person view provides all of us, all of these shortcomings would certainly not be as justifiable through the third person voice. "Don't you see? Speaking of yourself in the first person just seems to justify any mediocrity so much easier", he explained, lifting one eyebrow in that mischevious way we all find so charming about him. This writer believes that John actually fears someone in the world might yet determine he was less than perfect.

But over a cup of John's favorite coffee Henry's Blend(Seattle's Best), (1 Nutrasweet, 1 Sugar-in-the-Raw, Skim milk) in the homey IUSB Cafe, he mused that maybe his reluctance to write about himself in the third person was because it also exposed his own real desire for self-promotion, self-agrandizement. Its a very common, underlying motivation for all bloggers. But not just them, everyone wants to be publicized and celebrated for the individuals that they are. Maybe not with overwhelming fame that takes all privacy, but the idea that everyone knows what is unique about us.

When John considers the two problems of writing a biography in third person, he finally agreed within himself that if he could not change these feelings, he would acknowledge they were real. He told this writer that if he could not overcome this, he would at least not deny that within himself he wanted to promote all the good things about himself to the world, and deny the existence of his failings, delays, and faults.

This seemed to satisfy John, he knew that total transparency to the world was probabally not possible. He also reminded himself it was just one assignment and that he has a tendency to take himself entirely too seriously sometimes...

El 16 de septiembre

This Thursday was Mexico's Independence Day. 194 years ago Father Miguel Hidalgo gave his grito(cry) for independencia. The picture above is from the Mexican muralist Orozco, one of the "Tres Grandes" muralists of México commemorating Father Hidalgo. Check out this link for more information about this part of México's history: Hidalgo Archive

Giving credit where it is due, I found this link on The Daily Texican".

John

Gmail Invitations

I don't know if you have heard about this, but Google has an free e-mail system called Gmail. It is very cool, you have 1 gig of email storage, no popups, and very smart filing and other assorted cutting edge features. I have 5 invitations left.
If you want one, just drop me a line at :

casadejuanito at gmail.com

Thanks

More Diego Rivera

Here's a link to a Power Point presentation I did about Diego Rivera:

"Identidad Mexicana Por los Ojos De Diego Rivera"

It's all in Spanish, a lot of good pictures and some history of the murals of México.

-John

Travel Journal

Those of you who have not read my travel journal to México, look on the sidebar below the archive and I have managed to put all the entries in by date using my meager HTML knowledge.

-Thanks

Back in the Saddle Again..and already a little sore..

Well, school has started again and I am already in the thick of things. I am a student at Indiana University, specifically I attend IUSB-Indiana University at South Bend.

Click Here for a Photo Tour of the Campus
I like most things about going to school. It was really strange at first, and I felt out of place, but now I feel very comfortable. There are a lot of other older students also. I also have to watch myself, so I don't go into old-guy mode and start talking too much or telling stories.

This is my third year going to school, I have about 36 credits. I'm attempting an Associate Degree in Spanish, and may go farther after that. I've done much better than I thought I could, I have been on the Dean's list three times, but I have only just started taking Algebra after 15 years away-we'll see how that goes.

Besides Algebra, I'm also taking Writing Spanish I. I really enjoy this class, if I have any good papers, I'll put up a link.

My least favorite part of school is.......


PARKING..."
There are simply not enough parking places for all of the students. On Wednesday, I had to feed a meter and was 15 minutes late for class, after I payed $30.00 to the school for my parking permit. I normally love irony, but not this time...

A Dream Come True..

I started learning Spanish in earnest around 1994 or 1995. I had always been interested in Spanish and tried to pick some up when I lived in San Diego. But it was not until I started working with Latinos everyday that I decided to take classes.

I always wanted my level of Spanish to get to a point where it was more than just being able to be polite, make a joke, or flirt with Latina waitresses to get better service and more Guacamole. I had been increasing little by little in my skills, mostly by doing two things, being obsessed with all things Spanish, and speaking to anyone in spanish any time I could, even if I knew I would sound foolish or like a preschooler.

What's amazing is I came to find out that going to school alone will not make you a better speaker. Without diving in and babbling away, you will never become proficient.

It's always been my dream to be able to speak to a group of Latinos totally in Spanish, without an interpreter and know that they understood me. That would mean that I had really accomplished something. Well, that dream came true this last weekend when I went down to see my family in Cincinnati.

My sister Kathi and brother-in-law Dale are the pastors of Love and Faith Christian Center. They have a Latino ministry called Amor Y Fe that meets once a month to minister to the needs of the Spanish speaking members of the congregation. I was invited to speak at this service for 35-40 minutes. I was very scared at first and thought about not even doing it, but then I remembered the other times that I had stepped out in faith when I was not sure if I could do something or not and it always worked out.

The service went very well, and we all had a good time. I spoke about Psalm 103, and how "Dios conoce nuestra condición"-how God understands our human condition with all of it's weaknesses and frailties and still loves us and wants to bless us.
Click here if you want to read my notes-but it's all in Spanish..

The people were wonderful, and they told me that they understood it all. They laughed at my lame jokes, and some of them cried in several places. We had a time of prayer afterwards and several people responded for prayer. I hope I get to do this again, it was a great experience.

Family Reunion

Recently, I went down to Cincinnati to see my Mom and Dad and sisters Kathi and Carol, my brother-in-law Dale, Carol's boyfriend Rick, and all my nieces and nephews. It was quite the occasion because the whole family had not been together for some time. My mom was very happy. We ate way more than we should have, all went to church on Sunday and just had a great time.

The Daily Texican

Check out this blog about Spanglish Culture and language:

The Daily Texican

Summer @ the Lake

Many of you may not know it but we live on a lake. We moved here around April to live with Laurie's parents who are getting older and needing some help. It's not always an easy gig and has its ups and downs for sure.

That being said, today was a pretty good day. I got all of the mowing done and jumped in the lake afterwards then grilled some brats and had a lovely dinner.

For some reason I was never exposed to the wonderfulness that is a bratwurst until I moved to the midwest. Next to bacon and ribs, brats are the best thing ever to come from the side of a smelly pig.

I normally like everything on my burgers and hot dogs, but brats are a completely different thing. You need to take more of a minimalist approach to savor the nuances of the flavor of brats. Onions chopped fine, brown mustard-none of that plain french's, and maybe, maybe a little relish. Iced sun tea, made with Luzianne and sugar, and pringles potato chips, and some cantalope or watermelon and you are talking a meal approaching culinary Nirvana.

Here's some pictures from my tiny digital camera:

View of Simonton Lake

Laura and the Grandparents in the swing

The yard and the lake

Read me....

One of the reasons I started this blog was for shameless self-promotion in securing a job someday using my knowledge of Spanish and Hispanic culture. So in keeping with that purpose, here are some of the papers I have written while at Indiana University. The links will either open the document up in Word, or you can download them directly.
 
"Mexican Identity Through The Eyes of Diego Rivera"
This paper was published in the IUSB Undergraduate Journal in the 2003 issue. That issue is not on-line yet, but should be soon. This paper examines the cultural messages contained in the murals and other works of Mexican artist Diego Rivera, and how they relate to Mexican cultural identity.

"America's Culture of Superiority".
I wrote this essay as a cultural autobiography of the United States. It's not what it sounds like. It examines why Americans believe they are the best country in the world, and examines how this belief is valid in many ways. It also examines how we still have much to improve, and why American methods don't work in every part of the world.

"Rosie the Riveter meets Señorita Maquiladora"
This essay was written for a sociology course. It examines how multinational companies in Mexico("Maquiladoras or Maquilas")have preferred to hire women instead of men for assembly work. The paper goes on to compare this introduction of Mexican women into the work force to the World War Two introduction of women into munitions factories, with the example of Rosie the Riveter.

Rosie the Riveter Paper in Spanish
This is the same paper as the one above, except it is written in Spanish. I was lucky enough to have a professor that allowed me to use the same theme for my Spanish Composition class. Of the two, I like this version better, my professor helped me to make it sound much better, and give it a more upbeat and positive ending.

"Como perdí mi juventud"
This is an autobiographical spanish piece about growing up very quick when I was in my teens.

I have put up permanent links to these on my blogroll over on the sidebar, along with links to some websites.

Thanks for stopping by...
-John

Journal Entries Complete!

The blog has been updated with all of the stories and pictures from Mexico. Enjoy reading and drop me a line or click on comment to leave a message on the blog itself!

If you want to start from the preparations for the trip-go back to May archives, otherwise, click below for the first day of the trip.

The Day Has Finally Come

-John

Journal Entries Menu

-Read John's Mexico Travel Journal Here-
Tuesday, June 08, 2004-"Sharp and Pointy"
Saturday, June 12, 2004-"The Big Day"
Saturday, June 12, 2004-"In Texas"
Sunday, June 13, 2004-"Border Crossing"
Sunday, June 13, 2004-"Garden of Eden with Geckos & Tacos"
Monday, June 14, 2004-"Machine Guns and Fried Fish"
Monday, June 14, 2004-Taxis,Shoe Shopping and Tito Puente"
Tuesday, June 15, 2004-"Blue Herons and Strawberry Anesthia"
Tuesday, June 15, 2004-"Last Patient for the Day"
Wednesday, June 16, 2004-"Bad Fish and Dirty Syringes"
Wednesday, June 16, 2004-"Sponge Bob,Sting, and Cashews"
Thursday, June 17, 2004-"Debriefing"
Thursday, June 17, 2004-"At the Beach"
Friday, June 18, 2004-"Back in Texas"
Saturday, June 19, 2004-"Really Home Now"
Monday, June 28, 2004-"No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"

Really home now..

June 19th entry

Lovely slow breakfast-thanks for leaving the Pop-Tarts and string cheese out for us Christine!

Caught a plane out of Austin for Cincinnati. Got patted down by the security guy, the cause was a 5 peso coin in my wallet. Finished "Watership Down" and finally started on "Wind in the Willows".

Not sure exactly how to explain all that I learned and what happened inside of me throughout the whole trip-still working on that-look for a future entry.

Touched down at 8:30 pm Indiana time-promptly went to McDonalds for a Big Mac...

Back in Texas...

June 18th entry

Left around 6 am for Texas and spent about 16 hours on the road total before we rolled into New Braunfels.

Got held up at the border again with the vehicles, waited an hour in the heat. After exchanging our money,(Hey, theres not so much back this time!), we went to the Golden Corral Steakhouse. It's like a Ryan's Steakhouse in Indiana. Ate and ate, then ate some more. It was a wave of relief to be back in the states. Really enjoyed our host home letting us have the place all to ourselves. Finally got to watch Sponge Bob in english.

At the beach...

June 17th pm entry

****Click on the hyperlinks to see the pictures***

Finally made it to the Gulf of Mexico. We rented some cabanas, put on our bathing suits and relaxed until about 5 pm. I went swimming for a little while and then came back and sat under the shade and read my book for a couple of hours. Shopping at the beach is alot of fun, because you can do it without leaving your chair if you like, the vendors come to you. Or you can go to the mini mall of palm tree huts and shop there. Heres a picture of Laura in a new coverup she bought on the beach. We also bought alot of pottery and a great deal of jewelry(none for me).The vendors also brought by corn on the cob, candy, fruit, and other goodies. We left around 5 pm.

Later that night we went out for dinner to Burger King and Baskin Robbins. Not very exciting, but it was nice to taste something familiar. What's so interesting about Mexico and the United States is how they are both becoming so similar. There are a lot of signs and places in Mexico with english names and labels, but much of the States has many names in Spanish. Even in Elkhart this is very common. The two countries are connected closer every day.

Debriefing

June 17th entry am entry

Yesterday was the last day of clinics. Today was a free day-that means shopping and the beach. We started out with breakfast and what is called "debriefing". That is where you try to make sense of all that has happened to you and get a chance to share with the rest of the group how the trip has affected you.

My group was adults doing a medical clinic, the other two groups were teenagers and adults working at a local church and orphanage to do painting and other work projects. The teenagers were very touched by the whole thing and a lot of them were crying at what they had seen and heard. It's not that I am hard, it's just that since this is my third trip here, I'm not in such shock over what I have seen. Instead, I am more firmly convinced everytime I come here of the things God had showed me in the past. But one thing did make me cry.

The dentist María got up and spoke to the group through one of the translators. She said that she had always did all that she could to help her people, but it amazed her to see foreigners (extranjeros) travelling so far and spending so much money to show love to her people, and on behalf of the people of Mexico, she thanked us. That got to me.
Here's a picture of María and her son Hernan who came on the trip with us: