A Few Weeks In

Wow.  Mexico sure is great.  These past few weeks have been very interesting indeed, and I've been able to spend them kind of just getting used to Mexico.  Several really cool things have happened since I have arrived...

I find that I am understanding a lot more and my Spanish is improving (YAY!!!).  I make sure that I am reading in Spanish every day (El Libro de Mormon, Harry Potter y El Prisonero de Azkaban, lo que sea) and what helps a lot is just being able to get out and talk with people.  This helps my comprehension as well as my speaking capability.  Some days are better than others and at times it is hard to express myself, but I'm trying to have patience and inasmuch as I have done so I am beginning to see that I really have been getting quite better.

I have gotten to meet a lot of cool people.  Joshua and that family that I mentioned before with the book store have proven to be great "gatekeepers," meaning that they have opened doors for me in the community.  They live right in the middle of town so whenever I need to know where I can do something or need a place to sit and think for a while they are there for me.  I have almost become part of the family there as well.  Joshua and I are great friends, and Carmen, the mother, and I really get along.  The other day I was just walking into the shop when Carmen was walking out to go and pick up her niece from school.  She asked if I wanted to come along so I did.  We picked up her niece and went shopping and just spent time together.  I am beginning to learn that spending time together (especially if their is food) is an important part of the culture here.  What a wonderful cultural aspect.  I wish that things in the US were more like that.

They are also good friends with Martin, a history expert at the museum across the street whose job is basically just to help college students with their research.  Martin has been extremely helpful so far because even though he doesn't have information concerning the LDS church, he has tons of information concerning the history of the state of Guanajuato.  This is great because for my classes I need to be read quite a bit about the history of the area here, and because Martin has provided me with so much, I basically can choose to read about the things that most interest me.

I also have gotten a good start to my project.  I have completed two interviews so far which have helped me think more about how my project is going to work methodologically.  I decided to create a survey for members to fill out if they have interest in the project, and through this manner I will be able to get contact information for those who have an interest and are willing to share more, possibly in an interview.  What is more is I will be able to prepare more individualized questions for the interview based off of the information they provided in the surveys.  I started passing them out yesterday in one of the wards and they were way more popular than I anticipated.  I still have several wards to go to, but I can't wait to start getting back some of these surveys and really getting to work on the project.

All in all, I have really been enjoying my time here.  The only real problem that I have had is that sometimes I have been having a hard time getting out and about to get things done.  I always have course work I can do at home and it is tempting to stay inside out of the sun, but I also love just getting out and talking to people.  I have taken some time to get settled and to figure things out, and I want to be better at getting out and making things happen.  I feel like I have the tools that I need, and tengo muchas ganas de estar en trabajo y tener éxito (I'm excited to get to work and start seeing things happen).

Benjamin