Staying in Contact

A few weeks ago I had the wonderful opportunity to have a friend, Beto, from Irapuato come and visit.  Well, actually he came to visit his then girlfriend, now fiancé, to put a ring on her finger and make things official. But while he was there he got to stay with me,which means that I got to have full-length conversations in Spanish!  My how I had missed that.  When planning for Beto to come I had thought that we would have him sleep on the couch, but when he arrived and as I was about to explain to him the sleeping arrangements I had a though, what would a mexican do if they had me in their home.  They are so hospitable, and so I offered him my bed and I slept on the couch for the few nights he was there.  Late, on the night before we was to go home, we even got to play some Super Smash Bros together and I had tons of fun while my roommates laughed to here me jeering and crying out in Spanish while playing the video game.  Overall it was a wonderful week that really brought me back.  I had forgotten how much I had missed it.  I need to make sure that I have a good Spanish conversation at least once per week.

But one of the best parts of this experience was the chance that I had to send a note back with Beto to give to my host family.  I wrote about some of the experiences that we had shared together, including some of my lingual mistakes and crazy stories.  I had a little section addressed to each of them wherein I addressed some of the special times we had shared and asked questions about their lives and interests.  I am glad that I had that opportunity to remember them and the fun times that we had shared and, in a way, relive those moments with them.

I talked about the time I used completely incorrect words to apologize for the broken tile on their staircase.  I mentioned the teeth-brushing dance parties that I tried to instigate with my younger sisters, and the times where we shared favorite songs with each other.  I reminded them about how I was the most chicken of them all and didn't like watching all the scary movies that they like.  I assured them that I am still an avid superhero lover and a kid at heart.  I asked the kids about the games that they play and the friends that they had.  I, unfortunately, forgot to mention Psycho, their dog - a huge Rottweiler puppy that had absolutely no self control, haha, I would always say that he is psycho, and his name is Psycho too.  It was great to be able to reminisce about the summer while I wrote the letter to them.

I was happy to receive this notice on Facebook from Hermana Navarro the following Monday: 

"Querido ben ayer me hiciste llorar pero de felicidad, gracias por acordarte de nosotros, te amamos mucho y nos da gusto que estes feliz en tus estudios. me entregaron tu carta al empezar el sacramental y ya sabras todos querian saber que decia, daira,saul,etc... asi que la tuve que guardarl y al estar en la comida la saque y la lehi,nos reimos,te extrañamos,etc, etc, ojala pronto puedas venir te prometo hacer rica comida y claro montañas hawaianas,ja,ja,ja, te mando un abrazo con mucho cariño de parte de todos."

I'm so glad that I get to stay in contact with my host family.  They have become a special part of my life.

Post-Field-Study: The Effect of Retrospect

It has now been several months since I have returned from my muse-ful experience in Mexico, and it has certainly been interesting to see those three months in retrospect.  As I look back in this very blog I found a list of what I was hoping that I would accomplish during my time in Mexico.  Here is a link to that post:
http://amuseofmexico.blogspot.com/2012/01/mis-esperazas-y-mis-suenos.html

But, to sum up, my main goals were as follows:
1. Learn Spanish
2. Collect "Pioneer of the Faith" stories
3. Get to know the Mexican culture
4. Build lasting friendships

As I look back I can see that I was able to accomplish, or at least get underway, each of those goals.  I still have a lot of work to do in improving my Spanish skills, but I took the dreaded "Oral Proficiency Interview" and scored an "Advanced Low," meaning that I have about the language skills of a returned missionary, and that I can hold a conversation easily with native speakers.  I still make mistakes, and have a lot to learn, but I would consider myself conversationally fluent.

I also did collect a lot of great stories! It was a great experience to be able to talk to the members of the LDS church about how they or their families met and joined the church.  I still have all these stories, and sharing them will be another goal for another time all together (transcription in a foreign language takes FOR-EV-ER!) but I have started and in fact have another blog where I posted just a few short stories so far.  Be warned- they are in Spanish.  Here is the link to that blog:
http://historiasudestacairapuato.blogspot.com/

As for the last two goals, I was able to get a lot of experience with Mexican culture, eating the food, learning the idioms (and the double entendres behind them), and just getting a feel for Mexican life.  Obviously three months is not nearly enough time to gain an accurate representation of what it means to be a Mexican, especially for a tall, white, gringo with an accent, but I have learned a lot that I didn't know before and done a lot that I never had before, and this experience has given me a lot to think about, especially in that retrospective light.  There is a sense that if I don't hold on dearly to these things, small in number though they may be, that they will slip from me like a dream.  I do NOT want this to happen.  Mexico has become a part of who I am.  Because of this, my final project will be an essay about how my experiences in Mexico have shaped who I am, and changed me for the better.  More on this later.

As for the final goal, I am glad that I can say that I have made several friends during my stay in Mexico, and that I am still in contact with quite a few of them.  Most importantly, I feel, is my host family.  I miss them often and I wish I could go back and visit.  I'm so glad that I was able to have this experience with them, that they were so kind to share their home, food, and lives with me.  We still talk, but I am really looking forward to seeing them again in person.

Well, that's a quick update.  More to come later on that effect of this retrospective thought!

Benjamin