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| I have an opportunity to go see a bull fight tomorrow night. Debating on whether or not to go. Taking a vote! =)
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| Montezuma took his revenge on me these past +24hrs. I felt kinda sick on Tuesday night and on Wednesday it steadily got worse. I took the day off today because I was just in so much pain. Thank goodness for some of these medications that are out there.
As for the "Challenge" ummm... I can't say I took any of those challenges. I wasn't playing the game when I got sick. So... uhhh.... Penalty on MEXICO FOR CHEATING!!!!!! I'm still up for the Challenge. Mexico took a cheap shot! =)
Honestly, I didn't eat anything strange or foreign. And I think during the time I got sick, two other guys fell ill. So it's really anybody's guess as to what caused it. I didn't drink the water, swallow goldfish, or drink rancid milk. It just happened. oh well.
I'm still alive. thank God for that!!! I'll be returning to the US for Dcn Tommy Chen's ordination. Fr Daniel Liu, Dcn Tommy Chen, and I are the only three Chinese raised American diocesan seminarians that I know of in the western hemisphere. A rare event indeed! I'll return to Mexico on Sunday.
Oh... by the way, I know you guys are really interested in pictures... so I have picture of my illness!!! KAKAAKAKAKA ok jk!
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| If I don't write about today, then this trip to Mexico wouldn't be worth it. But before I launch into my story, I want to let you know that I'll be posting pictures up of the churches that I visited soon. I went to two churches yesterday and snapped about 150 shots in one hour. That's barely scratching the surface and I realized that it's nearly impossible to show the grandeur of these churches in these photographs. Stay tuned!!
Okay. So today started off like any regular Monday in Mexico (I've only been through one ^_^) I woke up late, rushed to chapel, prayed, ate breakfast, went to class. Learned some spanish, and waited for our bus to take us back home. The bus seemed to be a little late in getting there, but it finally pulled up. Our school is located on a very narrow street. It's about three lanes wide, with one lane typically occupied with parked cars. The other two lanes are for thru traffic. However, today one of those lanes was blocked off too. It's worth noting that in Mexico, there aren't really any "lanes," just space. So you've got space for about two cars. With a large charter bus in the way, parked and loading passengers, traffic either stops or a few brave souls attempt to squeeze past the bus and the cars. Today, a truck delivering water attempted to make this squeeze.
He failed.
We had felt a small shake but didn't think much of it. All of a sudden our bus takes off. Half of us are trying to think of the word for "STOP" because we hadn't picked up all the seminarians yet. The other half was complacent a figured our crazy Mexican driver would stop when he wanted to stop and swing around a pick him up. We had seen enough strange driving, that almost nothing surprised us. The next thing we know the bus driver speeds up and squeezes past the water truck. We are talking centimeters from the sides of the vehicles colliding in this chase. Not to mention bumpy roads that cause the bus to sway. Finally he pulls in front and cuts off the water truck. He stops and both get out and start arguing. Adrenaline's going strong now!!! Everybody is out of their seat watching what unfolds and at the same time trying to figure out what had just happened.
Here is a map of the route!
View Larger Map
This is all we see out the window. Notice the debris on the ground in between the bus window and the truck.
One seminarian made a correct educated guess as to what happened. The rest of us thought they collided when our driver was passing the other. Evidently, our driver was chasing after his rear view mirror. The water truck had clipped our bus and the rear view mirror was on top of the water truck. When the water truck stopped, the mirror fell off. Which is what you see on the ground above.
So we have a large charter bus cutting off a water truck with half of the vehicles hanging out in the middle of the intersection, blocking traffic in both directions. Honking filled the air. Still others were attempting to squeeze past.
Here are some that tried to squeeze past.... DRIVING ON THE SIDEWALK!!!
 
It's kinda funny with this picture. Notice the Circle "E" That means no parking. The signs here are really just friendly recommendations...
The arguing and the walking around continues for the next 30 minutes. It's still anyone's guess as to what is going to happen next. More honking, more impatient drivers. Pacing. And the guys in the bus just joking around. We actually become the afternoon's entertainment as the people in nearby shops and housing come out to see what's going on. I felt bad for the water truck guy. Our bus driver was bigger and meaner. The water truck guy seemed like he just got out of highschool and has no idea why this guy is yelling at him.
Traffic is pretty much slowed to a standstill. We were still blocking the intersection waiting for the police to arrive and assess the situation. The bus company reps also arrived on the scene to take pictures. After awhile, this gets really boring and then things change for the AWESOMEEEEEE!!!!!!!
In the midst of all this honking an armored truck tries to also pass this blockade of vehicles. It makes a turn and then all of a sudden this guy jumps out with a shotgun, with a bandolier of shells. He's scanning the place and looking around, assessing the situation. It was like the SWAT team showed up!!! We think that they thought this was some sort of setup to rob the armored truck. So they came out with guns at the ready! The truck continues forward, the guy with the shotgun jogs behind, keeping guard. He hugs the closet wall, ready for anything. Shortly we see another guy come out of the truck. He's carrying a bag of money in one hand, and a pistol at the ready with the other. They mean business. They were making a delivery and nobody was going to stop them. In the midst of this craziness, I think somebody made the comment that it might be a good idea to duck. We ducked. But I snapped a two shots before they disappeared.....
These two pictures have made this trip worth it!!!!
 
Unfortunately, XANGA's picture upload really shrunk these pictures. I have the originals in much clearer form, but I don't know where to upload it. If you want them, I can email them to you.
Epilogue: So two hours later, the police arrive on the scene and basically impound the bus for further investigation. We had to take another bus back home. It was all worth it.
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| This is going to be a short entry I think because it's getting late.
My Challenge is still going strong. I was a little more adventurous today because I took a trip with some of the guys into town. We went to a restaurant for lunch. Our teachers took us there because that was their favorite place. Unfortunately, it's a more formal restaurant...but probably not the average fare. If I goto a foreign country, I want to eat the most local cuisine. Immersion right? Well, I got a small mountain of food, I had no idea what I was ordering. It tasted similar to satay beef. I was hoping to get some seafood being Friday and all, but it I had no idea what I was ordering. =\ oh well... roll with it. I'm not a fan of "mexican food" in Texas (i.e. TexMex). However, those that claim that Mexico has foods that are nothing like TexMex, they better be trying their case. I'm not impressed. One comedian put it: Mexican food is simply rice, cheese, beans, veggies, and some meat with a tortilla. Depending on how you shape it, it's a new food!! So far, that's what I've seen here. The only difference is that the food does some to have more flavor, but the variety of cooking is limited.
Afterwards, we took a walk into the most historic part of town. There's almost literally a church on every corner and each one is stunningly beautiful. They don't build churches like that anymore. And I find that really sad. These churches portray a presence of something wholly "other". A transcendence that was at the same time artistic, beautiful, and a symbol of the glory of God. Our feeble minds can only imagine... But churches now in the US leave little to the imagination and the focus seems to be totally on each other, where God is talked about and not the object of adoration and devotion. =\ (that's a soapbox I rather not visit)
Because we did not take our bus back to our home, we had to fend for ourselves to get home. Taxi was our mode of transportation. I am surprised we made it back. With our one week of intensive Spanish, we somehow managed to carry on a conversation about our ministry and our taxi driver's life. It's always interesting to see the reaction when we drop the bomb on people in telling them what we are doing. The conversation went from the initial: "how do you like puebla? how do you like the women? (complete with handmotions)" to "ooooooohhhhh sorry forget i said anything!!!!!" A complete 180 change. But once we are able to establish an understanding then we get to 'brass tacks" and talk about the real things in life. The joys, the sorrows, the blessings and hardships. Our taxi driver works two jobs. He's been trying to get ahead in selling cars and foreign relations, and then the other half of the day he is taxi driving. I told him that I had done some missionary work, and he asked how I felt when I did it. It was difficult to explain the feelings due to my limited spanish. But I think I got through in communicating the joy of charity and finding Jesus in each person. "Cuando ayudo una persona, yo ayudo Jesus." (cf. Matt25) Between the crazy traffic and the incoherent markings for lanes in the streets, we somehow got home. It was a good thing I learned how to say left and right yesterday!!! Gracias a Dios!!
I watched Apocolypto tonight with the guys. This was part of immersion =) We invited our professor to watch with us and he brought his family (unfortunately some parts were quite gruesome). Initial comments are that there were a few inaccuracies, but much of it was right on the money. On Tuesday, we'll get a more well-formed opinion.
A term of expression in Mexico, which I find is truly beautiful are "good-byes" "Adios" when you break it down, what is it? "To God" There's also two other ones: "Primero Dios." and "Si Dios quere" (literally: First God and If God wants) When you desire to see someone again ("See ya later.") It's not on our time, but on God's time. And everything is always in God's hands. =)
j/k about the short entry
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| Adventure Mexico!
So, another thing that I've been doing in Mexico is taking the "Challenge"
Two rules were given when I arrived in Mexico:
1.Order liquids without ICE
2.Eat foods that have been peeled
Since day one I haven't really followed those rules. After paying about 7 bucks for two bottles of water which I downed for dinner, I went to look for something else to drink. I went to starbucks (since we were still at the airport) and got myself a Frappacino. After I walked out my friends made note that there's ice in that there drink... =( oops.
That was the "Starbucks Challenge." The "challenge part" is not to get diarrhea....
On the third day, we had some sandwiches for dinner. There was some tomatoes in the sandwiches. Most guys saw it and took it out. I ate it. It was the "Tomato Challenge." I didn't win that one. Well I can call it a draw, since it wasn't really diarrhea, just a small tummy ache and also considering that another guy took a big hit. It's mean to laugh at another's misfortune. I guess I'm a little mean. =)
I've also been having trying the chiles and hot sauces. They're yummy. However, I think they did contribute to the upset in the Tomato challenge. =\
Today I took the "Lettuce Challenge" We'll see how this works plays out tonight.... pray for me!
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