I'm sitting in the corner of a coffee shop that looks and feels so familiar it could be Portland: reclaimed wood, chalkboard signs, acoustic music, and organic handmade goods. Ben gave me a much needed couple of hours alone this afternoon and I'm using it to finally type some thoughts that have been whirling around in my brain for a post about our first six months here in Mexico. But first I decided to re-read some of the posts I wrote since April. How humorous it is to remember some of our early mishaps and adventures! And how encouraging to see how far we've come in half a year!
Recently we asked the boys their thoughts on our first six months here and if they are happy that we moved to Mexico. Overall they decided that they are thankful for the all the adventures we have been a part of since moving. The boys love the fact that we've flown so much and traveled to so many different places. They enjoy our weekend hikes and explorations around Monterrey. However, we also talked a lot about the difficulty of looking so different and not being able to speak the language. It was decided that we're all a lot braver than we were six months ago! We have all been put into so many uncomfortable and uncontrolled situations that it barely phases us anymore.
That conversation with the boys led me to dig out a pros and cons list that I wrote out when we were asked to consider moving here. My top two pros were "lots of travel" and "adventure." Well, in these past six months, our family has flown between Portland and Monterrey three times, and once each to Mexico City and Cancun, for a grand total of about 20,000 miles flown. We all still love flying and the adventure of being in new cities and airports. And we all anticipate lots of fun travel in the near future.
Another huge pro was foreign language immersion. Surely we'll see that positive come to fruition someday in us being bilingual, but to be honest, language acquisition is going very slowly. Although Ben and I realize that we're worlds better than we were when we first arrived, we also know that we have a very long way to go! Hopefully in another 6 months we'll be feeling a lot more positive about our Spanish skills!
A new work position for Ben was another pro for us, and overall the job has been a huge blessing to Ben. He really enjoys it and the more laid-back culture of the Mexican workplace. He has been nothing but pleased with the position, which is awesome. Also, it hasn't been time consuming on our family and has entailed a lot flexibility for Ben to help me when needed. We're very grateful.
My final two pros were: faith opportunity and teaching our family flexibility. I think that these two list items are where I have seen the most growth within our family. There's nothing like living in a foreign country to give you a crash course in character building and spiritual growth!
A new work position for Ben was another pro for us, and overall the job has been a huge blessing to Ben. He really enjoys it and the more laid-back culture of the Mexican workplace. He has been nothing but pleased with the position, which is awesome. Also, it hasn't been time consuming on our family and has entailed a lot flexibility for Ben to help me when needed. We're very grateful.
My final two pros were: faith opportunity and teaching our family flexibility. I think that these two list items are where I have seen the most growth within our family. There's nothing like living in a foreign country to give you a crash course in character building and spiritual growth!
It's not fair to mention only the pros within this post, because that doesn't paint the complete picture of the past six months. There has been plenty of difficulty, discomfort, and frustration...more than we could have ever imagined. Ahead of time we knew that the obvious con was missing home and family. It is an immense negative that we will struggle with the entire time we live in Mexico. The pain is not as frequent or acute as before, but we sure do miss home. We miss it in big ways: our family, friends, and community. We miss walking the neighborhood with our dog, riding bikes down the street, and we especially miss our yard (daily for me, I think). I miss being in the same time zone as family, making touching base on the phone easier. I miss my American conveniences and favorite allergy friendly stores. There are small conveniences we miss: like an ice maker, a bathtub, recycling, a dishwasher, using a familiar measurement system, smooth roads, and drivers that use blinkers. Thankfully another con, worrying about feeding our family because of our food allergies, has really been a non-issue; although, we do miss living in Portland, the Mecca of gluten-freeness.
Another con was loneliness, and that certainty was very difficult at the beginning of our time living here. However, we have found a church that has been an absolute life-line for us. It is a bilingual church; the songs for worship are ones that we are familiar with, but they are sung half in Spanish and half in English. The message is in Spanish, but they have an interrupter we can listen to through headphones. We anticipate meeting with our church family each Sunday, and Ben and I also have both gotten involved in weekly Bible studies. Meeting with a group of English speaking women each Wednesday morning has truly been life changing here for me in Monterrey. It is a gift from the Lord that I never expected and am so grateful for!
So overall, six months later we have found ourselves pretty content. There was a time early on in this adventure where I wondered if I'd ever be happy in Mexico. I was alright with that, knowing that the ultimate end of life isn't happiness and that there are things (like character) that are more important. However, within the last month or so, we've all started feeling truly happy here. When we moved many people told us that it takes around 8-10 weeks to work through culture shock. Well, for me, I think it took a little over 20 weeks, but I guess that I've always been a little slow in handling change. We are so thankful for this opportunity and are excited for the next 6 months of adventure!
And since no post is complete without pictures, here's some random moments from our past month:
We see some beautiful sunrises!
Our friends, the Leonards, hosted a "carne asada" potluck after church for some families from our church and Bible study. It was such an awesome afternoon of fellowship. This is my friend Megan, from the Washington D.C. area, and I cutting up all the meat.
Nati and Carol from Chile, Katie Leonard from New Mexico, Angelica from Minnesota, and Ruth from Mexico.
Katie and Dustin shared about the ministry, Back 2 Back that they work for and then gave us all a tour of the campus. It's an amazing ministry!
Carol, Megan, Katie, and I
I'm starting to really enjoy some Mexican snacks, like plain potato chips drizzled in hot sauce and Mango smoothie combined with a tamarind straw.
Proud of their tower that is so tall!
Joshy the pirate
Swimming mid-October...not bad! We're probably about done for the season, though, as the pool is not heated so it's freezing (unless Ben pursues his "wet suit" idea...which I'm not too keen on).
Rosetta stone in the evenings...
Josh and I went on an adventure one day to the convention center for a HUGE book fair. We spent time exploring Fundidora park for awhile afterwards.
A complete dinosaur fossil found in Northern Mexico was Josh's favorite. He kept wanting to return and see the "dragon."
Unfortunately, this is just about as high as we could ever get the kite to fly
Living in Mexico hasn't stopped the boys from dressing up and loving football
Celebrating 6 months with a picnic at the park
So overall, six months later we have found ourselves pretty content. There was a time early on in this adventure where I wondered if I'd ever be happy in Mexico. I was alright with that, knowing that the ultimate end of life isn't happiness and that there are things (like character) that are more important. However, within the last month or so, we've all started feeling truly happy here. When we moved many people told us that it takes around 8-10 weeks to work through culture shock. Well, for me, I think it took a little over 20 weeks, but I guess that I've always been a little slow in handling change. We are so thankful for this opportunity and are excited for the next 6 months of adventure!
And since no post is complete without pictures, here's some random moments from our past month:
The moon and Venus both still visible this early morning
"Hank the Cowdog" books are a favorite in the house, and it's now tradition that only daddy reads them.
Proud of their tower that is so tall!
Oh Jamie, I so identify with your feelings in every way, and our family is blessed beyond measure to adapt and grow and struggle alongside yours. What a blessing to get to know your family here in Monterrey!
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