Sigh... I Suppose Life Will Never QUITE Settle Down to Normal

What a week! On Monday I wrote about routines, and how things finally seemed to be settling down here in Puebla. Well, this week has proved me entirely wrong.

First, we taught two Career Workshops this week! On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings we were in the Employment Center a block from our house (such a relief not to have to travel or pack everything), with a much smaller group than we had typically handled. It was also a very different dynamic -- these participants were from people who had come into the Employment Center looking for work, not just any members from the stake, so we had a good amount of non-members and a lot of no-shows and generally lots of fun with the group. We even think they learned something... :)  Oh, and the second group was at a nearby stake center on Friday and Saturday, also a bit smaller than usual. But there have been little quirks I love about each group so far -- for example, with this last group, I had some very good experiences helping small business owners adjust the tools we were teaching about to their own situations and helping people trust their work more. We are so blessed to be teaching this thing.



Tuesday night, after our first day of the earlier workshop, I decided to explore downtown Puebla a little bit more. A friend (Evelyn Escobar, from a neighboring ward) had invited me to see her art display, which ended up being quite impressive. It is childlike, but without being too childish, and has quite the unique feeling about it. I included one of my favorites to the right. I also got to explore the local market; buy and eat some rather odd fruit drowned in lime juice, salt, and chili powder; sit in the main cathedral and watch a service (the organ was MADE for cathedrals, I tell you -- that hollow effect gives it something that I've only heard matched in the SL Tabernacle); and perhaps my favorite activity of the night, sit in the main plaza and talk to people and watch the world go by for a bit. I was actually approached by two young ladies trying to learn English and having to pass off assignments talking to an American tourist, which was fun, and had great conversations with both of them. Below is a picture with one of them, whose name has now entirely slipped my mind. Both of our smiles are actually much better than they appear. :)

Also, below is the main plaza (Zócalo) of Puebla. It seems to be the gathering spot of choice for the majority of the city's inhabitants!

Raúl (the friend who was kind enough to let
us stay in his house), Lalo (from Puebla),
myself, and Taylor (the latter two with
some wicked red-eye). And the Mexico
City temple!

Wednesday night (right after the workshop) and Thursday we had quite the adventure. You see, Taylor bought a season pass to the Six Flags amusement park in Mexico City last week, and loved his trip. Of course, to get his money's worth, he had to go at least once more, and since we had a day off on Thursday we decided rather suddenly to pack up and head off! So we flew about on Wednesday afternoon and made it there just in time for an endowment session in the Mexico City temple. It was so wonderful. My first session in Spanish, which was extraordinary, though it almost seemed to be irrelevant which language it was in because the ideas were the same. Most of all, I felt an overwhelming peace there which I hadn't managed to feel for about a week, and some calm about worries that I'd had. Then we slept that night in the house of one of Taylor's mission buddies (I swear he has one in every neighborhood of Mexico), along with their enormous Great Dane. Finally we headed off for Six Flags that morning on the crazy public transportation system, fighting our way through crowded buses and streets before arriving right at the gate. Besides the lines, which are in general the bane of my existence but particularly at amusement parks, we managed to get on most of the best rides and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. As proved by the awesome picture below.

Also, I've included to the left a picture of Mexico City that I took while we were waiting for a bus. It is a fascinating place, full of contradictions and unusual sights. Well, unusual for an American. A couple things I wanted to point out: dog in the street (extremely common), the bricks sticking off of the unfinished house (oftentimes they will partially build the house, then wait until they have enough money to add another floor), the predominantly cinder-block houses (it's actually a solid brick that looks like cinder), and the urban sprawl that has taken over the whole valley and is slowly climbing up the sides of the mountains. 12 million people... it's nuts.

Finally, as if to make sure I couldn't breathe until Sunday came, yesterday (Saturday) after our afternoon workshop we were invited by some friends to go exploring downtown Puebla and dancing. But not just any friends -- American friends! We met all the American girls in the picture at right during our trip to Tehuacán, where they are teaching English. Yes, they don't know Spanish, but they teach English anyways. And apparently it's quite effective! They decided to come up to Puebla for the day, and begged us to find somewhere to go dancing. So we asked our good friend Claudia (red-trimmed dress) if she knew of any safe spots, and she did, so we all piled into a couple cars and drove downtown for a fun, Latin/pop club experience! I tell you what, sometimes I wonder what in the world I'm doing down here... but I love it.

Also, just one note from today. I had the beautiful experience to attend almost two full sacrament meetings, and was touched as I felt both very weak and very supported by the Atonement. Although sometimes things are not easy (in fact very often), and I even wonder in moments if my Heavenly Father is really listening to my prayers, my doubts have been so instantly swept away by His love. I know He lives, and loves me as only a perfect father can. I am so grateful for that -- nothing more important in the world.