Bienvenidas a Reynosa!

Sorry that I have not posted anything in the last couple of weeks. I have to keep my computer at work and I feel awkward blogging when my boss sits next to me so it was definitely a no go!! However, now I have a computer at my house so I hope to update it much more depending how much time work leaves me to do it!

So I finally made it to Reynosa, and it is like I thought it was going to be!! It is a dusty, flat border city! I am at terms with it because it is a city for my work not for pleasure, and right now I have to focus on work to be able to survive!!

Getting to Reynosa was another story however! It was a interesting day flying to Reynosa but I made it there and my bags did too! My second bag ended up costing me an arm and a leg, and I had to run through the Mexico City airport to make my connecting flight but I made it! When I arrived there a drivers was there to pick me up which I was very worried that no one was because I never heard back from my manager. It was a little sketchy since the guy did not have a sign or anything but he did ask if I worked with SLB and then said my name. He drove me to the house I was supposed to be living at but no one was there and we did not have a key. He ended up taking me to the guy's staff house where they were having a little Christmas fiesta. It was interesting because it was me and 15 other guys whom most did not know how to speak english! God differently was in control of whole day though, which I am glad he was since I would have panicked and it would have taken me no where!!

I ended staying in a hotel for the first couple of days which worked out fine for me. I had internet and hot water which was not the case in my house at the time I arrived. When I did move into my house, I was really excited because I could unpack and settle in for a while, which I had not done in over 5 weeks. My room is pretty plain but it is large, and I have tv and internet. Really I do not spend much time at the house because I am working all the time but it is nice to come home to a place that actually feels like a home. Below is some pictures my house.

I live with two other girls. One roommate's name is Flor, and she is a lab tech at SLB. She is realllly sweet and helpful (she took me to the supermarket so I could buy food and a towel, and takes me to work most every day!). My other roommate is Karina, and she is a chemical engineer that works in the same segment as me (Well Services) but a different sub-segment (stimulation). She is also really nice and I am getting to know her more since she was one vacation over the last couple of weeks. They both have dogs which is another plus. Flor has a husky who is 1.5 years old and her name is Luna. I like her a lot. She is very sweet and just wants to be loved by you!! Karina has a yellow lab named Camila. She is a little more hyper. Its funny how God has placed dogs in both locations in Mexico so far. He know that I needed a little something to make me feel more at home. Soon I will upload pictures of my job site and all the equipment I get to learn and work with!!

2 Corinthians 1:2-4
Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. Who comforts us in ALL our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

Rio and GDL (290 photos), by Sarah Worden

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Adios, Guadalajara :(

Adios Gdl. I am going to miss you a lot. What an experience the Lord has given me over the last month. Though I am not fluent yet (hopefully by next year!!), I have learned so much and just had an overall awesome experience!! If only I could stay here and start work because I know that Reynosa will be TOTALLY different then Gdl. Nonetheless let the new adventure begin!!

The last week in Gdl my teacher and friend Blanca took me to the city's center, el centro, which is known for its old architecture and churches. Everyone was really surprised when they heard that I had not gone yet and I had been living in Gdl for almost a month!! El centro was very beautiful and I had a really good day hanging out with Blanca. We walked all around the old buildings and churches. After that we went to the largest market that is located in el centro and bought a couple of gifts.

Finally, we sat down and talked for a long time at one of the plazas. She ended up telling me a lot of personal things about herself and what is going on with her life. She is really depressed and lonely at this time and has some pretty dark thoughts. It broke my heart to hear this coming from such a beautiful person! I have been praying for her since the beginning and even more recently. I pray that God will use this experience to show her what true LOVE is! I was able to talk to her some about it, but it was hard to fully tell her what I felt because of the whole communication issue. Please pray for Blanca, that God will swept her off her feet and that He will send someone else after me to show her the rest of the way! I am going to miss her a lot and will definitely keep in touch with her!

For class this past Thursday we went to Tonala where I went earlier with me family. On Thursdays, however, the whole city is a HUGE market. Everywhere you turned there were people and things!! Clinton bought a ton of stuff and my teachers made fun of him for that because he was acting more like the girl in the group since he was buying things left and right and I only bought one small thing!! It was a nice day out of class though when I got back to Gdl I was completely exhausted!! Blanca and I decided to have class at Starbucks after that because we needed some caffeine! Below is a picture of me and Clinton with two of the teachers that went with us Juan Carlos and Manuel.

The last night most of the teachers and all the students that we left went out for a fiesta!! It was really fun because one of Pablo's friends also came and he was American so for once this whole month there were more english speakers in the room then spanish speakers so we made the teachers practice there english a lot! First pic is of me, Juan Carlos, and Blanca. The second picture is Kimberly, Darrin, and Clinton (other students). And the last pic is of Joshua (Pablo's friend), Miriam (Manuel's girlfriend), me, Pablo, and Blanca!

If you ever want to go to Mexico, I would definitely suggest going to the Guadalajara area!! I hope to go back there veeerrrrry sooon to see my Mexican family!!

Food Homage

So I like food and I have had some really good food, so I thought I would make a post solely on the food that I have had over the past month. So far, thankfully, I have not had anything bad, and I am fully enjoying the cuisine of Mexico!!

My Mexican mom makes me really good breakfasts and good sandwiches for school. I have gotten pancakes, french toast, eggs, waffles, cereal, etc. for breakfast every morning (below is a typical mexican breakfast, eggs with salsa verde and a tortilla). I did not ask for all this but I am not complaining!! One would think I would get fat with this kind of breakfast but it is my one big meal of the day. Lunch and dinner are always much smaller but just as good!! On my sandwiches she usually puts a bean spread, ham chunks, tomatoes, different kinds of chiles (jalapenos, chipotle, etc.) and sometimes avocado, and it is usally on homemade bread that we get every morning from a lady!! The sandwiches are typically spicy but so good!

My favorite food so far has to be from restaurants called cenadurias. They are only open at night but serve tostadas, pozole, tacos, enchiladas, and so much more. My favorite has to be the pozole which is a soup made with meat of some kind, corn, and lettuce in a broth. Then you add salsa and chile and eat with a crunchy tortilla.

Quesadillas with crema and salsa verde (pork and cheese inside):

Tacos - pastor, chorizo, and carne (pastor is the big hunk of meat that you see in the picture below and is the two tacos on the left of the plate; it is by far my favorite taco ever!):

Taco - cow tongue (It was actually pretty good!! Very tender!):

Enchiladas:

Tamales (the red one is sweet and the green one is really spicy; my favorite was the green one!):

Pozole and a tostada (both are sooooo good! Hope to have a couple more times before I live since pozole is only found this region of Mexico):

Otro Vez, Por Favor!!

I have had the privilege of meeting some awesome people in Rio and in Guadalajara (Gdl). Through these people I have had interesting experiences and moments I will never forget. Here are just a couple of moments that I have over the past month in Gdl.

The first weekend in Gdl the other student staying at my house, Julio from Portugal, invited me to go out with him and some of his friends (of course I had no clue what he asked me until he wrote in down and I could translate it on the internet!!). His two friends were Jeremy from Nebraska, who looked like Spencer Pratt from "The Hills", and his girlfriend from Spain, whose name I cannot recall at this moment. Jeremy's siblings from were also in town for Thanksgiving break. We went to two bars, one called "La Cucaracha" and "Moreda Mia". It was a very chill night and it was nice to get out of the house. However, I quickly learned that people here do not go out until 12 at night which is waaaayyy past my bedtime!! Pictured is me, Jeremy's to siblings, Jeremy (the picture does not show how much he really does look like Spencer!!), Jeremy's girlfriend, and Julio.

The next day my Mexican family and I went to a really nice shopping mall called Palacio de Hierro. I had fun just window shopping and watching people (thanks dad for teaching me how to watch people!!). The mall had one of the best Nativity scenes I have ever seen with an elephant and all! After that we went to Costco (yes, they have Costco and Sam's in Mexico) and got a big pizza to eat.

The next week ended up being really fun. I did a lot of things with my teachers which made it even more fun since most of my teachers are only a couple of years older then I am. First, I went to FIL (a book expo that Gdl has ever year) with my teachers Blanca and Pablo. You might think "a book expo!" but it had the most books I have ever seen in my life and had many more attractions such as live music every night. The whole night was great because I got to practice some of my spanish (even though that was not much), and they practiced their english on me. Below is me and Blanca at the expo.

A couple nights later, I went to an Irish Pub called Red Pub with Blanca, Pablo, and Juan Carlos (three teachers at my school), three Japanese students, Darin and Kimberly (a couple studying spanish at the school), and me. The Japanese guy that was with us, pictured below, was absolutely hilarious! He was camera happy the whole night and was just acting silly the whole night. It was also fun because the Japanese students do not know much english so all communication was in spanish or should I say broken spanish. Who would have thought I would be in Mexico speaking with three Japanese students in spanish!

The next week my family took me to a small town right outside of Gdl called Tonala. Tonala is known for their crafts made from glass, ceramics, and wood. I could have bought so much stuff there but I could not buy much since I am living out of two suitcases for who knows how long. Whenever I get my own house, I am definitely going to go back there and stock up on lots beautiful stuff!! I did, however, buy some cool gifts for my family which I am going to ship to them sometime (most likely after Christmas . . . oh well!). Below is a picture of my mexican mom and I outside one of the old churches in the central plaza.

That same week one of the spanish students was leaving so some of the teachers and students ate lunch with her the last day. Her name is Ammu, from India, and she works for Schlumberger in Reynosa where I will be (so really it was "I'll see you later" lunch!). Again it is awesome how God is putting so many different people and cultures in my life!! In the picture below is Juan Carlos (a teacher), the Japanese guy again (can't remember his name because it is very Japanese!!), Ammu, Pablo (one of my teachers), Tania (another one of my teachers), and me.

The next day I went with my other teacher Blanca to Tequila which is about an hour bus ride from Gdl. The beginning of the day was very interesting because to get to the bus station to go to Tequila it took an hour when it should have taken 20 minutes (oh well). Tequila is a cool town because it has a lot of old building and the agave plant was everywhere. You would see the actually plant next to a bench that had the agave plant on it next to a restaurant with a big sign that had an agave plant on it. The agave plant is life there (if you were wondering, the agave plant is the what tequila is made of). Tequila is home to numerous tequila factories including Jose Cuervo. Blanca and I went on a tour of a tequila factory and farm which was really fun. We took the tour with an old mexican couple that were soooo cute and what you think of when you think of an old mexican couple. The husband was soooooo funny. He was telling jokes and stories the whole time. Oh course, I could not understand a lick of what he was saying but just watching him speak made me laugh! Pictured below is a picture inside the tequila factory, and me and Blanca at an agave farm.

Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. Psalms 96:3

Que Significa? and Feliz Acciones de Gracias

So the first week of language school was a roller coaster. The first two days were hooooorrrrrrible!! I could not understand anything . . . I think I was just overwhelmed and did not know what was happening to me!! Classes are completely in spanish, no english is used unless they can not describe the word to me in spanish. By Wednesday, however, I was starting to pick some words up and could speak a few things to my teachers which made life easier or at least it felt that way!! I still definitely have problems with understanding what they are asking me though! I seem to ask them all the time "que significa?" (what does the spanish word mean?) or "como se dice . . . ?" (how do you say . . . in spanish?) or my favorite word "si"!! I seem to say "si" even if I am not understanding a thing! I just nod my head and smile!

Above are pictures of the courtyard of the school and the classroom I am in for 4 of my 6 hrs. of classes. Six hours does not seem like to much but you are using your brain constantly, and it is very exhausting. My first class is with Blanca, and it starts at 9:30 and goes till 11:30. Blanca is a really good teacher, and I enjoy spending time with her. I have gotten to go do different things in the city with her at night. She teaches me grammar which I do the best at. My second class is with Tania and goes from 12 to 2. This is my hardest class because it is a conversation class and if you know me well you know that I am not much of a talker!! My last class goes from 2:30 to 4:30, and it is with Pablo. This class is vocab and other stuff. The first day with Pablo makes me laugh now because he started out his lesson by having me read something out loud and he realized I did not pronounce things right at all. He stopped his lesson, and we practiced the alphabet and pronouncing vowels for first three days!! More about the teachers will soon come!

Feliz Acciones de Gracias (Happy Thanksgiving)

So Thursday night for dinner, aka Thanksgiving, Estela took me out to a local food joint which is very traditional in Mexico. It is called a cenaduria, and it is a restaurant run out of a house and is only open at night. It makes cheap, traditional Mexican food that was really good! Estela ordered for me pozole, a corn and pork soup, a tostada, a hard tortilla with pork and sauce on it, and a sopa, a small corn tortilla with cheese and other good stuff in it. All of it was very simple but soooo good. And the best part about the meal was that is was only 62 pesos which is roughly $6!! Where in the US can you get a meal for two and be totally stuffed for $6. So it wasn't your traditional turkey and stuffing but it fit with where I was! I am so thankful for what God has done for me over the past few years and the experiences and people I am encountering. Thanksgiving ended up being a really good day which surprised me since it is my favorite holiday and I was missing all the festivities. But the Lord was present even in Mexico!! Below is a picture of the pozole and tostada and below that a taco (not what you thought the taco would look like right?!)

Lastly, I had to post the picture my family took back home during Thanksgiving. If you look at it closely you can see that they set out a table setting for me!! Supposedly my mom was adamant in my plate and cup not being touched!! I love you guys very much and know that I was there with you in spirit!!

Hola, Me Llamo Sarah!!

So the true adventure begins!! I made it to Guadalajara in one piece with all my luggage so it was a good day. To get to me final destination though I had to fly 15 hours, go through 3 customs, and think my luggage is lost twice! I was supposed to meet one of the school drivers in a red polo but that was not the case so after a few moments of searching for this red polo I saw a sign with my name on it!! The man was a teacher at the school and came to pick me and Clinton (an American that was with me in Rio) and take us to our home stays.

We first dropped Clinton off at his house and then it was my turn! Mi familia es Rodolfo and Estela. They have been housing students for the last 26 years and have had over 80 students live at their house!! Estela said that she has only had one bad experience from all the years of housing language students. They speak pretty much only Spanish but will help me if/when I have no clue what is going on. I understand some of what is going on but not that much so I just nod my head and say "si". Rodolfo is a lawyer so is starting to get ready for retirement and Estela is a homemaker. Rodolfo is very quiet and kind and Estela is more outgoing and is a great cook! They are now my Mexican mom and dad!!

Another great thing about the house is my new friend Rita!! From the first time I saw her and she saw me, we had an immediate bond. I love her because she runs in circles when I come home from school and will curl up next to me when I am doing my homework or on the computer. And she looooves to give besos (kisses)!! If you haven't already guessed Rita is a dog . . . a chihuahua at that. She does not like her picture taken so this is the best I got right now.

My room is pretty big especially consider the room, I mean closet, I used to have back home!! It was their son's room. For decorations he placed all menus, tickets stubs, fliers, and matchbooks from his travels! Its pretty neat to look around and see what it was like to be a teenager in 90s. You can see some of the decorations in the picture below.

There is another student living in the house also. His name is Julio, and he is Portugal. He is studying at a university in town. He is really nice but when he tries to speak Spanish to me, I do not understand him at all!! With Estela and Rodolfo I can at least get the gist of what they are saying!!

The first couple of days at school were realllllllllly hard. My teachers even commented on how much better I was doing after the first two days. I was soooooo overwhelmed I think for one being in another country and two not knowing the language. Being a perfectionist I was making it even harder on myself and still am a little! There will more about the school on another post shortly.

More from Rio de Janeiro

My flight to Atlanta to get to my flight for Mexico City to get to my flight for Guadalajara was not until late Saturday night so fortunately I had a free day to go around and sight see a little bit. I ended up signing up for a tour with the hotel and expected it to be me in a big bus with lots of other foreigners. Well did I get a surprise!! When my tour guide came to get me from my hotel my transportation was just a small car. At first I was the only person but then we picked up a family of three from another city in Brazil. Our tour guide was a young guy from Argentina, so he could speak perfect Spanish, English and Portuguese. So for 130 Reales I got a personal tour guide in a car run on sugar cane!!

We drove past the beaches of Barra de Tijuca and then went up the mountain some to the largest urban rainforest, Tijuca National Forest. It was a really neat place and I wish I could have spent a lot more time there. The national forest was so much different from any of the national forests in the US.

Once we went through the forest for a little bit we headed further up the mountain to the Christo Rendetor (aka Christ the Redeemer). It is a really surreal sight!! You have this massive statue on top of this mountain overlooking a huge city with lots of beautiful beaches. It was not the best day to be up there because it was really cloudy. Sometimes you could not see the statue because you were in a cloud. You could see God though through the beauty of the mountains and the sea and even the city.

After the seeing the Christ the Redeemer I was dropped back off at the hotel and packed for the 24 hour trip that was ahead of me. I hope that I can go back to Rio some day and really get to be a tourist! God answered many prayers by allowing safe travel, nice people, and a overall great week!!

Welcome to Schlumberger!!

Above is the sign entering into the Latin America area headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. It was a week full of sitting and listening to presentations but I got to meet a lot of fun and interesting people! My class size was thirty and the percentage of the people are from countries all over Latin America.





Flavio, Maggie, and I headed to the office. All of us are in the same segment of Well Services but we will be doing different things. Flavio is my Brazilian friend who sat next to me at most of the training sessions. He asked me a lot of english questions which was actually pretty fun. He will be stationed in Brazil, as well as Maggie. They most likely will be working on off-shore rigs and get to wear bright orange coveralls!

One night at dinner with some of the gang. It was a night of great food and great company outside at a resturant with a live band. The best part about my job already has to be the diversity. Pictured in the picture above is a Chinese, a Mexican, a Ecuadorian, a Venezuelan, a Norwegian, and a Colombian!!

Two of the nicest people I met, Karla and Adan. Adan made me laugh all week!! They are both from Ecuador and will be headed there to work. We got to eat at a Brazilian steakhouse, Procao, at the end of the week. They would bring spears of meat to your table. It was such a fun environment!

At the last day of class we got all our PPE apparel. We got our beautiful blue coveralls (aka Big monkeys) and our steel-toed boots. In the picture are Ma Jimena from Colombia, Adan from Ecuador, me, Alejandra for Mexico, and Alexandro from Venezuela.