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