A little bit of culture shock.

I have a little time alone this morning, so I figured I would write!
I thought it would be fun to let you guys in on some of the cultural differences that I am experiencing here, and just things that I am not used to.

First, I have driven a car once in over a month, and that one time was for approximately 3 minutes. So weird! Not gonna lie, I miss my little stick shift car, haha. Also, I haven't worn a seatbelt since I got here, sorry mom and Eric Bradley!! They just don't do that! Its not uncommon to pack ten Mexicans into a car that fits four. We have an 12 passenger church van and I was told their record of people they have fit in it is somewhere around 34!!! Babies don't use carseats, they just ride on their mother's lap. Sooooooo different from the United States.

We get fresh fruit about once a week when the fruit and veggie truck drives through town. It is all so cheap! I spend about eleven dollars each time he comes and I get enough for the whole week. Its awesome, but sometimes I wish I could just go to the grocery store whenever I need something. We also buy purified water at the store in big Culligan jugs, but sometimes they run out and we can't buy it for a week or so. You really don't know what you've got until its gone. Luckily they have small bottled waters, so I just buy a bunch of those.

Its so easy to lose track of time here. I have found it incredibly freeing to not have a pressing agenda all the time. I find myself forgetting what day of the week it is and never knowing what time it is during the day. I kinda love it! The town I live in is so peaceful. There are mountains everywhere and when the sun is setting just at the right time it all looks like a painted picture. Takes my breath away every single time. That is one thing that I will NEVER get tired of.

I've seen two live tarantulas since I've been here... lets just say I could go the rest of my life without seeing one again. Snakes, as well. I hate snakes.

Last night we had church kickball, youth against adults! It was a blast! I discovered something about myself... I get pretty excited during sports. I'm sure it was quite funny for them to watch me jumping and shouting, all the while, having no idea what I was saying!

I STARTED TEACHING! AHHHH!!
I love it! So much! I am teaching 7th-9th grade, which is Middle School here. My schedule is Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from 9-10:30am. It is so much fun! A bit of a challenge, but I like it. Each grade is on a different level of English, so every other day I am preparing different lesson plans, and I am actually finding myself learning things too! It feels so weird that I am doing this without any experience or schooling. It is a totally different experience for me and I feel so blessed and honored to do it.
When I took Spanish in high school our teacher had all of the students choose Spanish names, and those were the names that we went by in class. I did the same thing with my students, except for with American names! I named a lot of them after my friends, haha! There is a Grace, Amy, Nathan, Adam, Eric, Lindsay, Chris, Daniel, Zoe, Brittney, etc. Being around people with your guys' names makes me miss you less, haha! ;) One girl chose the name Miley... can you tell our news here is WAY behind? The second she said that I thought, "If only she knew...".

Here is a photo with some of my students during recess! 

Well, there is a little update! Miss you guys!