I received a little coaching from Jenn, a fellow missionary on how to make blogs, so tengo ganas a continue working on it. (Tener ganas is a spanish phrase which has no equivalent in english, but means something like...to feel like doing). My tactic is to look at the blogs of the others who are far more dedicated to it than I am, and use their ideas (like me in art classes). It is hard to believe that we have been here for over 2 weeks. I don't even know how to begin. I guess I should make an outline about what would be the most helpful for people to know...1)What the point of this blog is 2) Where I am now 3) Who I'm with 4)What we're doing 5)Why I'm here in the first place 6)Where I'm going and what I might be doing there. So, we'll start with 1.



1) I will be gone for at least 1 year, maybe 2, and in order to maintain some relationship with those of you at home (ie. Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, California, Indiana....or the other homes I have), I need to deliberately share about what I'm going through so you can care about me. In turn, I am also interested in what is going on in your lives, but I will have limited access to internet, so writing personal emails won't always be possible. So, this is an invitation to share in this journey with me and to share in that dialog, by commenting or emailing me. I realize this is impersonal, but I will do my best with it. I do love and care about you, so that is why I am making this a priority.



2)I am in San Antonio, TX for 3 weeks. We arrived August 2nd, and will leave for Monterrey, MX on Monday. It's been a roller coaster already. Sometimes I am very excited to just go down and live it out, and sometimes I wonder what the heck I am doing here. It's been really busy, but it is an adjustment for me to be in the same place, doing the same basic thing for 3 weeks. For anyone who knows me, I am used to packing as much as possible into my days, so this has been a slowdown already.

3)There are 8 of us beginning to be Incarnate Word Missionarires this year. I will give slight introductions to each of them. There will be 3 others going to Monterrey, Mexico with me. Two will be going to Santa Fe, Mexico City, and 2 will be going to Chimbote, Peru.

Chimbote, Peru

Marcelle: A registered nurse from Dallas, TX. She's in her eraly 30s and has great one-liners. She is an RN, and I apprecite getting to know her poco a poco.

Jenn: My roommate during orientation. She just graduated from SLU and is very excited about feminist theology, and has done traveling in Latin America. Originally from Iowa, but considers Saint Lewis home.

Santa Fe, Mexico

Melissa: Just graduated from Loyola, Chicago where she studied social work. She has loaned me some books during orientation, and she loves kids.

Lisa: She has a wonderful smile, and bubbly personality. She went to De Paul, Chicago and studied advertising. She is working very hard on her spanish, and although she struggles, she is still willing to participate in our Spanish-speaking suppers.

Monterrey, MX

Linda: In her early 50s, a bubbly, go-getter who is originally from New Mexico, but has lived in San Antonio for the past 30 years. She is always surprising us with new life adventures she has had. She has been wanting to do service abroad for a long time, so she is very excited for this opportunity, and we are thrilled that she will be with us.

Paula: In her early 30s, she hails from England, although she has spent some time living in New York City. She is a gentle spirit, and surprised me with her experience doing belly dancing. Her spanish is great, and she is already helping me to continue learning new words and phrases.

Mike: He is 24, graduate of Mizzou, but spent the last year doing the Jesuit Volunteer Service in a clinic in Cleveland. He is currently applying to med school, and has agreed to be the stand-in boyfriend to scare off any men who are being inappropriate with us in Mexico. His sense of humor has taken a bit to get used to, but I relate well to him.

4)What we're doing: this is the topic that could go on for a long time. I am changing plan mid-way through this posting. I am done with background for now, because I want to share how I am actually feeling about being here....

This post is long enough, so I will start a new one. Thanks for your love and support!