Do You Drink?
Crazy last week! We had Donna MacGowen speak on Fear of the Lord, the DTS team from Tijuana joined up with us for the lecture, Nick and I helped a couple from the base build a metal house, and I (again) experienced the pros and cons of responding to the many "hellos" from strange men.
Fear of the Lord is one of those lectures you come away from re-evaluating all you know about God and his compassion - because his power and holiness makes his grace and mercy all the more apparent! I know I have a ways to go in understanding in full who God is, but this week definitely jump started something in me. It's not necessarily a comfortable growing experience, but the important things never are.
Nick, one of the surf and skate DTS students, and I got the chance to help Larry and Reba build a house for a family: Adrian, his wife Marine and their son Adrian Jr. Unlike the Homes of Hope (HOH) build, this house construction was like fitting puzzle pieces together. The walls interlocked into each other, and it was all a matter of screwing it all together. The house had been a construction model they had hoped to use for future HOH builds, but because Ensenada weather and metal walls doesn't make for the most comfortable living environment it was scraped. So now, the house had been given to this family, and Larry and Reba went to help them re-construct it on their property.
Marine had worked at a ranch just outside of Ensenada for over 15 years and, instead of a typical wage, her boss gave her land in exchange for her work. The property overlooks acres of grape vineyards, green sloping hills, and the sun just cascades into this valley. You can hear sheep and chickens and the occasional car rattling down the dirt road. I fell in love with the place. So glad that this family gets to have a better home, one that won't leak water, one that is bigger than a single room crammed with a full-sized bed, makeshift kitchen, and a cut-out bathroom.
The culture around men and women interactions is different in Mexico than it is in the US. Not everyone here realizes that...maybe because more than half are in the 18-20 range! And some are away from home for the first time, so I guess it's understandable. Still, I had to explain to the girls that you don't HAVE TO return a greeting from a strange man on the street. What a revelation!
I should take my own advice, because two days later Nicole and I found ourselves confronted by a guy who became very persistent after we acknowledged him. First, he was just like "Hey! Hey, you white girl. White girl! Do you speak Spanish?" So, stupidly, I responded, and we proceeded to have a very uncomfortable conversation where he again and again tried to invite us to go out with him. He kept asking "Do you guys drink? Wanna drink? Oh, you don't...well you must eat!" and on and on until I just said goodnight and walked us away. I don't think I'll ever get used to how forward men can be in the Latin culture. But seriously, what is the allure of being called "white girl?" There is none. Don't do it, it's insulting.
Still loving Ensenada, still loving the fish tacos and the beef tacos and all the tacos! The other food is okay I guess. Cross my fingers I can keep active enough to keep off all the food I've been eating!
Fear of the Lord is one of those lectures you come away from re-evaluating all you know about God and his compassion - because his power and holiness makes his grace and mercy all the more apparent! I know I have a ways to go in understanding in full who God is, but this week definitely jump started something in me. It's not necessarily a comfortable growing experience, but the important things never are.
Nick, one of the surf and skate DTS students, and I got the chance to help Larry and Reba build a house for a family: Adrian, his wife Marine and their son Adrian Jr. Unlike the Homes of Hope (HOH) build, this house construction was like fitting puzzle pieces together. The walls interlocked into each other, and it was all a matter of screwing it all together. The house had been a construction model they had hoped to use for future HOH builds, but because Ensenada weather and metal walls doesn't make for the most comfortable living environment it was scraped. So now, the house had been given to this family, and Larry and Reba went to help them re-construct it on their property.
Marine had worked at a ranch just outside of Ensenada for over 15 years and, instead of a typical wage, her boss gave her land in exchange for her work. The property overlooks acres of grape vineyards, green sloping hills, and the sun just cascades into this valley. You can hear sheep and chickens and the occasional car rattling down the dirt road. I fell in love with the place. So glad that this family gets to have a better home, one that won't leak water, one that is bigger than a single room crammed with a full-sized bed, makeshift kitchen, and a cut-out bathroom.
The culture around men and women interactions is different in Mexico than it is in the US. Not everyone here realizes that...maybe because more than half are in the 18-20 range! And some are away from home for the first time, so I guess it's understandable. Still, I had to explain to the girls that you don't HAVE TO return a greeting from a strange man on the street. What a revelation!
I should take my own advice, because two days later Nicole and I found ourselves confronted by a guy who became very persistent after we acknowledged him. First, he was just like "Hey! Hey, you white girl. White girl! Do you speak Spanish?" So, stupidly, I responded, and we proceeded to have a very uncomfortable conversation where he again and again tried to invite us to go out with him. He kept asking "Do you guys drink? Wanna drink? Oh, you don't...well you must eat!" and on and on until I just said goodnight and walked us away. I don't think I'll ever get used to how forward men can be in the Latin culture. But seriously, what is the allure of being called "white girl?" There is none. Don't do it, it's insulting.
Still loving Ensenada, still loving the fish tacos and the beef tacos and all the tacos! The other food is okay I guess. Cross my fingers I can keep active enough to keep off all the food I've been eating!
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