being present

so, a few weeks ago I began to realize how short my time here is/how few weeks I have left. In light of this realization I started praying that God would show me how to be present with my heart and my mind. When we got back from Oaxaca it really hit me that each morning I would have to make the conscious decision to make the most of the day and to be joyful where God has me right NOW (instead of wishing that I was home already). And so this weekend I decided to make the most! Friday morning I had class, came home and attempted to run (another thing which I have resolved to do in these next 4 weeks is run at least twice a week), had comida and then went out with some girls. We wanted to go to this salsa dance class, but by the time we got to the place it had already started and you needed a partner... so we opted out on that. Instead we walked to this DELICIOUS taco stand on this random street, feasted on two tacos al pastor with onion and salsa and the best guac, drank delicious mango juice and sat on the curb talking about life. Then we went to the churro place and made a resolution to try all of the filled churros before we leave (which seems rather counter intuitive considering the goal that I just previously stated... but whatever). We began this feat by sharing the churro filled with nutella and raspberry sauce... and let me just say it was absolutely delicious worth every calorie that was counteracting my work on the track earlier that day.
Then Saturday I went to a new coffee shop where I read an AWESOME the article by Octavio Paz called "The Labyrinth of Solitude"(Día de los Muertos section) and wrote a paper on all that I had experienced, felt, heard and learned in my week in Oaxaca regarding this Mexican holiday/tradition.  Then in the afternoon I had comida as usual at my house. After comida I put my ipod in and walked to the bank to take out some money (considering that I spent ALL of it in Oaxaca). I decided that when I get home I am going to walk so much more than I did before embarking on this journey. My senora told me in the morning that there was a super important soccer game today for the Gallos of Querétaro, and that I should go. So naturally I rounded up some troups and we spontaneously decided to make a go of it. While we were walking to the bus, this guy drove up to us and asked if we needed a ticket, to which we replied as a matter of fact yes, because we have NONE! So he sold it to us and then offered to drive us to the stadium. Fear not those of you reading who might be worried about this rash decision, I was with two boys (one of which speaks fluent spanish because he was born in Ensanada) and it was the middle of the day. So, we proceeded to get a free ride to the game. When we got there we easily bought our tickets and headed up to our seats. It's a beautiful thing when tickets to a sporting event are 16 bucks. The game was absolutely AWESOME! The defense on both sides was rockin the first half because no one scored. But then half way into the second half we scored the first GOOOOOAAAALLLL! 1-0. Boom. Then we proceeded to score two more to make it 3-0 and went out with a win. All of Querétaro was ESTATIC! We took the bus back to the centro after the game and ate at our favorite restaurant, which I need to take a picture of because it is absolutely the most random place you can ever imagine. For all of you newport people it's like the gypsey den on LSD (not that I know what that's like, but I'd imagine it would be pretty trippy). The place is weird. There's writting all over the walls and super strange art everywhere, so naturally I love it. Then Shannon and I went back to my house and hung out in my room waiting to hear from the rest of the girls about what time we were going to go out! We finally got a call from them at 11:30, and so I called a taxi and we went to this super fun club place. It was so fun to dance with the 7 of us girls and experience the night life. My senora was amazed that that was the first time we had gone out dancing, but she proceeded to explain how much she loved me and was thankful that I wasn't a crazy party girl who went out ALL the time and was never home. Bless her heart.
This morning (sunday) I woke up at 11 because I went to bed at 3. I did some abs in my room and then worked on finishing up my paper outside on the beautiful patio. I showered and then by the time I was done comida was ready. We ate and watched football (yay) and my senora asked me if I know this game well. We proceeded to talk about how football in the states is like soccer here which is like hockey in Canada (thank you brother Roberto for explaining that one to sweet Rosi in the most round about way possible haha). Gotta love it. After feasting I skyped into the India training meeting which was at my house! SO CRAZY! Listening to each team talk about what they had been planning made me SO incredibly excited to GO! Vacation bible school with 500 precious indian orphans, possibly speaking and encouraging the women in the red light district, blogging for the team so the people back home can be apart of what God's doing, wearing a sari... SIGN ME UP! I cannot wait to see what God does in the two weeks that we are there and the ways in which he continues to show me how to use my gifts and talents for his glory. Not to mention the fact that the team is literally amazing and I don't even know them all yet! YAY for God's huge plan! Then Emily came over and we went into the centro to hang out. We got some delicious blackberry ice cream and sat in the prettiest garden/plaza in all of Querétaro talking for about two hours. It was such a beautiful afternoon and our conversation was incredibly encouraging and fruitful (as they always are). I am so thankful for her and the time that we have to process what we are feeling and what God's doing in our hearts. On our walk home we stumbled into a pirated dvd store where we bought the most random assortment of 6 dvds for less than 10 bucks. Is that morally wrong? I'm not quite sure how I feel about it yet, but considering that I now have Juno, Up and Tarzan in my room I'm starting to think that I love it's cheapness haha. When I got home I worked on some homework and now I'm writing to you all to inform you of the current state of the union. Thank you for reading and praying. God is truely blessing me every day with new joys and I feel so blessed that he has me here for another 29 days. It seems like nothing literally, so I am really trying to live each day to the fullest, joyfully and thankfully. In a few short weeks I will be seeing you and will be able to share even more stories than I can think to type to you. I pray that God fills each of you with a renewed sense of his purpose for your lives today and that you take a moment to thank him for the blessings he has poured out on you. LOVE YOU!

 This is totally unrelated to my post but I just thought everyone should appreciate the 80s color scheme that is currently taking place in my bathroom

 Carly thinks the nutella/raspberry churro is a great idea

 Soccer game. There's just something about green fields under lights that brings joy to my soul. and my eyes

 Sunday afternoon adventure

You never know when you will suddenly have a HUGE craving for a mylar balloon. Don't fear. Balloon men are EVERYWHERE here!