Debriefing: part uno

First of all, an update.... poison ivy: still there!

I am a pretty emotional person, so I am going to pace myself and start today with non-emotionally charged info and work up to talking about the kids (self-protection :)

So far, I can think of 4 categories: cultural differences in general between Mexico and the States, observances of missionaries in the field, our team, and finally the kids and Casa Hogar.

Cultural Differences:
In the training, we were told again and again: the Mexican way of living is not better or worse than the American way, just different.

The biggest thing that stood out to me was that they are a very hospitable nation. I expected 2 things: 1) to see a lot of US tourists - not the case! It is no longer a US vacation destination, but a Mexican vacation spot. Our county has issued a warning about visiting Acapulco due to gang violence and government corruption. We saw very few Americans! Maybe 10 or 20. 2) I expected to be treated like a minority - but we were treated with honor; the exact opposite of the way we treat Hispanics in the US. We need to show more honor and respect to them!!!!

The streets: I prayed the whole 45 min. van trip to Casa Hogar, that we would make it alive. I had the misfortune of sitting in the front seat with the driver, and an intern missionary. (their vans seat more - with 3 in the front) The drivers go soooooo fast, and dart around cars, weave in and out of traffic and lay on the horn to warn others to stay out of their way. The streets have a music of hums, sputters and horns.

Most people opt for public transportation. Bus rides are 4.5 pesos - almost 45 cents- and you can go anywhere in town. Taxis are everywhere and are VW Beetles and Nissan Sentras. I hear they are only a few dollars. I'm sure that they don't play "Punch Bug, Don't Punch Back" in order to play there, you'd basically beat the person sitting next to you until you arrived at your destination.




Shopping: As you sit on the beach, vendors stream by. Do not attempt to buy anything unless you are good at bartering. The price may start at $45, and go down every time you say "no", until they give up around $10. Some of the items offered to us on the beach: Shells, jewelry, clothing, hats, cheap sunglasses (he wasn't going to lie, they were barato in price and quality), sarongs, fruit with chili sauce, candy, popcorn, beer, massages, purses, shoes, get your hair braided, watches, pails and shovels, etc. etc. Who needed to go to the market? Where by the way, I was talking to a vendor in Spanish. He very perceptively asked, "?De donde es usted?" - my accent gave it away. I told him that I was from the US. He said in Spanish "Oh, you mean Los Angeles?" - they have stereotypes of us too!

Security: As we were walking down the street I noticed a guard with a machine gun. He was guarding a Coke truck. A machine gun to be sure that no one stole soda???!!!! We passed by a car dealership - guys with machine guns, almost every delivery truck had guys with machine guns. In front of the large Mexican flag at the beach - a guy with a machine gun. We were told not to look any of them in the eye.... so I definitely did not take a picture!

Safety: They do not seem to worry about their personal safety or that of their children. We saw many a baby sitting in an adult's lap in the front seat of a car. Minivans speeding down the street with the sliding door open so that more people could fit inside. We rode to church in a small bus (for about 20 passengers) they insisted that the Americans sat in the seats, and the children stood in the aisle and by the open door at the front. Unsafe buildings, no right of way for pedestrians, even children, If you cross the street, be ready to run, and every man for himself.


Beauty: I did not know that mountains and ocean could meet!




The first picture is our view from about a block from the orphanage. The second is on our way to the airport, our driver pulled over for us to take pictures. The water to the right is the Acapulco Bay the water to the left is the Pacific Ocean. Did you know that you can be on the Pacific Coast and in the Central Time Zone?

More info to come.... but our whole team wants to go back!!!!!you'll understand better as you learn more about our trip!