Post for May 29, 2008
This is my last week in Mexico, and as word now gets around that I’m leaving soon I’ve been receiving a LOT of invitations to lunch (which in Mexico is called comida, is at 3 pm, and is the main meal). So I’ve been a bit of a social butterfly lately, and it has been an interesting experiment in anthropological research.
My first invitation was to a family in Tabachines. Tabachines is the wealthy part of town: to get into the *neighbourhood* (never mind the house) you have to pass a guarded gate and have previously been on a list indicating that you should be allowed in. The home itself was majestic, with a huge backyard and swimming pool. The lunch was quite delicious, and the company was really delightful as well. Yes, there were servants too.
My second invitation was to a more modest, middle-class home. It was a smaller bungalow, with a pool about the size of a snooker table (and about as deep, from the top of the table to the floor — in other words, more for lounging than for swimming). The lunch was quite delicious, and the company was really delightful as well. No, there were no servants — homemade food cooked by the lady of the house.
My most recent invitation was today. Padre Roberto and I parked our car in what was clearly a poorer neighbourhood and walked up an alleyway to a working-class home. It was made of red brick and cinder block (visible both on the outside and on the inside). The floor itself was made of cement, and there was no door to the house itself, just a curtain. Once again we had a very warm welcome. REFRAIN: The lunch was quite delicious, and the company was really delightful as well.
Obviously, there were major differences in the way of life of each family, but I did notice some similarities:
- Everybody talked about God. It might have been because priests were visiting, but I don’t think that was the only reason. I think God really is on people’s minds here, in a very natural way, regardless of social class. For example, the woman of the house in the first family has written books meant to help people pray, and has worked a lot with the elderly, while the woman of the house in the last family is a parish catechist with 25+ years experience. I don’t know that these ladies know each other, but it is faith that allowed us to connect even though I was a stranger.
- The importance of family. Each family that I visited seemed to live genuine warmth and mutual love. For example, the first family had three generations present at the table — the matron of the house, her daughter (visiting from Europe), and her first child (the only grandchild in the family). All were very happy to be together. The last family also had three generations present, and again there was a lot of mutual love in the room.
- Money can’t buy you happiness. There is no question that those on the poorer end of the social scale have concerns regarding money, but to be honest I sensed that these weren’t really concerns about money but about the things that money can buy when you really need them (like medical care, or schoolbooks). As for money itself, though, they didn’t seem terribly concerned by it. As for the wealthier families, obviously money is less of an immediate concern, but it can still be a cause of grief. For example, in the case of the Tabachines family, the husband was apparently kidnapped twice (not once, but twice), and twice they had to pay a huge ransom to get him back, such that their resources have actually now dried up and they have to sell their home. So it seems that not only can money not buy you happiness, it can also bring you grief.
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Post for May 28, 2008
While my language school will likely give me a certificate saying that I’ve taken courses in Spanish, they can’t really certify that I can *speak* Spanish in any practical way — even giving me a Spanish exam would only prove that I can pass a Spanish exam, not that I really *know* the language. No, for this kind of certification some other form of test is required — a test I gave myself this morning.
I took a taxi.
By myself.
Now I understand that this may not seem all that impressive, but think about it. You have to hail a cab and explain where you want to go. Then (and this is even more critical) you have to negotiate a price. You see, the taxis are not metered here, and there are many stories of taxi drivers trying to rip off foreigners as soon as they hear the accent or notice hesitation or confusion. So from my point of view, this was a genuine test: being able to take a Mexican taxi, which implies a certain knowledge of the city, the culture, and the language all rolled into one.
No, I did not get a certificate or other diploma for accomplishing this particular feat. And I can’t say that I really speak Spanish with all that much ability (when I’m tired, for example, I miss a lot). But I will admit, I felt like a million bucks.
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Post for May 25, 2008
Today I had the chance to visit an unforgettable location: the ancient ruins of Teotihuacan. It was a looooong day, with a 3 hour trip to the site (and an equally long trip home), along with several hours to walk around — but it was totally worth it.
When we think of “stone age” people, we usually think of “cavemen”. We don’t usually think of massive engineering and architectural projects. And yet, the residents of Teotihuacan built and maintained a massive city of up to 250,000 people without the benefit of any metal tools — in fact, without even the use of domesticated animals. We don’t even have evidence of a writing system for them, and yet they possessed a highly sophisticated society. Amazing.
While visiting the city I had a chance to visit the ancient temple of Quetzalcoatl, the “feathered serpent”. The artistic decoration of this temple was truly astonishing in its quality and symbolism. I also had a chance to climb the two pyramids present: the Pyramid of the Moon (where you are only allowed to go halfway) and the Pyramid of the Sun (which is the 3rd largest in the world – it is just gigantic!) I tried to imagine the ancients visiting this city to conduct trade and commerce, or families with children playing their kids games in the streets. Real people, like you and me, once lived here. I look forward to chatting with them in Heaven to hear what life was like.
By the end I was just exhausted, I guess from a combination of not enough food, too much direct sun and lots of walking (and climbing!). I came away, though, with amazing memories, and I know I must come back to this place once again.
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Post for May 23, 2008
One of my former teachers at the language school was going to be giving a lecture last night, and so she invited me to attend. But I already had plans: for yesterday was the feast of Corpus Christi!
The celebration began with a mass in the local Chapel of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. At the conclusion of mass the participants, along with us priests, formed a procession through the streets with the Eucharist. There was a stational altar along the way where we paused for prayer, and then we continued to the main parish church of San Miguel. It was a beautiful event, with people singing hymns and little girls tossing flowers before the feet of the priests carrying the Eucharist. (Not to honour the priests, of course, but to honour the Eucharist.)
As it turns out, I got to be a very active part of things. As I mentioned in my previous post, the pastor fell quite ill recently so I filled in as the assistant priest for the mass and procession. Some young people in the parish took pictures of me carrying the monstrance under a canopy carried by some of the men of the parish, and I hope to be able to post these sometime soon. Whether I have digital photos or not, though, the memory will stay with me for a lifetime.
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Post for May 22, 2008
I went to the movies last night with Padre Roberto and a couple of his friends. We went to see the new Narnia film, Prince Caspian. The theatre did have a showing in English, but the next time was quite late, so we decided to see an earlier Spanish version. The others were a bit worried for me — Padre, vas a entender la pellicula? was their question — but after all this was Narnia, not some ultra-complex political thriller.
I really enjoyed the film — more than the first film, to be honest. There was much more action, heroism, and maturity in this film. I cannot really judge the quality of the dialogue (or its delivery), but I did enjoy myself. It was worth the money.
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Post for May 22, 2008
It seems I managed to avoid the worst of it.
I was a bit tired for a day.
Padre Roberto was bedridden the next day, for a day.
And the pastor, Padre Luis, just got a visit from the doctor prescribing him antibiotics and ordering him off his feet for 4 or 5 more days.
The doctor’s diagnosis is about the same as my original guess: bad food (probably chicken) which, in the case of the poor pastor, has led to full-on food poisoning.
Just to emphasize, though: I’m doing great! No problems at all since that one icky-ish day.
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Post for May 20, 2008
As I think I have mentioned before, every Monday we switch teachers at the language school where I am studying. This time my teacher, while Mexican, is actually a baptist. Which can mean only one thing: more conversations about religion!
Yesterday, our topics were the “imperfect” verb tense, the existence of God and the problem of evil (i.e. if God is good, why is there evil in the world), and spiritual warfare and exorcism. Oh, and I think there was some other bit of Spanish grammar in there…
This morning, we began with the passive voice for verb conjugation, a bit of vocabulary, why priests can’t get married, and the seal of the sacrament of reconciliation.
Have I mentioned that I’ve only been speaking Spanish for two weeks now? This is nuts!
And to be honest, it is getting a bit annoying. I mean, I don’t mind evangelizing and all (in fact, I love it), but if I’m paying $175 per week to learn Spanish I’d like to be taught some more Spanish. It seems I’m actually slowing down, not speeding up, as I “progress” in my studies. Something odd there.
And it seems even the teachers are aware of it. I arrived at the break area during our first pause and one of the teachers there said to the other teachers present, “Ah, *our* teacher!” Yes, I guess I am, for some things, and I don’t mind living an “exchange of gifts”. But I want to learn, too!
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Post for May 18, 2008
Well, the Internet is 0 for 2 today, as I cannot find a picture of Santa Prisca in Wikipedia. But I am getting ahead of myself.
After the Grutas I had a chance to visit the town of Taxco, which really is magical. You approach the town by a road that stretches along a mountainside. As you get close, you see a town where all the buildings are set into the hillside, gleaming white and overlooking the valley. As you wander around, you discover that it would be impossible to actually make a readable map of the place, as the streets wind everywhere. Shop after shop sells genuine artisanal silver goods, so that each shop window seems to gleam — and then you discover the piece de resistance: Santa Prisca, the church located in the very centre of town.
Words just cannot do this church justice. I have seem some brilliant examples of interior decoration for churches (I think of our own Notre-Dame basilica in Montreal, for example), but this particular temple was just jaw-dropping in terms of its sacred beauty. I almost cried, it was so incredible. The baroque style is very “busy”, but you get the impression you’ve walked into a little bit of heaven (which, in fact, I had, as the mass had just started).
OK, blog readers, I am giving you a task: find me pictures of these places, please! Post the links in the comments boxes, to share with others. I could write a thousand words, but even one picture would be worth more than tens of thousands. Go for it!
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Post for May 18, 2008
Today I visited what must be one of the most amazing natural locations in the entire world: the Grutas of Cacahuamilpa. I am shocked, SHOCKED, to discover that there is no Wikipedia page regarding this site — is it truly incredible.
The Grutas are a cave complex in the Mexican state of Guerrero. The part open to the public is already 2 km long, but what is truly amazing is the height and breadth of the caves: they stretch at least 500 feet across in places (with a similar height) and therefore are simply MASSIVE. You just cannot believe how huge they are until you see them. And the natural “interior decoration” is similarly amazing, with stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, crystal formations, and so on, and of various colours. Wow.
The tour guide was quite a funny character — or at least he seemed to be, based on the laughter of the large tour group I was with. I could not understand most of what he was saying, but to be honest I was not bored — my gaming imagination easily took over, and I could imagine the place as a setting for Tolkein’s Mines of Moria, for example. Honestly, you could easily have fit a small town in some of those caves (to put this in perspective, one of them was converted into a *concert hall*). Truly awesome.
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Post for May 17, 2008
I am tired because I am fighting off an infection?
Or am I fighting off an infection because I’m tired?
Don’t worry folks, nothing serious, no fever or other major symptoms. I think the chicken I ate in a local restaurant yesterday afternoon is having some fun with me. So I am off to bed early tonight, as I have a big day tomorrow.
And on the study front, it was actually quite a good day! I managed to develop special study lists of key adverbs, prepositions, impersonal pronouns and subordinating conjunctions. These are the “spicy” words that make for real conversation — know these, and genuine communication becomes possible.
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Post for May 17, 2008
There was a death in the rectory of the parish last night.
The murder was premeditated.
The victim had six legs, long antennae, and answered to the name “cucaracha”.
It was death by shoe, after a brief pursuit.
The perpetrator was able to sleep at night thereafter.
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Post for May 17, 2008
Last night I headed out to a local restaurant with Padre Roberto and his youth group, to say goodbye to one of the young members who is off to Sweden for an engineering stage. First came drinks, then came snacks, and then the dreaded karaoke machine!
Ever since my trip to the Philippines in 2005 I have done my best to avoid karaoke, as I overdosed on it somewhat while there. But there was no getting out of it now. And as you can imagine, the young people just HAD to get their priests on stage.
The end result: Father Roberto and I doing a duet of New York, New York a la Frank Sinatra. Just picture it.
Or better yet, don’t!
And yes, there was an encore: they got me up again for a solo of Bette Midler’s Wind Beneath My Wings.
Ah, youth.
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Post for May 15, 2008
My classes run each day from 9:00 am to 12:00 noon, and then from 12:30 pm to 2:00 pm.
The first part is heavily focused on grammar and vocabulary. Basically, it is your traditional notion of class. The second half, however, is more conversation practice. The teacher and the students talk about one or more subjects of particular interest or concern. So what did we talk about today? Just take a look at the title of this blog article. And yes, all in Spanish.
I think the Holy Spirit is having some fun with me. Most of the time the students (literally) talk about the weather with their teachers, or discuss geographic or historical features of interest from their place of origin. But I am the only student in my class, and I suspect my teacher simply has questions like everybody else out there, and this is her chance to ask a priest.
But man! It is hard enough finding the right words in English to talk about these things! I was mentally exhausted by the end of the class. I am still pooped now. Time for bed, I think.
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Post for May 14, 2008
It’s been a few days since I last posted, due mainly to a set of evening thunderstorms leading to a lack of reliable Internet. So I will compress the last 3 days into one post.
Monday I began with a new teacher, Ana-Maria. The school, I have learned, requires students to change teachers every week, so as to expose them to different teaching styles, different ways of speaking, etc. It sounds wise enough, and actually helped me see where I was weak and where I was strong from my first week of lessons. I still have a lot of work to do.
A new student joined our school, from Quebec of all places! We’ve been having fun chatting in French together.
Monday night was supposed to be a lecture on the history of Mexico, but I got invited instead to go see Iron Man. I saw it the night before leaving for Mexico, but that was in English — I thought it might be fun to see it in Spanish. Except it was in English again! So I was a entertained but a bit disappointed at the same time.
Tuesday was a rough day. It started well, with more classes and a chance to chat with a woman from Arkansas who wants to know more about the Catholic faith. I ask my blog readers to pray for her. But it was so hot the night before that I don’t think I got more than a few hours of sleep. Apparently Mexico is in some sort of heat wave (in Guerrero the temperature hit 45 degrees in some places – 113 for my American friends). Here it was only about 36C (or 96F), but it didn’t seem to drop much in the night.
And it wasn’t only the environment that got heated. In the evening I went to another “intercambio” to have a chance to practise chatting with some Mexicans again. I was in a different group this time, and introduced myself with the same typical questions (what is your name, where are you from, what is the climate like there, what do you do, etc.). I am always up front about being a priest, and it always gets a reaction, only this time it was somewhat less friendly. Two or three members of our group were somewhat either anti-clerical or outright anti-Catholic, and whammo! I spent an hour defending the Catholic faith in general and my vocation in particular…in Spanish! Owww, my brain hurt after that! It got heated enough at one point that the Mexicans were arguing with each other, at what was supposed to be a language exchange. No, no insults were hurled, but it is hard to bring nuance to situations when you only have 2 weeks of speaking the language. Yeesh.
As for today, after class I was invited to visit with a family I met last Sunday. They came to pick us up (Father Roberto and I, that is), and we headed to their (very beautiful) home in a neighbourhood a bit further out of town. As it turns out, they have a son who is a student in Canada, at Concordia, and they hope to visit Montreal in the summer. So it looks like I’ll be playing the role of host sometime in the next few weeks.
Finally, in terms of my linguistic progress, my teacher assures me that all is well. We completed the grammar and exercises of book 1 today, and will then be launching into book 2. Again, my strength is grammar, and my achilles heel is vocabulary. I find the school environment a bit artificial, mind you — when I am conversing with actual people I find things are a lot smoother than under the contrived conditions and conversations of an educational textbook.
UPDATE: I wrote the above stuff prior to going out for dinner in the evening. Father Roberto and I were supposed to visit a family, and I was waiting for him when one of the youth of the parish showed up and said he would be taking me. When we got to the family there was no Father Roberto — but there WAS a house full of strangers (at least to me) who spoke only Spanish! Talk about sink or swim! And yet we got along great (including linguistically), kidded around and had a few laughs. Then, the fireworks and marching band music started up…
We headed outside, and a religious process was winding ita way through the streets, including (you guessed it) Father Roberto! The procession was over and hour behind schedule, so after we waved hello we headed back inside for more conversation (as well as some food). Father Roberto joined us a bit later, and we stayed up to 11:30 pm just chatting about everything and nothing.
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Post for May 11, 2008
Apart from watching the latest episode of Battlestar Galactica last night, I’ve been spending most of my free time studying. Vocabulary, conjugations, miscellaneous grammar…whew, it’s a lot! Still, the various resemblances to other languages makes it no too bad – it really is more a question of memorization than anything else, and that should come with practice.
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Post for May 11, 2008
Today is Mother’s Day in Canada (the second Sunday of May).
However, in Mexico it was yesterday (it is a fixed date, i.e. May 10).
Hence my dilemma: do I call mom on Saturday? or Sunday?
I decided that when in Mexico, do as the Mexicans do. Among other things, it avoids getting funny looks from people when they ask me if I called my mother and I would have to reply “no”. 
As a side note, the pastoral staff here at the parish in Cuernavaca took some time for a lovely midday meal. Among other things, they served…beer! I proudly hoisted my glass and declared “Esta es mi primera cerveza en Mexico!” We had a toast and a good laugh.
Happy Mother’s Day to all moms out there!
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Post for May 11, 2008
In a word: hot. Really, really hot. Hot like you can’t sleep at night hot.
Check it out: CNN weather report for Cuernavaca (in Celsius).
For my American friends: the same weather report in Fahrenheit.
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Post for May 8, 2008
I was back in class today. Walking back home, I realised I am starting to think in Spanish.
The school had organized a conference this evening, on the geography of Mexico, but I was a bit tired so I skipped it. Still, I was not lazy! I watched a Spanish-language film called Hable con ella (in English: Talk to Her).
Conclusion about the film: At times sweet, at times sad, at times just plain weird. Like the bit about the bullfighter woman. You have to see it to understand it.
Conclusion about my Spanish: People speak too fast in film for me to understand much, and given the weird stuff it was even harder.
Oh, I’m getting called to supper! Hasta luego!
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Post for May 7, 2008
I took a break from school today to make a special trip. The diocese of Cuernavaca was doing a special pilgrimmage to the famous shrine of Our Lady of Guadeloupe, and I was invited to go along. It promised to be a chance to meet the entire clergy of the diocese, including the bishop, and to join with them in prayer and devotion. I just couldn’t miss it.
But first, I had to get up in the morning…
I travelled with Padre Roberto, as well as Arturo, one of the parish youth. We left at 6:30 am to try and avoid the worst of the Mexico City traffic. The highway was great, very smooth sailing, but Mexico City itself gradually became more and more packed with cars. We got to the Basilica early, though, so it gave us a chance to eat some breakfast. I’m trying my best to really immerse myself in the Mexican way of doing things, but I have to admit those Froot Loops looked tempting… Still, I stuck with the chilaquiles.
Mass started a little after 10:00 am, and went to well past 12:00 noon. I had a spot at the very back of the sanctuary, but there were so many people I wound up sitting on the floor with some brother priests, deacons, and seminarians. Unfortunately the acoustics weren’t the greatest there, so I could not hear the bishop’s homily very clearly, meaning that I actually caught very little of it. Still, there was one major redeeming feature to my location: I was very close to the tilma. So, as my mind sometimes wandered, my eyes kept being drawn back to look at this amazing image.
We took a bit of time for shopping afterwards, and I used the occasion to buy a whole bunch of (what else?) religious books, more specifically Spanish-language liturgy books, so that when I get home I can baptise, do weddings and funerals and baptisms, and anoint people, all in Spanish. Having the books is one thing, though — having the language is quite another, so I was looking forward to getting home to attend my second intercambio.
Unfortunately, that was not to be. Padre Roberto says that maybe it was the altitude of Mexico City, or maybe the constant start-stop traffic, but I wound up with a terribly fatiguing headache by mid-afternoon. We stopped for the mid-meal and I just couldn’t look at food. Personally, I think it was the pollution: Mexico City is very pretty to look at, with many amazing monuments, but the air is just GROSS. I swear you can taste it. As soon as we got a bit higher, above the pollution line, I leaned back and promptly fell asleep in the car. I only woke up when we got back home.
“Home.” Yes, it is starting to feel like that here. It is amazing how quickly we develop routines and comfort zones, and this parish is one for me now, along with the school. And so far, there has been one other place that also felt like home: standing in front of the tilma, just after receiving communion, in the basilica of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. It’s a simple truth: wherever our Mother is, is home.
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Post for May 6, 2008
This evening I headed back to the language school to participate in an “intercambio”. This is where local Mexicans who are interested in improving their English get paired up with students from the school who then have a chance to practice Spanish. Except it didn’t quite work out that way…
First of all, there are a LOT more Mexicans who want to practice English than there are students in the school (at least at present). So I wound up at a table with Marielle, Mario, Marianna, and Anna (I am not making that up). After about 45 minutes, another 4 people joined our table — all Mexicans — so I was a bit, shall we say, outnumbered? So we made up our own rules for the intercambio.
Officially, the time together is divided into a Spanish-only first hour, and an English-only second hour. We decided to do it a bit differently: if they asked me a question they had to do it in English and I would answer only in Spanish, and if I asked a question I would do it in either English or Spanish (depending on my comfort level) and they would answer only in English. Yes, this means more English was spoken than Spanish, but given that I have less than a week’s worth of that lovely language it seemed more workable.
And it was more than workable: it was fun! And the system we developed was also well adapted to another reality, namely that I was going to leave early. It gets dark a bit earlier here than back in Montreal, and I have a 35-40 minute walk to get home. I love Cuernavaca, but even the local residents said it was a good idea to get back before the sun fully set, and I see no reason to force my guardian angel to work overtime. Once my Spanish is a bit better I’ll start to take taxis home, but until then I’ll settle for 1.5 hours instead of 2 for my “language exchange”.
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Post for May 5, 2008
I had my first day of class today. First, the good news: I am breezing through the grammar, again thanks to my previous experience of Romance languages. The director of the school asked me how much Spanish I had done before and I said “None.” Then, after a brief test (the result of which is that they put me at a more advanced initial level) he asked me again, and I replied “Well, I have been here since Friday.” He stopped asking after that.
One of the effects of being at this more advanced initial level, mind you, is that my brain is working overtime. Like I said, the grammar is easy, but my vocabulary just sucks. I have lots to work on.
Still, the mental fatigue is somewhat compensated by the physical fatigue. I discovered today that the school is a 35 minute walk from where I am staying. That is not so bad, and in fact it kind of helps, because a bit of exercise is good to burn off mental tension. I have to make the trip twice per day (classes are from 9 am to 2 pm, and then from 6 pm to 8 pm), so with this total of over 2 hours walking per day I am also hoping to burn off some of my (ahem) spare tire as well. Although I found this to be a strange schedule at first, now that I have lived it I have discovered the immense wisdom of “la siesta”.
Hasta mañana!
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Post for May 4, 2008
I’m going to cover two days of events in this one post.
Yesterday I made sure to get some decent rest, as my trip here took more out of me than I had expected. By the afternoon, though, I was up for some adventure, so some members of the aforementioned youth group took me to the centre of town to visit the Palace of Hernan Cortes. I had already studied the life of Cortes somewhat, particularly some elements of his military strategy, so I found the visit particularly interesting. My evening was spent at a party to which Padre Roberto had been invited. My goodness, the people here are *extremely* friendly! Although my Spanish is limited (read: nonexistent) I am able to understand quite a bit when people speak slowly, so I got along ok, and as chance would have it one of the young people at the party spoke excellent French. It pays to be a bit of a polyglot!
Today we had mass at one of the local chapels, the chapel of St. Isidore. I use the term “chapel” loosely, as it is basically a roof on pillars with wall at the back of the sanctuary. This construction is actually quite smart, as the breeze through the open area keeps things cool for people. I can’t help but notice how everything is made of concrete — probably because wood would be eaten by termites or other such bugs. Again, the friendliness of the people was evident, whether from the applause when I was introduced or simply from the smiles and words of welcome.
I thought we would go straight home after mass, but instead a family treated Padre Roberto and myself to a field trip: a visit to Xochicalco, a ruined pre-Columbian city. I wish I had known we were going, as I would have brought my camera (and some sunscreen — yes, I am now red as a lobster), but even without photos I still have amazing memories. This city, which seems to have basically been a fortified temple complex at the top of the hill, must have been VERY impressive in its day. As I was walking through it I had the amazing sense of the immense history of such a place.
We got home late in the afternoon, and I must confess I was exhausted. It was extremely hot today — one thermometer I read said 38 degrees Celsius (approximately 100 Fahrenheit). At least it wasn’t humid, although it was so dry I drank close to 3 litres of water in the space of a few hours. We got home to a meal of pozole and quesadillas, which I just dove into, as we had not eaten since breakfast (although, to be honest, the heat tends to dampen the appetite as well).
Tonight I am taking it easy, as I start class tomorrow and I want to be fresh. I am amazed how comfortable I am with Spanish already, and I’m looking forward to a more structured walk-through of the language.
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Post for May 3, 2008
I flew from Dorval airport yesterday morning for Mexico City, for the start of my first trip to Latin America. The flight was Air Canada, and I got lucky — the plane was only half full, meaning that I got a whole 3-seat bench to myself. Not that it changed all that much, as all I did was sleep…
It was clear to me that God was on my side when, as I was waiting in line for Mexican customs, I bumped into a fellow with a black clerical shirt and a pectoral cross — it was the bishop of Chalatenango in El Salvador! I introduced myself, and mentioned I was from Montreal — was I ever surprised to discover that he had just visited our fair city recently. The line was quite long, so we had a chance to have a nice chat, and he gave me his blessing for my month in Mexico. What a great way to start the trip.
A driver was waiting for me at the airport, so the trip to Cuernavaca was very smooth, apart from one problem — he had no idea where the church was where I would be living, and of course neither did I. But God bless technology, because I was able to use my cell to call Father Marco Guzman in Montreal (who had once served in Cuernavaca) and he gave the necessary directions.
The parish where I am staying is responsible for several chapels, and the rectory is actually found in one of those chapels, the chapel of Our Lady of Guadeloupe. I was met by Father Roberto Dirus, my host here in Cuernavaca. After a (very) brief period of settling in, Fr. Roberto took me on a whirlwind tour of his parish, including some pastoral activity on his part (a workplace blessing and a First Friday mass). I think I’ve already had enough dinner invitations to feed me for my whole month here.
And speaking of dinner, we went out for food last night at a local restaurant, along with members of a youth group founded by Padre Roberto. Some spoke excellent English, but with others I’ve already had to practise my Spanish. This is particularly difficult, given that I don’t actually have any yet, but I’ve discovered that with my English, French and Italian I can actually pick up quite a bit (as long as people speak slow enough).
I’m writing this from Padre Roberto’s room, where he has a high-speed Internet connection. Check back for updates every so often! Adios!
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