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Hello all you lovely people! Well.. I literally can't think of one perfect title for my first blog post in Mexico, so here you go.. you get multiple!

- Hostels, Highways, and Hallelujahs
- ¿Ke$ha?
- I Should Have Studied More
- Having a Popular Dad Has Its Perks

Obviously, you might not get the gist of what my time has been like with these titles, so I will try to elaborate.

Hostels, Highways, and Hallelujahs
As soon as I landed in Atlanta, I met up with another girl doing the same two programs that I am, named Lizzie. She is incredible, and we talked the ENTIRE flight.. yes. We were "those girls."As soon as we landed and met up with some LAM leaders, tons of girls flooded the gates.. We didn't know who was coming, but it must be a Mexican celebrity, right? Needless to say, we were pumped. All of the sudden they started singing...in English. We were incredibly confused-Maybe it was a Mexican bilingual celebrity? What? We didn't know, but acted like little girls excited for ice cream. After a couple minutes they started chanting "Uno Dirección, Uno Dirección, Uno Dirección" YEP! You guessed it. One Direction was in the airport! Haha! Apparently, they had a couple concerts this weekend in Mexico City? ¡Que bueno! (How cool). We didn't end up sticking around to see if they were actually there, but you get the picture of my first memory in Mexico. Hallelujah for friends, laughter, and immediate conversation starters! Then, we headed to the hostel where we had orientation for a few days. Public transportation could have it's own blog post, but long story short, 20 million people in one city... highways, metros, buses, etc. are constantly packed! Lizzie and I braved the chaos and rode the metro to the hostel with my leaders. (I'm still not sure if that was the best idea yet). It was incredible getting to know the other 11 team members though, and I think we are going to work incredibly well together! More stories to come for sure.

¿Ke$ha?
Culture in Mexico City is quite unique. I didn't realize how much of an impact Americans and the U.S. have on Mexico, especially Mexico City. One of the first songs I heard was Ke$ha's, and I'm not too sure if that reflects our home in the greatest light. But, I absolutely love being able to connect with my host family over our love for iphones, music, and food, but it is still super interesting!

I Should Have Studied More
Spanish. Is. Hard. Even though I've taken 7 college level Spanish classes, been in three Spanish speaking countries, and have international friends, does not mean that I know Spanish. Class is tough at times, and I definitely struggle to understand my family. And, side conversations in the metro? Forget about it! I should have studied more. I'm obviously picking up a ton of slang and vocabulary, but there is still so much to learn. One thing I know is that I should have spoken, studied, and written more for my Spanish classes. So, for all you students out there who are taking their language class for a general requirement, watch out-you might move there for 14 months...


Having a Popular Dad Has Its Perks
On Saturday, Canaan (my new roommate) and I met our family for the first time. We have a mom, dad, a brother (18), and a sister (20). They are incredible individuals and I am learning so much from them already. My neighborhood is so close and they all know each other. Well, at least that is what Canaan and I think. Maybe our dad is just super popular? One thing I really appreciate about Mexican culture is how relationships are more important than work. You might think "Well-duh!" But, let me prove you wrong. If you saw a friend walking by, would you just wave or would you literally drop everything, run to them and genuinely ask how they are doing? Would your pastor want you to interrupt them after church just so they can make sure you are well? Would you honk to one of your friends, pull over, have a 5 minute conversation with someone when you are over 30 minutes late to a meeting? Would you ride public transportation for 6 hours a day just to make sure your daughters got to school okay? Would you shake hands with everyone in a room full of over 20 people when saying bye, just to acknowledge the presence of each individual? Would you talk to the bus driver and brag about your new daughters while he meanders through the streets of Mexico City? Would you leave your work behind to spend hours upon hours watching tv, eating, and talking with your family? These are the incredible people I am living with this summer. Mexican culture is amazing-and my family has definitely shown me that over the past few days. Having a popular dad has it's perks.


Serving alongside the servant-hearted has been an incredible experience already. Although we've only been "downtown" a few times, been to church once (or multiple times in one day in my case), started Spanish classes, and just getting our feet wet with Mexican culture, I know that the next two months (and year) will be an incredible experience. In the next week I will hopefully write another post about the ministries that I will be helping with and more about my church family here, but I'm running out of time for tonight. Please know that I am safe, full (all the time), laughing, and learning. Please keep my team in your prayers with their health and culture shock, too! Thank you for your support, and check back soon.

Abrazos,
Amanda