Chiapas (Oct. 30 - Nov. 2, 2011)

On October 30, we embarked in a beautiful trip right after we attended our church meeting. We went to Palenque, Chiapas. From Cardenas we took a bus to Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco; and from there, we took this beautiful bus to Palenque, land of the Mayan, which was a 2-hour ride.

As You can see, Lucas absolutely enjoyed the trip, especially because Ashlie lent him her Ipod and he could watch a movie for about 5 minutes. Later on, he took a nice nap until we arrived to Palenque.

We stayed at the Best Western Maya Hotel near the center of the town. It was a beautiful hotel with nice swimming pools so the children were in heaven.

On October 31, we took a public van from our hotel to the beautiful Mayan Ruins of Palenque. This archaelogical site was so beautiful and mystic. What you see here is impressive, yet to date, only 2% of this 25 square mile site has been excavated.

THE PEOPLE

They were so friendly and very respectful.

This cute grandma was selling traditional shirts


CULTURE


We spent three days during one of the most popular Mexican celebrations: the Day of the Dead. The main square was full of high school students who were having a competition to see which school would have the best altar built. It was amazing to see how engaged these young people were and how dedicated they were in building the altars. The adornment of the altars is usually done with marigolds starting October 31st. They also place food on them. From this day on, nobody is allowed to touch the food because the guest of honor is the dead. It's only when the dead decides to go to the underworld, that the living can partake of the food.

Dancing was part of the festivities in the main square

The famous waterfalls: Misol-Ha

Misol-Ha is a spectacular 115 ft. waterfall that is a must see for any visitors. The name means "waterfall" in Cho'l. We hired a tour company to take us to this waterfall and getting there was quite an adventure. The fact that we are alive is a true miracle because the driver was a maniac. You see...the roads are extremely curvy and he would not slow down at all, so our children were getting sick to their stomach and so were we. Wow!!! I often wonder where these people get their driver's license or if they do have one....

AGUA AZUL

An hour from Misol-Ha, you can find the most amazing place we have ever seen. This was breathtaking!!! Agua Azul (Blue Water) cascades are located in the heart of the Lacandon Jungle. They cascade down a series of falls and rapids, ending with a stunning short but wide drop into shallow lagoons, where you can swim...

.....which is exactly what the kids and Jorge did....

An Answer to Someone's Prayer

Upon completing my classes today, I felt I should get closer to two students who were designing an indigenous home for an exhibition later that day. As I admired their production, one of them came to me and asked me whether I had any experience working with the youth as a counselor. I explained my experiences in both work and church and then he asked if I could help him with a problem. We talked for about an hour and a half. I shared a few answers to questions he had had for so long, answers he couldn't get from anybody. His humility and willingness to be teachable and to receive advice filled my heart with gratitude. It was amazing how he transformed throughout our conversation and his dark eyes became bright and happy. Towards the end, he shook my hand with joy and pronounced the following words: "Thank you teacher. You have been an answer to my prayer." My heart was filled with joy and gratitude again as I left that old classroom knowing that I had been an instrument to help someone today. As I thanked him for his trust, I replied truthfully, "YOU have been an answer to mine." Experiences like these ones make me so grateful for the profession I chose a few years ago. I hope that I will continue to be an answer to someone's prayer and that I would take the time to listen in my heart when someone is in need of help and advice.

International Festival at Colegio Latino

Emma is waving as the Tabasco girl representative

Ashlie and Gina are standing to the right...

Villahermosa, Tabasco

Our Beautiful Tabasco Girl Emma...

Visiting Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco

This weekend we went to the Immigration office and finally received our Visas. Since we were in Villahermosa, we decided to stay in a hotel and visit the city. As you can see, our children had fun in the swimming pool, which was on the top floor of the hotel. We visited the Tomas Garrido Canabal park. Nowadays, this park carries the name of the man who founded it in 1930, and who originally called it Tabasco Park. The park was created to house the commercial cattle market, which the state is famous for. It received its current name in 1965 and was remodeled for its reopening in 1985 with new architectural and visual elements representing pre-Hispanic and colonial times. This beautiful park is located right by the shore of the Laguna de las Ilusiones. We also ate in nice restaurants and had to visit Walmart!! Charlotte went to the temple in the evening while I stayed with the children in the hotel room watching a few movies. It was a great weekend with a beautiful sunny weather.

Three Days of Unceasing Rain

15 inches in the last 24 hours...

We have been here for two months and it's been raining on and off since then. We would be amazed at the amount of rain and people would say, "Wait until the tropical rain season begins. You will see more rain," which we did not understand until now.

It's been pouring for 3 consecutive days so our streets are flooded now. We have never seen so much rain in our lives. Cars, motorcycles, and pickups are getting stuck in the water. Fortunately, we are staying in a 3-story house, which is built on high grounds; so we want to believe the water won't reach us. We feel so bad for our neighbors who are removing water from their houses; but I guess they are so used it as we heard this happens every year.

My supervisor just called and told me that there would be no classes tomorrow due to the fact that there are so many streets which are flooded in the city of Cardenas. How much longer will it rain? Who knows? Some natives said, "Ohhh...it will rain only in October." Others say, "Be ready because it won't stop until November." Who to believe? None!!! I want to believe that it changes every year, so we will just go with the flow...