Hurricane/Tropical Storm Henriette Part 2

It's Thursday evening, and I sit here in the house safe and sound. The weather has been very anti-climatic. Yesterday, the University canceled afternoon classes. It started raining around 4:00, and so I had the privilege of reading a novel (for class) with the sound of soft rain and a cup of coffee. Around 6:00 p.m., they announced that classes were canceled for the following day in all of Hermosillo, although the University's web page stated that it was only for the morning. The tropical storm was scheduled to arrive in Hermosillo around 11:00 p.m. with winds from anywhere from 20 mph to 40 mph. However, when I went to bed at 11:30, it wasn't even raining. When I woke up, there was no evidence of any storm, nor of any additional rain. Today was a day of no, yes, no, yes, no for classes. In the end, we didn't have any classes, mainly because more rain was predicted and there was already water in the streets. In conclusion, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Henriette ended up causing less damage here in Hermosillo than the 45 minute storm we had on Tuesday. Not to say there wasn’t destruction in other areas, as Henriette caused damage to the costal towns of Guaymas , Kino, Los Cabos, and others. However, here in Hermosillo, all is quiet.

Hurricane Henriette (1)

So, I thought I´d avoid Hurricane Season by living in Hermosillo with the Baha to protect us. Hah! Not so. Hurricane Henriette is in the Sea of Cortez right now heading northward. Thankfully we are approximately 60 miles inland from Bahia Kino, so we won´t get the hurricane as it´s a category 1. (Yesterday I freaked out thinking that the Hurricane was a category 5, so obviously today I feel better knowing it´s a 1. Hurricane Felix is a 5 so somehow I got that confused.) Anyway, we should get a good tropical storm out of the deal. That means lots and lots of rain in a city that doesn´t handle rain very well as it usually never gets rain. So we´ll see what it looks like this afternoon and tomorrow. You can tract the storm on http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ however it´s doesn´t tell you where Hermosillo is. If you find a different site that has a major island (Shark Island or something like that), Hermosillo is directly east. Updates later.

Hard

I think the hard part has finally come. The first three weeks went fairly smoothly. Granted, I had my ups and downs. Overall, though, it went much better than expected and I felt pretty good about how the adjustment was going. However, the end of week #3 and definitely #4 (last week) were not so good. So, here are the hard parts of the last week and a half.
Friday the 24th, I came to a new realization about my frustration of my lack of comprehension. I realized that I work hard to understand 24/7. This not only includes school(listening to lectures, class discussions, homework texts), but also fun/down time (hanging out in groups of 3+ people and having conversations) or going to church). So, unless I am emailing or calling home and talking in English, I don´t get much of a break.
On Monday and Tuesday, I freaked out about housing. I thought that housing was taken care of, but an unexpected detail came up, and I ended up re-stressing, re-researching, and re-thinking my plan. At the end of it all, everything ended up working out and the bumps along the way helped direct me to a living situation about which I am really excited. (More details later about my famiy with whom I am living and their house.)
On Wednesday night, I got sick. I think it was something I ate as I ended up having diarrhea and vomiting. However, I think that my stress level and possibly the higher heat (low/ mid 40s) made me more susceptible or worsened the situation.
On Thursday, I ended up crying to a professor about my concerns with the homework (specifically about a homework assignment I had been stressing about the previous two days). He was very understanding and informed me that in reality I had much more time to complete the assignment, which made me feel less anxious.
However, I continue to be concerned about homework in general. I feel like I could spend all my extra time doing it, still not understand very well, and have limited time for friends and no time for exploring the city, state, and country.
Headaches have been too frequent. I think they are a culmination of stress, the heat (although during the day I don´t think it is affecting me), and all the change.
I realized how bad the week had been only when Veronique told me that she had been worried about me during the week.
So, that´s how life is going. I am trying to take one day at a time. (Yesterday I only cried once and it was in the morning, so the rest of the day actually went really well.) I am hoping that now that I have moved, I can get into a good schedule and get more accomplished during the day. I am considering rearranging a class to give me a larger studying block of time. I am more conscious about the amount of sleep I´m getting, and considering getting back into my regular exercise routine. However, everything comes with its advantage and disadvantage and so I´m weighing things out and a good balance is what I´m trying to find.
So, for now, it´s still hard. However, that´s part of the process.

Hermosillo Hospitality

One of the most striking things to me so far has been the hospitality this city has given me. From the beginning, the University´s Education Exchange program has demonstrated a extemely warm welcome. From picking me up from the airport to having a place to live until I find my own place (up to a month!), they have made the transition easy.
Next, I encountered the helpfulness of the locals. As we learn our way around the city, people are always willing to give us directions or help us get to our next spot. (I was initially worried about asking for help as that meant I didn´t know my way around and would feel vulnerable. However, in requesting their help, I have always felt safe and in truth, am probably more safe for asking.)
Then, there is Hermosillo´s hospitality at the University. Every professor, when I have approached them about extra help or to explain the concerns I have with my comprehension, has made me feel at ease with their understanding and willingness to work with me. Furthermore, the students have also demonstrated kindness and helpfulness, be it rides home, copying lecture notes, brining previous course material to catch me up to speed, etc.
The students once again demostrated this past Thursday. When my classmates in Mexican Lit. III found out it was my birthday via Veronique, they all gave me their congratulations. After class, I was talking with two of them while waiting for Veronique. They lameneted the fact that they didn´t bring me a cake. So instead, they suggested going out for dinner to celebrate. So six of them, along with my house mates, and the professor ended up having dinner and drinks at a great local restaurant. One of them, Marta, gave me two books (which is a great gift as it is practical for class, appropriate for my enjoyment of reading, and extra special in the fact that most of our school reading is photocopies of books). They were all students I didn´t know very well and aren´t the ones I have connected with in class. However, despite that, they took me out to dinner and celebrated with me. What a beautiful gift!
As I have reflected on the town´s generousity and hospitality, I have been reminded of how I fail often in this area. Sure, some of you might disagree. However, that´s because you are friends and family and I tend to do a slightly better job because of our relationship. Even so, I have often still respond or act out of self interests or selfishness. With stangers or even people I know, but am not close friends with, I am much worse. I often ignore them or keep the interactions at arm´s length, protecting myself. Here, I am a stranger and yet I have been treated with open arms. I am humbled both as an individual, but also as a representive of the US. They surely have given me a lesson in hospitality. I hope some of it rubs off on me.

Classes-Week #1

The following is a what I wrote for one of my classes here about the first day of classes (translated into English of course!)
Today, Monday, August 13, was my first day of class here at the University of Sonora (UNISON). As it´s been 5 years since I graduated from Calvin College and 6 since I actually took a class, I was feeling both excited and a little bit nervous about the reality of studying again. My first class was Mexican Literature III (20th century) from 10:00-11:00. Veronique, my house mate, is also taking this class and so that helped me to not feel so alone in this adventure. However, my feelings changed as the class progressed and I soon was in shock. I didn´t understand hardly anything. I don´t have very much literature background in regards to classes and furthermore I haven´t taken the prerequisites to this class, so both my vocabulary and background knowledge were severly lacking. I though, What am I doing? and Should I even be in this class? The second class was better. It was Composition Workshop I, an hour class for incoming freshmen. As a result, many students arrived late to class and then received a mini-lecture about the importance of arriving on time and their assistance. I was humored by this and quite relieved that I have pasted that stage. Español II was next. The teacher is quite the dramatic, energetic, animated woman. Upon entereing, many students proceded to give her the warm welcome with hugs and kisses. Then in class, she commented that over the break she had missed them.....yesterday. I certainly have a variety of professors! My final class is History of the US/Mexican Relations at 7:00-9:00. I enjoyed the class and I felt better about what I understood (perhaps because I had more back ground history and perhaps because I had better expectations of what I´d understand). Anyway, I enjoyed the class. Thankfully, we got out at 8:00 since it was an introduction. So thus ended my first day of classes. Tomorrow I get to start it all over again.

Follow up: One week later, Monday, August 20, 2007
I know have been to a full week of classes. Overall it went well. However, there was definitely less homework than I´ll have normally. It has had its ups and downs of course. I understand much less than what I´ve expected so that´s the hardest part. It also means that even if I work super hard, I´m not going to get the success I´m used to receiving with more hours of work. I know that part of it results from the adjusting to being in classes (and in Spanish), but there are days, like today, that I doubt that and just think that I´m in over my head. However, professors have been very understanding and helpful and students are welcoming and helfpul as well. The other challenging part is my schedule. I have classes scattered through out the day and so that makes for a long day, but also means I don´t ever get a large block of time. Furthermore, I am still looking for housing so that takes up time as well. Anyway, as you can tell, today, I´m stressed and more anxious, but last week overall did go better than I expected.

Not so Sola after all...

The good news I´m not as alone as I anticipated. The Unison (University of Sonora) has a student exchange program and there are approximately 20 of us. Two of them are staying in the same house as I am. Veronique comes from France and will be here for a year. She is also studying in the Literature program (I am as well, officially, but with my liberal arts background, I am diversifying my classes and have classes with 3 different "schools" or programs here.) We will have one class together this semester so that will be great, especially since her Spanish kicks butt (really, she speaks like a native). Andrès is here for a semester and is from Puebla, a town relatively close to Mexico City and if the battke site of Cinco de Mayo. It´s been nice to be with them as we are all have similar needs right now (exploring the city and area, learning the streets and public transportation, no friends, etc.) They are both exceptional people and just good folks so that´s very comfortable and comforting for me. I am the eldest of the group, though as they are both 21. So, obviously been pleased to have them as companions that are becoming my friends. Regarding the rest of the group, most are from Mexico, but not from Hermosillo. Most of the students (of the 20/25 thousand) are from Hermosillo or Sonora There are also two other students from the US (one from the Midwest and the other from Arizona). There is also another girl from Spain (and maybe 1 or 2 more coming as well). All the foreign exchange students that have arrived met this past Wednesday as part of our orientation. I am the eldest of the group (I think), but at least I have mom´s young looks! (Thanks Mom!) I´m also the least fluent of the four non-native speakers. A little intimidating. At least, it´s good for my Spanish, even if I feel like I don´t qualify to be here. Anyway, the group will reconvene in a few weeks to have some typical Sonoran/ Hermosillan food. And, if we´re lucky, the exchange office, is going to try to organize two trips during the semester so we might even get to travel! Not so sola after all, no?

Sun-ora

So, it´s hot here! I knew it would be as I had checked the forecast earlier this summer and they had days of 105-115 F. The good news is that it rained last week and so it´s been cooler this week only staying in the upper 90s. However, I don´t know exactly the temperature as it´s Celsius here. Still... Thankfully my temporary housing has AC so that helps. The strange thing here is that everyone wears pants (especially jeans which aren´t very light)...men, women, and even kids. I´ve been watching and I´ve only noticed a few men and women wearing shorts (or skirts for that matter). It´s a little more common to see children wearing shorts, but it´s not the norm. I´ve been wearing shorts and skirts since I came. I wasn´t completely conscious of it right away, the last two days I´ve noticed that I´m very much the exception. I decided to ask Marisol, one of the exchange program staff. She said that people wear shorts to protect their legs from getting burned. When I mentioned that it´s been cool, she said that´s another reason. My mom suggested that it might be also that people work in AC, which might also be true, but there are also a lot of people who don´t work in AC. Anyway, I decided to try wearing light-weight jeans today and I think I´ll switch back to shorts tomorrow. Maybe on Monday for the first day of class, I´ll try capris (mainly because there will be AC in the classrooms.)
Yeah for sunscreen!

I´ve arrived!

Apropriate view, don´t you think?

Hi all...I´ve arrived (on Sunday the 5th). The last week was a rollarcoaster. I really enjoyed being in WY with my family, but since I had no more details to wrap up, I also had a lot of time to worry about the huge adventure I´ve undertaken. So needless to say, I was quite anxious. The day of the flight I was calm in the morning and calm until I got to Phoenix. Then I had to leave security, go to another terminal, get a ticket since it was another airline, and go back through security, and try to grab a bite to eat, all in an hour and a half. Thankfully, the flight was slightly delayed! I arrived in Hermosillo, only to find that my luggage didn’t come. Juan, a university staff who was picking me up, thankfully was still waiting for me an hour after I went to report the lost luggage. After we went to Walmart (who know!) to buy some basic supplies like a toothbrush, I was dropped off to a big, nice, but empty house and had 5 hours to kill by myself. Again, just felt fearful and lonely, but went and bought a phone card and ate dinner. Yesterday, Monday, I met Andrés who is another student who is staying at the house. He waited and accompanied me during the day as we took a tour of the University, went and bought myself a cell phone. So it was nice to have someone to be there, who at least is in a similar situation and doesn't know anyone, but also knows the culture and language better than I when I have a question about how things work. Today is another day of finding things to do. The university said to wait on looking for housing until the other students come, so we have a day of no activities planned. Gives me time to blog! Sorry about all the details!

I definitely might have overpacked. Three suitcases and a bike!

Moving anyone?

Moving is a lot of work. Moving to another country is even more work. Thankfully I've had June and July to prepare without having to deal with teaching students. There have been so many details to consider: moving out of my old apartment, organizing and then storing my things, living out a suitcase, changing my address, closing old accounts, changing health insurance, saying good-byes to friends, working out details with the University (here and there), figuring out what to do with my car, packing, managing money details, and just regular living. The hard part is that life feels out of control with all these loose details and working out these details takes a lot of time. The good part however is that in all these things I'm also preparing mentally and emotionally and am ready just to get there. My time for preparation is about over. Tomorrow, I head off for a 2 1/2 week trip for my brother's wedding and a family camping trip with my 92 year old Grandpa!
After that, I get one day to do laundry and pack up my things and then I'm off!