¿Hablas español?

Today was a rather ups and downs kind of day.  This morning, the last thing I wanted to do was go to church, but I went anyway (because the sacrament is very important to me, regardless of how I'm feeling that day).  I think the Bishop could see my lack of enthusiasm because he asked me to lead the music today.  God must have also been enjoying Himself (He does have a sense of humor, I tell you) because the piano player today played the songs extra slow (my biggest pet peeve with hymns - singing them way too slow and consequently turning them into a dirge).  Needless to say, I survived (but just barely :P) and even got up to bear my testimony (my first time in Mexico!)  Course, I completely blanked on all of my Spanish vocabulary halfway through, so I ended it with an awkward, "en el nombre de Jesus Cristo, amen" (in the name of Jesus Christ, amen) and got down.  BUT, something super sweet was I sat down in my chair, and Profe's daughter turns round and says (she's 8) "good job!  It must be super hard to bear it in Spanish."  So cute and just what I needed to hear at that moment.

During Sunday School I half paid attention, but was more so talking with my sister about my frustrations for the day (just wanting to go home).  Which delved into a deeper conversation that helped me to realize what the real problem was, resolve it, and move on (which helped me to be much more cheerful for the rest of the day).  She helped remind me that I need to be merciful with myself (as Becca would say, "Have mercy on yerself!")  As I was forgetting the fact that, yes, even though I'm not fluent in Spanish still, and even though I got super upset after snorkeling the other day that, I did it.  I'm here. I'm speaking Spanish.  Despite my very real fear, I still got in that water.  Heck, I'm in a foreign country with people I start out not even knowing for a semester.  Basically, as my sister pointed out, I'm a boss.  (Thanks, sis).

Anyway, after Sunday School, us lovely ladies went out to go take our picture by the church sign (which we meant to do the first Sunday, but that didn't happen).  The picture turned out so cute!

Far Back:  Christina
Middle Row (Left to Right):  Janice, Whitney, Ellora, Becca, Olivia, Claire
Front Row (Left to Right):  Jordan, Raquel, Aubreyann, and I

Then we went to Relief Society.  It was a lesson all about self-sufficiency and the importance of it.  It was hard to hear the teacher, though (those fans are super loud!), but I tried my best (Becca gave me a nice shoulder massage) and kind of read up on the ISIS situation (the government sent out a Worldwide Precaution to US citizens.  I thought it would be a good idea to read through the whole thing.  If you would like to read it, click here ).  I officially have the goal of paying more attention next Sunday.  But Spanish church is just really hard.  Nevertheless, I will try again next week.

After church, Christina and I went home (MM was kind enough to take us there, then pick us up.  She even took Brandon home).  We then rested for a little bit before heading over to MM's parent's house (on the way out the door, I totally got my fingers slammed in the door and ended up bleeding.  So I had to run inside and grab a piece of toilet paper to staunch the blood), where we had lunch (SO yummy).  And, GUESS WHAT.  They even had a PIANO!!  So I bet you can imagine what I did for a long while.  Yep, played that old piano.  Christina and I took turns.  Then, we ended up singing some acapella hymns for a while, before going upstairs to watch a movie with MM's mom.  It was "Elsa & Fred" and it was one of the cutest movies ever.

Following that, we went home.  And, after several minutes of talking, Christina and I decided that for the rest of the time we are here, we are only going to speak in Spanish to each other (unless it's like a legit emergency, I guess).  Or try (hence the title of this blog).  We've been doing pretty good so far, I'd say.  Only slipped up a couple times tonight.

After that conversation, I got to Skype my mom and dad!  It was awesome, mainly because I always laugh a whole lot when I talk with them.  And cause, well, they're awesome.

Shortly thereafter, Christina and I had some dinner (grilled cheese), then I worked on my homework.  Though I probably did not get as much done as I needed to.  Did I mention that I have three tests between now and next Tuesday?  Yikes.

That's all the exciting stuff for today.

'til tomorrow.

R J Carr