Arrival

Five years ago, as part of our sabbatical, we journeyed to the Isle of Iona--a journey that requires multiple train rides, two ferry rides, and an extended bus ride over windy roads, and all that after you've already made it to Glasgow. I remember it feeling like a pilgrimage--a clear and good destination in sight, but an intentional and persistent effort was required to achieve it. I had a similar feeling as we came into San Cristobal de las Casas on Sunday. Our immediate journey started Saturday night. My parents and our family drove down to Chicago at the end of a day that saw Elizabeth run the 10K version of the River Bank Race in Grand Rapids and our girls perform as part of their dance showcase with their dance class. After we brief night's rest, we journeyed to the airport and found our flight. The flight itself was a bit rough and at least one of our children proclaimed, "I'm never flying again." We navigated customs in Mexico City without too much trouble and almost missed our connecting flight because we did not realize it required taking a bus from the terminal to where the plane was stationed in the middle of the tarmac. That flight, however, was much smoother, and we landed in Tuxtla Guttierrez on schedule. Mariano and Rosy Avila's friend, Edman, met us at the airport and promptly made us realize how much we have yet to learn about Spanish. He took us to his neighborhood, however, and his neighbors Pepe and Clara had prepared a feast for us--complete with watermelon juice to drink. This was Peter's favorite, which was good, because Tuxtla is hot at the base of the mountains and he was clearly not accustomed to the heat. We met Edman's wife and daughter, had a brief view of the city of Tuxtla, and then piled back in the jeep for the last leg to San Cristobal. We quickly realized why everyone has been telling us how beautiful this place is. Almost immediately you head up into the mountains, and suddenly you're looking down on the valley below in such a way that you feel like an eagle soaring above everything or a cloud gliding over the rest of the world. San Cristobal itself is almost 7000 feet above sea level and is nestled between a variety of hills and mountains. I remember my guide in Israel talking about how people never seem to forget their first glimpse of the Sea of Galilee as you come around the hills, and it felt the same way with San Cristobal when it finally emerged at the end of our long journey. We still needed to find our home for the next ten weeks, however, and we relied on the GPS on my phone for help. We realized we were in trouble, however, when it began telling us, first, to go the wrong way on one way streets and then, second, to go up "streets" that were merely staircases. going up hills. We did, however, find our rental home, and it's a beautiful spot with plenty of room for us and some great views of the sunrise over the mountains. It appears to be about the highest place in the city--which, when you're walking to Spanish class in the morning is just fine, but when you're walking back after three hours of stimulating but tiring learning, well...it can be a challenge. Taxis might become our friends. Waiting for us there were the babysitter we've hired to watch Peter while the rest of us take Spanish classes and a few of her family and friends. Her name is Gloria, and she is a pastor of a small church here in San Cristobal and a former student of Mariano's. We feel loved and blessed to be surrounded by so many friends of friends so far from home. The language classes so far are going well. The school is in a beautiful spot not far from the central market, and despite it being the start of rainy season, it has yet to rain. (that's supposed to change tomorrow). It's been really fun to see our children take everything in. Peter loves the motorcycles, he's fascinated by the dogs everywhere, and the girls play games seeing who can find all the colors of the rainbow first (in order) because the buildings are so brightly colored. We're feeling a bit more settled now that we've been here a few days, and today we had the privilege of joining Gloria for dinner at her house. Her son and his girlfriend helped us with the store and also pointed us to a park. We're all pretty tired with the walking and the learning, but it is going well and we're thankful for all of your prayers and support. It is particularly hard to leave Peter in the mornings, since he's almost always either been with one of us or with our parents, so pray that he adjusts to that and that we can be confident that this is a good arrangement. A funny moment from the first few days: one of our teachers, having just taught Elizabeth during the first session, asked me in Spanish if I was single or married, expecting me to say married. I however, thought the word for married meant "hot" so I chose single. He assured me that I was mistaken. Indeed, I was. Adios, que te vaya bien.