I walked away from the computer and thought to myself that I had forgotten something... and then I realized that I never said hi to you! How are you doing? How is the southwest treating you? I have been talking to the 18 yearold kid here because he is really into readin ghis bible but has never been taught really anything, so he literally just reads his bible by himself everymorning (how organic!) and anyways, I was telling him about some of the things that I have learned over this past year and I just realzed again how grateful I am to have gone to Trinity with such amazing people who loved studying the Word and wanted to share it with others. Anyways, I hope everything is well and you and Garret are totally in my prayers and I am excited to here what God is doing up there!
I live near a long thin park called Parque Forestal. It's really quite a nice park and it has a long stretch of a lane for riding bikes or jogging. And since I have a fear of riding bikes in this city, I jog. It's really pleasent. I usually listen to radioDisney on my mp3 player and jog along to Jonas Brothers, Beyonce, or Julieta Venegas. Great stuff. Yesterday on my jog I noticed that the trees were beginning to change. Fall has finally arrived and I am glad for the change. But as I was jogging through the falling leaves, I began to think about how much I like fall. And I had this special moment when I realized that I want to be here in Santiago, jogging through this park for many falls to come. After the past few weeks of cultural adjustment being a little more painful than normal, this was a nice thought to have.
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I am enjoying my job. I decided, against the advice of some of my more stony cold colleagues, to smile at my students before Christmas. I really like my students. I think I crack too many jokes around them because sometimes they think we can be silly all the time. But, on the whole, teaching is going very smoothly. Nothing awful to speak of. And, in terms of Santa Fe itself, I am enjoying the area tremendously. It is so beautiful here, and there are a zillion little places to discover... majestic mesas, parking lots where you can see the sun set over the Jemez mountains, neat cafes, a gelateria (damn good one), beautiful drives and walks, cheap and tasty eats, museums, little local towns, etc. I especially want to get up to Espanola, the low-rider capital of the US. No, really. Apparently, they cruise the main drag and the cars and trucks are fully "pimped out". Whatup. This is the really fun part of being in a new place. I like getting to know what God spoke into existence out of nothing (I'm talking about the vistas, not the vehicles!). Northern New Mexico is certainly a place to see plenty of jaw-dropping creation and some funky man-made stuff, too.
Looking forward to reading future posts. We started a blog, too (you trendsetter!). It's at signatemporis.blogspot.com. We've posted some photos, and Garret has done all of the writing (I've been too busy grading... ugh). But, we'd love your comments.
Take care, dearie. The Lord be with you, blessing, keeping, guiding and loving you.
Sarah H.