Perfect Summer Weekend

Cabin on the river + 3 days + good friends + sun + good music + no agenda = the perfect summer weekend. I'm gonna bottle this up and open it in February.

It's not too late to make a difference

Now that I'm back from Mexico, I've learned that donations are critical in helping the people in Oaxaca. If you're still thinking about supporting me in Mission Oaxaca, it's not too late to donate.

Donations can be done 3 ways and they'll send you a tax deductible receipt.

1. You can give it to me in person.
2. Online at www.centerforsharing.org/makeadonation.htm with my name in the subject line.
3. Snail Mail: Mission Oaxaca c/o Center for Sharing, 723 W. Clark Street, Pasco, Washington 99301. Please make sure that my name is in the subject line.

Thanks for giving me this opportunity to share with you my wonderful experience in Mexico. I know I'll be going back there soon.

Portraits of Mexico

Just when you think you don't have room in your life for another relationship...you meet more incredible people. Here are some photos of some of the wonderful people I met in Mexico, even if it was for a small moment in time.

This is Pastor Beny. He's only 24 and his whole family is in ministry. He was a gracious host.

This is Lucie. She came up from Jichitan to help us build pisos. Her family lives in really a rural area where there is no schooling so she lives at Casa Isabel (http://casaisabel.org/) while she attends school.

Carlito and his grandpa. He is the cutest kid. I love this shot. There is no doubt they are related.

These kids were running after the truck when we were leaving the house.

This is a native Zaportec woman in Jichitan. She is selling her goods at the market.

These kids lived at the first house we did the pisos. When we showed up the little boy didn't have pants on. They helped haul buckets of water for the cement mixer.

These girls have a really sad story. I met them at church on Sunday. Their mom is a single parent and left for Mexico City in search of work, leaving the older sister who is 11 to care for her younger siblings.

Gorge (Jichitan local), Beny (pastor from Oaxaca), Clay (sponsor from Oregon) and Brea (teacher in Woodburn) in Juchitan all sharing the same heart to serve others in Mexico.

Kids at Pimpollo. These were the kids that were couldn't understand that I was Chinese and American. We tried to tell them that I was in the gold medal Olympic swimmer. We had a lot of fun hanging out that afternoon.

This kid was helping his father deliver water to houses in the community.

My love for food

Everyone by now knows I love food. That's probably why I married a chef and probably why I'm sick right now. But I will try almost anything once....though I did pass on the grasshoppers. This post is dedicated to Mexican food.

flan

oaxacan chocolate icecream

Lis is excited about eating the mole, which is typical Oaxacan food.

limes in the market

mole

the ladies making homemade tortillas over a wood burning stove

tortillas with the famous Oaxacan cheese

this lady is making chiles rellenos, the best I've ever had

We also had time for fun

This is the pedestrian friendly street in Oaxaca. The buildings have a lot of European influences.
Santa Domingo...a church in Oaxaca
Me, Beny and Mixie at Monte Alban, a Zaportec ruin.
That's me on the steps.

I'm back with a case of the Mexicos

After a week in Mexico, I'm finally home. It has felt like I've been gone forever. Anyway, I brought home with me a nasty stomach bug. So, I apologize if this post doesn't make a lot of sense....I haven't eaten solid food for almost 2 days and the trip home was BRUTAL! At least I'm in the comfort of my own home. Here are the pictures that I promised. They definitely speak louder than my posts. Thank you for all for your support and I especially thank my wonderful husband who supports me in everything I do. I love you.

Day 1 of making pisos. This is our mostly women team riding in the back of the pickup with all the supplies: cement mixer, wheel barrows, buckets, shovels and great attitudes. From left to right: Izmerna, friend of the church; Mixie, piso supervisor and the muscles of the group; Lucie, girl from Pimpollo.
This is a great example of what the floors look like. We're just adding the cement on top of the dirt floors. This was our first piso and this is the kitchen area. Yes, it's outside.

This is just evidence that I did actually do some manual labor, for those of you who thought I'd be sitting around drinking margaritas.

This is what the average home looks like in Vicente Guerrero. Made out of tin, not like anything here in the States.

This was the last piso we did on Friday. This is the whole family....yes, it's a huge family. Not really uncommon here.

To learn more about my trip or to donate, visit http://missionoaxaca.org/

3 F´s: Family, Friends and Food

One major thing I´ve learned here in Mexico has been the importance of family. Coming from a Chinese family, I´ve been taught that family is always first. After this week, I´ve been reminded that not only is family important, but friends are treated like family too. We have been blessed with amazing Mexican families that have taken us in as their own. I´m touched by the generosity and selflessness of the people we have met. I can´t say that I could prepare a meal for over 20 people at once, but maybe I´m up to the challenge when I get home.

For the last 3 days that we have been doing pisos, a local family cooks for the whole crew and their own family. It´s been a lot of fun to be immersed into the culture through family, friends and food.

Tomorrow I´m heading home...it will be bittersweet.

Machismo

Today was day 2 of piso building. I think I´m getting to be a pro at this. Yesterday we built 2 pisos: one kitchen and one outdoor space. Today we built 2 pisos for one family. The difference between today and yesterday was that yesterday´s team consisted of mostly women and Pastor Beny. It was highly efficient and we had a lot of fun. Today´s team was a few more men from the household that we were building the pisos. It was a more interesting dynamic because the men (who were all shorter than me) didn´t let me do any heavy lifting. It was hilarious trying to pick up a bucket of sand or rock and having someone steal it out of my hands the moment I even lifted it. Can´t wait to post some pictures.

I love the summer Olympics

Okay, so this is a little late post, but the opening ceremonies was off the hook!! The best ever. The amount of people doing the performances, costumes, fireworks...I thought they did a great job showcasing China. I was glued to the tv. I haven´t talked to anyone else about it, but what did everyone else think?

So it´s been interesting watching the Olympics here in Mexico, what a different perspective. I love that they showcased archery, since a 14 yr old Mexican girl won it. Sorry, but that is a boring sport to watch. Also, I don´t understand anything they´re saying, so it sounds like: "blah, blah, blah...Michael Phelps." Looking forward to coming back and seeing the US perspective!

Maya-bear

Most of you know that I have a dog named Maya that I completely love. She´ll be 3 years old in October and is my first dog. I´ve taught her tricks, take her on walks and have recently taught her to ride along side me on my bike. Since being in Mexico and seeing all the scavanger dogs, I keep thinking how good Maya has it. She´s not out on the streets looking for food, fending for her life, and pregnant with her 4th litter. Yes, Maya is a dog that I love, but she´s not a human. So to me, putting dogs in doggie day care for $25 a day is a little overkill. Do you think it make us humans feel better about ourselves?

China (pronounced Chi-na)

Yesterday we went to visit Pimpollo in Jichitan. It´s like an orphanage, but people don´t adopt these kids. These kids were dropped off and abandoned, sometimes the parents come back for them, most of the time they don´t. The sight was almost too much for me to bear, unsupervised children and children who just need a little bit of love, affection and some structure in their lives. There´s too much to write about, but the one thing that I love about these kids, is that they are completely honest and have no filters. First thing they did was stare at me and asked everyone around me where I was from. I don´t think they´ve ever met someone Chinese. They couldn´t understand that I was American and Chinese. Americans can be Chinese too, hmmmm....I can see how that can get confusing for kids, but then I thought, it can be confusing for adults too. So this post is about traveling to other countries as an Asian American. I´ve always struggled with identifying myself with being American and Chinese. This experience makes me think more about it. Good, bad, indifferent....still thinking about it....Thoughts?

Camera challenge.......

Just wanted to say I left my battery charger at home and my camera is dead!!! Such a Winnie thing to do. Good thing we have more cameras between us. Probably won´t be able to post any pictures until I get home. Good thing since I´ll need to time to really gain some perspective on this whole experience. Today we had to Jichatan, a 4 hr drive south. Benny and his mother (local supporters and the most warm people I have met) are driving us down there to see Kristin from the orphanage. We´re only planning on staying one night and then driving back to Oaxaca with Kristin and 2 girls from the orphanage to help us build the pisos. Benny says that we have enough $ to build 6 pisos this time. For those of you who don´t know, pisos are cement floors. Some of the people who live here have mud floors and the cement floors helps with hygiene, cleanliness and their overall health since they live basically on a landfill. So, that´s $100 per piso to drastically change the way a family lives here. Can´t wait to start some manual labor. Adios for now!!

HOLA

Hey everyone. After a very long flight: PDX, Phoenix, Mexico City, Oaxaca, I'm safely in Mexico with all my baggage. Just at an internet cafe and wanted to give you an update. Things are going well. There's 4 of us there-me, Mixie, Lis and this guy name Clay, who is supporting alot of the projects here finacially. We went to 3 different churches today. It was amazing to not understand anything, but still feel God's presence...you know what i mean. We also visited the site where we will be building the pisos. The city is built on garbage, literally!! It's such a weird site seeing the landfill behind all the homes. And talk about sustainability. These people repurpose everything. I saw a mattress springs repurposed into a gate. I haven't gotten sick yet and feel great. I had the BEST mole ever for my first dinner here and had a great chile rellenos for lunch oh and lots of tortillas. It's a little frustrating since i dont speak any spanish. I just hope god is going to use me in another way...just not sure how. Tomorrow we head to juchitan. Sorry so short and the typing is so aweful, the keyboard is weird...gotta run. more later.

Update on the Mexico...T minus 6 days.

So I leave this Saturday for Oaxaca. YIKES!! That came up quick. Still not sure what to expect, but am keeping a open-mind and heart about the upcoming trip. I told you in my previous post that I would keep you updated on my fundraising and it looks like I'm almost half way there to my goal. It's been an amazing journey so far and I've had some really amazing conversations with many different people and have felt that I've been given the opportunity to share a little bit of my faith, which I normally don't do. It's a great new feeling. I'm also really thankful that my work is matching $10 to every volunteer hour that I contribute, so that's a huge help. Go big corporations! Anyway, thanks for all the support. This has definitely confirmed what I already know about my family and friends: that they are an amazing support system for me. Thank you all!

Indian Wedding Celebration

Last night we got the chance to go to a Indian wedding celebration called a Garba. It was great to get to know this culture more and for Anil's family to share such a beautiful celebration with everyone. The saris were beautiful and the music and dancing lasted the whole night. What a joyous celebration.