Caterin is the Chocolate Factories

Hey there! Well, I am glad to report that after ten hours of sleep yesterday, I am still exhausted...

I think it is the five hours of language school and then the everyday Spanish that is getting me. Today, finally, I feel like I hit the brick wall that was so familiar while in Montevideo. It's like this. I am learning and doing well, trucking along like always, and then, suddenly, my mind freezes and I can't think. It like the first time I fell in love, just kidding. But yeah, I freeze and can't think. Can't find the words, can't find the phrases, can't spell...and then after a little rest, it doesn't away. However, I think that it is pretty normal and will subside as my "tolerance" gets a little better. I still love it though. Love it! Love the clothes (scrubs). Love the shoes (crocs). Love everything.

Today I thought we were going to a chocolate factory...instead, we were the chocolate factory. We pealed the roasted beans, took them to a place that ground them up, and then patted it into patties that they melted into a drink that they served us. It was really interesting. Hence, the title of this blog (Caterin is the way they like to spell my full name)

What about the food, Kate? Well, it has been good. A lot of rice and beans and yeah, more rice and beans. But last night and this morning I had really interesting food. Last night was a corn tamale like thing that I, honestly, had a hard time with. I choked it down and ate some bread. I woke up hopeful...but yeah. I had this stuff that was kinda like oatmeal or something, but worse. I choked it down and...ate some bread. Lunch was good and I am still optimistic about dinner!

Anyway, great day. Great group. Great life. Great opportunity. Awesome God. Check. Love it. LOVE it. Hasta luego!!

The X Files: Xela, Guatemala

Hey readers!

I am happy to report that I am in Guatemala safe and sound. My first host family lives about a block from the language school that we are studying at. I love my host family. We have had lots of good food (mostly vegetarian to boot). Most interesting goes to the fried bananas and most common goes to...drum-roll...rice and beans! It'll work. There is a ton of coffee as well so we are happy. Spanish school this week is 5 hours a day and then activities in the afternoon. When we are in the school, we have to speak Spanish or we get punished. My teacher (we are all one-on-one) is Nery and he is a young-ish nice guy that likes to make fun of my Argentine accent. He's nice but likes to laugh. My first task was to say these sentences: Lleve mis llaves y others like that with plenty of "ll" and "y" so that he could laugh at me.

My group is 100% awesome! They are all nerds like me that likes to talk about their medical experiences...love it. I do have about the best spanish of the group which is interesting.

Anyway!! I love it here. Love it. Couldn't be happier to date. Thanks for the prayers and all. I hope that all is well with you.

-k-baby

On Your Mark, Get excited, Leave! (Again)

As my large black suitcase not only fills over the brim, but over the scale...I am almost ready. This should be the final update before I am writing from across the oily Gulf and way south of the border. I am happy to report that my spirits are light again as I look forward to this adventure. For unknown reasons, I have experienced more apprehension about this trip. By unknown reasons I don't mean unknown to me. I know exactly what they are. They are the unknowns: the colleagues I don't know yet, the families I haven't met, the roads I haven't travelled, the people that I will interact with, the language I wish I knew more of, and finally, the foods I have never encountered.

Yesterday, I was freaking out. Final preparations always freak me out a little bit. But today, I woke up (thanks to the Lord) with a fresh spirit and a fresh outlook. I remembered why I am doing this and how much I truly love unknowns. When I think about it, I love getting to know people. I love the thought of living with a Guatemalan families. I love going where I have never been. I love interacting with new people. I love learning the language. I love trying new things and seeing how new people view the world. The very things that made me apprehensive are the things that I know I am going to love the most.

Well, enough of that for now. I have a couple more things to stuff into my overfull suitcase or cram into my small carry-on and very limited time to do so. Thanks so much for your thoughts and prayers as I embark on this new adventure. My next post will be from unknown computers worlds away. Good thing God is everywhere or I would never have the strength to go anywhere.

Blessings!
*K-Baby

Getting Ready for Guatemala

Hey there fellow travelers!

When I started this blog about two years ago, I had no idea just how many adventures I was going to have. From hiking to waterfalls and singing "Iesu alofa i timaiti" (Jesus loves the little children in Samoan) to being attacked by fresh pineapples in Samoa and macaws in Brazil to getting an emergency passport for a friend in Buenos Aires and trekking through Argentina and Chile, I have been so blessed by the trips that I have gotten to take. Looking back to my trips is one of my favorite things to do, but nothing will pull you into the present like a week to make preparations for your next trip combined with preparing you medical school application. Whew!

So yes, Guatemala is next. Just to bring you up to speed, I leave on Saturday morning, bright and early with one of my MET colleagues from Harding (no I don't know him yet) from Dallas Love Field. I will fly to the ever-delightful Houston and then on to Guatemala city. From there I believe we will be heading straight to our first host homes and starting language school the next day. You may be thinking, "Kate? Doesn't Kate know Spanish? Why does she need language school?" Well, Yes, I am Kate and I know a good amount of Spanish. Kate needs language school because a lot of the population she is going to be working with speaks Kiche, a Mayan language, and probably less Spanish than I know. So language school will hopefully help bridge that gap...and teach me some sign language, at least the signs for clean water and food. :)

After about a week in language school the plan is to head to one of the two clinics we will be working in for some clinical and missional training for about a week. After this point, we will be split up into two groups, one will stay at the coast and one, mine, will go up to Chichi, up in the mountains. After two weeks of clinic, the teams will switch. After two weeks on the coast, we will get back together and go to Antigua for some sight seeing and souvenir-touristy-stay-in-a-hotel-with-hot-water stuff.

I would just ask that you all be in prayer for our mission, those who we are working with, our language barrier and our health. I am so excited and passionate about this work. Truly, for me, this is living my dream. This is what I believe that God could be calling me to long term, so I am excited to see what that could look like for me.

Thanks for the support, comments, and emails as I begin this journey!

Blessings!

The Next Adventure: South Again

So! Life is always exciting and crazy for me. I have an amazing opportunity to live in Guatemala with the MET (medical evangelism training) program! I am going to be leaving on the 15th of May for a six-week stay both in cities in the mountains and on the coasts. As far as I know, I will be living the whole time with host families and spending time five days a week in the clinic.

Before I depart for clinic work, I will have a full week of certified language school that will be intense but prepare me for immersion like no other. I am so excited I can hardly hold it in.

I am currently writing letters and soliciting support for this venue. I truly see it as a culmination of what God is doing in my life and has been doing for the past few years. This will give me a chance to see if I am really feeling called into medical evangelism as a life goal.

There will be only 12 American students in this program sponsored by Health Talents International. If you read this, please pray for this adventure, both for support, logistics and the life changing work that God is continuing to work out through His Spirit in my life and in the lives of those around me. God bless!

So...We're Back; It's Back...

Well, after a hard but well ending finals week, we left for the wide and desolate plains of the Estados Unidos or USA.

All went well for the first flight to Buenos Aires, but I am sorry to report that I got quite ill on the 8-hour flight from Buenos Aires to Miami. About two hours into the flight, I had horrifying stomach issues that lasted the duration of the flight, through customs in Miami and then through the ride from Miami to DFW. After a total of just over 10 hours of being sick, I was in the arms of my mom and dad. Sadly though, the adventure was not over. One of my bags was not flown from Miami to Dallas and I had to pick it up at the Abilene airport a couple of days later.

After just 24 hours of travelling and being sick for most of that, I was in Abilene again and pulled into Arby's so my family could grab a quick bite to eat before heading out to our house. I wasn't feeling good still, so I mostly napped that afternoon trying to forget that I had left the land of the big grey buildings and celeste sky.

That night Dara, Linley, and I had a welcome home gathering for our friends from ACU that are about to leave for Christmas at their homes to come up to school and see us. It was completely surreal to see everyone and be around them for a while. I didn't feel good, but we had a good turn out and I was really encouraged by the fact that I was missed.

I have had a great couple of days with my mom and friends catching up and such. So much of me just can't believe that I can possibly be back. That that chapter of my life is coming to a close and in many ways I don't know how to deal with that. I know we are all starting to miss Casa quite a lot. We are starting to feel like something did definitely change within us that doesn't allow us to go back to the way things are. I knew this was coming, but I didn't look forward to it. I think that the worst part of being in this world is only getting to be in one part of it. I would be happier if at the same time, I could be chillin' here in Abilene, in Samoa soaking up the rays, and in Uruguay speaking Spanish and drinking mate. I would be happier if I could be with my family, my Samoan friends, and my Uruguayan amigos. That's how life goes though. Man, sometimes I wish it didn't go that way.

Please be praying for strength and patience for this transition.

Thanks,

Kate

It's Beginning to Feel a lot like Finals...

Wow! I have a week and a few hours left here in Montevideo and that is absolutely astounding to think about. When I cast my mind back to the first part of this semester, I come up with anything but and empty hook. It seems like going to BA and my birthday and Brazil were ages ago, like I have known these people my whole life, but I haven't! At the same time though, it feels like I just got here! I know that is not true. I see the progress that I have made as a Spanish speaker, as a student, as a friend, as a roommate, and mostly as a child of God and know that some time has past.

This week is a little bit crazy, but I am taking it minute by minute, class by class, and trying to make it last as long as I can. Our rhythm has been interupted by finals and lots of studying.

Yesterday, my spanish class, 4 of us in total, left at 11Am to go to the tallest building in Montevideo for our field trip. I just put up pictures on facebook. The 26 floor of the building is a public viewing floor that give a 360 degree view of Montevideo from on high. I didn't really understand too much from the tour guide, but most of it was measurements and architect stuff. It was really awesome to see just how HUGE this city is! We got a great video of the monte, or cerro as they call it. You should check out the pictures though, it is just too hard to describe.

Well, sadly, I have to get back to studying now. I hope and pray that everything is going well for you! Thanks for the prayers and encouragement! :) See (almost) all of you soon!