reading break in mexico!

Wow. So much to tell and so little time to tell it in. I suppose I will start at the beginning.

So, it all began on Thursday, February 14. After a day of classes and packing, Christina (from dorm 17) and I were picked up by her mom and were dropped off at a hotel in London for a good night sleep before the big day of travel.

Friday arrived and we were up and going by 6:30. We ordered a take-out breakfast and travelled to the London Airbus Station. From there we travelled with six other people to the Detroit Airport. After going through security, getting tickets, dropping off baggage, etc. we both ate lunch and awaited our flight.

Our flight was on time and we were off. I was pretty excited as it was a first for me. Well, I have been flying before, but that was when I was three and I don’t remember much of it (I do remember boarding the plane). So after realising that I absolutely love taking off and landing, we were in Miami for about 45 minutes. We got off our plane, went to the washroom and got dinner and were on our plane in time for a half hour delay (someone had decided to not take the flight and their baggage had to be taken off of the plane).

We arrived in Cancun later that night, about an hour and a half later than we thought we would (we forgot about the time change). We went through customs and such and headed out the airport doors only to be greeted with a lot of heat and humidity. Clark, our group supervisor was right there and we met and were off to the Cancun Paradise Beach Club hotel. It is a hotel for Christian groups.

On Saturday morning, we all ate breakfast out on a terrace by the ocean. It was so beautiful and refreshing to have that breeze and the palm trees… it was amazing. After breakfast, we were all stuffed into a cube van and were off to Isla Mujares (I spelled that very wrong). So we went to a dock and took a tour boat to Isla Mujares, and island off of Cancun. For the day, we enjoyed the islands beaches and various markets. Then after a day of relaxation, we all went to Jax, a very tasty restaurant. After dinner we headed back to the hotel. The boat ride back to Cancun was great. It was calm and dark and we were outside and had a lot of fun chatting as a group and looking at the stars. We got back to the hotel and headed to bed.

We stayed at the hotel until Sunday. This is where we got to know each other, learn about what we were doing and it also gave us a chance to do some touring around Mexico.

On Sunday we packed our bags and were split into two groups. Our initial group was too large for one church, so we were split between two churches; Sinai (mine) and Bethany. We attended separate churches and after the services and a lunch, we were divided yet again into groups of two or three. These groups were divided among families of the congregation and we lived at their homes for the week. These were called our host homes. We all met again for the evening service and went to our homes to get a good night sleep. People were already beginning to feel sick due to the heat, food and everything else that was different (eating times, humidity, time change, etc.).

By Monday morning most of us were up and ready to go. A few people were confined to the church’s nursery to sleep as the rest of us did devos and ate breakfast. Then we set to work. The previous church had been destroyed by hurricane Wilma (a year and a half ago) and a new one was being constructed. It will be twice the size of the old one with two stories. When we arrived, the shell of half of the first floor was complete. We complete the outer walls of the story on top of it. There was so much to do and there is still so much to complete, but more groups will arrive throughout the summer to help with construction.

Our tasks included mixing concrete and cement, cutting and bending rebar, moving bricks, passing bricks, mortar and cement up to those who were working on the walls and more. The majority of the hands on work was completed by the guys, mainly because everyone was uncomfortable with the girls being up high and hey, they are stronger. It was nice at times, but there were other times where I wish that there was more work for us to do.

So the rest of the week was very much the same. Monday night Christina got sick and I went to the mall with Trudy, the 14 year old daughter at our host home. On Tuesday night we went to the hotel zone and had a great swim in the ocean. The waves were big, but not dangerous so we had a lot of fun. We then went to an outdoor mall and McDonalds. As much as I don’t believe in meals at McDonalds, that meal was wonderful. (I discovered that I’m not a fan for Mexican food and missed veggies so much.) Wednesday we attended the mid-week church service and saw the eclipse. After that we went out for pizza with Trudy and her mom (our “host” mom). Thursday, we went to the hotel zone and the beach for the entire afternoon. The waves were gigantic and there were a few rocks in the water. Many of us received scrapes and bruises and were out of the water pretty quick, but we still had a lot of fun. On Friday we packed our bags and after a day of work, we headed back to the hotel. There we met the other group and enjoyed a great swim in the hotel pool, played cards and just hung out and talked about how are weeks went.

On Saturday, we all got up fairly early and after breakfast we headed to Isla Mujares. There we got all set up for snorkelling. I didn’t think that I would like it very much. I have never had success with snorkelling in pools. I tend to drown myself or get water in my eyes. This was an awesome experience though. We split up in a few small boats and were all geared up. Then we were able to hop out of the boat and explore. Once we looked beneath the surface of the water we saw so many fish that were so close to us. It was so cool to see coral and various colourful fish and to be only inches away from them was amazing.

After snorkelling, we were able to see some dolphins. We then stopped at a shark “tank” where we were able to hold a shark. That was very cool. Shortly after, we had a fish lunch that was included in our snorkelling price. I thought that it was delicious, but quite a few people in the group were not too crazy about fish.

For the rest of the afternoon we did a bit of shopping. There are quite a few shops and stands that line the streets on the island. There are many merchants that try to sell you anything. They will do almost anything to make a buck. We also enjoyed the sun and the island’s beach until dinnertime. We all went to a fancy restaurant for some food which was slightly North American. It was delicious. I had this pasta/spinach/white sauce stuff which tasted amazing and had some awesomely creamy ice cream for dessert. We then headed back to the hotel, played cards and went to bed.

The next morning was Sunday and the group was split up again for our separate churches. I think that the service we attended was the hottest one I have ever experienced. I’m so glad that I had water and a bulletin that doubled as a fan or I would have fainted.

After the service we had lunch and some of the congregation sang a farewell song. We all said goodbye and were off to the hotel again. Once we had all met at the hotel, we went to a market where we bought the majority of our souvenirs. I learned how to bargain a bit and managed to buy something for each of my family members and friends.

After the market, we went to a seafood place close to the hotel. The food there was amazing (I had breaded shrimp). On the way back (we walked) I looked at the sky and saw the stars. Because we were so far south, the constellations were so different and were in different places. Orion was in the centre of the sky and the Big Dipper was backwards, vertical and the handle was pointing to the ground. There were also stars that I had never seen before. It was so cool.

Once we reached the hotel we packed up and went to bed early as we had to leave the hotel at 5:30am for the airport.

We got up and left early, but sadly, not early enough. We had a flight at 7:55 and were still in the baggage checking line by 8, however, our flight had been delayed an hour and a half for which we were all grateful. This was because the pilot need the legal amount of rest before he began flying that morning. Christina and I shared a breakfast at the airport diner and were off to Dallas, Texas.

As much as our delayed flight was a blessing, it really added to our stress once we landed in Dallas. Our plane for Detroit would leave at 1:00pm and our place was landed and at the gate at 12:10. We got off the plane, had to find and pick up our baggage and have it rechecked. After that, we booked it to security for ourselves and our carry-on and then we had to find our gate. We had gotten off in the “D” terminal and had to make it to the “C” terminal. Dallas is a huge airport so we had to find and take the train to the next terminal. We then found our gate and ran for it. Had we been there two minutes later, we would have not made our flight. Our group (there were four of us that took the same planes home) was the last one on the plane, right before they closed the door. The flight attendants congratulated us on our hustle.

So out of breath, starving and needing the washroom, we both (Christina and I) sighed with great relief and just laughed. The rest of our day ran smoothly and we were picked up by my dad. We stopped off for supper, and again in London so that Christina could see her family and boyfriend. We were dropped off at Redeemer and that is where I am now.

There is still so much to tell and so many more details which I will probably continue to add when I have the time. Thank you for all of your prayers. We had a great time and were able to help out many of the people in Cancun.

If you would like to see any pictures, just check out my face book page. Adios!