crossing cultures

I´m sitting in a casita in Puebla, Mexico, writing this blog because I have been dying to write all day. I´m here on vacation with my childhood friend Erika Wright. We came with our backpacks, passports, and excitement for a little adventure. It didn´t take too long. We arrived in Mexico City and boarded a bus for 2 hours to Puebla. We were supposed to stay the first 2 nights with a woman named Lorna that Erika had lived with when she studied abroad. On the bus Erika told me that Lorna hadn´t returned her emails or calls in about a month, so she wasn´t completely sure she knew we were coming. I smiled and said we´d go with the flow.
Sure enough, we arrived at the bus stop, caught a taxi to the families house, knocked on the door, and no one answered. It was dark, the streets were pretty much empty, and we were two gringas with backpacks looking slightly lost. So, we walked to a main street and started looking for a bus to a downtown area where we could find a hostel. We walked for awhile and decided to go back to check, just to be sure. Knock. Nothing. Erika started yelling, "mama, mama," and by God's grace eventually disturbed the neghbors enough to come out and see what was going on. We told her, and she called Lorna´s cell phone. She found out that Lorna had completely forgotten that we were coming, and that she was with a bunch of people at a bar about 15 minutes away. We left our backpacks with the neighbor and climbed in another taxi to hunt them down. We found them without much trouble, and I just thought, 'I love this.'
I love the unexpected! I love this part of being out of my comfort zone. We got to the bar at about 10, stayed till 12, and then went to Lorna´s daughters house with random family members and friends. and stayed there until 2 in the morning. I was absolutely dying, though, of exhaustion (I had woken up at 6 to drive from Dallas), and of cold (there is no heat or air conditioning in Puebla, and the house we were in was probably 55 degrees. And I thought my dad was torturing us at 70°.) But we sat and talked about anything and everything, ate and laughed while they drank and smoked. Thankfully, my Spanish was returning quickly so I could participate and laugh with them. By the time we got back to Lorna´s house I was so tired I could hardly see straight, and it was too late to get our bags so we just went upstairs and fell asleep, no toothbrushes, no big deal. While we went to bed, Lorna and her daughter in law stayed up to start making turkey for the next days festivities. I could not believe it. The Latino culture is so great in this way. It seems totally chaotic and spontaneous to me.
Today we woke up and toured all around the city, cathedrals, markets, parks, etc, and tonight we are going to celebrate the new year with the family. Right now I am sitting in Lorna´s bedroom while her 35 year old son plays Halo on the xbox, his wife combs their sons hair, Erika eats candy on the bed, and Lorna waxes her upper lip. This is so different and fun, and good for my heart.
Erika and I have been praying a lot for the family, the town, and ourselves here. It is hard to see emptiness in a culture that is so full of life and love for their families, but both of us together have been reminding each other of His word, and praying for Eternal focus, even on this little vacation. God has been graciously giving us opportunities to love on the family, and we are praying that we would be bold to obey Him, and that His light would shine through us. We´d love your prayers.
Un beso, Abby