Erika...

Erika and I in front of a fountain in downtown Guad....oh what a friend the Lord provided in her!

So, there is quite a lot to catch everyone up on! I'm sorry I haven't been able to get this blog updated in so long, but I'm going to attempt to do that now, so enjoy the updates.
have found another really great friend.

God continued His incredible goodness to me while in Guadalajara! Remember I told you about Erika, a young lady of 23 years who works with the school and whose mom was one of my teachers? Well, she and I hit it off quite well. We decided about a month back that we needed to have coffee and get to know each other better. The first time we sat in Starbucks for 5 hours talking and laughing. The following week, we did it again...only for 6 hours. The following Monday was a day off from classes and we decided to go downtown. I had never been, and she knew her way around pretty well, so she agreed to be my guide. Plus it was another excuse to hang out and go out together, etc. We were downtown for about 7 hours walking around, talking over lunch and coffee, etc. I think we might have done coffee again that week, but don't remember extremely well. We did however, go downtown again about a week and a half later; we were there for several hours, and then she came home with me and spent the night. The day after she and I and Sally joined up with several girls from the church to go to an amusement park called Selva Magica (Magic Jungle). Then the last week of classes we went downtown several times to have coffee, to talk some more, and to just get out and spend time together. I truly believe she is a kindred spirit, and the great thing is that she's just as crazy as I am! I know it's hard to believe...but believe it anyway!

A picture of downtown Guadalajara. There in the center is the cathedral that I talk of...The Basilica of Zapopan.

Erica, my "guide", in front of the Basilica of Zapopan (aka the cathedral)

This is a picture of the inside of the Basilica of Zapopan. I had the chance to go in and it's amazing. (Zapopan is one of the city's surrounding Guadalajara..it's where I lived).

One bell tower of the Basilica from my vantage point! It is grand, that is for sure!

The first time we went downtown, we checked out several plazas, the cathedral, and a HUGE market called San Juan de Dios. Ok, that was HUGE...several floors and anything and everything you could possibly want to buy. At one point, we found ourselves on an upper level but had NO IDEA how we got onto a different level because we had never taken stairs or anything! It was a surreal moment...and we had quite a good laugh about it. Of course we bought coffee (we are both coffee adicts..) and then later we got some lunch at Kentucky Fried Chicken and talked for a couple hours. We got cold inside so we headed to a plaza next to the cathedral (the plaza just below the cathedral in the areal shot above) there in downtown to continue talking before heading home. While we were there, a march started coming down the road between us and the cathedral. I don't know if anyone has heard about the chaos going on in the state of Oaxaca right now, but it's a mess, and the president has talked of sending in federal troops to help manage everything. Well this march was a group of people from Jalisco (the state where Guadalajara is) in support of those in Oaxaca who do not want any governement interferance. Just behind this group of folks there came another group...younger folks dressed in black with their hair in spikes, etc. You get the picture I'm sure. This group decided to turn back to another plaza around teh corner from us but also next to the cathedra. That plaza is called The Rotunda, or The Plaza of Illustrious Men, (to the left of the cathedral in the areal shot above) because there are lots of statues of famous figures from Mexican history. All of a sudden this group of youth started running full force across our plaza with the police in hot pursuit of them...and for the next half hour or so, there were police cars and federal police cars, etc, comeing from all directions to the Rotunda. Turns out they had been spray painting the statues! It was an interesting experience, that's for sure because we had no clue what was going on! Shortly thereafter, it started getting dark and we decided to head for home...only while waiting for the bus, a rain storm hit, and we got soaked! Oh, there's always an adventure!

The second time we went downtown...the day she spent the night...we were walking past a fountain near a museum downtown (the fountain in the plaza behind the cathedral in the areal shot above), when we caught the spray from the fountain on the wind. It was so refreshing that we decided to sit for a while on the fountain and enjoy it! While sitting there, some guy decided to ask me out. He had been passing through the plaza, and saw me I guess, so he returned to ask me where I was from, but then left when found out I wasn't European. But then about 10 minutes later, he returned again and asked for my number so that we could go out and he could practice his english and show me around the city, etc. It was an interesting interaction. Of course I said NO! because I'm not THAT crazy and certainly don't have a death wish or worse....but Erika and I had QUITE a good laugh at that. He never even LOOKED at hear, though she was sitting right next to me, and he was very persistent. But he finally gave up, and we just laughed our heads off! I think that's the first time in my life that has ever happened!!! Oh the adventures!

The last time we went downtown, was the day of final exams. I had finished early, and she didn't have to teach or take care of babies, so we met downtown early for coffee and brunch and chat time before heading to school to meet up with all the teachers and their families (all of whom go to the same church as I attended in Guad) to go out to lunch and celebrate. I also needed to pick up my visa from immigration (I had to extend it because they didn't give me the full 180 days in the airport when I arrived). So, we sat down to drink and eat and talk in a plaza across from the Federal Palace, and found ourselves swarmed by pidgeons...it made me think of what my other friend Erica always says about how she hates Pidgeons because they are like rats with wings..haha! They enjoyed our doughnuts greatly, and we had a good time feeding them until they started sarming. There were a couple interesting-looking ones. It was an enjoyable breakfast.

Erika feeding the pidgeons

This "friend" had some funky legs there and the most modern hair-do of them all!

Miss Prim and Proper definitely strutted her stuff and had attitude with the fellas. Very enjoyable to watch her.

Erika and I had a bit of a gift exchange that last week. Her birthday is November 1, so I had given her that Monday her present....a copy of Little Women in English (for her practice with English). She loves the movie Little Women, and she is looking forward to reading the book. Then Tuesday she gave me a card for my graduation. She wrote in the card that God must have known how much she needed to know me during this time, but I think He knew how much we needed each other, and I think we're both eternally grateful for this friendship that has blessed us both. I never cease to be amazed at how perfectly the Lord meets my needs even when I am unaware that the need exists. How wonderful to have such a loving and detail-oriented God!