RachelsAdventure.com

I was working on my budget tonight and I realized that I have a few things to thank Dave Ramsey for, the most important being the Debt Snowball.  If you aren’t familiar with the Snowball, it’s Dave Ramsey’s debt payment method.  I’m a fan. 

I would love to say that I have never felt the pain of debt, but that’s not true.  I know what it's to watch your credit card balance increase every month instead of decrease as you pay minimum payments and watch the interest build up.  I know the level of stress that debt can add to your life.  I've felt it.

I did Financial Peace University and I honestly enjoyed it.  Going through the process helped me to realize that I had never really learned to save…I’d been making money since I was 17 and all I’d ever known to do with money was spend it.  Then, with credit cards I learned to spend it even when I didn’t have it.  Oops.  

So, I got serious about it at the beginning of this year and paid it off.  What an amazing feeling.  I remember logging onto my credit card account online on April 29, 2009 and seeing the “0” balance.  It felt so good (I even saved a screenshot!). 

I knew it was a good thing to pay off my debt, but I had no idea just how important it would be. 

When I started thinking about moving abroad I began to realize just how amazing it was to be debt free.  I didn’t have to worry about waiting to pay off debt…I could raise support and leave!  I ended up finding out about this position (at the school and with CMF) and moving to Mexico in a matter of 6 weeks.  This would not have been possible if I had been in debt. 

Tonight I sat down and worked on my budget (using this form).  Needless to say, my cash flow situation is quite a bit different these days…but when I put it all down on paper I learned that even with less coming in each month I still have enough money to take care of my needs AND  I can still put money in savings.  

Dear Dave Ramsey,

Thank you for sharing your plan that freed me from debt so that I can serve God in Mexico.  It has been truly empowering to understand what it means to live within my means and to learn that I can do a lot more with money than just spend it.

Sincerely,

Rachel Long

I learned something kinda funny today (oh!  The things you learn working with 5th and 6th graders). 

In Mexico, there is no Tooth Fairy. 

Then who comes to take the teeth in exchange for money, you ask?  The Tooth Mouse.  haha.  Seriously.  Also, if the kids in my class are an accurate measure, this mouse pays out WAY better than the Tooth Fairy.  I should've lost my teeth in Mexico.

When you lose a tooth, the space that is left in your mouth is called "la ventana" (the window).  One of the boys in my class lost a tooth (now you know why I learned all of this exciting information) and the other kids asked to see his ventana...I was confused until he stretched his mouth open and pointed to his gaping (and still bleeding...eek!) hole.

I'd like to introduce you to la Raton de los Dientes.

I like to read to the kids after recess each day and they seem to really enjoy it!  We just finished our second book and it's fun to have all the pictures up on the wall (they can draw pictures from the story while I read). 

Most of the time I do not let kids take bathroom break during this time because they need to learn to use recess for bathroom breaks...but occasionally I will make an exception. 

So, I was in the middle of reading and my little funny man needs to use the restroom and I see that "I really have to go" look in his eyes so I tell him to go quickly. 

Well, he's gone awhile.

I was starting to get a little worried, but then he appeared in the door and popped into the room...and as he passed me so did this long trail of toilet paper.  uh oh.  I tried to be causal about it to help this poor guy out before all the kids caught it, but it didn't work. 

"Look behind you, little monkey." I told him, expecting an embarrassed response and a quick grab for his toilet paper tail.  Instead I heard "oh, I know Miss.  I did that on purpose." 

What?!  Have I been out of school so long that it is now cool to walk around with toilet paper hanging out of your pants?  Judging by the responses from the other kids, my little funny man was the only one who felt this way.

Come to find out, there's a wrestler with the WWE who does something with a tail and my little guy thought his toilet paper tail was close enough.  I asked him to remove it and he did, (after much protesting) and then I told him not to do it again... that it was kind of gross. 

I thought we were done with the toilet paper, then he did it again the next day.  The second day he walked in with sun glasses, a chain around his neck AND a toilet paper tail.  Seriously? 

I really should have taken a picture of him and then sent it to him in like 20 years. 

This is the view from my bedroom window.

I realize that these trucks look deceptively quiet in this picture...almost pleasant...but they are not.

Every day, Monday-Saturday, they (the 'evil men') load and unload gravel trucks right outside my bedroom window.  Sometimes the gravel doesn't want to leave the truck gracefully so they (the 'evil men') pound and pound and pound on the truck until every last grain of sand is out.  Apparently every grain of sand is important.

Why do I tell you this?  Only so you can know something that I did not...if you come to visit (and you should!), bring ear plugs!

Okay, I realize I am here for a lot of reasons…but children have always had this pull on my heart.  It’s been easier to work with kids in Mexico in the past.  I’d go, play with the kids and fly home.  I’d learn their stories…and then leave.

I remember a trip to El Salvador.  My job was to keep the kids busy while they waited, sometimes hours, to see the doctor.  This was a great job for me.  I had lots of bubbles, stickers, crayons and balls and would play all day long.  These kids were from very poor families.  Almost every child we saw had some degree of malnutrition and most of them had parasites living off their tiny little bodies.  Lucky for me, I didn’t know that most of the time.  My job was to play…not to know all the details.   I could play with them and help them forget all the pain their little bodies were enduring.  Most of the time.

It was Thursday of a long and exhausting week.  Our last stop of the day was a very remote village where the people had been waiting for hours for us to arrive (without cell phones and other ways to communicate, people would just wait for us all day long. 

As I unpacked my arsenal of toys, José caught my eye right away because I had learned to pick out the really sick ones…they were the little ones who couldn’t muster the strength to play, color or even smile.  When José was called in to see the doctor I went with him.  I needed to see just how sick this little guy was. 

He was very sick.  He was severely malnourished and had a tummy full of parasites.  I probably would have guessed that Jose was 5 or 6, but in reality he was 10.  The bugs were sucking all the nutrients out of the small amounts of food that Jose did get.  At the time, my brother Jonathan was about the same age and I remember being overwhelmed by emotion when I compared the two boys in my head.  I had to hide in the next room and cry for a good 10 minutes before I could regain my composure enough to play with the kids again.  Why did I get so much and this precious boy get so little?

I still think about Jose.  I realize that he’s probably in heaven now.   

Now I find myself living in Mexico and seeing those same kids.  This week we had an Independence Day party at the church…there were kids running around everywhere all dressed up in their fancy dresses and eating lots of (amazing) food.  Then I saw them, 5 kids… wearing the same clothes I had seen them wearing the last time I saw them…and I suddenly had a flashback to Jose. 

These children are from the dump community (just down the hill from where I live).  Their parents sort (and live on) the trash that is collected from the area.  Sometimes they leave the kids for a week at a time and go to the dump on the other side of town. 

These children have the bony limbs and rheumy, starving eyes of malnutrition; I bought them tostadas and churros all night long. 

Now, when I play with the kids and learn their stories I don’t get to fly home…I just walk up the hill to my house.  I get to help these little kids know that Jesus loves them. 

If that isn't motivation to learn Spanish, I don't know what is.

Hey all.  I have really appreciated all the Facebook messages, emails, blog comments and phone calls.  I can't always reply to everything because of my schedule (and our internet connection likes to disappear occasionally)...but I wanted to let you know that I really love hearing from you. 

This is hard, I try not to focus on the hard times so I don't like to post about it a lot (writing it out just makes me think about it more!)...but know this...

This is the hardest thing I have ever done. 

and I miss you all terribly.

I'm in Pachuca this weekend and I've had a great time.

Yesterday we had a little party with the YWAMers, or JUCUM (Juventud Con Una Misión) as they call is in Spanish, and it was fun.  I understood a lot more Spanish this weekend (it always helps when a Gringo is preaching...I can almost always understand them!).  I find myself understanding a lot of the Spanish around me but not being able to respond.  I think some of this understanding can be attributed to the fact that my brain doesn't freak out (as much) when someone asks me something in Espanol anymore...this gives me a chance to actually listen to the question and figure out what I understand instead of just panicking.

When I got here on Friday afternoon I was greeted at the car door by one of the most hideous dogs I have ever seen.  It's a Xoloitzcuintli (Mexican Hairless).  Supposedly these are very special, extremely expensive dogs.  The Aztecs believed these dogs protected their souls in the afterworld. 

But let me ask you this...why have a dog without hair?!

So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Xolo...

Now, before you start thinking he's just misunderstood...that maybe there really is a cute dog in there...here's proof that dog's should not be hairless.  He has to SIT on the other dog all day to keep warm.  

I think I've mentioned before that I have a couple of...let's just say "high energy" boys in my class.  They keep me on my toes. 

Something about 5th and 6th graders + English as a second language + a little bit of machismo makes for a very funny classroom at times.  I've started a little notebook so that I can  try to remember all the things they say.  Today was a funny entry that I wanted to share with you all.

Two of the boys were playing in the classroom.  It was kind of a passing time and they were passing the time by wrestling (just a bit).  Well, sure enough...the next thing I know one of them is crying because he's been hit in a very sensitive area :)  So, monkey number one gets sent to the office (it wasn't his first offense) and monkey number two  is laying on the ground in very obvious pain. 

Well, I figure he's a boy so he needs to learn to walk it off...so I encourage him to get up (slowly) and return to his desk.  He gets up and walks ever so slowly and hunched over almost completely in half (which in itself was very funny...he's a great little actor) and then he sees the other kids look at him and he says (with an accent, which just made it funnier)..."He punched me, you know, in the Ding-a-Ling"

I can't even type it without laughing.

I can assure you, there will be no more Ding-a-Ling punches in my classroom.

Check out the multimedia page for a couple classroom pictures.

Well, I have made it a month!

I just reread my first post and I can't believe it was only three months ago!  Just three months ago I was typing and crying in a coffee shop in SE Portland.  I had just given notice at Abundant Life and I had no idea what was ahead...now, just three months later, I've been living in Mexico for a month. 

How did all this happen?!  haha.

I had a great day at school today.  It was a test day and, I learned, test days are awesome.  I get to catch up on grading and lesson planning while the kids work quietly.  Tomorrow I'm having dinner with the other teachers.  This should be a great dinner because we are all excited to start our 5-day weekend (next Tuesday is Mexico's Independence Day).

To top it all off, I got a very special gift today.

A toilet seat.

I've been here a month and I haven't have a toilet seat.  I could have bought one a number of times...I've had many opportunities.  I guess I just got used to it.  haha.  I installed the seat this evening and am glad to report that it "works" (I know...TMI...lol).

Who would've guessed that I would ever be so excited about a toilet seat?