Marilyn in Mexico 2008

Sunday, August 17, 2008

Going to church with Cecilia today involved a walk (of course) to the bus stop, then a bus ride, then a ride in a motorcycle taxi in which 3 of us ladies fit in the back seat. The chapel is surrounded by a tall pointy metal fence to keep out the unsavory members of the community, I guess, when they shouldn't be around. It must be working because the city is covered with graffiti everywhere, but the chapel is beautiful and clean. However, we did have a situation with a few ruffians today who were harassing a young man and his sister as they tried to come to church. Some druggies/drunks started throwing rocks at them and the church, so several of the men left the chapel to see what was the problem. The police were called and the miscreants finally left. Well, that's the most excitement I've had at church lately!

I've found it interesting that public restrooms here are substandard to our usual facilities back home. The other day I entered a bathroom at a nice hotel and found no toilet seat and no toilet paper. At the bus stop there was no toilet seat and no running water. In fact, I haven't seen a toilet seat in any of the toilets outside of private homes. Even today at church, with automatic flushes and electronic-sensor paper towels in the ladies' room, there were still no toilet seats! What's up with that!?!

Cecilia's married son, Carlos, and his wife, Karina, came over for lunch after church today. They're both studying chemical engineering. Edith, the 24-year-old daughter, just graduated from the university as an Information Specialist (something to do with computers) and her beginning pay is about $220 (US) every two weeks. It's easy to see why Mexican Nationals want to take their chances crossing the border in order to earn a higher living wage.

This family is so wonderful! They are fabulous hosts to me and have shared everything they have with me. They may not spend money on things they consider unnecessary luxuries (like clothes pins or apartment square footage or even a rack for their 5-gallon water bottle), but they have gone out of their way every minute to make sure I'm comfortable, eating well, entertained, and enjoying my stay here.

We had a nice electric storm tonight but no rain (of course not - we hadn't hung out any clothes to dry today)!