First Impressions

Today I got a bus tour around town. At first I was a little discouraged, drawn inside myself thinking how huge this city was, and wondering if I would ever be able to really just go out and make it on my own... meeting all the new people that there were to meet and making good impressions... knowing the map well enough to keep track of all the buslines... learning the culture well enough to not offend people unwittingly... having the confidence to speak with native speakers... the people I want to know the most here, but the people I feel the least default connection to. I absolutely have enjoyed the Americans here, and will cherish and need them to work here well, but I share more with them already, and I know that the greatest growth for me will probably come through relationships that cross cultural boundaries. Pray for these relationships. I played soccer with a group yesterday and had a blast, though my soccer skills are limited. I would love to try to speak more with those guys, but it's so much easier not to. This evening I was with Livio and Dan B. (another teacher here) grilling ribs and sausage and eating a cheese-bread-like food called "chipa." What a time. Tomorrow I go to a Mennonite Church here in town, and then play tennis with Dan. Also pray that God would give me insight, as I am finishing up some work for school... There have been a million things rolling around in my head, some things I was able to jot down in pictures in the airport, but the stage of articulating those pictures into words, and revising-fine tuning the paper is tedious, and requires my honest focus. I don't want to just blow steam either... and I know it can be easy to do. Pray that I can apply my mind honorably to this. I want to be done... but I'd rather be well done.