Tijuana Life

After taking a summer break from blogging (and from life in Tijuana), I am home now, and so it is time to blog once again. I had the chance to live in Oregon for the summer. It was a summer of waitressing (lazy Susan Cafe... wonderful breakfast place in Cannon Beach, OR), catching up with good friends, and rest. The time of rest was good, and now it is very nice to be home in Tijuana.

Here are a few shots to highlight the new additions in my life as year 2 of Baja Bible School begins.

I left Tijuana in April and drove up to Oregon. At the time of departure all four doors were red. In June, I became the proud owner of a red Subaru with a blue door. I am thankful for this little car, and now it has a bit more character.

Meet our new students. Natalie, Megan, and Jonny have joined us for year 2 of Baja Bible School. We are very thankful for a great group of students.

My dear friends, the Magees, have moved to Mexico. So now one of my favorite families lives just about 1.5 hours east of Tijuana. Meet Abigail and Audrey Magee.

And finally, I learned about the world of root canals this summer. I started the process in Oregon, and then received my crown in Tijuana. As a root canal survivor, I can honestly say that they are not as terrible as everyone says. Today my friend Richell and I were driving in the city though and this dentist's office (actually a root canal specialist) caught my attention. Here in Tijuana, many medical offices have pictures on their signs/front windows that are associated with the work that they do. Please look at the tooth in the upper left hand corner... ouch.

More highlights of Tijuana life and the adventures of Baja Bible School coming soon.

A visit to Bol-Bol

I had a chance to visit Bol-Bol a few weeks ago. I had never gone bowling in Tijuana before, and it was a lot of fun. Much like the states, they have bowling leagues, cosmic bowling, the crazy shoes, video games, and all the other familiar features you would find in your local bowling alley.

This particular bowling trip was special because our friend Miguel went bowling for the first time. He did great and scored over 100 in his first game ever. In fact, he nearly won.

Here is your word lesson of the day. In Spanish the word for bowling is Boliche.

Here the men are studying the lane as we prepare to begin our game. Giving Miguel some tips before he plays for the first time.

And here he goes... bowling for the first time ever!

This was just the third frame, and notice the fun spellings of our names.

Almost finished...Ryan ended up winning, followed by Shawna, and then Miguel.

Rainy Tijuana Days

We just had another rainy Tijuana day, so I figured it was time to post a few photos of what that looks like down here. The driving in Mexico becomes a little more interesting after a good rain. Depending on where you are in the city, the roads can become like mini rivers. Here are a few shots coming down the road from the Castillo.

This group of rain photos came from a rainy day adventure that Stephanie and I took last year. We had been out visiting some friends and it began to rain pretty hard. It was a good thing we had the Sorensen's Jetta that day because the roads were full of water as we headed home. The Jetta is able to tackle just about anything :-)

The rain adds a few things to Tijuana life. One thing... Potholes! After a good rain, you have to be extra careful as you drive. New potholes have likely developed on the roads you were once familiar with and can easily catch you by surprise, or at least your poor car by surprise.

The rain also adds beauty to the city. The hills turn green and the city looks really beautiful this time of year. Here are a few shots from Eastern Tijuana.

Graduation Week

Last week we had a celebration! It was graduation week here at Baja Bible School. The first year has come to an end. Thank you all that have prayed, given, and walked with us (staff or students) in our very first year. Both staff and students learned a ton this year and the staff is looking forward to coming back and starting our second year of school in September. After some good rest this summer of course :-)

Here are a few shots from the last week... me and my dear girls, Leah and Katie, and of course a photo of the graduates. Congrats to our first group of graduates from Baja Bible School! We will miss you. Andrew we will miss you too!

Andrew and Chuy. Andrew has been with us the past two years as the Business Manager. He joined Chuy and family in working at the family business :-)

Leah, Katie and I enjoying a meal at the taco stand.

The graduates. The red sweatshirts became our version of the cap and gown. :-)

Leah and I

Katie and Leah... very dear to me!

El Dia del Amor y la Amistad

I enjoy watching Mexico celebrate Valentine's Day. I blogged on this fact last year, but seeing it is only my second Valentine's Day ever to be celebrated in Tijuana, I decided to write another Valentine's Day post.

A few things I appreciate about the celebration down here:

1. It is not just a romantic day. Everyone is invited to celebrate because it is the day of love and friendship. ( Amor y Amistad)

2. The streets become very colorful with lots of pink and red. As you drive down the street on Valentine's Day you find bouquets of balloons tied to cars, lots of flowers, cellophane wrapped gifts ready to be given to a loved one or friend.

3. The gifts are bigger and more creative than most things I have ever seen in the states. I took a picture of what I am hopping to receive next year :-)

Here are a few photos for you:

Setting up for Valentine's Day .

So, if I was to pick a gift, I would vote for this tree of roses :)

A few of my favorite things

As we head into a new year and a new term of school, thought I would tell you about two of my favorite moments in Tijuana last fall.

1. The Mariachi Party at the local nursing home.

I went to visit one Saturday with a few of the students. We entered into a very festive scene. A band had come to play for the residents. This meant clapping and dancing...and a piñata. I think this was probably my favorite thing of all, the piñata. The residents were taking turns striking the piñata, but not with a bat, or sticks, but with their CANES:-) What a sweet scene. Never too old to play!

It made me think of 2 Cor 4:16 which says: Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our inner man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.

2. Making Caldo de Albóndigas.

This is meatball soup and is one of my favorite foods in Mexico. I got the chance to make it with our friends Maria and Chewy. (Many of you know them from eating tacos at Rene's, Maria and Chewy are his parents). I enjoyed the time with Maria, and now I know how to make one of favorite soups. But again, I was so impressed by the hosptitality of the Mexican Culture. First, the three of us sat and had caldo together and then she sent me home with a whole pot of soup for the rest of the BBS family. And all of this was done on their one day off of the week.

Caldo de Albóndigas cooking on the stove.

Our dining area in the midst of their restaurant (the restaurant was closed, but Chewy put together a little seating area for us)

The delicious end product... YUM!

Happy New Year to You! May it be a year filled with peace, joy, and contentment.

Feliz Navidad

Merry Christmas! We finished our first term at Baja Bible and now both staff and students are on break visiting family and friends in the states.

I wanted to share with you something that I have really enjoyed in the pre-Christmas season in Tijuana; cars dressed up like reindeers! I first saw cars driving by the Castillo in November sporting both antlers and a nose. As we moved into December, I saw many, many cars decorated with this seasonal flair. It is a strange thing, but I really enjoyed seeing the festive cars drive by. See for yourself...

But, it does get better. The students were entertained by me. I was easily distracted by these reindeer cars as we were out driving in the city. So, one morning, to my delight, I found my little Subaru decorated for Christmas too! Before leaving for Christmas break, I did get a chance to drive around Tijuana displaying the antlers. I decided to remove my antlers before crossing the border as I wondered about them flying off. I was informed by the border guard however, (he asked where my antlers were after spotting the nose), that they would be fine at high speeds :-)

Another fun holiday shot... coffee at the local Starbucks. My name is very confusing in Spanish :-)