Monday Morning Honors Program

Every Monday morning the school has an honors program where the band marches and plays during the flag ceremony. They sing the National Himno and the school song. Announcements are made and students are recognized. Being that this would be our last Monday here in La Huacana, the school principal Roberto, presented us with the Flag of Mexico. Molly also sang our National Antheim as they honored the American Flag that we had given the school. Both Tammy and I were moved to tears hearing our daughter´s beautiful voice and thinking about returning to our home country.

Molly sang an additional song dedicated to the staff and students of the school called ¨Do It Anyway¨by Martina McBride. The words of the song have such a good message that I am including them in this post.

You can spend your whole life building something from nothing One storm can come and blow it all away
Build it anyway

You can chase a dream that seems so out of reach and you know it might not ever come your way
Dream it anyway

God is great, but sometimes life ain’t good And when I pray it doesn’t always turn out like I think it should
But I do it anyway, I do it anyway

This world’s gone crazy and it’s hard to believe that tomorrow will be better than today Believe it anyway

You can love someone with all your heart, for all the right reasons, and in a moment they can choose to walk away
Love ‘em anyway

In My Opinion by Jake

What I Will Miss About Mexico
*Beaches, tropical water, Ixtapa, hotel, the sand
*Javier's friendship
*Tony, Carlos
*Beautiful scenery
*Mexico's money system - purchase stuff for much less money
*Fresh meat

What I Won't Miss About Mexico
*The climate- being sweaty all day every day
*Ants that come into the house
*My bed or bedroom
*Not being allowed to flush toilet paper
*Night times with dogs that bark all night and bugs that bite you in the night
*Having to wash dishes everyday by hand
*Crusty clothing off the clothes line

What I Look Forward to When I Return To America
*Working along side Grandpa Ron
*America TV programs, video games and movie rentals (all in English)
*Being cozy in my bed under blankets
*4-H activities
*Hanging out with my friends (Air soft war games)
*Wide variety of supplies in the stores
*Real American food

The Morning of the Monarca Mariposas; Getting Ready

After breakfast we waited for every one to get ready so we could head out to the place of the butterflys. I marveled as this grandson, Erwin, combed his grandmother's hair. I tell my daughters that they can find a nice young man by watching how a son treats his mother; in this case, his grandmother. Enock's three sons are very loving to both, their mother and grandmother. Eatabean, one of Erwin's brothers, had picked his grandmother up once to help her down one step, while wrapping his arms around her, also giving her a big hug and kiss. Again, we are all impressed by the strong family ties and good manners.
Our family was served breakfast first, then everyone else sat down and chowed down after us. Mike remained at the table.
On Saturday morning we shared breakfast with Esther's family. A common breakfast is the cow intestine soup. Since this food is so new to our family, we all feasted on the refried beans, tortillas and scrambled eggs. Our friends were understanding of our inability to partake, commenting that if they came to the US, they would unlikely be able to eat some of our foods. I appreciated their graciousness.

Mariposa Monarca ~ Monarch Butterfly

During our most recent trip Morelia our friends, Enoch and Raramure took us to the easternmost part of the state of Michoacan to the Monarch Butterfly Reserve. This is the home of millions of Monarch Butterflies who travel from as far North as Canada and all over the United States to hibernate for the winter here in the Mexican highlands. They travel an amazing 3,000 miles at a rate of 7 mph at an elevation of 500 feet above the ground. Most arrive in October or November. March begins their breeding season. Males die shortly after breeding and females are left to make the treck back to the U.S. Interesting enough, the females will fly north but not reach their orignal destination. Their offspring will continue the journey northward. It may take up to five generations to make the complete mirgration from Canada back to Mexico.

After riding in the car for over 5 hours (we had taken the scenic route) we were ready to ascend the mountain to see the butterflies. Within the first minute of hiking, Tammy and I felt like we were going to pass out. We had to stop several times and take a moment to do deep breathing exercises. We then learned that the elevation of this mountain was equivalent to Mount Hood (11,000 feet). After reaching the top and enjoying the mass quantity of butterflys, we thought it worth the climb.

Sea Turtles "Tortugas"

The Knutz family got a real treat this last Sunday when we went to the coast. Our host, Enoch and his family took us to a sea turtle conservation project where local fisherman in cooperation with the University of Michoacan are working to protect sea turtle nesting grounds. The site was less than a couple acres in size. But what a joy to share in the this conservation effort. We were able to watch as one of the fishermen and Enoch's son Erwin dug up a nest of hatchling turtles.

Sea turtles begin their lives as eggs buried by their mothers on a sandy beach. After 45-70 days of incubation, baby sea turtles emerge from their sandy nests and immediately head for the ocean. They reach maturity in 25 to 50 years. After mating, adult females often cross ocean basins back to their original nesting beaches to lay eggs and renew the cycle. They are excellent navigators, able to sense minute variations in the Earth’s magnetic field. The chances of surviving to adulthood are extremely low, so turtles lay up to 150 eggs per nest and may nest up to three times in a season. They nest every two to three years.

The Black Sea Turtles that we released have declined globally 80 percent over the last 150 years. Breeding populations of black turtles off Mexico are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. In the 1980s, black turtles at their major nesting beach, Colola Beach in Michoacán, Mexico, declined significantly from 5,500 nesting females to a low of 171. The population is now increasing, though numbers are still well below their natural levels.
There are two other varieties of sea turtles that nest at this site, one of them being the leatherback sea turtle. Since 1980, leatherbacks have declined by 95% at their major Pacific nesting beaches. If current trends continue, Pacific leatherbacks will go extinct within the next few decades and there is a 50% chance they will be gone within 11-12 years.

This was our eniter party. Enoch and Easter have three sons who are gentlemen with a heart to serve others. Enoch and his family have really befriended us and have invited us to several outings. Enoch teaches welding and physical science. He always has smile on his face and a good attitude.

The two girls are Karen (in the red shirt) has been a wonderful translator for us. She has also become good friend to Molly. Her sister Adeline is a joy to be with as well. They live in L.A. but are spending this year in La Huacana with their aunt who is also in our group photo (left).

U.S. Soccer Team defeats Mexico's 2 to 0

We had a house full last Wednesday night for the U.S. soccer team vs Mexico. We had over 8 students here and 2 teachers. You can imagine the huge disappointment when the US beat Mexico by 2 to 0.

Tammy prepared two batches of guacamole and two of Mexican Salsa. Tammy brought back to life her infamous 3 can chili green sauce that she had frozen by adding it to one of the batches of guacamole. It was hot! Hugo made a face that made us all laugh when he bit into his tostada with the secret guacamole sauce.

We were really blessed by the the Math Teacher Raramule who gave us a carving of Jesus that his uncle made. We have been entertained by him and his family all week. The following night, he and his uncle the Physics and Technology Teacher Enoc took us to a fish hatchery and had a fish fry. Both Raramule and Enoc plan on coming to Oregon this summer when OSU 4-H hosts teachers from Mexico.

Household Responsibilities Take Alot More Time

I am including a second post on laundering and about my Mexican dishwasher -by request.

Caring for my families clothing takes a large part of my day. I am fortunate enough to have an electric clothes washer but how I wash and how others wash here in Mexico are two different things. I wash 2-3 loads each day, as many that will fit on the clothes lines. With six of us wearing adult-sized clothing added with frequent changing due to the climate, this demands a lot of washing. I use my washer for every single load but most people only use their washers only for jeans -those that own washers that is. Instead, the cement cistern (I do not know what else to call it) serves as their washing machine. Mexican women scrub everything on the rivets you see here and with a scrub brush. I am impressed with how every one's clothes look. Meticulously clean and pressed. I asked Lupe why she doesn't wash all her clothes in the machine but she didn't explain. Could it possibly be because this is the way it has been done for generations or because their machines don't clean very well. I think it may be both.

In the center is where a large amount of water is held; on each end is the deep square wholes. One end serves to wash clothes, the other for washing dishes. Each end has a drain for the soiled water. There are many living creatures swimming in that water and grasping onto the bottom and side walls. Madeline has made issue of it several times trying to show me but I have had to turn my head and look the other day. (What I don't know won't hurt me!) After all, my kitchen dishes are being washed in this water.

This end is where my kids wash the family dishes. The water is scooped up out of the cistern into large wash and rinse containers. The dishes dry outside in these drainers. All the water is room temperature. This cistern can be handy. I haul out all the dirty dishes and scoop water into them to soak. They can wait outside until someone is ready to attend to them. Meanwhile, the kitchen inside is clean!

Once I am back in America I will kiss my dishwasher and my washer and dryer! I have heard my kids discuss how incredibly disappointed they will be if they learn upon their return that our dishwasher has broken down. They say it with a giggle. However, I wouldn't mind having one of these handy things on my deck!

Jake Learns to Weld

Yesterday Jake learned to weld during the shop class at the school. The other students and the teacher were eager to help him.

The teacher gave me a new shop shirt like the one he has.

The Welding teacher told Jake that he learns much faster than many of his other students. Maybe Jake takes after his grandpa Ron with his welding skills. Anyway, Jake is looking forward to learning more here and getting some practice with Grandpa Ron.

Ignorance was Bliss

The other day I was "let in the know". Lupe told me that my family's clothes looked wrinkled and that I needed to start ironing. Since I come from the states and own a dryer, I normally only iron on special occassions. If something looks terrible coming out of the dryer, it is usually replaced easy enough. A few little wrinkles have never bothered me. Also, I use this handy-dandy wrinkle-release spray, and whatever job it can't handle, well, I usually don't wear that item to often.

I have been informed though that here in La Huacana, wrinkles bother everyone; that people are staring at us and thinking ill thoughts. This all came as sort of a shock. I ask my kids what they know. Molly confessed that someone had asked her if Americans iron their clothing. Had I been letting Mike go to school and teach classes everyday in clothing that would make him look ridiculous? Mike and I have been teaching the kids to adapt to the Mexican culture. They are frequently reminded that we are guests in someone else's country.It took days for that talk with Lupe to sink in. I decided to think on it awhile. She, afterall, was asking alot from a family of six all wearing adult-sized clothing. While "thinking on it", I started observing all the people around me. Sure enough, it was true. Every one's clothes were meticulously ironed. Not a wrinkle anywhere to be found. Even t-shirts get ironed. Oh, my goodness, this means life in Mexico was dramatically about to change.

Today, I ironed for atleast two hours, after ironing three yesterday. I am ironing silly t-shirts, basketball shorts, casual shorts, blouses, everything accept socks and underwear. I have to admit, I think Lupe and the rest of her country are right. The clothes look so much nicer. I can hardly believe we were walking around a wrinkled mess. The clothes line just doesn't cut it. For seven weeks I didn't iron and for the next seven, it will take time out of every day. This mama won't be able to do it all on her own. This week was declared "learn how to iron" week. I should have took the suttle hint way back when our translators dropped us off in December. Norma had told me that an iron and I would become best-friends.

An Average Day in the Life of the Knutzs

A few people have asked what a "normal" day looks like for us in Mexico. This is how most days work themselves out.

6:45 AM
Mike, Molly and Josh leave for school


7-1o AM
Showers, breakfast, morning chores, Tammy starts laundry, ironing, floors, Spanish lessons on computer begin, alternating people


10-1 PM
*Home school for Maddy and Jake, email and blogging for Tammy
(Activities are interrupted multiple times from people stopping by to ask about this, to sell that, and students dropping in)


10 PM MONDAY ONLY
Monday market day. Vendors come from all over with fresh foods, household items and clothing. It is the cheapest way to buy things here. And, it's just plain fun!


1:00 PM
*Mike and teens arrive home from school. With them come 5-15 students on any given day. This time changes frequently.


2 PM THURSDAY ONLY
(No English class today) Mike hauls a van loud of kids to La Presa to swim and jump (see blog!)


1-4 PM
*Mike studies for his English class and does bible study with students
*Teen hang-out time, card playing, goofing off,
*Practice the language with the studengs through friendship
*Tammy: make snacks, wash cups, serve drinks, translate English for Step class that afternoon, serve salsa and guacamole
*Knutz kids try to get their daily chores done amongst the chaos, Kids teach card games

4-5:30 PM
*Mike teaches an English class to local school teachers
*Tammy & Molly attend Mike's English class since we learn Spanish at same time
*Josh and Jake practice basketball at school with the team
*Maddy chills at house

5-11 PM FRIDAY ONLY
Friday Night Fun Night, kids come to have salsa, guacamole, tostadas, soda and Pizza. Card playing, goof-off time, a movie in Spanish at 8

5:30 PM
*Lupe picks up Tammy. Tammy teaches Step class for 2 Spanish teachers at her ranch house
*Mike hangs out with students that come to house after basketball, gives kids snacks, sometimes prepares dinner

7:30 PM
*Tammy returns from exercising. Time to eat. Many times we walk to town for real Mexican food. We can feed the whole family for under $15. We have two regular students who have dinner with us every night.

8 -10 PM
Normal Activities, depending on the day:
*Shop in downtown tiendas for groceries.
*Walk and hang out in plaza.
*Visit with Fernando (see blog)
*Recap with our kids, take time to encourage and instruct with what's been happening in their daily lives in Mexico

Sunday Night is Plaza Night. The evening mass ends at 5:30 PM, the tiendas close up shop and everyone stays in (after mass) town in there best Sunday attire. The Catholic church opens up into the town square. People walk the town square, or gather on the benches to enjoy a long evening of fellowship and fun.

WEEKENDS ARE DIFFERENT. We try to leave town to see what else is in Mexico! It requires about a 3 hour drive whatever direction we travel.

Coolness

Xavier, Jake, Eric and Hugo. The three muchachos visit daily. Eric, behind, is wearing my women's sunglasses.
All the teen boys like to wear my sun glasses. The come into the house looking for them. In such a sunny culture, few people wear sun-glasses, at least in La Huacana. They are a luxury. A lot of times I leave them at home. Walking through town in sunglasses screams, "Rich Americano!"

Tony and Hugo sport both Mike's and my sun glasses. Mike gave his sunglasses to Tony; read I am Sad Tonight, Tony's Story.... He walks around town like he is real special now.

(I asked them to pose this way. It is a joke between us. They aren't really this tough looking They are well-mannered kids. I am hoping they rub off on my children).

Thurday and Sunday are La Presa Days

A sweetheart swim down the river. Very refreshing! These days are looked forward to since we know we can bring down our body temperature a little. It is too warm to even hold hands in the country! We managed to get located in the warmest part of the country this time of year.

OK, I simply could not resist posting this picture. They all love jumping, esp. if I have the camera in my hands.

Thursday and Sunday afternoons are "La Presa Days". The kids know that they can come here to meet us to catch a ride up to the swimming hole.

Every week the kids take turns diving and posing for my camera. Later that week, our amigos visit us eager to see themselves in a slide-show on our computer.

Volcan

Jake took this photo of a tree growing out of a rock. Nice job Jake!

It took about 30 minutes to hike up the mountain. We started about 8:30 in the morning so it was cool in the shade, but that disappear within the hour. Behind Jake are several pine trees. this area of Mexico looks much like eastern Oregon and even having pine forest in the mountains. They look like Ponderosa Pine.

Ranufol, geography teacher is explaining the history behind this volcano (volcan in Spanish). The Jorullo is a cone volcano with a crater 500 meters in width and 150 meters deep. We are standing on the crater wall where the lava flowed out from in September 29, 1759. Prior to that eruption, this area was a flat fertile valley farmed by the Don Pedro. Two rivers disappeared the first night of the eruption and continue to flow underground and emerge in geyser form with a temperature of 52 C or 125 F. We hiked down into the crater and could feel the hot rocks and steam coming from vents. Not something that we really wanted since we were already hot from the hike.

The class was able to hike out onto the lava flow which covers a 9 km (6 mile) area on the north side of the mountian. There is a large drop to the valley floor just a few feet from the students pictured in the distance of this photo.

Three students stand on the top of a church steeple that was covered by lava during the eruption. It is the only evidence left of the ranchero (small village) that once inhabited this place.

Mike

God Protects His People, Again . . .

Another Unwelcomed Visitor

We learned the importance of wearing your shoes in Mexico. Every time Lupe has come to visit and has caught one of my children meandering barefoot, she has practically thrown a fit. She points at her shoes and in her broken English shouts, “Shoes, shoes, shoes! You get sick!” Lupe will grab her throat and squeeze to signify sickness. Skeptically, I tried to reason it out. Are there parasites in the soil that can be absorbed through the skin? In faith, I began to warn the kids in the same alarming manner, adding, “I may not be able to explain it but we are going to do what Lupe says.” I decided it was likely some old wives tale; Lupe had also told Madeline not to drink cold drinks due to her Asthma. Her throat would swell shut. The kids were to play it safe but more importantly, honor Lupe.

Now I can see how God had been using Lupe to warn us about bare feet. Last night, Jake walked to the kitchen and returned with Madeline following him. I heard a loud, fearful screech. Madeline had stumbled upon a scorpion that Jake had just crunched with one of his shoes seconds prior, unbeknownst to him. The scorpion was wiggling, half alive. Thankfully, Jake and Madeline were wearing their shoes, having been admonished frequently the prior two days. There had been regular traffic between the kitchen and living room by all of the family the entire evening. Josh presently sat on the couch in his socked feet.

I thank God for using Lupe to warn us. Of course I took the opportunity to use my mothering skills and pointed out the fact how easily any one of them could have been barefoot at that moment. God had truly gone before us knowing that scorpion would visit. I still don’t know about parasites, but scorpions alone are reason enough to wear your shoes in Mexico. In the future, I doubt that mom nor Lupe will be needed to warn kids to keep their shoes on.

God protects His People!

Why Are We Here?

This week everyone went to school for the first time. Mike, Molly, Josh and Jake all went to the esculea secondaria (middle school). Madeline is picked up every morning by her 5th grade teacher. Since Mike is a professor for Oregon State University, they allowed him to come here on a sabbital leave to immerse into the culture and learn the language. He is teaching English classes at the middle school, providing guidance with the school farm (agriculture background) and taking the spanish classes. The same is true for the rest of us. English is highly regarded here and the people are very excited we are here. The kids are recruited to help in the English classes. Mike´s growth here will be valuable for his job back at home. It will provide him with language skills and understanding for the Spanish audience in our home community, enabling him to better reach spanish people with the 4-H program. Our children´s growth is valuable too. I can´t even imagine at this point all that the Lord is going to do through this.



Mike and I decided this was the best way for them to get as much as possible from our trip is for them to go to the public school. They are forced to interact all day long with Spanish speaking adults and children. Oh, the stories that I heard this afternoon. All the children crowd around my kids in large groups. It´s a very unique experience for the children to have white English kids in their school. Josh said that if he slowed his walk or paused to sit down, in 30 seconds he was surrounded with excited, jabbering kids. Madeline has found herself to make friends easy. All are eager to help them with their very poor Spanish.

Ross Warner said to me before leaving the states, ¨It will be interesting to see how God uses this in your children´s lives in the many years to come¨. That was eye-opening for me. My heart did a little leap as I considered his remark. I had been so focused on the here and now that I hadn´t yet considered this. Our children have needed reminded over and over that they themselves have been called to be in Mexico. It has been a lot to ask to pull them from their home and their friends to come to a foreign place. The only way to makes sense is to be serving a higher purpose. I tell them that this is what it means to walk by faith. We may not fully understand today why God he has us here or can physically see what He is doing. We can fully trust that He is always at work. It is likely beyond what our little ol minds can comprehend.

I am content as I watch my kids gain a better understanding of these people. I desire for all of us to have a greater love for them and to be able to communicate with them. I know there are many Mexicans who live in our home town that need to be shown God´s love. We all look forward to seeing God´s plans and purposes unravel, in His timing.

"Una coca por favor"

It was a big step to have Jake request a Coca-Cola from a restaurant. All it took was three little words. Amazing how hard it can actually be. It is one thing to speak Spanish at home with your Spanish curriculum. Once you have to interact with real Spanish speaking people that is another. They have a very distinct accents and can roll their R's amazingly. Also, the speed by which they can speak will cause your head to spin. This is way harder than I could have ever anticipated. I say words over and over again but just can't say them like they can. Like I told Ross W. on an email, it feels as if you are swimming in an ocean of words.

This is the advantage of learning Spanish through immersion. We get to hear it over and over again, correctly. Our family is learning text-book Spanish, but real-life Spanish. Fernando often corrects us with our examples we pull from our books. He says, no no, that is way to formal. Say it like this! He adds his cool-attitude with it. Fernando has been very patient with us, repeating over and over, explaining culture and customs. He comes to see us regularly, each time with great enthusiasm. Each time we get to see him, I am greatly encouraged.

We have all experienced the shyness that goes with trying to speak someone else's language right in front of them. There is always the risk it will come out wrong and you will get laughed at. I had to tell the water truck that I didn't need any more water delivered until Tuesday. I shouted, "Martes" which means Tuesday in Spanish, and both men in the truck started cracking up at me. I have now learned just to laugh at myself as well.

Jake soon conjured up the courage to approach the lady at the counter to ask for his soda. It took guts on his part, but he got the words out and received his prize. (The kids would have you know that all the soda here is much better tasting than in America.)

Jake gets his Christmas wish. When we rolled into town he was declaring how badly he'd like a kitty for a pet while living in La Huacana. On Christmas Eve, "Chica" was captured outside our house. She was obviously dieing of starvation, unable to walk, patches of hair missing, paint in her fur and in desperate need of a bath. Maddy and Jake feed her as much as they can. She is the friendliest kitty we have ever known. (There are numerous neglected animals in Mexico; we are glad to have saved one!)