Week 1 – The Week in Review

Week 1 – The week in review
Thursday: We drove to Orlando to get our visas from the Consulate office there, but we had plenty of problems. They said that we needed some paperwork that we didn’t have with us, so we had to get them faxed to us in Orlando. When we finally received all of the paperwork, the office was closed, so we would have to wait until Friday to turn in the papers. Good thing Janell’s grandmother lives in Kissimmee, so we could stay with her.
Friday: We went back to teh Consulate office, only to be told that the visa was going to cost us a lot more than what our lawyer in Mexico had told us. We called her to try to get it straightened out, and, after many hours, she got it all straight for us. Unfortunately, we would have to wait until Monday to actually pick up the visas. That wasn’t good because we had to go home and finish packing for the move.

Saturday – We spent the morning packing our 6 suitcases, and in the evening we had dinner with Janell’s family. It was the beginning of a week of goodbyes as we have left many of the people who are most special to us. Saturday was difficult as we visited family for the last time until we return from Mexico.

Sunday: Our church had a “commissioning” service” for us. Since our church is practically our family, this day was also difficult. We said goodbye to many of the students with whom we have worked for the last five years. Since my family was there, it was also a time to say goodbye to them. We had dinner with Janell’s dad and sisters in the evening and decided to drive to Orlando so we wouldn’t have such a long drive on Monday.

Monday: A day of many goodbye’s. We went to see more family and say even more goodbye’s. Then we had dinner with our pastor and good friends from church. We finished packing our six suitcases, two carry-on bags, and two personal bags each.
Tuesday: We drove to West Palm Beach to stay close to the Miami airport. We didn’t want to have to drive such a long way on the same day as our flight to Mexico. We rented a car and drove from Tampa airport. When we arrived in West Palm Beach, we got to eat at Friendly’s, one of Janell’s favorite restaurants.
Wednesday: This was it…the big day for us to move. We drove to Miami airport with all of our luggage and checked all that we needed to. There were no problems in the airport at all, and we were able to accomplish everything exactly as we expected. Our plane was only half full, so we had plenty of overhead space and plenty of room for everything. It was pretty smooth, and we had no problems with immigration or customs. We were finally in Mexico! Our friends picked us up from the airport, and we drove through the worst traffic jam we have ever been in, but we made it to the house where we were staying.
Thursday: We drove through bad traffic again (Mexico City), and arrived at the bus station in order to go to Cuernavaca for language school. The family that we are staying with met us there, and we have been here since.

Friday: Orientation at the language school went great. Thank God that we have been in Mexico before and know a little about how things work down here. We can already tell that we are learning lots of Spanish. We went to Plaza Cuernavaca, a mall, to look for some clothes because we left one of Janell’s bags in Mexico City. Good thing there is a market here on Monday where we can buy some clothes for cheap. We’ll see what next week brings.