Spring Cleaning and Mexican BBQ

Everyone is doing well here at the Ghost Town. There still isn’t much to do with all the students and still some faculty on vacation. This past week, gracias a Dios, there were 2 events that interrupted by boredom here at the school. Dan decided to start spring cleaning early so Mary, Armando, Marcos, and I helped him clean out his office (Chuy came very conveniently at the end of the process hahaha… no she was busy making us some delicious food in the kitchen and plus she told me that the disarray of dusty books and other nostalgic things that covered the living room stressed her out tremendously to the point of scaring her). The amount of books and things that came out of his office was astonishing and the fact that almost every book was a gift given to him was also an impressive fact to swallow. My job was to dust the books which for me took longer than a normal person given my insatiable thirst for a good book. I carefully investigated each hardback that crossed my hands, putting some aside to feed my own appetite and making a mental list of others to come back for later. I came across some very interesting things including Dan’s dad’s diploma from LSU and as you can see in the above pictures, I found an old picture of our beloved Pastor Larry Williams when he was younger. In this picture, he is standing next to Dan’s dad. Also, you can see Marcos taking a siesta as we were busy cleaning away... definitely caught on camera… haha

The other pictures that you see are not a burial of someone but a barbeque… Mexican style. Debe’s family invited the whole MITC faculty and their families to come enjoy Puebla’s finest foods…. Barbacoa (lamb meat) and mole poblano… I had already had the blessing of enjoying these yummy foods on my visit to Debe’s house two weeks ago and more so I had the privilege of meeting and getting to know her family. At ten in the morning on Friday, all the professors and family members met in the breezeway to find out their riding arrangements. I rode in Dan’s suburban with hermana Chely, hermano Joaquin, hermano Juanito, his wife, and Marcos. The ride was so much fun with Joaquin’s endless stream of jokes, Marcos’ laughter, and Dan’s commentary. After a little more than two hours, we arrived at our destination, Rancho Chico, Puebla. As soon as I stepped out of that black SUV, I was greeted with a homecoming of an arrival including big smiles, hugs, and kisses on the check. Everyone laughed as they ran their fingers through the purple strands in my hair and we reminisced about that crazy night that Nanci, Milka, and I colored our hair for no other reason than being able to and crazy enough to do it. It was so good to see everyone again and to have my Cordoba family with me made it even better. I felt a sense of pride as I helped Debe show everyone around her house and town. When the tour was done, Dan gave a little devotion and then we headed to BBQ pit, which was no pit but actually huge mounds of dirt in the ground. I was completely clueless as to what we were doing until I asked someone why a couple guys started ferociously digging up the mounds and then it was explained to me that the borrego or the meat of the lamb was buried underneath these mounds of dirt. Layer by layer these guys uncovered our meal. It was so interesting to watch and you can see the process through the pictures and also see Marcos and his self-proclaimed expression “dame borrego (give me lamb)” on his face. Finally, they reached the lamb meat and hoisted it from the pit and thus started the feast. We also ate mole poblano which is the other food that is on my plate. I loved everything. The lamb meat was very tough but it was so good wrapped up in a homemade tortilla with some salt and salsa. And when I had finished stuffing my face, Danny, Debe’s brother, brought me another plate full of meat. I tried to decline but he wouldn’t hear it and Debe’s dad pitched in, telling me that I had to eat some more…. TO say I was stuffed, would be an understatement. I don’t think I have ever eaten so much in my life but at least I really liked what I was eating… we all left happy and a little bigger…. And that pretty much sums up this past week…. More to come later….