Little Black Skirt

I only brought two skirts to Mexico. Silly me. I thought they would be enough...why wouldn't they be? They both work well with several different shirts I brought :)
Oh, except for the fact that we try to go to the temple weekly.
And I only do wash once every other week.
And I'm used to not wearing a skirt more than once a month, maybe twice.
Oh well, they almost do it...but not quite.
My black skirt at home died just before we left, so I needed a new black skirt anyway...why not buy one here?
Then for Stake Choir we're told that we need a black skirt when we sing in Stake Conference.
Hm :)
My parents take me shopping every week.
But there's a reason I haven't done clothes shopping with my mother in years...
The skirt I bought is very cute :)
"A little too short"
It goes to my knees...
:)
Well, I'm happy, anyway.

John and Brin in Love Online!

So I had been posting here updates on our life together, but I shall stop now. This is my blog for my thoughts. Yes, I'm selfish. :)
John created a blog for us when we got engaged so that we could post pictures and other junk about the wedding. Never got around to it. I finally got him to make me in charge of it, so now I'm getting all of our mutual life onto that blog :) So, for our lovely life, go to:

John and Brin in Love

Tada!

Silly Blogger, Why Don't You Listen to Me?

So, if anyone happens to actually be looking at my blog, I must apologize. It's a mess, and rather unreadable. I don't get why everyone else has captured how to make their blogs look cool, yet with all my playing around I just can't get it how I want :( You'd think with all the computer geeks in my life I'd have caught on magically like everyone else. In many ways I believe I have, but Blogger Design has gone past my reach, sadly. Hopefully sometime soon it can be pretty...


Also, I have decided to create a new form of blogging. New to me, anyway.
I shall post short blogs!
That way, I can say whatever I want whenever I want and I don't have to be sad that I never write because I don't have the time/motivation to :) I always have tidbits of nonsense floating through my brain, so why not post it?
That's what this is for, anyhow. Hence, the name :)

Shout Out from Mexico to Those Who Should Know

I know that most of you are already aware, but for those of you who missed part or all of the memo: John and I have moved to Mexico! :) 

John got accepted to do a Study Abroad at the ITSEM Monterrey campus (aka Tecnologico de Monterrey). He wanted to do this since before he met me and since this is his last semester he figured he'd better get on it. 

My parents are serving an LDS mission in the temple here in Monterrey, so we have been able to spend some time with them.

We arrived safely and well last Thursday, Aug 5 after a long day of traveling. We took a flight to San Antonio, TX and then a bus to Monterrey. We won't do the opposite trip back -- we'll fly to Vegas then his Dad will drive us home.

My parents were able to get us an apartment (from one of the other senior missionary couples who went home a few weeks ago) and it is SO much nicer than I was expecting: pretty much the Mexican equivalent of our apartment at his Mom's. 

We'll be here just for one semester, until December; we'll most likely come back on the 12th. John will graduate at USU about a week or so later. :)

Just thought you'd like to know what's up with us. :)
Love you all,
Brindalynn

P.S. Our phones have been disconnected while we're gone and I left mine home, so you won't have any luck calling or texting me. You can email me ( BeeAreEyeIn@gmail.com ), I will be on facebook probably as much as before (as soon as we get settled in), you can call our Skype number from any phone (will be given as soon as I have it), and we should have a texting number on John's ipod touch (also will be given as soon as I have it).

Greetings from [little] America! #1 (John)

John's week update for family:


¡Que tal familia mía!  ¿Que me cuentan?

We've been here a bit over a week now, and we're still loving every moment.  We're having a great time, and feeling less like we're in Mexico than in Southern Texas on the border.  Monterrey doesn't have the flea markets and medium grocery stores everywhere, the seemingly disorganized but yet-so-effective mini-busses, or specialized little stores lining the streets that sell just pens and paper, or just computer cables.  Unfortunately American capitalism has taken hold, and giant megastores (eg, new Walmarts) like HEB, Soriana, and Walmart itself have overrun the medium-sized and effective grocery stores that I was so used to seeing in other parts of Mexico.  We do have mini grocery stores about the size of a normal living room, with three aisles of the bare-necessities, in case you forgot something on your last trip to your local megamart.  When I asked multiple taxi drivers if they new about a "computer mall" here (a conglomeration of hundreds of small booths each specializing in a specific area of technology, seen in Mexico City, Puebla, and Bangkok Thailand) these drivers referred me to Office Depot or Walmart.  I don't want that junk!  I want Rodrigo tucked in the back of a dark mall who carries every kind of usb cable known to man at Hong Kong prices, and nothing more!  I digress.

We got here a week ago Friday, at 12:30am.  Our trip started last Thursday morning at 7am with dad taking us to the airport.  We then flew to Denver for a short layover, then on to San Antonio.  There we grabbed a taxi to the dingy SAT Greyhound station and caught a bus headed for Laredo, Texas.  Three hours later we were there.  But our connecting bus was not.   We waited 30 minutes when it arrived and we boarded.  We proceeded to wait another 30 minutes on board.  However, we were informed that this bus would not be heading straight for Monterrey, as we expected, but would transfer in Neuvo Laredo, just across the border.  Oh great...I'm taking my wife straight into the war zone.

The border crossing was eventful.  First they stopped and all the Americans on board got off to buy a tourist visa.  Painless and quick (relatively, took about 15 minutes for the 8 or so of us to go through).  Then we drove another 100 yards to a station with a tall canopy and an office to one side.  The bus stopped, and a lady official got on with the bus driver.  I heard him say in Spanish, "that one in the back with the hat.  He looks lucky."  She pointed at me and motioned for me to follow.  Confused I grabbed my passport and headed off the bus where I followed her and the bus driver into the windowed, empty office area.  In the middle of the room was a pole with a button on it and two lights--a system I'm familiar with from the airports in Mexico.  It seems to be their way of creating random inspection so that bias or corruption doesn't come into play.  You push the button and if you get a green light, no inspection.  Red and your personal belongings are no longer so personal.

So, I approach and push the button.  Green.  Alright, that's it, then?  They ramble in Spanish to eachother and I'm free to go.  I ascend into the bus again to a group of apprehensive travelers.  The man in the front seat asks in accented English, "just tell me: was it good?"

"It was good!" I respond.  A cheer from the bus goes up as I walk past people eagerly shaking my hand, "Mano santo!" (Holy hand!).  "You just saved us a lot of time," thanks another homeward bound Mexican.  My lucky button push saved the whole bus and their belongings from a laborious inspection at 8pm.

The transfer was done quickly in Nuevo Laredo, and we were on our way with some apprehension about when we'd get in, since Brin's parents didn't know exactly when to expect us.  A call to their cell phone at midnight when we got in notified them of our arrival slightly earlier than we were fearing, but an hour later than expected.  Luckily they got there quickly...the dirty Monterrey bus terminal is not a place I enjoyed hanging around at midnight.

Our apartment here was the apartment of the previous mission doctor for the Monterrey east and west missions (I guess enough missionaries get sick down here that they call a full-time doctor on a mission here!)  Ricardo and his wife Mari-Carmen, the owners, apparently worked very hard to fix up our apartment just perfectly.  We had placemats on the table, a 5-gallon water jug to get us started, sheets and brand new pillows on the bed, A/C turned on, apples on the kitchen counter, and pictures hung purposefully around the apartment.  It is not the typical Mexican-quality dwelling I had braced Brin for, but much, much nicer.  At $5000 pesos a month ($420) plus utilities, we are more than satisfied with this two-bedroom, spacious apartment just 1.2km from campus (15 minutes walking).

All except for the dogs.  There are three dogs in the area (plus the owners' little yapper who lives downstairs) which like to bark randomly at 10pm, 1am, 6am, or 9am...whichever happens to be the point of my deepest sleep.  I'm ready to shoot 'em.  Prior to that step, however, I've downloaded an app on my ipod which simply emits a tone anywhere from 200hz to 20000hz.  I stop hearing it about 16000hz, but those awful mutts will not.  I'll need some good speakers which can blast 'em, though.

The Saturday after we arrived we went with Brin's parents to a friend's birthday party.  They served mole verde (chicken covered in a green chile and ___ sauce...mole!) and fruit salad and cake.  I was stuffed when we left.  Then the rumbling began.  My stomach rumbled until about 6am the next morning, when Moctezuma had his revenge.  Most of Sunday I was ok, then in the evening I threw up twice and communed a bit more with Moctezuma.  Hopefully that forged my stomach against all future bacteria!  (One can hope.)

This Wednesday we went to the temple, which was a very different experience here.  It's a beautiful building, right on a major highway, though not many locals (read taxi drivers) know where it is.  The rooms are just big enough for about 40 patrons at a time, so when 48 showed up (3/4 of whom were women) they added folding chairs in the front...a very common occurrence, I'm told.  It's interesting to see one of these new smaller temples around which concept the Draper and Oquirrh Mountain temples are designed, but those two are about three times the size of this one.

Classes are good.  The campus is a relatively small area (two city blocks) with about 16,000 students on campus here.  They have another 15,000 or so students spread around 22 smaller campuses around mexico.  ITESM (the Tecnologico de Monterrey, or simply "the Tec") is a private university considered by some to be the most prestigious college in Mexico.  We'll see if that holds true.  My four classes are going to be quite a load I can tell with a full-load of assignments in my first week.  I'm used to USU where teachers start assigning weighty homework around week two, maybe.

Love you all!

--

John and Brin

P.S. The mangos here are DELICIOUS!  The pineapple was pretty amazing too.  The Ranch dressing bought at the store here?  Not so much.

Our Life Right Now: Summer in Emmigration

John and I are living in his Mom's basement apartment while he spends the summer in an internship with the church. It's actually a pretty good deal. They have a nice house and they hardly ever use the downstairs anyway. During the summer they use their motor scooters more than their cars, so I have Carol's car to use when I need it. Living with the in-laws hasn't been so bad. It's still not something I would recommend or do for a long period of time, but as far as that cliche situation goes, we have it easy. :)

He loves his internship. He gets to learn and he's finally getting to the point where he can say he knows what he's doing. He also likes the fact that his job has a spiritual side to it and all of his coworkers are guaranteed strong members of his church. We are blessed that it is very likely he'll be able to go back once he graduates this December. We don't know for sure, but his advisor is doing everything in his power to make sure John will get a job offer come January. 

The church would be a great place for him to start out. He likes it there and it has a lot of job security. It's one of the few jobs out there that actually cares about family life and is reasonably flexible for important events. We'd get good benefits and a decent salary. They'll pay for him to go to Graduate School, which will be very nice. He still aspires to something more, especially in pay, but he doesn't necessarily need to (or would get to) jump right into his dream job. But for now, this is pretty fantastic.

I am spending my time reading (the way-too-big stack of books I got from the Library that now I have to read before we leave), cleaning (sometimes. I do the dishes and the laundry, but much more than that tends to get neglected a tad bit more than it should), cooking (John complained that I haven't cooked anything since Logan. In my defense we don't have our own stove and oven...but I've been stepping it up, or trying to), baking (that one's easy for me to do. We got a bosch from the wedding, thanks to family, and I grew up baking more than cooking so it's what I know how to do. I'll bake for any excuse...John's getting a tummy from it, he says, but I say it's because he's always at the computer and isn't in a swimming or Frisbee class anymore), watching movies (mostly with John, though. I have watched a little TV here and there, since they paid for Direct TV and all on the big screen TV, but there's hardly anything on and I feel like a waste of space when that's all I do so I don't do it much), running errands, cross-stitching (currently put on hold for reading), surfing facebook (which I've cut down quite a lot, thank you very much), intending to write letters (to my missionaries and to Waanda at camp. I have envelopes all packed with pictures from the wedding, but I have yet to finish making them ready to send), keeping company with a Maltese (who got hit by a car 3 weeks ago, but it doing miraculously well, only having 7 broken ribs to deal with), entertaining nieces and nephews (but John gets sick of having them overnight. who knows how he'll be able to stand our children :P ), and spending time with friends when I can. Soon I will be packing.

This fall is John's last semester of college to get his Bachelor's Degree, and we will be spending it at the ITESM Monterry campus in Mexico for a Study Abroad through Utah State. John speaks Spanish extremely well (many Mexicans don't believe he's not Hispanic), but I don't speak it a drop. He was able to convince USU that he would be able to take upper level classes instead of the usual Study Abroad courses. Only a few more things need to be finalized and he will be golden for his last semester.

We leave on the 5th of August. They actually wanted him there on the 2nd of August, so we were going to leave on the 28th of July, but then he found out that classes don't start until the 9th of August and they wanted him there for a whole week of Orientation. He didn't find that useful because he's not like most Study Abroad students, plus he hates Orientations. We'll be there so he can make the last day of Orientation to make them happy. So we got another whole week to play here in Utah, which we were both happy about :) John will be able to spend his birthday with family, etc.

Airplane tickets are ridiculously expensive. John was expecting to pay around $800 for both of us roundtrip. Instead, it was looking to be about $1300. We tried our best, and in the end we have flights to San Antonito, TX, and then from there we will be taking a bus to Monterry. It's a little scary to be thinking about crossing the border like that when the airplane makes it so easy, but John's confident we'll be fine. Let's pray he's right, eh?

My parents are there on a church mission at the temple. My Mom is super excited to have us come. I guess we'll be spending time with them there, even though finding time when we're all free might be hard. We'll see :)

I don't know what I'll be doing with myself, but I'm trying to pack prepared. It'll be hard to find books, which is a killer, and I can't bring that many with me, so we'll see. I am planning on bringing things for cross-stitching. Right now I'm making a Calendar. My sister-in-law has one that I've always loved, but it's made out of yarn and plastic canvas. I'm kind of figuring out as I go along how I'll put it all together, but I expect to have fun. I've put it on hold until Mexico while I read a bunch of books I got from the Library.

John's going to download some of his step-dad's movies on the computer so we'll have a few English ones when we go. We're hoping our internet connection will be good enough to support streaming netflix. We figure $8 a month is worth it to have English entertainment even if we never get the hard-copy one mailed to us. Maybe someone else can utilize that, eh? 

Family Update - John and Brin June 2010

John and I will hopefully be happily making new friends tonight during the family chat, so we won't be able to make it. :(
As for what's new for us: not a whole lot that I didn't cover in my last update, but I'm sure I can find something to share.
John likes his internship, after getting used to it. He was hired on to be a developer but has spent the last few weeks in quality assurance writing a test program because the
team they put him with needed that. However, he should be switching to programing this week or so, which will make him happy.
He likes the people he works with and is enjoying working for the church. He had a meeting with his supervisor and from the way this guy was talking, a job when John
graduates looks very promising. The church usually does hire on their interns, and even though they are in a hiring freeze, hiring interns is a way to bypass that since they're not "new" employees. Though John will probably look for other jobs, we are excited for his chance to work with the church longer.
We still have not heard back about Mexico and we're still tossing the idea back and forth, but at this moment we're heavily leaning towards going. We will let you all know when we know.
While helping Marcela's kids enjoy themselves at Discovery Gateway, I decided to apply there. I haven't heard back from them yet, although the girl I talked to made it sound very  promising. John and I dropped by to see how my application as coming but they didn't have anything to tell me, so we'll see how that goes.
John and I have joined his mother's ward and are enjoying it. Many people know who we are and are very welcoming. There are a few younger couples in the ward although we
haven't had much of a chance to meet many. That's where we're going tonight, to "Sunday Night Sweets" a couple in the ward put together for the younger couples in the ward, so we're hoping to make friends. We like friends. :) We invited one couple over for dinner sometime in the next week. They're expecting twins soon, so I'm hoping I'll get to
help her out with that.
I am happily making John fat by making him treats with my lovely Bosch and other food he likes (I made up an amazing taco soup recipe), while he goes to work and so no longer works out.
I woke up one day with a strong desire to run a 5K. Sometime soon we're going to buy nice running shoes so our feet don't die while John helps me work up to that. In the
meantime I'll use the elliptical taking up space in our living room.
Once again, we welcome visitors in our gorgeous canyon home. I had Jenny and Gideon over for a few days and absolutely loved it. John is a bit more skeptical about having kids over, but as long as he gets his sleep he's up for it.
After having complained that he's been rocking the cradle since we started dating, John has changed his tune once he realized that I only have a few more days left of being a teenager. He now insists we make good use of these last chances we have, whatever that means :P
Love you all! <3 :)