End of the Drought

I had been told that, when normal adults move to new places (ie, places where they're not living with at least 3 other fairly transient young adults (otherwise known as "instant friends")) it takes at least a year to make friends. I have been living in Saltillo for about a year now, and yes, I am seeing an end to the "friend drought".

Thanks to Blogger, I made the acquaintance of another woman whose life story (as of the last 2-3 years) is astonishingly similar to mine. We'll be sharing some lasagna with this woman and her family on Saturday. Oh, I hope they like us!

Furthermore, after mass one Sunday, a neighbor stopped by our house as we were walking home. She invited us to attend a class down the street on Wednesday evening. Now, when people talk of church-related classes, it can sometimes turn into an all night, mind-numbing event. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, for as soon as she invited us, I jumped all over her invitation, thrilled at the idea of hanging out with other people who were neither Mario nor Clara. And in someone else's house, too!

It turns out that this is an ongoing Bible study, an "evangelization" class (even though all of us that attended are Catholic) and an introduction to the Bible. I have now attended two classes, and can tell that this will be a most insightful experience for me. Not necessarily for delving deeper into the Bible, but as a cultural experience. I'm finally invited in to witness the mind of the traditional Mexican woman. It's going to be a trip.

For example, after reading Genesis and taking note that all of creation was proclaimed to be good, our little study booklets went on to explain that people sometimes misuse God's creation, messing up all that was proclaimed to be good. True enough. The Bible study leader, a fussy little old lady, further illustrated the point, "like when men grow their hair long and pierce their ears."

Umm . . . what?

First, I'm sure that as soon as God created man, he also created the scissors and told Adam, "hey--make sure to cut your hair when it starts to get long."

Second, men with long hair and piercings are right up there with war and slavery and pollution in the grand scheme of things that destroy the goodness of creation. Right.

I will be taking a lot of notes during these classes. And trying to keep a straight face.