Final Reflections on Mexico

All in all Mexico was a fantastic experience.  Not only was it an opportunity to learn Spanish, but also an opportunity for Chris and I to experience the Mexican culture and to begin to understand a bit, not only the language but also the cultural base of the many Mexican Americans we minister to and with here in the United States.  Speaking of Chris, I cannot thank him enough for being pretty decent company for 6 weeks in a foreign country and for his kind and gentle forbearance.  We did pretty well considering we made up about 75% of each others' English conversation for 6 weeks.  Thanks must also be given to the many other seminarians who eventually joined us at CIRIMEX, there was a large group from the St. Paul's Seminary, St Paul, MN and from St. Meinrad's, Mundelien, and St. John Vianney in Denver.  They are just great guys in general and very much brought some welcome company and fellowship at the language school.

The program itself was intense to say the least.  Four hours of grammar instruction in the morning and 2 hours of conversation in the afternoon.  All the sessions were one on one just me and the teacher meaning there was really no opportunity to take a rest at all and of course after school was over we all went home to speak more Spanish.  The students often joked that the 30 minute break in the morning was the best part of the day, but truthfully, it was the one point in the day when we didn't have to think about Spanish at all.  However in reality this was probably the best way to learn, basically forcing myself to start thinking in Spanish.  I am certainly much more confident (and hopefully a bit better) with my Spanish after my time at CIRIMEX.  I also cannot thank my two teachers Aurea and Rosy for their patience and gentle guiding hands.  They really did help a lot.

The time also allowed us to get to know the people of Mexico and experience some of the great beauty of the country.  Mexico is certainly a country that has its fair share of problems, we have all seen what great evils the drug cartels have brought and how a culture of corruption among the police and government makes the drug problem and many others worse.  However at their heart the people of Mexico really have a lot going for them.  They are a people of great faith, passion, and devotion and a country of great natural beauty and resources. Mexico was an excellent host to Chris and I over 6 weeks and we are certainly much richer for the experience.