A Shout out to my Shelbyville Homies..aka..the Young Women!

I was SUPER surprised to receive a package today from the Young Women from my church ward today. I didn't believe it was for me when the secretary gave it to me, but then I thought- Wooohooo!!! These sweet girls put together some easter candy and lovely handmade cards, which were hilarious to read...I do miss these wild ladies.

• Ashley T.-I miss you too. Don't think that turning 18 will be any cooler than 17, but Happy Birthday little girl.
• Nettie M.- I hope I have a great Easter too (haha thanks), apparently nobody here likes the holiday as much as Americans..but I will try to make it great for my host family like you would do if you were me. Can you tell me some good jokes? I know you have something ridiculous to say right at this moment.
• Abbey R.- You miss my face? Well I can send you a picture cray cray. I will definitely be coming home soon. Praise. Jesus.
• Grace!!!- Of course I remember you. You are so cute with your long hair and I hope you are fitting in well with the big Fielding family. They are just lovely, and I wish I had a host family like them..haha. I have no idea what those korean symbols mean, but I will ask around and see if anyone here can read them..hahah.
• Brittany B.- I think its funny that you miss my cute little dress, but thank you. Unfortunately the laundry methods here have injured many of my dresses. Sewing class when I get home?
• Em T.- I am not surprised that you kick butt in tennis, and when I come home I wanna see you in action. Do you get to wear one of those coordinating snooty tennis skirt/top combos?? Also, no one here calls me Sara Beara...mostly I get Sarita.
• Carysanne F.- I am having oodles of fun, and when I come back I will tell you all about it, and one day you will have to leave the country too. If you try to be good, I could probably find something to bring home to you..haha. You. are. a. nut.
• Kiara D. - You are awesome too girl. I heard you are way ahead on your personal progress, which rocks my socks off. That is too too cool.
• Destiny D. - Happy Easter to you too!!
• Abby M.- The tacos here are WAY WAY different than fiesta mexicana, and sometimes even make me sick. However, they are yummy either way. Want me to bring one home on the airplane? LOL.
• Megan R.-Everyday when I read my scriptures, I see that bookmark you made about what being a daughter of a heavenly father means to you, and it reminds me of the great example I can set for other people here. There are so many converts here and so many people who haven't heard the gospel that its so important to stand for what you believe in and to live the gospel always. You are right, and I love that bookmark.
• Saeda M.- Mexico is awesome and warm and funny and weird all at the same time. This next week I am going to the beach!
• Malia B.- Are you gonna be a doctor? Because your signature says so. You crack me up just thinking about your funny stories you tell.

Thank you so much for thinking of me!!

Also, on another note..did you know that you put beans on your sandwich here?? Probably not, but if you don't put beans on your sandwich, it's like you forgot the peanut butter, it just doesn't work that way. As you can see my sandwich today came with beans, mustard (only because I have made it CLEAR that I strongly dislike mayo) ham and cheese. Today I was pretty lucky, cause first of all I got wheat bread (highly unusual) and there was also no avacado, tomato or lettuce..which I actually mostly like. Funny right?

Lastly..loook how cute Julian is....He is basically the Mexican Harry Potter but with a better personality.

Hasta Mañana!

-Sara Jacqueline

It's Mexican Monday!!!!

Basically it is the best day in the world, so you should celebrate Mexican Monday too. Eat some tacos, or pour a ton of lechera on your fruit, thats about as Mexican as you need to be.

Justen is doing super swell this week, and his email was nothing but smiley faces and exclamation marks, so thats good to hear. Here are some highlights:

• "I got my hair cut and the gay guy did a horrible job. Lucky you aren't here to impress."
• " My new companion is really cool, but pretty strict. I like him though, I think he is a good example. He is older than me, but looks pretty young."
• "We have been working really hard, but nothing is happening. It's the fourth quarter and I got no special plays."
• "I had a dream about you the other night. We were in high school, and I was watching you in a play and then we were attacked by spacemen with lightsabers. I know it's weird, but in the end I saved you and we lived happily ever after."

Yeah, he is still the same old goofy Justen. What a nut. Gotta love him.

Also, this past weekend I got an AWESOME package from my family. Woooohooo! It was full of girl scout cookies and reeses and Easter candy, all things that are not sold in Mexico. I have sufficiently stuffed my face with sugar.

Oh yeah! There was also a magazine in ENGLISH!! That was a blast. haha. I should buy one in spanish just to practice...we will see how that goes. Thank you for all the goodies! I am so sad I am missing Easter at home, but this made it a bit better!

-Sara Jacqueline

What a Wednesday!! The Party. Never. Stops.

First of all, I got a package today from my cute Aunt and Uncle up in Ohio. I was SUPER excited...obviously because I love mail, and even more so because it was from America. There is nothing better than snacking on some America before class. This definitely made my day!

Also today Jen's mom and sister arrived to visit her and us and Tehuacán, which is all very exciting. We took them out to eat at our favorite place 'El Taco T's' or also known as Teo's Tacos because Teo always goes there with us, and it is his absolute favorite too. We invited a few of our church friends to come with, and obviously Edwin too for some tacos al pastor..yummmm...just the way we like it.

The owners of the restaurant are soo so sweet to us. Their kids come to learn english at our school and actually Samuel, their son is my student and loves to talk with us when we come to eat there. Usually he likes to steal my phone and play angry birds, but today I got a kiss and an invitation to go swimming from him when we left! I must be one cool teacher, haha. Their family also refused to let us pay....seriously, the nicest people ever.... This is not the first time they have done that. Like I said, we love Teo's Tacos.

Now that I am stuffed with yummy tacos, I have returned home to two cockroaches in my bathroom. Let me tell you how it all went down. First I shooed them into the shower, then poured water on them to flip them over so they would squirm and drown. Then I doused them in ajax cleaning powder to poison them, so I know they are for sure dead. If they are still in the same place in the morning, I will know they are officially in cockroach heaven, and I will pick them up to deliver them to their grave in the trash.

Seriously, the party. never. stops.

-Sara Jacqueline

Happy Mexican Nunday!!

Today is our last day of our four day vacation, and we said goodbye to the nuns this morning before we went back into town. They are really the sweetest Mexican nuns I have ever met....and the only ones I have ever met.!

We headed back into downtown Taxco and shopped around for a couple hours before we caught a bus back to Puebla. We finally made it home after six hours in a bus...Sheeeew. Even better when I got home, I had a nice sweet email waiting for me from Elder Justen Turley.

He seemed to be very very excited about his new companion who is a greenie, fresh from the Missionary Training Center. In the mission, Justen would be called the Father and his new companion would be called his son, because he is training him from the ground up in Mexico. I think it will give him something else to be excited about, and to be focused on so that is all cool beans.

Apparently he is also very busy with cleaning and teaching other missionaries how to teach, so it seems everything in Monterrey is peachy. Also, I am happy to say he said he sent me lots of letters and even one ALL in spanish. Basically I am gonna stalk the mail man, cause I cannot wait!

Hope you had a Great Mexican Monday!!

-Sara Jacqueline

Wooohoo Wednesday!!

Basically the Mail Man loves me this week because I got another package!!! Eeeek! I was stinkin' excited, because I was surprised to see it was from....drum roll please..my boyfriend!!! Elder Justen Turley sent me some sweet pictures of people from his ward and his friends and companions, two postcards, a little note, a spanish scrabble game and some candy. He is too too funny.

Clearly, I am over the top excited to hear from him. XOXO

-Sara Jacqueline

Happy Fake Birthday Mandy!!

Welp, you guessed it. We made up another fake Birthday and celebrated tonight after school. Mandy wasn't really into celebrating her Birthday to much, and we are missing Ashley today cause she is a little sick from some tacos...but we still went to the centro to enjoy the people watching and some street food.

Some of us had cemitas (giant sandwiches) and some of us had tacos, and some of us..just had a cup of corn. haha. We trotted around the festival for a bit and Mandy managed to get herself a free balloon from this clown..

The International Festival of Tehuacán is still going on..if you remember, it is going to last for like two weeks-Mexicans really like to party- and so we went to see some folk dancers last night after class. We weren't sure what to expect, but it was actually pretty exciting. Me and Jen decided we saw three types of dancing, one that looked like Irish step dancing, square dancing, and another that looked like tap dance, but with wooden shoes. Pretty fun! Their costumes were also the COOOLEST.

Lastly, this morning I got MAIL!!!! I was SOO stinkin excited that I got the school secretary to do a dance with me..haha..she definitely thinks I am nuts. It's not that I am homesick or dying, but its really fun to get mail, especially sweet notes from your second grade best friend.

Thank you so much Corie! Everyone was jealous all day long, and your card had me crackin' up. I showed all my kids the picture of Justin Bieber, and then we sang his songs together. It was really quite hilarious. Mail just makes the whole day better cause you know someone is thinking about you :)

-Sara Jacqueline

Feliz Dia del Amor y Amistad!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Valentine's Day. There was a lot of fun going on here down in Mexico. These people go ALL out for the day of love, with tons of balloons, making out in the park, and extreme mushy pink and red gifts..it's kind of funny. I played cupid Monday night and decorated the dining room in my family's house. I made a paper chain, and decorated a big card, and laid out tons of candy and cookies for my sisters. I also made them pink, red, purple and white friendship bracelets which they thought were the coooolest thing ever. I think they really like having a big sister :)

For my class today, my students made nachos, or what we would call in Kentucky queso dip. It was SUPER delicious, even though my kids all told me it looked like throw up. "Teeecha, this looks no delicious. This gross.!!!" Also, one of my students brought me a Valentines, which looked a little like a tacky wedding topper. It was filled with super sweet candies, that my class all scarfed down.

Also, to make my Valentine's Day even better, I got a HUGE GINORMOUS package from my family, filled with candy, popcorn, hot chocolate and an adorable red sweater. It was perfect timing, and I couldn't have been more excited for mail. Thank you so much Mom, Dad, Abby and Liz!!! Love ya!



After teaching, to top off our wonderful day, we went out with Teo and Edwin, our Mexican Dad and Brother for dinner at Teo's Tacos. It his their favorite restaurant, and we officially decided they have the BEST mexican food in Tehuacán. SO delicious. I ordered Tacos al Pastor which was definitely a great choice.

To top off our night, we went to the movie theaters to see Votos de Amor, or The Vow. Movie here are so so cheap compared to home, so I think we will be going out a lot more often. It was a lot of fun to hear a movie in english and read the spanish subtitles, becuase I really knew what was going on, and I loved comparing the words to the sound...kind of nerdy, but when you are trying to learn, it's very helpful. The movie was amazing, and I suggest you go see it, if you even have a crush on anyone. It made me wish my hottie boyfriend was home already, but I know he is having a blast on his mission right now.

Speaking of Justen, as of today he only has 10 MONTHS to go!! Isn't that exciting!! That means only ten months until the Christmas season, so start saving your pennies I guess...haha. I can't believe I am on the downhill, it feels great!
Our Valentine's Day couldn't have been better or more hilarious and crazy. We had an awesome day!!


-Sara Jacqueline

Mexican Mondays Make Me Miss You More.

Yesss, its true, I miss my missionary. A lot. He sent me a quick email this week, and did mention that he is baptizing people soon....so whoever these people are, I am super happy for them. I know they have many blessings to come! Unfortunately, he didn't say much more other than he needs to send a letter he wrote to me, so that sounds exciting, right?? Hooray for mail to come!

The good news is, there are only 10 more months until he hops the border and heads back to Kentucky, which makes everything seem so close and real. Yes! God Bless America.

41% to Go! XOXOO

-Sara Jacqueline

Mexican Monday: Finally February!

So Justen is basically the stinkin cutest thing ever, but he is also way crazy. I wasn't able to email him on Monday because I was in Cuetzalan, so I had to email him ahead of time and missed being able to email chat back and forth with him while I was out being adventurous. However, he emailed me back, but said practically nothing about himself.! I mean, I am glad he thinks the world of me, and wants to ask me stuff and tell me mushy secrets about love and hugs and clouds, but come on dude... tell me about your life!!

He said this week, he got a ton of snail mail from me, which made his week! What a blessing that the mail shows up at the perfect time, when he is struggling a little. Cool huh? I know he probably got a TON of cards and letters, because the mail was extremellllllly backed from the holidays. Mexico is ninety seven times slower than mail in Antarctica. The best thing he said in my letter that is sharable with the entire world was:

"One day we will go to tons of places to visit. But I would be completely happy sitting with you and just eating a bowl of cereal"

Yes that is true love right there! haha!

I borrowed the email he sent to his family from one of his sisters, so I would know what he was really up to this last week. First of all, he moved into a new house, and the missionaries have been busy fixing it up and making it much prettier. Jehu, a recent convert is going to get to go to the temple soon, so that is very exciting for everyone! The funniest part is what he told his family NOT to tell me:

"I have a Mexican Mom now, and she feeds us all the time, so I am probably gaining weight"

Yes, he is crazy I know. I love it.

Anyways, here is another picture of Cuetzalan as I sat and watched the sunrise this Monday morning from our indigenous village hostel. 44 Weeks to Go!! Happy Mexican Monday to my chicas!!

-Sara Jacqueline

Mexican Monday: Womp Womp

Alright, so my weekend was not so hot. I felt sick, and then ok, then sicker, and then just alright, and then SUPER sick, wanna die, and then today I am taking it easy. Basically I am not quite sure what's up, but until I feel awesome again, I am having yogurt and fruit only. Fun times.

Not only have I been Sicky Sara, my email also was hacked from the awesome mexican internet, so I have been locked our for two days now, and can't solve the mystery. The security questions are simple as pie, and somehow my answers are incorrect. Gahh! Does anyone know where I was born, cause apparently I have no idea.?!

Besides that I feel like I have a ton of stuff to do, its freezing cold outside, and I miss my missionary.

Yes I heard from him today through my school email account, but we didn't get to say much, because its very slow and much different than AOL. Yes I am disappointed, and yes this only added to my pity party. Woah is me.

The other womp of the 'womp womp' is that Justen didn't have such a funtastic week either, for unbloggable reasons. Poor guy. It was one of those, we both wanna run away together, I miss you so much kind of Mondays. So we swapped advice, and I love you's and hopefully next week will be cheerier.

Anywhoot, I finally had a mango on a stick here in Tehuacán, and it was fabulous and less than a dollar. I will definitely be snackin' on those again. Excuse my weird outfit, we were having a "swimsuit Saturday", but it was too cold for all that nonsense so we threw on some stuff overtop.

Next Mexican Monday better be better...hah..Only 45 weeks to go!!

-Sara Jacqueline

Dear Sara,

For those of you who have been asking for my mailing address while I am here in Mexico, here you go! I would love some mail, and you can ask anyone, I am a greeeeat pen pal :)

Sara Lauer

Heslington Institute

2 Norte 1210 Colonia Jacarandas C.P.

75730 Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico

Ready. Set. Random.

In case you didn't know I am in an Honors Theatre Fraternity at Morehead State, Theta Alpha Phi, and I love all my crazy friends. We all have characters that represent us, and mine is Violet from The Incredibles. It is pretty much perfect, because Violet is in love with a redhead and ummm so am I..haha... Justen is my redheaded lover. My big Mary sent me this video, which I think you need to atleast watch the first minute or so, because it is SOO adorable. I love Taylor Swift, my redheaded boy and The Incredibles, so it goes perfectly.

Can you see Violet kissing her redheaded boy in the comic??

I had spanish class today and I really think I am learning a lot. Me encanta Mexico!

-Sara Jacqueline

I Got MAIL!

This past week I received a letter from my missionary, Justen..or Elder Turley. Lets call him Justen. So since he has been in Mexico he has written me several letters, but in his last area it was very rural and there wasn't even a post office near and the boy had no stamps..go figure.

No Post Office + No Stamps = No Letter since August

He still sends me lovely emails, so I don't have much to complain about, but hand written letters are the best and every MG (Missionary Girlfriend) knows that run around the house 8 times, screaming feeling.

Well, it was four, happy, pee your pants pages long, and since his handwriting is teeny tiny, it was even more. Ahhhh, I loved it! It was wonderful to hear from him.

Here are a few highlights:

• "One thing I love about Mexican families is that they are always together, the families have very close relationships."
• "You have no idea how happy I am with my life right now. You are something else Sara."
• "I get crazy when I don't get letters from you after a week, so I am not sure how you feel when you only get a tiny email every week and occasionally a letter. Just know that all those emails and letters I send you are so full of love that it can't be contained."

Yeah he is pretty cute. xoxo

In other news, I got a haircut today..Wooo! I so so needed it...my sisters were calling me rat tail. I also have made muddy buddies twice in the last two days...haha..I am gonna miss powdered sugar when I am in Mexico. Only 2 more days until I leave!!

-Sara Jacqueline