Buenas Tardes del RGBI!

Bright flowers. Beautiful sunsets. Shade trees. Mosquitoes. Balmy weather. Cozy dorm rooms. Cold showers. Delicious meals. Friendly people. Spanish, Spanish everywhere!

Welcome to the Rio Grande Bible Institute!

My new life here at language school is just beginning, and what a time it has been already! I started speaking Spanish within the first hour of setting foot on the campus, and I haven't stopped. The Hispanic girls in my dorm far outnumber us few "gringos" living here, so the opportunity to practice mi espanol is constant. I have already had dozens of "lessons" and haven't even set foot in class yet! :-) My new friends are wonderful teachers, correcting me constantly and patiently teaching me the correct word or phrase I am trying to say. So far, I have met students from Mexico, Honduras, Chile, Paraguay, and Venezuela. It has been so fun getting to know them and enter their Latino world!

Before I get too far ahead of myself, let me back up and explain how each day has gone since my arrival.

Saturday

After five and a half hours of driving, we cruised into the sunny, palm-tree-laden city of Edinburg and quickly located the RGBI campus. Mom and Dad helped me unpack and transform my bare little dorm room into a cozy, home-away-from-home. With a bright quilt on the bed, a green rug on the floor, orange gerber daisies, and a colorful prayer map on the wall, I am so pleased with how bright and cheery everything looks! My roommate hasn't arrived yet, so for now, I have the dorm room all to myself. :-) Because she is a returning student in the Spanish Bible Institute, Samantha is on a different schedule than the new-comers and should be here Tuesday or Wednesday. I am looking forward to meeting her!

After unpacking, Mom, Dad, and I went shopping at Wal-Mart for a few extra items I needed and then ate one last dinner together at a fabulous restaurant called Cheddar's. Then, it was time for good-byes. I will miss them!

I took a walk around campus and then spent the rest of the evening, with new amigas in their dorm rooms watching them unpack and chatting about life (in Spanish of course!).

Sunday

Breakfast was first on the list in the dining hall. (The food here is great!) Then, it was off to church we went! The church we attended this past Sunday was a small, Hispanic Baptist church that reminded me a lot of my church back home. I understood much more of the ladies' Sunday school lesson than I did of the sermon, because our teacher (who was the pastor's wife) spoke less rapidly than her husband! :-) Due to a lack of sleep in my new bed the night before, I was fighting sleepiness the whole church service, so that may have had something to do with it too! (Honest confessions here...)

After church, we returned to the campus and ate lunch. Then, I took a much-needed nap! My new friend, Jada, who is also in the language school, came by for a visit and we learned that our families have much in common! It's always nice to meet a likeminded friend. The rest of the evening was filled with relaxing activities like hanging out with Latino friends while they set up their dorm rooms, playing the piano, taking an evening walk (and getting chewed alive by mosquitoes), and reading in bed. I am happy to say my next night of sleep was much better than the first! I think I am getting used to the new surroundings...

Monday

Today started out bright and early with breakfast at 6:45 in the dining hall followed by registration for the semester. Then, my fellow language school students and I traipsed around the campus tending to various orientation necessities like getting our pictures taken for ID tags, checking in at the post office for our mailbox combinations, and paying our bills.

Next came the language aptitude test so the professors could determine which class division to put us in. I was totally surprised by what this test contained! I thought it was going to contain Spanish vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation drills, but this was not the case! The whole test was conducted in the language lab with all of us sitting in individual partitions and listening to an instructor on a headset. We were exposed to exercises in a language that I am highly suspicious doesn't even exist but was simply made up for the purpose of aptitude evaluation! (The test said it was written at some prestigious university, the name of which I now can't remember.) I guess this way, no one could prepare or study ahead of time! :-) The whole test took an hour and a half and included drills regarding numbers, phonetics, grammar, and memorization of vocabulary words. I am very interested in learning my scores since I really have no idea how I did in such an unfamiliar language! It was interesting and stretching, to say the least!

At the very end of the test, we were given a few questions regarding English and Spanish grammar to see how we rate with what we already know in those departments. Finally, some familiar territory!

After lunch, we gathered with all the RGBI staff for a meet-and-greet time. The president of the college gave some welcoming remarks and then each person present proceeded to introduce themselves and describe what they did on staff here, or why they are attending language school. It was a delight to hear from everyone! I was so impressed by the warmth and friendliness of the faculty. Many of them have been here for decades and you can tell they really love their work. One gentleman has been here for over 60 years! Several of them mentioned how they have been praying for us by name ever since we sent in our applications. What a blessing!

It was also fun to hear from fellow missionaries. There are married couples with children, older adults, as well as single young people like myself who are studying here this semester. One family is with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Another family just came off the field from Papua, New Guinea, having served with New Tribes Missions, and are now getting started in a new work on a Spanish field. One gentleman and his wife just finished four years in Spain and want to get fluent in Spanish in order to move on to the next step God has for them. The majority of my fellow students are heading to mission fields in Mexico. One family is going to Uruguay, another lady to Bolivia, and others are scattering to Hispanic ministries throughout the USA. It is exciting to meet these folks and hear what God is doing in their lives!

I have just now come back from the campus bookstore where I purchased all my libros for the following semester. Dinner will be in an hour, then I think the girls in my dorm are going to watch a movie together...in Spanish of course!

Tomorrow classes begin, and I can't wait!