First Impressions of Olinala, Guerrero, Mexico

December 1 & 2, 2006
Last weekend we had the opportunity to travel to Olinala. The trip was long, overnight, and the roads were very curvy. Ahhh, mountain country. It was wonderful to finally see the place where we will be living and working for the next three years. We stayed with the MCC couple that is there now. We had a wonderful time. They have a three-year-old son, and all the kids got along quite well. We looked at some housing possibilities, hung out in the Zocalo, ate Tlacoyos, visited some nearby communities where MCC has been working, and talked about life in Olinala. We will move to Olinala the middle of January.

Here are some thoughts/comments about our first impressions of Olinala.

Isaiah – I know about those stingy things – the scorpions. I know that they can sting and that hurts. I know that Lukas has lots of cars to play with. I also liked playing with his train. I made a track that fit together – with one long piece and two curve pieces. We used a bridge piece too. (I’m thinking about Lukas’ toys.)
I liked playing soccer at the Zocalo (center of town) with some neighborhood kids. I liked playing with Lukas (a three-year old MCCer).

Micah – Bus. Lukas. Lukas’ trains.

Martin – Green. A lot more vegetation than I thought there would be. Cool nights. Hot days. Narrow streets. Very friendly people. Everybody seemed to be related.

Liz – Friendly, friendly people. Women’s basketball team. Clean. Quiet. In the mountains. Good food. Bigger town than I thought. Long, curvy bus ride to get there. Farther away from everything than I thought. Connected w/ the other MCC couple there. Excited to move there in January.