In the rancho

Mexicans are such funny people...they really crack me up. 

Friday our professor took us to watch the Jungle Book and then we went back to our hostel to pack. We got a taxi to drive us to our little ranchos. Mine is about 40 mins outside of Irapuato..its called "la calera". Our professor came and dropped me and Abby (who will be in the rancho with me) off. The rancho is kind of hard to describe. Its very small and very much something I would picture when I think of Mexico. Its hot. There are hardly any trees and just little sandy dirt roads leading from one house to the next. There are no stores or anything like that. I feel like I have stepped back in time quite a bit. 

My host's mom is named Donia Rosa and she has 5 kids and like 13 grandkids who also most live here too. There is a main part of the house that has a kitchen, bedroom and living room and then there are add on's to the house everywhere. They built in a bedroom in the barn, on the side and in the roof. They make all the roofs flat here so they can just build up when they run out of space. The house is green and surrounded by animals. Most of them are in pens but there are always a few chickens, pigs and dogs running around free. They do most of their cooking outside and there are bathrooms outside of the house. Inside the house there are lots of statues of Mary and Jesus. They kind of scare me a bit. Me and Abby have a room on the roof. We have to climb a kind of sketchy outside staircase to get to it. But we have a great view! There is a giant poster of a baby in our room and lots of little religious statues. There is a door but we always use a lace curtain instead to help with air circulation (did I mention its crazy hot here?). 

When we got here they immediately sat us down to eat. There are so many people here its hard to remember anyone's names or who is related to who. There are a ton of kids here and adorable babies. Friday night we colored with the kids and held the babies. They have us this awesome bread and milk to eat before bed. We went to bed at 11:30 but the rest of the house stayed up until about 3 am blasting music. Then they all woke up at 7..and blasted music again. Its kind of hard to sleep here. We are also surrounded by farm animals and roosters that crow (not once but around 50 times) at 5 am. I cant decide if I think the constant animal noises are soothing or annoying.

Saturday morning we woke up and started doing our laundry. Its kind of a long process. We hook up differnt pipes to get water and then fill up 3 large buckets with water. Afterwards there is some more transporting of water that happens.  The whole washing process happens on the back patio. Then we place some clothes is soapy water and mix that with our hands. After a few mins of that we take the clothes from the soapy water and put it on a curved rock that is shaped like a giant bowl. We kind of knead the clothes on there (it feels a bit like kneading bread. Then we take fresh water and pour it over the clothes and try and knead out the soap. From there we put the clothes in another water bucket with perfume or something in it. Then we knead out the water from it and go hang them up to dry. The whole process took about 4 hours of constant work and my arms and hands just ached after. I gained a new perspective on how hard woman in the past (and in the present in many places) worked just to clean clothes. I felt like a pioneer though and enjoyed doing it. It was very soothing. Its good I liked it since I will probably be doing it every other day. I'm going to get very strong arms. 

I should add that I have changed my name. Everytime I said "Ariah" people would just vacantly stare at me. I decided I needed something more hispanic so I thought I would go by my middle name, Noel. But people were still having lots of trouble with it so now I am Noelia. It feels a little strange introducing myself as that and I still get confused when people say Noelia to me but I'll get used to it. 

I have cooked a lot since I got here. All the woman here mostly spend all day cooking and cleaning. I have made a lot of salsas, tortillas, enchiladas, chiles relleños, pastels and chopoed up a lot of meat and spices. When we are not cooking we play with the little kids and hold the babies. 

Yesterday we went to a little party with our family where we basically just ate. Some other people in our group were there too so it was fun to see them again. Then we came here and started preparing for a party they are having here today. The main portion of that preperation was slautering a lamb. They have a bunch of cute lambs roamimg around the house. My host dad picked (the cutest one) and sliced its throat. Then he hung it from a tree and blew up its stomach a bit. Then they skinned and totally dissected it. It was disgusting. During this all the kids are playing around the puddles of blood and chasing each other with the unattached lambs head! Then they took the parts of the lamb and dissected the guts in the tub right where we had washed our clothes earlier that day. I dont think I'll be able to ever wash my clothes there again. So basically my clothes arent getting washed ever.

After that we ate some awesome tacos and a vegetable soup. Around 10 I was ready to go to bed but they announced that we were going to a circus nearby. We walked into a circus tent. They had like football benches that were about 15 feet high and were made out of plywood that was about 6 inches wide. I cant really explain it but it was really sketchy and I was pretty scared the whole time. The circus had some funny dances but the best part was this gorilla. They turned off all the lights so you could hardly see anything and this guy dressed as a gorilla came out. He started running around and chasing people. When he got them he would grab their hair and YANK on it. He banged peoples heads together and it was absolutly terrifying. People were running up in the bleachers and they were all creaking and I felt like they were all going to break. It was really scary but pretty funny. Not something you would see in a circus in the US. Also they had some kids dress up as rockstars and give lapdances to old grandmas in the audience before the grandpas could slap them away. It was all very different. It ended around midnight and then our host mom announced it was time for dinner so we went to a little taco shack. I was pretty exhausted by then. 

Today our wonderful host mom, Rosa (who is the sweetest lady ever) brought us banana smoothies in bed. We spent the day preparing for dinner and then went with our family to mass. We ate a huge dinner (including the lamb) that was all just amazing! Then we had a tres leches cake for dessert. I'll probably wont fit on the airplane coming home. I am eating very well here. 

I held the cutest babies today. They are all so adorable. I had some good discussions with my new family too. I already feel so at home here. I love everything about this place. I cant even begin to describe the feeling here..but it is a wonderful place. Its not very pretty but the people are amazing. I dont think I'll ever want to leave. 

Holy water and Zika

I thought parots only exsisted in the zoo or in the jungle. But there are about 20 in the trees above me right now making lots of loud noises. I guess I am closer to the jungle than I thought. 

Monday we took a long mountainy bus ride to Cuernavava. Its really pretty here. All the houses are colorful and the streets are really steep and go up and down everywhere. It kind of reminds me of san francisco. There are a lot of trees here and they are all full of these huge colorful flowers. Its all very green and lush. Its kind of a magical place. 

The people here are a lot nicer too and everything is just calmer. Sadly we only stay here until Friday and then we are heading out to the ranchos to start working. 

I think I got a tad bit of food poisoning so I have been much more careful about what I eat. 

I have seen a few billboards about Trump (obviously not in support of him). One nice old man was talking to me about dancing on the street and asked me what I thought about Trump. I told him I didnt like him and he told me that Trump was really mean disrespectful to mexicans. And then I kind of realized how much we would seperate ourselves from Mexico if Trump wins. And that would be a huge loss for us. Our country has always been about accepting immigrants and accepting others. Mexicans and other latinos are extremely hard workers and very kind. It would be damaging to our country if we lost them. 

We are all missing vegetables. I feel like they dont exsist here. If I do see a vegetable I get nervous about eating it because of all the water problems.

Anyways, I am excited about getting to the ranchos! The touring has been fun but its time to do something with a little more purpose.

 I really love my group. I feel like I have known them all forever. 

Yesterday was a terribly long day. We awoke very early to go see some anciant cathedral. There were some mummies in it and lots of fun looking confession booths. There was also a giant tub full of holy water. People come in all day long to fill a cup with the holy water and then have it bless their home for the week. I rubbed some holy water all over my face hoping that it would help my stomach. We also saw a giant marble box thing where they put everyone's ashes. Of course we also went to see some more art that I tried really hard to appreciate. 

Then we drove an hour away from Cuernavava to a mountain with a city of ruins on it. I liked it a lot more than the other ruined city we looked at. There were some trees but it was extremely hot. We walked along the ruins through these hills until we came across this cave. We stepped in and walked through these dark tunnels for longer than I would have liked. I was pretty proud of myself for staying calm in this place of my three greatest fears (spiders, the dark and small enclosed places). It was a really narrow tunnel until we came to this opening. There was a pinhole of a opening in the ceiling that the sun shone through. We were there to watch the sun's cycle or something. We sat in a circle around this tiny drop of light and watched as it grew bigger and bigger and then started shaking a bit. And then (an hour later) the cycle was done and it disappeared.  We just sat in the cave in silence watching the circle of light. It was pretty cool. 

Then we walked around the pyramids and ruins. We saw all the different places they did human sacrifices.  We were up in this mountain for 5 hours without any water. It was around 110 degrees and humid walking up and done these stone stairs. A couple times I thought I was going to die but we made it back down the mountain and someone was selling cold coke and the end. It was a wonderful moment to have liquid again. 

After we went to a nice restaurant for dinner and then we all jumped in the hotel's pool. Our professor is really funny and played marco polo in the pool with us for a long time. It was our last day all together so that was sad.

This morning we woke up to travel 2 hours back to mexico city and then took another bus 5 hours to Irapuato. We are staying in a hostel type place here. Lets just say its not the cleanest place. We will be here tomorrow getting trained and then saturday we are splitting up into our little ranchos! 

Landes, our wonderful security guy, left us this morning. He is headed back to the states. I was really sad to see him leave. I also feel a lot less safe with him gone. Our professor is leaving on saturday and then its just going to be the 6 of us..seperated from each other..in this place that seems like it truly is in the middle if no where.

Today is cinco de mayo and Mexico has made it quite clear that they do not celebrate it. Most people here don't even know what it is and there is no sign of any celebration going on anywhere. I thought that was funny. 

Anyways, I think the next week will be pretty tough but it should be good! 

PS. I'm testing out the whole zika virus thing. So far I have about 10 mosquito bites but I'm still feeling good! I will keep you updated ;)

People places and things

We went to the panaderia for breakfast this morning again. I got this raspberry stuffed bread thing that was covered in raspberry sauce and powdered sugar. It was actually good and not dry! So the day started off good! We were also able to sleep in. 

We went to a diego riveras museum and then some other musuem. I'm getting kind of sick of art. Then we went to this place called chupetic park. Its this huge park..kind of like golden gate park. There were vendors everywhere selling all these wonderful things. I thought about getting you all some gifts but then I remembered what you all did with the gifts from Chile. 

Anyways, we walked around this big palace thing and then went to the museum of anthropology which was huge and super cool! I'll send lots of pictures of that. Oh, we ate lunch at this outdoors patio that was super good! I got some awesome flautas (basically taquitos but softer). 

We got back to the hotel around 9 but I was still hungry so we roamed the streets looking for tacos. We found this heavenly taco place. I only got 3 tacos but I should have gotten 20. They were these tacos made with lamb amd pineapple and were just out of this world! You know when you eat something and its just so amazing that you cry a little? Well I took a bite of that glorious taco and almost had a meltdown. It was like a little piece of heaven. I'm really hoping that they are open for breakfast tomorrow. The place was very interesting as well..you almost couldnt breath it was so crammed. They also were frying the tacos like 8 inches behind me and it was all pretty hot and steamy. You dont care about those things though when you are eating dewdrops of perfect love. 

I'm doing well (obviously..all I do is eat tacos). I look similar to a lobster but I'm going to buy a hat tomorrow to help with that. 

When we were walking down this super busy street I saw a vendor lady. Backstory: lots of vendors dont have permits to sell so they just lay their merchendise out on blankets on the side of the street and if they see a police man they just roll it up in their blankets really quick. So they are some of the poorer people. Anyways, I looked down and saw this lady changing her babies diaper on the blanket where she sells her merchandise. It made me feel bad that neither this lady nor her baby get any privacy. 

They are out in that street all day trying to make some money and who knows if they have any sort of home to go back to after. Its a really hard life. I was thinking about the desperation that must come from having to change your baby's diaper on the place you work with hundreds of people almost stepping on you. Then I noticed that this lady didnt have any hands. It was one of those kind of startling images that really stays with you. We are all really blessed for everything we have. The people here work sunup to sundown (literally) 7 days a week without any breaks or vacations.

I hope you all have a great day!

So yesterday was another musuem day. We went to Frida Kaulo and Diego Rivera's house and toured around there. That wasnt super impressive but someone was selling bowls of fresh mangoes outside that were amazing!! The mangoes were creamy and just melted in your mouth. It was incredible. 

After the mangoes we went to this little historic church in this cute town and to a hippie market. 

We passed a bunch of teenagers in the back of a truck and they were kind of laughing at us at yelled out "where are you from?". My professor yelled back "del infierno!" (from hell). It was really funny. He's a funny guy. 

Today we got up really early to take 3 different metros to get to church. I really dislike the metros but I'm getting more used to them. It was so fun to be back in a latino ward. I felt so at home. Its interesting to see how much more they focus on the basics of the gospel here (and in chile) and they dont get caught up in far off doctrine things. It feels much more like a "everyone is learning together" experience and not a show off show that happens so much in the US. Its just a different feeling that I like a lot more. I wish our US wards could be more like these latino wards. They are so sincere. 

After church we went to the famous basilica where the virgin guadalupe has her cape or something. We attended this huge mass with incense flying everywhere. It was interesting to see people crawling about. A lot of people put a towel under their knees and crawl all the way to the cathedral from outside the gate (thats like a 1/4 mile!). It was fun to see everyone with roses to lay at the alter and kissing everything. I think the whole city was at mass. Its nice to see a whole country so religious. 

I got to eat more of those amazing tacos today. People in my group have become amazed at the amount that I can eat. I dont know why they are surprised..this is what I have been training my whole life for. 

I am continually amazed at how hard everyone works here. Most of it is hard physical labor in the sun for 15+ hours a day. And yet they are still mostly happy and kind. We walked by this huge fountain in front of a musuem and saw about 20 kids playing and swimming inside it. Some of the adults were in it too and everyone was splashing everything. They have their priorities straight here. They work hard for their family and any extra time they spend devoted to them. Social appearances and any sort of competition hardly exsists. I think that is a great example to follow. 

I love Mexico City. I love more than just the food (although that is a huge thing for me). I love all the cathedrals and the street dancing and how at any moment you can count at least 15 police in sight. We are leaving tomorrow..and I am sad. I love these streets. 

First week in TacoLand

So today has been pretty great. I forgot how much I love it here..it is going to be hard going back. I had myself convinced that America was great and that I liked it but now I can see that was just a lie.

I got on my flight to phoenix easily but then we had an extra long delay and I was late to my next flight. They held the flight for me and I ran on just as they were closing the doors. I sat next to this boy who is in my internship. 

There is this guy who is a security person from byu who will be with us for our first two weeks here. He has lived in mexico for a couple years. Once we got to the hotel he took us to this taco shack. You just walk in a say how many you want and they slam them on your plate. Then there are just these long tables in the back and like lettuce and gaucamole dispersed randomly throughout the place. I got 6 tacos and a coke for $1.50!!

I sat in this dirty little corner with my plate that is covered in plastic (they cover plates with plastic bags and put the food on top so when you are done you just throw away the bag and give the clean plate back). I started eating these tacos and oh my goodness I wanted to cry! They were amazing!! out of this world!! I ate all six quickly and couldnt believe what I have been missing out on my whole life!! Seriously so good! It was worth this whole thing just to eat those tacos!!

The wimpy boys i am with were only able to eat like 4. By the way there are four girls and 3 boys in this. They will put two of us in each town. 

After the amazing tacos we walked around the historic part of the city for a bit. It is so pretty here and the weather is perfect!  We went to mass for a bit in this huge gorgeous cathedral. There is so much energy here and so much diversity. I love the atmosphere and had forgotten how much I miss it. We watched some dancers in the street. Now I am back in my room and we are watching princess diaries in spanish. I'm really exhausted. 

Tomorrow morning we are waking up early to get fruit platter for breakfast and then we are going to take busses to some anciant ruins and pyramids. We will be there most the day and then we are going to some ballet folklorico at night.

Anyways, I'm super excited to be here! All the food looks amazing and I'm excited to eat all of it. I will probably gain a lot of weight but its for a worthy cause. Those tacos were so amazing!! I think this is going to be a lot more fun than I thought. This city is amazing! and i love being surrounded by latinos again! I feel so at home here!

Also my roommate already got pickpocketed so I will just have to be extra diligent!

Hello all, 

So Landes is the guy in charge of all BYU international security and he is here with us in mexico city for these 2 weeks. He reminds me a lot of that dad in Taken so I am in good hands. While he is here there is no need to worry! He doesnt normally come with students to their study abroads and internships but he said he was looking for an excuse to come eat tacos in mexico. He has some pretty fun crazy stories about BYU students in trouble so its been a good time! 

Yesterday we woke up bright and early to bus to some pyramids outside of the city. It was this whole aztec city that they uncovered. There were like 30 pyramids in circles and rows and then 2 huge ones! They were as tall as skyscrapers! We walked up and down some of them but it was kind of scary because there was no railing and they were super steep and high up. I had the sensation of falling the whole time. The sun was also pretty strong out there. But it was cool seeing the ruins of this whole city and then the pyramids too! Apparently they have found some treasures in the walls of the pyramid. There is another wall they know there is treasure in but they are not allowed to "discover it" until the president is there to "discover it" and form a nice distraction for some political mishap. I thought that was pretty funny. 

After we went to this plaza where they had a massacre in 1968 I think. It was right before the olympics were held in mexico and a lot of the people were upset. They didnt want to hold the olympics because it was expensive and it was the people who would be in debt and working to pay it off the rest of their life. Anyways, they were protesting and causing a scene. So the mexican president was told that if he didnt get a handle on the situation they would hold the olympics somewhere else. It was a week before the olympics were supposed to start and the president devised this plan. He took a bunch of soldiers and police and had them dress as civilians. He then gave them all a white glove. Then they went out into this plaza where the protesters were and they joined them. Then when a airplane flew past (the sign) all of the police or soldiers put on their one white glove so they could identify one another. Then they just started shooting. They estimate that about 400 people died that day. And the next day the plaza was cleaned of blood and no newspaper or radio said anything about it. It was like it never happened. It wasnt until recently that they have been allowed to talk about it.  I thought that was an interesting story.

After we saw all these ruins we got home in the evening and I had some enchiladas for dinner. They were kind of weird and I wasnt totally in love. At night we went to this dance show thing. It was at this really awesome opera house that was super pretty. I was a little suspicious of it though since in reminded me of the opera houses in phantom of the opera, mission impossible 5 and Abe Lincolns opera house. Good things did not happen there so I was a little worried. But it was fine. The dancing was cool but I was pretty sleepy and having trouble concentrating. After I had to walk the streets for a bit looking for a pharmacy that was still open (i got a pretty bad sunburn and wanted aloe vera..didnt find any though). 

This morning we woke up early to watch the soldiers put up this huge mexican flag in front of the national palace. They had a huge marching band and like 100 soldiers participating to put it up. That was nice. I felt very patriotic. 

I went to a little panaderia for breakfast in search of bread. I was kind of dissapointed. I was spoiled with the bread in chile (which was straight from heaven) and the bread here is pretty dry and flaky. So I will probably stay away from that. 

After we went to a musuem about sur juana. Then we went to this big market place. One part of it they call "prostitute street" because there is a prostitute like every 5 feet. It was kind of strange because its not a bad part of the city at all. There were also families everywhere and it just seemed very out of place. A lot of the girls looked like they were only 13! Its sad.

I love all the colors everywhere. The hills are just covered in cololful houses. We were talking about how first world and third world countries grow. First world countries grow when someone arrives with a new skill. Sqauter communities here in third world countries start in different ways. Mexicos rural areas are shrinking and people are forced to move into the city. But they have no money and no where to go once they get here. So they meet with a member of a sqauter community and get on a list to build a house. They wait a couple years and pay some money and then are told to meet in a certain spot. So like 500 families all meet in an open place at night and are told to build a house before dawn. They all scramble and build something and in the morning a whole new community is there. No one owns the land but there are so many houses and people that the police dont get involved. So thats how mexico is growing. 

The politics and goverment here are really interesting. 

We went on the metro today. That was an experience I didnt enjoy. I thought the busses in chile were bad. We basically fell onto the metro and it was so packed! Our security hero, Landes, was yelling at us to keep our hands in our pockets to protect our possessions. The moment I got in there I could feel hands going down all my pockets. Luckily my phone was in my purse that I had covered with my hands. It was impossible to see who was doing what as it was so crowded. Everything was sweaty and gross and I felt faint. But even if I did faint i wouldnt have fell down because i was so slammed against other people that i would have stayed up straight. It was unpleasent. 

We also went to different art museums today. Art is great and all but I get my fill in a few minutes. We probably spent like 6 hours in art museums. People were ohhing and aweing over different pieces but i thought some of them looked like they had been painted by a pack of preschoolers. 

We were supposed to go around 6 to watch them take down the flag but they were late in doing it. I can hear them doing it now (its 11:00 haha). 

Anyways, I'm pretty exhausted. Tomorrow we are going to some more musuems and famous parks or something. My goal is to find a good tamale tomorrow. That sounds nice. I will try and send like 50 pictures tonight so that I can make more space on my phone. Good night!

Books and Love and Books and Love

Today we went to the library. I love the library! Its one of the best places ever! Today it was even better because they were having a giant book sale. They were practically giving away classics...so we bought most of the books (pretty much free!!) and added another shelf to our library.

And I started thinking....how lucky we are to have books! Most of us here have the wonderful blessing of learning how to read. And so often this blessing and gift is put to waste. Books are the foundation to all of civilization!

There is nothing sadder to see kids wasting hours in front the TV when they could be exploring new and old worlds...and becoming better educated by reading!

Plus...does anything smell better than the inside of an old book?

So here is a list of some of my favorites....in no particular order.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hasseini

Kind of a depressing book with lots of violence BUT very interesting and calls to awareness. Its about a girl who lives in the modern middle east. Good story of triumph and overall inspiring--if you can get over the blood.

The Robe and Magnificent Obsession- both by Lloyd C. Douglas

I love Lloyd Douglas! He is a wonderful writer and has so many hidden messages in his books. The Robe is a great story of Christ’s ministry and forgivness. It ultimately follows one of the roman soldiers that crucified Christ and his attempt to clear what he had done. Its very inspiring and places you back into Christ’s life and miracles. Magnificent Obsession is one of my favorites. It follows a boy who tries to justify his life after accidently taking the life of another man. It is AMAZING! I especially love that it kind of talks about brain surgery (which i have a fascination for). Its a great reminder of what any one person can do and the power of forgivness and potential. Both of the storylines are very similar you will find- but each wonderful!

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand is such a thought provoking writer. She can see into the future so well- its almost frightening! If you get a chance to watch or read some of her interviews- do it! She is extremely intelligent, at least in a political sense. Its been awhile since I last read Atlas Shrugged, but from what I can remember from it it shows a dystopian United States. After the leading citizens refuse to run buissnesses where they are exploited by increasing taxes and rules---they all just leave. And pretty much leave America in ruin. It explores the failure of government coercion. Its a twisty book and fascinating! The first 500 or so pages are kind of slow- but you will reach a part where it just kabooms. There are some dirty parts however. But you wont look at our government or country the same. It’s kind of long...but dont let that scare you!! And the best part is by the end you will know the answer to the question--who is john galt?

Wild Swans by Jung Chang

Scary book about China’s fall into communism. Very informative and one you cant put down! Its fascinating to watch a whole country turn to complete apathy.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is the best mystery writer in the world. You should read all her books, but this one is the best. You just go along reading it like any normal murder mystery--but the ending will take your breath away! Don’t cheat and look ahead!! Also golden by Agatha Christie is And Then There Were None.

Mere Christianity and the Screwtape Letters- both by C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis is a mastermind. Mere Christianity explains christianity in unique and thought provoking ways. Screwtape Letters is fairy comical and follows the devil training one of his minions through letters. Its also an interesting view on things.

Anna Karenina and War and Peace- Leo Tolstoy

Its hard to be brief about these two book. Basically Tolstoy is AMAZING and incredible and just the best! The depth he develops his characters into is just….so amazing. Anna Karenina shows the downfall of a great woman- its sad and a tragedy. But inspiring at the same time. War and Peace follows the war of 1812. The characters will be your best friends forever. The symbolism and story will be engrained in your soul forever and you will finally understand my love for Russia! I could say more...but I wont. Tolstoy is amazing though! Did you know that when he died thousands of peasants lined the streets and cried for him? He had such a GOOD huge impact in the lives of so many! Truly a devoted, amazingly intelligent and kind man.

My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult

I reccommend this one with a few reservations. It can be quite dirty if I remember right. But the storyline is pretty intense and does make you think about the value of life and what we really owe to one another. I was able to personally connect to the story and maybe thats why I liked it so much...but either way its a least an entertaining read. House Rules is a good one too- I actually like that one better.

Little Britches and Fields of Home by Ralph Moody

Any book by Ralph Moody is great. Most of them are about his farm life childhood and they are just warm and fuzzy books! They have some great subtle lessons too. These books made me want to move to a farm.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Another book that makes you think. Short and easy.

The Chosen by Chaim Potok

I love this book so much but I’m not really sure why. I think I just love the simplicity of the life this jewish boy and his dad live and their dedication. Its a great story of friendship and growing up. I also really love the sequel...I think that ones called “The Promise”. That one is especially good because it studies a bit of psychology and mental illness in it. Super fascinating!

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

This book makes me want to go run through some mud and eat weeds. Let me know if you have the same feelings after reading it. Obviously its a great book too.

The Illiad and Odyssey by Homer

Both books everyone should read. They are kind of hard to get through but you will understand where every other book get their roots from!

The Scarlett Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

An extremely entertaining book that will also educate you on the history of Paris during the reign of terror. Its a classic and I love it!

Don Quixote by Miguel D Cervantes

This book continually gets voted as being the most influential and best novel ever written! Hopefully I can read it in spanish soon This book has it all- it is hilarious and a romance, symbolic, educational, inspiring and just wonderful! You will love it and hold it in your heart forever. Also you will see little signs of this book in tv shows, books, talks and everywhere you go! Its like a whole new world opens up!

Papa Married a Mormon by John D Fitzgerald

This one might be hard to find. The copy we have of it looks a hundred years old and is in pieces. Such a cute little book! Its about this rugged man who marries a sweet mormon girl in the early Utah days. Its funny and cute and has a decent message if I remember correctly.

Yearning for the Living God by F. Enzio Busche

A incredible book by an incredible man! You wont look at the world the same after this one. You could read it a million times too. So many great inspirations in this book.

The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner

Of course Faulkner is an amazing author but this one really takes the cake. Its insanely hard to read (ha- thats an understatement) but try and get through it! He uses a unique technique called “stream of concious” through the book. Basically it follows the thoughts of the characters minds. You are not sure whose thoughts you are reading. The hard part is our thoughts are not always in the present. We can see something in the present and our mind will jump back to a previous time long ago or any other random incident. The challenge is to try and make some sense of the book! But its worth it--spark notes is very helpful throughout.

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

10000000x better than the movie! 1,600 pages looks like a lot! But it goes by fast! You just really have to read all of it to truly know the characters. And trust me...the characters are worth truly knowing. Even just the frist 50 pages where it only talks about the bishop...ahhh! so amazing! Victor Hugo is so incredible.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriett Beecher Stowe

The book that got the Civil War underway. It will make you cry but you will finish it inspired and enlightened. I couldnt say enough good about this book. Absolutely incredible.

Alas Babylon by Pat Frank

A scary/fascinating book about what would happen if an atomic bomb went off in America. I think its pretty accurate and shows how good it is to be prepared! Also shows how some people react to crisis and the right way to act when everything blows up! A good message and a wonderful book!!

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

This book has my heart all tied up forever. If only I could be like Atticus.

Austenland by Shannon Hale

This one is just fun

Farenheight 451 by Ray Bradbury

Bradbury is another of my favorites. Such an excellent writer!! This one is especially good. Even if you’ve read it before-- read it again!! Something Wicked This Way Comes is another good one. It’s scary--but something about it is just so enticing!

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

Oh I love this book so so much!! Its sad but so inspiring!! You will love the family in a depressed sort of way. Somehow I related to this book. I just love it!! Read it!! and then look up Jeanette afterwards--she is doing great!

The Ultimate Gift by Jim Stovall

This might be the one rare exception where the movie is better than the book. So watch the movie or read the book- they’ll take you about the same time. Either way you’ll get the inspiring message.

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger

A wonderful book until the end when it will rip your heart up! But its a great heartwarming book all the same that will inspire you to love and know how to behave when life gets rough. Its great.

Others by Blaine Yorgason

A book with a different heartwarming random story in each chapter.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith

Oh my goodness...this book is really the best. So inspiring, so enlightening, so awesome. Its about this girl who grows up really poor in Brooklyn and has a bit of a tough family situation. But she pulls herself up by the bootstraps and makes a great life for herself. I especially love her love of books!

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

I dont care what you have heard about this book...it is great. I could read it a million times. Read it just to get to know Melanie (why does no one ever talk about her? She is the best!) So much about this book is wonderful.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

A classic book about love and dedication. You will be inspired and fall in love! It also has some twists in it to keep things interesting

And There Was Light by Jacques Lusseyran

An enlightening book about a man who goes blind but is led by a “light”. I think you will especially like this one. Its quite remarkable.

The Fishers of Men Series by Gerald N Lund

Elder Lund is a phenominal writer. I especially this series because you feel like you really understand Christ’s life through it. These are books you just want to hug! I promise you will adore them

Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

This book is just good. Its a classic and is a bit shocking I think. Stick with it--its worth it!!

The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck

This book reminds you of the importance of hard work and the value of this land we are given. Its hard to get through at times but you will like it by the end. The culture in it is a bit shocking.

Fire of the Covenant by Gerald N Lund

The story of the Willie and Martin handcart company told in a masterful way! You will cry...a lot. But its worth it!

Oh Pioneers and My Antonia by Willa Cather

Willa Cather is one of my favorites. Oh Pioneer is a bit on the depressing side by My Antonia is all good! I dont know why I love these books so much...but they are classics!

One Thousand Gifts by Ann “something”

A good reminder to be thankful and find joy everyday! A true inspiration all the way through

Blue Willow by Doris Gates

A child book but I adore it! It reminds you to be grateful.

The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Spear

A touching book about a man during Christ’s time. The history through it is great and the ending is magnificent! I read it for the first time when I was 8 and it has stayed one of my favorites since then.

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

I saved the best for last!! This book is amazing on all levels! It is the best and one everyone should read at least a thousand times. I have read it every three months (for the exception of my misson time) for the past 9 years and I still cry and laugh and love it more every time! A story about the Holocaust and concentration camps and all that...but written in such an inspiring and uplifting way! You will come away just singing of love for everyone and with such a strong desire to just be better! It should be added in at the back of the Bible or something. Corrie Ten Boom is one of the first people I want to meet in Heaven. I could talk about this book for days. It is wonderful. Everyone who hasnt read it yet should cry and be ashamed. Buy this book. It is worth having.

I love eqyptian and roman history and Beyond the Desert Gate by Mary Ray and God King by Joanne Williamson are great! Also inspiring tales of service!

If you feel like some more heavy reading--The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon, Plato’s The Republic and The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu are good ones to explore! (or fall asleep to) ;)

Other authors to explore when you are finished with the above…

Louisa Marie Alcott- love this author! Someone you can count on for a wondeful story. She writes more for children but her stories are timeless and can be read whenever! Some of my favorites from her-- Little Woman, Old Fashioned Girl, Eight Cousins, Rose in Bloom and Under the Lilacs.

Gene Stratton Porter- this author makes you want to live outside or something. Some of my favorites-- Girl of the Limberlost and the sequels to that

Go read all the Harry Potter Books

Jane Austen never lets you down

Charles Dickens is great as well--but you have to be in the right mood for him.

Thats all for now...but I have more!! Let me know when you have finished!

Happy Reading!