By Matthew Johnson
(This post is about the intercambios that happened on Tuesday night)
Intercambios are a staple of our Cozumel mission trip and one of my favorite events. In a nutshell, an intercambio is a short cultural exchange between us and members of the local church. A reason it is one of my favorite events is because it is a close, intimate time between our team members and the local population. The hosts of the intercambios have us in their home, and we talk with them about everything: from cultural differences and politics to food and significant others. Some houses can be difficult to find; a highlight of this trip is that for the first time in Lipscomb Cozumel memory all the groups that were split up into intercambio groups found the hosts’ houses.
I was able to see the same family I saw for the past 5 years. I keep in contact with them through Skype and Facebook many times throughout the year, but it is always better to see them in person and catch up. In years past, intercambios have been held on Monday, so our intercambio was a little different this year because our intercambio family was expecting us on Monday, not on Tuesday. Most of the family was working when we arrived, but eventually arrived later on into the intercambio. While we were bothered about that miscommunication, we still had a great conversation. We learn something every year from intercambios, and from being in Cozumel in general. This year’s moral is be flexible. Sometimes miscommunications and changes in schedules can cause mishaps, but going with the flow and being content makes the situation a lot easier.
I am actually going to eat a paleta right now with my intecambio family to catch up with them more, so I gotta go!
(This post is about the intercambios that happened on Tuesday night)
Intercambios are a staple of our Cozumel mission trip and one of my favorite events. In a nutshell, an intercambio is a short cultural exchange between us and members of the local church. A reason it is one of my favorite events is because it is a close, intimate time between our team members and the local population. The hosts of the intercambios have us in their home, and we talk with them about everything: from cultural differences and politics to food and significant others. Some houses can be difficult to find; a highlight of this trip is that for the first time in Lipscomb Cozumel memory all the groups that were split up into intercambio groups found the hosts’ houses.
I was able to see the same family I saw for the past 5 years. I keep in contact with them through Skype and Facebook many times throughout the year, but it is always better to see them in person and catch up. In years past, intercambios have been held on Monday, so our intercambio was a little different this year because our intercambio family was expecting us on Monday, not on Tuesday. Most of the family was working when we arrived, but eventually arrived later on into the intercambio. While we were bothered about that miscommunication, we still had a great conversation. We learn something every year from intercambios, and from being in Cozumel in general. This year’s moral is be flexible. Sometimes miscommunications and changes in schedules can cause mishaps, but going with the flow and being content makes the situation a lot easier.
I am actually going to eat a paleta right now with my intecambio family to catch up with them more, so I gotta go!