An addendum to earlier post

Hi again, family and friends!
I know I'm early, and I'm taking time away from lesson planning to say this, but I know I should explain a few things to my readers. I really have no idea who reads this, but this is just the right thing to do. This is in reference to my "playa" post, about my trip to the beach, and maybe some other posts. I've joked about how my posts are typically quite long, and I admit that I am a writer and that rambling is a weakness of mine. I also am aware that some of you may think I give a bit "TMI," or too much information, in my posts. Since a blog is a journal that others are meant to read, it is sometimes hard to draw the line between what is appropriate and what isn't. However, I want to give one reason to you all explaining why my line is so fine: I do not want to do anything while I am here that I will regret, or anything that I would not be comfortable with my friends and family hearing about. This blog keeps me accountable to all of you, because I know that I will not be able to resist at least a parenthetical mention of every crazy thing I do down here. I know Jesus sees everything I do, and I want to let you all experience Ecuador with me as well, though I won't give you quite the access that He has!

Specifically, I wanted to mention drinking and dancing. I know most of my church and my family have pretty conservative ideas about both of these things, and I usually agree with you! But just so you know and you're not worrying about me, I thought I'd give a quick run-down of my standards. Drinking is probably the easier one for me to set standards for and to explain, so I'll say that first. In the Bible, by which I try to live my life, men inspired by God warn about the dangers of alcohol and tell readers not to get drunk. Most people in my family don't really drink, and I can say categorically that there are very few alcoholics in my extended family that I know of, so I am not really sensitive to the issue of simply "imbibing." I've just decided for myself that I am never going to let myself drink enough that I would do anything to dishonor God or my family, and I've never had trouble saying "No más!" I also should make a rule to only drink stuff that tastes good, which would rule out most alcohol in my opinion... but that's another subject. Anyway, though I said that Andres had had a tiny bit too much that night at the party (and it couldn't have been that much, because I was watching), I was quite sober.

As far as dancing goes... well, I really like dancing, unfortunately! It's such good exercise, and it feels amazing. Dancing that night was actually one of the funnest nights I've had down here. I did liturgical dance in high school and college, which I really miss, and I occasionally went to school dances at the university. I definitely see dancing there that I don't approve of, so I am just careful to dance with people who don't like to bump and grind, and I usually only dance with guys when I'm at weddings or with my family. I will say that I know when it's time to stop, that I'm not shy about moving guys' hands, and that I'm really glad to know that God is watching over me! In this specific case, the reason I kept dancing so long was because I had a feeling that in Andres' mind it was either keep dancing with me or... do something else. I felt like dancing was a good choice.

Maybe this was unnecessary, but maybe not. These are the choices that I have made to set myself apart for God, and while they may not be as extreme or high-minded as other people's standards, I believe they are in line with God's Word, which is my authority. I hope I do not ever make anyone uncomfortable with the stuff I discuss on my blog, but I want to be honest with you all and not hide anything in my life. Rebecca St. James, the Christian singer, used to sell t-shirts that spelled out her family's philosophy on relationships: "Where there are no secrets, there are no lies." That is how I want to live my life as well, being open and transparent so that people can see that though I am not perfect, I am striving to follow after God and glorify Him.

Love, Chao, Christina