jan 28

So, a lot has happened this week. We finished up our classes in Periban and turned in all of our materials to Geno on Friday night. All of my students were sad to see me go and not at all excited for the other teacher, Wilma to come back. I felt kind of bad for them and I know a lot of them will not return to continue taking classes. We left early Saturday morning to bring all of our suitcases and things to the house in Los Reyes before catching the bus to Guadalajara.

Guadalajara was amazing as always. I have really missed the city and it was very fun to go back to all my old favorite spots. The first night we went up to Santa Maria del Oro; it is a small town about 1 ½ hours from Guadalajara. We went with Pepe and one of his friends- German (pronounced herman) up to a lake. Apparently this lake was a volcano crater from thousands of years ago. (Don’t worry Mom- it’s extinct now!) We spent the night up there and went boating on the lake the next day, Pepe and German taught me how to wake surf. They shorten the rope on the boat and then you try to get up on a surfboard and surf behind the boat. I succeeded surprisingly enough. It took me a few tries to get up and a few more to stay up but it was great fun. This lake was absolutely gorgeous. Imagine a lake up in the mountains, surrounded by the peaks and then looking around the lake and seeing palm trees! We had an absolute blast basking in the sun, getting tan, wakeboarding and boating around the lake blaring music from the boat. Ok, so enough rubbing it in for all you back in Wisconsin! :)

We returned to Guadalajara on Sunday night and spent the night in a hotel. Monday morning we walked down to the Centro to find the Hostel we wanted to stay in. The hostel was much cheaper than the hotel so we dropped off our things there before heading to the plaza. The hostel was actually very nice; we met some girls from D.C. who were spending a few months traveling Mexico. We spent the better part of Monday walking the Mercado Libertad which is the open air market in Guadalajara. Angela loved it! It is literally three stories of a flea market. You could never cover all of it in one day. It is about a square city block and just a massive amount of vendors selling anything and everything you could ever want. They sell pirated movies and CD’s, jewelry, blankets, purses (tons of knockoffs- I was in heaven), there is a food court and a vegetable and fruit market, electronics, touristy items etc. It was very fun to go back. For dinner we also went back to my absolute favorite restaurant in Providencia, Savoras. I lived about 5 blocks from this restaurant when I studied in Guadalajara and we went about twice a week. It was as good as I remembered! We had to catch the bus home on Tuesday afternoon back to Los Reyes.

We finally got to move into the house in Los Reyes. The other guys have left so it is Jay and Brian (the two world travelers I mentioned earlier) and Angela and I. The house was cleaned before we got here so we just had to do minimal cleaning of bathrooms and such. I think it is going to be a very fun semester! The secretary here is very organized and on top of things. She is also very nice so I think it will make things run a little smoother to have someone who actually does their job! Today we just unpacked our rooms and we did a little promoting at a few secondary schools here in Los Reyes. Tomorrow will be more promoting and such. We don't actually start teaching again until Feb. 3rd but they wanted us back here to "work" because they are still paying us for this week. They just try to come up with some things for us to do but I think today only took 1 1/2 hours of "work". Oh well, I am not complaining at all! More to come on the adventures of Los Reyes soon!

Moving!!!

I was informed that I haven't updated this in awhile! Thanks Miss Duffy! This week has been very busy, it is the last week of the semester. I have been busy busy with tests and grading and trying to fill out report cards for students I have only known for two weeks!
We are moving on Saturday to Los Reyes so today was spent repacking all my stuff. Angela and I are dropping our things off at the house Saturday morning and then taking a bus to Guadalajara for four days. I am very excited to go back to my old stomping grounds! We aren't sure yet if the two guys will even be out of the house on Tuesday yet so we may be crashing on the couch for a few days but we are ok with it! There has apparently been some miscommunication (surprise surprise here!) about the moving situation. The guys were informed they could stay until the end of the month in Los Reyes while we were informed that we had to be there next Wednesday for teacher meetings and evaluations of students. Who knows what next week will bring!
Angela and I are just excited to get out of Periban. It is definitely a very closed community and it is quite uncomfortable to walk around as the foreigner. We are excited about everything in Los Reyes; it's bigger and warmer, has more restaurants and shops, a nightlife, more people our age, a full kitchen in the house! (I'm very excited about that one). We still get a few curious looks from people when we walk around but that I am ok with. It's the conversation stopping, staring and odd looks that make me uncomfortable here. In Los Reyes, everybody doesn't know everybody else so it is a bit easier to blend in if that is at all possible with blonde hair in Mexico!
I wanted to tell you guys about a few of the funnier things I have seen down here. When I was taking the bus here to Periban my first day, a big burly pot-bellied man got on the bus and he was wearing this tight white t-shirt that said "Tommy Girl" on it. I couldn't help but laugh as he probably had no idea what the t-shirt said. Also- today on the combi (the converted volkswagon vans from the 70's that act as buses here) there was this little old Mexican man half asleep next to me wearing a baseball hat. The hat had two naked obese people embroidered into it facing each other with their bellies touching. The man was scratching his head and looking at the woman. On the hat it said "Mission impossible". Angela and I were just cracking up when we saw it. The words are very similar in Spanish so I'm guessing the little old man was perfectly aware of what his hat said.
On a different note, I have told all my classes by now that I won't be coming back in February to teach here in Periban. It actually raised my self-esteem as a teacher that all of them were disappointed! (Not sure at this point if they are going to actually miss me or if they just really don't like the teacher who is coming back to Periban!) Even the teenagers have warmed up to me and are talking and having fun in class. Half of them still don't show up for class but I would almost prefer they not come at all than come and talk or sit and stare blankly at me. The ones who come now come nearly every day and they are a pretty good group. They still need to be yelled at a lot but its more good natured than anything else. They talk to each other in Spanish a lot and sometimes forget that I understand most of it. Sometimes I have to laugh when they suddenly remember I understand the swear words in Spanish and they probably shouldn't use them in class!
I have had to make some cultural adjustments in running the classes. Most students do not show up until quarter after the hour, which shortens the class considerably. It is common in Mexico to be late for everything which is very different from the US. They also tend to take it easier in classes- they get very flustered when I try to push them too fast and they like to take their time learning the lessons. Even the adults get very anxious when I move through the lessons too fast, even when they understand all of it and are doing well. The general routine of the class is they show up late and we talk for 5 minutes or so before starting the material. It is essential to all ages for this little warm-up routine. Then we do anywhere from one to two pages of the book and some activities associated with what they are learning. The last 5 minutes of class is often games or talking again. Total teaching time in a class is usually only about a half hour. This bothered me the first week until I realized that it was actually good practice to just sit and converse with them in English for 10 minutes out of the class. It is actually kind of nice; I have always liked the slow pace here. Nobody is rushed or stressed about anything. People in the US could learn a lot!
Anyways, all for now, I probably won't be able to update until next week as we will be in Guadalajara until Tuesday! :)

Angela and I went to Los Reyes to get the scoop on the switch that is taking place this next weekend. Only Chris was there- the other three guys went to Uruapan (a bigger city about 2 hours away) for the weekend. When we asked Chris what was happening he became suspicious and asked us what we had heard. We just told him Cecilia had just emailed us and said we were moving and that Ryan was being transferred to Sahuayo. Chris apparently was on probation for just not being a good teacher I guess, he said that Cecilia never gave him any feedback but put him on probation. Initially Ryan was going to get fired and Chris was going to Sahuayo but he didn't know what happened to that plan. So Cecilia informed us we were moving to Los Reyes but did not inform Chris that he was fired yet. I felt really bad- he was pretty bummed but I told him it should be easy enough to get another english job down here. They are in pretty high demand. Still not sure exactly when the move is taking place but it will for sure be by next Wednesday. Yay!
On Saturday, before we left for Los Reyes, the secretary and two of her friends came over for lunch and she made us some chicken enchiladas. It was a fun afternoon until they decided they didn't want to leave and we did! We had told Geno that we wanted to leave around sixish to head down to Los Reyes... 8:30 rolls around and they bring out the tequila. Angela and I just decided to get ready and leave them here. When I went up to shower, I turned on the water and noticed something trying to crawl up the wall. I remembered a conversation with Daniel- Angela's Mexican friend about scorpions here. They have a small class of scorpions here- they call them aracanes and apparently they are quite dangerous. I remembered him telling us those are the only things to look out for here. Anyways- one decided to make my shower his new home. They are very small, I think they get to 2" max- this one was probably about an inch long. I stood on the other side of the shower chucking a brush at the thing until I was sure it was dead. The people I have asked about them say they are very fast moving and their sting sends you to the hospital. It causes you to hallucinate and can cause temporary paralysis. Usually requires medical attention and they give you the antivenom or whatever for it. I felt creepy crawly all day!!!
On a different note, Angela and I have been taking power walks everyday just to get out of the house and I need to get back in shape! Today we walked past this shop that sells t-shirts and I saw one that said Oshkosh!! It had a guy playing soccer on it but had Oshkosh in yellow letters. Apparently Angela has told her students where I'm from and many of them know of Oshkosh B'gosh. Small world.
I think I am finally starting to win over some of my teenagers! Just in time to leave for Los Reyes... Today was a good class, the ones who showed up were the ones interested in learning and are fun. They joked around with me a lot today and actually tried at the activities. When I told them I was being transferred to Los Reyes they joked that they were going to rent a combi (thats what they call the little 70s Volkswagon vans converted to buses that run from Los Reyes to Periban and back) everyday and come take English classes in Los Reyes! yay! It's still kind of a struggle with them but it is getting easier and easier and I think little by little they are accepting me. It's quite the process!
I'm heading to bed early tonight- not feeling the greatest today so hopefully a good nights sleep will cure whatever it is my stomach hates me for right now :)

Los Reyes!

Cecilia- the director of CulturaLingua just sent an email to Angela and I yesterday that we were being transferred at the end of the semester (Jan 23rd) to Los Reyes! Los Reyes is the town about 20 minutes from here with the four male teachers. We are not yet sure what happened to one of them as she didn't mention him, but one is moving to Sauhuayo and she is transferring another teacher from Cotija to Periban. A little confusing but end story- Angela and I are going to live in Los Reyes with Brian and Jay- the two world travelers! Maybe they can hook me up with some travel buddies (or become my new ones :) ). We are pumped about this- Los Reyes is much bigger, has a nightlife and although I'm going to have to be my mother for about two days and clean the crap outta that house; it has a full kitchen with a microwave and an oven and a stove! We are moving up in the world of Mexico! It is also much much warmer in Los Reyes as the elevation isn't as high. I'm going to miss a few of my students and I have no idea who my students will be, but it will be a new semester. The school is also separate from the house. It is about three blocks away and I think we get done teaching at 8pm instead of 9pm. Anyways- more news as this story develops! It definitely made our day yesterday though! :)

This past week has been kind of long, I don't mean to complain about the weather when you guys back home in Wisconsin and Minnesota are dealing with -40 degree windchills but it has been cloudy and rainy the past three days. Today is looking up so far, but it is still early. When the clouds roll in off the mountains it gets really chilly here- again, nothing like at home but when you have no heat 40 degrees all day is quite cold! The students are feeling it too, all of my classes have been very subdued. Would you believe the other day I could not for the life of me get 6 and 7 year olds to sing?? They just sat there and shook their heads and went "teeeeaaaaccchhheeeerr, we're tired!!" All of my students, including the adults just call me "teacher". Even when I see students around town they say "Hi teacher!". So the students have been hard to teach this week. I also had to give two exams, one to the teenagers (half of whom never show up to class anyway) and one to one of my adult classes. The adults did extraordinarily well which made me quite proud!! :) The teenagers however, not so well. A lot of them got almost half of the questions wrong, even though we did an entire day of reviewing before the test with just the material that was going to be on the test. It is a bit frustrating to try to teach students who don't wish to learn the language and are only there because their parents want them to be. A lot of the parents use this as a babysitting tool- otherwise the kids are always out at the plaza with their friends getting into trouble. The one thing so far I do not like about CulturaLingua is that we cannot fail the students. Even on the exams where most of them got over half wrong, the lowest I can give them is 6.5 out of 10. (there are usually about 25 questions on an exam but they grade on a 10 point scale). Which is not a motivating factor for them to come to class and study because they know they will be moved up next semester anyway. It also gives me absolutely no leverage for the students who don't come to class or show up late and talk the whole hour instead of paying attention. So with the teenagers all I can do is teach the ones who want to learn and kind of say screw it to the ones who don't. Very frustrating!
Tonight we are going to go explore Periban a little bit and try to meet some people. Right now Angela and I are merely the foreigners here and it gets a bit boring and lonely with nothing to do! We hung out with the guys at the pizza place last night for a little while and it was very fun. A change of scenery from being cooped up at school all week! Our semester ends next Friday- the 23rd and then we have a week off. I think we are going to Ixtapa but who knows where we will end up! Somewhere on the beach so I can work on this pasty white skin of mine! :) The next semester starts the first week of Feb. and I'm still not sure if I'll have the same students and classes or if they will move up and I will stay with the same courses. Either way I'm looking forward to not having to clean up after the last teacher and start fresh with the courses so I know what they have learned. Anyway, all for now, I have to go teach my morning class!

Jan. 12th

Angela (my roommate) and I went to Los Reyes this weekend- it is a town about 20 minutes from here. Los Reyes is about 4 times the size of Periban so we went to enjoy a little nightlife since it doesn't exist in Periban! There is another school there with 4 guys who teach in Los Reyes- three of them are from Canada and the fourth is from North Carolina. They are very interesting guys, two of them spent the last six years teaching in Korea and traveling the world, one has been to 26 countries and is 29 years old and the other is mid-thirties and has been to over 40 countries! I told them I wanted their lives. It would be amazing to be able to tell the stories they have! In Korea, they were also teaching English but over there you can make $75 an hour teaching at a university or business. Native speakers are in high demand and you usually get your flights reimbursed and free housing on top of a great salary. Needless to say they had plenty of money to go travel with their paid vacations and 2 months paid vacation over the summers. If only Mexico was like that... haha. Los Reyes was fun though, we went to a club after having a small party at the house and danced up a storm. The people in this area of Mexico are definitely not used to seeing gringos walking around, much less a group of six of them! We definitely caught some glances. The guys say they have seen people drop their phones or run into things because they stare at them! Angela told me she recieves a lot more attention walking around with me. She has dark hair so although she stands out it isn't as much as my now blonde hair! If only I hadn't been switched a birth and had dark hair like my parents!!! :)
I am still adjusting to some parts of Mexico- all we have to cook with is a coleman camping stove- a two burner gas stove that sits on the counter. No oven, no microwave. It has definitely been a challenge- Angela gets a lot of tacos from little restaurants near our house but as I don't like meat I have to get creative with cooking. I have been eating a lot of bean and cheese quesadillas because they are easy to throw on a pan for 5 minutes and go. Once I get used to the town I'll be able to explore the markets a little more. The fruit here of course is amazing and cheap. I was addicted to mangos last summer when I lived in Guadalajara and that was the first thing I bought at the market here! So hard to find good ones at home!
On Mondays in Periban they have an open market in the Plaza (the town square) where they sell fruits and vegetables, CDs and DVDs, clothes- anything. Angela and I are going to explore it a little bit when her class gets done at 2. Should be exciting!
All for now!
Nikki

arrival!

I finally made it to Mexico this week- after two days of traveling, flight delays, missed connections and crazy Mexican bus schedules! It was all a little overwhelming, but all in all I'm excited to finally be in Periban! My schedule was a little crazy- I was supposed to arrive on Monday evening but because of so many flight delays and missed connections I arrived in Guadalajara too late in the evening to catch the two buses I needed to in order to get to Periban so I stayed overnight in a hotel in Guadalajara and went to the bus station early in the morning. I arrived Tuesday afternoon and unpacked and met my new roommate- Angela, who is spectacular! We have a lot of things in common, are the same age and I think we will get along great! She is very fun and has had some bad experiences here so she is glad I am here as well! The last teacher lived here with her boyfriend and they left in the middle of the night a week and a half ago and stole her computer, camera and some other items. It was awful for Angela and I am the replacement! lucky her :). I had to start teaching on Wednesday because the kids came back from vacation and I am replacing the other teacher but I don't have any of her lesson plans or anything- so the first day I didn't know how well they spoke english, or what level they were, what they were studying or where they were in the books so it was slighty chaotic! I'm learning as I go as well! I have 6 classes a day, one in the morning and the rest in the evening and so far they are going pretty well. The first class is 3 adult women and they are intermediate level english speakers- very nice women and really eager to learn so I like teaching that class. I have two classes with younger kids- 6-8 and 8-11 and they are fun. The younger ones need to be yelled at a lot and reminded to listen but they have fun during the class and learn fast. The older kids are a blast because they love to learn english and practice it and its fun coming up with activities for them. Less discipline as well! I have one class with just 2 teens who speak advanced english and really only need practice with conversing so planning lessons is easy! the other class of teens is still warming up I think- a bit of a headache for now because they are so shy and are beginner level english speakers so they don't want to speak up in class in case they are wrong or they misunderstood me. The discomfort goes both ways though- I don't think my spanish is good enough to teach with so I don't like to use it!! The class yesterday (friday) went much better so I think once they warm up it will be a fun class. The last class of the day is 3 adult women and 1 man and they are also intermediate so I love that class as well.
A little about Periban- a VERY small Mexican town in the mountains. Beautiful views from our patios of the mountains and a little of the town. We live upstairs and the school is downstairs but its very spacious- just a little noisy if one of us is teaching and the other isn't. The town has about 11,000 people in it and it seems like everyone knows everyone else. We definitely stand out- me more with the blond hair. We get alot of attention walking around. Angela is good friends with a guy our age here- he lived in the US for a little while so he speaks english really well and he works at the Pizzaria a few blocks away so we go hang out there and have a few beers and some pizza when classes end at 9pm. The food is really good so far- I obviously can't find a lot of the comfort food from home at the store so I'm sure the chef in me will have lots of new creations when I return home! The weather is actually on the chilly side- I wear long sleeves a lot of the time- unless you are directly in the sun in the middle of the day its cool. The highs are the mid 70s every day but it drops down into the 40s at night. Mexico doesn't have air conditioning or heaters so its a big difference. I sleep in sweatshirts and sweatpants. THe house is very open- alot of the areas leading right to the outside- no windows or screens. Its defnitely different than the US. No bugs though- I think the chilly nights keep the mosquito population at a minimum so I am A-OK with that!
Well this blog is long enough for now- more to come!