Just another update- no swine flu in these parts that I know of yet. The government went one step further and closed all nonessential businesses and places people can congregate (including restaurants, bars, clubs, gyms etc). They say it will for sure go until Tuesday the 6th which is supposed to be the end of our long holiday vacation but they say everything may remain closed depending on the spread of the swine flu (we may have another extended vacation!). The Mexican government is not as quick at disclosing where the swine flu has spread as the USA is so I'm not even entirely sure it is still contained to Mexico City. Masks are impossible to find here- no pharmacies have them. Mom sent an email yesterday saying she was going to send some antiviral drugs and masks down to me, hopefully they will get here in a timely manner. Who knows, maybe this will be somewhat under control in a few weeks and I won't need any of it! We are trying to keep ourselves entertained and occupied but it is difficult without going anywhere. We are thinking of heading out to the natural waterfalls about a half hour away and maybe going to the world's youngest volcano, which is about 2 hours away sometime this weekend. We figure both are open areas where we won't get exposed to anything.
Anyways- still healthy for now, I will keep everyone updated on the progress but for now just trying to keep from going stir crazy in a shut down city!
Thursday, 30 April 2009
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
piggy flu
So due to the media hype about the swine flu I have decided to post another blog for everyone. I feel like the media is really blowing this thing up- so far in Mexico they think about 150 people have died from this flu strain but even those are not confirmed yet. In a city of 20 million (Mexico City) they only have a total of 2000 some suspected cases. Not to downplay this flu virus at all because it has been rated as a level 4 by the World Health Organization and it has been spreading rapidly, but we have not yet been touched by it in Los Reyes. Most people had not heard of it before yesterday morning (Monday) and by yesterday afternoon all schools in the entire country had been ordered to shut down. This includes Culturlingua so we are now on vacation until May 6th at the earliest.
Again, I am not downplaying this at all, nor are many people even here in Los Reyes. We went to a few pharmacies yesterday to attempt to buy masks and they were all out. We are going out again in search today for masks to wear while we are out and about, hopefully a pharmacy will have some. Many people are already wearing them driving around or walking around town. As far as I know, nobody has fallen ill here in Los Reyes or even in the surrounding areas but it is much harder to tell here because many people try to treat themselves thinking it is just the regular flu at the end of flu season. As far as I have seen here it is just the schools that are shut down, most businesses are carrying on as normal and people are going about their normal lives. Maybe it is part of the Mexican culture but they seem rather unfazed by the whole thing and that is probably why I am not as nervous as many of you at home. I feel this is a classic case of the media blowing the entire thing up; every news channel is carrying continuous news about the spread of it.
I am not sure why it is lethal here and not in other countries, it has spread much faster I believe just simply due to sanitation and culture differences in greeting people here. The normal greeting for anyone, whether just introduced or greeting a good friend/relative/business associate is to kiss them on the cheek while shaking their hand. This has been banned in Mexico City but old habits die hard and many will still do it so as to not be rude.
I will keep everyone updated on the conditions here, but so far everything you are seeing on the news is taking place in Mexico City which is 8 hours by car or bus from here. It will most likely spread further as the transportation in this country makes it easy to travel and many people are going about their regular business. Many people are aware of the situation and like I said, masks have become a frequent sight even here in Los Reyes and the media is making sure everyone knows about it. I’m not sure about the supply of antiviral drugs here, hopefully they have a stockpile!
No worries yet from Los Reyes, we are in high spirits and are simply trying to figure out what to do with 8 days off of work with nothing to do and our travel plans for the holiday weekend canceled!! I’ll keep you all updated on here if anything changes in my area!
Again, I am not downplaying this at all, nor are many people even here in Los Reyes. We went to a few pharmacies yesterday to attempt to buy masks and they were all out. We are going out again in search today for masks to wear while we are out and about, hopefully a pharmacy will have some. Many people are already wearing them driving around or walking around town. As far as I know, nobody has fallen ill here in Los Reyes or even in the surrounding areas but it is much harder to tell here because many people try to treat themselves thinking it is just the regular flu at the end of flu season. As far as I have seen here it is just the schools that are shut down, most businesses are carrying on as normal and people are going about their normal lives. Maybe it is part of the Mexican culture but they seem rather unfazed by the whole thing and that is probably why I am not as nervous as many of you at home. I feel this is a classic case of the media blowing the entire thing up; every news channel is carrying continuous news about the spread of it.
I am not sure why it is lethal here and not in other countries, it has spread much faster I believe just simply due to sanitation and culture differences in greeting people here. The normal greeting for anyone, whether just introduced or greeting a good friend/relative/business associate is to kiss them on the cheek while shaking their hand. This has been banned in Mexico City but old habits die hard and many will still do it so as to not be rude.
I will keep everyone updated on the conditions here, but so far everything you are seeing on the news is taking place in Mexico City which is 8 hours by car or bus from here. It will most likely spread further as the transportation in this country makes it easy to travel and many people are going about their regular business. Many people are aware of the situation and like I said, masks have become a frequent sight even here in Los Reyes and the media is making sure everyone knows about it. I’m not sure about the supply of antiviral drugs here, hopefully they have a stockpile!
No worries yet from Los Reyes, we are in high spirits and are simply trying to figure out what to do with 8 days off of work with nothing to do and our travel plans for the holiday weekend canceled!! I’ll keep you all updated on here if anything changes in my area!
Sunday, 26 April 2009
back in Mexico
I have a few updates to blog about- I made it back to Los Reyes safely after many delays at the airports last weekend. I was supposed to arrive in Guadalajara at 8:30pm but did not arrive until almost 4am. There was bad weather in Houston, which was supposed to be my layover and we were diverted to New Orleans to wait out the weather. We sat in the plane for 2 1/2 hours, luckily I was sitting next to a talkative Mexican guy and we kept each other company during the wait. We finally got approval to take off to Houston and then we had to circle for awhile as the airport had been shut down for 2 hours and there was a lot of air traffic to deal with. I arrived in Houston at 8:30pm which was supposed to be my arrival time in Guadalajara and found out my plane hadn't left yet for Guadalajara. It was rescheduled to take off at 10:30pm but kept getting pushed back and pushed back. We finally took off at 1:30am after many delays and gate changes and arrived in Guadalajara at 3:45am. I met some people in the airport and one of the girls offered to give me a ride to the bus station. I had planned on staying in a hostel overnight but I didn't want to pay for a hostel for just a few hours so I decided to tough it out and catch an early bus. I got to Los Reyes at 10:30am after not sleeping for 30 hours. It was brutal but I had the entire day to relax and sleep.
On another note, we got a new teacher to replace Angela finally. He arrived on Sunday and is Australian. He seems fun and laid back so far. Brian decided suddenly to leave and took off on Tuesday to travel a bit and then try to find a job elsewhere. We had no notice so we were once again shorthanded. Needless to say Eloisa was very stressed out. They must have had someone on the line already because we got a new guy last night. He is older- maybe early 60s and rode his motorcycle down here from Florida to take the TEFL course. He seems like a nice guy but he mumbles his English and it is a little difficult to understand so I'm not sure how his students will like him.
The news has just been slaughtering Mexico lately- I have had a few questions about the swine flu already. It has not affected this area yet- I'm fairly certain nobody even knows about it here. I'll keep everyone updated on here about the progress, right now it seems to be isolated to the Mexico City area which is approximately 8 hours from here. I think it will eventually get here but for now I'm safe and healthy!
On another note, we got a new teacher to replace Angela finally. He arrived on Sunday and is Australian. He seems fun and laid back so far. Brian decided suddenly to leave and took off on Tuesday to travel a bit and then try to find a job elsewhere. We had no notice so we were once again shorthanded. Needless to say Eloisa was very stressed out. They must have had someone on the line already because we got a new guy last night. He is older- maybe early 60s and rode his motorcycle down here from Florida to take the TEFL course. He seems like a nice guy but he mumbles his English and it is a little difficult to understand so I'm not sure how his students will like him.
The news has just been slaughtering Mexico lately- I have had a few questions about the swine flu already. It has not affected this area yet- I'm fairly certain nobody even knows about it here. I'll keep everyone updated on here about the progress, right now it seems to be isolated to the Mexico City area which is approximately 8 hours from here. I think it will eventually get here but for now I'm safe and healthy!
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
the future...
Even though I am still in Wisconsin and have seen most of the people who read this already I decided to post an update. I have been doing a lot of thinking the past few weeks about what I am going to do for the future. I was accepted into Marquette for graduate school which was my number one choice and I am very excited about that. I toured the school last year and fell in love with the city of Milwaukee and the campus. The clinic was brand new with state of the art equipment and they offer one of the only bilingual programs for Speech Therapy in the Midwest (also one of the best in the US). Needless to say this was a huge accomplishment for me and I am very proud of it.
However, after a lot of thought and weighing the pros and cons I decided to defer my acceptance to graduate school for a year and continue teaching English. I am not certain that I will even go back next year. Deferring for a year will give me at least a chance without having to reapply if I decide that it is what I want a year from now. My future is completely and utterly up in the air and while it is a little scary to think about it is also very exciting. Teaching English as a second language has opened doors I never dreamed existed and I can get paid to see the world. I will never ever have this opportunity again; if I go into graduate school now I will finish my Masters degree in two years, finish my clinical fellowship year the third year and graduate with about $40,000 in student loans. I will jump right into the corporate world running and have 2 weeks paid vacations a year if I am lucky. After spending the past 4 months in Mexico, this world holds no interest for me anymore. The people I have met, both teachers and students have inspired me and have helped me realize I could do this for years. My two roommates have seen the world already and have enjoyed every minute of their lives. I cannot begin to explain the opportunities available to me with the teaching certificate and I am very excited to see where the wind takes me.
I hope that I will go to graduate school someday because I do have a love for Speech Pathology as a career and someday my adventurous spirit may be tamed just enough to settle down but for now I am going to let the wind take me wherever it pleases. I feel like I am getting the most out of my life and I am doing what I really love right now. I wake up with a smile on my face every day and I am learning so much. I look forward to my future travels and will keep you all updated on them! Everyone I have talked to about this have been extremely supportive and I thank you all for that. I expected some resistance (especially from my parents!) about this decision but it has been met with nothing but "follow your dreams, do what you love". I have always wanted to travel the world and experience other cultures and I feel kind of like I have been handed a silver platter!
I had been throwing this idea around while still in Mexico and it was cemented in when I returned for Easter vacation. I love being here with my friends and family and have been having a great time but a part of me feels out of place now. I feel disconnected with the culture and pace of life here. It was odd and ironic that I did not have culture shock or homesickness when I went down to Mexico but I got it when I came back to Wisconsin for break!
I have been searching for jobs in other parts of Mexico for the summer session and have been throwing the idea of going to Spain for the fall around.
I want to thank you all for your support and I have discovered while I have been home that more people than I thought read this on a regular basis! I will try to update it more often!
However, after a lot of thought and weighing the pros and cons I decided to defer my acceptance to graduate school for a year and continue teaching English. I am not certain that I will even go back next year. Deferring for a year will give me at least a chance without having to reapply if I decide that it is what I want a year from now. My future is completely and utterly up in the air and while it is a little scary to think about it is also very exciting. Teaching English as a second language has opened doors I never dreamed existed and I can get paid to see the world. I will never ever have this opportunity again; if I go into graduate school now I will finish my Masters degree in two years, finish my clinical fellowship year the third year and graduate with about $40,000 in student loans. I will jump right into the corporate world running and have 2 weeks paid vacations a year if I am lucky. After spending the past 4 months in Mexico, this world holds no interest for me anymore. The people I have met, both teachers and students have inspired me and have helped me realize I could do this for years. My two roommates have seen the world already and have enjoyed every minute of their lives. I cannot begin to explain the opportunities available to me with the teaching certificate and I am very excited to see where the wind takes me.
I hope that I will go to graduate school someday because I do have a love for Speech Pathology as a career and someday my adventurous spirit may be tamed just enough to settle down but for now I am going to let the wind take me wherever it pleases. I feel like I am getting the most out of my life and I am doing what I really love right now. I wake up with a smile on my face every day and I am learning so much. I look forward to my future travels and will keep you all updated on them! Everyone I have talked to about this have been extremely supportive and I thank you all for that. I expected some resistance (especially from my parents!) about this decision but it has been met with nothing but "follow your dreams, do what you love". I have always wanted to travel the world and experience other cultures and I feel kind of like I have been handed a silver platter!
I had been throwing this idea around while still in Mexico and it was cemented in when I returned for Easter vacation. I love being here with my friends and family and have been having a great time but a part of me feels out of place now. I feel disconnected with the culture and pace of life here. It was odd and ironic that I did not have culture shock or homesickness when I went down to Mexico but I got it when I came back to Wisconsin for break!
I have been searching for jobs in other parts of Mexico for the summer session and have been throwing the idea of going to Spain for the fall around.
I want to thank you all for your support and I have discovered while I have been home that more people than I thought read this on a regular basis! I will try to update it more often!
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