Sept. 16th

This past week was full of fun activities as it was a holiday week- Last Saturday I went to a party to celebrate the anniversary of the union at the tech. I’m obviously not part of it but the teachers wanted me to go. They said it was going to be a luncheon type party so I figured I would go for an hour or two and then go back home. Needless to say, Mexican parties are just a little different than the ones back home! I arrived a little after 2 and didn’t leave until 8:30pm! Most parties here are like that, some go until 1-2am. There was a live band playing music- they started with older songs while we ate and then after dinner they started with the banda and salsa music. Everyone got up and danced in a big circle- they taught me a new dance as well, not sure of the name in Spanish but it uses stepping moves, almost stamping your feet in a pattern, sometimes going in circles around your partner. It was really fun actually. The funniest part of the party was when, I kid you not- the band started playing Billy Ray Cyrus’s “Achy Breaky Heart” but singing it in Spanish and everyone started doing a mix of the electric slide and line dancing! It’s always funny to see a Mexican twist on something very American like line dancing. Especially when they are better dancers than we are! I met most of the teachers and administrators in the course I took over the summer through the tech and have become good friends with a few of them. They are all very nice and easygoing; some of them are hilarious pranksters too.

On Wednesday Mexico celebrated the 199th anniversary of Independence from Spain. The celebrations actually began Tuesday night in the plaza and continued into Wednesday! We went to the plaza (the center of town- they have plazas in every Mexican town with landscaping, benches, a pavilion and the downtown surrounds them) they had a short ceremony where the mayor gave a speech and then everyone yells “Viva Mexico!!” Fireworks and shouting follow and everyone goes out to celebrate. It was pouring during this ceremony so there weren’t as many people and we got entirely soaked! I was determined to get it all on film though! Afterwards I went to one of the local bars with some friends where I stayed until 3:30am. There was a live band playing at the bar as well and it was very chill.

The next morning I had to get up early to go see the parade. Every school marches in the parade along with some other organizations like the Red Cross and some local agriculture organizations. I was supposed to march with the tech but I wanted to watch the festivities as it was my first independence day here. When the parade finished, a group of us got together to cook out in a park in Tinguindin- a town about 45 minutes from here. It was a beautiful day and we cooked on the grill and of course had the staples- refried beans, tortillas, salsas, guacamole, cheese, tostadas and of course Corona! They celebrate much the same as we do- most with their families and they cook a big meal and relax all day.

On a different note, work is going well. I got hired part-time at the local high school as well so I teach some mornings there and head to the tech in the afternoons. Most teachers here split their schedules here and some work at as many as 4 schools to supplement the income. The high school is private and pays much better than the tech college but the catch is you have to put up with adolescents!! So far I’ve only taught one group, I start the full schedule this week so we will see. My classes at the tech are going really well so far. I like the students a lot and the environment is great. It’s a small technical college- there are roughly 400 students total and only four different careers. It’s nice though, most faces are familiar now and the only problems I’ve had are the students occasionally asking me out or whistling when I walk into the room. It’s strange, I still haven’t completely become accustomed to the cat- calling here; it’s a cultural thing and here it’s a compliment to women to be whistled at or cat-called on the street. I’m more used to giving the finger if someone is rude enough to whistle at me in the U.S.! My students don’t mean any disrespect doing it and I try not to pay attention to them. None of them have gone overboard or needed any disciplining so I usually just ignore it.
That’s all for now- still no complaints about my Mexican life!! Miss everyone back home- feel free to come visit me!

Return

I made it back to Mexico this time without any delays or problems! Yay! It was good to be home for a month and see everyone but I'm glad to be back. It's been a little boring as the coordinator at the tech had not yet organized classes so I had nothing to do the last two weeks. I started teaching last week but I only had two classes, neither of which had their books. It's been a little frustrating trying to get started this semester- organization is not a strong point here! I'm supposed to start my full schedule this week and right now he has me scheduled for 30 hours a week. I have two English 1 classes which is very basic so my Spanish is getting a workout. This week I should have a few higher level courses and he is having me teach the English teachers to improve their grammar and pronunciation. It should be a fun class, there are three other English professors at the tech and I enjoy teaching advanced levels. Strange that I will be teaching the teachers but they are excited at the opportunity. He also wants me to give English classes to the directors of the tech- including the principal. I'm a little nervous about that one!

My classes for the basic level are huge, I have 29 students in one class and 23 in the other. Not very many girls either! It's definitely a challenge and they are testing me to the fullest right now. The boys are a little rowdy- it's the first semester for most of them at the tech so they are fresh out of high school and are getting a huge kick out of having a young blond English teacher. The first class I was trying to gauge how much they knew in English as most have classes in high school and one of them asked, in English, "Do you have a boyfriend?" I said no and he asked if I wanted one! Took a few minutes to calm the class down but I'm just being really strict the first few weeks until they figure out my class isn't play time. There are a lot of really good students with a lot of potential but I have the clowns and one or two students who don't like to be told what to do. Definitely a different experience so far from Culturlingua! It feels good to be back in the classroom, I never saw myself as a teacher but I really enjoy it most days!
I'm also trying to organize a few private classes on the side. Some of my friends want some private lessons and it should be fun to teach them.

My parents were worried about the hurricane affecting me here but not to worry- it was way north of Los Reyes. I have noticed a little change in the weather, it's been cloudier than usual and we have had a few days of just solid rain all day with no sun. Not sure if I can blame it on the hurricane or if it's just part of the rainy season. Most days we only get rain in the afternoons for an hour or so and the sun comes back out so the days of cloudiness and rain are a little strange.

That's all for now, I'll update again soon- next week is Mexico's independence day- the 16th of September and I'm really excited to be here for it. They actually get a lot more excited than Americans do- they celebrate the entire month, there are flags everywhere. I mean everywhere- they have flags that fit over car hoods and on the mopeds and in the stores and on the buildings and they sell them on every corner. I guess they celebrate the 15th and the 16th with parades and fireworks and bands in the street- the whole shebang! So I'll put a posting up after Independence day and try to describe the chaos! Hopefully it's a kind of quiet day- last year there was a bombing in the capital's plaza during the celebrations and with all the violence lately it's a little worrisome but I'm staying in Los Reyes for the holiday- no big cities for me that day!