School and Mexican Perspective

So we finally got some pictures of classes and school...We really do teach I swear! It's not just ALL fun and games..though classes themselves are usually really fun and we end up laughing all the time!

Here's a pic of me and Carly in the Kitchen, prepping for classes (I may be prepping or just supervising..who knows :) I have a pretty sweet job)

Cryshel, an AMAZING teacher, having class. Contractions galore!
There were only 4 kids that day so here's Jordan and Carly teaching Primray together...They are SO cute.
Here's a good picture of how different Mexico is in different places...all those little shapes in the back is a community of tents...and in the front of the picture you can see how much trash is on the ground in places...and this isn't the worst I've seen.
The little girl who is looking at the camera is the sweetest and cutest little thing ever and SO SMART. She pronounces amazingly and participates so well and never acts out. She was our student of the month last month. I absolutely adore her. Her name is Valaria.
This is McKenna working with Deanna, Valaria's older sister. Deanna is a little more quiet and shy but still an awesome student. I love that family.
And we may or may not travel in the back of our family's truck when we go places as a group. This is on our way to camping out on our family's farm. We also fit 3 more people in there with us after this picture...

Summer Lovin' (Or Winter)

Last weekend we went to a pool called Agua Azul. It's a "Balneario", or a public pool. It's only $7 to get in and it was HUGE! It had a bunch of slides and a wave pool and a deep pool with a high diving board and everything, it was so much fun. It was really awesome to get out of the city (kind of) and be able to lay in the sun all day. There were grassy spots to lay in and also they had chairs to lay in. All of the ILP teachers went and also the two Help teachers that live in the school...I felt like I was livin' the life for a day! It was also quite nice to think...this is their winter!!! WHAT??? Gets me every time...

Here's the view from the top of the hill.
All of us together! I really love this picture, I think we all look so happy and glowing from the sun.

The girls of course :) I like this picture.

Happy Valentines Day!!

So I just wanted to say Happy Valentines to all of you!! I want you all to know that I love you and always brag how cute my sisters are and how cute their families are. You guys are great, and I want to say thank you for all the support and love you give me, I try to give it back and keep in touch as much as I can, I really do! It can be hard, though, sometimes, but that doesn't mean I don't think about you. Here's a picture of our family because I love you all :) And a picture of me and Ethan, because he's OK, I guess, and a picture of my teachers because they're awesome!

"Love, oh Govinda, seems to me to be the most important thing of all. To thoroughly understand the world, to explain it, to despise it, may be the thing great thinkers do. But I'm only interested in being able to love the world, not to despise it, not to hate it and me, to be able to look upon it and me and all beings with love and admiration and great respect." -Siddhartha

Sunday Sonrisas

So I'm finally getting to my blog again and decided today I would blog about reasons to SMILE!

First on my list is my group. They are super awesome, so I thought I'd give a short description of my group and our awesome dynamics.

First, theres Cryshel.

Cryshel is a walking Encyclopedia. If you want to know something, ask Cryshel. I often can't find the words that I'm searching for and so it's nice to have her as a roommate! She is an amazing teacher and studying to be an Elementary School Teacher, and that is definitely her calling! Her classes go amazingly and she has a ridiculous amount of patience. Oh, she also loves mandarin oranges, so I thought this would be an appropriate picture.

Next, Carly.

Carly is our peacemaker. She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met, but also hilarious. She is great to have around because she will always help us see the other side of things if there is any disagreements and she is great for a good laugh. She's one of those people who isn't forwardly funny but will all of a sudden say something or even just make a face that is hilarious. She is definitely a diffuser and always good for a good laugh.

Next, Jordan. Oh, Jordan, what to say about him? First of all, he is a DRAMA QUEEN (or King) and we love it. He is our happy go lucky guy and also our body guard. It is definitely nice to be able to walk around with a 6'3 guy all the time. He is always cracking jokes, quoting lines from movies, and making a situation that could be really bad a lot lighter and funnier. He tells really funny stories all the time and loves to make everything as dramatic as it can be. And it's also nice to have a guy in the mix!

McKenna. Mckenna so wonderfully sassy and opinionated. If you want something to get done or know her real opinion, she'll tell you. Plus, she doesn't take any crap from anyone. She's super funny, clumsy, and also super cute and stylish. She has provided all our games, Bohnanza, Catch Phrase, and cards, so if we're ever bored (that doesn't usually happen) then ask McKenna, and she'll pull out a game, or if we only have cards, she knows about 10,000 different games. She also has an amazing memory, so if you ever can't remember something, McKenna will probably know. She is loads of fun.

Also, we can't forget Kristin. Kristin teaches at the school too, with a program called Help. She is from New Zealand and super awesome, and she hangs out with us. Kristin is just SO nice. She is so accepting, and also has such a distinct personality. She is about the same level of Spanish as me so we study a lot and laugh alot. She is super easy to talk to so we have lots of fun chilling out and talking, Spanish or English. She also does a lot of stuff with us and adding her to the mix makes everything even better.

As for me, who knows? Ask my group! I'm told I say funny things, and currently they like to keep track of the funny things I say that I don't realize are funny. And of course, I'm their leader, and loving it! On vacation I was a walking medicine cabinet and used almost all of it for at least someone in our group...and of course, I had wet wipes ready like a good mother would when we weren't able to shower...They were all very thankful for that.

So that's a short description of my group, and they're all awesome. We really mesh awesomely, wish is really nice, and it wouldn't be the same without any of them. I am really thankful to have a great group and it is a great reason to smile!!

The other reason to smile is weekend trips!

Last weekend we went to our family's farm, El Gran Ranchito and so much fun! A bonfire at night, walking around the farm and feeding the animals, and then a great picnic on the way home with spaghetti and rabbit and tamarindo juice and tortas and beans and who knows what else! It is always a feast here! Also, there's a couple more pictures from Veracruz I'll put in too.

Veracruz. This picture isn't posed, I swear, I really liked how it came out not posing. This is on the pier, it was kind of cloudy but beautiful.
The group. Obsessed with trying to look cool.
Veracruz again. Loving the graffiti!
And Veracruz again..it was a bit windy!! But we loved the old fishing boats!

Riding horses and looking fly. Ha! But check out the background..a little dry but beautiful!
My host mom, on the right, giving a tour to kids on the farm, and the woman on the left is her sister. They're so cute! Holding a 3 day old lamb! so cute! Brings me back to the old days!

Cooking in the kitchen at the farm...with Jordan holding up a dead rabbit in back...(I didn't know at the time)
Our campsite and campfire. There actually was a cabin too but it was full of daddy long legs, no way I was going to sleep in there!

Abrahm, McKenna, Carly. Abrahm is my host brother, he is super funny!
Holding the cat at the farm and pretending it's Gordito :(
Cousin, Uncle, and my two sisters at the fire.
Roasting marshmallows!
Around the fire again.

Veracruz

So most of the pictures are on Carly's camera, but here are a couple and some more thoughts to come.

Looking down a street to the beach.
The group on this bridge thing with the ocean behind.
A cool saying on a rock in Veracruz...pretty easy to read even if you don't know Spanish because of the cognates.
On the bridge thing again.

(Side note: my favorite kid is the the little boy all the way to the left, his name is Victor. I know I shouldn't pick favorites..but. Well, he's just too awesome and too cute.)

A month ago I arrived in Mexico. I cannot believe that it's been that long! Here's a list of things I have learned since being here.

10. "We're eating at 8pm" means "We're eating at 10pm"

Every Monday night our host mom makes dinner, usually she doesn't because we have such a big lunch, but Mondays the whole family gets together. She always tells me that they're going to eat around 8 or 8:30 and I always tell her "OK well don't wait for me I'll be home around 9 after salsa". And without fail, every night, I come home and they are still hanging out, talking, and playing a game. We never end up eating till 10 or 10:30.

9. Eat small portions of everything, they will come out with another dish for you to eat.

The first day we ate with our family they fed us this delicious soup and tortillas. Unknowingly, I ate like two tortillas (that's not very many compared to them) with the soup and thought that thats what we were eating. (I was satisfied) Then they came out with the second course, full of chicken and vegetables and who knows what. I've learned my lesson since then.

8. Nothing comes without tortillas.

As I said before, I've come to realize that nothing comes without tortillas. I purposely don't eat them anymore because I can't eat all the food they give me. Cryshel and I have realized this is one of our strategies to not eating too much.

*I'm pretty sure that they are incapable of eating WITHOUT tortillas, as a favorite phrase for them is "no podemos comer sin tortillas!" (we can't eat without tortillas!)

7. Siestas are essential, not just a commodity.

After eating so much food in the afternoon you automatically go into a food coma. The siesta then goes from being a nice nap to something I can't live without. Enough said.

6. Never try to out-eat your family.

My mom once at 10 empanadas at lunch, topped with cream and salsa and cheese. (They were also deep fried like everything else). Not to mention the soup we always eat before the main course. The other night someone ate 6 hamburgers. (and they're both skinny)

5. Never turn around to whistles or talk to anyone on the street.

I learned this in Argentina, but here is pretty bad. Keep your head down and keep walking no matter what, Mexicans love to whistle, and I am very obviously a white girl. (though I've got a killer tan going and I don't even try)

4. Teaching starts at 4:30 and ends at 6:30. Not.

Really, this means you get all of your kids by 4:50 and you babysit them till 7. As noted before, they are not so punctual here. You also may get a random 3 year old in your class for a day that isn't supposed to be there but the mother decided to leave and not ask if it was OK. I love babysitting when we're supposed to be teaching.

3. You can never see too many Cathedrals.

This city is coined as one of the (or the most) Catholic cities here. There are a ridiculous amount of Cathedrals to see, walking down the street for an hour and you'll probably stumble upon 3 or 4 more Cathedrals you haven't seen.

2. Planning is important but the best days happen when you just go with the flow.

Every day that we have a fantastic day we have just picked a place to go and went with the flow. Those always end up the best and we run into fantastic restaurants, funny people and great markets.

1. Smile, laugh, sit in the sun and hug someone!

Whenever one of my teachers are having a rough day I give them a hug and tell a joke. (Dorky, yes, but it works) Every morning we come to school to "do lessons plans", where we do prep for school but also sit in the sun and laugh about a lot of stupid things. These are probably some of the highlights of my days so far. Just enjoying the time and realizing that I'm in Mexico is a wonderful thing. My favorite verb in Spanish is also "aprovechar" which means to take advantage of (in a good way), so I try to aprovechar every day.