So the rest of January was pretty eventful... it literally sped by! A quick breakdown:
-The week of Jan. 12th was the first week of class, and my first week with the 20 different classes... we did a really fun activity, the students had to come up with 3 questions for me, and then the chiste was that each student would come up and have to answer the question as if s/he were me. If they answered it the way I would have, they got a point; if not, they got an X. The students seemed to enjoy it, and I had a blast, too!
-That weekend, on Saturday night, my neighbor Francisco invited me with a few friends to the Festival del pueblo (Town Party, loosely) de Tenango, about an hour away... his friend Jorge's parents live there, and his mom cooked mole-rojo and verde- and we ate WELL. Then we went to watch the fireworks in the downtown, Jorge and Anita and I ended up on a rollercoaster, we ate more (don't ask me how) sweets and tacos and played foosball for like an hour. It was super fun. They're all older, but I really like hanging out with them. Most little towns around here have a party once a year... It's been interesting to observe the "work hard, play hard" attitude of Mexicans... some work 6-7 days a week to make ends meet, but when it's time to kick back, they really know how to party... Octavio Paz wrote an essay on the Mexicano and the fiesta, I'm in the middle of it... it's fascinating!
-That week (Jan. 19-23) was our conference in Mexico City with the other English teachers from Venezuela and Colombia... it was SO interesting to hear about people's different experiences. We Mexico ETAs learned that we have it pretty good, especially in terms of our schools' organization. It was a little weird to meet the Venezuela ETAs, because I had originally applied to Venezuela, but they were all very kind and super smart-and very invested in their side projects, something on which none of us Mexicans have focused. But. We had a few panels, went to some ruins, I saw my friend Anna (Colombia ETA) who I had met studying abroad with CIEE in Chile... it was a blast! Friday Mexico ETAs headed to Coyoacán, to visit the house of Frida Kahlo... I'm going to have to go back, I missed most of it due to a migraine, but what I saw was cool.
-Jan. 24th was my housemate Anne-Marie's birthday, so a few of us headed to Valle de Bravo (where her bf Fernando has a house) and we found a lake by which to have fondue... we got there a little late, so we cooked and ate in the dark, but it was really fun-and delicious! There’s nothing like eating fondue with Frenchies. The next Wednesday the Toluca friends took her out for a sushi dinner...
-Another activity with the students, this one a little review before exam week, so with some teachers I did some activities and with other teachers, others. I try to keep things moving, and everybody’s pretty flexible, thankfully.
-That weekend we had Monday off, so I went to visit my friend Timoteo in Guadalajara…we met at my volunteer job in Chile, and he’s Mexican and studying here in Guadalajara… G. is a beautiful city, I absolutely loved it! I am definitely going to have to go back… it is huge, and with lots of construction going on sort of confusing, but there is so much to see… I barely scratched the surface! I took a bus tour while T was at work, and it was beautiful. And warm! My favorite parts were the murals by José Clemente Orozco all over, and the 3 story market!!! It’s ginormous. I ate some delicious tacos de birria there (from a goat, a Jaliscan specialty). Saturday and Sunday we went to (random!) Puerto Vallarta, not expecting the 6 hour bus ride, necessitating an overnight stay… it’s a really cute place, nice beaches, a beautiful boardwalk… and I love the beach!
-That week was exam week, so it was pretty chill for me, just proctoring exams.
-Last weekend I spent most of my time in Toluca with Victoria and Heather and Memo, it was really nice to lay low a little and enjoy my friends. On Sunday I went with Memo and Bruno and Memo’s French friend Natalie to Valle de Bravo, we walked around, went tubing, and had a delicious lunch… it was fun to be a sort of tour guide. ☺
-This week was (obviously) the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, so with the more advanced classes (TOEFL level) we worked with “In My Life” by the Beatles, I blanked out some key words and they had to listen and then we discussed the meaning of the song… with the lower levels it was L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole… we had a good time with it. ☺
-This weekend is also going to be chill, in preparation for next weekend’s vacation to CANCúN with my mom and sister! I’m super pumped to see them… and obviously to spend time at the beach. I think we’re going to try to hit up the pyramids at Chichén Itzá, also…
WHEW! Thanks for reading, and Happy Valentine’s Day to all!
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