In case you were wondering, I am indeed still alive. Just busy :P Also, in case you were wondering, my "surprise trip" last weekend was actually to (drumroll, please)... Naperville! My sister was supposed to come visit for that weekend, but she couldn't, so my family and I just decided that I would come home. And please don't be offended if I didn't call you... it was a very family-centered weekend! It was wonderful to be at home, in spite of the cold, and we did lots of fun things, including lots of food that I missed-- LOTS of salads-- and also lots of football. And hugs. :) Excelente.
It was hard to come back to Mexico, but last week was a good week at school; one of the English teachers made my Conversation Workshops mandatory, so instead of zero, 2 or 3 students, I had 25 last week! Thankfully some students had tipped me off, but I still had to seriously think on my feet. Some of the students are really super basic, so we did more of the same basic "What is your name, how old are you, what is your favorite color" business, questions and answers with their partners... then we rotated. It was like speed dating... just kidding. :) It was fun... and then a few students stayed after for MORE conversation, and we played 20 Questions... also fun. :)
Then this past weekend I headed to Cuernavaca, where my fellow Fulbright friend Kim lives... she's awesome. And Cuernavaca has a very Southern California-like climate, so I just loooved it... on Saturday we went to a park called Las Estacas, which has a spring-fed river (which made for a one-way lazy river... back upriver, NOT so lazy...), so we laid out and laughed and caught up and chatted with her friends... it was pret-ty glorious. Saturday night we went to this great outdoor restaurant, and ate Picaña, apparently a Brazilian cut of meat… juicy, tender… man. Also some delicious side dishes. Later in the evening, we went salsa dancing—and I think my salsa classes are paying off! ;) We had a blast…
Sunday afternoon, as I bought my ticket for Toluca, Kim decided on a whim to join me and come visit Toluca and Victoria… we went out for a turn about the city, stopping for quesadillas and later churros and hot chocolate.
Today, for some reason, was a great day. I got home from dropping Kim off at the bus station so she could get to the lab on time, and I meant to go back to sleep, but ended up journaling and talking to a bunch of people on Gchat… what an incredible invention. My room-slice Anne-Marie and I caught up, she had gone to Puebla for the weekend with some other Frenchies, and then I hurried to shower and get to work, where my students were particularly awesome. We played a vocabulary game, beginning with different themes: all the words you could think of regarding the themes of “vacation,” “countries,” and then some more variations… they came up with these outrageous words that I had no idea were a part of their lexicon—it was enjoyable to be so surprised! :P Then French class, then my conversation workshops, another big group… Then Anne-Marie and I went out for lunch (linner, really, it was 5 pm) and then I headed to my clase particular with my student Gonzalo, always a joy, then to work out… and now some Skype dates. Oh, and some class prep… one of the other teachers is out for a few weeks sick, so I’ll be taking some of her classes, for activities, their oral exam, and then their written exam…
All of a sudden, this is the last week of classes! Next week are my students’ Decade Projects (ask me about that one ;)), and they have no final exam… the following week is (I think) a conference in Mexico City, and then my dad gets here, and then we’re headed back to the US together on the 19th! It’s been a whirlwind three months, some highs and lows, but overall, I’m glad to be here.
Thanks for reading!
Hasta pronto~Besos
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