Saludos desde Mexico....

Life in Mexico continues to be fun and interesting. This week at school we have the "Copa Libertad," or what I like to call a giant pain in the butt. On Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday various students in my classes will be missing various parts of the school day to play soccer and basketball. Meanwhile, I have to entertain the rest of the students or possibly even take them to cheer on their fellow classmates. To some of you this might not sound problematic, but to a teacher who is trying to keep all of her students on the same page and who struggles to cover all the material in the short period of time she has with her students every day, it is a less than ideal situation. I'm also not supposed to give the students homework Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday since it would likely interfere with their sports schedule. Every day I understand more and more why everyone says that flexibility is the most important skill to have at Colegio Ingles. :o) Aside from the "Copa Libertad," things at school seem to be going about the same. My kids still haven't mastered the art of not talking while I am, but I'm not giving up hope quite yet. Many of us English teachers have been talking about proposing changes to the administration in hopes of improving some of the not-so-good policies and procedures the school has right now.

On a lighter note, last weekend I took a short trip to Parras, a small pueblo about an hour and a half away. Katie, a friend of a friend from La Crosse who is working at the Colegio Aleman here in Torreon, invited me to go with her and a few of her friends. It was a very random and very last minute decision, and despite having never met her or her friends, I decided to go. After school on Friday, the seven of us piled into Katie's boyfriend's Chevy Cavalier and headed for Parras. When we got there, we grilled hamburgers and chicken and had a couple of drinks by the hotel pool. It was very refreshing to be out of the city and even though I didn't really know anyone, conversation flowed easily and I had a lot of fun. On Saturday, we woke up late and toured the small winery that was on our hotel grounds (Parras is known for it's wine production). We then went to the town's church and on the way got a flat tire. After fixing the flat tire and visiting the church, we went and toured a larger and more well-known winery called Casa de Madero. It was a free tour and I learned a lot of interesting information. We then went swimming in a natural pozo (well or pond) and finally headed home. It was a short trip but a fun one, and I was really glad I went.

After getting back from Parras, I quickly showered and got ready to go out with my roommates and some of the other English teachers. We went to a club named Studio here in Torreon and had a lot of fun. Sunday I slept in late and then went with a couple of teachers to the city centro (downtown area). It was a lot of fun since I felt like I was in "real Mexico". We walked around the mercado (market) and bought some pirated movies - 3 movies in one for $20 pesos (about $2 US). :o) The weekends definitely fly by fast, but I think I'm doing a pretty good job of cramming things in. Even if we're just sitting around watching movies, the break from school and spoiled children is always nice.

I think that's about it from me for now. I've included a couple pictures from Parras - the church that caused us the flat tire, a group shot at the hotel, us hiking the mountains around the hotel, and a picture from the Casa de Madero winery. Keep the phone calls and emails coming. Les mando un abrazote!!

I suck at Blogging....

So for those of you depending on my blog to know how my life in Mexico is going, I sincerely apologize. I am STILL without internet at my house and extremely busy with school. They may be poor excuses but they're the best I've got. The past month has pretty much flown by. Last Monday we already had to hand in our first set of grades for students. School continues to be a challenge. The curriculum, administration, and overall ideas and policies of the school seem pretty backwards to me. The kids' behavior is improving but I still have a ways to go before they're at the level I would like them to be at. I've commented many times that I sincerely enjoy hanging out and talking with all of my students on a one on one basis, but when I put all of them together in a small room and expect them to shut up and pay attention, things can get quite challenging and frustrating. I do know, however, that I'm not the only teacher who feels this way (in fact, ALL of the English teachers have commented on how bizarre and frustrating things are) so it's reassuring to know it's not just me.
Mid September we had a nice 4 day weekend because of Mexican Independence Day. One of my roommates, Natalie, and I took a trip back to La Piedad to visit some of the friends I had made in the 3 weeks I spent there before coming to Torreon. It was a long trip (10-12 hours by bus) but we had a lot of fun. I got to see everyone I wanted to see and enjoyed the time away from school. Natalie got to see "real Mexico" and I got to eat yummy street food and buy things at the cheap street markets. Mexican Independence Day didn't really seem that much different from a typical night out in Mexico. There were no fireworks and no parades. Everyone did dress up cowboy style and drink a lot of Tequila though. Natalie and I got convinced to stay an extra night just so we wouldn't miss all the fun. It was worth it, even though the next day we spent 12+ on a bus to get back to Torreon. It was tough going back to school and even worse knowing our next break from school wouldn't be until we had a day off mid November.
My social life has seemed to calm down a bit over the past couple of weeks. I've learned that I can't go and do something every night if I want to be able to get up early and have a good day teaching. It's kind of odd to have a real job and be a real person in Mexico since all of my past Mexico experiences have almost always been worry and obligation free, but I'm adjusting. I still go out to dinner with friends or fellow teachers at least once a week and of course we always find something enjoyable to do on the weekends. The past couple of weekends we also haven't gone out because of a somewhat scary experience that happened a couple weeks ago. Two Fridays ago, around 5 in the morning, I heard a huge bang. I had heard that the Zetas (a local gang) had been fighting nearby so I assumed it was some sort of gunshot. Although I've been told many times that they won't come looking for trouble, I was still a bit freaked out. To make things more interesting, the next day I learned that it wasn't a gun shot I had heard but instead a grenade. There has been no more Zeta drama since, but it definitely made me realize I need to be very careful and smart when going out at night. Tonight the plan is to go to the fair in town. I've been feeling sick the past couple of days so it might not be a very late night, but it should be fun nevertheless. We had gone to the fair one other time and it was fun, so I'm excited to go again.
I know this post probably doesn't include even half of what I've done in the past month but hopefully it's enough to let everyone know that I am still alive and well. I love getting text messages, phone calls, emails, etc so make sure to keep them coming (even if I don't respond very promptly). Cuidense mucho!!