Mariachi Madness

I am rudely awakened by the off-pitch blares of a trumpet last night around 12:30 a.m. WTF is that?! I go out on my porch and find a Mariachi band serenading the neighbors. At first I thought to myself, oh, que dulce. A nice little concert for the lovebirds. That is until they continued playing until approximately 1:10. And the best part, the couple was making out the whole time! 10th grade movie theater style. Get some! But please, let me get some sleep too!

Mis Estudiantes!

Monday was the first day of the 2009-2010 school year at ASP. I am so excited for my little estudiantes! They are all adorable and so far its been smooth sailing. I introduced a few new things this year that seem to be going well... "Miss M money" is my favorite new addition. They are lovin it! We'll have an auction every two weeks where they can spend the MM$ they've earned on trinkets I got from the 5 peso store (teehee). I also started a class web page which is exciting. I hope they use it. Here is a pic of each of my classes. Que cute!

4th Yellow

4th Blue

Hard work has paid off...

Where the magic happens.

My desk area

Let's get ready to rumble!

Todo bien.

Although the initial return to Mexico was a challenge to say the least, everything seems to have worked itself out. I am now a water-using, key-having, bed-bug free gringa. The past couple of weeks have been non-stop, which to be quite honest, I wasn't expecting. We had orientation for 4 days after my return from Playa del Carmen. I was a "specialist" on ESL instruction which meant that I had to give a workshop on it for all of the foreign staff. UGH. Luckily, my grad school classes were fresh in my mind and I was able to design a very informative and entertaining power point presentation. Things took a turn, however, when the school's power went out approximately 3 minutes before my presentation was set to begin. Really? Baaah. I pulled it together and gave the presentation sans ppt until it turned on 15 minutes later. Perfect timing, Mexico.

After the first week of orientation, I was asked to teach a pre-class for brand spanking new students who may or may not have much English background. 9 students in grades 4-6 came to my class to get familiar with school, school procedures, and basic English. It was a bit of a challenge, especially having it thrown at me the day before, but the kids were fun and it was a good warm-up for the real thing next week. I spent all day yesterday and will be spending the rest of today setting up my classroom, lesson planning for next week, and getting general procedure stuff done. Bring out the coca lights, it's gonna be a loooong weekend...

Porque??

As if the lock change wasn't bad enough, my water has been out for the last 3 days (tank is full so don't know what the problem is). All I want is a nice long shower. Pero no puedo! The school is sending someone over today to check it out. Venga, por favor!

Mother & Child Reunion

Nolita!! She's back at home sweet home. Molly was such a trooper putting up with her crazy antics, jumping out of the 3rd story window and attacking loaves of bread, just to name a few. I brought her a new bed and fresh toys and she has been on her best behavior since coming home. I hope it lasts!!

Welcome home

So I get to my apartment around midnight only to find that the outdoor lock has been changed! UGH. My house is actually 3 apartments in one, all occupied by fellow ASP teachers. My neighbors from last year have relocated, however, so I didn't know the new people when I got home. So I incessantly rang the door bells on my innocent new neighbors houses until they got up to let me in. Nice welcome, right? Whoopsie. Turns out the landlord's friends had a copy of the keys and busted into one of the new people's apartments the day after they moved in. Sketch. Not so mad about the lock change anymore...

Still Pinching Myself

Our final days in Playa were sad to say the least, but alas, responsibility calls and we had to say goodbye. The trip was amazing. Unfortunately, the end was sad for more reasons than simply having to go our separate ways. Charlotte was suffering from jellyfish stings all over her upper thighs which had grown into massive welts and Kelly was developing a severe sinus infection and ear ache from the water pressure of the scuba adventure. I, on the other hand, made out like a bandit and then some. When I got to the Cancun airport, they told me that they had overbooked the flight to Mexico City so I would have to wait for a seat assignment. As those with seats boarded, I realized that I was only 1 of 3 people without a seat. This could get ugly. So I came and left the front desk a few times to make sure they still remembered the seatless gringa. As I was settling back into my book for the 3rd time, the guy across me asks if I'm from Brazil? No, porque? Tus zapatos. O, claro! My Havianas have a Brazilian flag on them, pero no soy de Brazil. Y tu? Si, de Brazil. So I have a handsome Brazilian man on my hands. We chit chat for a bit, then his seat gets called (blasted seat holders!) and he wishes me well and hopes I get on the flight. I finally do, and a few minutes after the fasten seat belt sign turns off, I get a tap on the shoulder and some Brazilian pearly whites flashing at me. He's traveling with his dad and would I like to switch seats with him so that we can sit together? Porque no? So my new airplane bf and I talk the entire flight and at the end he actually suggests staying in Mexico for another week instead of heading back to Rio right then. Um, en serio? I pondered for a few seconds before I came to my senses and told him it was probably best for him to go back to Brazil...

Currently plotting my trip to Carnival 2010...teehee.

Scuba Steve!

So we camped out at the Blue Parrot every day to sunbathe, tomar cervezas, etc. About mid-way through the trip we met Steve, a dive instructor who works at the Blue Parrot. We shoot the shit for a while and lo and behold, he offers us free scuba lessons! Man, we're good! ha. Claro que DUH, we're going. So we spend one day training in the pool and the next unda da sea. The girls were a little weary at first but I think we all came out scuba winners. I LOVED it and plan on going again soon. It's crazy what a different world is down there! Now that I've gotten the logistics down, I feel like I can enjoy the scenery a little more next time... Payment may be a problem, however... hmmmm... donations anyone?

Training in the pool

Leaving dry land...

The main event! eek!

This Post Dedicated to Kel

The club scene in Playa doesn't compare to Cancun but it's still worth a few nights out on the town. Especially when ladies drink for free all night!! Wooop wooop. Good times. For lessons on how to become the ultimate Playa scenester in one week, contact Keldawg@letsgoout.com.

JUMPING for joy

One of the first activities we did in Playa was going with our newfound friends to a swimming hole type of place in a tucked away jungle-esque part of town known as Jardin del Eden. Beautiful scenery, but bugs galore. We went snorkeling through a few caves and jumped off the rocks to appease Charlotte's sudden urge to go sky diving, which quite simply, none of us can afford. It was a nice mini adrenaline rush. Overall a great jump off (man, I'm cheesy) for the trip minus the ridiculous bug bites that we all left with and I am still nursing back to normal! ugh.

Playa del Carmen

As a last hoorah for the summer, two of my best friends and I decided to spend the week before I had to come back to school in Mexico. Adonde?? Tickets to Cancun were by far the cheapest from NYC and DC which wasn't ideal but we did our homework and decided to have a go at Playa del Carmen, a more manageable version of Cancun with A LOT more personality. Playa is about an hour bus ride from the Cancun airport~ at $7, it's well worth the extra travel time. We arrived at Maria Sabina hostel and made ourselves at home in the 4 bed ensuite that we scored for a mere $15/night each. The other people staying there were great and we couldn't have asked for a better location. Fingers crossed I don't have bed bugs! More on our adventures to come.