My parents came and went as February flew by! It was so nice to have them here and now it feels strange without them here. I would go to work and then either go to their apartment right afterwards or meet them for dinner. Pako got to practice his English a bit and my mom got to use one of her new favorite phrases “No te quejes, eso no fue nada” (Don’t complain, that was nothing!). Dad had some interesting issues concerning vowels when trying to order a glass (vaso) for his beers, but in the end, all language queries were worked out and everyone ended up a little more bilingual.
There is a ton more that I could say about their visit, but I won’t or this blog will get seriously long. I will touch on Louise’s visit though, which was, in my opinion, spectacular. She arrived, without problem, Monday, February 15th. Pako and I picked her up at the airport and we went back to the apartment to drop her things. Petra had made a lunch, so she got to experience Petra’s cooking right off the bat. When she unpacked, she had all sorts of gifts to give out, including a video game for Pako, which forever secured her a spot in his heart.
He hasn’t stopped playing the game since and thus hasn’t stopped thanking Louise, for her transportation services. I had to work Tuesday and Wednesday all day, but was able to take off after an hour on Thursday and skip Friday completely. Sometimes it’s quite nice to have a boss who’s not terribly worried about attendance records. We managed to get Louise to the beach a couple of times, including La Ropa beach and Las Gatas – a snorkeling beach, were extremely attractive photos were taken and where Louise and my mom got drunk together whilst I was at a job interview. She only really burned once (which for those of you who know Louise is an impressive fact in and of itself) and that burn was mini at best, she was back to pasty white within days of returning to frigid Boston. She, my parents, Pako and I toured my favorite restaurants including Chendo’s for coconut shrimp (yum, salivating just thinking about it) and Casa Vieja (where I very much doubt Louise will be returning). She and I also managed to drag Pako to a club (well, Señor Frogs… does that count as a club?) to go dancing. I got drunk-ish for the first time since I’ve
been here. Just like the good old days, haha! There was a wedding party at Frogs… not something I’m going to incorporate into my wedding, but those of you who come are welcome to go to Frogs any other night of your stay if you so desire. We also got Louise to a wildlife refuge where we played with baby raccoons, took pictures of toucanettes, saw the most well-endowed pig that ever was (seriously), and held iguanas.The best part about Louise’s visit for me was just having a girlfriend around to hang out with. It’s the one thing that I truly, truly lack here in Zihua and it was so refreshing to have someone around that I could just be with. Plus all the added goodness that 10 years worth of friendship and knowing a great deal about each other will bring to the mix. It was way too quick of a visit, that is for sure! Luckily, I’ll see her again in about 4 months and beyond that, I’m fairly certain that we’ll again live in the same city/state/COUNTRY again within the next 3 years. It’s good to have long term goals.
One bummer of Louise’s week here was that I had to work on Saturday. I got a call from the English coordinator at a technical college here in Zihua on Friday and started giving college courses on Saturday. The first lesson didn’t amount to much as I was sort of thrown into it and had to spend the day giving placement exams, but the subsequent weeks (yesterday and the Saturday before) were actual classes and went well. I teach a very introductory level course that is 5 hours every Saturday morning. As I only see the students once a week, it’s a fairly intense course and there is a lot of homework. I really enjoy it as the college is a public school and thus has access to government money which is evident in the classrooms and resources available
to me. The kids (well, some of them are older than me, so I can’t actually call them kids… students) are mostly there to learn and thus classroom management is NILL compared to what has to happen during my daily hour with my 7th graders (ugh). Plus, we have the added bonus of working with a book and curriculum that I like and think is worthwhile. It’s a 3 month gig and I think it’s going to be a good stint. Hopefully it’s just the beginning of me giving courses at the Tech (Instituto Tecnologica de la Costa Grande) because it pays DOUBLE Montessori’s hourly rate! One of my co-workers, Coco, from Montessori, also gives classes there, so we work together when planning our lessons. Also, there is another sub-40 gringa working there, Chandra, who’s story here in Zihua is shockingly similar to my own and who I think is going to be my new girlfriend here. We had coffee last week and had loads to talk about. It was really nice to be able to have a conversation with someone who truly understands life here.Having coffee with Chandra really helped alleviate the weird feeling that I was experiencing after the mass gringo retreat (Louise, my parents and one who will be hereafter known as Bambi all left within two weeks of each other). Life is slowly getting back to “normal” (not sure if you can call this normal, but what can you do?) and I’m back to not being ahead in my lesson planning. I used the time when Pako was working and the time prior to my parents’ arrival to get all of February planned. Well, it’s March. Bummer. I’m caught up as of now, but check back next week. Montessori is Montessori. I’m enjoying 3 of my classes and tolerating the 4th. It would be unreasonable to ask for more than that. I did yell at Ricardo, the secondary and high school coordinator, pretty good on Friday. It felt good, but also crappy as I know nothing will change and I just let him get at me. His sister, the principal of the school, along with the entire office staff heard me yelling at him, and as I left (stormed out), she winked at me, so I know I’m not in any trouble for losing my cool. I will try to keep it in the future, for personal dignity rather than Ricardo’s sake, but at least I didn’t get the English department or myself into any trouble this time around.
Today is my one day off for the week (next weekend will consist of 2 days as Monday, the 15th, there is no school to celebrate Benito Juarez’ birthday – which is actually March 23rd) and we’re headed to the beach (or we’re there already, depending on when you’re reading this). I’m having myself a delicious coffee and reading my book in a hammock, while Pako surfs… ‘pure relax’ as Pako would say. I hope you all have an excellent week and I hope the weather in the Midwest continues as nicely as it has been in the last week.
One more shout out to my Grandma Claire, who left us in November, but continues to spread her love to the family and inspire me everyday. She has changed my life for the better in more ways than are countable and for those reasons and more, I will love her forever and strive to be a person of whom she could be proud.
That is all for this week my respected readers. The Oscars are on local tv tonight and I bought myself a bottle of wine to celebrate. I’ll be judging all the dresses and correcting exams! A happy week to your all!
xooxoxoxo,
Leyah
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