Happy Thanksgiving!

No cooking for us today. Mel and Anna invited us for a Canadian/Mexican Thanksgiving tonight. Last year Holly and Kara were the Thanksgiving instigators/cooks and we hosted the meal for a large group at our condo. Today was a half day of classes at Libertad, but Harry and I took the day off, both feeling a bit under the weather. All I have to do is make Jello for tonight's feast so I can just lay low. Tomorrow the kids have the day off and teacher meetings are planned. I plan to feign illness even if I am feeling better. Just am not the dedicated teacher I once was.

I started my Spanish lessons this week with my very own teacher. Marilena is from Uruguay. I had two classes this week and we pretty much spoke only Spanish. Sometimes I think her accent is hard for me, although not as hard as the accent of my Colombian relatives. I am very enthusiastic about the lessons, but I realize my goal to speak Spanish fluently will never happen. I may eventually be able to get by, but only get by. A new waitress at our neighborhood restaurant approached me yesterday with the idea that we should get together and help each other with our respective languages. I have also decided I need to force myself to speak Spanish with all my native speaker friends/co-workers, even if I feel stupid. Last night I took my own advice when I went to the movies with Mary Ellen and Anna. I joined in their Spanish conversation as much as I could. We went to see that vampire flick, Half Moon, (Twilight Series) all the kids are crazy about nowadays, even here in Mexico. It was quite fun!

Alexis will be arriving in Mexico a week from Saturday. (The new Costco blow-up bed is ready.) She is coming without Curtis, having decided to break up with him a couple weeks ago. They have been together for 6 years. Curtis and Lexi came down last year and we all had a great time. Pat and Bill were here then too and all the guys went out fishing. We ate fish for months. This is going to be a difficult transition, for her and for me as well. I love Curtis very much. When Lex and I talked yesterday we laughed about the single Sex and the City girls and all their trials looking for the right guy in the big apple. My advice to her was to start looking seriously for Mr. Big! A really good mother would not be giving her daughter such advice! Ah well....

Keep those emails and photos coming my way.

The Visitors are Coming !!!!!

We had a lovely relaxed day today after a busy week teaching. The classes are all going well. We went to the market just outside of town and there was a table advertising Spanish classes here in San Jose. I decided to enroll and the owner of the school just happens to have a son in Harry's Shakespeare class at Libertad. She told us how much her son, Fabrizo, loves the Shakespeare class. I am very frustrated with my speaking abilities and I need to boost my confidence and skill level. I hope to start classes this week.

Today I booked us a trip to Oaxaca over spring break at the end of March. Our Mexican friends here have told us how beautiful and interesting this southern Mexican city is. The region is well known for it's arts and crafts and food. We plan on making a visit to Monte Alban, the ancient Zapoltec capital that was settled about 500 BC. which is just outside Oaxaca. I got a good deal on tickets and a hotel the week before Semana Santa.

I ran into my dear friend, Nora, who I taught with last year at Mission, also at the Market today. She said Carla, aka Mexican Oprah, had recently instructed the teachers not to give homework or discipline the children because it makes their lives too stressful. I had never met more pampered children in my life than the ones at Mission, but I guess being pampered has it's own kind of stress. Nora said it is hard to teach in Disneyland. Never thought the place could get any stranger but it obviously has. Just so glad to be the hell out of there.

We plan to get out golfing on Monday as it is yet another school holiday. This time we are celebrating the revolution of 1910. (see Wikapedia for details) Ivan and Joanna and Eva have their tickets for Cabo, arriving January 14. Lexi and Curtis arrive December 5th. We now will not be so lonely, eating dinner alone on our lovely patio, because at last we have visitors expected every month from December through April. Harry took the picture from our upper balcony today.

Kate!

This is Kate, the world's best and most adorable student teacher! She leaves to go back home and back to college in Chicago come December. I will miss her so much.

Patty and her beginners class of 7th graders. The other woman is the wife of our discipline guy who wants to learn English. She comes every day for class.

The computers up and running at last! I am not sure who donated these 5 computers but we are grateful to them whoever they are! The kids love their English computer time. No Facebook or My Space allowed!

A boy's 7th grade reading circle. We have started reading circles with the high schoolers as well. When the novels arrive we will have all the middle school and high school students participating in reading circles. Patty says this is very revolutionary for Mexico where typically not much reading and discussion of novels goes on in schools. I have found the kids so far really seem to enjoy it. The books I was able to scrounge up are not the best but we have been making do.

A girl's reading circle. The girl bent over standing up is Michelle. She is fluent in both languages and is a born teacher. She is guiding students in her reading circle.

#10, but who's counting...

Anniversary number 10 for us. We always celebrate that fateful day we met at the Dunn Brothers Coffee shop. The truth is we have not been apart much since that day. Last night we went to a restaurant in Cabo called The Seven Seas. It is on the beach and there was a full moon so the water was twinkling as the waves crashed. We both had seafood and Harry said the sea bass was almost as good as walleye. Harry made a toast, "here's to the next ten years and that's about it." Always so romantic, that's what I love most about him.

After dinner we went into town and joined in the Day of the Dead festivities. A former student of mine at Mission was dancing with her dance troupe on the stage in the town square. One of the altars in the square was for a young man and was quite elaborate. As I was walking away from it I turned and realized that one of my former co-workers was standing off to the side talking with people. I then realized it was an altar for her son who had committed suicide in September. He was 16.

Today, yes, yet another day off and we are going to attempt making the Mexican soup pozole. They make it at our school cafeteria and I love it! It is quite simple; hominy corn, a good stock, pork or chicken, and special peppers of course. You serve it with shredded lettuce or cabbage on top along with green onions and radishes. We invited our friends Mel and Anna to join us for our first dinner party on our lower deck. They are real experts on Mexican food, owning a restaurant here in town. We bought some Christmas lights to string on the awning over the table because it is dark early now.

The English lab is going great guns! The novels are due to arrive this week and the kids are using the computers thanks to the program Patty conveniently "took" from her last job. The reading circles are going well and soon there will be good books to read. I am going to need to find some volunteers to lead reading circles especially since Kate, our student teacher will be leaving at Christmas. There was a bit of drama this week when I thought I would be forced to trade the copy machine for one that is not as good, but I stood my ground and said no! Very un-Mexican of me. I even took the cord from the copy machine home with me this weekend just for safe keeping. Harry started a Shakespeare class with the troupe of highly fluent, highly smart and dramatic 9th graders. One of the girls in the class told me how lucky I was to be married to such a talented man.