bridal showers and positive parents...

well it's been a while, but i guess i have just been preoccupied. school is going well, grades are actually due on monday which is surprisingly early - but since they get report cards 7 times a year, it makes sense....

so this week at school was pretty uneventful. life goes on as normal. it has been quite rainy, which means the mosquitoes abound in my classroom in particular... and they are very bold little suckers... i got a bunch of bites THROUGH MY PANTS!!! ouch... but i have been nursing my wounds ever so tenderly. so late last week a mom had been trying to get a hold of me for a meeting during the day, well i had to change the time once, then she changed the time. finally when she came to school, i was in the bathroom because it was my five second break and what do i hear as i'm doing my business but "Miss Emily..." hahaha luckily i was just coming out of the stall, but how funny is that??? She followed me into the bathroom to speak with me. so i step out of the stall and before i can even make it to the sink to wash my hands she leans in for the side cheek kiss and starts talking. i know it sounds really over the top, but i found it endearing in a way i suppose is hard to translate through the computer. it didn't bother me, i thought it was kinda funny actually. all the parents are really nice and thoughtful.

i had a student last week that went to disney world for the few days we were off of school. he came back this monday and gave me a donald duck pen from disney. i was sooooo touched, that they thought of me and honestly as silly as it sounds - to get something from the states was really sweet. i made a thank you note and sent it home immediately!!! how nice of them. another parent, who knew i had gone to mazatlan last weekend sent in a note specifically to ask how the trip was. i like that parents are involved in school so much that talking to the teacher in the morning or afternoon is an available option. i am happy with that set up.

one of the really young teachers just got engaged at our school, so they invited all the elementary school teachers to a "bridal shower" at our principal's house. so there were maybe like 12-15 teachers at the house and it was a nice little pot luck. the food was super tasty. i was sooo excited to go to our principals house, she is super nice - actually all of the administration is really nice, but there is something so classy, so eloquent about her. so her house was gorgeous and FULL of artwork. she is very artistic, she has all these paintings and sketches in her office at school and i commented on how nice they were one time. her reply "oh anyone could do that, i just read this book" so you see she is also very modest. anyway tons of the art in her house was her own originals and one was a replica of a frida kahlo painting. now - some of you may or may not know this, but i went to see Frida Kahlo's collection on a field trip this past april with my class. so i have seen originals - i was FLOORED at how authentic it looked. absolutely amazing. her home was just the right size, with a huge patio in the back and tons of plants, cacti, and trees. the tile outside was inlayed with mini ceramic tiles too, very detailed - but not overly ornate.

the food was delicious, and all the teachers were really laid back and have such a good sense of humor. there is a saying that is very "torreon" and that is "andale pues...", which our supervisor ana says all the time. so jenna and i were telling pati (our principal) and ana (our supervisor) how funny it is... we did our impression of ana and she was all about it. we also told them how happy we were to be in an authentic mexican home and hinted at having us over the other people's houses soon. they all said yes haha - only time will tell.

as for the bridal shower, it was interesting. there was one gift - a crucifix and bible wrapped in cellophane against an upholstered piece of wood, to put above the married couple's bed. pati started the celebration by offering some advice and said everyone would go around the table and offer their own insight. i know i speak spanish, but i was nervous - i have never been married! and to speak in front of all these native speakers, well it was a bit nerveracking at first. i got over it and all the mexican teachers were pleased that we all (the 4 american teachers) spoke in spanish. after that we ate the pot luck dinner, a tasty salad, mixed vegetables, and cheese crepes... YUM, we are sure to get the recipe from our principal cause it was damn tasty!!! not only does she keep a beautiful home, paint, cook, and run a school - she even plays the piano. we were like "pati, tell us what don't you do???" she laughed and of course said she was mediocre at best for the piano... yea right. needless to say it was a fun evening.

i am happy to report that an advanced spanish conversation class and literature class starts next thursday. here is the thing, it is kind of a time of caution in torreon. there are some drug issues happening and so the school tells us it is not the best idea to go out to places unknown at night. well clearly, EVERY place is unknown to us so out contact with the spanish language has been limited at best, because we teach in english and live americans. so i am happy about the class getting underway. also i start private tutoring on saturday and i will teach wed and fri evenings. i hope the extra cash is enough for groceries and such so i can save a little more. now with the economy eekk...

one final story then i will call it quits. jenna and i decided to go out for a bite to eat at our favorite lil place, forgetting it closes at 4pm... so we tried another place but were unsatisifed with the choices. se threw out the idea of taking a taxi to this really well known restaurant, so we went. and boy am i glad we did. i never had such good food in my life. the chips were so light and salty, yum. the rice and beans, perfectly seasoned and light, yet filling. and the salsa was spicy but tasty and the horchata (which is a delicious milky type of juice) was to die for. i haven't had juice like that since costa rica, and i've been chasing the dragon ever since. well now i am pleased to say i have found the best place for juice in torreon...

so we decided to walk home and see the town a bit. we walked into a few stores and all of a sudden we hear "MISS MISS" (which is the infamous name for any and all teachers)... so they go "Miss Emily, Miss Jenna" and we realize one of Jenna's students and one of my students is in this minivan calling us from the road. the mom yells out "do you want a ride" - while shes stopped at a red light. so we quick run through traffic (don't worry it was stopped as well) and hop in. haha that would NEVER happen in the states.... she was so nice, she talked to us the whole time in spanish and asked us about school and ourselves and she dropped us off at the house - it was really cool. and random haha but i liked it.

well ladies and gents thats whats been going on in my neck of the woods... and of course i have been keeping updated on the US... how is it over there now, is everything like it was when i left or are changes happening a lot - gas prices, prices of food, people losing jobs??? i feel aware of whats going on but strangely out of the loop since im not there, im only reading about it. how about this one of the mexican teachers here who picked us up for the bridal shower was telling us her and her husband were thinking of buying a house in texas, but they don't know anymore because they think the US is going downhill. just one person's opinion, but i was like - if a teacher in mexico thinks the US is in bad shape that isn't good....