For Christmas Eve/Christmas we went to local markets in Tonala and Tlaquepaque, had a nice lunch in Tlaquepaque, ate dinner at my apartment and opened gifts on Christmas days. Here are a few snapshots which capture our holiday:
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Christmas
It was a little strange to not be back home at my parents house in Sacramento for Christmas. But not too strange since my immediate family is currently visiting me in GDL for two weeks! :)
For Christmas Eve/Christmas we went to local markets in Tonala and Tlaquepaque, had a nice lunch in Tlaquepaque, ate dinner at my apartment and opened gifts on Christmas days. Here are a few snapshots which capture our holiday:
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
For Christmas Eve/Christmas we went to local markets in Tonala and Tlaquepaque, had a nice lunch in Tlaquepaque, ate dinner at my apartment and opened gifts on Christmas days. Here are a few snapshots which capture our holiday:
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
When it Rains, it POURS...
A random thunderstorm decided to strike GDL and Zapopan early this evening. This storm brought me back to when I first arrived in GDL to rainy season in July. Almost every evening around 7 p.m., one would be able to see the flashes of light across the sky. About thirty minutes later, the storm would hit. Correction, the storm began to POUR down huge raindrops. For some reason, the irrigation system and construction of streets were built funky where all the streets end up looking somewhat like rivers. All of the drains would be blocked up, and the rain pours down so fast that it is almost impossible for the rain to clear the streets as fast as it comes down. Streets flooded, cars stuck, and stranded pedestrians would be the typical sight along the drenched streets of Zapopan throughout the night. By morning, the storm normally would have cleared and the streets would be practically dry with just a look of morning dew or fog.
Oddly enough, the exact same thing is occurring as I type. I began to see flashes of light about an hour ago. I always have to wonder to myself whether this flash is a spotlight or an incoming storm. Rarely does any sound accompany the light until about five minutes before it hits. Then, BAM!!! Right now it sounds like there is a waterfall flowing into my apartment swimming pool. About every twenty or thirty seconds the lightning rumbles and there is a flash across the sky. Also, the louder the rumble or gargle of thunder, the harder the rain is about to hit. I can't believe I'm actually going to say this BUT I'm going to miss the rain in GDL. It's actually quite amazing -- when you're not in it.
Oddly enough, the exact same thing is occurring as I type. I began to see flashes of light about an hour ago. I always have to wonder to myself whether this flash is a spotlight or an incoming storm. Rarely does any sound accompany the light until about five minutes before it hits. Then, BAM!!! Right now it sounds like there is a waterfall flowing into my apartment swimming pool. About every twenty or thirty seconds the lightning rumbles and there is a flash across the sky. Also, the louder the rumble or gargle of thunder, the harder the rain is about to hit. I can't believe I'm actually going to say this BUT I'm going to miss the rain in GDL. It's actually quite amazing -- when you're not in it.
Sayulita
School is finally out and all I want to do is sleep. Being back in school for the past five and a half months, taking five courses in Spanish, and student teaching has led me to feel utterly exhausted in the end. I am definitely looking forward to the next month which will consist of a weekend trip to Acapulco, my family visiting for Christmas, NYE in Cancun and studying for a week in Playa del Carmen before jetting back to the States.
This last weekend I bussed on over to Sayulita - a beach town about an hour North of Vallarta. The town is fairly small, surrounded by hills, and consists primarily of a main plaza surrounded by little restaurants, bars and stores. From here, the beach is only about a block and a half away from the main plaza. All in all, it's basically a small surf town wiht a little bay full of surfers, beachfront restaurants, sand and abundant sun.
We rented a house for the four nights which only ended up being $60 a night total! Located up in the hills and about a ten minute walk slightly uphill from the plaza, the house is quaint split between being outdoors and indoors. The dining room and kitchen were all open to the outside. The only parts actually indoors were the two bedrooms and one bath.
What did I do all weekend? I typically woke up at 9, went down to town for breakfast, walked to the beach, layed out for a few hours, went back into town for a little shopping, hiked back up to the house, showered and changed, walked back to town for dinner, and tried to be in bed by 11 each night. Although it is high season along the beaches, Sayulita is more of a sleepy surfer town. However, I did feel like I was in the US vs. Mexico with Americans overpopulating the streets.
Would I ever go back? Most likely not. It is worth seeing for a little getaway and relaxing weekender, but will not likely be putting Sayulita on my list of places to visit again.
Rating: 7/10
This last weekend I bussed on over to Sayulita - a beach town about an hour North of Vallarta. The town is fairly small, surrounded by hills, and consists primarily of a main plaza surrounded by little restaurants, bars and stores. From here, the beach is only about a block and a half away from the main plaza. All in all, it's basically a small surf town wiht a little bay full of surfers, beachfront restaurants, sand and abundant sun.
We rented a house for the four nights which only ended up being $60 a night total! Located up in the hills and about a ten minute walk slightly uphill from the plaza, the house is quaint split between being outdoors and indoors. The dining room and kitchen were all open to the outside. The only parts actually indoors were the two bedrooms and one bath.
What did I do all weekend? I typically woke up at 9, went down to town for breakfast, walked to the beach, layed out for a few hours, went back into town for a little shopping, hiked back up to the house, showered and changed, walked back to town for dinner, and tried to be in bed by 11 each night. Although it is high season along the beaches, Sayulita is more of a sleepy surfer town. However, I did feel like I was in the US vs. Mexico with Americans overpopulating the streets.
Would I ever go back? Most likely not. It is worth seeing for a little getaway and relaxing weekender, but will not likely be putting Sayulita on my list of places to visit again.
Rating: 7/10
Monday, December 7, 2009
Practicas en GDL
Last month was pretty crazy and jam packed with “Practicas Intensivas" (student teaching). This basically means that I had to teach at least six different lessons (English, Math, Science, Art, PE and Spanish) each week. For the most part, my students behaved fairly well – listened to directions, worked on the task at hand, etc.
But here’s the kicker…
One Monday I showed up to realize the class was behind one lesson so the Spanish lesson/reading I had planned would have to be pushed off until Thursday. I explained to the teacher, she understood and then asked if I could instruct the last two pages of the current lesson. Although I wasn’t quite prepared, I obliged and continued on. Once this was done, she pulled me aside and asked if I had any other lessons planned for the day. I didn’t, but she told me she wasn’t feeling well and asked if I could take over. I of course agreed, but little did I know she meant literally take over so she could go home. I asked her what she wanted me to do with the kids and her response was whatever I would like.
So she left me for the day with my 33 little rascals. I don’t know if it was because it was a Monday, but my kids were out of control. Jumping on the desks, crying left and right, choking eachother and punching eachother in their stomachs. Their attention span would last for about 10 minutes before I would have to change the activity. However, the main problem is the teacher has never established formal rules. She let's the kids fight and cry giving the excuse, "It happens," or "It's not my responsibility." Nevertheless, I was utterly exhausted by the time the bell rang.
The next day I was absolutely dreading going to the elementary school. Sure enough, my teacher never showed up nor did they have a sub ready for the class. I went up to the principal, informed her that the teacher never came and that I needed the key to the cabinet with all the classroom materials. Without hesitation, she handed me the key and I was on my “merry” way.
This day went a little smoother thanks to PE and getting a little bit of their energy out of their system. I think I was also a little more mentally prepared to have them all on my own too. I had come to class in mind with a few back up activities just in case. I was also able to gauge my time a little better and have somewhat of an idea what to do based on what we did the day before. Now not to say that my day went perfectly smoothly without any hitting, jumping on desks, throwing pencils into the fan or crying because I took coloring books away from them during math time. The most intriguing point for me was when I read a story outloud to the class. Although they had read the story as a class the day before, I knew they probably didn’t comprehend or here the whole story and decided to be the storyteller. Seeing their sparkly wide eyed faces in awe of the story at hand reminded me that these are still little kids. They are entertained by some of the simplest things and although sometimes I want to scold them for behavior, they are still only 7-8 years old.
Turns out the teacher did not show up ALL WEEK. On Thursday, I was asked why I did not come on Wednesday because they needed me. Feeling under the weather on Friday, I knew I would not be able to teach all day if this was the case again. Sure enough, the teacher never showed up but I informed the principal I would have to leave after one hour due to food poisoning. She said it would be fine but asked if any of my colleagues could teach the class. OR if any of my professors were around and could take over. This alone made me realize even more so that we are being used and they are taking advantage of us being at the school. I told her no and went home.
All in all, a stressful and exhausting week. Writing this only makes me want to take a nap.
But here’s the kicker…
One Monday I showed up to realize the class was behind one lesson so the Spanish lesson/reading I had planned would have to be pushed off until Thursday. I explained to the teacher, she understood and then asked if I could instruct the last two pages of the current lesson. Although I wasn’t quite prepared, I obliged and continued on. Once this was done, she pulled me aside and asked if I had any other lessons planned for the day. I didn’t, but she told me she wasn’t feeling well and asked if I could take over. I of course agreed, but little did I know she meant literally take over so she could go home. I asked her what she wanted me to do with the kids and her response was whatever I would like.
So she left me for the day with my 33 little rascals. I don’t know if it was because it was a Monday, but my kids were out of control. Jumping on the desks, crying left and right, choking eachother and punching eachother in their stomachs. Their attention span would last for about 10 minutes before I would have to change the activity. However, the main problem is the teacher has never established formal rules. She let's the kids fight and cry giving the excuse, "It happens," or "It's not my responsibility." Nevertheless, I was utterly exhausted by the time the bell rang.
The next day I was absolutely dreading going to the elementary school. Sure enough, my teacher never showed up nor did they have a sub ready for the class. I went up to the principal, informed her that the teacher never came and that I needed the key to the cabinet with all the classroom materials. Without hesitation, she handed me the key and I was on my “merry” way.
This day went a little smoother thanks to PE and getting a little bit of their energy out of their system. I think I was also a little more mentally prepared to have them all on my own too. I had come to class in mind with a few back up activities just in case. I was also able to gauge my time a little better and have somewhat of an idea what to do based on what we did the day before. Now not to say that my day went perfectly smoothly without any hitting, jumping on desks, throwing pencils into the fan or crying because I took coloring books away from them during math time. The most intriguing point for me was when I read a story outloud to the class. Although they had read the story as a class the day before, I knew they probably didn’t comprehend or here the whole story and decided to be the storyteller. Seeing their sparkly wide eyed faces in awe of the story at hand reminded me that these are still little kids. They are entertained by some of the simplest things and although sometimes I want to scold them for behavior, they are still only 7-8 years old.
Turns out the teacher did not show up ALL WEEK. On Thursday, I was asked why I did not come on Wednesday because they needed me. Feeling under the weather on Friday, I knew I would not be able to teach all day if this was the case again. Sure enough, the teacher never showed up but I informed the principal I would have to leave after one hour due to food poisoning. She said it would be fine but asked if any of my colleagues could teach the class. OR if any of my professors were around and could take over. This alone made me realize even more so that we are being used and they are taking advantage of us being at the school. I told her no and went home.
All in all, a stressful and exhausting week. Writing this only makes me want to take a nap.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Los Collarines - The Neck Braces
An interesting observation made by almost every person in the intercambio program is that there is an odd amount of people who constantly walk around with neck braces. For some odd reason it seems that almost every day we see someone who has a neck brace on either at school, the supermarket, on the bus, in the pharmacy, or even while on a leisure stroll. The most predominant weekend was after the “Puente” (three-day weekend). It seemed as if the number of people multiplied and I could not step outside of my classroom without seeing at least one person with a neck brace. The best is when you see two people both with neck braces, engaging in a conversation.
With this in mind, this past weekend I had the honor of attending a “Fiesta de los collarines.” Every person in attendance had to wear a neck brace. It was more of a way of embracing the fact that everyone wears them and making fun of the issue at the same time. The party was a hit and I even decorated mine to read, “VIVA MEXICO.” My friend Ismael on the other hand wrote on his, “PINCHE CAMION.”
Good times as always.
With this in mind, this past weekend I had the honor of attending a “Fiesta de los collarines.” Every person in attendance had to wear a neck brace. It was more of a way of embracing the fact that everyone wears them and making fun of the issue at the same time. The party was a hit and I even decorated mine to read, “VIVA MEXICO.” My friend Ismael on the other hand wrote on his, “PINCHE CAMION.”
Good times as always.
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