Trip reflection

OK. We're back. We're unpacked. I've had Taco Bell. Everything is good. It still seems a little strange. I know we were gone for a month- the mail was proof of that! Jared is with Kyle. They are having fun. Eric went back to work today and I am trying to do whatever it is I am going to do.

The trip was good. We learned a lot and I don't mean Spanish or History or Business or whatever. We learned that we can pick up the family and drive forever and live in a small 2 bedroom apartment for a month. I think what saved me was being able to have internet access in the apartment so I could stay in touch with people and with what was going on in the world.

I really enjoyed our experiences there. It was wild being there as a mom and a teacher this time instead of a college student. It was fun seeing my students live some of the experiences I did and at the same school (different campus but still).

Next time we will hire a cleaning person to do the floors and bathrooms once a week. Just too much for us to try to keep up with. We will also need to find a new place for Jared too- he is a little too old for the other place.

We enjoyed the school, that is for sure. We should be able to manage the trip much better/easier etc. next year. We'll start planning much earlier this year and we hope to stay in the apartments again as it is a couple hundred dollars cheaper- and right next to the school. Lots of things like that.

It was a really great experience and I loved watching my students grow and learn from what they learned in class and applied that with what they already knew. It was amazing to watch them sometimes!

The last day...

First of all, it rained for the first time Thursday night! About 9pm we heard a ton of racket and it was the rain on the roof of the school next door. It rained all night. It hadn't rained the whole time we were there! So that was just awesome. I couldn't really sleep. GRRR. I had packed up about everything and I justs wanted to sleep. So much for that.

We got up and the boys got ready and headed for daycare. We got ready and walked to school in the rain. It was wild. It wasn't raining super hard but since it hadn't rained at all the whole month we were there it was kind of strange. We had a really great business class. One of Rosy's friends is a literature professor and she specializes in Chicano literature. She came and talked to us about the genre and had some books for everyone to look at. One of the cool things about the class was that the kids were looking at the books and making connections to things they learned in the Mexican History class. That was great. They knew that if they hadn't had the other class then the two things that stood out to them in this one particular story would not have made sense at all. I love those moments! It was a really great session. But it was the last one and that was a bummer. We all took pictures as you can see above. I think they turned out well. That is the whole group- minus Amparo and Zulema. They left late Thursday evening to go home with their Dad.

Thursday in history I had asked if Nava could teach modern Mexico- from 94-present. I wasn't sure if he would or not but when we got to class - it was all over the board. We weren't supposed to have much of a class but he really took my request seriously and presented a fabulous lesson. We were all taking notes even though there was no test or anything. It was great to see him work extemporaneously like that and the information was awesome. The kids really enjoyed his class. Today's lesson really just put the finishing touch on the whole month of history. Again we took pictures and those are above as well.

The school had organized a going away lunch for everyone but that was to be at 1:30 and we wanted to hit the road before then so we could make the border at a decent time. We weren't sure if we were going to stay in San Antonio or if we would try to drive all the way through. We figured we would just play it by ear and see how things unfolded. So we said goodbye to the kids and that was kind of a bummer. Most of them are seniors and have graduated so I won't see them again next year. Kind of a smack in the face but hey that is reality.

Eric went to pick up the boys and I finished packing up the last few things. I brought some things down to the van and then the kids came home. We loaded everyone up, dropped off the keys and we were on our way. Really weird feeling.

The drive was fine. Jared played games and Drew fell asleep. It rained sporadically on our way through Nuevo Leon but there wasn't a lot of traffic and the rain never got super bad so it wasn't crazy nuts or anything. What was crazy is how Jared had to use the bathroom. There was nothing in sight and we didn't want to stop and wake up Drew. It is much easier to drive when Drew is asleep! Soooooo I poured a bottle of water out the window and Jared peed in that. Yeah. That was fun. But it worked and we didn't have to stop.

We hit Nuevo Laredo about 4:30. We had to stop at the border and cancel the sticker for the van. That didn't take long and then we had to get in the lovely, long line to cross the bridge. It took FOREVER! Goodness. A little over an hour... everyone was getting a little irritated. We finally got to the customs agent and we were on our way. We ate dinner at IHOP and man that was good. I swear we looked like we were eating our last meal or something.

So we thought we would stop in San Antonio or a little further south. Let's just say that wasn't happening on the 4th of July. I called hotels, we stopped at hotels and there wasn't anything vacant. Eric said that was our sign to keep driving all the way through- and that is what we did.

Austin was pretty busy- we came through there a little after 11 and fireworks must have just ended. I was driving so Eric could get a little rest and then he would finish the drive. The boys were both asleep and that was great. I knew we would get in late and I wanted them to just be able to fall asleep in their own beds when we got here. I told Eric I would let him drive at midnight- and I was looking for an easy on/off exit. Yeah well I didn't really find one and at about that same time is when the State Trooper pulled me over for going 71 in a 65. PUHLEEZE! Anyway, I just got a warning but it is only the 2nd time I have ever been pulled over in my life so it was a little unnerving. Drew woke up and said hi to the nice policeman.

Eric drove after that and we got home around 2:30. Plucked the boys out of the van and put them in bed. Everyone seemed to be able to sleep except for me. Finally about 4:30 I slept. THANK GOD! I was in my own bed!!!

A nice cool day

Well today is our last full day here. We will leave tomorrow afternoon and head back to Texas. Don't have a true itinerary yet- just know when we are leaving.

Today was another nice and overcast day. Man it waits until our last week to do this! I am feeling more human today so I was able to walk to school- took me awhile but we did it. Classes were fine- had our last test in history and then that was it. We didn't meet for the 2nd hour at all. So we went full-time in the first class- 2 hours with no break... and then the 2nd class was just the test and that was it. I think we are all pretty much fried. Our business teacher sent everyone the final so they could do it tonight. I think that was a really good idea because it was really hard for a lot of them.

I came home and took a nap. I still didn't really feel like eating anything much so I just took it easy. We picked up the boys a little early since it was a nice day and we decided to go back to Santa Lucia (riverwalk) and play on the playground. Since the sun wasn't out we felt it wouldn't scorch the skin off the kids and the playground toys wouldn't be too hot. Took a taxi and walked down to the playground. I took it easy but it was a nice walk. The kids played for a good while and it was a really nice day. There were a lot of other people there and Jared played with a couple of boys who looked to be close to his age. He went on a see-saw for the first time. Drew had a blast of course. We walked back down the riverwalk to a restaurant that is right on the water and we had dinner. Nothing crazy for me but it was good. Kids ate really well too and Eric chowed down.

Took a taxi back and then Eric and Jared went to play catch. Drew and I played here. Boys are in bed already. I guess it's time for me to go and start packing my junk up. Shouldn't take too long anyway! This time tomorrow we should be in Texas somewhere!!!

Hello! Katie was horribly ill last night and today (she wants me to be graphic, but I will spare you the details) so I am back on blogging duty! I got up with the kids about 6:30, knowing that Katie had been up and down all night. She let me know in no uncertain terms that she would not be going to class today. No problem, except that Drew had a fever and a cough as well. I was worried because this apartment is too small for two sickos, so I dosed up Drew and stuffed him full of food. By 7:30 his fever had started to drop some and he was a much happier little boy so I thought we could risk him at daycare. I want to take a moment to thank Jimmy Parker, our adopted student. Jimmy is a 26 year old college student from San Antonio whose group fell apart. He still wanted to come to Monterrey so he came down by himself and got added in to our group. Not an easy situation, but he has done a great job. Anyway, he let me use his cell phone as an emergency contact in case one of the sickos worsened, but luckily, that didn't happen. Classes were pretty good today. In business Spanish, we worked on the imperfect subjunctive and talked about using conditional phrases with the pluscamperfecto tense. Fascinating stuff, I know :) Katie was really bummed about missing today's history class. We were studying the presidencies of Portilla, Madrid and Gortari (1976-1994). Gortari, especially, was interesting. He is widely regarded as the worst president in Mexican history. And that is saying a LOT! Assasinations, selling off state companies to his friends, etc. Good stuff! One weird thing...at the end of class, the professor (who we really like) had us all go around the room and talk about what we thought of the class. I don't know if that is customary down here or if he was just looking for an evaluation, but it was a weird vibe. We have our final papers due tomorrow along with our final exam so I don't know how honest everyone was with him! Ooosh! (Sorry, that is one of the sound effects he makes all the time in class and I had to put it in for Katie :) After classes, I skipped lunch and went back to check on Katie. She looked much better (human, even). I had bought her some gatorade and an assortment of crackers so she had a little to eat and then went back to sleep. I went to pick up the kids and, to give her a little more time to rest, decided that we would visit the Mexican baseball hall of fame, which happens to be located next to the brewery that we visited last week. So we took a cab over there (I am going to miss having cheap cabs around at my beck and call. Some of them are scary, but it is so convenient! And you never have to worry about getting lost. Just wander wherever you want, then have a cab take you home!) Jared was very impressed by the staues outside the Hall of Fame, although he did want to know who those other guys (Fernando Valenzuela, Hector Espina, etc.) were with Babe Ruth, Cy Young, etc. :) He did a pretty good job when we got inside, also. Even though he didn't know any of the Mexican teams or players, we were able to talk about some crossovers (Did you know that before African Americans were allowed in MLB, lots of the stars like John Gibson played half the year in the Negro league and then the other half of the year in the Mexican league?) as well as comparing what was going on in the major leagues at the same time. Both boys liked the interactive area best, though, as you can probably tell from the videos in the smilebox. There was a batting cage, a simulated pitchers mound, and even a small scale stadium with a tee ball set up for the little ones. (Jared was hopelessly overmatched in the batting cage. He must have taken fifty swings without making contact, but had a good time, anyway :) The whole thing was very well done! We got back around 6:00 and I made dinner for the boys (Katie had a sprite and more saltines). After that Jared and I had to go out and play catch for an hour or so. Then I came back and got the kids (and Katie) showered and put to bed. As soon as I finish this I am going to work on my history essay for tomorrow and some grammar exercises for the other class. I have been doing some extra grammar work to try to catch up (most of our kids are native speakers so staying ahead in the grammar is my only advantage), but I will probably skip it tonight. Tomorrow we start packing...

Guest Blogging!

Make a Smilebox photobook

Katie is taking the day off, so I have been enlisted for blogging duty. It worked out anyway, since I took the kids on an outing today (more on that later).

This morning was a great morning, probably the coolest it has been since we arrived. I took the kids to daycare about 7:15 and it was actually "crisp." Awesome! The business Spanish class was a little disorganized today, but the history class was great. We are studying modern Mexican history and got to learn about this huge student uprising in 1968 that I had never even heard of. It is amazing how little I really know about Mexico. After class we came back to the apartment to get ready for the trip.

I have been planning to visit the Grutas de Garcia, a cave system about 25 miles outside of Monterrey. Well, with one thing after another, today was our first good opportunity. I took Jared out of daycare early and invited some of the kids to fill out the trip. Katie is not a fan of caves and it probably wasn't a great trip for Drew, anyway, so I ended up squeezing five girls in the van for the hour drive (that is right, 25 miles took about an hour. Love the roads and traffic in Mexico!).

We got there and I was pleasantly surprised. The whole rest area was new and well maintained. (In fact, they probably had the cleanest bathrooms I have seen in my three weeks down here!). Like I said, it was a cool day so we had a lot of fun playing on the playground equipment while waiting for our teleférico ride (that is a cable car to most of us) up to the top of the mountain where the cavern entrance is located. Once we got up there and were able to enter, it was just awesome. Jared was impressed by all of the stalactites, stalagmites and columns of rocks. He especially got into the game of trying to see the various shapes that have been identified in the rock formations. We spent about an hour being guided up, down, and around a series of caves before taking the teleférico back down the mountain and piling into the van. It was a great trip, but half the girls were so tired from spelunking that they fell asleep on the way back!

We got back around 6:00, collected Katie and Drew and headed out for dinner (I know that I am doing the blog for Katie today, but it wouldn't seem complete without a mention of food, right?) We tried a new restaurant and got some great service (a very nice waiter who tried to speak English while I tried to speak Spanish). He brought us all kinds of extra salsas, fresh limes, grilled onions, etc. to go along with some excellent steak tacos and quesadillas. It was one of the best places we have eaten while in Monterrey! On the walk back we stopped for at our new favorite ice cream place (of course). Drew started chanting "bite? bite?" before we even walked through the door :)

Jared and I played some catch afterwards while Drew and Katie got cleaned up. Jared's arm is getting stronger and he is doing well with pop ups as well. He is still a little afraid of the ball when I throw short hops, but given the unpredictable ground we are playing on I guess I can't blame him too much for that. All of the people walking around the park are really impressed by Jared. They frequently come over and compliment him on his "beisbol."

Cooler weather!!!

Well today was just gorgeous. It was overcast most of the day and so the temperature did not reach Scorching. Classes were good. Had a history test today and it was "interesting". Eric was really tired and didn't stay to eat. I ended up ordering tacos and bringing them back to the apartment. When I got there he told me that I was going to have a manicure and pedicure this afternoon! What a surprise!!! That is why there is a picture of my toe on this post. She cut it a little funky but hey- it was the thought that counted. It was not quite like the pedicures I have had here, but it wasn't super different either. She and I were the only people in the salon and she asked a LOT of questions. It was very interesting. She was quite young though and curious about things so hey- we passed two hours just chatting about life.

I got out about 6 and was walking home when I heard someone yelling, "MOM". So I look around and finally I look up and there are Drew, Eric and Jared standing on the roof of the apartment building looking for me. It was cute. So I go up the elevator and didn't see them- thought they had come back down to the apartment... so I came down and they weren't here either. So I went back up... I could hear Drew crying for me but I still didn't see them so I came back down again. Turns out they were in the elevator coming down and that is when I heard Drew. Crazy!! The weather was so nice we decided to go to the macroplaza and have dinner and do some shopping. We were looking for soccer jerseys and a wrestling mask for Jared. It was such a lovely evening!!

Went to a book store first. Drew decided to scream but it wasn't because he was mad- he was just having fun. I bought a book and a couple of magazines and Jared got a comic book. We had dinner at Burger King and I swear Drew had 7 chicken tenders and Jared had 8. They were bottomless pits. We found Jared's mask (see above) and he is happy as a clam about that. We went to the mall we went into the other day and they had some native people making beautiful crafts. I was fascinated with the weaving and the pottery. They were making them right there! It was amazing to watch them. I bought a few things and then we kept on walking. We were full from dinner so we didn't get any other snacks. Drew thought it was fun watching everyone. We finally left around 8:30 and everyone is in bed now. It was so nice to be able to go outside and not sweat to death!!

I was taking pictures of Jared in his mask and then Drew decided he needed to wear it so I could take pictures of him. Then he wanted me to take pictures of him in his Burger King crown. He thinks he is so very clever... Today was our last Monday!!!

Plaza Sésamo

Oh my goodness can you say HOT? The boys got up at some awful hour and Eric took them out. Drew came back for a nap and then I got up. We went to Plaza Sesamo today. It is a combination theme/water park. It was Hot. I don't think Drew or I had recovered from yesterday but I really wanted to go. It was something we had talked about before we left Irving and today was the last day available that we could really do it- so off we went.

I couldn't handle the heat so I had us go to the waterpark after a few minutes. Drew thought it was the coolest thing so we were pretty pumped. He had never been in a water park before and this was the kiddie area. Eric and I took turns going on water rides with Jared. That was a lot of fun. The last time we were at a water park was when I was pregnant with Drew and I couldn't go on any of the water rides.

So it was all good until Eric left with Jared to go on some rides. Drew just melted down. He wanted in the water but only if I would hold him. I didn't want to do that the whole time and so he pitched a fit. Then he went hysterical and I had to just sit there and wrestle with him. I was already tired and I wasn't in the water so I was hot. Finally Eric and Jared came back and we got something to eat. Poor Drew was just wiped out so he and I came back to the apartment and Jared and Eric stayed and played. Drew slept for 3 hours. I slept for a little over an hour.

The boys came back at 4:30 and we played around here for a bit and Drew had some dinner. There was no puking today thank goodness! We went to the taco stand where we first had dinner that first Sunday night. Eric was really hankering for a real hamburger. So he ordered one and an order of tacos. Jared ordered a baked potato and I had tacos with mushrooms and bacon. Needless to say we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. We waited until 7 because that is when they opened but also when it is a more humane hour to be outside. It was downright pleasant. After dinner we went for some ice cream and that was delicious as usual.

The boys are in bed and I am finishing up these blogs and Eric is working on homework. I wrote my essay already for history class tomorrow... I still need to study though.

Today was our last Sunday here in Monterrey!!!