my grade four placement came to a screetching halt today with a fast-paced chaotic last day. with march break only inches away, the kids were on edge, the energy captivating and throwing off any potential for normalcy. our medieval feast was a great success: the kids ate themselves silly, performed for one another (mostly swordfights... ooops) and we had the whole classroom cleaned up in under 10 minutes flat. the feast was a perfect cumulative activity for medieval times, but it was a HUGE organizational feat. it was not something that we could do every day. parents sent loads and loads of food, but it wasn't prepared or ready to be served. SO, while trying to organize the kids, keep them calm and set-up desks, i was simultaneously cutting up veggies, fruit, bread et al. mutlitasking to the max!
i raced home after school, finished packing and took a 6:30 via train to toronto. i was really tired, but i could only get an aisle seat, which is unfortunately not conducive to sleeping! it was also really cold (partly my fault because i had dressed in capris in preparation for mexico sun... i jumped the gun a bit on that one). i did quite a compact job of packing, but i had an extra small duffel bag for all the goodies i was bringing down for erin and ginny.
the loveliest part of my stopover i toronto was that my good friend steve picked me up at union. i hadn't seen him in months, but whenever i go through toronto, i try and give him a call. his parents essentially run a b&b for all his friends that pass through the city. i honestly think i could stay with his parents even if he wasn't home! i got to catch up with him and bri, door to door service to the airport in the morning (thanks a million steve), a fresh pot of coffee and the most comfortable pillow in the planet. i don't know what it is about the pillows at steve's house, but i adore them! i think they are laura ashley pillows, but i haven't been able to find identical matches. if you EVER get a chance, you must sleepover at steve's house if only for the magical pillow experience!
the plane trips worked without any significant hitches. there was no luggage lost, no delays, no turbulence and no confusion. in fact, i even made some new friends! i arrived in toronto to absolutely NO line at check-in, customs or security. when i made it to the gate, i actually happened to sit down next to two other girls who are in the faculty of education at queen's on the way to their own alternate practicums in mexico - how random! one girl was actually heading to monterrey as well, the other to mexico city. we bonded over lunch in chicago, discussed living norms/taboos for living in mexico and generally had a great day. whenever i travel i am always prepared for a quiet day on my own, but i was pleasantly surprised to have some lovely company.
i arrived in monterrey to-the-minute at 5:50 saturday afternoon. i flew past customs without ANY questions, and pressed the traffic light button which indicates whether your bags will be searched or not. (phew. i got green!) ginny and jen arrived to pick me up a few minutes later, and i haven't stopped since. but more on that later.
yesterday i had breakfast in canada, lunch in the us and dinner in mexico. quite the day!
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