on becoming a mexican.

after the pta party last week, and the staff was sufficiently spoiled, work really cracked down. reality set in that this teaching thing really is a lot of work – particularly when you have to learn all the curriculum, policies and procedures of a private school. i was given more material to read then i could read in a lifetime, and was in more meetings than i could possibly count. i felt that i barely had two minutes to set up my classroom!

however, in typical sarah fashion, i found sufficient time outside of school to learn a little more about monterrey and take in the social scene. it is easy to stay at school until 7, because there is always more work that can be done. but when a cold beer and good conversation is calling, almost nothing can keep me away. last week, i attended my first salsa party (the dip, not the dance), found the only place to get locally brewed draft beer in the city (sierra madre brewing company... hellO 2 for 1 beers), ate tacos at the principal's house overlooking the city (again, free beer and food for the entire staff), danced in a house overlooking the city and successfully ordered empanadas and red wine at an argentinian restaurant. it seems that to become mexican, all you really need to do is drink a lot.

all jokes (and drinking) aside, i have also become more confident in using my butchered spanish. i feel less like an outsider. i am no longer shocked when CRAZY things happen on a regular basis. i am comfortable with the insanity of monterrey driving. i can navigate around san pedro and know the route to santa catarina. the sweat running on my brow and running down my back (all day, every day) is now a comforting thing. i have stopped taking pictures of the mountains, because i have finally realized that they will still be THAT beautiful tomorrow.

my other feats for the week included: directing two different friends through the jungle of streets to the gym at the high school campus. it is a miracle that i found the place with all these one-way streets, disappearing lanes, people jumping over medians and even a man biking a huge cart of garbage on the highway… in the slow lane, of course. i also found a key cutter and successfully signed that i wanted a copy made. AND i found a dollar store a block away from my house. i guess we aren't in siberia after all. i can even order my "uno grande latte con leche light" at starbucks without speaking english at all! little, by little, i am settling into life as a temporary mexican.

however.

there are some things i will never be able to get used to….

• miniature bugs on my toilet paper
• freezing and loud air conditioners
• children with maids, drivers and cooks
• getting up at 5:30 am
• dead cockroaches in the laundry room
• spanish television (sidenote: I watched it during dinner tonight, even though I did not understand one single word)
• cabs that honk to ask if you want to be picked up
• stop signs that are ‘stoptional’
• one-way streets… everywhere
• blocked traffic from lineups at the fast food restaurant pollo loco – ie. crazy chicken

i should end these reflections by saying that tomorrow is the first day of school. not only am i becoming a mexican, but i am also becoming a teacher! today the kids came by with their mom's to drop off their supplies (picture hundreds of kleenex boxes, post-it notes and sparkly pencils... where exactly am i supposed to store all of this stuff?), so i have met them all, but tomorrow it all begins. tonight i was at work until after after 9 setting up the classroom and putting my plans in place. this will certainly not be a tradition, but i don't think it is unusual for a new teacher during the first week of school. but you know what? even though i worked almost 14 hours today, i still came home, cracked a beer and chatted with ginny. carpe diem.