the cure.

so i finally kicked the cold of the century. i have spent the last two weeks sniffling, sneezing, and coughing all over everything and everyone, and generally feeling pretty sorry for myself. the worst part was that i wasn't as good of a teacher, because i felt that i was being less patient and was slightly more irritable. no fun. i finally caved and visited the mexican doctor to be loaded up on drugs. i know they are known for over-medicating, but i figured if it got me better for christmas, it was worth it!

and if you weren't convinced that monterrey could be a destination for medical tourism, then you will be when you read this. on friday, ginny had laser eye surgery. and saturday morning, she woke up with 20/20 vision. whoa! it was absolutely perfect, flawless and easy. she was in no pain, was barely disoriented, and she didn't have to miss a day of work. and, because the doctor is a parent at the school, the price is right! i think this will be my new savings goal. oh, to wake up and see the alarm clock! i can't imagine.

i leave for canada in four days. i only have to teach for 3.5 days. before i go, i have to pack up my classroom for construction (they are lowering the ceilings), i have to enter progress report grades and do a significant amount of marking, i have to finish building a grade 2 economics unit AND i have to find time to pack and get myself organized. my plane leaves 2.5 hours after my kids walk out of the building on friday, so i won't have a second to lose. this week is absolute insanity! but being busy is certainly making the time go fast, and i am all of a sudden REALLY excited to be going home for christmas.

i don't know whether it was feeling better, or making plans, or just getting more immersed in the christmas spirit, but i am SO excited! originally, i hadn't even intended on heading home for christmas. i have always considered myself to be very independent, and i knew that at some point moving away would mean missing my traditional christmas. BUT, the transition has definitely been harder on my parents, and i did have a free flight that the school gives me for the year... so i decided to book a crazy route home to have a week with my family for the holidays. and i really am glad i did. i am even kind of looking forward to jumping in the snow! but mostly, i am excited for traditions that i recognize, for comfort food and for a little quality time with the fleming's.

even though it was 5 degrees today, yesterday it was 20 degrees. so here is a picture of us at the christmas parade... in tank tops:



ginny and lindsay smelling christmas trees at the market! feels just like home:

so this is christmas?

contrary to popular belief, christmas does actually exist in countries without snow. i don't know what i thought, but i guess i didn't expect many of the traditions to be the same. or maybe that christmas was bypassed in favour of a holiday where we celebrated palm trees.

instead, christmas is here in full force. these people sure know how to celebrate - tacky, religious but also with enough spirit to bring out the kid in me.

i started the season at school by pulling out all my holiday books. as if i don't love reading enough to them already, now i can't stop! titles such as "how santa really works" and "how santa got his job" are captivating me more then the kiddies! in case you were wondering, santa is actually a skinny dude wearing a fat suit, and he takes off the suit to get down the chimney.

christmas here in san pedro, is a season. it begins with the massive san pedro parade the first weekend in december. every dance troupe, every school, every single child in the city seems to walk in the parade. we gathered our hot chocolate (spiked with bailey's, of course) and set up along the calzada to soak up the spirit. rollerblading clubs, choreographed routines and multiple santas marched past us, and the ending was timed perfectly with a HUGE firework display.

after this parade, my kids became out of control, and in many ways, the whole month has been a write off. particularly in this community, these kids are very affluent and i struggle watching their sense of entitlement when they write their letters to santa. when i was 8, i was asking for toys, and these kids are asking for cell phones and ipods. one really cool thing, though, is that they all believe. when one child brought up the possibility that they had heard a rumor about christmas, and the kids refused to believe it. santa comes. no questions asked.

on the same note, the kids were shocked when they heard that not everyone celebrates christmas. they asked me, "mizz, do you not go to church because you don't understand spanish?" i have tried my very best to expose them to other realities without being judgemental or critical of what they understand as their reality. one of my friends here is jewish, so i had her come in and talk to the kids to talk about hanukkah. i was really proud my little ones when they asked thoughtful questions such as:
"what does it feel like to be jewish?"
"why did they all fight?"
i don't know if they will remember my efforts ten years from now. but if even one kid remembers this, then all this work is not pointless.

a traditional christmas celebration in mexico is called a posada. these parties traditionally happen in the 8 days leading up to christmas and represent the difficult journey that mary and joseph took to find an inn. in spanish, posada simply means shelter, but it has evolved into a huge festive celebration commemorating the journey. half of the people at the party stand on one side of a door, and the other half stand on the other side. a traditional call and response song is sung (the song with NO tune, as we like to call it), followed by the kids hitting a pinata in the shape of the star, again representing the star that mary and joseph followed to bethlehem. we had a class posada at one of my student's houses (errr, mansion) AND we had a full staff posada at the huesteca campus last wednesday after work. it was interesting watching the children interact with each other outside of school, and to observe the lack of rules/structure they are given by their parents. but it was nice not to be in charge. our full-staff posada was also an eye-opening experience, but for a different reason. ALL of the staff were there: the security guards, the teachers, the cleaners, the custodians and the office workers. when you fill up a gym filled with all of us, international teachers are a SIGNIFICANT minority. i don't notice it on a typical day because i am always surrounded by the teachers. we were all served delicious tamales, we had karaoke (which the mexicans took with a storm) and they had a HUGE draw for gifts. every person's name was put in the draw for everything from microwaves to heaters to cleaning supplies. very cool. i didn't win, but i was SO content watching everyone else walking away smiling.

as i walk around san pedro, both on the way to school and in the evening, there are almost more decorations here then at home. or maybe they are just more prominent: blow up nativity scenes, huge santa scenes, flashing lights in multiple colours. talk about over stimulation!

presents started pouring in over a week ago, one of my kids has already left for a cruise and i am counting down the minutes until my last class this week. christmas is still christmas, even without snow. i am being won over by different traditions: visiting christmas markets with tacky decorations, eating hot churros and learning to re-gift the piles of christmas chocolates i am given by my students.

christmas is all around.

little vacation BIG fun.

day 5: its hard to get over. he was my first australian friend.

on wednesday, haley and i got some advice from one of the ladies at our language course. she told us that the nicest beach, devoid of vendors and annoying tourists, was called playa bruja, about 14 kilometres south of where we were staying. we jumped on of the cab golf carts (of course, we picked the one that was probably the slowest in the city), and found ouf little piece of deserted beach. the two biggest problems we had that afternoon were figuring out how to open our beers without an opener, and trying to understand the 'bilingual' horses that were advertised. it was an area of beach that was just north of some of the big resorts, so at the end of the day we walked down the beach to try and see if we could actually find the resort where we knew other asfm teachers were staying. i love walking in my barefeet on the beach. it feels like a massage as the sand gets stuck between my toes. we had no trouble finding the hotel, sneaking in, AND finding our friends lying by the pool. perfect timing! because i got to play with the babies AND the whole group of us went out for dinner together. it was great -- thirteen of us, or more, all enjoying seafood by the beach, two for one drinks (dangerous) and i had a baby in my lap the whole time. little quinn has not had a lot of experience with busty women in his life, so let's just say he got mighty comfortable. my mom did always tell me that someone would really appreciate them one day.

day 6: haley, stop pulling the baby's hair.

language school was pretty hard today. i was tired from a late night of dancing and two for one margaritas. we were not overly ambitious in the afternoon either, parking ourselves down on the beach and snoozing all afternoon. we met up again in a big group for a shrimply delicious dinner, and i was in baby heaven once again. good thing there weren't serving two for one drinks, only some spanish homework paired with an early night.

day 7: little people big world.

i got a little starstruck on friday. i knew that one of the guys in my language class was a tv producer, but i didn't know the specifics. it turns out that he used to produce the dr. phil show and now produces the tlc show 'little people big world'. and when i walked in to my prononciation class early friday morning, amy, one of the parents on the show was sitting there! i'll tell you, she wouldn't have been at the top of my celebrities to meet list, but it was pretty fun. i guess one of her kids is failing spanish and they were thinking of doing a show where they bring the kid down for some extra spanish classes. we found out that her and her husband matt were staying at the hotel right next door to our condo (sans cameras... too bad, because we think it would have made a great episode: elementary teachers take little people parents out for a wild night on the big town!). we did actually end up meeting up with them several times, and they even took us out for lunch!

day 8: is cam on a boat to australia?

it is always easier to leave a place when the weather stinks. it was cloudy all day, so the beach was really out of the question. instead: silver shopping! (which for me, really does rank almost up there with lying on a beach) i spent too much money, and but i got a lot of my christmas shopping done. by the afternoon, however, the weather had gone from bad to worst. it was now so windy and rainy that we couldn't keep the balcony doors from breaking open. i think it was as close as i have ever been to living through a hurricane. on second thought. that might be a slight exaggeration. but it was pretty crazy. tonight we went dancing again with the full group (minus the babies this time!) and had a pretty ridiculous night of which the details (to save face) will be mainly left out of this entry. i will only say this: there was some serious grooving and maybe some late-night ocean swims!

day 9: life lesson #368: don't come on vacation with five ladies and expect to get the ocean view flower-print room.

i woke up earlier then everyone, which was a perfect way to end my week. i am rarely a morning person, but perhaps i should become one. wandering the quiet streets and sitting at a cafe in the early morning was quite relaxing... although so is sleeping. hmm. tough choice. maybe it was only a one-time thing. unfortunately, the trip did actually end on a bit of a sour note. because i really enjoy planning things, i was the one who had found the condo and put the trip together. i make the mistake of trusting too easily and i have now learned that not everyone is as laid-back about travel as i am. i don't know how someone could have found trouble in our paradise, but i guess not everyone is so easily pleased. so, with drama to settle, we returned to monterrey... with bags loaded with silver, a tan to beat, a few new laugh lines and a brand new appreciation for all things vacation.

treis noches con camarone.

where to start?

its been awhile. and i'm sorry about that. but i have a good excuse. i've been off gallivanting around for a whole week off! its true, i have been back for a full week already, but it has been a rough one. coming back to work was like hitting a brick wall at full speed. at times, i felt i was a bit of a waste of space! but now, with my vacation over, and back into the swing of things at work, i finally have the time (and energy) to update you all on my adventures.

in celebration of american thanksgiving AND mexican revolution, the school gave us a week off. and the timing couldn't have been better. after three months of solid teaching, we were all feeling a bit burnt out. we had just finished report cards, and two days full of parent-teacher conferences. anyone who knows me knows that i LOVE to plan trips. in fact, one day, i could see myself making a career out of it! well, it seems that i have become the unofficial trip planner here as well. my friend (sarah tambien) and i decided we wanted to go somewhere and stay in a condo for a week. on the mexican low-cost airline viva aerobus, mazatlan (on the coast, just north of puerto vallarta) was the cheapest destination. and with a few searches, i stumbled upon a magical mansion condominium in the old town. so, we booked the flight, booked the mansion, found a few friends, and off we went.

day 1: you see, the problem is...

i packed faster then i have ever packed before. friday night i was lazy and had gone out for dinner instead, so i was running around my apartment saturday morning like a madwoman. in truth, it didn't really matter what i brought, as long as it included a bathing suit and sun glasses. we had no trouble getting to the airport on time and our flight was comfortable and easy. however, tim (this. is. mexico.) definitely shone through when we had to have our baggage completely searched by HAND because they don't have the equipment to do it electronically. but getting off the airplane into the fresh warm air, smelling the ocean literally made my life complete. we did, however, have trouble figuring out transportation into town because the inexpensive buses had one small problem: "you see, the problem is, we don't know where it stops". you have an airport shuttle and you don't know where it stops?? apparently the driver just stops wherever he pleases. so we settled on taking a cab. BUT we also had trouble finding our condo because as our cabbie explained, "you see, the problem is, they changed the name of the street"... we did eventually make it to our condo, and managed to lug our massive bags up three flight of stairs. and with one look, all our problems disappeared.

day 2: this one time, i rented a mansion and i danced.

i wish i could take you all to see this mansion for yourself. i have never seen a place so huge in my life. it was a penthouse apartment, large enough to play a professional basketball game in the living room, open a night club in the loft and start a restaurant in the kitchen. my jaw dropped as i walked from room to room. our view was spectacular, our block-long balcony overlooking the ocean and the beach below. the rooms were differing in size and amenities, but the common areas were exquisit. today we decided to take a 'ferry' (slash small motor boat) to an island for escape artists lined with palapa restaurants, cute mexican kids burying themselves in sand and the most gorgeous sunset i have ever seen. but wait! how could i forget the best part! the night before, eating fresh seafood at the world renowned 'shrimp bucket', we had met the highlight of our trip: australian cam. not only was his name cameron (which in spanish literally means shrimp), but he was the loveliest, friendliest most delightful person i have met in a long time. we basically adopted him. i mean, c'mon, we had enough room in our mansion for at LEAST one extra friend. there was something about cam that just made the days better and more hilarious. i have never laughed so hard in my life! he even participated in our ridiculousness: we had a dance party, a photo shoot in a blow-up boat and drank some massive margaritas. and every night we would stay up late talking on the balcony and the moon would turn red, shrink and then disappear. seriously. i'm telling you, there was something cool about this guy that made the world wake up and notice.

day 3: language school dropout, go back to monterrey, your spanish didn't get any better, anyway.

haley and i woke up bright and early monday morning and tried to go to language school. cam even woke up to send us off to school. however, our plan was foiled when we arrived and language school appeared to be closed. there was a sign (albeit in spanish) that pointed to the door and it was locked. (inset: we learned the next day that, in fact, language school had not been closed, but that the sign was telling us to go up the stairs. too bad we hadn't learned that in spanish yet). instead, we parked our butts on the beach in front of a restaurant where a lovely waiter served us margaritas all afternoon. and what a great day it was! i played in the waves, played with an adorable puppy named milo and read my national geographic magazine all while getting a TAN! life couldn't have been better. AND we got to have seafood for dinner!

day 4: enchiladas para camarone!

a sad day. this was the day that cam had to leave us for his great love, baja california. little did he know, life would not be the same without us! haley and i had our first day of language school and met the slightly insane woman who runs it. this lady was quite the piece of work. a total nutjob. but that is another story. afterwards, we had our last meal with cam, but the cafe was quite slow, and he had to leave for the ferry before his food arrived. we all shed a few tears about the loss of our new friend. until we had a fabulous idea: we should bring his enchiladas to him at the ferry terminal! like a scene from the amazing race, we raced down the street, jumped into a cab and vamanosed to the ferry waiting terminal. we even burst through the gates thinking we were going to get stopped by the guards (which would have ruined the whole motion picture aspect of it all) but we got there in time. hopefully cam will remember us thoughtfully, running towards him with cold enchiladas... the rest of the day was a contemplative one, filled with traffic jams, grocery shopping and lots of sleep. i think i fell asleep at 6 for a nap, and woke up the next morning.

and part two will continue tomorrow of my mazatlan adventures will have to continue tomorrow. it is way past my bedtime and i am no longer on vacation!