drive by numbers.

Two weeks ago, after an amazing and relaxing six weeks off (I was literally thanking the Gods of teaching daily), I had to return to Mexico for my second official year at ASFM. But this time, I didn’t go alone… I decided to have an old friend accompany me.

She was born in 1994.
She is steamy hot with little ability to acclimatize.
She has tacky fashion sense.

Grandma Taurus and I set off to Mexico late on a Wednesday evening, with aspirations of arriving on Saturday. But that was only the beginning of the adventure.

24 – Hours of books on CD that I brought for the trip. I listened to 9 hours of an Ann Patchett book, and got through about 13 of my next novel, Zorro by Isabelle Allende. I have to find a time to listen to the rest!

6 – The number of states the I had to cross: Michigan (terribly bumpy highways and awful construction), Ohio (not my favorite, we’ll get to that later), Kentucky (very green with lovely scenery), Tennessee (I actually listened to country music on the radio for almost an hour!), Arkansas (quick to pass through) and Texas (fastest speed limit, but longest to traverse).

10 – The number of hours that it takes to cross the massive state of Texas. Make that 11 with a brief power shop in San Marcos.

14 - Number of times I had to fill up on gas. Did you know that you have to pay first in the States if you are paying cash?

350 – Give or take a dollar or two, this was the amount of money that I spent on gas.

42 - Number of hours I spent driving. This includes time spent in traffic, which added about 4 hours to this total.

100ish - Number of busted truck tires that I had to swerve to avoid on the interstates.

3 – Number of hours I spent waiting on the side of the highway in Cincinnati after my car broke down.

1 – The number of police escorts I got off the highway.

9 – Number of hours I had to wait for the automobile shop to figure out what was wrong with the car. Note that my mom actually had to call and threaten to move the car to a Ford Dealership in order for anything to get accomplished. How embarrassing!

2 – The grand total of torrential downpours that attacked my windshield wipers, and forced me to pull over.

1 – Stupid sign in Texas advertising for guns: “We AIM to keep you safe.”

4 – The number of hotels who ripped me off to lay my head down for a few hours: in Oakville, Cincinnati, Nashville and Dallas.

2 – The number of times that I made serious wrong turns. And wouldn’t you know it, they were both after I crossed the Mexican border.

2 - The number of hours I spent at the Mexican border getting my car permit. Not bad, all things considered!

0 – The total number of clear Mexican road signs.

3600 – The final count on Kilometres traveled from Ottawa, Canada to Monterrey, Mexico.

It was quite the adventure! I pulled into my apartment in Monterrey late Sunday night, and I felt like I was home. I couldn't believe I had actually DRIVEN there. Since then, a lot has happened, which partly explains my blogging absence.

After arriving...
I had two quick days to set up my new classroom.
Another two quick days of training and meetings.
Then I jumped on a plane and went BACK to Canada for Elena's wedding (more on that to come).
Four days later I flew back to Monterrey and started school 24 hours later. Phew.
I have a new group of kids, I miss my old ones and my classroom still feels like I just moved in. Its been a busy whirlwind, but I feel that it is gradually starting to come together.

And let me add, Monterrey is a whole new world with a car!