Counting Down!

I am so excited that it is December. I have officially started the count-down to my arrival in Canada. (I'll be there in 18 days!) Fortunately, I think (and hope!) that the next 2 and a half weeks will fly by between Christmas events, report cards, and packing.

We had Friday off because the new Mexican president (Calderon) was being inaugurated. The event went off, more or less, without a hitch, with is good because the entire process of this particular election has been filled with controversy. The defeated presidential candidate still does not agree that he lost, and he has quite a number of supporters in the south of Mexico who are fighting on his behalf. Nonetheless, there were no major catastrophes in Mexio City or elsewhere, so hopefully people will start to move forward.

It was so nice to not have to work on Friday, and to stay in Monterrey instead of going away. I had a leisurely day, going for a nice run in the morning, and then heading downtown to check out some museums and bookstores on a gift-shopping mission. We stopped for lunch at an Argentian restaurant that I've been too before, and good pizza for lunch. The restaurant is right across from the main Monterrey theatre, so we bought tickets to see the Nutcracker in a few weeks. Christmas is definitely in the air!

This morning, 7 of us went for a hike. It was a gorgeous fall day - slightly chilly but sunny. Afterwards, we went to Brad and Candace's (Canadians, not teachers) for an impromptu brunch. A nice crowd, and lots of good food. Brad was making fancy coffees, and we had pancakes with real Canadian maple syrup. A nice treat!

This evening we are headed out for dinner at a typical Mexican hour - 9pm. I had an afternoon nap to give me some extra energy.

Tomorrow, there is a parade along the Calzada to officially turn on the lights. Apparently there will be all sorts of floats, and it is quite likely that I will see a few of my students. Abby has decided to bake some pies and have people over for dessert and cider afterwards.

Its amazing that we manage to fit school in between everything else!