At last... an update

I apologize. I haven't gotten anything up here in more than a month! It's been a busy couple of weeks (as usual), so I'll do my best to fill you in on what I've been up to.

I celebrated my 26th birthday by going out for dinner and then going bowling. There were about 15 of us and yes, bowling can be a lot of fun! I'm horrible at it, and didn't really improve throughout the night, but I definitely laughed a lot.


Sarah Fleming from home is here visiting now. She's going to be working at the school next year and took advantage of her Alt Prac to come and spend three weeks with me! Its been fun showing the city off to someone. The morning after Sarah's arrival, we both ran in a race that was happening on the Calzada near my house. Along with several other teachers, Sarah ran the 5k and I ran the 10k. I ran with another teacher who lived in my building and he helped me keep up my pace. I finished in just over 51 minutes and felt pretty good. Unfortunately, my quad and hip flexor have been hruting since shortly afterwards, so I've been taking some time away from running.

Last weekend Sarah and I headed to Puerta Vallarta. We headed out Friday evening, arriving in PV arund 11pm.

It was Benito Juarez day on Monday, so we had three days to enjoy the sun and sand. It was a great weekend. We visited a different beach each day (Los Muertos in PV, Playa Destiladero an hour north, and Yelapa, accessible only by boat).


I did some shopping (beautiful silver necklace with turquoise pendant and matching earrings), ate wonderful food, lay on the beach for way longer than I expected I would be able to, and... went PARASAILING! Yes... Slightly crazy and the first time I've ever done anything like it. Living by the mantra of a friend ("Say yes to everything"), Sarah convinced me to go parasailing. It was incredible and not scary at all!

Yes! That is me waaaaaaaay up in the sky over the bay near Yelapa.

Sarah has posted a much longer summary of the weekend on her blog.. The link to that page is on the left.

We returned to Monterrey on a very late flight Monday night/Tuesday morning arriving at the airport just after 1am. I was at school by 6:45am the same day. Yick. Strangely the tiredness is just catching up with me now (Friday). And, things are just going to get busier from here on in. I start my Master's program tomorrow and will be in class Saturday and Sunday from 8-4, and, this week, in addition to a day of teaching, I'll have class each afternoon from 4-7:30. I hope I make it. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel... Abby and I are flying to Guatemala Saturday morning for two weeks of adventures. I'll keep you updated!

We have just started Quarter 4 of the school year... I can't believe I have finished 3/4 of the year! I am actually getting a little bit sad thinking that I'm not going to have the same group of kids next year. I have been so lucky this year to get a lovely group of 21 8 year olds who keep me laughing, on my toes, and excited to come to school each day. For the past two weeks we've been doing a Robert Munsch author study. This unit was so fun to put together because I remember loving his books as a kid.. and my class is just eating it up! Most of them had never heard of any of his books until this year, and now they are practically fighting over reading them. Even my most reluctant readers are keen to read his books. I've got kids complaining when I tell them we need to stop our Independent Reading. Wow. An amazing feeling.

I'm happy and healthy down here.. Time is just zipping along. After I return from Semana Santa (trip to Guatemala), it will only be two months until I'm home for the summer.