I'm in Mexico!

For those of you who are visiting my blog for the first time, Welcome!
I started this blog two years ago when I moved to Luxembourg to be an au pair and now that I am on to my next inter-continental adventure I have decided to bring it back. However I have given it a bit of a make-over to reflect the vibrant culture of my latest destination....Mexico! For those of you who aren't aware, for the next year I will be living in the state of Chiapas, in the city of Tuxtla and teaching fifth grade at the The American School Foundation of Chiapas.

My journey officially began yesterday at 8am when I met Katy (my good friend from college and now house-mate/co-worker) at O'hare for our flight to Tuxtla. We timed things perfectly and arrived at our gate just as the flight was boarding. It was a delightful flight to Houston filled with lots of sleeping, snacking, and giggling. We got in to Houston for our six hour layover with high hopes of making the best of my first trip to the great land of Texas. After a quick ride on one of those airport shuttles (from our new friend Patrick) and a visit to the 8 ft tall bronze statue of George H.W. Bush we ran into three of Katy's good friends and teachers at the American School. We did quick introductions and then ventured to our gate to kill time before our next flight. Before we knew it it was time to board our flight to the city of Tuxtla-Gutierrez (my future homeland!). Katy and I sat down and began talking to a friendly girl about our age across the isle only to find out that she was from Ohio and also going to be working at the American School as well as living down the street from us...such a small world! The flight was delightful and we even got free margaritas because of some technical difficulty with the paying machine, thank goodness for computer malfunctions!

We arrived in Tuxtla and were greeted by some lovely Chiapaneco people dressed in traditional clothing and handing out delicious ground coffee (too bad i don't drink coffee, maybe I'll bring it back as a souvenir to some lucky reader out there). After getting all of our luggage (without any problems, thank the lord) we went through immigration and were greeted by one of the owners of the school. We had about a 45 minute drive from the airport to our home and everything that I heard about driving in Tuxtla was definitely true- lots of curves and not a lot of braking. By the time we arrived at our lovely little abode it was about 12:30 which left just enough time to make my bed and set up a fan before I was ready to pass out.

I had a great nights sleep and my first official day in Tuxtla began at about 9:30 with bright, beautiful sunlight streaming in to my room. So I hopped out of bed and began settling in while Katy was still sleeping. Once she woke up our stomachs told us it was time to eat so we strolled down to one of her favorite restaurants where I had my first official Mexican meal- fresh cantelope and chilequles (a tortilla, egg, tomato, cheese concoction), it was delicious (pictures to come soon). After brunch we did some grocery shopping and then came home to relax and watch a movie.

It's been quite a whirlwind but I am feeling great and so excited for all the new experiences I will have in the next few weeks. I am definitely realizing how rusty my spanish is so hopefully that will improve. I officially start work tomorrow so that should be very exciting and I am sure I will have lots to write about.
Adios!