This is exactly where I am supposed to be

It's been quite a while since I have sat down to write one of these things and I must say I have missed it. Some of you might be confused as to why moving to Ohio warrants re-booting my blog which is a valid point seeing as how in the past this has been the result of moving to foreign countries and embarking on grand adventures. However this time I am embarking on a whole different kind of adventure. While I have not had to stamp a passport or fly across an ocean to get where I am today, I did have to take some great risks. After being out of school for four years, the decision to be a student again seemed exciting and terrifying at the same time. On top of that joining an extremely rigorous program full of incredibly talented artists after being out of the world of theater for so long felt daunting, to say the least. Despite the sometimes overwhelming fears and insecurities, I somehow packed up my life, drove seven hours to the middle of nowhere and am studying acting at the great Ohio University. Now that I have been here for a few weeks, I can say with complete confidence that this is exactly where I am supposed to be. I can't believe how lucky I am to be a part of a program that is not trying to make me in to someone else or a specific "type" of actor but rather challenges me to just figure out what being me really means. I think one of my friends said it best when he said that being here makes him feel like what's inside of him might actually be right. I have never in my life been surrounded by such creative, inspiring, and brilliant people and I know that at the end of these three years I am not only going to be a better actor but a better person. I hope that this blog will be a place that I can share the great and small moments from this journey and somehow try to process the incredible work that we are doing. In the meantime, it's time to start week three, here goes!

spring break highlights plus my favorite oasis

I apologize for the irregularity of the blogging over the past couple of months but things have been pretty hectic with the burglary and then spring break and then adjusting to being back at school. So now that life is back to some version of normalcy I will hopefully be a little better about blogging.

I suppose I should say a few words about the wonderful country of Belize since it was where I spent a week and a half of pure spring break bliss. We were lucky enough to have our friend (who spent 2 years in Belize in the peace corp) show us around and share her love with country with us. It was a truly beautiful place filled with so many amazing sights and people. We spent a few days on the island of Caye Caulker where we snorkeled, sailed, tanned, scuba dove, and kayaked (I know, sounds rough right?) Then we spent a few days in San Ignacio where we floated down a river for one day and then spent another day hiking and spelunking through a cave filled with ancient mayan ruins and remains (sounds awesome, right?) Here are some pics of what we got to see and do:


Enjoying our sailing and snorkeling cruise

Our first sunset in Belize

An island motto that we can all bring back to the mainland





Exploring the Mayan caves



Goodbye beautiful Caye Caulker


Since Spring Break life has basically consisted of school and whatever adventures will give us the opportunity to escape the semi-unbearable heat. Which means we have been seeing A LOT of movies lately. With the combination of the air conditioning and the freshly made carmel corn the Tuxtla movie theatre is basically heaven (not to mention the whole cinematic experiences aren't too shabby either). I'm hoping that the rainy season will be starting soon because then at least there will be some relief in sight. If this Mexican sun keeps at it, we might just have to re-visit the good old rain dance ritual. Here's to rainy thoughts!

help make my birthday wish come true

Dear Friends and Family,

As many of you know, a couple of weeks ago I had an unfortunate incident with a burglar. Basically someone broke into our house and stole a ton of stuff, including my laptop, camera, hardrive, ipod, phone, and passport. I was bummed about losing my camera and laptop and everything but I know those are just things and can be replaced (some day in the distant future when I am not living on a Mexican teacher salary and paying loans). However the hardest part has been losing all my pictures and memories from the last decade of my life. I am someone who loves taking pictures and cherishes the memories that come along with them. So it basically broke my heart to realize that all of my pictures from college, camp, ski tournaments, living and traveling in Europe, friends and family weddings, vacations, etc. were gone.

So I have had a lot of people ask if there is any way they can help or support me and here is my one request:

If you have any pictures that you think I might love to have in my possession please share them with me so that I can start rebuilding my collection of photographic memories.

Here are the two ways you can help me do this:

1. If you just a few jems you want to share, please attach them to an e-mail and send them to me at kat.bramley@gmail.com

2. If you just have too many and can't fit them in an e-mail, burn them to a disk and send it to my lovely sister's address in the states since I am in the far away land of Mexico where the postal service is less than trustworthy. Here is the address you can send it to:

Kat Bramley
365 N. Jefferson St.
Unit #2203
Chicago, IL
60661


I know that it will take some time out of your day to do this but it would be the best birthday present imagineable if I were able to get back some of the pictures and memories that were lost.

Thanks and hope you are well.

Happy almost birthday to me!

marimbas and waterfalls- not a bad few weeks

Times seems to be rolling by pretty fast these days. I'm counting down the weeks until our Spring Break trip to Belize and then after that I will have less than three months left in this wonderful country. It's pretty hard to believe!

Everything at school is great. We just did a unit on family and geneology and had a big family celebration today where parents were invited to come see the student's present their family tree projects. We even had a little concert where we sang a song called "Family" (super original, right?) from the classic film remake of James and the Giant peach and the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" song by Jack Johnson that we just learned during our unit on conservation. All in all it went great and the parents seemed to be pretty pleased. I heard a lot of "muy precioso!" as everyone was exiting, so I;m pretty sure that's a good thing.

Last weekend I went with a few friends to the park in the middle of our city. It is named Marimba Park and every night there are men that gather in the gazebo to play Marimbas while couples dance around the gazebo. We went on a Saturday so the park was bustling and there were tons of couples- young and old, getting their dance on to the bewitching sounds of the Marimba. We first acted as spectators but couldn't ignore the call to dance and quickly embraced our ever familiar role as the crazy Americans who just don't seem to quite fit in.


We also took advantage of having Monday off of school (special thanks to Benito Juarez for being born) by taking a little day trip to a nearby waterfall called Choreadero. Its about 30 minutes away from us in Chiapa de Corzo and it consists of on huge waterfall, about 10 smaller pools, and some pretty sweet caves at the top of the waterfall.














I think I have taken for granted the fact that all my life I have lived within 10 minutes of a large body of water because I am definitely realizing now what a luxury that was. When I am walking home from school in 98 degree weather with the hot Mexican sun beating down on me, all I can think about is diving in to a freezing cold lake. Soooooo it felt pretty amazing to finally have some water to dive in to in order to escape the heat. We also may have performed a little synchronizing swimming act which allowed us to fulfill the afore mentioned role that we just can't seem to escape...that's right, crazy Americans.


I also had the opportunity to try a new type of Mango which is a second cousin to the pineapple (clearly I have my mind on geneology and am taking some creative liberties here). I think it's called mango pina and you basically just cut a hole on one end and suck the deliciously refreshing juice out, incredible!

Last week was one of my roomates, Nikki's Birthday so we had some friends over for a little celebration. Nikki said she wanted homemade pizza so I of course consulted with my newest baking, cooking, and blogging idol- Pioneer Woman for a mouth watering pizza recipe. She did not dissapoint and inspired me to create these two gems.

One barbecue chicken pizza and one pesto margarita pizza. They turned out amazing and there was definitely not an empty belly at the party.

Well that's all for now. I checked the weather this morning and it looks like we'll be lingering around 100 for the next week so everyone say a little prayer that I don't melt down here on the equator.

six hours of my weekend I'll never get back... and never want to

Well it's another Monday here in Mexico and it's just a little hot and by that I mean it hasn't dropped below 95 for the past week. Although it sounds brutal, it's usually not too bad if you can hide in the shade somewhere. However when you have to be active or out in the sun it feels a bit like you are actually walking on the sun.

This weekend had the perfect mix of fun and relaxation. Friday night I ventured out with the roomies to a friends mom's birthday party. It was a wonderfully intimate Mexican gathering filled with delicious dishes and even a mariachi band. I think my favorite part was when the family sang the Mexican birthday song and then did this really lovely birthday ritual where they gave the birthday lady a blessing, crowned her with a beautiful wreath of red flowers, and then proceeded to take an excessive amount of group pictures (very typical for a birthday or wedding celebration). It was a great night and by the end I had yet another excuse to use my most recently acquired spanish phrase, "Estoy llena" (google translate it).

I also made the wise and productive decision to devote approximately 6 hours of my weekend to the very high-quality television program "The Bachelor". Yes, I finally gave in and got all caught up on the latest season and couldn't be happier that I took the semi-embarrassing plunge to watch 7 episodes in two days. Although it started out as a shameful endeavor, I quickly roped in my housemates which made it much more respectable since it was in a group setting. So basically I cannot wait for to watch tonights episode tomorrow and see my new good friends fall in love in one of my favorite countries in the world, South Africa.

That's all for now, wish I could send some of this intense heat to those of you in colder places!

updated address

I have had some requests for my address lately so here is the updated address where you can send me mail. The best way to do it is just through the regular postal service (NOT DHL or UPS). As long as you don't send me anything like a diamond ring or flat screen TV, it really should get here just fine.

Kat Bramley
American School Foundation of Chiapas, A.C.
Boulevard Belisario Dominguéz 5580-F
Box 5
Col. Cinco Plumas, Tuxtla Gutiérrez,
Chiapas, México
CP 29052

There is nothing quite like getting mail when you are away from home, any and all letters, cards or care packages would be mucho appreciated!

Winter highlights (can we really call this winter?)

I am four days away from it being 2 months since my last post...yikes
Sorry blog world, my deepest apologies.
Where do I even begin...

My Christmas vacation was absolutely delightful, I had an incredible time visiting with family and friends and felt like it was the perfect amount of time to see everyone and get a big enough dose of home to make it through another 7 months of Mexico.

Since I have been back, school has been crazy busy but really good. It was great to come back and jump right back in to things and feel so comfortable. Life seems to be in a much easier rhythm than it was during the first half of the year which is really nice.
Here are some highlights from my first month back in Mexico:

1. Hosting a bachelorette party for our friend Jessica and then attending my second amazing Mexican-American wedding. Seriously, Mexicans really know how to do a wedding, it is like a broadway show. Every hour the band will introduce a new costume and prop for everyone to play with or try on and the crowd goes wild. At one point the groom and groomsmen came out in hip-hop space suits circa 1998 and sang "Backstreets Back" to the bride, it was quite a sight. I also enjoyed the conga line complete with maracas and glowsticks. Oh and by the way, the mariachi band didn't even enter the picture until 3am, incredible!



2. Overnight trip to Comitan, Chifflon, Lagos de Montebello with Katy and seeing the biggest waterfall and some of the bluest lakes I have ever seen. These places were amazing and could not have been more different from our current city of residence. We first arrived in Comitan where we arranged for a delightful Mexican man to chauffeur us around in his minivan to all of the tourist attractions in the area. Our first stop was a Mayan ruin overlooking a very tranquil lake, then we went to Lagos de Montebello which is a group of lakes nestled in a very wisconsin-esque forest. Seriously, we got out of the car and both felt like were at home in the northwoods, so crazy! So we got to see about 3 or 4 lakes of varying royal blue and turquise colors which were all completely breathtaking and then top it off with a quick swim in the last one. After the Lagos we headed for Chifflon which is a series of waterfalls outside of Comitan. Our friendly chauffeur told us it would take about 30 minutes to hike to the top which made me wonder just how grand this waterfall was. I was definitely not disappointed when we got to the top and were quite literally blown away by the largest and most powerful waterfall I have ever seen. We were able to go up to a viewing tower which was literally right up in the fall and feel completely dominated by it's strength whilst getting a nice little spray down, it was righteous. By the time we were on our way home we definitely felt like we had seized the day.

3. Attending Mexican Zumba class. So I thought that I knew what zumba was about after attending a class in chicago at my old gym but it turns out authentic zumba is a little different. I went to a class at the gym that we joined after break and it was me and like 5 other women ages ranging from 40 to 60. The teacher was a very mexican, very muscle-ey and very flamboyant gentlemen who clearly had not prepared any choreography but rather had us follow him through various pelvic thrusting and hip gyrating movements and excersises which felt far from natural. At one point I was in push up-ish position with one leg in the air being told to whirl my hips and when I looked over at the elderly women next to me I just had to laugh. All in all it was a hilarious workout and quite a cultural experience.

4. Our neighbor/friend's very birthday party. We have a lovely neighbor (Montse) who invited us over for her 27th birthday party last friday night. She told us to come over at 8 so in true Mexican style we arrive at about 9:30 and the party was just getting warmed up. The party guests consisted of cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and us two bright eyed Americans. It was a blast to be invited in to such a intimate and authentic Mexican celebration. Everyone was super friendly and while Katy did most of the talking I was understanding about 70% of what people were saying and was able to throw a few words in here and there. The food was INCREDIBLE, honestly the best Mexican food I have had since I have been here- fresh guacomole, tostadas, chickeny tomato goodness, beans, spinach and chicken crepes, pasta salad, and bottomless tequila. The highlight was when Montse's mom offered to have us come over for cooking lessons so we could learn how to create these culinary masterpieces, we will hopefully be taking her up on that one soon!

3. Hosting a delightful cross-cultural Barbecue Fiesta complete with both cheeseburgers and carne asada.It was our good friend sarah's birthday a few days ago so we decided to host a bbq for all of our friends. We included all the American staples like cheeseburgers, hot dogs, and watermelon and were treated to some delicious carne asada, cooked by the guys.



The comida was delicous and the company was delightful. We will definitely be having another fiesta shortly.
























I will leave you with this salivating picture of the chocolatey goodness cupcakes that I made for the bbq, enjoy...
How strange that there was only one left at the end of the night, I guess they tasted pretty good

all festival-ed out

So the countdown is officially on it's last leg, four days until I go home for Christmas, and I officially cannot wait!!

The past few weeks have been completely nuts and jam packed with all sorts of holiday celebrations. First was the Kermasse, which is a huge fair put on by the school for all the students and their families. I was told that it was kind of a big deal but was pretty shocked when I got there and saw tons of vendors, including a pet shop and a hair salon (actually giving haircuts), a zip line stretching across the soccer field, two stilt walkers, and very elaborate talent show.

Another one of our holiday celebrations was the Winter Festival. This is the one where each class performs a song and dance for their parents and family members. I think I already mentioned that I took on the job of directing both numbers which turned out to be 70% stressful and 30% fun. But when it came time for the big show, I don't think I have ever felt like such a proud mother. I had a huge smile on face throughout both performances and was so impressed by how well they did. It was also great to talk to some parents afterward and hear how much they enjoyed each of the numbers and how proud they were seeing there children on stage. It felt like quite a success and all of the hard work definitely paid off.
Here are some pics of me and my kids from the festival:








Well, I am heading home on Thursday and will be there until January 15th so peace out blog readers, see you in about 3 weeks!!

nothing like hotdogs and sushi on thanksgiving!

As it is Thanksgiving, I feel it is an appropriate excuse for another Blog Post.

Today was quite a big day at school. We had the kids for about an hour in the morning and then brought them down to the theatre for a Thanksgiving show, put on by the American teachers (how appropriate). We split up in to small groups and each group did a little ditty for a different region of the United States. Katy and I recited and acted out one of my favorite Shel Silverstein poems because, in case you weren't aware, he is from the Midwest (like most brilliant and talented people are). I was also in a number for the northeast in which we did a rousing rendition of New York (originally performed by Jay-Z and Alicia Keys). It was complete with rapping and intricate choreography so needless to say the students and teachers were pretty blown away.

After the show the students were dismissed and the entire staff participated in our own Thanksgiving celebration. Which first consisted of a game of football- yes, I did participate, and although I only touched the ball once, i like to think that I was a valuable asset to my team. After the game we all engaged in the traditional Thanksgiving feast. However the menu of this feast was slightly less traditional due to the fact that most of the dishes were prepared by Mexicans who have an interesting take on American food. While I did enjoy some delightful turkey and bread pudding, I was more than confused by the multiple dishes containing sliced hot dogs, california rolls, and the mashed potatoes covered with corn. After eating way too much the event ended with a repeat performance of New York, at the request of the Mexican staff (who were thoroughly impressed by our dancing and rapping abilities, who knew the American teachers could actually entertain so well...big shocker!)

Because Thanksgiving is a celebration of the most delicious of food, I have decided to post a few pics of my latest culinary delights. Ready, set, mouths water!

Cinnamon Raison bread...






Tomato Basil Soup


Banana Bread

noteworthy events from the last month

OK, it has officially been over a month since my last post and that is crazy talk!
I guess time is going by quicker these days because it definitely doesn't feel like it's been that long. Things at school are super busy but my kids are awesome so that makes all the hard work, frustration, and exhaustion sort of worth it. So many things have happened in the last month so in order to save myself from being too wordy and to save you from reading paragraphs of me babbling I am going to try to be as concise as possible.
Here is a list of noteworthy things that have happened since my last post:

1. Celebrated my friend Sarah's bachelorette party. Sarah is a kindergarten teacher at American School who I have really enjoyed getting to know and who is getting married in about 1 week. She is wonderful and I was so excited to be invited to her wedding as well as bachelorette party. We first gathered at another friend's house and all brought delicious food. I of course made the famous Bramley bri bomb and fruit salsa (both of which were hits). After eating, drinking, and playing a few games we headed out to a respectable Tuxtla nightclub by the name of Penthouse. It was sort of like going out at home but way louder music, more smoking, and guys that actually know how to dance. At around 4 am (an average time to leave the bars) we decided to call it a night. It was definitely a successful celebration and fun was surely had by all!

2. Took a wonderful trip to San Cristobal for Dia de los Muertos Break. Katy and I decided we needed a little vacation a few weeks ago so we left on Saturday and spent saturday evening in San Cristobal. We intended on meeting up with some other teacher friends to go out to the bars but after a delicious meal and a delicious bottle of wine and a delicious nutella calzone, somehow the thought of our cozy hotel room just sounded way more enticing. So we went home and by some miraculous miracle one of our favorite movies of all time was playing on TV when we got back and it was actually in English with Spanish subtitiles (quite rare). So we enjoyed a night in with full bellies and full hearts as we were sung to sleep by a one, August Rush.

3. Attended one of my student's First Communions which is a pretty big deal here in Mexico. Everyone has them because everyone here is Catholic and it is not just an elaborate church service with a fancy white dress but it also included a lovely post First-Communion reception. So I had a lovely time mingling with my students parents and even playing with my students on the playground. They thought it was pretty great to see Miss. Kat swinging on swings and jumping on the big moon-bounce thing, ahhhh the life of a teacher.

4. Went to the beach. The closest beach to us is in Puerto Aurista which is about a 2 hour bus ride, 45 minute combi ride (taxi/van jam packed with mexicans) and then a 15 minute boat road to a tiny little island called Boca del Cielo- which does not even have a main road or cars. We arrived late last Saturday night and checked in to our little cabana on the beach. There were five of us so we got a place with two beds and three hammocks which led to me having my first night's sleep in a hammock...surprisingly pleasant. The next day we spent lounging on the beach and playing in the Ocean, definitely my idea of paradise. After a long day of complete relaxation we indulged in a little vino, a little phase 10 (my favorite card game) and a little late night skinny dip. Perfect end to a perfect mini-vacation.

5. Started preparing for the Christmas Festival at school. This celebration is unlike anything I have ever experienced in the states. Each class performs one song and dance, the school hires someone to come in and choreograph them, and the moms pay a seamstress to make costumes for each child. The school also just purchased an old night club in town which they are renovating in to a theatre where the festival will be held (pretty nuts). Soooooo because of my experience in the arts they asked me if I would be willing to take charge of both of my classes performances and while I already have so much on my plate I couldn't pass up the opportunity to create a song and dance number, especially when the theme is broadway!!! So I just chose the songs, one class is doing a song from Seussical the Musical and the other is doing Telephone Hour from Bye Bye Birdie (which they initially mistook for Telephone by Lady Gaga, which led to a bit of a disappointing moment). Anyways, I am feeling both excited and overwhelmed by this responsibility but am sure it will be tons of fun!

6. Coming home in a month and three days!!! Although it is a bummer to not be home for Thanksgiving, I am feeling like I am in the homestretch for Christmas which is pretty great. I have a feeling these last four weeks are going to fly by with Sarah's wedding, hosting Thanksgiving for all the teachers and the wonderful Christmas festival so really I will be home before you know it. Also I have already started listening to Christmas music around the clock, too soon? I think not!

Sending Thanksgiving and Christmas cheer to everyone as these delightful holidays are almost upon us :)

a corner has been turned

Over the past few weeks Katy and I have been saying the phrase "I just feel like we've turned a corner" very frequently. Allow me to explain...within our first two months of life here in Mexico we had a few minor disasters that were causing some serious stress. I will now elaborate on these disasters, not as a form of re-living the stress but in the hopes that sharing my frustration with the world will help you to better understand life here in Mexico and me to appreciate the journey and gain some closure (sarcastic undertone intended)

Disaster #1: At some point last month we randomly lost our internet capabilities, as in it just decided to stop working one day. This would normally not be too much of a travesty however it seems to be a worldwide trend that cable and internet companies have the all time worst customer service possible (ie:comcast). So we went to the actual building of megacable (our provider) and they said, "sure no problem, we'll have someone there within a few days". Well to make a long story short almost a month later after repeated visits to megacable, countless phone calls, and maybe a few tears we finally got our internet back. I know that sometimes we rely too much on it but living in a foreign country and not having any way to communicate with your homeland was pretty tough.

Disaster #2: So here in the lovely city of Tuxtla it is a luxury to have hot water in your household. We are lucky enough to have a hot water heater but when our old housemate moved out she took with her the tube that connects the gas tank to the hot water heater somehow damaging the tank which resulted in us losing the luxuries of the use of hot water as well as a stove or oven. We first tried to take matters in to our own hands and went to the hardware store where we explained to the men our problem and they came up with a solution however when we went home the solution was not quite successful. So after a few more days of cold showers and eating only food that did not require cooking, we got some of the maintenance men from school to come and have a look at things. They were able to fix the gas to the stove and oven but we needed another part for the hot water. So we waited a few weeks for them to get the part and find a time to come to our house (if you haven't gotten the theme yet, nothing happens quickly here in Mexico) and then finally were able to experience the tri-fecta of mexican luxuries: an oven, a stove, and hot water. Needless to say I am more appreciative than ever of my "comfortable" life now.

Disaster #3: Before I left the United States I realized there were a few items that I just wouldn't be able to fit in my bag, no matter how hard I tried. So I entrusted my mother to send them in a package to me in Mexico. I wish I could go through all of the details of the journey of this package but I fear it would result in pages and pages of meaningless rage at UPS and DHL so I will try to summarize with as neutral a tone as possible. After the first attempt via UPS the package was stopped in Mexico City and due to a bottle of Tums I had to pay $100 to have it sent back to chicago. Then on attempt numero dos after removing the contraband my mother sent it via DHL (as the postal service instructed) and it was once again stopped in Mexico City. However this time it was due to a suspicious dust (like what does that even mean). Also they requested that I provide medical statements to prove that the cardboard puzzles and games for my classroom were safe for children to play with because they were made in china....are you kidding me?!? But because this is Mexico and there is no such thing as honesty or accountability in the system they said if I paid $150 all of this would be waived. So after two months of waiting I desperately handed over my cash and finally got my package.
But wait, here's the real kicker: I later found our that these customs has a sort of random stoplight system for packages when they enter the country. And both times my package just happened to be lucky enough to get the red light which is why they both got such rigurous inspections...lucky me.
Moral of the story: If you want to send me a package don't be afraid just send it through the regular postal service and get a tracking number. This way it is much less likely to be opened and handled by greedy corrupt private shipping companies.
I have been promised by other teachers that the regular postal service is definitely the way to go and they have received numerous packages in just a few weeks so it should be safe.

If you are willing to take this risk, I would be so appreciative and thankful to receive any packages or letters you would be so kind as to send my way!
My address is:

Kat Bramley
American School Foundation of Chiapas
Blvd Belisario Dominguez
#5580- F Col. Teran
29057 Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas
Mexico

Sooooooooo all this to say, I have definitely turned a corner and it is amazing to have these loose ends tied up. Life is feeling more manageable these days and the weeks are not dragging by. School is still very challenging and I am working harder than I have in my entire life but I am learning tons and definitely becoming a better teacher everyday. Also I have been spending most of my free time (which isn't much with all the teaching, planning or tutoring) in the kitchen and am thinking about adding a new dimension to my blogging activity about my culinary endeavors...just something to look forward to!

Much overdue travel log

Well I am back in Tuxtla, safe and sound after an amazing week of traveling and relaxing.
Katy and I began our journey on Monday evening when we boarded a 10 hour night bus to Oaxaca city. A few days earlier when we went to buy our tickets we decided to splurge on the platinum bus which was a little bit pricier but definitely worth every peso. Upon our initial arrival we were given complementary beverages and eye masks to make for sleeping ease. As I sat down in my seat all my nerves about being on a bus for that long were wiped away in the cloud-like feeling of these super reclining chair/beds. As soon as the bus took off we were swept away in to the darkness and comfort of one of the most delightful traveling experiences I have ever known. (note: there may be a slight tone of exaggeration in this description but just know this journey far surpassed any of my expectations of a 10 hour mexican bus ride).

We arrived in Oaxaca City and quickly caught a cab to our hostel. We were a little nervous when the cab driver took us far up in to the hills of the Oaxaca but were very pleased when we arrived at our hillside hide-away. The whole set up was so peaceful and lovely, nestled in the hills surrounding the city, filled with hammocks, lush trees, a pool, and even a trampoline.









We took a quick rest and then headed out to explore the city. Our first stop was for food, we found a delightful little french bakery/restaurant where I had ginger-pear pancakes which were mouth watering, to say the least.

Then we continued on our venture and saw many lovely churches, historic buildings, a nice little center and also did some serious shopping. Some of my best purchases included a hammock and lots of little artisan trinkets, definitely money well spent. After we burned big enough holes in our pockets we ate a delicious authentic Oaxacan dinner and then went home to relax. The next day we got up and did a bit more exploring before we caught a bus at 2:00 for Puerto Escondido.

It would be the understatement of the century to say that this bus ride was nothing like our first bus experience. This bus ride was a few hours shorter however the bus was significantly smaller and the roads were hilly, windy, and filed with potholes. The whole trip was supposed to take 8 hours but because of the condition of the roads (due to all the rain) it ended up taking almost ten hours. While many of the views were spectacular (being that we were so high up in the mountains) many of the views were also quite depressing (being that we were in one of the poorest and most rural parts of Mexico. Overall it was quite a journey and we were extremely relieved to make it to our destination- the quaint oceanside surfer town of Puerto Escondido.
Our time in Puerto was mainly spent lounging on the beach, paying in the ocean and eating delicious food. I honestly cannot say enough good things about this little town. It felt like the kind of place you would go to on vacation in your twenties and end up falling in love and raising little surfer babies and staying trapped in this paradise for the rest of your life (I say trapped like its a bad thing). Anyways, it was a beautiful town and an overall amazing vacation!
Here are some more pics from Puerto:

My first Quinceañera and Mexican style hot chocolate

ahhh yes it's time for another post and I am just brimming with things to say about this crazy Mexican culture I am living in...

I went to my first Quinceañera last weekend (for those of you who don't know this is, it is a Mexican celebration for a girls fifteenth birthday which according to them means they have come of age) and what a Quinceañera it was. Katy tutors the children of the mayor of Tuxtla and this was for one of his children so to say that it was posh would be the understatement of the century. We were told the festivities began at 8:30 and were running pretty late so we didn't end up getting there until a little after 9:30. In America this might be considered rude and unacceptable to show up to a party over an hour late but in Mexico we were right on time and one of the first party guests to arrive. The venue was located at the highest point in Tuxtla so it was quite a beautiful view of all the city lights and the inside was decorated to the nines, resembling a celebrity wedding straight from the pages of us weekly. It was quite a sight to watch the hoards of Tuxtla's finest fifteen year-olds parade through in there fanciest attire. We frequently found ourselves saying things like "I cant believe there mother let them out of the house in that!" and trust me you would too, lets just say I have never seen dresses so short and heels so high. Katy and I sat and took it all in for a bit and it wasn't until 11:00 that the guest of honor even arrived. At this point we joined the adults for some delicious food and beverages. Luckily there was a table open so we didn't have to do any spanish hob nob-ing but got to just enjoy each others company at our fanciest Mexican adventure yet, so fun!

I have also recently started tutoring for one of the families at my school. There are three girls and they are all really sweet so it is a very easy job. Last night I was over at there house for our bi-weekly session and it was a particularly hot evening here in Tuxtla. Were just going along reading a book when the families "muchacha" (the mexican hybrid of a cleaning lady, cook, and nanny, most semi-wealthy families have them) came in the kitchen. She started making something on the stove that suspiciously resembled Hot Chocolate but I couldn't believe my eyes considering the 90 degree weather. A las it was true and she cooked up some gourmet hot chocolate for two girls and one melting american. I took a sip of the hot beverage and somehow was able to overlook the extreme temperature confusion because of the incredible taste. it was a crazy experience that would definitely only happen here in Mexico.

School is going pretty well, although everyday is exhausting in a brand new way there are always silver linings to get me through the day. I have a little chuckle whenever I look back at the time when I interviewed and they told me that my minimal spanish skills would be no problem. While it is not the end of the world it definitely makes things much more challenging considering that the majority of the staff at the school speaks only super speedy spanish and not a lick of english. So whenever someone comes to my classroom to deliver a message or get a student or something it usually turns in to a pretty funny guessing game where my first guess is usually lice checks (we have those ones a week). This happened last week where someone came in my room and asked to tell the students something so they came in and were rambling on to the students about something I couldn't understand which then caused the students to start messing with their hair so I assumed it was the weekly lice check but then as he took the kids out of the classroom and we started walking across the school I realized maybe this was something different. To my surprise it was picture day and the students were fixing there hair for there pictures, it's moments like these when I wish i could fast forward my brain and become fluent tomorrow, we'll see about that. Until then I will just keep pretending I know what's going on in this crazy country.

Speaking of this country, Mexican Independence Day is next week and we have tuesday, wednesday, thursday, and friday off of school because it is the bi-centenial celebration. Katy and I are planning a trip to Oaxaca and Puerto Escondido so I am so so so excited about, should be pretty amazing!

on the eighth day God created the nutella calzone...or something like that

As you can guess from my lack of blog posts, the past two weeks have been completely nuts!!
I cant believe that we are already two weeks in to school and I officially know all of my 37 students names (a task that seemed impossible on the first day). I mean it's hard enough learning student's names ever but learning students names in Mexico is three times as heard because every student's name is about three times as long. Anyways, it feels like quite an accomplishment to finally have them down, not to mention it makes classroom management that much easier. Overall school is going pretty well. I am sure I am not the first person to say this, but I had no idea how exhausting being a full time teacher could be.

I was talking to some veteran teachers about how by the end of the day lately I have just been feeling like I want to sit at my desk in complete silence and stare at nothing for approximately two hours. They said this is completely normal and if you can make it at our school, apparently you can make it anywhere. There just something about teaching a full english curriculum to two different groups of students who all speak limited english with very few breaks that simply sucks the life out of you. Let's just say it is going to be a very challenging first year of teaching. However some of the kids are pretty great and I am already starting to see that they are what makes all the stress and exhaustion worth it.

In other news, I had the wonderful opportunity to take a little trip this past weekend with Katy and our other friend Nikki up to San Cristobal, which is a little city up in the mountains, about an hour away. We were all feeling quite exhausted after our first week of teaching and decided we needed a little time away. So we left Saturday around noon and after an hour long bus ride where I was only mildly fearful for my life we ended up in one of the most beautiful little cities I have ever been in. It was crazy that it was only an hour away because it felt like we were in a different country. San Cristobal is much more picturesque then our city, Tuxtla and is filled with historic buildings and European-esque pedestrian streets. The restaurants are incredible and there are a few amazing french bakeries. It is very touristy and has many more white people so it was nice to not feel like the minority for a little while. The shopping is amazing and I definitely know where I will be buying all of my christmas presents. It also was sort of crawling with hippies (Especially American ones) and seems to be where you would venture to if you wanted to spend your life walking barefoot with dreads and speaking spanish. We spent all day saturday just strolling around and then ate a delightful little Italian restaurant where I indulged in a pizza, wine and (get this) a nutella calzone...basically top five best meals of my life! Overall it was a wonderful little getaway and I am already looking forward to going back.

That's about all the blog-worthy things that have been going on over the past two weeks. Sorry it took so long and I am going to try to be more regular with my posts. Also I am still trying to figure out a way to post my pictures that doesn't take an hour so until then I will be just put them on the facebook, hope thats not too inconvenient.
Hasta Luego!

classroom pics, mexican karaoke and hamburgesas gigantes

OK so here are the pictures from my classroom, enjoy...





















The one on the bottom is what it looked like before I did any work. I know they are kind of small but it took me like an half hour to upload them so thats all you get. Hopefully you can get the idea and I am sure it will look even better when there are students inside of it :)


We went out to a Karaoke bar last night with some other teachers which was quite an experience and very different from Karaoke in America. They just pass the microphone around and you sing from your table but it is quite a challenge to actually hear whoever is singing because literally everyone in the bar is singing a long with the songs. On one hand this is kind of amazing for the crowd participation aspect but on the other hand it makes me feel a little sad for whoever is performing (but then again I'm kind of a sucker for the spotlight so no surprise there).

On the way home we also stopped at a hamburger stand titled "hamburgesas gigantes" and yes my friends, they were gigantic hamburgers. I was a little nervous about trying this Mexican hamburger delicacy as it looks a little more like a giant meat pancake then a hamburger but with a little cheese, bacon, and ketchup it was just the post karaoke treat I was craving. All in all a great night.
Now I must get back to planning for the week, hopefully my next post will be filled with funny stories about my new students and my first few days of teaching, so excited!!