What's for you won't pass you

I'm quickly forming a love affair with the big city. It's too early to know if it will be long term, but it definitely feels like more than just a fling. The people, the atmosphere, the excitement of it all is beginning to absolutely captivate me. Two nights ago, my neighbor and I (Hugo is in town, so I wanted to get out and give he and Jade some alone time) sat on the steps of the University of Guadalajara Art Museum until nearly midnight. The steps are directly across from the most beautiful Gothic cathedrals I've ever seen. We enjoyed the amazing presence that is the old church as we just sat and talked for hours. The distant honking of car horns, sirens blaring several blocks over, and kids (who apparently have no bed time here) laughing and squealing as they crawl up on the statues were like the soundtrack to the night. It's like serenity in the midst of the chaos and it is just so soothing. What's even better is the cathedral is only two blocks from where we live and we have an amazing view of it from the top of our roof. As soon as I figure out a way to sneak up there, I'll snap some pictures and post them. It's too hard to describe with just words, but I know even a photo won't do it justice.

I really love living in this hostel. I have meet so many people, from so many different walks of life. It's amazing. There is Rose from Texas, Norah from Arizona, Brad and Betty from Canada, Frank from Ireland, Cyrill from Switzerland, Jess and Harley from Australia, Fiona from London, Danny from Mexico, Gary from London, Daniella from Czech and a whole list of others. I don't know if I would have ever had the opportunity to meet such a wide variety of people any place else. I absolutely love it.

Yesterday was my first day to teach! I was assigned to teach conversation where basically I had to pick a topic and get the students to discuss and debate. The main goal is to give the students a chance to use English in an authentic context, rather than just reading "I like to ski." This gives them an opportunity to use the foreign language in real life situations. I was relieved because conversation isn't watched or graded by any other teacher, but I was worried because I had no guide, no book to tell me what to do. Also, conversation is open. Anyone can come to any session. So I didn't know if I would have 2 students or 30. I didn't know if I would have very beginners or very advanced, or a mix of everything in between. 12 students ended up showing up for the class and I would say about 9 of them were at least intermediate if not somewhat advanced. It went really well!!! I wasn't nervous like I thought I would be. The kids joked and laughed and the atmosphere was laid back and easy. I picked relationships as a topic and we talked about family, friendships, and dating. I asked what they thought of dating someone much older and a kid about 15 years old said, what? like a sugar momma? ha! i was so shocked to hear that he knew such an American slang! It was a lot of fun actually. I teach again today in about an hour and I'm a nervous wreck. Today I have a book to follow, which is nice, but I also have an observer grading me, too. I hope it will all go well!! I'll keep you updated!





UPDATE: class went really well today! I got a 9 out of a 10. My observer said I was "remarkable" for never teaching before. After I got out of class, Cyrill, Jade, Jess, and I went to eat to celebrate Cyrill's last night in town. He heads out in the morning to the next town. He's been in Mexico for 2 and a half months just traveling around to all the different cities. We really had a great time! He took us to this AMAZING authentic Mexican restaurant. We were the only non Mexicans in there, you know it's good if that's where the locals go! I had this beef steak in tomato, mushroom, jalapeno, and bell pepper sauce. It was absolutely fantastic. Hands down the best food I've had since I've been here! Anyway, here's a picture of us at dinner. I'll post more soon!

Jen from Australia, Cyrill from Switzerland, and Jade and I