A Catastrophic adventure

Well, back to school again, and it is my second day. This time, we found the school and I was very early! Yay! I had a great day of school, getting to observe my students and peek at their files to learn more about them. They are such a fun bunch. Observing the other teachers, who taught in Spanish was also quite an experience. They teach very differently than we Americans do. I made a few new friends. One lady who works in the library has been a missionary to Guadalajara for about 30 years. My newest friend is Adlet. She works and teaches in the library, but speaks very little English. I think that is why we have become such fast friends. I have difficulties with Spanish and she has difficulties with English. School finally ended at 2 o’clock and it was time to leave. I had not eaten since lunch the day before (lunch being about 3:30 or so, here in Mexico). So of course, I was starving. I went home and finally got to eat.

After eating, it was time to go and buy my first Mexican cell phone! What an adventure that became! Victor and I decided to walk to the center of Mexico, first to exchange my American dollars, then to find a phone. On our way we went, walking. We walked to the center, exchanged my money and saw all the sights. Victor explained everything to me, what was the meaning of certain structures, how big they were, what their purpose was, how long it took… I loved it. It was all so beautiful. I wish I had my camera with me. So, on we went to hunt for a cell phone. When we finally found a place that had machine to take my card, it wouldn’t work. The bank did not know that I was out of the country. SO, we walked all the way back to the house (a good 30 minutes or so). I called the bank on Skype and they told me that they thought I was in Guatamala, not Guadalajara! Good grief. On our way we went again to find a cell phone, only this time, it was late and there were very few places open. As we got near the center, Victor says, “Um, I hope we have enough gas to get home!” OYE! We went on. After a while, he started slowing down and just looked at me and laughed. At first I was confused, but after a minute, I realized WHY he was slowing down…we were out of gasoline. Yes, we were stranded in the middle of the city and we were in the middle of the road. So of course, being quite the gentleman, Victor refused to let me get out of the car and help push, so by himself he pushed the car all the way on the other side of the street and yes, there were cars coming. This is the point when we Americans just sit in the backseat and close our eyes for fear of dying. After we pushed the car in a good spot, we did the only thing we could do, we walked. He told me that at least I would see the other side of the city. I exclaimed, “At this rate, I will see all of the city on foot by the end of my stay!” On we walked.

Finally we were back at the house and we were both exhausted. Victor went and got more gas while I had my lesson in Spanish. Yes, I have my own personal tutor. She just so happens to be the 6 year old in the house that I live in. Our first lesson started with none other than my favorite people: the Disney princesses. This is obviously the first thing I have to learn in Mexico: all the names of the princesses. Next is all the Disney characters. Lastly, I had to work on the names of all the animals. Believe me, this was quite a task for just one night. The adventure continues…