Girls' Weekend - Casa Mágica

The first night we were in San Agustinillo, we followed signs to the "Casa Mágica" (Magic House), that Margee had walked to before (with the promise of pool tables!), but she'd never been inside. I was skeptical, mostly because I was tired (no surprise there) and I didn't like the look of the dark dirt road that we had to walk up to find the mysterious place... But we all went along, and after some uncertain moments of wondering if we were on a path to nowhere, we finally arrived.

It was a pretty interesting place, like a relaxed rec room with a bar. The "owner" was a really young Canadian guy, and the clientele was an interesting mix of French Canadians, Mexicans, and the 4 of us. Hockey was on the TV, while classic rock songs played on the satellite radio, and everyone spoke a mixture of French, Spanish and English. We were definitely the only non-regulars there, so we attracted a lot of attention, and made friends with all the guys quickly (there were 2 older women there, too). They started up a game of Texas Hold 'Em, which I almost joined but opted for pool instead. We had a great time, despite my inconsistent pool playing (my partner Ernesto didn't seem to mind!)... Margee and I joined the 2nd game of Texas Hold 'Em, and while we both ultimately lost the 50 pesos we paid to join, I did make it to the final 5 players (we started with 12 players at 2 different tables, then joined up at one table when each table was down to 3 players).

I managed to stay up pretty late (for a girl that's not drinking and sleeps all the time!), but around 1.30am I told Margee it was time to go. It was getting really smoky, and we both wanted to be out on the beach in the morning...

Girls' Weekend - Mazunte Turtle Museum

The town of Mazunte (and all along the coast) used to be a serious turtle-slaughtering area. In 1990 it was banned, and since then there have been significant investments to protect the turtle population, as well as educate the public. I'd read and heard good things about the turtle museum in Mazunte, but hadn't made it there, until this weekend with Katharina.

Here are some pics:

Girls' Weekend - Bambu

We stayed at an amazingly luxurious place, called Bambu, in our own private bungalow (we decided that was the best word for it). We had seen it on previous trips to San Agustinillo, but it's a bit pricey for just 2 people (when you're earning pesos!!) We negotiated a good deal for the 4 of us, and totally enjoyed ourselves. The view was amazing, and we had 2 large beds with gauzy mosquito netting, along with a great bathroom and shower. It was open air, so you could always hear the ocean, and when we slid open the bamboo doors, we had a balcony with a huge hammock and rocking sun chairs, directly facing the ocean.

Here are some pics (once again, stolen from Katharina, so all rights reserved. Ha ha):

Girls' Weekend - Miahuatlán

So last weekend was officially "Girls' Weekend," and it all began with Katharina's arrival in Miahuatlán. It was her first trip to my 'hood, and unfortunately it got off to a shaky start, mostly because she arrived on a late van, and showed up in Miah when everything was dark and closed down, and even I felt sketched out waiting for her. The plan had been for us to take Katharina around town and show her where we hang out, etc, but all of the normal crew were fast asleep (Matthew, Margee, Allison: I'm pointing my finger at you!!!). We ended up having tea at the only coffee place in town, and going to sleep.

The next morning, Katharina took some fotos of Miahuatlán, while I hoped none of my students saw me playing the tourist. :) Here are a few of her shots:

Level 3 Exam Highlights...

Write three sentences about things you HAVE done:

I've studied for the test.
I've one TV.
I've five blue Jeans.
I've two chairs.
I have drunk soda in the party.
I have a husband.


Write two sentences about things you HAVE NEVER done:

I've never had sexy.
I've never travel in play.
I've never have a Jacket Mink.
I've never eaten culebra. (culebra=snake)
I'm have never a red book.
I have never eaten Iguana.

Plans are shaping up...

This week a few things have fallen into place for my return to the North Pole - er, I mean New England. :) (YES, I'm still dreading even a month of cold weather, so sue me! They don't call me Wimpica for nothin')...

I officially purchased my plane ticket home. I leave Mexico early in the morning on Thursday, March 5th, and will hopefully get into Boston at 5.22pm (with only one connection in Houston). But my layover in Houston isn't very long, so if there are any kinks with customs or immigration I will end up on a later flight to Boston. But barring a blizzard or some such horror, I will be getting into Massachusetts on March 5th.

And as of yesterday, I (almost definitely) have my old apartment back in Great Barrington! The location is perfect, around the corner from the co-op (where I can get all my gluten-free goodies!) and within walking distance to most of Great Barrington. I'll be paying slightly more than I did before, but it's still a great deal for the location and the space. Many thanks to my former and future upstairs neighbor Liv for working out the details with my landlord.

It also appears that I'm all set with MassHealth insurance upon my return (THANK YOU Mom for helping me with the paperwork!!!), so it really feels like things are ready for my return.

I hope to post some fotos from my latest weekend in San Agustinillo (Ladies' Weekend at the Beach!!), but first Katharina has to post hers, so I can steal them. :) I had my camera with me, I just never pulled it out.

Magical Saliva

This morning I had, as always, back-to-back Level 1 classes. They were particularly heavy classes, going over when and how to use the 3rd person singular as a final prep for exams tomorrow. As I was painstakingly erasing the whiteboard between these 2 classes (cursing the green marker, which inexplicably takes 4 times as much energy to erase as the other colors!), a student came running in. "Teacher, necesito que me ponga saliva aquí!!!" That is, "Teacher, I need you to put saliva here!!!" This she said as if it was a matter of life and death, while pointing at her right ear lobe. Because of how urgent it seemed, I didn't think twice, and quickly found a finger with the least amount of marker on it, licked it, and held my finger to her ear.

It then occurred to me how strange this was, and she explained that she just got stung by a bee, and that a pregnant woman's saliva helps alleviates the pain and helps it heal faster. I was disbelieving, but figured if she thought it would help, then fine. I chalked it up to a Mexican old wives' tale...

But as I was typing this, our resident accountant-turned-herbalist-turned-English professor (our newest addition, Prescott) walked by, and I shared her belief with him. I was sure he'd get a good laugh about it, but surprised me by saying it made a lot of sense. He said that pregnant women have much higher levels of "estrogenic precursors" (and hormones of all types), which DO work against things like bee stings (something to do with neurotoxins...)

So I guess it's not an old wives' tale, after all, or at least it has a scientific basis. But I hope that there isn't a rash of bee stings on campus, regardless of the science it was still rather gross...

Practice Exam 3 Bloopers...

Short Answers: Answer the questions with short answers (respuestas cortas):

1. Are you a student?
Yes, I'm.
Yes, I do.
A'you a student. (apparently poor Moises thought he had to use abbreviations)
Yes, I don't.
Yes, are you.
Yes, I'am.
Yes, I doesn't.

5. Is your mother beautiful?
Yes, I'do.
No she don't.
Yes, I does.
No, I not.
No, she doesn't.
Yes, she is't.
Yes, I am.

Write 5 complete sentences about your daily routine (rutina):
I get to bus for the school at 7:50am.
On Monday I get up at 9:00 for the vacation.
I bed 10:35pm.
I take favorite class to English.
I usually not dinner.
I am student Enghish at nive-ten. (this one pains me to share, poor Angélica!!)
I every day studient in the school.
Im in school eightin o'clock and seven o'clock.
Im in husban mornig and afternoon. (I really wonder what Merced meant to say??)
I lisent music in the momen.
I never eat hot dogs. (a good sentence, but where did it come from? Thanks for sharing, Lucia)
I driver very good.
I goes to bet at 8 o cloks.
I breakfas at two thee.
I do yo gen up at 9:30.

Another weekend in paradise

This weekend I went with my crew (aka Allison, Margee and Matthew) back to San Agustinillo. I'd been craving the beach since the first day I was in frigid New England for Christmas vacation, so it was glorious to finally be there... I know it had only been 6 weeks since my last beach escapade, and perhaps I'll get little sympathy from my friends to the north, but I felt like I was seriously sun-deprived. It was like the days in Massachusetts had sucked all the warmth out of my system, and only by soaking up the sun this past weekend did I begin to become human again.

We'll be returning next weekend for a "Girls Beach Extravaganza" (or something like that, haven't actually named it yet!). We have a 3-day weekend, and Katharina is coming down from the OC (Oaxaca City) to spend an evening in our fair pueblo, and then all the ladies head to the beach.

Here are some fotos of where we stayed, aptly named "El Pelicano" as numerous times I saw flocks of pelicans flying overhead...



And a couple more of the beach. Yes, it really is this beautiful...

Better UltraSound Pics

Here are the first 2 pictures, when my baby was just a frijolito (little bean)...



And here are the newest ones, which are particularly exciting because you can see how well developed the baby is, even at just 8cm long... Pretty amazing...