I moved from about 6 blocks away from the school to, literally, if you go alongside the building of where my classes are, there's a little itty bitty bridge that takes you across the ditch to the "garage" of my house, complete with cafetería downstairs for the tourism students.
My roommate was a tal Franco, who seemed pretty cool at the beginning, but one stolen digital camera, one dining room with broken beer bottles on the floor, one smashed egg in the fridge, a snapped-in-half lighter, and several IOU's later... it's safe to say he was the worst roommate I've ever had in my life. Okay so I've only had about 4 in my life but still. You know it's bad when I find a pregnancy test in the bathroom wastebasket, underneath the plastic bag where all the trash should go, and he blames it on me. You get the point, no? Seems like Obama's not the only one who needs a better vetting process... taboom chssssssh!
I guess I did get at least one good thing out of Franco. He introduced me to a blast from Luis Miguel's past I was not familiar with. That boy could really hit them high notes...:
I have resumed my art classes after a very long break and recuperated my painting which is now hanging tranquilamente on my wall. I just finished an awesome portrait of a friend in graphite that is one of my best ever and hope to churn out more art so that they can charge me even more when I try to bring it all back to the U.S.
Me compré una guitarra and my teacher says that I'm a quick learner. ¡The only thing that I can't play very good are those malditas cejillas! ¡Me caen! My hand just does not bend that way. (This is the one where you have to lay the index finger across all the strings while playing a chord with the free fingers)
This semester I will be a lot more busy for sure. I am mostly excited about my Garageband Project with the students which will have them producing and writing an educational music CD to use in their future courses. I will definitely post the entire album after we finish. And... I will be the sole teacher in charge of Phonetics II taking it over from my tutora Gloria.
Fulbright ever so kindly invited us to a week-long workshop in Mexico City for the English Assistants from Mexico (5), Colombia (12) and Venezuela (6). It was very interesting to learn about everyone else's experiences in other schools and programs as well as hear about life in Colombia and Venezuela, two countries that are very stigmatized in the U.S. In spite of some issues here and there with organization at their respective institutions, everybody seemed to be enjoying their time and had nothing but good things to say about the culture and people. I only wish that they would have sent us instead of bringing the others here to México.
I made a little video with Pete and Victoria, two of the other Fulbrighters in Mexico, in Toluca. Shot out to Arleen and Mariska, who visited me in Acapulco. Also, to Gabrielle and Rosa who I kicked it with to bring in the New Year's Acapulco style.
Things I love (sarcastic):
Hairdressers who think I'm dumb because I don't know how to explain very well how I like my hair cute in Spanish (as a matter of fact I'm also horrible at this in English). Case in point:
Ella: muchos chavos ya no se peinan el pelo, solo usan las manos
Yo: yo tampoco. Y aparte como no tengo el pelo liso
Ella: No, tú tienes el cabello ondulado
Yo: Sí, pero, quiero decir que no tengo el pelo liso
Ella: Nooooo. Tú...tienes...el...pelo...ondulado (ya kindergarten talk)
Yo: (I decided to add accompanying fingerwave to help emphasize the negative statement) Digo NO tengo el pelo liso
Ella: Ah, eso sí
Yo: >:-(
The obsession with cohetes and setting them off randomly at night time.
The three species of ants that I always find in every nook and cranny of this apartment. I swear I would wipe them off the face of the earth if I could.
Taking a 9-hour bus ride from Puerto Escondido to Oaxaca with 8 screaming babies, 3,000 curves in the road and one -34-degree-Celsius air vent pointed directly at me and Mariska's face.
Things I love (non-sarcastic):
How when I ask for the price of something people answer me in a tone as if it were dirt cheap (it would probably help if I could show you the accompanying facial expression and body language).
My landlord, Don Miguel, is the most chismoso person I think I've ever met. Today, after going to my ex-neighbor Raul's apartment to pick up a stereo one of the other tenants wakled up the stairs. Miguel first checks her up and down as she walks away and then asks if she used to live in some town, or something along those lines, because she looks familiar to him. After the woman says no and walks off, Miguel goes off into some story about her being with some guy who cheated on her and was really obese. "Se hace la pendeja," he told us because he in fact knows her. The best part is, as we drive away, we drive by a couple kissing in the street. When I say drive by I mean at about 2mph so that Don Miguel can get a glimpse at who it is because he thinks the guy is a married professor at my school.
2x1 Sushi nights (Tuesdays and Thursdays). The empanizados are the best, con mango...que rico...
2x1 Tacos al pastor nights (Monday nights)...que rico...
They just cleared away the brush along the main street I live near, Ruíz Cortines, and now you can perfectly see the entire bay every time you walk by.
Me compré una guitarra and my teacher says that I'm a quick learner. ¡The only thing that I can't play very good are those malditas cejillas! ¡Me caen! My hand just does not bend that way. (This is the one where you have to lay the index finger across all the strings while playing a chord with the free fingers)
This semester I will be a lot more busy for sure. I am mostly excited about my Garageband Project with the students which will have them producing and writing an educational music CD to use in their future courses. I will definitely post the entire album after we finish. And... I will be the sole teacher in charge of Phonetics II taking it over from my tutora Gloria.
Fulbright ever so kindly invited us to a week-long workshop in Mexico City for the English Assistants from Mexico (5), Colombia (12) and Venezuela (6). It was very interesting to learn about everyone else's experiences in other schools and programs as well as hear about life in Colombia and Venezuela, two countries that are very stigmatized in the U.S. In spite of some issues here and there with organization at their respective institutions, everybody seemed to be enjoying their time and had nothing but good things to say about the culture and people. I only wish that they would have sent us instead of bringing the others here to México.
I made a little video with Pete and Victoria, two of the other Fulbrighters in Mexico, in Toluca. Shot out to Arleen and Mariska, who visited me in Acapulco. Also, to Gabrielle and Rosa who I kicked it with to bring in the New Year's Acapulco style.
Things I love (sarcastic):
Hairdressers who think I'm dumb because I don't know how to explain very well how I like my hair cute in Spanish (as a matter of fact I'm also horrible at this in English). Case in point:
Ella: muchos chavos ya no se peinan el pelo, solo usan las manos
Yo: yo tampoco. Y aparte como no tengo el pelo liso
Ella: No, tú tienes el cabello ondulado
Yo: Sí, pero, quiero decir que no tengo el pelo liso
Ella: Nooooo. Tú...tienes...el...pelo...ondulado (ya kindergarten talk)
Yo: (I decided to add accompanying fingerwave to help emphasize the negative statement) Digo NO tengo el pelo liso
Ella: Ah, eso sí
Yo: >:-(
The obsession with cohetes and setting them off randomly at night time.
The three species of ants that I always find in every nook and cranny of this apartment. I swear I would wipe them off the face of the earth if I could.
Taking a 9-hour bus ride from Puerto Escondido to Oaxaca with 8 screaming babies, 3,000 curves in the road and one -34-degree-Celsius air vent pointed directly at me and Mariska's face.
Things I love (non-sarcastic):
How when I ask for the price of something people answer me in a tone as if it were dirt cheap (it would probably help if I could show you the accompanying facial expression and body language).
My landlord, Don Miguel, is the most chismoso person I think I've ever met. Today, after going to my ex-neighbor Raul's apartment to pick up a stereo one of the other tenants wakled up the stairs. Miguel first checks her up and down as she walks away and then asks if she used to live in some town, or something along those lines, because she looks familiar to him. After the woman says no and walks off, Miguel goes off into some story about her being with some guy who cheated on her and was really obese. "Se hace la pendeja," he told us because he in fact knows her. The best part is, as we drive away, we drive by a couple kissing in the street. When I say drive by I mean at about 2mph so that Don Miguel can get a glimpse at who it is because he thinks the guy is a married professor at my school.
2x1 Sushi nights (Tuesdays and Thursdays). The empanizados are the best, con mango...que rico...
2x1 Tacos al pastor nights (Monday nights)...que rico...
They just cleared away the brush along the main street I live near, Ruíz Cortines, and now you can perfectly see the entire bay every time you walk by.
Things to do:
Through the wonders of Snapfish.com I will compile a group of photos that I feel best have represented my stay here in Acapulco, i.e. friends, bars, food, restaurants, the beach, the sunset, my apartment, to make a poster collage. Any other ideas? More music videos perhaps? Done.
Apply for jobs in Washington, D.C. Go to the gym and stick with it. Take French Saturdays at 8:00am and stick with it. Eat healthier. Go to the beach more. See more of Mexico and/or Centroamérica if possible. Write Obama about canceling all student-loan debt. Read more. Follow Judson's weight-gaining wonder diet and eat one PB&J sandwich before bedtime.
(Some of these may or may not conflict with one another)
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