Dear Family and friends,
Hola!! For those of you that don't know, I am in Celaya, Guanajuato State, Mexico teaching English for the year. I´ve been here for a month which is hard to believe! My students are Kinder Segundo which translates to mostly 4 year olds, some 3 year olds and I have a class of 21 for about 5 hours a day. The curriculum is really hard (too advanced for children of that age even in their own language in my opinion) and it is also hard to keep their attention because they don’t really understand me and so they don’t pay attention to me. They are so cute though, and I love them even though I want to kill them sometimes. It is hard work but I am enjoying it and love the other teachers.

The last few weeks have been hectic because there has been so much rain that the dam upriver broke and there was a possibility of flooding in the lower areas of Celaya, where the school is. Our apartment (with my roommate Stephanie the other American teacher from IL who is 23 and cool) is on the 4th floor but we still get a few inches of water every night that it rains really hard just from the wind through the door cracks. We can see cars splashing through bumper deep water on the streets and one night when we decided to go out even though it was raining like that we got soaked to the bone wading to the bar in knee deep water in our party shoes and asymmetrical tops and everything! All because we had met this guy who wanted to take us out with his friends, and he didn't even show!!

Anyway the flood didn’t ever happen here in Celeya because the city some how diverted the water (in true Mexican style) from the rich houses around the river here to the poor, rural outlying areas so only the dirt poor people are affected by the flood. Stephanie invited me to go to Zitacuaro in Michoacan over the independence day holiday (Independence Day was practically cancelled here because of the flood danger) and on the way there we were driving on a raised dirt road and it was twilight and on both sides of the car the water was up past the road and houses were flooded to the tops of their windows and I could see the silhouettes of people in chest deep water trying to get their stuff out. They were clearly small poor houses and I felt like such an A-hole as we just drove on to start our holiday.

The trip was great, the family we were with was so nice and welcoming to us. Stephanie had stayed with them in high school for a month as an exchange and their families have kept in touch. The mother is a tiny little old Mexican lady in a black shawl and she has 9 brothers and sisters in the town so the family is huge and we went to their Noche de la Mexicana party the night before independence day and we ate delish food and drank tequila drinks and danced until 5 in the morning with all the family including parents and some grandparents.

I got to sing a song (cu cu ru cu cu Paloma, it's also on the Talk to Her Soundtrack) in the microphone with one of the sons who plays guitar, which of course everyone loved because of my funny accent. I am learning to baila Mexi-style and I just think it is so fun, both some fast line dances and cumbia which is what sounds like circus music in Mexican lowriders in America. I am going to get a cd and hang a virgin mary in my car and drive around Mexi style when I get back, I just love it!

I saw so much more of Mexico on the bus trip back from Zitacuaro and I am just so thrilled that I am living here even though Celaya is not a very Mexican city, I was so happy to be back in my city on my own turf and I feel totally inspired to travel on the weekends. I totally had one of those euphoria moments where you feel so lucky to be where you are and you want to memorize every detail. On the way to Zitacuaro we drove through a little artisan town which had the best stuff for sale lots of Guadalupe stuff which I am really stocking up on as I’m sure you can imagine.

As for my Spanish it is still in the beginning stages but I’m trying to practice a lot and have been understanding most of what goes on (I think!) I love learning a new language and I’m definitely going to take some classes when I get back. My love to you all and I’ll try to give periodic updates.