Whoa baby, I was on the move today!
PINEAPPLE for breakfast... Just have to mention that first. It's my favorite, and especially tasty here!
So I started my day leaving the house a little after 8 (my mom drove me since she had to take the Canadian boys), and my Spanish class left a little before 9 for our weekly field trip. Today we went around different parts of Mérida as well as to a market. Ana drove us to the very north side of town (close to where we live) which is the real ritzy area. Wow - massive homes... Reminded me of the style of houses in nice parts of California and Florida. We got back to school at 10:20, and I immediately left to catch the bus to my internship at Sol y Luna. It was a great day of learning for everyone! Óscar perfected his ability to put jam on a piece of bread (he used to have no motor skill abilities, now he's able to use utensils!!), Shaula worked on counting to three, and Jessi increased her fine motor skills and coordination by taking colored clothespins, pinching them to open the "mouth", and clip them to corresponding colored plates. It's so exciting when you see the kids succeed! I really really really love working with the staff too! They're passionate about what they do, and like family with the kids at Sol y Luna, I can't wait to learn more! I was done a little after 1 and ventured to find my returning bus to get home. I was trying to find a bus that would take me closer to my house, rather than school, but failed - leaving me with a very very long walk home in the very very hot sun. I melted a little (let's not forget... it's still "winter"?). I finally got home around 2:15, ate lunch, cooled off a bit, and checked e-mail. Turned right around at 4 to leave my house to head downtown again for my volunteer work at La Academía Municipal de Inglés (English Academy) where I help Mexicans learn English. I volunteer there on Tuesdays from 5 to 6. Again, another wonderful experience! These students (I worked with ages 13 to probably upper 50s) are hardworking and intent on bettering their language skills, at a fast pace! Today I worked with beginners (in their second week of classes) by asking them basic personal questions, and having them ask me questions in return. We also played a spelling game to work on English letters, and ended by rehearsing over and over "AEIOU" because vowels in Spanish and English are very confusing... For instance "E" in Spanish, is pronounced like the English "A", and "I" in Spanish is pronounced like the Spanish "E"... Ay yi yi! I then moved to an intermediate classroom where we also worked on interviewing people, and talking about interests. I found a bus to come home (found the one I was looking for earlier this afternoon), and didn't have to walk nearly as far!! Gold star for the day - I've navigated foreign public transportation once again! Back home around 6:30 to finally breathe! Then start studying for my first Spanish test that's tomorrow!! I don't think it will be too bad though!
Had a long conversation with my mom after dinner about all sorts of things! It makes me smile that she treats me like a close friend, asking me questions and opening up to me about all her kids, work, stressors, etc! I was most pleased with myself because I realized during the conversation I wasn't thinking in English... or computing/translating in my mind what she was saying... I just knew! It's exciting to watch my Spanish abilities improve in ways like this!
All in all a very productive, adventurous, and busy day - and I'm exhausted!! I'll attempt to get to bed early tonight, but that rarely works out like I have planned!
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