News and Diaries

Vicky Walvis (Mexico)

( Last Updated: 05-12-2007 )

Hola! Peter, a.k.a. Pedro from AV, paid a visit and was a reminder of England until we got him dancing on chairs on the last night! In the mornings we learnt a bit more Espanol but mainly Laura gave us teaching techniques and we planned a few lessons. Jess and I work well together; we have just planned our first lesson in which we will introduce ourselves and teach them how to do the same with a bit of basic vocab thrown in. A bit nervous... I really want it to go well!

We also did some more activities: horse riding and water sliding. The former was good fun except that I had the naughtiest horse that had to be in the front; consequently, on the gallop he went a bit psycho and I lost my stirrups and hung on for dear life! We also had a few talks on Mexico; I cannot wait to travel as there is just so much to see, but in too little time!

Yesterday I moved into my new home in Santa Maria with 3 other girls and 2 guys. The house is so cool: it looks exactly like a tree house and has loads of character; the kitchen is outside on a balcony and we sleep in bunks.

I am settling in to life in the village and enjoying my new role as a teacher. I did not actually start teaching on Monday, as planned, because the school had exams but we had a look around anyway and met the headmaster who is friendly and positive. Also watched all the kids sing the national anthem and march around the play ground with the flag - very patriotic! Took advantage of a day off on Tuesday with a couple of others to go to Capulin and see the butterflies, which migrate there every year all the way from Canada. It was a tiring walk up the mountain but well worth it to experience the sight and sound of millions and millions of Monarch butterflies. The air was so full of them that at times they brushed our faces and arms. At the end of the climb we sat quietly and watched the swarms that covered the bark and branches of the pine trees... felt like I was on the TV programme `Planet Earth´!

On Sunday morning I went with a sleepy Mels to get some ´Barbacoa´ (slow-cooked lamb served in tortillas) which is so popular with the locals that there is no more to be found by 10 o-clock. At midday we went to mass in the church (completely full) and a sprinkling of holy water, before accompanying Clara to Luis´ house (one of the guys at the barbecue and Clara's uncle) at the ´Campo de Fútbol´. It was a pretty walk and resulted in a lot of invitations for the week to come:

On Monday Luis and ´Negro´ (Emmanuel who has a very long name and prefers to be so-called on account of his colour) took Mels and I on a surprise trip. The journey in itself was an experience as we travelled in the back of the pick-up, under a hot sun on the way there and under the stars on the way back. We also chatted to some Mexican girls training to be teachers in Valle and picked up some bright sunflowers, which got a bit squashed. The car stopped at the end of a dusty track where we ascended a rock-face, on some rickety steps over-looking a steep-sided valley, to see some faded ancient paintings on the walls drawn by the tribe which lived there even before the Mayas had come in to existence. This was something you would not find in the guide books, as was the sunken village of San-Tómas (which had been completely flooded over 50 years ago) with it's church tower proudly sticking its head out of the water, still in beautiful condition due to the efforts of the locals who take little boats out to it. They believe there is religious significance in the fact that the village still stands even though their former homes have been destroyed. Then Luis and Negro treated us to mangoes (would you like chilli sauce on that? No thanks!!) on the roadside and, in the old town, some of the best ice creams I have ever tasted.

Back