AND THE DECISION IS?????

Hello hello!

Last week Daniel and I went up to Tuxtepec to check out the city and campus. The campus was absolutely beautiful! Surrounded by a thick forest, it had cobblestone paths that were surrounded by plants and flowers as they led you to all the different buildings. The language program however ... seemed somewhat empty. We spent one more day in Tuxtepec and walked around the city, and it was definitely a different type of Mexican city. It seemed more crowded than Oaxaca and the Spanish accents were so funny! They would leave out "s" from their words and spoke as is they were singing. Also, I was the one and only blonde to be seen (which actually, I forget that I don't look like the rest of the people -- Daniel had to remind me :P). It was interesting because we stayed with one of Daniel's friend who lives up there, and he lives a little outside the city amongst trees and trees and MORE trees filled with bananas! They're called banana macho, and they are HUGE and have a very unique taste. We actually had fried bananas for breakfast one morning, and as we left, his friend's family gave us a bag full of bananas. While the city itself appeared to be a little run down and not taken care of that much, it was a beautiful area.

Then this past Monday, I had to give a demo class at URSE, the university here in Oaxaca. I was so nervous because I hadn't taught a class in two months, but it went really well. It was the biggest class I had ever taught (about 30 college students), and some of them were trying to do other homework during my lesson. (I remember how that goes.) But overall, I had a lot of fun and I think it went fairly well given that I didn't really know that much about the class beforehand. All I knew is that they were intermediate.... Yup, that's it. Right after the class, I was given a critique about my class and offered the job.

So, the decision was kind of hard yet kind of easy. Seeing the program at URSE, it was full of teachers from Italy and France and the US, all teaching their native language plus maybe another, and right away I could just sense a great energy between the teachers. I made a pros and cons list for both of the schools, and while both the "pros" list for the universities were about equal, I found way more "cons" for the university in Tuxtepec. I LOVE Oaxaca. This is my home right now. I spent yesterday afternoon sitting in a park near my apartment just writing in my journal. There was this nice breeze, and it was such a beautiful day. Taking a moment to look around, I felt this sigh of relief that I was going to be staying here. Yeah, there may be lots of tourism here.... yes, Tuxtepec would have been an adventure..... but Oaxaca, in this moment of my life, is my home.

So, I'll be starting on my visa application HOPEFULLY this week, and I'll start teaching for sure the beginning of February, which is when they're semester starts, and I may even be able to give a month class in January. We'll find out!

Can you believe I'm going to be teaching college students??? (Let's just hope they don't realize I'm practically the same age as them!)

Other than that, I'm trying to get mentally prepared to head back to the states! I leave on the 6th of December, flying from Puebla to Seattle, and I'll be spending a week on the west coast to try to see as many people as I can. Then I'll be driving with Laura over to Spokane on the 14th for hopefully a snowy Christmas! (Maybe? Please?) Finally, since unfortunately Daniel can't go with me this year for a vacation in Spokane, I'll be heading back to spend New Year's in Oaxaca. So, that's the plan! Tell me where I can find you and see you!

Also, the B&B job is still going great. With Thanksgiving this week, we've had lots of different guests who have been so much fun to talk with. Lots of great stories to hear! Although with guests, I haven't actually had a full day off for a few weeks now, just half days off. So hopefully I'll finally get my FULL day off (my one and only haha) this next Sunday. I'm needing a day to sleep in!

Ok, well... going off to make cookies and buy some bread and jam for a mini Thanksgiving dinner that my friends and I are putting together tonight. One of the girls, who will be working with me at la URSE, is leaving tomorrow to work in the US for a month before she comes back, so we're having the dinner a day early. :)

So, HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! Eat some turkey for me (we're making chicken haha)!


¡BUEN PROVECHO!

QUICK CHECK IN

So, just want to fill everyone in since things in my life are starting to finally pick up. I have received a job offer in Tuxtepec, Oaxaca. It's northeastish of Oaxaca, Oaxaca the city, and up and over the mountains where it takes me from the dry climate of Oaxaca to the more jungle parts of the state. I have a friend working up there, and she said on her way, she saw signs that said "Help save our jaguars!" Hmmm. (And there's tarantulas up there!) It's a full time job and really good pay for Mexico (a flat monthly pay). And I believe rent is cheaper up there. I'll be visiting for a day next week to check it out. So that's one option...

The other option is staying here in the city. I have an interview on Friday at a university here in Oaxaca but I've heard it's an hourly wage (you only get paid for the hours you work and not for the hours you plan). This would mean I'd probably work three to four hours a day which means my salary could be from half to three quarters that of the job in Tuxtepec. Plus, rent here is more expensive, although the apartment I have now is actually really cheap.

So, moving to Tuxtepec is looking like the best choice, and it also means living deeper in the Mexican culture, for Oaxaca is very touristy while in Tuxtepec, the other English teachers and I would be the only foreigners there. Also, Daniel has found a possible job opportunity in Tuxtepec as well, which would be nice so that we can stay close and not have to worry about distance.

So that's the scoop! Please be thinking of me these next couple of weeks while I start making some decisions!

Love and miss you all!

Michele

COOKING!!!

So, one good thing about working in a B&B/Cooking School is that eventually I get the benefits. First, they feed me breakfast every morning. DELICIOUS! Imagine, after being in Oaxaca for a total of 9 months (including last fall), I am now trying a whole new flavor of Oaxacan food just by working here. And the girls I work with are SO nice! I've really bonded with them, sharing stories with them during every breakfast and listening to their different views about so many things. Monday morning, the day after Day of the Dead, I got to hear all the "Day of the Dead" stories which they claim to be true. Very interesting! I remember last year I spent Day of the Dead with Daniel's uncle's family in a little town outside of Oaxaca, and honestly, I so scared by the stories they shared! And then Daniel almost made me go outside to where the bathroom was located by myself!

Another benefit to working here is that I finally got to be a part of a cooking class! A German documentary company (I'll say... not sure of the technical term) has come to visit and recorded one of our classes today. Since Pilar, the chef, didn't want them to film during a normal class, she asked me to gather a bunch of "extras" including me to participate for free! So the class consisted of my friends Annie and Naomi from my TESOL course, Daniel and I, and another receptionist from one of our other B&Bs. There was a German camera man (Thomas) who was kind of in charge, and a Mexican man (Hector) who did some of the questioning. They've been working together for a German public television channel for five years now, travling all around Latin America featuring different stories. Now, they are here to record all about the culture of Oaxaca. They filmed us in the market and cooking and what not, then they asked Daniel and I if they could interview us (IN SPANISH)! I said, "Ahh I hope my Spanish is good enough!" and of course they told me not to worry about it. Then, when they interviewed Daniel, the first thing Hector said was, "Now, be serious." Hahaha! Daniel's face was priceless as he said, "I don't know how to be serious!" But he did a good job. So hey, I think we may become famous in Germany! ;)

So, I'm hoping that my cooking skills are going to improve although I've been too lazy to practice much! After this class however, I have a little more motivation to practice different Oaxacan dishes that I can bring home with me. Anyone want to try when I get back???

Finally, while I've been complaining about the pay, I must say that I really enjoy working here. The most recent guests have been absolutely wonderful to talk with. One couple is taking the opportunity to travel to as many places as they can "before they die" is what they told me. The man shared a little bit about the places that they've travelled to and chatted with me about my plans and why this American girl is living here in Oaxaca. I just love working with people! And in the end this couple and another one left me very generous tips, which wasn't even a thought in my mind! It's just really nice to be appreciated for giving my best here at the B&B.

So, that's what's new with me! We took some pictures while cooking so I will have those posted soon. They're pretty cute. :)

One last thing.... I have hope for starting a teaching job in January! Thee universities have not confirmed but have at least been communicating with me about working for them. It mainly depends if positions open up, and then I'll be able to go in for an interview and give a practice teaching lesson. PLEASE be thinking of me! I would love to work at this one university that's an hour away from Oaxaca. I've heard so many great things about it and it's language program. This university is called Universidad de la Sierra Juárez. The second on my list is called URSE which is located right here in the city. And the third, which DOES have openings at this moment, is called Universidad de Papaloapan. The good thing about this university is that one of my friends works there. The bad thing is, it's in the city Tuxtepec a good distance away from Oaxaca. :( Although who knows, maybe this is where I should be off to next. (And there's a chance that Daniel may get a job in that city as well.) I just want to be sure of what I'm coming back to in January, so I'm going to be working hard at continuing to send emails to these universities as well as others so that I can hopefully have something all worked out before I go to Spokane for Christmas.

So that's my update. :) Hope everyone is doing well!

ESTAMOS EN CONTACTO! Miss you all!

Love,
Michele