Earthquake in room 4A

So today my kids were spread out around the room working when we heard a pop. All of a sudden the kids started shouting, "Miss! Miss! Look at the floor!" I walked over, and two of my floor tiles had buckled up and popped out of the floor. Side note...the tiles are ceramic. I jumped on them and tried to push them back down, but nothing happened.

I walked over to my computer to write an email to maintenance, when all of the sudden you would have though someone was shooting off firecrackers in my room. In about ten seconds, over half of the tiles in my room buckled, snapped, crackled and popped. It looked like an earthquake the way the floor was moving, but the ground wasn't shaking. My kids ran screaming out into the hallway and I stood there until everything stopped. The floor is solid cement under the tiles so I figured we weren't in danger of falling. Once I got the kids settled in the hallway, I walked down to the office and told them they probably should come take a look.

Come to find out, this is a rare thing that happens when the foundation of the building slowly shifts over time, the temperature changes and pressure builds. Today was the day...the pressure was so heavy on the tiles that they shattered. Here is the beginning of the clean up process...




All of the tiles have to be replaced. We've moved my entire class into an empty conference room until everything can be fixed. I think my kids were basking in all of the attention they were getting from kids in other classes. We had class this afternoon in the courtyard at the school...but of course we got nothing done.

Halloween!

My friend Rosalyn and I dressed up as a clothesline for Halloween...

Halloween Party complete with bobbing for apples. Here we have Leah, Carlos and EdgarRosalyn, Kyra, Cassidy and I



My friend Rosalyn and I dressed up as a clothesline for Halloween...

This is where I live...

http://www.autotalk.com/lamborghini-establishes-mexican-representation-with-two-dealership-openings-6940/

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A has opened two dealerships in Mexico, firmly establishing the supersports car manufacturer’s presence in the country with its first official franchised locations. Lamborghini Monterrey opened on 27 October in the so-called “Beverly Hills of Latin America,” in the municipality of San Pedro, Nuevo Leon.


Ladies and gentlemen, I live in the Beverly Hills of Latin America. I run past this dealership every day and started seeing Lamborghini's in the windows weeks ago. Yes, you read that right. Windows. The dealership is inside. No car lot here folks. They blocked off a lane of a busy street the other night to have this party. I drove past it in full swing...red carpet, spotlights and pretty people. I'm now convinced that I am the poorest person in the whole municipality of San Pedro.

Real de Catorce

Some friends and I had a weekend getaway to a town called Real de Catorce. If you've ever seen Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts in "The Mexican," that's where I was. To get there we had to travel through this tunnel. It was the main way in and out of the city. On the way in we were piled in the back of a truck......and on the way out we piled into a horse-pulled wagon. The tunnel was over a mile long and pretty dusty.
This is Leah and Rosalyn, new teacher friends.
This is a fraction of the outdoor market. There were stands spread all over the town. Most of the streets looked like this. We shopped all day on Saturday and bought gifts for others as well as plenty for ourselves. :)
This is the view from the rooftop at our hotel ($45 USD a night for 2 double beds). This is about 1/4 of the town. It wasn't big at all.
More pictures to come!

Si, hablo Spanish

I've decided that if someone were to say, "How's your Spanish?" I can now respond with, "I can effectively communicate but I'm still learning how to better express myself...and I can't talk about anything hypothetical." By that, I mean that if I have to say could or would in a sentence, the conversation may as well be over. Anyway, here are some small failures I've had in the world of Espanol:

In the supply room at school I needed white board markers (marcadores para el pizarron blanco). I said, "marcadores para el pizo blanco." Translation, "markers for the white floor."

The other day I was trying to say, "I felt frustrated," or "Me sentia frustrada." Instead, I said, "Me sentaba frustrada." Translation, "I sat frustrated."

I also tend to freeze whenever I have to talk about anything new or to anyone new. I went to get my oil changed today and I new everything I had to say...but as soon as it came time to say it I mumbled and sounded like and idiot. Even so, I left with fresh oil and I'm ready for a road trip. Speaking of road trip...
I'm going to Real de Catorce this weekend. Apparently its where they filmed "The Mexican," but I've never seen it. All I know is that it is higher in altitude and I get to take a jacket!!! Yay for cold(er) weather!

And also this...

We beat Alabama last Saturday, the number one team in the country, putting USC in the top ten in the nation! YYYYYEEEEAAAHH Gamecocks!
http://gamecocksonline.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/recaps/100910aaa.html

My parents came!

So my parents came to visit and I finally got to show someone around! At the top you have Mom and I at Paseo Santa Lucia, a fake river in downtown Monterrey. It goes for 2km and is really nice. Next is my class...which is so awesome that I really don't need to say anything else about them. Lastly, my friends Callie and Rosalyn came with my parents and I to a flea market on Saturday. Here we are looking at pirated movies :)