1. Blogging is hard. I don't know how people do it. I have taken almost no pictures since I've been here and every time I sit down to write, I feel like everything I have is not interesting
2. I absolutely love being here. Being forced to speak Spanish on a daily basis has been priceless. Also, a Spanish teacher teaches my kids for almost 2 hours a day so I just get to sit and listen to her.
3. School started yesterday. The kids are beautiful and really bright. They call me "Miss" and "Teacher" but it comes out sounding like "Mees" and "Teechair" because of their awesome accents. I already love them.
4. I'm convinced that the phrase "Rules were meant to be broken" was invented by drivers in Mexico. Stop signs are suggestions. Lane markings are optional...and sometimes whether or not a lane exists is optional too. My left turn signal is broken...but I hardly ever notice it because turn signals may as well be decorative lights for all they're worth here. It is definitely big city driving...if we were friendly drivers like they are in the South, no one would ever get anywhere because we'd be letting people in front of us all the time. So...I cut in front of people on a daily basis. It is survival.
5. Mexican police like to drive around with their lights flashing. You know they're pulling you over when they turn on the siren...and even then...the first thing I was told to do was keep driving anyway.
6. The speedbumps here are mountainous. I drove a Dodge Neon in high school and it was so low that I had to go over most speedbumps at a slight angle and I thought it was completely ghettofabulous. I'm now going over speedbumps at an angle in a Toyota Camry that is not even close to being classified as a low rider. I have to pray about each speedbump..."Lord, please don't let me look back and see my muffler. Amen."
7. My friend and I decided we were going to watch all 6 Rocky movies...the pack of them was on sale at the grocery store for the equiv. of about $14. We're halfway through the third one and I'm completely hooked. They are so much more involved than I ever thought. I was expecting all boxing all the time and was not committed to watching all of them until after I saw the first one.
8. While I am enjoying myself, I do miss things and people familiar. Sweet Kristen Ashton married Kyle this past weekend and I was not there to witness it, which makes me sad. I do know, however, that they are an awesome couple and I'm so excited that they are now husband and wife. Shout out to the new Mr. and Mrs. Scarbro...come visit me.
8.18.2010
8.06.2010
Here are some pictures from the end of my road trip. Meredith and I stopped off at LSU where they actually have a real tiger that lives outside the stadium in its own glassed-in area. This is LSU's stadium, and the next picture is me punching their mascot statue in the face. The next time you go to see the statue of Big Mike at LSU, he'll have a dent in his face thanks to me.
I also went to Austin (by myself after I dropped Merry at the airport) which was tons of fun, so fun that I forgot to take any pictures, except for one of the Longhorns stadium.
The next few pictures are the view from my roof. Sadly, we found out yesterday that it is supposed to be a private patio for the guy that lives at the top so we're not really allowed up there. However, there are other patios to choose from so all is not lost, that one just has the best view. Enjoy!
8.03.2010
Its growing on me...
I think I'm gonna like it here. I've gathered my bearings a little bit. I can now drive to the school, some friends' houses (other new teachers), the grocery store, and Wal-Mart. The grocery store is a Texas chain called H.E.B. and you name it, they most likely have it. I feel completely spoiled because I'm not going without anything. I have all of my familiar groceries, a place to run, a Starbucks I can walk to, and people to hang out with. I'm feeling settled into my apt. and its almost clean which means I can almost take pictures of it.
I have to say my first weekend was fairly busy. My next door neighbor (who is American) invited me to go with him to a birthday party. His friend's nephew was turning 9 and they were having a bbq about 45 minutes outside the city. We went and spent the entire afternoon with at least 25 family members at this bbq. It was a little overwhelming to be talking in Spanish the whole time, but it was good practice. I mostly just sat and listened but nobody seemed to mind that I was quiet. I enjoyed watching their family interact too. I'm hoping to see them all again one day.
Okay, off to bed. I'll tell you all about the driving soon. I'm developing some bad habits.
I have to say my first weekend was fairly busy. My next door neighbor (who is American) invited me to go with him to a birthday party. His friend's nephew was turning 9 and they were having a bbq about 45 minutes outside the city. We went and spent the entire afternoon with at least 25 family members at this bbq. It was a little overwhelming to be talking in Spanish the whole time, but it was good practice. I mostly just sat and listened but nobody seemed to mind that I was quiet. I enjoyed watching their family interact too. I'm hoping to see them all again one day.
Okay, off to bed. I'll tell you all about the driving soon. I'm developing some bad habits.
8.01.2010
iEstoy aqui!
Before I launch into things...here are a few things you should know:
1. My caller id doesn't work down here. If you call and I don't answer, leave a message so I'll know who it is. Speaking of which, I had 2 missed calls yesterday and one sweet text that I have no clue who it was from. Claim them!
2. Texts are more expensive to send so, resist the use of those fingers and just call or email or skype instead :) (Don't worry, whoever sent that text yesterday is off the hook. I won't charge you...yet)
After 1800 miles of driving, I am finally in Monterrey. On Friday morning we got up and drove across the border. The school had brought enough people where one person rode in each car so a sweet teacher named Dani rode with me. She grew up west of Monterrey but has lived there for at least 10 years. She told me lots about the city and preset my radio stations for me (I was a lot more excited about that than I thought I'd be).
We arrived around 2 and sat at the school and had lunch until a little after 3. Then I drove to my apartment which I love. Its still a work in progress but hopefully I'll have some pictures soon. Its a one room apartment and it has everything I need and even some things I don't (i.e. a coffeepot. I still don't know how to u
se those things). There is a pool that I haven't gotten to take advantage of yet, but I will. My absolute favorite thing about the apartment is the view from the roof. There are lots of seating areas up there and they all have some of the most breath-taking views I've ever seen. This is one of them. It is called "Cerro de la Silla" or in English they call it "The Saddle" I didn't take this picture but this is similar to what I can see from the roof. Looking another way I can see Chipinque, another mountain that I'm hoping to go visit soon. I found this picture online too. I live much closer than wherever this picture was taken, but it gives you the idea.
There are tons of great restaurants within walking distance, also a grocery store, a Starbucks (and other coffee shops), and a large park that runs down the middle of the major avenue a few blocks up. It is always full of runners, so hopefully I'll be one of them soon.
Also, here's a tidbit a lot of people have told me...San Pedro Garza Garcia (where I live) is the richest county in Latin America...thus the Ferrari dealership and Louis Vuitton store down the street. There is also an Apple Store somewhere, so I've heard.
I'm going to church today and don't plan on understanding much, but I'm excited to go. My head is full and processing a lot, but I'm having fun at the same time. I drove to school by myself yesterday and didn't get stuck in a wrong lane...I did a victory dance in my car when I got there. Driving is going to be a constant adventure.
Sorry this is so all over the place! To be honest, this is very similar to all of my thought processes as of late...a huge jumble. I'll have to elaborate on some of this stuff later.
1. My caller id doesn't work down here. If you call and I don't answer, leave a message so I'll know who it is. Speaking of which, I had 2 missed calls yesterday and one sweet text that I have no clue who it was from. Claim them!
2. Texts are more expensive to send so, resist the use of those fingers and just call or email or skype instead :) (Don't worry, whoever sent that text yesterday is off the hook. I won't charge you...yet)
After 1800 miles of driving, I am finally in Monterrey. On Friday morning we got up and drove across the border. The school had brought enough people where one person rode in each car so a sweet teacher named Dani rode with me. She grew up west of Monterrey but has lived there for at least 10 years. She told me lots about the city and preset my radio stations for me (I was a lot more excited about that than I thought I'd be).
We arrived around 2 and sat at the school and had lunch until a little after 3. Then I drove to my apartment which I love. Its still a work in progress but hopefully I'll have some pictures soon. Its a one room apartment and it has everything I need and even some things I don't (i.e. a coffeepot. I still don't know how to u
se those things). There is a pool that I haven't gotten to take advantage of yet, but I will. My absolute favorite thing about the apartment is the view from the roof. There are lots of seating areas up there and they all have some of the most breath-taking views I've ever seen. This is one of them. It is called "Cerro de la Silla" or in English they call it "The Saddle" I didn't take this picture but this is similar to what I can see from the roof. Looking another way I can see Chipinque, another mountain that I'm hoping to go visit soon. I found this picture online too. I live much closer than wherever this picture was taken, but it gives you the idea.
There are tons of great restaurants within walking distance, also a grocery store, a Starbucks (and other coffee shops), and a large park that runs down the middle of the major avenue a few blocks up. It is always full of runners, so hopefully I'll be one of them soon.
Also, here's a tidbit a lot of people have told me...San Pedro Garza Garcia (where I live) is the richest county in Latin America...thus the Ferrari dealership and Louis Vuitton store down the street. There is also an Apple Store somewhere, so I've heard.
I'm going to church today and don't plan on understanding much, but I'm excited to go. My head is full and processing a lot, but I'm having fun at the same time. I drove to school by myself yesterday and didn't get stuck in a wrong lane...I did a victory dance in my car when I got there. Driving is going to be a constant adventure.
Sorry this is so all over the place! To be honest, this is very similar to all of my thought processes as of late...a huge jumble. I'll have to elaborate on some of this stuff later.
7.29.2010
A Quick Update
Highs
-I made it to Laredo!
-Tomorrow I'll be in Mexico
-I met and had dinner with a bunch of coworkers tonight and they are all tons of fun
-My amazing friends and family made me a book of pictures and encouraging letters to last me for a LONG time. I love love love it. Thanks to those of you who contributed :).
-Meredith was a trooper and we made it to Houston with smiles on our faces and our friendship very much in tact.
-I hung out yesterday in Austin with Chris (USC friend who moved out there a few months back) and fell in love with the city. I enjoyed it so much that I forgot to take a single picture.
-My car got an A+ check-up at Jiffy Lube yesterday (1600 miles and counting)
-I have a king-size bed all to myself tonight.
-Part of our orientation tonight was learning Spanish cuss words so we'll know if the kids say them.
Lows
-Meredith went and got on an airplane back to Raleigh...lame
-She took her TomTom with her and left me with an Atlas the size of a beach towel
-I found out tonight that I'm not allowed to wear capri pants to school...if you know me, you know that my entire summer wardrobe for work relies on my collection of capris. Looks like I need to buy some new pants.
-Lastly, of course, I miss all people and things familiar.
Off to bed
-I made it to Laredo!
-Tomorrow I'll be in Mexico
-I met and had dinner with a bunch of coworkers tonight and they are all tons of fun
-My amazing friends and family made me a book of pictures and encouraging letters to last me for a LONG time. I love love love it. Thanks to those of you who contributed :).
-Meredith was a trooper and we made it to Houston with smiles on our faces and our friendship very much in tact.
-I hung out yesterday in Austin with Chris (USC friend who moved out there a few months back) and fell in love with the city. I enjoyed it so much that I forgot to take a single picture.
-My car got an A+ check-up at Jiffy Lube yesterday (1600 miles and counting)
-I have a king-size bed all to myself tonight.
-Part of our orientation tonight was learning Spanish cuss words so we'll know if the kids say them.
Lows
-Meredith went and got on an airplane back to Raleigh...lame
-She took her TomTom with her and left me with an Atlas the size of a beach towel
-I found out tonight that I'm not allowed to wear capri pants to school...if you know me, you know that my entire summer wardrobe for work relies on my collection of capris. Looks like I need to buy some new pants.
-Lastly, of course, I miss all people and things familiar.
Off to bed
7.27.2010
Houston, we have a problem....
Hello, fans of Erin! This is Meredith here, and I thought I would do a little blogging to update everyone on our past few days. We have had a great time, done a lot of driving, and have finally arrived in Houston, Texas. This is where Erin and I will part ways tomorrow morning - hence the blog title - I have a problem with this! However, I know you all aren't reading this to hear about my complaining, so here are some stories on our past few days:
After we left sweet Margaret in Atlanta, we started our trek to New Orleans, LA. Our ride consisted of a lot of singing, talking, laughing, Mad Libs, and some sweet quiz taking. Erin found a great gem of a quiz magazine, so we were able to find out some important life questions such as, "What kind of BFF are you?!"
We also took a quick little detour to Auburn University, and went to see their football stadium. We were surprised by how nice the campus looked, but still had to represent USC when taking pictures:
We had been told by many people before we left Durham that New Orleans wasn't the greatest city, but Erin and I had never been there, and wanted to be able to experience it ourselves. Boy, did we experience it! We started the night off by walking around town, and came upon Harrah's, the casino. As we were walking by I told Erin that I was sort of intrigued to see what the inside looked like, and so we decided to take a stroll through the building. Y'all, we definitely stuck out like a sore thumb in there. We both said we would be willing to use a quarter at the slots (I know, big spenders), and quickly found out the machines wouldn't take cash. So we found a machine that we thought would convert our money into credit, and were suprised to realize that the machine would not take our $1 bill. Remember, we only wanted to play a quarter, so we thought we were being generous with a $1 bill. We were stopped by a staff member when they saw the machine wouldn't work for us, and he asked Erin what we were trying to do. Once he found out we were trying to use a $1, he quickly informed us that the machine we were using only broke $100 bills... that was when we decided it was time to move on. 
After we left sweet Margaret in Atlanta, we started our trek to New Orleans, LA. Our ride consisted of a lot of singing, talking, laughing, Mad Libs, and some sweet quiz taking. Erin found a great gem of a quiz magazine, so we were able to find out some important life questions such as, "What kind of BFF are you?!"
We also took a quick little detour to Auburn University, and went to see their football stadium. We were surprised by how nice the campus looked, but still had to represent USC when taking pictures:
We had been told by many people before we left Durham that New Orleans wasn't the greatest city, but Erin and I had never been there, and wanted to be able to experience it ourselves. Boy, did we experience it! We started the night off by walking around town, and came upon Harrah's, the casino. As we were walking by I told Erin that I was sort of intrigued to see what the inside looked like, and so we decided to take a stroll through the building. Y'all, we definitely stuck out like a sore thumb in there. We both said we would be willing to use a quarter at the slots (I know, big spenders), and quickly found out the machines wouldn't take cash. So we found a machine that we thought would convert our money into credit, and were suprised to realize that the machine would not take our $1 bill. Remember, we only wanted to play a quarter, so we thought we were being generous with a $1 bill. We were stopped by a staff member when they saw the machine wouldn't work for us, and he asked Erin what we were trying to do. Once he found out we were trying to use a $1, he quickly informed us that the machine we were using only broke $100 bills... that was when we decided it was time to move on.
We walked around town, and then stopped to have some yummy dinner at a Creole restaurant. After dinner we thought we would take a stroll down Bourbon Street... that was when it all went downhill. Seriously, Bourbon Street is nasty!!! We quickly realized we were out of our comfort zone, and started devising our exit strategy. However, we did want to get one picture to document our Bourbon Street experience, as it was very memorable. Erin thought we would be able to stop this "nice" lady we were walking by, asking her very nicely if she could take our picture. We sadly were rejected though, as she said "no, not right now." Seriously, who says no when someone asks you to take a picture?! While we did not get a picture of Bourbon Street, here are a few pictures we did take:
Okay, well that's my summary of road trip day 2. To make sure I don't bore you by having a forever long post, I will leave road trip day 3 up to Erin to write about. I have very limited time left with Erin, so I'm going to make sure I go and enjoy my time with her, and get off this computer!
7.25.2010
And the Journey Begins...
My sweet family was there send us off...
My fearless travel companion
I know what you're thinking...If only you'd been able to join us, your life would be complete.
Meredith was feeling artistic as we passed through Gaffney and took this stunning picture of the peach.
(Real Story...We (I) thought it would be fun to take a picture to represent passing through the great state of South Carolina. I think I put too much stress on her to take it while we were passing it going exactly the speed limit...and this was the only picture she got. I appreciate her determination to leave out the Fatz Cafe sign. My personal opinion- I like the picture)
Stop #1...Duluth, Ga. to hang out with the lovely Margaret Harritt and laugh myself to tears.
My fearless travel companion
I know what you're thinking...If only you'd been able to join us, your life would be complete.
Meredith was feeling artistic as we passed through Gaffney and took this stunning picture of the peach.
(Real Story...We (I) thought it would be fun to take a picture to represent passing through the great state of South Carolina. I think I put too much stress on her to take it while we were passing it going exactly the speed limit...and this was the only picture she got. I appreciate her determination to leave out the Fatz Cafe sign. My personal opinion- I like the picture)
Stop #1...Duluth, Ga. to hang out with the lovely Margaret Harritt and laugh myself to tears.
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