Ay dios mio

Wow. Mexico is freaking amazing.

First of all, I taught my first class at UNILA last week, and it went really well. I had 13 kids, and we talked about using gerunds as objects and subjects, as opposed to verbs. It was a good brush-up of English grammar for me to teach it. We also learned vocabulary for talking about different jobs, and the personality styles that go with different jobs. My planning was right on, and we spent the whole 2 hours doing different activities and games. It was hard to plan that much, and I think mustering up that kind of creativity 2 times a week will be a challenge, but a good one. My students were very respectful, and all tried really hard, and hopefully learned something. The best part was when I asked them if they wanted a break halfway through, and they said they wanted to keep going. I felt very confident though as the class went on, and I am hoping it continues to go well. I really want them to learn a lot. Vamos a ver...

Next topic: this weekend!
So, we went to DF (Districto Federal, Mexico City) for the weekend. We left yesterday at 8 am, and took a bus to the city, and went straight to Frida Kahlo's house, which is now a museum. It was amazing. I appreciated it so much more after watching Frida last weekend, because I knew the history and had the visual image already planted in my head. It was incredible though, to be in the place where she was, and to be in the rooms that inspired so much great art. She has such a tumultuous life, and I just can't think of many people who put so much of themselves into their work and what they create. What a woman. From there, we went to our hotel where we hung out for awhile and ate some lunch. We met up again to go the Palacio Nacional, which is where a large number of Diego Rivera murals are located. Again, watching Frida was such a big help. The biggest mural there is a history of Mexico. I love his murals because you can tell exactly how he felt about all the characters by looking at their faces. He depicted kindness and "evil" very well, and it was fun to pick out the historical characters now that we've done history up until 1915-ish. Zapata, Villa, Benito Juarez, Porfirio Diaz, etc...I am actually soaking the history in, and enjoying it. Goyo is a great professor, and I'm learning a lot with him. After the palacio, we bummed around the Zocalo (main plaza) for awhile, watched some "Aztec" dancers, got some ice cream, and felt like a big group of gringo tourists. A good feeling to have every once in awhile. Then last night we had the night off. Norma (our program director) took us to a bar with live salsa music. It was so much fun! 4 guys asked me to dance, and all of them were very patient with me, teaching me how to salsa. But it was funny, because all of them told me to relax and let them be in charge. Caballeros. One of them was taller than me, which everyone in my group was very excited about. Everyone is always looking out for me!

This morning we woke up super early and headed to Teotihuacan, which was INCREDIBLE. The pyramids were amazing, and the view from the top was once-in-a-lifetime. They were a pain to climb up because the stairs were very steep, but worth the hike. We climbed to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, and the Moon. So high. I am always amazed by the human capacity to build giant things....without backhoes or bulldozers. After Teotihuacan, we went back to DF (about half an hour on the bus) and ate at a restaurant, and went to the Museo de Bellas Artes to see some more art. Orozco, more Rivera, Siqueiros, etc. Amazing art. From there, we headed home and I am now rushing to get lots of homework done. But it was a great weekend overall, and I am ready for another week of sun, salsa, and Mexico!