sleeping in

S U N D A Y

it's okay to be lazy

and sleep in way too late

and sit around

all day

and not really accomplish anything.

so it's dia de los muertos time in mexico.

tradition here is people build alters to people in their family who have died.

with their favorite foods/alcohol/pictures and such.

colleen's neighbor built his alter to michael jackson. rip.

this week at school was definately a roller coaster. Monday was probably the worst day at school i have had so far. BOTH of my classes were really really disrespectful and did not listen and frustrated me so much. i'm sure it wasn't all the students though. i was probably not very patient from the beginning and hence the students not being very respectful. at the end of the day on Monday i just sat at my desk and came up with all of the reasons that i have wanted to be a teacher my whole life. i had to remind myself that there WILL BE days like that and it's part of the job. and i have to learn to overcome the bad days because the good ones are more frequent :)

then, on the other end, thursday & friday were 2 of the best days! complete opposite. i actually got to TEACH new things and we did lots of fun activities and the students had fun and so did i! days like this remind me why i'm a teacher.

two of my students told me that their moms set them up emails and they wanted my email address so they could send me an email. of course, i gave them my email. this year is "the year of technology" so i think it's special that they are learn

ing email at such a young age. anyway, they emailed me that night. here are the 2 emails i received. so presh.

1. Hello Miss Megan,I wanted to sed you that I Love you from hear to the stars.goodby

2. hi teacher megan you are the best teacher in the world, you are star you are beautiful.

i loved it.

it's funny how little things can make your day :)

on wednesdays, i always write a sentence on the board and the students copy it for their morning work to practice handwriting and spelling words. this sentence said "inside the box, i found lots of new pets! i found some dogs and even a baby turtle" (spelling words were box, pets, dogs, turtle) but this sweet lil' boy obviously found some dogs and a baby boy inside his box....

i really love where we live. the little community around us is really cute. i realized this when i walked home from school the other day. i've made some new friends with the workers who live near us. for example, there is a new healthy food restaurant and the owner told us that whatever we want, we can just tell him and he can make it for us. (um, do i hear a personal chef?). there is a little corner store and the man that owns it is PRESH and he always has a greeting with a smile. then, there's the ladies at the laundromat. one older woman, she has one tooth in the front. and her daughter, i'm assuming. but everytime i walk by they greet me by name "hola meegan!" i love it. it's really great.

well, yawl please pray for:

- laiza's family. her brother was killed on thursday in mexico. pray for comfort and peace in their lives as they struggle with the loss.

- our trip to acapulco (this friday through tuesday); safe traveling and exploring the city

- ty & erin, ty as he's starting a new journey in his life in the military & erin as she works hard to be at peace with him gone from alabama..

- my students

that's all, folks.

-meggie

a walk to the gym

justa workin' out.

so, i joined a really, really, reallyyyy awesome gym here in puebla.

it's about a mile from my house and in this mile, there is lots to see.

colleen & i took lots of pictures one day on this walk.

so, i decided this blog would be dedicated to showing you the walk to the gym.

first of all, for those of you who have never been to mexico and have an image developed in your mind of what it is like here, this might change it. believe it or not, there is an applebees in walking distance from my house. total american.

just some pretty buildings and trees.

the tree picture is for you, dad.

then just some awesome flowers.

and a walmart.

where normally things are cheap. but not in mexico.

pretty flowers.

don't judge the book by its cover.

this might look pretty & nice but the smell as you cross this bridge is horrid.

and last but not least, goats.

just a pack of goats. right on my walking path.

about 1 second after this picture was taken, we were being chased.

by goats.

true story.

welp, that sums it up! :)

LOVE.

meggie.

fin de semana

weekends

2pm friday afternoon - sunday at 12am

weekends have always been really great

but with a real full-time job, weekends mean soo sooooo much more!

this weekend has been really, really fantastic. friday, after school, Colleen & i ate at a close sports bar-ish type resturant. we had hamburgers and french fries (TOTALLY American and TOTALLY exactly what we wanted). then we spent the next 3ish hours on colleen's rooftop of her apartment eating sweets we bought from the bakery and drinking a bottle of the cheapest wine we've ever had. we went to a birthday party of a friend of a friend here in puebla that night and just hung out. but the most beautiful part of the night was around 2am when the party started to die down and people started leaving and there were maybe 20 people left at the apartment (which, by the way, has a rooftop terrace of a view of puebla that's pretty indescribable). the music wasn't anything familiar but we all started dancing just silly dancing together. me, colleen, sam (studying here from oklahoma), a girl from spain, an argentina girl and a few mexican girls from all over mexico, and a german. it was AMAZING. all of us together at this house listening to music we didn't know - all of us from different backgrounds and cultures and lifestyles but we had one thing in common and it was that in that moment we just wanted to let go and dance and be silly. and it was sooo much fun! we left the house and ate some street hotdogs & headed to my house smiling and laughing at the randomness of the evening and how lovely it had been.

i've been sending home a weekly newsletter with my students. requesting for copies at our school isn't really the easiest process. well, i take that back. REQUESTING isn't the difficult part. the difficult part is not really knowing when you're going to get your copies. and this past week, i forgot to send for my copies. so i need to find a copy shop tomorrow somewhere to get that taken care of. my kids are used to getting the newsletter now and on mondays they always ask for it. (i really think this is because the newsletter also states the STAR STUDENTS for that week, and they get super hyped about that)

i've got a traveling itch in me lately. we have vacation days on november 1 and 2 and i can't wait to take a great trip. i think we might go to catamonco, veracruz. it's known for 2 things: witchcraft & orangutans. it's bound to be interesting. we were supposed to go to isla mujeres - but it ended up being too expensive. and i couldn't fathom spending that much dinero on a 4-day long vacation. i wish so bad it could have worked out though. maybe i will have a chance to go there before i leave mexico! it's a beautiful place!

GOALS for the upcoming week:

*start VEGGIE night at colleen's

*paint my room

*CLEAN - like hands & knees kinda' scrubbin'

*meet a new friend :)

*have fun with my classes at school; find new teaching strategies

PSALM 13:5

"but i will trust in Your unfailing love; my heart rejoices in your salvation"

cuidate*besos*te amo*descansas bien*nos vemos

m.e.g.g.i.e.

it's october already?

octubre

*what does october usually mean for us in the US?*

fall weather

football games

halloween

trick-or-treating

*in mexico, october so far is:*

worst rain month of the year

dia de los muertos

COLD mornings but lovely afternoons

and for colleen, kami & myself october means 1/2 marathon training :)

mosquitos

AS OF LATELY, i have been working the usual 8am-2pm days during the week. nothing major has happened as far as work goes. the kids have been really funny lately with some of their writings and some of the things they say. i don't think teaching will EVER get old with kids this young. they really say the funniest things. on the weekends we have been eating TOO MUCH food and spending too much money. colleen & i discovered mexico's street hamburgers last weekend. they're amazing. i wish i had taken a picture but this is what they consist of: hamburger patty (very flat and thin, just the way i like it), bun, ketchup, mustard, sauteed onion, ham, bacon, cheese (LOTS of cheese), guacamole, mayo (if you're one of those people that eat mayo) andd, i think that's all. but they are the best thing, ever. for 25 pesos. whhhat?

it's getting cooler weather here, we're having to wear jackets in the mornings on the way to school but in the afternoon the sun is shining bright and it's HOT. it's my favorite weather, ever. i love it.

we're trying to plan a trip for our break for dia de los muertos. we have the 1 and 2 of noviembre off of work. we were thinking of going to isla mujeres but it's quite pricey. and with a ticket home for christmas being 713$, i can't spend much money on vacations. HOWEVER, something will be planned and a fun trip will take place for that puente (break).

well, my new favorite website is:

www.tvshack.cc

i'm able to watch american tv shows. it's amazing.

lately - it's been real housewives. lame, but totally entertaining.

i feel like this blog is uneventful.

but here's a pretty mexican sky for you to enjoy :)

-meggie