halloween, amoebas, acapulco, and parent citas

and the winners for Acapulco's Who's Who Awards...

*highest GPA*

*most likely to succeed*

*best hair*

*best body*

*best dressed*

* * * A C A P U L C O * * *

seriously, BEST vacation ever. for several reasons. i think we were in desperate need of a vacation so the timing was perfect. and then, the fact that we planned a RELAXING vacation at the beach - who could ask for anything better?

our bus left from puebla at 11pm on friday night & we got to acapulco around 6am.

we checked into our hostel & napped for a few hours before hitting the beach.

rewind: the hostel.

the hostel was by NO means anything like the hostel experience we had in oaxaca. our standards were set pretty high - so this hostel just did NOT add up.

*free internet = 30 minutes of free internet.

*air conditioning included = AC is turned on at 6pm and off at 6am daily.

*free breakfast = a bowl of cereal.

needless to say, the hostel was not everything we had anticipated.

BUT - the location, location, location. it was PERFECT.

it was right near the beaches, the restaurants, clubs, bars, everything AWESOME.

the location made up for everything else that the hostel lacked...

our vacation consisted of lots of beach hang time, napping, eating seafood, dancing at night, exploring the area & laughing. OH laughing. we did a lot of that.

acapulco is not a huge "dia de los muertos" area of mexico so we really didn't do anything traditional as far as that goes. we didn't even see an ofrenda, not that i remember at least? but the bars were all having halloween celebrations and we did see a few people dressed up! some mermaids and pirates. nothing too crazy!

this place was absolutely beautiful.

HALLOWEEN

well, we had our halloween celebration at the american school. it was really a fun day! all of the kids were dressed up in their expensive costumes & we had TONS of candy. we had a parade for the kids in each grade level to walk and then a time for teachers & parents to walk. it lasted for about an hour - and it was fun to see all of the different costumes that were in the other grade levels! after the parade, my class went "trick-or-treating" to the other 2nd grade classrooms and then we had a pizza party in our classroom. needless to say, the kids were HYPED up on candy and drinks and pizza. all we did was play board games and halloween activities all afternoon.

here are some pictures of our halloween celebration day:

"miss megan! get a picture with the pirates!"

one of my classes & their lovely costumes.

miss brittan, me & miss colleen at the halloween parade.

football playa - nerd - barbie

wow, creepster in the back....

"miss megan we need un foto"

<---AMOEBAS--->

i'm not sure when it happened, but my stomach got invaded by amoebas. i'm still suffering, somewhat. imagine the worst stomach ache you've ever had and multiply that by 50 and that's about what it feels like. i don't even know what these suckers are doing inside my tummy but it huuuuurts. a staff member at my school gave me some homeopathic medicine to help with the amoebas but i'm thinking i will have to ask her for some more meds. these suckers are bad. i'm thinking NOW would be a good time for them to leave my tummy and find somewhere else to invade.

*please pray that these little creatures find somewhere else to go

and that my stomach heals.

last but not least i wanted to mention parent meetings. we've been having a lot more of these lately because parents know that it's getting closer to report card time. basically, the meetings all go the same. parents are concerned about their child's grades and basically they just want to hear us say that they are doing okay. (at our school, parents can request 'citas' or teachers can also request one with a parent. but pretty much, we have a slot of time open every wednesday that is open to parents conferences - if any parents request one). but today, we had an interesting parent cita. the mom was genuinely concerned about her child's attention span in class and at home and the fact that he seems very unmotivated to do anything to do with school (study, read, parties, field trips...it all bored him) but it was my first experience with a crying mother. i didn't know what to do. we just comforted her and told her that we would figure out the problem and see what it is that her son is lacking in motivation. maybe there are children in his class that are being bully-ish to him? maybe he doesn't understand and feels stupid? maybe he's bored? it's interesting - and i'm eager to find the source of his apathy towards school. this was definately something to add to the list of things teachers deal with - crying parents.

ok, that's about it!

i love you all! :)

-meggie

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

kids say the funniest things.

our unit right now is "i'm cool because i follow the rules"

these are some cute journals that my kids have done.

just to make you laugh :)

enjoy.

no piss? oh...wow

he's just goin' to the club, that's all.

this one's my favorite.

number 3.

with the illustration and everything.

:)

LOVE YOU

.meggie.

needing vacation from vacation

VACATION.

ohhh, vacation.

dear, OAXACA, MEXICO, you're amazing.

here was our vacation spot.

after 4 1/2 hours of riding on the ADO bus,

we arrived at the lovely city of oaxaca.

so so so *SO* much happened on this trip,

i'm not sure where to begin. forgive me if this blog is a big scattered!

there are so many stories to tell.

overall - we had a LOVELY time in oaxaca and are planning another trip back!

so, mexico celebrates independence on september 15th. this year, the 15th fell on a thursday. our school originally gave us that wednesday and thursday off work (meaning we had to work on friday - WHO does that?) but, eventually, the word was passed that we also had friday off work.

the reason being - this year was the 200th year of mexican independence. sort of a HUGE deal in mexico. needless to say, we were PUMPED about a 5 day weekend and immediately planned our vacation. colleen, a 3rd grade teacher at my school, and i planned the trip in about an hour. we picked out our bus & hostel and booked them both. then began planning what kinds of things we wanted to see in oaxaca.

so, we left on Tuesday after school. our bus left at 6pm and we arrived in oaxaca at about 11:00pm. our hostel was about 5 blocks away from the bus station so colleen and i got off the bus, got our luggage, and began walking to our hostel using the directions she found online. we found a few of the first streets we were looking for but could NOT find one of the streets. we walked up one street and back down, then up again and back down again. just-a walkin.

(story #1) then, out of NO WHERE this woman appears with what seemed to be her son. literally, out of NO WHERE. like she just popped up. she said to us "hablan espanol?" (do you speak spanish?) and our reply probably sounded a bit jumbled and unsure because we were a bit startled but we got the point across that yes, we speak spanish. she proceeded to ask us what we were looking for and what streets we needed. she gave us perfect directions directly to our hostel and then told us that it is not safe for 2 girls to be walking around alone in that area of town. colleen and i then turned to each other and had the same reaction "was that an angel!?"

so, we find our hostel and check-in with the sweetest, loveliest, most hilarious little mexican man. our hostel was called "hostel don nino" and we immediately named our sweet landlord "don nino" (by the end of our trip, we were real close to good ole don. we had a secret handshake and even took some pictures with him)

us. with our buddy, don.

so, we are all checked in and we are in our BALLIN' hostel room. i just get so excited about how wonderful this trip is going to be that i locked my keys to my locker inside my locker. oops. but it ended up great, good ole' DON helped me out.

we just slept that night & miss kami burns came and met us in the wee hours of the morning. and our other friends adriana and genevieve came and met us later in the week. needless to say, we had a great time exploring the city. we went to tule tree, monte alban, mitla and lots of other fun places. here are some pictures from our explorations around the city!

with the founder of monte alban.

me, genevieve, adriana, colleen.

tule tree

huuuuuuuuuge.

(story #2) at the GRITO (or the huge celebration in the zocolo of the city, on the night of the independence celebration) someone stole my wallet. SUPER sad. it had a substantial about of moolah in it and my working visa as well as my mexican debit card. SO, my lovely friends and i spent the grito in the bathroom of a resturant on the phone cancelling my debit card. it ended up being a good night but in those moments i was not a happy camper. VIVA MEXICO, no?

we met up with our friend Vero who is from oaxaca. she is such a WONDERFUL tour guide and so incredibly hospitable. her family picked us up one night for dinner. her mother looked super familiar but i couldn't figure out where i would have met her. (story #3) HER MOTHER was our beloved street angel. her MOM was the woman who helped us find our hostel on our first night in oaxaca. can you believe it? it's such a small world. her sweet, helpful mother not only helped us find our hostel on our first night but she also bought us 3 meals and drove us all around oaxaca, showing us things we should see and telling us all about the history/culture/and food of oaxaca. we were truly blessed by this ANGEL! :)

so the week consisted of lots of naps. free breakfast every morning at the hostel. and lots of other small funny stories in between. we laughed so much. and danced a lot. we also ate a LOT. we walked around the city a ton & shared lots of good memories together. it was a wonderful, wonderful vacation.

(story #4) one day while walking near the zocolo, we witnessed a sight that we hope to never see again. a straight up naked mexi man walking down the street. well, he wasn't completely naked. he was wearing a cut off sleeveless shirt. and that's all. we called him the naked caveman.

(story #5) one afternoon we sat in the park across the street from our hostel and people watched. we also ate quesadillas. probably the best i've had. they were mushroom and spinach quesadillas. oh, and children played in the fountains. it was cute.

OH YEAH.

and the tuesday before we got out for vacations, we had an independence celebration at our school. the children dressed up in traditional clothing and we had tamales and esquites outside on the patio. there was also a celebration outside with dancing and horses and a flag ceremony. it was a fun morning! the children really enjoyed it.

some of my LOCO homeroom class :)

dressed up in their traditional mexico gear.

had to let my camera charge but here's a glimpse of some of the cuties in my 2nd class.

they loveeee taking pictures.

now back to el mundo real. the real world.

responsibility hits again.

time to go back to being a teacher :)

to the "praying for megan in mexico" prayer warriors :)

pray for:

-patience with children

-patience with children

-and..patience with children

-financial stuff (stolen wallet doesn't help that, huh?)

*psalm 33:4*

for the word of the Lord is right and true;

He is faithful is ALL that He does.

loving you bunches!!!

-meggie