Angelina's Life in Motion

My first week as a real school teacher is complete!!! And it was successful!! It's been a busy, but good week. I'm enjoying teaching. My class is interesting. The personalities are so unique and the backgrounds so different! Right now I have 8 students in my class. (Only 6 have been to school so far) The ones I've had this week include 5 boys and 1 girl. Two more girls are supposed to be coming with their families. One boy has a Latin parent and an Israeli parent. He was born in Jerusalem. He has been speaking English for one year. 2 other boys have at least one latin parent. Then there are two North American brothers and the girl's family is from Pennsylvania. So, it's neat. I think I'm headed off to a great year! There will be some challenges- the biggest one so far is how to handle two grades at the same time! Well, no big culture experiences in the past few days. One thing that has been really cool this week is that I discovered that I could see two of the four volcanoes around us from my bedroom window! What an amazing sight to see in the morning. It reminds of the verse, "The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows His handiwork!" Wow- it's so cool. They are like 50 miles away but they are so so big, they overwhelm me! Anyways, it leaves me in awe of God when I look at those mountains! Well, thanks to those who wrote and said they are reading these updates! I appreciate it. And, if you ever write me a personal e-mail I will write you back! Have a great weekend everyone. Don't forget to take time out to worship our Creator! He deserves our praise!
Angelina

Hello! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I did. On Friday night, we went to a Mexican Folklore Dance. It was at a theater and was about 1 1/2 hrs long. The performers did a series of dances, including the Mexican wedding dance and the Maypole dance. They wore the traditional costumes and makeup. It was a very neat event. I really enjoyed it. On Saturday night I stayed over with the Hudsons. (For those that don't know the Hudsons, they are a missionary family here in Puebla who are supported by Lima Baptist Temple. Mrs. Hudson grew up in Lima and went to church at LBT.) I stayed up late chatting with their daughter Debbie. On Sunday I went to church with them. CHurch starts at 12:00 noon. Some of you would really like that I'm sure. :) Anyways, it is a very small church that meets above a restaurant. The church has a lot of people my age. It is a very friendly place. In Mexico, instead of shaking hands, you greet one another with a kiss on the cheek. This includes girl-girl and girl-guy. So, that has been an interesting practice to get used to. They also do this when you leave. Well, I didn't understand the sermon, but picked up words and phrases. I enjoyed it and hope to learn Spanish from it. After church, the Hudsons and I went out to eat and guess what?? I liked the food there. It was a Mexican restaurant and I got a Mexican dish. It was delicious. It had pieces of chicken, ham, bacon, tomato and onion all cooked together. Then they brought tortillas out for us to make our own tortilla from it. So, I'm glad I found something Mexican that I like. Well, last night I went to the church's youth group- which is actually more for college age students. It was in Spanish, but a guy there knows English really well so afterward he helped me practice my Spanish. I am really excited because I am beginning to comprehend more of it. Well, I'm going to go finish up my room and prepare for tomorrow. By the way- only 2 people have e-mailed to say they have looked at my website. Is anyone checking it??? I hope to hear from you. Have a great day. Angelina

Hello! I hope everyone had a great weekend. I did. On Friday night, we went to a Mexican Folklore Dance. It was at a theater and was about 1 1/2 hrs long. The performers did a series of dances, including the Mexican wedding dance and the Maypole dance. They wore the traditional costumes and makeup. It was a very neat event. I really enjoyed it. On Saturday night I stayed over with the Hudsons. (For those that don't know the Hudsons, they are a missionary family here in Puebla who are supported by Lima Baptist Temple. Mrs. Hudson grew up in Lima and went to church at LBT.) I stayed up late chatting with their daughter Debbie. On Sunday I went to church with them. CHurch starts at 12:00 noon. Some of you would really like that I'm sure. :) Anyways, it is a very small church that meets above a restaurant. The church has a lot of people my age. It is a very friendly place. In Mexico, instead of shaking hands, you greet one another with a kiss on the cheek. This includes girl-girl and girl-guy. So, that has been an interesting practice to get used to. They also do this when you leave. Well, I didn't understand the sermon, but picked up words and phrases. I enjoyed it and hope to learn Spanish from it. After church, the Hudsons and I went out to eat and guess what?? I liked the food there. It was a Mexican restaurant and I got a Mexican dish. It was delicious. It has pieces of chicken, ham, bacon, tomato and onion all cooked together. Then they brought tortillas out for us to make our own tortilla from it. So, I'm glad I found something Mexican that I like. Well, last night I went to the church's youth group- which is actually more for college age students. It was in Spanish, but a guy there knows English really well so afterward he helped me practice my Spanish. I am really excited because I am beginning to comprehend more of it. Well, I'm going to go finish up my room and prepare for tomorrow. By the way- only 2 people have e-mailed to say they have looked at my website. Is anyone checking it??? I hope to hear from you. Have a great day. Angelina

Wow. This week has been going so fast! Hmm.. what can I tell you today. Well, first of all, school has been postponed until Wednesday because of some illness among staff and lack of staff for the high school. The board is trying to figure out what to do. It's interesting to be seeing things from the other side- I am so glad I am here, because the school would have been under even more stress without a 3/4th grade teacher. So, pray for the school staff as we prepare for the year. I am enjoying getting my classroom set up! It's really a fun task. I still have much to do before Wednesday- but I'm going to work really hard today. Well- I'm going to share my cultural experiences with you. This first thing is a little weird, but I'm going to tell you anyways. Here in Puebla, we have good plumbing-no outhouses like some may picture. However, toilet paper does not get flushed in the toilet, but thrown into a wastebasket in the bathroom. So, that's probably the first cultural difference I came across. (I already knew this from visiting Mexico before, but some of you probably didn't know that.) Secondly, something I already knew before I came, but has been confirmed is that Mexican tacos/quesadillas/gorditas are not for me. They are served with meat, sometimes cheese and some kind of salsa, which covers the inside of the shell. It makes me sick to my stomach. I'll keep trying Mexican foods and ask for them "sin salsa" (without salsa.) I am determined to find a Mexican food I really like. Good thing I have 10 months! Another thing that is different is that we cannot drink tap water or rinse our fruits/vegetables with tap water. We buy the big jugs of water that you see in the US. They cost 12 pesos, which is equivalent to $1.20, so we get a 40 lb jug of water for about the price of a 20oz bottle in the US. Pretty good deal! Many things do tend to be cheaper here, which is nice. You can easily go out to a nice restaurant and feed 4 people with $20.00. Speaking of eating out, we went to a restaurant Tuesday called El Balcon and my housemate decided to just pick something on the menu since it was in Spanish. She chose Mole de panza. The waiter brought it to her and it was like a soup. She kind of moved the meat around with her spoon and finally we asked the waiter what it was. Well, the unfamiliar meat was cow stomach. The waiter kindly took the soup away and brought her something much more apetizing. Well, that is about all for today. Oh- one more thing. Last night we went to a Mexican tap dance show. It was really good. The dancers wore many tradition costumes and performed some traditional dances. I really enjoyed it. It was a great tast of the Mexican heritage. Before I go, someone e-mailed and said there may be an error on the link to my e-mail. If any question, it is: a2191981@yahoo.com Thanks for reading this. Hope to hear from you soon! Angelina

Hola de Puebla, Mexico! Well, I made it safely after traveling all day yesterday. Thanks for all your prayers! I love my apartment. It's a neat little place. I finally got to meet Erin, my housemate and she is wonderful. The girls down the hall are also teachers at PCS and are very fun. It's going to be a great year. I began setting up my classroom today. It is fun. I like my room. I have 9 students on my class lists- 3 boys named Caleb make up the 4th graders. I have a Korean student, 2 Mexican students and one Israeli, so this will be an interesting experience. I'm very excited about it though. I had my first taste of "real" Mexican food tonight. All I can say is that the Chicken Chalupa here is nothing like Taco Bell and my stomach is still turning over it. Oh well. Tomorrow I get to go shopping. I actually live above a little store and I can get most of the things I need there, so it's very convenient. Estoy muy cansado (I'm very tired) so I am going to go. Check back in a few days for another update! Angelina

Hello everyone! Thanks for visiting this weblog. A special thanks to Uncle Jerry for helping me set this up. I will be leaving on Monday the 18th from Columbus, flying to Houston and changing planes in Houston to fly to Mexico City, then onto a bus for 2 hours to Puebla. I'm at my grandparents today spending one more day with my family. Well, I will try to write frequently to keep you updated and to share my experiences with you. Thanks for all your prayer, support and encouragement. Have a great day! Angelina

This is a test entry
This is a test entry to show Angies the features of a blog. This is just a test. Don't Panic.