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Published: March 16th 2009
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Well we took the plunge...
Since our last update much has happened and so many of our best laid plans never came to fruition... but a few others did. About a week after we arrived in Puebla I was offered the substitute teaching job in the primary school at the Colegio Americano. This is a nice schmultzy school where the wealthiest families pay lots of money to have their students taught by highly trained individuals such as myself (haha joke is on them!!). In all seriousness though, it is a very cushy teaching job as far as benefits and perks are concerned, and I doubt I could get anything much better in the U.S. at this moment of economic crisis!!
Our second week in Puebla we stayed with the guy who is the contact for international hiring at the school, and his dad at their adobe house in the countryside... our first lesson in taking wild and crazy bus rides into town to get to school!! Protocol for bus-riding in Mexico: 1) Get change handy 5-6 pesos. 2) Make sure you know what the name of the place is you want to go to. 3) Get on the street
and look for a bus that has the name of where you want to go on the windshield. 4) When you see this bus wave it down in the undesignated location where you are standing, and pray that the driver feels like stopping (he might not). 5) Jump on the bus as it (still moving) slows to get you, hand money to driver and find a seat where you can hang on for dear life (no shocks on buses... or they have all been trashed by maniacal mexican bus drivers on cobblestone streets. 6a) You get to your stop, press the get off button, or tell the driver to stop, and thank god you have lived to put your feet on the sweet god-given firm ground once more. 6b) After about 20-30 minutes you realize you are on the wrong bus and entering some rural village that most likely isn't documented on any map... you are the only one left on the bus... the driver stops to get a coke... and then asks when you are planning on getting off... feeling idiotic you ask when he plans to turn around, and he says never... luckily you have your own two
Our favorite cheapo place in Puebla
Adam is in love with chorizo quesadillas feet and it is a sunny day, so you walk about 4-5 miles until you stumble into town again... sunburnt and tired you vow to never take the bus again... but somehow you always find yourself waving one down the next day...
Well, after about a week with Nick (the intl. hire guy age 25), his father, and several GIANT spiders, and a broken toilette (awkward), we found a sweet little apartment in the nearby town Cholula... here we live in an apartment 3 blocks from the market, 5 from the Zocalo (center of town), and 7 from this awesome church built on top of a pyramid (that is so overgrown it looks like a hill, hence the spaniards building a church on it). From the top of the pyramid we have fabulous views of the mountains surrounding Puebla, including the active volcano Popocatepetl that blows a few puffs of smoke every few days or so.
Our first weekend in our new apartment we got invited via our new friend Nick, to jet off to Cuernavaca to attend the birthday party of one of his friends mother. Interestingly our friend Nick didn't care too much for driving at
night and asked if I would... so my first driving experience in Mexico... swerving dead animals, flying over topes (unmarked speed bumps usually in the middle of the highway), and passing semi's until we reached our destination... and thank god we did (on this ride I also learned, and excessively used, the term "pinche chilangos"... loot it up).
The party was great, set in this awesome house with surrounding gardens, a pool, and a guesthouse for us to stay in (complete with mini scorpion on the wall). On the way back we took a more scenic route passing through an area of bustling commerce... everyone selling everything from herbs in pots to skinned goats (or dogs) hanging in the storefront... what a wild ride!
Other fun things we have recently done include seeing a soccer match from our friends box seating (completely stocked with any type of alcohol you could ever want!), and the mexican cooking class I go to every friday to hang out with the other American teachers (all women my age or so) ... In school we call these our "cookies and milk parties," but its more like "wine, food, and bitching"... lots of fun!
this is real!
this was our roomate for a couple of days. Nowadays things have calmed down somewhat... I am going to school, and tutoring after to make extra money, Adam is giving the odd cooking class her and there to rich PTA moms to bring in extra cash, and we are just working to make ends meat. We are both taking spanish classes though the school, and Adam will be following a few leads on restaurant jobs to get into a more permanent rhythm... meanwhile I am lucky to be enjoying his cooking at home!!
Well, this has gotten long enough, we will have to save the rest of the gritty details for next time. Please write us, and let us know how things are back home!
Besos,
Nikki and Adam (The Bloods)
p.s. It is REALLY cold here sometimes (aka at 7am when I go to school)!! I wish I brought more clothes!!
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