My dream Job!

God is AMAZING! I have had the calling and passion to work in Mexico since the 8^th grade. I never knew how that would look especially with having A LOT of student loans. I am still praying about when all those payments come due at the end of the year but I am trusting God! I can’t even explain all the details of how God’s plan has unfolded for my life.  As many of you know I was in Pachuca, Mexico last summer working with missionaries and built some amazing relationships. I fell in love with the people here and even the city. I am not a city girl at all but I felt a peace when I was here.  So after I returned to Ohio to finish my one year of school, I started applying to schools all over Mexico. I applied from the border all the way down to Cancun in November and December. Pachuca was the first school who called me and interviewed me twice over Skype in February. I was hired before I even graduated college which is AMAZING and it was my dream job! Now I am here in Pachuca and still trying to get fully settled in but I know this is where I should be! I would like to get a VERY cheap car sometime in the near future but still praying about it.

My big classroom is a work in progress!! I do have one of the biggest classrooms!

I am on my second week of orientation and the students arrive on Monday the 20^th. I am excited, nervous, overwhelmed, not ready but ready at the same time. J I am so excited to meet my students on Monday. As of right now, I have 14 students in each class. I am very thankful for student teaching in a half day kindergarten because it was preparing me for this year. My classes are classified as verde (green) and rojo (red).  My students will have schooling in English for half the day and then Spanish class for the other half of the day. That gives me a very short amount of time with my students and they are all English Language Learners. Some of them have been exposed to English before and others not very much at all. I have high expectations for my students but I would like prayer for how to handle students who are struggling with learning English. I know how frustrating it can be to learn another language as I am learning Spanish very slowly. I hope this allows me to connect with my students though! I also have a teacher’s aide who is bilingual. I have met her and she seems really great. She has already started organizing my classroom and asking me what I would like her to do. I have been a teacher’s aide so I want to make sure my students know she is to be considered a teacher with as much respect as me. I would love to utilize her in the best possible way like tutoring or working with students in groups. It is so awesome because she can give me a different perspective than mine because she has lived here her whole life. I have also heard from other teachers that she is very creative which is so good since I am not. I can find the idea but I can’t do it. Haha I pray that I can build an awesome relationship with her.

Ok about life here. I have been walking to school which is about a 35 to 40 minute walk. This walk each day has been very interesting. I have been whistled out by many different guys, stared out, honked out, and attacked by dogs. I get stared out EVERYWHERE I go because I am a young white female and that is not very common here. Today I had three guys yell at me saying with total respect you are beautiful. It was quite flattering but I have to say I don’t like all the attention. I love my apartment still. I have walked to the grocery a couple different times because you can’t get everything in one trip when you are walking. I am such a country girl because I am not use to buses and taxis. I have been on a lot of different buses here and they really don’t bother me like they bother some of the other foreign staff that is here. They are very crowded, dirty, bumpy, and the drives don’t slow down. I have stood so many times because there are no seats. I already have friends here from the church I worked out before in Pachuca. I love going to church and then going to my boyfriend’s family’s house and eating good Mexican food that doesn’t compare to the USA at all. I really love being able to connect with Mexicans and not just hanging out with the other foreign staff. I love people and kids! I am excited because I have already babysat for a women’s breakfast at the church. God’s plan is far better than what I have ever expected. I am glad I waited on His timing and not my own. More to come soon once school starts J

Thank you for the support in prayer and encouragement I receive from so many of you!

Ashley