Oh what a crazy adventure this has been so far. My 1st
grade classes are very different from each other. My green class is a very
respectful class who try to use the English they know. They want to please the
teacher and their parents. My red class is a crazy, energetic, and spoiled
class. I can’t believe some of the things that these kids say or ask during
class. You can tell they come from very wealthy homes where they don’t have
much responsibility. There are times I just want to tell them to stop being
babies. One little boy always says hello and good morning whenever he sees me
which is a big deal because he doesn’t know much English. The other day before
he left he ran up to me and hugged me and said good bye. Then to my surprise he
jumped up and kissed me on the cheek. I had just been pretty upset with him 10 minutes
ago because he wasn’t listening. He is so innocent and carefree! It made my
day! It is a challenge for me to learn classroom management when most of my
students don’t have much English vocabulary. I really can’t do the same thing I
did in the United States but it is making me a better teacher in the end. I
have already had meetings with moms which of course I have to have a translator
during the meeting. It is such a different experience then teaching in the
states but it is also very rewarding. I went to my first Mexican Independence
day celebrations and parties in September. I got to see all of my adorable students
dressed in traditional Mexican clothing on Friday the 14th and we got
out of school an hour early. We also didn’t have school on the following Monday
which was nice. Mexico’s Independence Day is September 15th. I have also helped teach one of the kid’s
church lessons. I helped find activity pages and one of the other youth taught
it in Spanish of course. I really missed Pachuca when I left last summer and I
am so glad I am back!
I have been pretty sick twice since I have been here. The first
time I went to the doctor and they said throat and intestine infection and gave
me four different medicines. I started feeling better in two days. Then a week
later I started getting sick again but I didn’t go to the doctor for three
weeks. I just went to the doctor yesterday and I am sick again. I have four different
medicines and one of them I have to take for a month. My blood pressure is low
because I was dehydrated. I haven’t been able to keep food in my body. Today I
ate a half of a sandwich and everything is still in my body!!! Praise the
Lord!! Please continue to pray that this medicine will work and I will get
better. I really miss eating the food here and I am sick of boring food like Jello.
God is so good! I still am amazed about His timing and plan.
It is so much better than what I had expected for my life. I have so many
amazing people in my life in Mexico that are taking care of me. The
missionaries Greg and Vicki are always here to help with whatever and I get to
watch their two boys. That helps with
having a little extra money. Another missionary Pam who is actually leaving in October
has been so amazing! I live very close so I can do my laundry at her house and
she takes me to church every Sunday. What a blessing!! Another Christian teacher
I met at my school lives close to me and she drives me to school and back every
day! She also is the one who translated for me at the doctor and brought the
medicine to my house. Then there is my boyfriend Gerzahin who is amazing. He has
helped me get to the grocery every week, take me to pay my bills, bring me
jello and Gatorade when I was super sick, and is always making sure I am
protected. Thank you, God for
surrounding me with people who are always there to take care of me and love
you!
Thank you for all the love and support!Ashley
