Musings about Standardized Testing

This morning at school we were informed that we'd be giving the national standardized test, Enlace, today. I was assigned a group of 41 students and a room that is not where I usually teach. After arriving to the classroom with my group, I was told to go downstairs to the teachers' room to pick up my materials. As the young woman from the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) counted out the materials, the teachers read a photocopied explanation of the instructions for proctoring the exam. By 8:30 (an hour later) I was back in the classroom handing out the testing booklet and the scantron forms. I'm not quite sure what my group of kids did while I was gone, but no one was injured!
Our goal for the day was to complete four sections of the test with 45 minutes alloted for each section. The students are tested on Spanish, Math, and Civic Education. The first section went well with most students using a substantial amount of the alloted time - which, to me, means that they are trying to answer the questions the best they can. At the end of this 45 minute period, the SEP representative came into the room and told us to ignore the time periods and to just continue to work our way through the following three sections. I'm not sure why they decided to informalize the test taking process. Maybe I'm a product of the test taking culture in California, but it seems that a set amount of time for test sections helps students focus and then take a brain break in between tests.
About 4 kids obviously just filled in the bubbles, even after I encouraged them to do their best and take it slowly. Soon, more than half the kids had finished. Needless to say, even after 8 months with these kids, I still have not mastered keeping Mexican middle schoolers quiet!! They are INCREDIBLY social and are not accustomed to having to be still for a period of time. Although I coughed up a simple extra credit assignment to keep them occupied, I still struggled to keep the environment suitable for testing. (Maybe if Fulbright gave me another year here I'd be able to get this down!!)
There was a parent volunteer in each classroom today. They were there to observe the test proctoring to make sure that there were no testing abnormalities. I guess there have been many circumstances where teachers help the students on the test, so they wanted to make sure this wasn't happening. A colleague of mine was really offended by their presence.
Jacob, my son, also took the Enlace exam today in his 4th grade class. At home in California, he is trained to take these exams really seriously since his school has put so much enfasis on the results. He was upset today after school because he wasn't able to finish one of the sections. He said that the kids in class were making so much noise that he wasn't able to concentrate. (I can relate!!) Also, he is accustomed to having unlimited time to finish this type of standardized test.
Anyways, it was interesting to see the difference in the testing process here. I think that it is good that the SEP is interested in collecting this data. The next step will be improve the organization of the test administration and to teach kids to take it seriously.

After the Swine Flu

Today was the first day back to school for primary and middle schools after a two week hiatus due to the swine flu. (My apologies to the pork industry - "Swine Flu" has such a nice ring to it!) At my middle school, every student and teacher received a ziploc full of goodies - two facemasks, a tiny bar of soap, a diminutive packet of hand sanitizer and a wipie! Many of my students were wearing their facemasks properly. The rest of the kids were wearing "neckmasks"! I'm not much a fan of facemasks, so mine also decorated my neck for the first period and then somehow got lost for the second period. Classrooms were "disinfected" last Thursday and Friday which resulted in any teaching materials I had left in the room being tossed into the trash. Like a good U.S. teacher, I had my word wall, student work, and other didactic material up on the walls. "Had" is the operative word, because apparently, even paper on the wall could harbour the dangerous flu virus! To my dismay, student notebooks with over 8 months of work and notes were also thrown out! Ni modo (the all purpose Mexican phrase meaning "oh well - nothin' I can do about it!".
One of the more interesting things about today was the conversations that I had with my colleagues. Most appreciated a bit of time off and many escaped from the city to other parts of Mexico to be with family. Several concurred that President Obama is responsible for the virus - after all, he visited President Felipe Calderon the day proceeding the outbreak! When I asked another colleague what he opined about this viewpoint, he said "Son pendejadas!!"
Anyway, it hasn't been "Just another day in Mexico!" I'm happy to be back at work!

Semana Santa

We had a great trip to Chiapas and Oaxaca over Spring break. The weather was hot and humid down at sea level, making us appreciate our 7400 ft elevation in Mexico City this year. One highlight of the trip was definitely San Critóbal de las Casas, much larger but with a thriving tourist industry -- restaurants, theaters, etc. -- than when we were there almost 20 years ago! To read and see more about places we visited -- see the slideshow "Semana Santa -- Chiapas y Oaxaca" for photos with comentary of our trip.

Mochitlán -- The Virgin's New Home

One of the things we do too often is see places as tourists. A few weekends ago we had the chance to see the small home town of one of Gretchen's collegues, Vicente, in the state of Guerrero. Vicente is an art teacher at the Secundaria Aztecas. He invited us to accompany him to his hometown of Mochitlán for a weekend of the town's festivities. We set up our tent in the patio of his mom's house, and hung out with Vicente, his mother, and assorted extended family who came to the town for the weekend.

Breakfast with Vicente and his family (Note: no silverware, just lots of fresth tortillas hot off the comal)

The occasion was the transference of the Virgin from one family's home to another--each year a different family keeps the town's Virgin in their home for the year. The day on which the townspeople accompany the family is an all-day affair. A procession/parade accompanies the Virgen through the town. When she arrives at her new "home" for the year, the host family must feed everyone who shows up -- chilate (a cold chocolate milk with cinammon drink), tamales, and there are a number of men serving shots of mezcal (a tequila-like drink, but made from different agaves) to anyone who will take it.

The Virgin being taken to her new home for the year.

The next day we took a guided tour of some local caves (las Grutas de Juxtlahuaca). The entrance to the caves was filled with bats and cockroaches. There was so much bat guano around the entrance that the temperature rose significantly, from the decomposition of the guano. As we got deeper in, there were no bats, but there were subterranean pools which we had to wade/swim through to get to the end of the visit, some spectacular crystal formations.

Sabine standing among some interesting cave formations.

The weekend was indeed a great opportunity to see a town we wouldn't otherwise have visited.

Dolls, Dolls, Everywhere!

After chowing down on some delicious chilaquiles with Aunt Marian in Tepoztlan, we walked out of one of the most colorful restaurants we've eaten in here in Mexico. Were we ever surprised to stumble upon a river of people heading to the cathedral all carrying elaborately dressed dolls in baskets! Old women, fathers, even macho looking, teenaged boys had their "Niño Dios" dressed in flowing white clothing tucked in the crook of their arm.

Since this is just the type of exciting surprises that living in Mexico for the year affords us, we joined the stream and headed to the cathedral. On route, we passed by many booths at the market selling all sorts of white, doll-sized clothing for the dolls that represent Baby Jesus. One can buy booties, caps, gowns that look like baptism garb, mittons, and even a special throne for their Baby Jesus.

Here in Mexico, Nativity scenes are VERY elaborate, including every animal you can imagine, cacti, and many villagers. Families leave the manger empty until December 24 when they cradle and rock Baby Jesus, and them place him carefully in his bed of straw. Apparently, they leave the baby there, dressed only in it's swaddling clothes, until February 2 (La Candelaria) when they take it out and dress it in fancy, white garments. La Candelaria is the day that children, Baby Jesus, and even seeds for planting later in the year are brought for a blessing for the year. The churchyard in Tepoztlan was filled with hundreds of families bringing their "Niño Dioses" for their yearly blessing. For our family, it was a delight to observe the people of Tepoztlan as they participated in their tradition of honoring Jesus.

Obama's Inauguration in Mexico

We were invited to see the inauguration ("toma de posesión") at a US Embassy gathering, so we used the excuse to pull the kids out of school for the morning. It was definitely exciting to watch. However, since we were sitting near the Ambassador, TV cameras and photos were on us the entire morning, and we were each interviewed several times when it was over. Gretchen said some students saw her on the news -- we watched but apparently missed it!

Here's a link, however, for the Mexico City English language newpaper, The News, with quotes by Gretchen Yoder-Schrock.

http://www.thenews.com.mx/home/tnhome.asp?cve_home=964

Surrounded by the media at the Benjamin Franklin library after the Inauguration (apparently my generic statements of optimism, hope, etc. weren't enough to get me mentioned in the paper :).

December and Xmas in Mexico

December 12th -- Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe. The history is that the Virgin appeared to a local priest in the 1500's, the first appearance of the Virgin in the Americas. She is now the patron saint of Mexico. This year approximately 5 million pilgrims visited the Shrine in her name, on the north side of Mexico City, the few days leading up to the 12th of December. I tried to catch the news on TV about the pilgrimages, since we decided not to try to take the kids, but the broadcasts I saw seemed to focus on the quantity of garbage left behind from the 5 million people.

We knew that the morning of the 12th there would be Mass all around the country early in the morning to sing "Las mañanitas" (Happy Birthday) to the Virgin. We were surprised, however, when we were awakened at midnight by fireworks being set off all across the city (we had a nice view of 4 or 5 different series of fireworks from our 10th floor windows).

We also were told that many children wouldn't go to school on the 12th. As I was dropping off the kids that morning, about half of the school seemed to be absent.

La Pastorela y Piñatas -- One of the two things that surprised us most about the Xmas season here were the quantity of piñatas--all of them the traditional star-shaped--as decorations all over the city -- even the Pemex gas stations had piñatas hanging over the gas pumps. For the end of December celebration at the kids' elementary, every class had 2 or 3 piñatas to break -- the central patio was filled with kids lining up to break them and dive for candy.

Piñatas at a store in Xalapa, Veracruz

La Pastorela is a dramatic work focusing on the devil trying to keep the shephards from going to Bethlehem. Everywhere you turn there were performances -- Jacob and Sabines theater class put on a version, the parents at the elementary school performed for the entire school (I had the privilege of being a lead sheep -- which means I was in charge of 15 little 1st grader sheep).
Walking down the street the week the last days before Xmas break there were quite a number of little angels, devils and sheep heading off to school in the mornings.

Our Christmas vacation -- see the "December and Xmas" Slideshow to see photos of our trip to Cuetzalan, Xalapa, Veracruz and San Miguel de Allende.

Beach vendors in Tecolutla, Veracruz

January 6th -- Día de los Reyes Magos -- Epiphany is the day when most children receive their presents in Mexico. They leave their shoes out by their beds the night of the 5th, and the three Kings leave presents in (or by) their shoes. Families gather on the 6th and eat "Rosca de Reyes", a round bread/cake that has at least 1 little doll baked inside (though I guess many have 5 or 6 little dolls). The person who gets the piece with the little doll must host a tamal dinner on February 2nd, the end of the Epiphany season.

Sabine going to bed January 5th, leaving her shoes out, and food and drink for the camels.

Cooking in Mexico -- part I

I (Kermit) have received a few emails over the past few months wondering what in the world I’m doing this year. My daily life is usually made up of taking the kids to school, going shopping (almost every day—small fridge and carrying the groceries), laundry once a week (which I’m actually doing right now as I write, after taking a bus to a different laundrymat which has better rates on drying clothes—we’ll see if it is worth the trip), washing dishes a couple of times a day, the gym a couple of times a week, picking up the kids, stopping in the park to play after school, starting dinner, taking the kids to afternoon classes (Theater and Dance) 2 days a week. Of course I find time in there to read and stop off for breakfast from time to time as well (as I just finished a good plate of Chilaquiles while waiting for the laundry!!).

My main “job”, however, is preparing different Mexican foods this year. So I’ll include a list of the things I’ve made so far, with a few comments. Those readers who have some favorite dishes, variations or other suggestions, please let me know.

• Chilaquiles rojos – I used chile morita, a type of small chipotle. I’m not sure how different the taste is. For a dish that is intended to use up leftover tortillas (fried up as chips) I felt this was a bit time-consuming. I wonder if people make this frequently (daily?) or just from time to time. Maybe we just need to eat all of our tortillas and not have any left over.


• Tinga Poblana – the first time I made this with pork loin, which came out too dry. After having it at a birthday party we went to I realized it should have a lot more onions and I used pork shoulder – much better!


• Mole de Almendras – my family doesn’t care much for mole, so this is the only one I’ve made so far. It was also a much simpler recipe than the other red and black moles.


• Chicken with raisin, olive, almond and vinager sauce – apparently from the Chiapas region. I have yet to see this on a restaurant menu.


• Chicken with Pumpkin flower sauce – the recipe I had just called for a pumpkin flower and cream sauce, but I found a variation with chile poblano strips (rajas), so I added those.


• Pickled carrots, onions and jalapeños – I think jalapeño is really supposed to be the main ingredient in this “escabeche” but I really love the carrots.


• Tortilla soup – I think this is still one of my favorite Mexican foods – the ancho chile broth with fried ancho pieces, avocado, fresh cheese and tortilla strips . . .


• Fish a la veracruzana – I think this is most commonly prepared with Red Snapper (Huachinango), but I picked up another white fish. I’ve seen this on menus many times but have never order it. A good mediterranean-influenced sauce – green olives and chile tomato sauce.


• Wild Mushroom Soup – the cookbook says this is from the Tlaxcala region (a small mountainous state near Mexico City). I went to the Coyoacan market and bought 4 different kinds of funky-looking mushrooms. I wrote down the names of each, none of which were in any dictionary I have found. A very good broth with chipotle and some mushrooms blended together.


• Frijoles charros – how can you go wrong adding chorizo to anything, especially beans. Although Gretchen didn’t go for adding chorizo to her lasagna recipe, as a chef friend suggested.


• Meatball Soup – (Sopa de albóndigas menonitas) – One recipe I found referred to this as a Mennonite Meatball Soup – from the Chihuahan Mennonite community. I couldn’t find any other history of Meatball Soup in Mexico to see if it really did originate there. I made beef-chorizo-rice meatballs, which turned out very good, if a bit more greasy.


• Pozole rojo – Red chile pozole (pork & hominy soup) – I followed Rick Bayless’ advice for the best broth and bought pig trotters split in half. Unfortunately they didn’t have the half pig’s head that day.


Pig trotters in red pozole (only photo with this post because I keep forgetting to take pictures of the meals).

• Chile relleno – My first attempt at fried-stuffed peppers. I went with cheese stuffed, but many of the recipes call for a ground-beef, olive mixture. I did have something similar in a restaurant a few months ago – a meat stuffed rehidrated ancho chile that was very good. (Maybe I’ll have to tackle that next).
• Posolillo – a fresh corn and pork version of pozole – ancho chile broth with fresh corn and 3 kinds of pork – ham, loin, and chorizo. The recipe also called for chicken, but I figured 3 kinds of meat was enough. I’ve never heard of this before, nor seen it on a menu, but it was very good. Another “mestizo” meal – combining corn and chile from the Americas with the smoked pork meats of Spain.

There have been a few other things as well – different rice dishes, pumpkin flower quesadillas, carne asada tacos, quesadillas de rajas (chile poblano), alambre (meat, green pepper, onion & melted cheese) tacos, etc.

Feel free to comment and make suggestions, because I’ve got 7 more months of cooking to go!!

Mineral del Chico

We finally got to go on our first hike in the mountains outside of Mexico City. We had a three day weekend for the aniversary of the Mexican Revolution (November 20th, 1910—here’s a link for a brief summary of the key causes and events around the Revolution www.mexconnect.com/MEX/austin/revolution.html).

However, since we can’t drive on Mondays (Hoy No Circula program) we went out of town Saturday and Sunday, to the nearby El Chico National Park, north of DF about 2 hours—well, normally 2 hours, but since it took us about 2 hours to get out of the city, between traffic and a few wrong turns, it was actually about a 4-5 hour drive!!)

We stopped for lunch (more like dinner, since we didn’t get there until around 4:00) at Real del Monte – one of the “Pueblos Mágicos” (beautiful colonial towns around Mexico).

Real del Monte on a Sunday afternoon

Real del Monte has an interesting history of Cornish miners who came at the end of the 19th century. There is an interesting English Cemetery and the region is famous for it’s “Pastys” (meat-filled pastries) which have now incorporated Mexican ingredients of chile, mole, etc. The town’s architecture still shows this British settlement’s influence.

Another interesting fact about the area is that it was apparently the location of the first Soccer game in Mexico. A short history of soccer: the rules of soccer were determined in England in the mid to late 1800’s, to separate it from Rugby. The first Mexican soccer league was started in the early 1900’s, by the British who lived in different major cities at the time. I imagine that it started much the same way in other Latin American countries, but haven’t looked into it.
When we arrived at Real del Monte, it was quite a bit colder than Mexico City, and it was completely fogged in. We were glad we had thrown in the winter coats for the weekend. After eating and walking around in the fog/mist/rain for a bit we quickly got back in the car to continue on into the national park.

View of town Mineral del Chico from one of the crags.

We imagined the views would have been beautiful, had we been able to see. Fortunately the next day the fog/clouds lifted and we were able to enjoy the scenery. The park is known for it’s craggy rock formations, which reminded us a bit of the Pinnacles in Central California.

Mineral del Chico (the whole town)

We stayed at a small hotel in Mineral del Chico, a small mining town on the edge of the park with a population of 300, that is about 2 blocks long. We asked when a good time to visit is (weatherwise) and were told April & May (it is warmer, and the summer rains haven’t started yet). We got to go on a nice hike and enjoyed being in the forest, but may have to go back in the Spring to hike and/or camp. The drive back to the city was happily uneventful!!

Day of the Dead (and a little Halloween, too)

Video clip -- Ocotepec Cemetery on November 2nd


Halloween -- which day is it, exactly?

Jacob and Sabine were much more concerned about whether they were going to get to go Trick-or-treating this year, than whether the Día de Muertos would be an interesting cultural event. Their friends at school assured them that yes, lots of kids go "Pidiendo Halloween" (asking for Halloween), although some kids told them it was on November 1st. We went with a classmate of Sabine's and her cousins. As we left our apartment complex in costumes around dark, ours were the only kids on the street in costume. The first neighborhood we went to (a gated community) didn't allow entry without a "Halloween invitation." The kids were quite disappointed, but fortunately we found another apartment complex in the area that was participating in Halloween. Afterwards, Sabine was tired, but Jacob and I took a taxi to the center plaza of Coyoacán, where some other parents at their school said that kids ask for candy. Sure enough, when we arrived at 9:00 the plaza was crouded with kids in costumes and adults strolling
around.

The rest of the weekend (Nov.1 and 2) as we attended various Day of the Dead events, children continued to ask for candy. Apparently there is a Mexican tradition associated with Day of the Dead in which children (not in costumes) walk around "Pidiendo Calaverita" (asking for a little skull). Traditionally children would ask for money which they would use to buy the traditional sugar skulls or Pan de Muerto (bread of the dead), to eat or for their "ofrendas" (offerings/altars). In Cuernavaca, a town outside of Mexico City, where we spent the weekend, all of the kids in town would ask for their "Calaverita" with a set song/rhyme:


La Calavera tiene hambre

No hay un huesito por ahí?

. . .

Of course, a concern of many people is that the American festival of Halloween is invading/corrupting the traditional Mexican festival. A number of families I met have made an effort to allow their kids to celebrate Halloween (costumes, etc.) on one day, but then also have an altar in their home and visit the cemetery of relatives who have passed away, to preserve the essence of the traditional Mexican Day of the Dead.

Día de los Muertos

In the week leading up to Day of the Dead, which is formally November 2nd, public "ofrendas" are set up all over the city -- in city plazas, in museums, in schools, etc. The main plaza of Mexico City is famous for its Monumental Ofrendas that different city organizations put together.

The town of Ocotepec, a town on the outskirts of Cuernavaca is one of many in Mexico that still preserve a very traditional celebration of Day of the Dead. We were fortunate that another fulbrighter, had a colleague in Cuernavaca that showed us one of the Ocotepec traditions -- the Ofrendas Nuevas (New Offerings).

Families that have someone who has passed away in the passed year set up a large Altar in their home to the deceased with a bed, their clothing, etc. and they open their home and ofrenda the night of November 1st for everyone in the community to see and have something to eat or drink with them. We bought candles at a little street stand to give as gifts to the homes we would visit. We started the evening at the small colonial church in Ocotepec where a large crowd gathered outside to watch a group of Aztec Dancers, and then walked the streets near the church where we visited 2 or 3 Ofrendas nuevas, as noise-making fire-crackers were set off overhead for a number of hours. Afterwards we walked through the cemetery, where a few tombs were decorated with candles, but which was fairly deserted -- November 2nd is the day everyone would visit and decorate their family's tombs.

The next morning, by the time we arrived at the Panteón de Ocotepec (cemetery) street vendors where set up outside selling food and zempasuchiles (yellow marigolds). The cemetery was full of families cleaning tombs, decorating, and musicians performing. The cemetary itself would be impressive enough on a normal day--for the variety of tombs that have been set up over the years.

For more of our photos with explanation, click on the "Día de los Muertos" photo album under "our photos" at upper right.

(Blog readers--we would be interested in comments on our experiences with Day of the Dead, especially regarding comparison with other areas of Mexico and Nov 2 in other Latin American countries, the origin of "Pidiendo Calaverita", etc.)

Festival Cervantino

This weekend we took a road trip to Guanajuato for the Cervantino, which is an arts festival in honor or Miguel Cervantes, the Spanish author of Don Quijote. They offer all sorts of plays, live music, art exhibits, and dance. It’s really remarkable. There’s the official stuff and then there’s lots of street presentations or outdoor stages. Kermit went to see a play by a Spanish playwright and all of us went to hear an brass ensemble for children. We caught a few outdoor plays and some music as well. Lots of street artists set up and pass the hat; we saw some clowns on skates that stripped down to their bkinis, Don Quijote and Sancho Panza strolling down the street, and a military guy painted with silver paint that only moved when you put money in his tin can. Sometimes its seemed that anyone could dress up and put a can out for people to take photos with them. There were two chess pieces, a guy with a mask and a jacket that looked like he had been found in a shipwreck, and a woman dressed completely in purple. We were tempted to put out a can and offer to have people take pictures with an American family!
Guanajuato is a beautiful colonial town with lots of pedestrian only streets and quaint plazas. We were interested to see that, in comparison to the last time we were in town, there are more cafes and restaurants with outdoor tables so that you can enjoy a meal or a cup of coffee and take in the ambience. We’ll definitely go back!

Mexican Independence Day

WOW! Mexicans sure know how to celebrate Independence Day! Two weeks before September 16 vendors begin to set up booths with all sorts of merchandise with the colors of the Mexican flag: green, white, and red. They sell decorations, horns, hair clips, and toys - the only requirement being the colors! Shops, houses, classrooms, and plazas are festooned with papel picado and other three color decorations. Even skyscrapers are decorated with tricolor banners running down the length of the buildings.
The 15th, the eve of Independence Day, is when most activities happen. People hit the streets and plazas in droves. Many people dress in various traditional styles of clothing from different regions of Mexico. If they don't have a traditional costume, they wear red, green and white - maybe a belt, a hair ribbon, a shawl, or a hat. The plazas resound with live music, sometimes from multiple stages. We heard classical music, mariachi, pop, and music from the Veracruz region. Couples dance outdoors in the plaza, while families stroll, and children play with tricolor balloons. The action increases until 10:30 or 11:00 p.m. when a government official comes out of the second story of the government building, which usually is located right on the plaza. In Mexico City, the president, Felipe Calderon, appeared to a giant crowd on the zocalo. We were in Puebla, where the governor of Puebla state gave the "grito". The government official shouts out "Que viva....." and then the names of many Mexican heroes from the time of the Independence to which the crowd repeats back "Que viva!" He ends with "Que viva Mexico!" and the crowd goes wild! People shoot out something like Silly String and crack confetti eggs over one another's heads or throw flour at one another! After a great fireworks display, the crowd begins to disperse.
On the 16th, the actual day of Independence, most Mexicans spend at home with their families. Time is taken to prepare special dishes that have the colors of the flag. People prepare either white pozole (a hominy and chicken/pork soup) with red chile and green oregano sprinkled on top. Or they might make a time consuming dish called "Chiles en Nogada". This is a pasilla pepper stuffed with meat and dried fruits. It is covered in a white walnut sauce, topped with pomogranate seeds and then decorated with a sprig of green - the three colors again!
I was so impressed by the Mexican Independence Day celebration that I can't even imagine what its going to be like in 2010 - the 200th anniversary!

Elementary School in Mexico City

We found a school for Jacob & Sabine. They were able to start by the end of the first week of school. They are attending "Republica de Guatemala" Elementary-- it seems a lot of the public schools in the city are named after countries (the other two public schools in our area were "Reino de Jordania" and "Republica de Bulgaria"). It was actually a bit difficult to track down the public schools in our area of the city. There are more private elementaries, at least in this part of Mexico City.


The school week starts with a formal flag ceremony every Monday morning in the central patio of the school -- singing songs and saluting the flag and listening to a short talk about the important holidays of the week, or important Mexican historical events or figures from the week. (This is the only day of the week that parents are allowed onto the school campus). Jacob printed out a copy of the Mexican National Anthom and Flag Salute that he takes with him every Monday.

The first challenge was to purchase uniforms for the kids. There is a lady that comes each morning to the front entrance of the school to take orders--which has made getting the correct size has been a bit of a challenge. We are still waiting on the PE uniforms. The students have PE 2 days a week. On those days they are required to wear a uniform sweatsuit and tennis shoes for the day. The other 3 days they wear the regular uniform with black shoes.

The school is a short bus or taxi ride from our apartment. The plan was to take transportation in the morning and walk home after school, but they've had a lot of books to carry these first days. We've been taking the public "microbus" most days so far.



One of the unique requirements here is that every textbook and notebook must be covered with colored paper. Each student has 4-6 notebooks which must be covered with a predetermined paper and plastic cover (See photo). Gretchen first encountered how engrained this system is for the students when she told her classes that she would like them to have a notebook for the English class. She was immediately bombarded with questions from all 40 students -- what size, graph or lined, what color cover, etc.



The public school day is short -- 8:00-12:30 in most public schools, so we have tracked down some afternoon activities for Jacob & Sabine. There is a very nice Cultural Center near their school which has Theater, Dance and Art classes.

First Week at School

The week is almost done and I've had so much fun! My five groups of students are all very large, but the kids are very respectful and are accepting of the routines I have set for them to follow. I'm somewhat of a star at school! Everyone tries out their English on me and crowds around me when I'm out of the classroom. Now I know how it feels to have paparazzi following you! As you can see from the photos, the kids are beautiful!
The most challenging thing is keeping track of my schedule. I see each of the groups three times during the week and haven't gotten into the routine yet of knowing who's coming to class when. My students are like seventh graders, mostly 11 and 12 years old, and most of them don't know what class they have when either!! The group of 40 (+/-) travels together between 9 or 10 different subjects, so I can see how they get confused.
I'm really enjoying getting to know the staff. The teachers are really kind and patient with me and my questions. They are planning to take me out for pozole (a pork and hominy soup) on payday. Most of them haven't been paid in a while, since they were out for summer vacation.
Looking at the pictures that I have posted in the slideshow, one might think the neighborhood is kind of rough. However, it feels really safe - parents gather around the school entrance to drop off and pick up their kids, tiny shops are open, plenty of people are out walking, living their lives.
Since teachers may use several classrooms during the week and because the classrooms are used for the evening shift school, most rooms are not decorated. One exception in my school is the computer labs - they really are quite impressive! This school has two amazing computer labs with Smartboards. I am excited to get my students in there, communicating with students in Gilroy!

My Teaching Schedule

It took me a while to figure out my teaching schedule. I will teach five different groups of students, meeting with each of them for three, 50 minute class sessions a week. Servicio, as I understand, is when I am to be available to substitute in other classes. Colegiado, is built in time to meet with other teachers who work with the same group of students. We will meet for two hours each week to discuss student progress and to plan interdisciplinary projects. I'm looking forward to collaborating.
Yeah, you read my schedule right. I work three hours on Monday and Friday, four hours on Tuesday and Wednesday, and five on Thursday. Score!! Most teachers, however, work both the morning and afternoon sessions in order to make ends meet. Most school buildings in Mexico are used for both a morning session and then an afternoon session - a more economical way to get the most out of the buildings.

We're Here!

After five days of driving we made it from Gilroy to Mexico City! The trip went very smoothly, with only one glitch: the electicity went out in the customs office at the border just while they were processing the document for us to be able to keep our car in Mexico for a year. We waited awhile in darkness and somehow they were able to produce it!
It was 5:00 on Wednesday evening when we began driving into Mexico City. We were concerned that we'd be stuck in rush hour traffic and that it would take us forever to arrive at our apartment in the south end of the city. Boy, did we luck out! Never were we stuck in stop-and-go traffic and the route was easier to follow than we imagined. It turns out that rush hour here is just after 6:00 p.m.. Many business people work from 9 until 2 and then have a two hour lunch break. They return at 4:00 and then work until 6 or 7:00 p.m.. Later I'll describe a teacher's schedule.
My exchange partner's sister in law, Claudia, met us at the apartment that we are renting from her. It's a nice place with parque floors and two big bathrooms. It is very spacious, seeming especially so since there is very little furniture! We have a big living room that Jacob is enjoying as a dance floor - he is discouraged that we are planning to buy some furniture! Claudia has been really nice and has dropped by and called to check on us.
Friday was my first day at my school, Secundaria Diurna 188. It is in a low-income neighborhood with narrow, maze like streets. I really enjoyed the faculty meeting seeing the similarities and differences from faculty meetings at my school in California. It seems that Mexican teachers are just like American teachers: the worst students of all! The music teacher is a real card - he shouted out "I love you" in English when I was introduced to the staff. He also brought along along a pair of binoculars to look at the small print on the screen as the vice-principal made a presentation.
The faculty was very welcoming and I particularly made a connection with the two other English teachers. Consuelo, Connie, suggested that we always speak English together. She told me that I can practice my Spanish with all the other teachers. I really respect that she is going to take advantage of the resource she has in me! Tonathue, the technology guru at the school, has informed me that I am one of the four teachers that will be working on special projects this year. I'm excited to see what ways we can link up Gilroy High School with my Mexican school. He's got lots of knowledge to share. Overall, I was really impressed with the intelligent, fun-loving, and passionate staff. The principal said to me that she thinks that I have fallen into a great school - I agree!
Tomorrow is the first day of school! I'm excited to meet my students and see how it all works! Unfortunately for Jacob and Sabine, we were not able to find a school for them yet. They won't be able to attend the first day, but I don't think they're too upset about it! We are looking for a public school for them, near our apartment. It isn't as easy as it would seem! Schools are tucked away, at the end of dead-end streets or not very obviously marked from the outside. Kermit has asked lots of parents that he sees out walking the streets with their kids. He'll check out a few more tomorrow.

Here we are with the Colin family.

Orientation in Washington D.C

We were excited to finally meet the Colin Family this week! We have been emailing one another for several months as we prepare to take over each other's jobs. Here in Washington we have the opportunity to talk in person and really share information about our schools and about living in Mexico and in California.
Two days before all the other Fulbright exchange teachers arrived, the teachers who are going to Mexico had the chance to meet with those coming from Mexico. Eight US teachers will be teaching all over Mexico, from Culiacan to Chiapas, while 11 Mexican teachers will be teaching in the U.S.. The teachers from Mexico have a wonderful command of English and all seem very well prepared to begin teaching in American schools. The U.S. teachers are confident that they will all be successful teaching English in Mexico as well.
On Tuesday night we had a special Welcome Dinner. As soon as the doors opened, all of "Team Mexico" made a mad dash to claim three tables for our group! One could feel the room humming with excitement as women in Saris and others in traditional dress streamed into the room. Flags from all of the eighteen countries sending and receiving Fulbright teachers lined one wall. Teachers are exchanging from Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Ghana, Hungary, India, Latvia, Peru, Poland, Senegal, the Slovak Republic, South Africa, Switzerland, Turkey and the United Kingdom. It's quite inspiring being in a room full of people at the cusp of new adventures!
Today, Wednesday, we had a presentation by Harry Wong, who is a well-known trainer for new teachers. His talk made me think about how my classroom procedures and rules might need to
be tweaked for Mexican middle school students. I'm under the impression that students generally are well behaved in the classroom, so I'm curious to discover if this is the reality or not. We also had an interesting presentation from Fulbright Alumni who described some special projects that they have done. An American teacher in the northern dessert of Mexico took a group of her students to Maine in the winter! Another teacher in Peru led a group of American students in a service project where they painted a school and brought supplies for Peruvian children. The Fulbright Program is interested in teachers maximizing the exchange by extending its reach.
While I attended these presentations, Kermit had a few sessions to meet other spouses/partners accompanying the Fulbrighters. The kids have been enjoying "Camp Fulbright" while they play games, do crafts and make friends from all over the world. Jacob was telling funny stories about Edward from the UK and Sabine has made a friend from Wales.
Tomorrow will bring some more specific discussions on living and teaching in Mexico and then we'll finish our orientation with a dinner where the international teachers will do a cultural presentation of some sort. My kids will enjoy this, particularly if there is some dancing and singing!
For my running friends, you'll be interested to read that I've been running on the Mt. Vernon trail along the Potomac River. It's quite scenic and quite HUMID!

Gretchen and Jose Ernesto Colin, the Mexican Fulbright recipient who will be teaching at Gilroy High School this fall.

The 8 US teachers and 11 Mexican teachers that will be participating in Fulbright this year at the Washington, DC orientation.