viva mexico!

well, here i am. i made it safely to mexico. i was definitely "that girl", dragging 3 suitcases plus a backpack thru customs, until a nice mexican man helped me move one of them thru the line.

my cousin robert and his wife coco were there to greet me at the airport in monterrey and then we drove 45 minutes to saltillo, where they live. we are surrounded by mountains, which is beautiful. i've never lived in the mountains before unless you count the ozarks, which compared to these mountains are really just hills. my other cousins were at the house waiting for me. i got a little bit of unpacking done and then we had a nice little barbeque outside in the courtyard. it was a great first evening. they are very patient with me, even if they do laugh at my bad spanish. (i did learn how to ask for someone to pass something at the table.) i am trying my best and learning as much as i can. coco and robert lived in the u.s. for a few years, and coco is still learning english, so she knows how it feels to be in a foreign country and not completely understand the language. she is so sweet and the perfect hostess.

yesterday, she drove me to the berlitz school, where i will more than likely be teaching english. i don't officially have the job yet, but the director is talking as though i will be working for him. i took two tests -- grammar and psychological, which included drawing pictures of a tree (which actually looked more like a volcano -- what does that say about me?). i returned later in the evening to teach a business english class so i could be observed by the director, but the student failed to show up, so i observed another class. i'll go back on thursday to teach so they can watch me.

so far, everything is great, except that i think maybe the altitude is affecting my allergies. or maybe my allergies are just acting up on their own.

anyway, that's all for now.