New Look

I have had to change my blog as I updated something and everything changed. So enjoy the lurid pink for a while before it all changes again!

Had a lazy day today. We had the day off as it was the inauguration of the new president. We saw on the news just now they had a big bust up in parliament. I just hope it doesn't mean any more disruption. A while back the opposition shut off loads of the roads and it was really hard to get around the city. It doesn't affect us much as we live outside and have no need to go in but it makes it difficult to see friends in town.

Leaf Bug

This is a new bug I found in my garden. I picked him up because I thought he was a leaf. Didn't bite so probably not poisoness (is this a word because the dictionary doesn't know it. I am sure you can say poisoness?) but great disguise!

Had a busy week and it's only Tuesday. We are directing the kids in their play Wackadoo Zoo. I know it will all come together but it seems so far from it at the moment. I only realised today mine was the only class who hadn't learned their lines - I didn't realise we had any. Shit!

Still snotty and ill but I have just finished my reports so I am feeling very pleased with myself. They were a pretty big job. One more thing out of the way before Christmas. I was back in school for only two days last week but it felt like an eternity. I had to teach the kids a dance for the performance at the end of term. I am not a choreographer and my dances are really crap. At least the kids know no better and the parents will love it because it's cute. So I'm not too worried.

We have another short week next week - Friday is a holiday so I only have to work 14 more days in total then off to Toronto. It's going to be really cold but at least I will feel Christmassy. I've been bugging Gareth to play Christmas music all week and hopefully we'll be getting our tree soon. Mexicans don't walk anywhere - they all have cars. So, we are a yearly source of amusement when we walk down to pick up the tree. They ask us where our car is and can't believe we are just going to walk up the hill with it under our arms. All good exercise!

Jingle Bells .... Yey!!!!

Feeling sorry for myself...

I'm sick and bored, bored, bored. I could never stay at home all day, every day unless I had a lot more to do. I am so bored. I have a cold and can't do much other than sit around and keep adding to my tissue mountain as I blow my nose raw. I love going into school. The kids make me laugh and I have loads of friends to catch up on gossip with at lunchtime. I feel bad today as we have the Christmas concerts coming up, and have to practice like crazy, and now I'm not there to help. Even worse we just had a long weekend so the kids are well rested the perfect time to teach them dances and songs etc.

Oh well enough moaning and feeling sorry for me. I'm off to on-line shop for presents (I love the internet especially suggestions for 'difficult to buy for' relatives) and will go and try to enjoy daytime TV I think mi casa tu casa aka changing rooms is on. Great!

More Photos

We had a great night on Saturday and a very lazy day on Sunday after getting back in the early hours of the morning. In some ways it was good I came down with a cold (although I was really pissed off on Saturday morning) because I drank loads of water and soft drinks all night and didn't have a headache the next day. We had a good fry-up with sausages and hash browns and finished our healthy day with McDonalds milkshake and big mac! My kind of lazy day. Luckily today is a bank holiday so we have an extra quiet day to got back into routine.

St Andrew's Ball

This week has really flown by. It's already Thursday and I have a really exciting weekend coming up. I have been fake-tanning and fixing my dress (which I put my foot through last time in preparation for the Andrew's Ball. One of our friends is from Scotland and we always go to the ball for bit of British food and dancing. The end of the night is always like a family disco with the eighties music blaring, me bugging the DJ for Bon Jovi and a few people wobbling around worse for wear as it's free drinks all evening. I can't wait to get a bit glamed up. I will post photos on Sunday so you can judge wherther I look better at the start or end of the night!

It has been a lovely week. I have got away with teaching very little as the classes who have music with me keep having other stuff to do. The teachers keep apologising but it's more than ok with me not to teach! Our Christmas production is coming along really well. We have all the sepaking parts sorted, mums are making the costumes and now I just have to choreograph the dances. I tried today and ended up toatlly stressed. It's impossible to give directional instructions to children who can't speak English. Aarrgh it was a nightmare! I created this really crap dance where the kids were just crawling about on the floor. Luckily a teacher who knew what she was doing came to my rescue. So it's looking ok now. Thank god!

Firework Night

We went to the British firework night last night. It was really good fun and we had baked beans and sausages, which you can't get here. I really pigged out. The fireworks were really good with a nice big fire but the best part was the sparklers. Great!

Really, really dancing!

Last night I started my dance classes. I swore that by the time I leave Mexico I would be able to salsa etc. So my friend Kerry and I started classes with a Cuban lady. She speaks no English so we were really scared but it turned out to be great and as an extra bonus it's brilliant exercise. My bum is killing me today! We're going to have classes twice a week so I hope we'll get good pretty quickly.

Being back at school is not so much fun but it's going by quickly and soon it will be Christmas. Only 13 more school days until our production, which we haven't started yet. Oh my God! But Gareth and I have booked a trip to Montreal and Toronto so I have a great incentive to get to the end of term.

Back home

We got back safe and sound at about 9am this morning. We had been travelling since 9pm the night before. We had very little sleep as the first flight left just after midnight and was only 3 hours long so not much napping done there. We arrived in Mexico where we gained 2 hours so it was suddenly daytime and we had to get a second flight. Luckily it all worked out really well. We avoided immigration in Mexico City, which takes a couple of hours, and whizzed through the immigration as we changed flights. So it was pretty smooth sailing getting out of the airport and into a taxi back home.

I had a good long nap. Gareth as normal thinks he's a machine and has still not slept. He did all the washing and insanely tidied away his travel stuff (mine is still in the suitcase where I dumped it as we came in). He has now been up for over 24 hours, with about 1 hour of sleep. He's finally given in and has sent himself up to read in bed. I give it 15 minutes and he'll be fast asleep.

It's always quite satisfying to be back home and we still have a long weekend before going back to school. Then quite a short term leading up to Christmas performances etc. - so always pretty easy going. Now I need to sleep too. Night!

Sea Lions

I was so excited to go and see the sea lions. And they were worth it. They were all battling one another for space and honking and barking like crazy. Great! We had clam chowder down on the pier for lunch straight out of a loaf. I love the idea of and edible bowl! We walked like mad which is probably a good thing as we are travelling all night tonight. We get in tomorrow morning after a stop over in Guadalajara. Not looking forward to leaving.

Helicopter

Part of Gareth's birthday present was a helicopter ride across San Francisco. It was really worthwhile and we actually had ages up in the air to really see everything and take loads of photos. I was terrified to go up in a helicopter, but now I want to fly everywhere in one. It was so smooth. As the pilot came up the the Golden Gate Bridge he revealed what he does is go under it in good conditions - we had good conditions. We scooped right under the bridge only a few feet off the water and zoomed up the other side like a roller coaster. Now I look back and loved it but it was really scary. (I am so glad I wasn't warned about this before or I would have been worried for the whole flight). Great day!

Alcatraz

Bay Bridge

Shopping, shopping, shopping

I have gone shopping crazy. I'm not sure what I'm going to live off when I get back to Mexico as I've spent this month's pay already. Slight panic but I have found some great jeans which is really what I needed. This morning we did lots of walking. It is all hills in San Francisco. We went to the crookedest street in the world, the cable car museum and visited the modern art gallery.

We went to a lovely Italian restaurant for dinner, after having free wine hour at our hotel.

Alcatraz and Shopping

Cable CarsGareth with Alcatraz Island behind

Approaching Alcatraz

An escapee's cell

Recreation area

An isolation cell - when they shut the door it's totally dark!

After being delayed for 2 hours in Mexico airport we finally made it to San Francisco. We had takeaway meatball sandwiches in bed - as we got in really late. A good start!

Yesterday we went shopping in the morning. The shops are great here better than New York I think. I found a place called Anthropologie where I could and probably will spend a fortune. I also found jeans that fit my rugby thighs. Hooray!

We found a cool little bar right on the water's edge and had a beer before going on the boat to Alcatraz. The island is really creepy when you approach. It was really cold - made a change from Mexico so we didn't mind too much. We had a tour round the cell blocks and saw the cell of Al Capone and the one where the guys escaped using spoons to dig themselves out and model heads to put in their beds (see the film escape from Alcatraz). When we left it was so cold. We took the trolley bus back up to our hotel. It was really steep and I was scared we were going to take off like a roller coaster. We had dinner in a little 50's diner, where we soon warmed up.

I am having trouble putting my photos on at the moment so they will follow shortly!

Halloween

The Mexican make a massive deal out of Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). They go to the graves of the people they know who have died and decorate them marigolds and with models of skeletons doing what they would like to think they are doing now - like playing the guitar or drinking. They also leave them a special bread so they won't go hungry. The mums at school decorated part of the playground like the graveyards - it sounds morbid but it was beautiful (see pictures). The kids and teachers all dressed up some were so cute. They were tiny babies dressed as pumpkins.

Last night was shattering. I had a 4 hour parent meeting - seeing all the parents in my class one after each other for 15 minutes each. By the end I couldn't even think. So I am so glad today is over a we are officially on holiday. Off to San Francisco tomorrow!