Last night Mercedes and I stayed up until after 1:00 am in the morning working on our computers, so it was very nice to be able to sleep in today. I woke up around 10:00 am and had some breakfast which consisted of bread and cheese and piece of dulce de leche cake that was left over from Mercedes' son's birthday party. YUM!!!
Mercedes and I left to go to the print shop, and Margarita was waiting to take me across town to visit another school. We got on the bus and rode for a while and then got off and walked a few blocks. We arrived at the school and met with the director who explained to me that I would be visiting two different classes of sixth graders.
I went into the first class and was greeted by the teacher. Everyone was so friendly, and it was nice to speak in English for a while. I told the students about myself and my life in Texas...by now I kind of had a little lesson prepared because I had done this in the other schools. I love talking in English to the students and explaining the them about my school and the ESL program. I also like showing the picture album I made of pictures from my home, my neighborhood and my classroom. After showing the album and talking about myself a little bit, I gave the students time to ask questions. They were all so interested in knowing about the US, and they asked questions like, "Do the kids really have lockers in their schools like they did in 'High School Musical?'" and "Do the kids in the United States like the Jonas Brothers?". It was funny and so cute...and they had fun using their English with me. I left that class and then went into another 6th grade class to present the same lesson, and these students were just as eager to hear about me and to ask me questions about the US.
When the second class was over Margarita and I left to go eat lunch. We stopped in a "confiteria" which is like a cafe. We ordered another flat grilled ham and cheese sandwich like I'd had the other day, and I also had a "Coke Light". We sat and ate, and I was able to get on the internet for awhile.
After lunch we left to visit another school. We had to ride the metro, which is called the "subte" here. We bought tickets to ride and then hopped on the train. I love riding the metro...Again, it reminds me of when I lived in Mexico City. There, I had to ride it everyday to get to work. Of course, there were times back then when I hated riding it, usually when I was so tired after work, and there were so many people trying to squeeze into the train car that I could hardly fit, but still there was always something exciting about riding it, and now it was no different. Of course, I had to take a picture at the metro station as a souvenir of our trip, and the local people all thought I was crazy...pero bueno.
From the metro stop we had to take another bus and then walk to the school. It was almost 6:00 pm by now, and Margarita explained to me that this was an after-school program where students could come after their regular school day to learn English. This was also the school where Margarita had been the principal just a few years ago, before she retired, so when we arrived she was excited to see all of her former colleagues and to introduce me.
I presented the same information to two different groups, and again I had a great time getting to know the students and hearing them speak English and sharing with them my experiences from the US.
After finishing the classes, Margarita's husband was in the school waiting to escort us to a cafe. There, we would meet Mercedes for dinner. The cafe was only a few blocks from the school, and so we went walking. We arrived around 9:30 pm and waited for Mercedes, who came just a few minutes later. We ordered a large pizza with four different kinds of toppings and waters because I was dying of thirst. We split the pizza and had a great time talking about our day and catching up. When we finished eating, we had coffee and continued to hang out for a while, chatting. I've definitely noticed that people here like to "hang out"...no one is ever in a hurry to "eat and run" like we tend to do in the US. Also, there are always a lot of tables in the restaurant and a lot of different places to go, so the waiters don't rush you out the door. They don't bring you the bill until you ask for it.
Now Mercedes and I are both sitting with all of our empty cups and plates on the table, using our computers and the free wi-fi...We just checked the time, and it's 12:15 am! The restaurant has at least 7 tables full of people eating dinner...I can't think of very many places that are open in Frisco at this time at night with people eating dinner...It's definitely a cultural difference that I have noticed, but one that I am beginning to get used to more and more...I used to be a "night owl", but for the last few years I have been more accustomed to going to bed early, probably because after working and then taking care of 3 kids, the only thing I wanted to do was go to bed. But it has been nice, going out at night and enjoying the city and being able to see and do things.
I talked to some of the exchange teachers from Argentina who have come to visit the US about this. I wondered how it was for them to be staying in a house where dinner was served at 6:00 pm and where people went to bed around 10:00 during the week. I am sure that they were probably lying in their beds wondering why they weren't out at dinner.
Oh well, I think we are about to leave the cafe, so I better close up and get ready to go...so much for getting to bed early tonight. It's after midnight!
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