Today I went again in the bus to meet Margarita. I knew this time better where to go and how to get on the bus. I also did a better job of getting off at the right stop. Margarita was waiting for me at the corner, and she lead me to the apartment of Fernando, the English director of the school I would be visiting. From there, I said goodbye to Margarita and went with Fernando on another bus to his school.
We got there around 10:00 and I was able to put my things in his office. We went down to the first floor where the students would be coming to see me speak. This area was a lot like our cafeteria because it also had the stage for presentations, and the tables could be placed for lunch, or they could be removed so that the students could sit to see speakers, etc.
I presented my information to 2 different groups of highschoolers and then it was time for lunch. We got our food from the kitchen and went to sit down in the teacher's lounge. The food was delicious...It was called "milonesa", and it was like a cut of meat, fried and covered with cheese and sauce. There was also potato served with as well as an orange.
It was fun sitting in the teacher's lounge. One by one, more teachers came in to eat, and we all sat around one big round table. This school reminded me a lot of the school I used to teach at in Mexico City. The teachers were all really nice, and they sat eating and talking about everything. It is harder for me to understand Spanish when local people are talking to each other, but more or less, I could follow their conversations, and they also spoke with me in English too.
After lunch, we went back to the same place where I had given the morning presentations, and I presented information for two more groups. Around 3:00 pm, Margarita came back to get me and we said goodbye and she lead me to the bus stop to go back to Mercedes' print shop. I had to say goodbye to her really quickly, because the bus I needed to take was about to leave. So, I got on the bus and headed back to the other part of town.
Now that I am finding my way around the city better, I know more or less where to get off on the bus, and I knew that this stop was next to McDonald's, so when I got off I decided to go in and get a sundae with dulce de leche and a coffee to go. I walked to the print shop where Mercedes was waiting for me and I worked a little bit more on my computer.
There was another dinner for another Rotary Club tonight, and Mercedes was planning on going, and when she saw me, she noticed that I looked a little bit tired. I told her that it was true, that it was wearing on me a little bit to be running everywhere and to be staying up every night until after 12:00, but that I really liked it, because it's like a vacation for me, and that at home with my kids, I wasn't able to go out so much...But she could tell I was "running on fumes" so she asked me what I wanted to do, and I told her that I would be totally happy staying in her house that evening while she went to the dinner if it was OK. I didn't want to offend anyone, and I was more than ready to go, but an early night reading my book in bed sounded really good. Mercedes was more than happy to agree to let me stay home. She said it was no problem at all, and so she made plans to take me home. I walked really quickly to McDonald's (again) and ordered a "McNifica Meal" which was probably like a "Big and Tasty" meal or something like that, and then she took me home.
Oh and I forgot one other thing...Earlier that day, I had collected some of my dirty clothes and put them in a bag, and Mercedes had told me to leave them with her and she would take them to a laundry place. When I came back in the afternoon, I was able to go by the laundry place and pick up the bag of clean and pressed clothes...This service only cost me around $3.50!!! So, I headed home with my McNifica meal and my clean clothes, and was totally happy!
I spent the evening rearranging my things in my suitcases because in two days they told me that I would change homes and go to stay with Rodrigo and his mom. So, I took this opportunity to get all of my clothes and things together and to not have everything so scattered. I went to bed super early and read my Spanish copy of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets that I had borrowed from the Frisco Library...I am understanding most of it, and it has been very good practice for me to read it. I went to sleep early, and for me, that was a perfect night!!!
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