Out with the Old and In with the New!

Hello friends and family!

It's been a while since I've posted, so i'll try to bring you up to speed on everything without being too long-winded...
I'm am sitting cozily in my new apartment on a saturday afternoon writing this- Yes, i've changed apartments! After a not-so-ideal situation living with Marisela, a 30-year-old teacher at the school (Let's just say that we didn't quite see eye to eye on most things); I found a lovely single apartment close to the mountains. Although a little apprehensive about living alone (and also quite excited I might add), I felt  good about it after meeting the lovely landlady, Rita. Unlike most of the apartments I've seen, this one is decorated with classic taste, in lively colors and with beautiful paintings of flowers hanging all about. There's a window that leads onto a patio from the kitchen, and I don't think i could have found a space more suited to me. Finally, I feel free to dance around, paint, blast Hall & Oates and laze about in my pajamas as long as I please! It truly is a gift from God.

Let's see, let's see- since we've last spoken, Halloween has come and gone. And what a crazy time at the school it was! During Halloween week, I finally got those teaching responsibilities i had been craving so badly. I was responsible for coming up with activities for 1-6 grade in addition to the ones Fran had planned. We ended up learning the Monster Mash, a dancing bones song, a pumpkin poem, and that lovely trick-or-treat, smell my feet poem. By the end of the week, I thought I would scream if I had to do Monster Mash again (turns out, it's kind of a boring dance), and I had stopped holding back giggles at the kids pronouncing "Esmell emy efeeeet." Also, a cautionary tale- if you ever go to a Spanish elementary school on halloween, do not be alarmed when you see children with fake blood spurting out of their mouths, vampire masks so grotesque you will have recurring nightmares about them, and decorated pumpkins that have fake vomit spilling out of them because they are "emborrachada" aka "drunk." All of these things are quite acceptable and normal. Turns out my cute pumpkin costume was the odd one out.