I have now officially been on maternity leave for one week. I have 5 weeks to go. I have done nothing of any real value with my time, yet.
I'll say last week didn't count because my friend was in town and I was stomach sick two days. You may not agree, but I don't really care.
I was so excited for all the things I was going to get done while on leave, but I think the world is trying to slow me down. 12 glorious hours of leave hadn't passed before my doctor told me to stop driving. Stop driving? What about all my plans to spend hours walking up and down the aisles of Costco? What about my plans to take care of so many errands around town? Her reason is that she doesn't want me to get into an accident and then go into labor. I agree, that wouldn't be fun. However, I think going stircrazy is probably a negative, too. Strike one against productivity.
I thought I would get out and exercise every morning before it gets too warm. February and March in Puebla gets pretty warm. However, I have a new friend that visits me from about 4-6am every night. Her name is insomnia. On top of that my husband has decided to start snoring. I spend a good part of the morning trying to recover from the night. Strike two.
So far, there's no strike three. There's still hope for me and productivity to join forces. But for now, here is the lowdown on my day.
8:00 Get up and make Ramon a sandwich for work, make breakfast.
9:00 Kiss Ramon goodbye, fill my coffee cup and settle in for some fab Mexican television. Que venga la alegria!
Somewhere between 10:00 and 1:00 Take a shower, make bed, wash dishes, maybe do a load of laundry, maybe clean something.
1:00- 3:00 Gmail, Facebook, Blogs, repeat.
3:00 Eat something.
3:00- 7:00 See 1:00-3:00 and go for my daily waddle.
7:00 Clean something or look active because my husband will be home soon and I don't want him to know how lazy I've been all day.
7:30-11:00 News, Telenovelas, Talk with my husband, Baby goes Alien, Laugh at how weird my stomach looks.
11:00-4:00 Sleep, kind of.
4:00-6:00 Go to the bathroom, eat a cookie, stare at ceiling, try to get my husband to stop snoring, sometimes try to wake up husband to have some company.
6:00-8:00 Sleep, kind of.
Yeah, you jealous?
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
American School Family
Most people have friends, have family and have coworkers. All three of these groups are separate and very rarely do they merge except in the case of some sort of social event or when a coworker happens to break the barrier and earn friend status. This is not really the case at the American School, at least among most of the international staff.
There are very few people around here who completely understand the situation in which we live: far far away from family, in a completely different culture, distinct ways of living, different values, etc. There are also many reasons why we've all arrived here: getting away from home, adventure, learning a language, discovering new things about the world and ourselves, etc.
The great thing about the girls I call my friends here is that they are versatile, supportive and can be just what you need when you need it. They know when you need a drinking buddy. They know when you need mom advice. They know when you need a psycho-therapist who speaks your language. They know when you need a party planner. They know when you need a sister. They know when you need a translator. And they can be all of these things on the same day, if need be.
This week, one of my good friends who has served as my cooperating teacher, my coworker, my neighbor and my friend was here visiting with her family. She has moved on from the AS, but the bond that we have hasn't changed. She can empathize in a way that others who haven't lived our life just can't. I miss having her around, but it's so great when we all get to reunite. We were able to spend a lot of time together since I didn't have to work. We got to catch up and share pregnancy stories since we're both expecting for the same week. We got to see other friends and get all the kids together to play. It makes me happy to know that even though we all might be scattered across the North American continent, we still have a bond and a friendship that is strong.
I kind of feel a certain responsibility to the other international teachers now that I'm going on 4 years of being here. I've been around the block a few times and even though I don't know everything, I know the ropes pretty well. I know enough about myself, my culture, and this culture that I can commiserate with those who are feeling low, and help them see the upside and promise them that things get better. I can celebrate with those who are feeling good, share in their joy and remember the satisfaction of when you finally feel content with life here.
So, cheers to the American School Family- past and present. You have all changed and influenced my life in some way and for that I am truly thankful!
There are very few people around here who completely understand the situation in which we live: far far away from family, in a completely different culture, distinct ways of living, different values, etc. There are also many reasons why we've all arrived here: getting away from home, adventure, learning a language, discovering new things about the world and ourselves, etc.
The great thing about the girls I call my friends here is that they are versatile, supportive and can be just what you need when you need it. They know when you need a drinking buddy. They know when you need mom advice. They know when you need a psycho-therapist who speaks your language. They know when you need a party planner. They know when you need a sister. They know when you need a translator. And they can be all of these things on the same day, if need be.
This week, one of my good friends who has served as my cooperating teacher, my coworker, my neighbor and my friend was here visiting with her family. She has moved on from the AS, but the bond that we have hasn't changed. She can empathize in a way that others who haven't lived our life just can't. I miss having her around, but it's so great when we all get to reunite. We were able to spend a lot of time together since I didn't have to work. We got to catch up and share pregnancy stories since we're both expecting for the same week. We got to see other friends and get all the kids together to play. It makes me happy to know that even though we all might be scattered across the North American continent, we still have a bond and a friendship that is strong.
I kind of feel a certain responsibility to the other international teachers now that I'm going on 4 years of being here. I've been around the block a few times and even though I don't know everything, I know the ropes pretty well. I know enough about myself, my culture, and this culture that I can commiserate with those who are feeling low, and help them see the upside and promise them that things get better. I can celebrate with those who are feeling good, share in their joy and remember the satisfaction of when you finally feel content with life here.
So, cheers to the American School Family- past and present. You have all changed and influenced my life in some way and for that I am truly thankful!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Something you don't see every day.
Unless of course, you live where I live.
There are some things that become normal when you make your life in a different place. But, there are some things that just never do. Here is a small compilation of things I see consistently that still always make me laugh or raise an eyebrow:
1. Dogs wearing clothes. Not like clothes for dogs, but human clothes.
2. A tiny rollerskate-sized car with about 1,000 balloons coming out of it.
3. A dog walking down the street with a grocery bag.
4. A clown waiting for or riding on public transportation.
5. A pickup truck with 15 huge tires (like semi truck tires) in the bed, held down by a rope.
6. Two guys walking around your neighborhood hauling marimbas with them and stopping every block to play a tune.
Oh, Mexico. I love you.
There are some things that become normal when you make your life in a different place. But, there are some things that just never do. Here is a small compilation of things I see consistently that still always make me laugh or raise an eyebrow:
1. Dogs wearing clothes. Not like clothes for dogs, but human clothes.
2. A tiny rollerskate-sized car with about 1,000 balloons coming out of it.
3. A dog walking down the street with a grocery bag.
4. A clown waiting for or riding on public transportation.
5. A pickup truck with 15 huge tires (like semi truck tires) in the bed, held down by a rope.
6. Two guys walking around your neighborhood hauling marimbas with them and stopping every block to play a tune.
Oh, Mexico. I love you.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Showered
Ana Victoria and I were showered with love (and gifts! and diapers!!) last weekend. Some of my girlfriends from work organized a baby shower for us. It was held at a beautiful old hotel/restaurant in downtown Puebla. We were surrounded by great friendship, a beautiful ambiance and lots of outpourings of love and well wishes. A lot of times it's hard to be so far away from "home" but, it's so comforting to know that I have an amazing support system as I begin this next part of life's journey! Ramon's mom and our good friend Rocio are organizing another shower for next weekend. We are definitely feeling the love!
Here are just a couple pictures, but there were almost 30 people there!
The beautiful hostesses: Cynthia, Caitlin and Lenya
A few friends: Kay, Sarah-Eve, Claritza, and Courtney
Thank you to everyone who was there! Claritza, Nicky, Cynthia, Edith, Karla, Sandra, Paty J, Paty S, Courtney, Kay, Corie, Kristi, Kristen, Caitlin, Lenya, Kendra, Sarah, Lolita, Lulu R, Lulu L, Caty, Angela, Megan, Beth, Amy, Rocio!!
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