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A New Week
Well, the week has started once again. Thank goodness. I love the weekend but I do love Mondays. They are that - lets get it done this week chance. I like to work in small increments for success. For example- instead of hoping for a good day- which is tough to truly have from start to finish. But if you aim for a good hour- you will have so much more success and much more often. I like starting the week because on Sunday's I do not work- I try not to anyway. no emails- no calendar- no charity project- NOTHING! It is my day to be with my family. Ruben works 6 days a week anyway and has not had a day off in over 3 weeks. (he is banking up 3 or 4 days off for when my Dad, brother and sister in law come next week) He was going to work again yesterday - but I told him- no- he NEEDS to take the day off and just relax- enjoy hanging out with the kids etc. 
On Friday I was supposed to go to hang out with a friend of mine on the beach for her birthday. That did not happen. I was starting to feel like I was getting sick- you know that very beginning when you can feel it behind your ears? Well, I bailed on her the first night - then Saturday she told me- "Mindy- you need to get out and get away from the house and away from the kids." She was right- I had been at home with the kids for over 6 days in a row due to their schools being closed again for several days in a row. It is too hot to walk to town with the kids so we have been in the house and in the neighborhood for days.
My friend was finishing up some work redesigning and decorating a guest house down on the beach - hoped in her taxi and headed down to see her and Ruben was going to be able to have a date with the kids. They love Daddy dates- anything goes with daddy!
My friend's other buddy bought a bottle of wine and we were off to the beach. We had a great time hanging out and drinking a little wine. Then I had a good friend playing his last gig of the season down at Zamas. I never get to go see him play because well, 1 it is on the beach and 2- with the kids - we never really go out at night.
When we got there, a good size table was set up and the owner, 1 of my bosses from 1 of my 3 jobs, some other friends and WHAM!!!! both of my other bosses! are you kidding me! What are the odds?- Well, actually in Tulum- pretty easy. But I thought that it was sort of funny. Plus 2 of my bosses are actually dating. Diego is my boss at Todo Tulum whom I write for and his girlfriend is the one who has asked me to help her with the weddings. But still- all 3 of my bosses at the same table- on the one night I am out. jajaja oh well. I am NOT working tonight! 
The owner was so very sweet and bought us some wine and a few pieces of cake. Because it was my friends birthday they did the whole song and we lovingly smashed her face into her cake. :) You gotta love Mexican tradition! Afterwards- we all piled into the car and headed to town to listen to our friends play their next set down at Pepinos Cigar Bar. This is a new place in town. It is really cute- right off the Avenue. 
We had so much fun dancing and talking and laughing. It was a really great time. I love Tulum Avenue in the evening/night! All of the people I know and adore were there. They were all a little shocked to see me- because I am never out at night. We had such a great time. We stayed the night in the rooms that my friend is working on and crashed out hard after a night of dancing. I love Tulum. I swear I had my shoes in my purse but never put them on. A far cry from my crazy high heels of San Francisco. I also ran into a bunch of my fisherman friends - which means that there will be some great fish in my near future. Best part about an abundance of good friends that fish- there is almost always some daily catches left over. :)
The next morning- Ruben brought the kids down to play at the beach and he went harpoon fishing. No catches today though. the beach was beautiful and the kids had a great time- as usual. After a fun day at the beach we grabbed some tacos at a new place I found in town that I love!!!! Handmade tortillas, wonderfully flavored meats and freshly made agua fresca. How could you beat watching Carlos blend up pineapple and chaya into a fresh sweet water right in front of your face! Plus the tacos are locally priced- not tourist restaurant price. It really pays to get off the main Avenue. :) The family that runs this place is so sweet. They are from Chiapas and their 2 year old is adorable!
We sat at home, took showers and watched the craziest kids movie, Clouds with a chance of meatballs. It was a cute but sort of insane movie. After the kids went to sleep Ruben and I watched an episode of Lost and went to bed.
It is a new day! A new week! My dad will be coming to visit me next week. He has never been to Mexico since I moved here so it will be really great to finally show him where I live.
PLUS- every Monday we start the week wondering- hoping and praying that this week the kids actually have classes all 5 days! We shall see!
The schools--- what am I going to do about the schools!!!!?????
The schools in Mexico really have a bad wrap. I mean it is not hard to see why. The schools in most smaller towns are so tragic that the idea of University to most kids is ridiculous. Now- to be fair- that is true for countless districts in the US as well. But one thing that drives me crazy about here is that the people that are supposed to be the ones that care the most and that there to do it the most are the people that make it the hardest.
I cannot tell you how many days I have gone to pick up one of the kids at school and been informed that there is simply no class tomorrow. Not that there is no school- but that Lena;s class will not be there. I do not understand this. I can see it a little bit- but really? All the time and for days at at time??? Now I thought that this was little more isolated to Tulum but no- this is just the way a lot of people run their schools. It seems that if the teacher is not available then no one is called in. This was totally reiterated in my friends blog post about her son's school. Leslie Limon retells the perfect story to demonstrate my point. If you have not ready it yet- read it and you will understand our frustrations. You can read it HERE!
So after my annoyance fit of being told that my daughter did not have school for the rest of the week (it was Tuesday when we were told) my question was... well, what should we do with them at home? In the meantime? You know... what lessons or homework in the mean time? They looked at me like I was crazy. Now granted I am always viewed as a little crazy here.
I have always wanted to do homeschooling and I do do some lessons. I do not have the faith in my abilities not to loose my mind to do it full time. Plus I need those 3 hours of sanity to at least TRY to write something or at least clean the house. But when it comes to homeschooling- I do not even know where to start. We do some good activities and stuff - and I know some really great websites with learning games and my mom bought me some reader rabbit games for the kids.
But my prayers were answered the other day when I went to a meeting at Akilean's school. The first part was talking about parents being more involved and participating more in the school and with the teacher. It cannot be separate. I totally agree- and luckily the teachers at my son's school really work with me when I ask questions or want to know what is going on. And Lena's teacher is great too. He has taught her to read. and she is a wiz at math. But day s off at a time and nothing to do?
With Akilean we have a little different of a problem. He is a little more advanced then the other kids in his class. He finishes his work very quickly and then is just sitting around. That leads to acting up- One of the reasons for this is that he went to Montessori preschool for almost 3 years before we left the USA. He plays with Lena and she is teaching him how to read. We are trying to get him to go straight into 1st grade next year- ifhe passes the test great- but because of his age they are saying no! He needs more to do? he is so curious and smart.
With Akilean we have a little different of a problem. He is a little more advanced then the other kids in his class. He finishes his work very quickly and then is just sitting around. That leads to acting up- One of the reasons for this is that he went to Montessori preschool for almost 3 years before we left the USA. He plays with Lena and she is teaching him how to read. We are trying to get him to go straight into 1st grade next year- ifhe passes the test great- but because of his age they are saying no! He needs more to do? he is so curious and smart.
In this meeting they were also talking about the TV and how it needs to get turned off. Of course kids attention problems- they watch like 4 hours of TV a day. This goes for all of the Novellas as well. Kids are seeing things that they should not be seeing. And novellas in Mexico are not subtle. This is one area we are doing well on. We got rid of cable a few months back and I love it. The kids hardly miss it. If there is a show I or they really want to watch- we can usually find it on line.
The last part of the meeting was talking about a new campaign that the Education Dept was doing. In combination with SISEP - a group that is working to improve the quality and level of education in various communities. They have developed these books. These books outline everything that a student needs to know to graduate from that class level. Each book is designed for a specific grade and broken down into subject. Spanish - Math- Natural Science- Social Studies- Civics and Gov't- History. They are hard bound and fully colored. I was really impressed with them. There are also little exams and such to help guide what the kids are getting or not getting. There is also an atlas book that outlines every continent and country in that continent. There are also 6 disks with even more info.
Anyway. Long story short- I really want these. They are expensive- well- not really when priced out but for here especially. if you do it in payments of 250 pesos/ paycheck for 19 paychecks it would be 4,750 pesos. If you do 2 payments each of 1,800 pesos then it is only 3,600. I am doing everything I can to come up with this. Yes- I want them. If you pay it all you also get 8 paper back dictonaries broken down by subject. I know it is expensive- but for 1 I think the product is worth it and I am one of the cheapest people on the planet. Plus it is only 150 dollars per kid for all 6 grade levels. And these are not work books these are like encyclopedias that are grade specific.
I know what a lot of people say- you have the internet- and yes that is true- but I do not even know what information we should be looking up. And second of all- there is simply something about looking things up in a book. I remember my family had these encyclopedias when I was growing up. I loved them. I still remember moments of when I learned something from them. Well, anyway. I have never done this before but when I need help- I ask for it. I am trying to come up with 1,800 pesos. I can come up with the 2nd payment for the end of June no problem- but the first one is in just a few days and the first paycheck of the month is always spoken for with household needs.
So although I am being ballsy and tacky - I am asking for help- anyone who wants to help me buy these for my kids- any help is greatly appreciated. You can donate via paypal at the button above- you can specify Books so it does not confused with the school project. -
I know this is really tacky but- well, what can I do- I am a little tacky!
A perfect salad for a really hot day
Well, it has been HOT! Very hot. The weather towards the middle part of the day is .... well... just awful. It is so hot. I really want to go to the beach and what not but we cannot do the taxis. Man I cannot wait to have my car. I did the math, I spend over 700 pesos a month on taxis just getting the kids to and from their classes everyday. I spend ,ore getting to and from then I do on the classes!!! That is just messed up. I cannot wait to get a car. That will be so great. Not to mention actually being able to sell my calendar to clients on the beach. FORGET THAT!!! Just going to the beach! I really want to go to the beach.
I have been going to town and writting my articles from cafes and what not all over town. It is just to hard to write as much and as often as I want from the confines of the house. The house gets very warm and even the kids do not want to go play because it is just way too hot outside. That is why the streets are all filled with kids in the evening. This used to drive me crazy before I understood it. Mid day it is simply way too hot to be outside playing. Then mosquito hour comes- and that is just awful. And right now we are dealing with tabanos which are HORRIBLE!!!! Then it is dinner time. Once dinner is done and everyone is showered (usually this is our 5th shower of the day because it is one of the only ways that actually brings your temp back down! jajaja) Then it is time to step outside and BS with our friends and neighbors. All of our houses have been baking in the hot caribbean sun for hours- we have been cooking food- and the houses are made out of cement. Not great for releasing all of that heat. So- well all sit outside.
When I first moved to Tulum and Ruben and I were driving around thinking about the town and where we wanted to live- Every 2 houses there were people sitting outside. I did not understand it. Now I do. just like the kids running around the streets until late hours- IT IS FINALLY COOL ENOUGH TO RUN!!!! YEAH!!!!
Speaking of the heat- cooking has not been something that I have wanted to do. The other day I made the best salad. Now- I am not a salad person. I never have been. I have always loved dressing- but dressing usually ruin a salad- health wise. Anyway. Salads have been sounding really wonderful to me lately.
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