School's out for the summer!

Well, I did it! This was my last day. Chris, the director loves the job I did and would love me to stay but we have other plans for the immediate future. (Beach and vacation in Mazatlan).

Nibi Wabo

New Moon Water Blessing Ceremony in Puerto Vallarta - smudging, sunset, honoring.

Hey! Teacher...

...leave those kids alone! All in all, they're just another brick in the wall.

And finally, at the end of the first day of the last week of school, our hard working hero has his uniform. He's so dreamy.

These days, our lives pretty much revolve around school and homework. Who would have thunk it. Hal gets some pretty good praise on a daily basis. He is a hard working, conscientious student.

We’ve had a little neighborhood potluck on Monday, yesterday (Tuesday) was 2 for 1 pizza night and we shared pizza with some friends. Today we’re meeting with friends on the malecon (sea wall downtown) for lunch. Our social life is definitely healthy. In fact, I’m looking forward to some down time. ;-). Big graduation parties are scheduled for Friday. More wild pics then, for sure!

Carnaval parade

Went to a whacky Carnaval celebration last night. This was the first parade they've had in this town for Carnaval. They did a good job and a lot of people turned out to watch. On our way, we stopped at our favorite Italian restaurant and had the best chocolate mousse on the planet. This restaurant has only 6 tables and looks like a set from Saturday Night Live, complete with the waiter/owner/chef who looks like the comedian Rob Schneider.

Botanical Gardens!

We decided to ditch the city for the afternoon and took two buses to get into the jungle and the Botanical Gardens. It was amazing. We took a nice hike through the jungle. We saw Coffee plants, vanilla plants, and cacao. We walked over the
stream on an Indiana
Jones kind of bridge. We saw the biggest ferns ever.

The visitors center was so beautiful. It actually had sofas and lounge chairs so you could sit and gaze at the beauty. We were up at 1300 feet, and had a nice break from the heat.





There were lots of orchids. Lots and lots. And the most beautiful flowers everywhere.

And, of course, the famous Blue Agave.

We took our two buses back home, stopped off for some ice cream and are resting up for our 10pm date with a carnaval parade tonight.

And, after a fun day, it's back to work for Hal.

What I See On My Way To School Every Morning

Here is what I have been seeing (Present Perfect Continuous tense) every morning on my way to school.

Northie's garden outside our bus - petunias and mint for ice tea and mojitos.

The entrance to our park.

Our street.




Our local sports bar with soccer games in Spanish all day long.

Where we take our laundry.

A hotel lobby.

The big bus stop on the corner of our street and the main road in town.

The news stand on the corner (literally).

A tourist trap.

The mountains and the jungle east of town.

Construction work on the river.

A path to the beach.





The big supermarket that we shop at sometimes.

The armed guards in front of a bank.

A defunct sports club.

A fancy resort hotel.



One of my favorite ferreterias (hardware stores).

A machine shop.

The telephone company.





My school.





The gang - Danny, a teacher; Chris, the director and teacher and my teacher; Barbara, the secretary.

My classroom.