"My door is always open"

The American School Foundation of Chiapas is the lengthy name of my new school. The attached picture shows you the school, but what this aerial photo doesn´t capture is that from ground level, the school is surrounded by majestic trees and the natural beauty of the campus inspires you immediately upon arriving. More impressive however, is the welcoming attitude of the Mexican teachers. On our first day of work, every Mexican teacher made obviously sincere offers of help to the foreign teachers. "If there is anything I can do to help you . . .", If I can help in any way . . ." and "My door is always open" were some examples. At one point, the latter comment was even followed by, "Actually you don´t even have a door!" in the case of the secondary coordinator. Naturally this was met with gales of laughter. I am thrilled to say that after only four days with my new colleagues, there is nothing to indicate the welcome and offers were anything but completely serious. One other aspect of this staff is that jokes seem to be a constant part of our interactions as staff. One outburst of shouting and laughter in the cafeteria ended by a teacher getting water dumped on him. I have no idea how I will adapt to this jocular environment, but I will manage somehow.