The Walk To and From School

One of my hopes before I left Canada was that the apartment the school found for me would be close enough to walk to school. Exercise is a priority for me and although I cycled everywhere in Victoria, I would not cycle on these roads with the “creative” drivers we have here in Tuxtla. My roommate, Kris, is planning to get a bike. His blood type is A positive. If you have this blood type, please donate a few pints and Fed Ex it to him. My prediction is that he will need it within three days of cycling Avenida Central. It was nice knowing him. But I digress once again. Actually, the walk is quite nice. Even though it is on a busy street, there are long stretches where I walk under veritable canopies of lush green trees that seem not to have suffered in this urban environment. It is quite calming to walk home, particularly after a day of active students and the pressure of teaching in a school that functions primarily in Spanish. Another benefit of the walk home is that I am beginning to know a lot of people in the shops and restaurants that are on my street. I often greet them and truly appreciate the genuine warmth they show me. I suspect we have lost this experience in all but the smallest towns in Canada. The 17 year old working at the convenience store in Victoria just doesn’t exude that same sense of community as the man that I see every day who is painting his pottery. I would guess he has been there every day for many, many years.

The Third Day of School

The experience continues to be intense, but also equally enjoyable. The kids seem to have resigned themselves to the fact that I won’t speak Spanish in the classroom, even when I know what to say. Initially I was telling them that I don’t know very much Spanish, but one of them heard me speaking in Spanish to the other grade three teacher and is convinced that I know more than I was admitting to. I informed her in Spanish that I don’t speak Spanish at all and apparently this did not help to convince her.