Blog Entry #5 This Week's News

Last Tuesday night was my first night to teach English in Punta de Mita. I had heard that the church was brand new and under construction but really, this was not what I was expecting!!! And I was to teach on the second floor. Where there are no windows? Or doors? Or anything resembling a classroom????

First I had to go up stairs that were made out of cement block and the concrete between them was still wet!!! I am not kidding you and then I see my "room with a view". The pastor was so proud of this space. He has been working on establishing this church for three years and my English class is the first class they have offered to the neighbourhood. "BUT the concrete right behind the table is wet."  "Yes, that's because we just poured it today." "How about we move the table forward so none of my students end up going through the floor into the sanctuary below?"

Here I am all set to go at 6 when the class starts. Hmmmm no students.....

6:05 the pastor's daughter arrives. Doesn't she look enthusiastic!!!!!! The white board on the rusty old easel kept blowing over in the wind. I was teaching with one hand holding on to it.

Suddenly they arrive on mass. What a thrill it is to teach a batch of people who are all smiling and happy and thrilled to be in your class!!! We had a great time. They did amazingly well. Of course they struggled with the "th" sound and the "y" sound but I am confident that at the end of the 6 weeks they will all have that down pat. This is an adult class. Notice the little guy sitting at the end. Just kind of snuck in!!!!!

This last Friday when I was teaching at La Fuente in Bucerias I had a little grandmother in my class who talked in Spanish the whole way through the class and every time she realized what I was saying, she would tell the other student what it meant in Spanish. It was so funny. Her grandson came and picked her up after class and she took his arm and they walked down the dirt road together. What a wonderful sight!!!

The restaurant above that Ray and I really enjoyed is transformed on Wednesday mornings into a gringo market. Upscale. Expensive. Snooty.

Right across the road is another restaurant called Encore. Ray and I also ate here one night and listened to the owner singing jazz. Before the market last Wednesday, I went and had eggs benedict with smoked salmon. The sauce was no where near as good as what Ray makes!!! But I suffered through it.

When I hear rustling in the trees anywhere around I always get up to see what may have just fallen out of a tree. This was no little geko!!!!!! This was huge. Not the biggest but getting there. I don't care if I'm not on the food chain. Who knows when they may suddenly decide to change their eating habits!!!!!

They sure walk funny!!!

We have new neighbours in one of the other units here. There are actually three units in all. Two nights ago their unit was broken into while they were sleeping and they lost both of their computers. One of their doors was left unlocked. Anyway, I really like them and the other day we went to Karen's which is supposed to be one of the nicer places on the beach to eat. I had a shrimp burger and it was ok. The surf was wild and fun to watch. We actually went out to eat because the family upstairs from me were having a 5th birthday party for their son and we were avoiding all that entails. When we got back a few hours later this castle had grown beside the pool!!!

Today was a lovely one for me as I had a visit from Shaun and his husband Patrick. Naturally we went out to eat and tried to get all caught up on each others lives in a short period of time. We bought from vendors on the beach and although Shaun claimed to hate the process, he scored a great new silver bracelet!!! I was looking for some very specific earrings and this guy says, "I can get those for you!!" He left his jewelry case beside our table so that for the whole time he was gone we could say to other jewelry vendors, "No thanks. We already have all this!!!" Shaun has just landed a talk show on Syrious FM. I know, I don't know how to spell it but I can say it just fine!!! Tune in, I'm sure you will love him just as I do!!!!

Blog Entry #4 Happenings of the Last Few Days....

This is one of Ray's Where's Waldo pics but honestly this 6 foot, yes I said 6 foot, iguana, is very camera shy and Ray was lucky to even get this shot of it. Yesterday I heard that last year it fell in the pool. How interesting!!! If that happens this year while I am in the pool, everyone next year will be talking about the Canadian woman who ran on water last year out of the pool!!!!

This is the Mega grocery store where we shop. It has everything. A fabulous deli with all kinds of seafood and Mexican dishes. Last time I was there I bought this creamy mushroom, green pepper, potato, onion soupy concoption that was just wonderful. See these 4 tourists slightly ahead? We were haunted by them for about a quarter of the store. Why does this nationality, foreign to Mexico, think that everyone in the grocery store wants to know what they are buying and why??????

More Mega

"When your garborator offends thee pluck it out!!!!" That is a scripture for the new 2014 bible. I was advised to not tell the plumber to take out the garborator but when he arrived I did tell him it was "no importante". HE then decided to take it out!!! Good man. Now I have a sink that drains like a wild whirlpool.

The guy on the left is the boss. The guy on the right is the gofor. It was so funny to see the boss telling the gofor to go to the store and buy him blah, blah, blah and then the see the gofor jump on his little red motor cycle, don the red helmet and speed off to do the master's wishes.

Today the team is supposed to return to fix the toilet that flushes every second time you flush it. By the time I am due to return home, this place will be up to scratch and running smooth!!!! It will take that long.........

The day Ray left I was really sad and lonely. Thinking I couldn't do this on my own. In the middle of the night, I shook my head a few times to get some clear thinking with less emotion and realized I had friends here who I had not contacted yet and this would be a good path to follow. The next morning I emailed Patti who lives just down the road in Nuevo Vallarta and an hour later she was here at my casa!!! We hadn't been together in about 4 years so there was much catching up to do.

After we had talked for hours, she suggested we went to her brother's restaurant in Nuevo Vallarta called ETC to eat, have a drink and watch the sunset. Funny how you get so much attention and good service when you arrive somewhere where they know who you are and who you know!!! The staff couldn't have been more attentive. It was lovely and a great spirit pick-me-upper!!!!!

On Sunday, Patti and I went to La Crux to the Sunday market. This is not what I would call a typical Mexican market. It is quite upscale. Very gringoish. I was able to find some very yummy chicka chingo ( parsley, olive oil and I can't remember what else but very delicious ) and a hummus with cilantro. I even found some rye bread with cranberries and cashews. Just as we were leaving the market was closing, 2:00 p.m. and I scored this armful of tropical flowers that you can see next Monday. I forgot to take a pic of them!!!!

This group was playing traditional Mexican music and we sat and listened as we rested from the sun and heat. Oh, sorry, another cold snap I hear up there???

 

Vendors are all along the beach and docking area. Plus around this little park at the end of the market.

Last Friday, one of my students came to my class to explain why she and the other one could not attend. The pastor and his wife had gone door to door in the neighbourhood trying to get recruits for the class and lots of people said they needed the class and would come but alas no one came!!!!

The woman teaching in the next classroom to mine started to tell me what to do to teach ESL. Didn't take me long to explain I wasn't exactly a novice to teaching. Just because I love the basic level doesn't mean I have a basic knowledge!!!! I like the challenge.

This Tuesday evening I start a class in Punta de Mita. I hear there are 14 students all non English speakers. This should be fun!!!

Til next Monday, have an awesome week and keep your news coming. I have extra time for emailing these days!!!

Blog Entry #3 A Typical Sunday for Us in Bucerias

First we go to this church called la Fuente Riviera. We go to the 10:00 a.m. service which is in English. There a Spanish service right after ours and then another Spanish service at night. Plus there is a service in Spanish on Wednesdays. The church is very active in the community with a food bank, free meals, food delivered to the old or sick, mentoring, prison ministry, church planting and it appears now, teaching English!!! I have a class on Friday mornings and another one in Punta de Mita about 30 minutes away on Tuesday nights.

This playground is open for neighbourhood children to play in. The yellow building in the background is not part of the playground like a castle or something!!!!

I love this. At the front of the church there are two screens and there is this countdown for the beginning of the service and when it gets down to 0:00 the pastor is on the stage and he is talking. It has begun right on time!!!! I can think of lots of places where I would like to see signs like this posted and I bet you can too!!!

Mexican Boys and Mexican Toys

This is the market. It goes on for blocks. Lots of stuff. Interesting. We aren't big shoppers.

Then we walked through the tourist market where everyone has something to sell you with lots of pressure and finally after working our away around the construction we arrive at Andriano's. This very orange Mexican restaurant right on the beach. We ate there a few years ago when we stayed in Bucerias. The menu had changed but the food was still good even if I was a little loose bowelled for a few days after!!! There are many wonderful restaurants here in Bucerias.

It was so much fun to sit at the window and have vendors come and sell us their wears as we were eating. This woman is laden down with jewelry. It is hard to find some interesting bling that you haven't seen before.

Beautifully Woven Blankets and Tablecloths 

What is a beach without horses???

I bought a great beach cover up from this woman.

The gorgeous pinks came home with us. I sure wish they lasted longer. I found out a few days later that I paid too much for them but what the heck, this is Mexico!!!

Blog Entry #2 What I forgot to tell you...

For some strange reason, blogger won't let me include pictures today. Like Alice in Wonderland, pictures yesterday, pictures tomorrow but no pictures today!!!!


On Sunday we went to church at La Fuente Riviere. The building is huge!!! We got there early and met with the minister and his wife who is going to help set up my English classes. The service was lovely,only lasting an hour and fifteen minutes. Quite the change from the 3-4 hour Bahamian service!!! The pastor opened the service by explaining how this was an interdenominational church. It didn't matter where you came from. You just needed to know Christ. Catholic or protestant, we are all part of the church. I buy that so we were off to a good start.


After church, we took a taxi to the Sunday market and walked the length of it. Very Mexican and entertaining in its own way. After about an hour, we were tired and ready for lunch. At the very end of the block there was this little restaurant cut into the side of a building. Five stools on the sidewalk. Two tables on the road!!! One of the tables had no chairs at it. "This is it. I'm not going any further. I'm eating right here on the road." said the woman. To which the man replied, "We can't eat here. There are no chairs." "Stand beside the table with me and there will be chairs within 30 seconds." Sure enough, took about 15 seconds and we were seated!!! Great lunch for about $4. I have great pics of this but you can't see them today!!!


On Tuesday, I went to meet with Maya the pastor's wife to talk about teaching and I was interested in the prison ministry. I start teaching my first group at the church this Friday morning. Now, about the prison ministry......Maya goes on to tell me that when the men of the church go to visit the men in prison, they have to strip down and have a cavity search. She isn't sure if it is the same for a woman visiting a woman. When I stop laughing, I have to explain how my cavities are private and although God may be calling me to the prison ministry I don't think He wants me to include a search of my cavities!!!!!! She is looking into it. She had better be sure of the facts before I venture much forward into that bright idea of mine!!!!

Blog #1 Where we have come from. Where we are now!!!

On Boxing Day we all went on a sleigh ride. It was so much fun!!! We have had an amazing amount of snow this year. It is so nice to be in the warmer climes now!!!!

Our flight on WestJet coming down was not good. First, it was minus 30 in Toronto so that might have been the reason that the baggage handlers were not all at work and it took an extra hour to load the baggage while we sat on the plane and waited. We left TO at 10. Come lunch time we were ready for that sandwich. "Oh, you have run out of food. How interesting!!!" Ray ate humus and pita. Two boxes of it!!! Next, there were no free movies as promised at the beginning of the flight. Very unusual for WestJet.

We were picked up by a delightful couple who took us to the grocery store, Mega, and then we headed to our new home.

This is our studio casa for the next 3 months. This is our living room.

 

This is our dining room.

 

 

 

This is the walkway up from the street.

 

There is a locked wooden door at the bottom.

 

 



 

Through the front door into our bedroom/office/kitchen.

 



 

Down the hall with lots of storage space to the bathroom on the right.

 

 

 

The kitchen

 

 

 

We have had a few bumps in our settling in. We have a great property manager who has proven to be a great help. We are slow getting into our Mexican rhythm!!!!

First I couldn't get BlogSpot to show the pic of the pool and then it sent through two pics of the pool. So, here is the pool. I have been in every day since we arrived. Yesterday Ray joined me. It is a very slow process getting in but hey, once you're in it's fine!!!! Although it looks like a kiddy pool it is actually 22 feet across and a good size. Really deep at the far side. I guess for those who like to jump in. Won't be me!!!