Letter Home

So, it's only been about 2000 years since my last post, and unfortunately, I don't have anything too exciting to report today. Earlier this month, as some of you know, my grandfather passed away and I flew back to Iowa just in time to say goodbye. I'm glad I had that opportunity, and I was really happy and blessed to see my family, despite it being a sad time.

I came back to D.F. on Thursday, June 13th, and it's been a whirlwind of work since then. I now teach 8 groups a week, which is 36 hours. I spend a lot of time commuting (approximately 18 hours every week), as this city is huge. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, I walk to and from work in Polanco in the mornings, which takes about 45 minutes. Every weekday afternoon/night, and Tuesday and Thursday mornings, I walk 30 minutes and bus for 15 minutes to and from work in Del Valle. So, 54 hours of my week are dedicated getting to/from work and teaching. (Not counting lesson prep time, which I arrive at least a half hour early for). My earliest class starts at 7 am, and my latest class ends at 9:45 pm. As you can see, I'm left with little time to play tourist, and usually try to catch up on sleep whenever I get the chance.

Sunday is my one free day, which is when I usually can get out and enjoy life a bit. Tomorrow's Sunday, though, is going to be an indoor day. Here in D.F., it's been raining like crazy for the past four days--courtesy of Tropical Storm Barry. Even though we're about 4 hours from the Gulf, we're still feeling some of the effects from the storm. The rain will continue tomorrow. It could be a good day to visit museums, if I can muster up the will to walk for awhile in the rain sans umbrella. We'll see. Today, I appreciate the rain. It gives me an opportunity to do things that I've been needing to do--like clean my apartment, call my parents, make a blog post letting everybody know I'm still alive...There's a chance I'll go with some friends to see a movie tonight, if the rain lets up long enough for me to walk to the subway. I've been sick since Thursday, a mix of cold rain and bad drinking water, and I want to try to avoid walking in the rain whenever I can.

In four days, I'll be on my way to Colorado: Mom's getting married!! I'll be there for 10 days, so this is my last full weekend in D.F. until mid-July. If I do get a chance to post about any random excursions here, I'll definitely do so. If not, well....I'll be back soon enough :)

All the best!

XOXO

-Haley

Going to Work

Hey, I'm still alive! Our internet at home has been broken for a few weeks now, which is why I haven't posted anything or done much emailing at all. We're supposed to get a new modem installed this week (actually, it was supposed to be installed two days ago), but it's D.F., and there are no guarantees. The last few weeks have been busy with work, and next week is going to be even more full. I'm really happy in my job, though. I work in three locations around the city, depending on the day. Most often, I work in Polanco--a wealthy business district. Other days I go and do an on-site company class at a company that makes appliances (refrigerators, stoves, washers, etc.), located in what I call "The Skyscraper District." On Tuesday and Thursdays, I work in another branch of our offices near the metro station "Nativitas." The office is very nice, but the area is not particularly beautiful. On Thursdays, I work in all three locations--it's a lot of commuting!

I really enjoy when I work in Polanco, because I can walk to work from my apartment. It takes about 45 minutes each way. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I walk to and from Polanco twice each day. I leave from my apartment and start walking through my neighborhood: Escandon. It's busy but quiet, nice and safe. It's neither a business district nor a residential district, it's more of a mix of the two on a small scale. There are lots of trees and flowering bushes on the sides of the street :)

Flowering tree

Soon, my neighborhood ends, just as I pass a pretty park called Parque Mexico. It turns into Condesa--a really pretty district with lots of cute restaurants, cafes, and bars. It's a very popular nightlife area, and it's always bustling and loud when I'm walking home at night. After I walk through Condesa, I come to a street called Sonora, which has a mix of small businesses and apartment buildings. On this street, I'll see my "20 minutes from work" landmark: the big, glass IXE tower.

Almost there!

On the left side of the IXE tower, I pass some sort of monument, but it's not a particularly impressive one. To me, it just looks like a really tall, bleached wafer cookie.


Giant cookie!

Right after I walk between the monument and the IXE building, I take the Chapultepec underpass, and then immediately after climb up onto a bridge that passes over 3 major highways.


Ah, don't breathe in the car fumes...

About 15 minutes from there, I get into the prettier part of Polanco, and arrive to the office!



One of the rooms where I teach :)

In the mornings, I teach there for 90 minutes, and in the evenings, I teach two back-to-back classes, leaving me there for a cozy three hours. It's really a fun job!

That's all for today, time to go teach again...