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