The Half-Way Point

I am officially past the half-way point of my time here. Overall, I will be here about 7 ½ months, and as of now, I’ve been here just over 4 months. Although this isn’t my first time living abroad, it will be my first time being gone for such a long stretch of time. I decided to stay in Mexico for Christmas break and visit the Amayas in Guadalajara. I am so glad that I decided to do that; it was a great to see them and to experience Christmas in another culture. Also, I joined a mission team from California on their trip to Veracruz, which was also a really good experience. But… as I neared the half-way point of my time in January… it dawned on me. Even though I had a good vacation, and a good Christmas, I still didn’t get to see my friends and family. And 4 months is a long time to be gone. It felt like it should be time to see friends and family… except it wasn’t, and I was only half way through. Stuck in the middle, and stretched between the beginning and the end, both equally far away. May seemed a long ways off.

May still seems a ways away. But, I have a sneaking suspicion that the next few months will go by quite quickly. Besides, I am past the half-way point now. Three more months? No problem. The end is in sight, and I have momentum again. Time to re-evaluate, make some goals and, in general, aprovechar the remaining time that I have.

So, here are some things I intend to work on/do more of in the next few months:

1. Speak in English with the students. At first, I wanted to be able to build relationships with students, and because of their low English abilities, Spanish seemed the best way to do that. However, I think it’s time to switch to English.
2. Use a rewards system to try to get students to come to English class more often.
3. Hold bi-weekly vocab bees to encourage students to learn basic vocabulary.
4. Travel more. It turns out, I do enjoy travelling more than spending the weekend in Tlaxiaco with no real plans. And I want to see more of Oaxaca.
5. Read new books on my new kindle. (Yay for e-books and birthday presents!)

And…. Go!