School's out forever...

I finished up my spanish classes yesterday. I actually ended up enjoying them WAY more than I thought I would, and am sad to be done. Last wk I was moved up to the top class at school. This is quite an accomplishment for "An American" as my teachers liked to tease me about...but it was pretty obvious I was at the bottom of the class as far as ability goes. My new teachers, Javier and Rojelio, were both awesome, and I learned more in the past 2 wks than I did in 2 semesters of classes at UWM. It was also a VERY intense time because the teaching style in general here in Mexico is much more "in your face" and abrasive than in the US. Everyone warned me that if I was moved up into the top class I would have a breakdown in class and cry (I guess it is kind of a "right of passage" or something). I was desperate to prove this theory wrong...but on Tuesday, my level of frusteration and humiliation was too much....and I cried. Although I am done with formal classes, I can still go to culture classes, which I will continue to do...they are so interesting and a fun way to practice more spanish!!!

I begin my volunteer placement on Monday. I am very excited to see what this entails and what type of patients I will be working with. I went and visited the clinic earlier in the wk. It is small, and a LONG way from my host family's house, but well-equiped to treat patients. I will be working with one doctor and a couple other assistants. The rest of the info I will find out as the new wk begins.

The weather has also been very cool here this wk. A couple of nights it got down to 3 degrees celcius (which is about 40 degrees). As my luck goes, this is unseasonably cool. Overall, the weather here reminds me of the western US...which makes sense since Guanajuato is located in the mountains. It gets cool at night (perfect for sleeping), warms up quickly in the AM and is hot from about 12-5, and then again cools off quickly. I am definately wearing my fleece jacket and few pairs of jeans a lot more than I thought I would.

Also, one last bit of good news: I will get to stay with my host family rather than having to move to an apartment or dorm; I love my set-up with them and also all the company of the family.