Thursday, February 23, 2012

“Hope lies in dreams, in imagination and in the courage of those who dare to make dreams into reality.” Jonas Salk

We capped off Wednesday with a delicious dinner at Bisquet where the sauces for the enchiladas went from hot to hotter to untouchable. It was our first mole. The plaza was hopping after supper again—this time with food booths serving up all sorts of dishes to celebrate Ash Wednesdy and “concheros” dancing to the drums.

Yawn! We made it to the bus for a 6:30 am departure. The paved stone streets were empty as we headed to UTEQ. Seen en route: two plaza sitters, two girls walking, four joggers, a few commuters, and a sunrise. The students were completely engaged despite it being 7 am, and we were off to a flying start. A few things we are noticing: a number of girls are pregnant or recent moms—many without husbands. The students help each other without apparent competition. Boys wait for the “lady” volunteers and teachers to go through the door first. A couple of very fluent boys said they learned their English from watching movies and TV shows in English—(a good practice for us to adopt with Spanish TV and radio at home!) A very friendly group of boys were playing“conquian” or our Gin Rummy with baraja Espanola (a Spanish deck of cards which has wonderful pictures and neither 9s or Aces—who knew?)

A group of students came up to us as we sat in the “waiting room”—perhaps we have become a local attraction at the end of the first week—let’s hope so.

Lunch break in Centro was relaxing and delicious. A buffet with sparrows having a few nibbles, was a delightful way to relax after another day at UTEQ.

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