ay, dios mío

8 nights in México City aka CDMX (cuidad de méxico) went by way too fast!! ☺

churros~ !! [o8.15]

Frida Kahlo Museo [o8.16]

   

On Wednesday, August 17th, we had a full day (6AM - 10PM) trip to Tolantongo in San Cristobal, Hidalgo!! It was exhausting, AND definitely worth the experience. I think if I ever go back, it'd be amazing to stay at one of the lodges there!!! Check out their website!! ➤ http://www.grutastolantongo.com.mx/en/index.php

We chilled in the hot spring pools, had lunch by the river + soaked in the river, and finally explored the caves!! I bumped my head twice in the caves, because there was one part of the caves where we had to dive under for a few seconds but i was nervous, AND bumped my head when I came back up! It's okay... just a few scratches!! 😅  This was one of the most memorable experiences of the trip.~

ángel de la independencia [o8.17]

swimming in a cave~ [o8.17]

view of the river [o8.17]

CDMX is known for its gastronomy, and I got so many great recommendations from folx! We did go to Contramar, Máximo, Lardo, Panadería Rosetta, AND more!! There's soooo much gooooood foood, and it was so hard to not be able to eat everything cuz ... I ended up getting gastrointestinal issues... cuz I was brushing my teeth with the tap water!!!! 🙈 ooops!! 

Good ol' Treda (anti-diarrhea medicine) +  I became good friends!! It saved me!! 💩

By Friday night, I felt well enough to go take a Zumba™ class in the park nearby!! It cost $20 pesos~ It was soooooooooo much fun, and I think younger me wouldn't have gone and done it because it was out in public at a park, and I don't speak Spanish fluently. I'm so glad I went, and everyone was so kind and welcoming. If I lived nearby, I definitely would go attend regularly with them. 

Zumba class 🎶 [o8.19]

On Saturday, most folx from the group were flying out of CDMX, but NOT me!! I stayed in the historic center of CDMX. I was walking distance from Zócalo, and it turned out that it was the last weekend of the VIII Fiesta de las Culturas Indígenas, Pueblas y Barrios Originarios!! ➤ https://www.visitmexico.com/blog/fiesta-de-las-culturas-indigenas-2022-conoce-todos-los-detalles

Finally, on Sunday I attempted to take public transportation to the Museum of Anthropology, but since on Sundays they have ciclovía in CDMX, I had to walk part of the way... or maybe I could've figured out a way to rent or ride a bike, but I just stuck to walking. It worked out in my favor because then I was able to explore the Botanical Garden too~

   

  

Wow, we did sooooooo much!! 😆

Okie dokie... that's a wrap for CDMX ... for now, and i hope that i can return again soon someday (and not get diarrhea!!)!! and i hope i can also travel to Oaxaca. ☺♥

Ciudad de México | day 1

Greetings~ I am still waiting to hear from Fulbright Teachers of Global Classrooms (FTGC), and so I decided to travel before I find out my international field experience placement!! 

Here's to the start of my sabbatical year off from teaching at Seattle World School. ☺

Mi amiga Laura (who I met at Seattle World School) was going to ciudad de méxico (CDMX), and I had to tag along!! 😈

time to fly ✈️

We arrived late Sunday night, and walked around to find some food! And we found a food stand. BUT apparently folx get harassed by police late at night for money!! Late = after 12AM. Luckily we were out around 11PM, but there were 2 police officers at the food stand too. 😅

Monday was our first full day here, and we slept in (true vacation fashion) then strolled around the streets of the Roma Norte neighborhood we are in. 

It is still sinking in that I will NOT be at school this year. After teaching for 10 years, the anticipation of the approaching new school year has been ingrained in me!!! I wonder if after this year off if I will continue teaching or find another job? or some other option I don't even know exists. I really want to take this year off to delve deep into what I want to do, AND I want to be open to what the universe has in stored for me too. 

5 Years Later...

 haha! omg. I totally left this blog empty the past 5 years. ☺

I'll do a bullet list update:

• I've been teaching newcomer math at Seattle World School since 2017!! 

Front Entrance of Seattle World School

• The 6th graders who I taught math at Showalter Middle School in 2015-2016, graduated high school this year!!

Foster High School Graduation

• I've had the privilege to travel to: 
• Summer 2017 - Singapore | Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia | Siem Reap, Cambodia | Bali, Indonesia
• Summer 2018 - Athens + Santorini + Chania, Greece
• Summer 2019 - Koh Samui + Koh Chang, Thailand | San Juan, Puerto Rico | Tokyo, Japan
• Summer 2020 - Cancún, Mexico
• Spring 2021 - San Ignacio + San Pedro, Belize
• Summer 2021 - San Juan, Puerto Rico
• Spring 2022 - San Pedro, Belize

• I got married in August 2020!!

• My dear grandmother passed away from COVID August 2020. 😭

At the coffee shop in Oakland, CA.

I hope to update more on here!! ✎

Especially since the next school year [2022-2023] I'll be on a sabbatical year off from classroom teaching!!! 😀

Take care ya'll!! ✌💗

Long Time No See!

I know I have not been the most up to date blogger!! It's been 10 months since my last post! Oooops! 

Here's the scoooop:

+ Completed Year 2 as a middle school math teacher in the public school system!!

+ Decided to end my time at the middle school I was at... Thank you for 2 years!!

+ Accepted a new teaching job at another school located in Seattle!!

+ Teaching has its challenges, and its rewards... I need to remember why I started and what I enjoy about my job!!

+ Why do people like or dislike math? Your thoughts/ opinions?

On the last day of school, I let my students sign the board!! THEY LOVE it!!! <3 HAGS!!!

 Me and my lovely mentor/ colleague/ friend!!

 I wouldn't have made it without YOU!! 

Year 2, Week 1: ✔️

Throughout the summer I was looking forward to my second year of teaching 6th Grade Math in public school... And after finishing my first week of the new school year, I think that I have been able to apply several things that I learned after finishing my first year. I feel more confident and I've given myself permission to make mistakes. I also feel more comfortable with my coworkers and school. Even though my district has several issues that I do not agree with, I am grateful for having a job at the middle school. 

I have been working on being more consistent and giving clearer step by step directions. I constantly walk around the room and check-in on students. I have almost all their names memorized. I see about 100 students a day! We started school on Tuesday last week, so we have had four days of school. This upcoming week will be our first full school week. It will be tiring, and it will be fun!!

Here is a photo from one of my classes on the first day of school. We talked about 6 character traits (one in each period) that we need to be in order to be a positive citizen in our communities. It was wonderful! I think it started school on a highly positive note. 

Last Day at CEDIF

Hoy fue mi ultimo dia en CEDIF. Today was my last day at CEDIF.  It was quite the pleasant day. I helped Profesora Ivet feed her students. Then I went to the class with the older students. There weren't many students there, so the few that were there went to the dining room. We folded origami hearts for Profesora Ivet's class. Then it was break time for the students, and the boys were playing soccer. I was the goalie! I was not blocking any shots in the beginning, but as the game went on, I was better! There are senior citizens that usually sit around the courtyard. After I finished playing, an elderly man came up to me and said that I should play for the women's national soccer team for Peru. ha!!! I'm not even on that level, but it was sweet of him to talk to me and my friend Fidan. Her Spanish is better, and he mostly talked to her. I tried listening and I could understand most of what he said. It was a nice last day. I went back to Profesora Ivet's class to say goodbye and to give the children the origami hearts. If I were to volunteer again in Peru, I would love to be in a scondary school math classroom. Maybe next summer... Until next time. Ciao!

¡Matemáticas en Cusco!

 

Today Jane and I worked on her math homework (Algebra). I was so excited to work with her on her math! Yesterday I asked her if I could see her math work, but she said she will have it tomorrow. I think she has the class every other day. Kind of like a block schedule. Her school is about two blocks away from the Educational Center.  We spent most of the morning doing math. Then we looked at pictures on my phone and asked each other what we like and don't like (food, fruit, music, etc.). She loves ceviche, chocolate, grapes, and Justin Beiber. ❤️

Matematicas en Cusco! This is Nayruth's math notebook.  She was working on fractions and percents. One fun tidbit that I learned... when using long division, they do it the opposite way how I learned to do it. The divisor is on the right and the dividend is on the left! AND the quotient goes on the bottom. MIND IS BLOWN!! This makes sense because a lot of students write the dividend on the left... Some food for thought... I would love to be in a math class in Cusco and learn how they learn math here! Maybe for my next trip? 😄