Training!

First of all, welcome to my blog! I'm not usually one to do stuff like this, but I figured a blog would be a good way to share my experiences without having to tell the same story a bunch of different times to everyone. And to hopefully keep my family and friends from feeling too neglected... If you know anything about my long distance communication skills... Let's just say they're lacking! So here we go :)

Yesterday and today I went to training for Mexico! I didn't think it was possible to be any more excited for this experience, but training probably raised my level of "I can't wait" by a thousand percent. We learned all about the teaching method, the culture, what to expect, everything! I won't bore you with the details but here were a few of my favorite pieces of advice:

1. If you get lost, find a woman with a baby for directions. Most importantly, don't ask the mafia for help.

2. Never, I repeat NEVER, accept a gift from a Mexican man. Apparently this is a cultural green light to keep the advances coming.

3. If you don't like something, just say it's too spicy for you (even if it's not). I guess it's better to lie than to criticize a woman's cooking.

Just a few that stuck out to me :)

And finally, for any of you that may be a bit confused about what exactly it is that I'm doing in Mexico, let me explain.

I'm traveling with International Language Programs (ILP), which has been around for twenty years and has been very successful. Their volunteers pay (yep, I'm paying for this, not vice versa) to travel to another country for 3-5 months and teach English to children in a local school. The way their method works is you only speak English in the classroom, and you basically just play with the kids! Obviously making sure to talk a lot along the way. Because they are having fun and want to interact with you, the kids pick up English without even realizing they're learning! It's super cool. If you want to learn more just go to www.ilp.org.

So that's what I'll be doing. I will live with a host family, so I get to speak Spanish and learn about the culture there, and then teach English for around four hours a day. We also get opportunities to travel and experience more of the country! It's an amazing program.

Oh, and for those of you that are worried (and I know some of you are, because you've told me) I will be perfectly safe! ILP works with lots of different organizations, including the State Department and the local people, to ensure that their volunteers are never placed in dangerous situations. Tehuacan is not Juarez. I'm not going to get kidnapped by a drug dealer :)

So the point is, I'm really excited! A bit overwhelmed with all the preparation I have left - packing (probably my least favorite activity in the world), buying supplies (aka shopping, my second least favorite activity), etc. but it will all be worth it when I get there! I'm hoping the next six weeks fly by.

Adios amigos!