Michael Larkin is a MexiCAN, not a Mexican't!

Hola everyone! Once again, I am abroad, doing what I do best: gallivanting around Latin America in the name of higher learning! Here's a little background for those who may not know:
This summer, I have been taking classes full time in the TESOL (Teaching English to speakers of other languages) program. That's my minor at school. At the end of the program, everyone has to complete a teaching practicum to show what they have learned. This practicum can be completed in the States or abroad, depending on your interests. The program at Western is great, because we had the option to go on a faculty-led trip to Querétaro, México. Thus, I am south of the border, preparing to teach a class of fifth grade Mexican students!

I am living with a host family again. Well, actually a host grandma, because it is just an older lady named Teresa who lives by herself. Her daughter and granddaughters visit often, though. There is also another student living in my house. He is a middle aged electrical engineer from California. His name is Roberto and he is studying Spanish here at Olé. That's the school where our program is based. (But not where I am teaching my practicum.)

I want to tell everyone that there is nothing to worry about here. The México portrayed on the news is completely biased and not representative of this entire, wonderful country. Querétaro in particular, is very clean, safe, and calm. It is a much bigger city than I was expecting, though. My school is located in the largely historic downtown. It's so fun to just walk around with a michelada (flavored beer) or sit in the plazas. Here's a picture of me and the other new students from Western:

Mariela, Rebecca, Emily, Me, Jessica, and Ariana @ Jardín Zanea

The past few days have been SO busy that I don't even know what to say. A few exciting things:

-Yesterday morning, the Olé coordinators took me to see my placement site. It's a private primary school called Erik Erikson. My cooperating teacher's name is Olga López. I'm going to be working with a fifth grade class. That's a little bit younger than I prefer, but I am still looking forward to it. The only downside: I have to be there at 7:45 every morning, which is really early considering it's about a half hour walk from my house. I start Monday!!!

-Friday and Saturday, the other new students (including my friend Jessica) and I spent time with "Mexican pals". Our school set us up with them so they could walk us around the city and practice Spanish with us. Today, our amigo Marco took us to a market. It was similar to the ones in Costa Rica. However, the meat section was terrifying. There were things there that looked more like live animals than steak or chicken breast. Jessica saw someone with a whole dead pig on his back. I saw a bucket full of pig heads, still intact. At least it was after I ate a delicious "gringa" (think quesadilla made from spit-roasted pork, pineapple, cheese, and cilantro...deliciosa!!!)

-We also had a welcoming party at Olé last night. We helped make the food and it was so good. Even though it was a school party, there was plenty of beer and a few bottles of tequila...and the obligatory piñata. There were also these traditional dancers. I'm one of only two guys in the program so the girl kept making me dance with her! It was kinda embarrassing, but super fun.



Okay, I feel like I just wrote a massive amount. Gonna leave the café soon so I can take a siesta and then figure out my plans for tonight. Love and miss you all! Check back this week to find out about my first few days in the classroom!