Jane and Valerie

This is a picture of my Spanish class. Jane on the left, Gina in the middle and Valerie on right. Our classroom is on the rooftop of the language school every day from 9am-1pm. We learn fancy grammar techniques, read stories about Mexican history and have conversations. Like a lot of things in life, formal education reminds you how much you don't know.

Gina is a former nurse from Cuernavaca who now teaches Spanish. I saw her on the bus today and she pointed out a few lesser known attractions that she had explained in class. She encourages us to incorporate the context of our life when giving examples during class, which is helpful.

Jane is a fellow volunteer who will be working as a caregiver (encargada) for NPH in Miacatlan (same place as me). She's 24 and is from Arizona. She spent 6 months in Peru this last year and plans to get her masters in education when she returns home. She's a lot of fun and is a bit feisty (as she will tell you). She has some nice combacks against Joe's humor.

Valerie is 26 and from Montreal. She is an occupational therapist who plans to work in the special education department at the school in Miacatlan. Her first language is French, so I like to give her a hard time when she directly translates French words to Enlglish ie. sumptuous. And of course I point out every time she says "eh"...I like to add "hoser" (reference Strange Brew). But seriously she couldn't be sweeter. She has traveled all over the world and is great for breaking out her guide book and giving us the history of our surroundings.