rain, rooftops and church bells.

Monday, March 13th, 2023 

Monday was another typical school day. Wake up, morning routine, walk to school, preschool, lunch, afternoon classes, cleaning up class rooms, walking home, resting, dance, workout, voice work, dinner, training,  card games, bedtime. That is pretty much how my school day goes most of the time. There were some fun/surprising moments in my day though! Two of my preschool girls who are usually really shy did REALLY well in class. I was THRILLED about that. My afternoon classes were also having so much fun with their craft that they didn't want to leave, so I let them stay and we listened to Disney music and sang and danced together. The kids react to our craft was really fun too. They were so excited the whole time. We also got a surprise sprinkle of rain! Not much, just a few minutes of it, but it made the whole day so much more fun. That night, we played Utter Nonesense and I won yet again. I will say, Josh was really good too, but I beat him by a landslide. 

(rooftop workouts in the rain)

(It's the hand for me)

Tuesday, March 14th, 2023 

The arts and crafts rotation has been every other teachers least favorite rotation...so far, it is my favorite. The kids have LOVED the crafts we've done, and they have been so attentive in class due to that. We did a salt and water color craft on Tuesday, and after classes ended, several of my kids came back and wanted to make more or add to their finished product. It's just nice to feel like the kids are enjoying English class, lol. 

(She is the best behaved student. I adore her)

(At this point, this guy has my heart.) 

(Don't be fooled. He is a Tasmanian devil in class.)

Tuesday was also Pi day, so I naturally had to bake mini pies. I made sourdough crust (seriously, adds such a depth of flavor...I won't make pie crust any other way), and made apple filling. They were delicious. I don't particularly enjoy math, but I will take any excuse to have pie, so I suppose I should say Happy Pi Day! While I was baking, my roommates did the 1 second Taylor Swift challenge on me, and I must say that I excelled. I don't know if I've been prouder of an achievement before.

Wednesday, March 15th, 2023 

On Wednesday, one of the ILP directors came for his Mid-Semester visit. He met with us each individually, and I felt that my meeting went really well. We have had some unusual circumstances and unique difficulties this semester, and so it was nice to be able to talk to him about various continual issues we've had during this trip, and provide some insight as to how to make this location better for future teachers. Classes went ok. The kids were on the wild side, but we all adapted to their specific needs, and it all worked out. We got a little more rain, and it was glorious. I danced in the rain with some of my littles...it was perfect moment. After school, Steve (the ILP director) treated us to LOs Primos, and he told us that our groups dynamic is one of the best he has ever seen. We really are all close...We act more like siblings than anything. Again, I am SO grateful for roommates that all get along well. Back at home, I played uke, then just watched a show. Things were pretty stressful leading up to Steve coming, so it was nice to just relax after and have some time to myself. 

(Saving the white shoes)

Thursday, March 16th, 2023 

Alli's family has come the night before because they are visiting for the weekend. Alli's mom brought us 9 lbs of chocolate chip, and when I saw them, I cried. You CANNOT find chocolate chips anywhere here. We ran out of the chocolate chips that we brought really fast, so we've been making due without, bit sometimes all you want is a chocolate chip cookie, you know? We got to meet Alli's family, and they seem like loads of fun. When classes were over, I impressed my kids with the fact that I can do the splits AND a backbend. It's kind of a big deal. I earned lots of brownie points in that moment. I love how much these kids love all things dance. I've really been able to bond with them through our shared love of the art. 

(the kids practicing for the spring festival)

(Alli and her fam)

(He's almost there!)

After school, the others all headed off to vacation, Alli went off with her family for the weekend, and Allie and I went back to the house for our staycation. We were STOKED. After the maddness of the past few weeks, a staycation with no expectations or plans was exactly what we needed. At home, we did our own thig for awhile, then I made sourdough biscuits and gravy, and we sat together, ate and talked for awhile. Later that night, I got in my dance and workout, then finished season 1 of my show. It was just what I needed. 

(comfort food)

(this more than anything tastes like childhood to me)

Friday, March 17th, 2023 

Oh how blissful it is to sleep in and have no plans whatsoever for your day! I woke up late, made a yummy breakfast, then was made aware of some theater drama back in St George. After talking to some theater friends about what's been going down back at home, I had a indulgent dance afternoon. It was wonderful. I was able to be fully present since I had nothing else planned to think about or plan for. I then did some voice work and played Uke on the roof. The roof is my little sanctuary. I love it there. It is just complete peace and calm, and the view is spectacular. Afterwards, Allie and I cleaned and organized the kitchen. Sergio came in, and he seemed amused by how expressive my singing and dancing to TS while cleaning was. I was just overly excited. The eras tour was about to kickoff, and it made me extremely excited for August when I will be going. I literally had butterflies about it all day. We then ate dinner, then I binged a tv show. I have never watched an entire season of something in one night, but this was just too good. I felt as though I was reading a novel. It was lovely. I've been needing to fall completely into a story, and this was exactly what I needed. 

(the best view)

(I am his favorite)

Saturday, March 18th, 2023 

We slept in again of Friday, and it was honestly very similar to the day before. Just lots of resting and hobbies. I got a lot of writing done on Saturday, and talked to family and friends a lot as well. Later that night, Allie and I went on a walk, and it was beautiful. The air smelled like rain, and there were clouds over head. We decided to go down to the Bodega and buy brown sugar for cookies. On our walk over, we ran into a parade! We don't know what it was for, but it was fun to see!  As we were in the store, it started POURING. We were afraid that we would have to walk home in that, but it went back to a drizzle just as we were leaving the store. At home, we made chocolate chip cookie dough, tea, and read. It was a lovely night. We opened all the doors and windows and let the rain sounds and smells waft into the house. Total bliss. 

(The strangest thing about Mexico is the fact that there are so many dogs on so many roofs. Why?)

\

Sunday, March 19th, 2023

 On Sunday we awoke to the Cathedral bells chiming...and they didn't stop for a full 3 hours. There was then a short break, then they started again and went on for hours. The whole day followed in that fashion. It's rather hard to write while bells are chiming non stop and giving you a headache, but I managed to finally get caught up on my blogs! Our Internet finally came back, though it now only works downstairs.

(this is my typical blog writing set up)

 After writing the blogs, we made plans with Mariona to go see her ranch. Around 5, we met up with her and walked down to her family ranch. It was fun to hear her families story. The people here are so strong, and her story is truly inspiring. After exploring her ranch, we went to an abandoned pool place and explored. I love exploring abandoned things, especially when you don't know what happened to make it abandoned. I love a good mystery, and going to abandoned places always makes my imagination run wild. 

(I want a parrot)

(COWS)

(Fun fact: her parents met at this place!)

(The sunset was spectacular!)

(This was bult to be a prison, but they decided that they didn't want the prison so close to town, so they used it as a school instead)

(SJI from a distance)

We spent several hours exploring and talking, then Allie and I headed off to see the festivities in town. As we were walking, we noticed a couple with Bobba, and immediately went on a search for the shop that they got it from. We both LOVE bobba tea, but we thought we could only get in Queretaro...We found TWO bobba shops. I am very upset that we only made this discovery over halfway through our semester...although, my bank account probably is grateful for that. We got our respective bobbas, and I should probably announce my unpopular opinion...I prefer the normal tapioca pearls to the popping pearls. I know, a travesty, but they are just better. After getting our bobbas, running into a student and watching them set up fireworks, we headed home.  

(Allie got mango, I got Passionfruit...I want o try their Chai one though)

It was REALLY cold on Sunday, so we were freezing by the time we got back to the house. We spent the rest of our evening talking with friends, family and asking each other "most likely to" questions about our group. That night, I stayed up far too late writing poetry. That is always when inspiration hits...11:30-1 am. My best friend calls that time "being possessed by her poetry ghosts",and it does rather feel that way. After my poetry writing, I finally got to bed much, much later than I should have.

Oh, and the bells finally stopped pealing at 9:30 pm. 

Love, 
Your controversial bobba addict,
Ivie Noelle