I thought you would get a kick out of my morning commute. I am the last person on the carpool (aka School Bus). I ride it with two other teachers, one high school student, 3 middle school students and 3 elementary students. It is a chill morning and only takes about 10 minutes to get to school. Plus it is free and you can't beat that. Eduardo, our driver, is amazing at navigating the city streets.

We had an exciting day yesterday for two reasons. First, some students found a scorpion in their English class. So the whole class came to the science room (that would be me) to find a container to put it in. All I could offer was a water bottle. They got it in the bottle pretty quick and then carried it around the rest of the day as their pet. All the students warned us to look into the shower before stepping in because scorpions crawl out of them all the time. Apparently I have nothing to worry about on the 7th floor, but don't think I didn't check my shower before stepping into it this morning.

The second exciting event was the rain. It was the first rain in over a month and now it is actually cold. It is a nice change from the gusting wind and heat. I'm guessing it is in the high 60's which feels like -30 south of the equator. It continued to rain overnight and there was plenty of lighting and thunder!

Oh, the last picture is from the backseat of a typical taxi in Santa Cruz. There is a huge market here for used Japanese cars, so all the taxi's have very peculiar looking passenger seats. There is a dashboard there the speedometer and other gauges, only the steering wheel is missing. It has been moved to the other side of the car. It seemed so odd at first, but now it is just normal!

Tres Marias

Over the years I have given Colleen a lot of grief about her middle name. You see, she shares the middle name Ann with her sister. For some reason I find it amusing and odd that they have the same middle name. I have even asked her dad why he decided to give both of his daughters the same middle name. None of his sons have the same middle name. He says he liked the name Ann and it was easier to give them the same name. Well......I will no longer give Colleen a hard time about her shared middle name. Nice of me right? Not really when you hear why I will stop harassing her. I have found something even more amusing here in Bolivia.

I have an 8th grade student who is the middle of 5 kids. She has two younger brothers (Juan Alfredo, and Josue). She has two older sisters and this is the funny part. Their names are Maria and Maria. Yes, all three daughters share not a middle name, but a first name. I actually laugh every time I think about it. So I have Maria Edith in my class. Her 10th grade sister is Maria Carmen and the oldest is Maria Jose. Does anyone else find humor in this?

I am actually struggling with some of the names in my classes. In San Francisco I had maybe a handful of kids who shared a first name. I also had a lot of interesting names from Shu-yi to Gerrine, Jamila to Unique! Down here I have a ridiculous number of repeat names. I have three Andreas in one class. Two Jose Miguels and two Jose Manuels who I am forever confusing. I have 4 Marias (not related to previous mentioned Marias) Maria Fernanda (goes by MaFer) Maria-Cristina, Maria Valeria (goes by Valeria) and of course Maria Edith. I have a Michael and Johnathan in one class who I confuse to no end as I think about my own two brothers. I have two Daniels and a Daniella in on class, all of whom answer when I call on any one of them. When parents came in for back to school night, I had to really think about who their kid was as several faces popped into my head at the mention of one name. One parent told me that my name is very Latin. How cool, I have a Latin sounding name even without the ana to the end of it!!

The Pictures Have Arrived

The internet company just left my house so I can finally show you all some pictures of Santa Cruz. I haven't figured out how to put a caption with the pictures so I will do a few posts with some different pictures. I'm going to start with my school. I said before it is a beautiful campus and it really is. I am still in awe of how green it is and what a pleasant place it is to work.

Some Funny Things at SCCS

I remember back in High School how there were t-shirts for everything; Homecoming, "Class of", Football stuff. Well the Class of 2006 at Santa Cruz Cooperative School has taken the school t-shirt to a whole new level. So far the seniors have 3 different shirts. There is a super trendy button down blue and white stripe they all wore yesterday. Of course, girls don't want to wear a boys shirt so theirs is the same fabric but with the female cut, you know, tighter with more shape to it. Of course they also wear them in about a size too small so there is some major skin showing. They also have a polo shirt, also blue and white stripes with a patch sewn onto it that says Seniors, Class of 2006. (Also in a boy/girl cut option). And finally they have a brown t-shirt with this paint splatter design that says their class as well. I don't know why I am so fascinated with this shirt trend here. I suppose it is just different than when I went to school, and maybe this is what high schools in America are doing now as well, as a middle school teacher I have no idea. I will have to snap some pictures of the shirt fad here and maybe you will see why I find it so curious.

Espanol has begun

I had my first spanish class last night. Somehow this class finally made things sink in with me. I no longer feel as though I am on vacation. I actually feel like I live here now. It is pretty cool. The classes are at school on Monday and Wednesday. I am in a beginning class with 4 other new teachers. So far we have simply learned how to pronounce the letters of the alphabet. Seems simple but it turns out be pretty darn useful....especially since i sounds like e and you have the whole double l thing. Our teacher is the sweetest woman and I think she is just the person I need to teach me another language.

I also had my first Bolivian Sushi experience last night. It was soooo good. I can't say that it beats some of the San Francisco sushi I have had, but it was tasty all the same.

So let me remind all of you that it is never too soon to come visit. My cousin Kathleen and her fiance Chris will be here from September 7-12 and Kim DeHope has her ticket as well. She is coming from September 13-20. There is a lot to do down here so just get a ticket and the rest of the trip will be sorted out for you! Come on, start building your American Airlines miles, what are you waiting for?!

Christmas in Bolivia

The greatest thing happened today! All of my lesson plans and all of my books showed up at my school! I mailed them back in May via the US Postal Service only they never arrived at the school's office in Miami....or rather, some postal worker never scanned them in. I was really sick about this a few months ago so I am relieved to have this stuff appear. I was ready to teach without it and had already started putting new information in my computer, but having it will make things a lot easier!

Lessons Learned: USPS is not very accurate with information, I need to back EVERYTHING up on a disk, worse things can happen than losing some dumb files.

I could have lived without my stuff but it is great to have it.

. The First Day of Escuela

Well it has been a very cold first day of school here in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. It reached a high of 17 degrees celcius (about 62 F) with GUSTING winds. I have to remind myself that it is winter in the southern hemisphere! So I am taking the bus to school in the mornings, which is great since it is front door service and free. I am on a route with two other teachers and about 10 students. I don't know if it was the weather or what, but only one student was outside to be picked up so we drove around the city for nothing really. My schedule is really nice and I feel sort of spoiled after the first day.

8-9:30-prep
9:30-9:55-coffee break (how cool is that)
10-11:30-7th grade science (such cute kids)
11:30-12:30-Technology (no plans were left so I am open to suggestions)
12:30-1 Lunch
1-1:30-silent reading (and they actually read!!!)
1:35-3:10-8th grade science

As you can see I don't have a first period so I don't see my first students until 10am. Not bad. Oh, and the best part of all...I only have 16 students in each class. Oh yes, you heard me right, SIXTEEN!!!! It is amazing to have such a small number of students. I am so motivated to do a lot of cool new science stuff. Other people at school are saying just wait, the kids will get bad, but with only 16 of them in my room, I will be able to tolerate a lot I am sure. Not to mention, after a year with Jamily Brown and Takia Thompson I am pretty much ready for anything! So anyways, I ate a piece of bread during the break this morning and thought something was stuck in my teeth. Turns out I chipped a filling so I have a sharp piece of metal sticking out against my tongue. For those of you who don't know, I am a die hard fan of Dr. Belgum, the only dentist I have ever had, and am actually a bit scared to see anyone else. In fact, I decided to postpone a crown I need until next summer as my dentist needed to refer me to someone else (If it had been to Dr. Cavagnolo I would have been fine!). I figured I wouldn't have anything to worry about until next summer when I came home. Guess I'll have to move onto plan B. There is a dentist all the teachers are raving about just around the corner so it looks as though I will need to get over my fear of random dentists (Sorry I have to cheat on you Dr. Belgum!)

All in all it was a great first day. Turns out middle school students are pretty much the same all over the world. These kids here are very kind and polite. There was no mean streak in any of them. One girl, who is a spitting image of my student Elene (from Georgia, who gave me the bling-bling necklace for my birthday last year) asked me if I had all of my people sorted out. I asked her what she meant and she said "you know, someone to do your nails and hair". I said no and she recommended a woman who comes directly to her house for only 30 B's (that is about $4). Guess I will have to get on that.

My home and cell phones are up and running so feel free to call. Pictures will be on their way. Enjoy your week. -Adria

Last day of summer vacation Well today is officially my last day of summer vacation. It is sort of my last day of vacation in general. I feel as though I have been on a two week trip somewhere but the reality of actually living here hasn't hit me yet. I'm sure that as I continue going home to my apartment, showing up at work each day and getting into an overall routine, the fact that I live here will actually sink in. I met some other cool people at church today. The man who gave the sermon has a son in 7th grade. They are homeschooling him so he won't be my student but he is really into exploding things in science (pumpkins, soda bottles and other non threatening stuff). You see, his older brother is a science teacher and does a lot of stuff like that in his class. So my new 7th grade friend has said that he will show me how to do all this stuff so I can wow my students. Should be fun. I can't wait to see what the first day of school will bring. I am sort of anxious for it to come and go so that I know what to expect for the rest of the year. Being that my average class size is 16, I am thinking that things should run pretty smooth. However, the returning teachers have said that the kids talk so much you really can't handle more than 16 in a class. Should be interesting. Another cold front came in last night. It is about 65 out today and is suppose to get colder over the next few days. It is a nice break from the 90 degree weather we had all last week. Keep in mind it is winter here so it is bound to get really toasty come summer time. Hope all is well back home and that you are all enjoying yourselves. Adios, Adria

I bought my first lavadora automatica on Friday. It set me back $200 (American) but it is totally worth it. I have already done 3 loads of laundry. That may sound like a lot since I have only been here for 12 days, but you have to keep a few things in mind. The machine is smaller that we are used to in the States,and it is really dusty here so your clothes (and you) get dirtier a lot faster! I have a small room off my kitechen where my new appliance lives and there is rope above it to hang my stuff to dry, plus a big window that lets lots of fresh air in which dries the clothesat a fantastic rate.

I have also made a few new friends...both in and out of school. The entire staff started back on Monday. There are a lot of cool people at this school. Several couples as well as singles. Some are on their second year of a 2 year contract and others are starting their 3, 4, 5, and even 8th year in the country. That speakes pretty well for the school I guess. Santa Cruz Cooperative School (SCCS) is the first international job for a lot of us while others have made a carreer out of this scene. There are people who have taught in Italy, China, Korea, Thailand, Columbia, Ecuador, Honduras, and England. Its pretty cool.

I also met some really cool people at church on Sunday. There is only one English speaking church in Santa Cruz, so that is the one I went to. It is a small group (about 40) of people from all different places. I met a cattle rancher from Kansas who just moved down here with his family. His kids will be going to my school. What a crazy accent he has, I can't wait to see him again next week to hear about why he moved down here. There are some other families there who have kids at my school and the rest seem to go to the Christian Learning Center, also a US accredited school here in Santa Cruz. I had chinese buffet after church with a family who has been down here 15 years. The mom, Becky, grew up down here as her parents were missionaries out in the jungle. Her and her husband came back after college and teach at the school. I dinner with another family last night and some other teachers from their school. Apparently our sociallizing will have to end during soccer seasons as our schools are huge rivals. Overall,it was cool to go to the church. We even sang some of the same songs that my church in San Francisco sang. It reminded me that even though I go for spiritual growth, it brings a lot of comfort in an emotional way. Its a good place, I'm excited to go back next week.

I have a phone number now if anyone wants to call. Go to nobelcom.com and you can get an online phone card for $20. It gives you over 200 minutes in calls to Bolivia. What are you waiting for, sign up for one quick!!

cell 011-591-7002-9189
home 011-591-3339-3809