Amigos de Mexico

Hi everyone!!! We hope all is well in your "neck of the woods." Ryan and I have been super busy the past few weeks! We are hosting teachers from Mexico at our home until May 1st. It has been a WONDERFUL experience. If you ever have the opportunity to host, we would definitely recommend it! On Saturday, we picked up Ofelia and Adrian from the airport. They are from Tlaxcala, Mexico. Ryan's school has an exchange program where the high schoolers in Indy go there for 2 weeks and then their students and staff come here! Ofelia is a doctor in a clinic and a science teacher. Adrian is an English teacher.

In addition to hosting, we have also been occupied with work. Here is a pic of me and my friend Casey at our 3rd ESL Family Night of the year...This particular workshop focused on word "chunking." It was fun. The families were served dinner, and then parents were taught literacy games they could take home and play with their children. Next year I am 99.9% sure I am going to be the ESL Teacher for my ENTIRE school. They are splitting me and my partner up (so that there is one ESL teacher at every site) and moving 6th grade back to elementary! That means I will be responsible for servicing ALL the ESL students in grades 1 through 6!!!

Like me, Ryan has been busily teaching away. Here is a pic of him giving a lecture to his Physics students on sound waves. He is using a SMART board. SMART boards are interactive whiteboards and they are really cool!

Here is a pic of Ryan's staff this past Friday. They held a carnival to raise money for their "Youth Day of Caring." This was a way for the high schoolers to give back to their community by helping the young, old and those who are less fortunate. Can you spot Ryan??? It is kind of like playing "Where's Waldo," huh??? P.S. The man laying on the floor is Ryan's principal.

Ryan taught Adrian how to play pool- he had never played before. Ryan's co-worker, Eric came over and hung out too. He is hosting a teacher this week as well.Adrian brought us this cool rug as a gift for us. It is of an Aztec warrior. Pretty neat huh? We put it upstairs in the loft. Here is Ryan about to make a shot- see the corner of the rug on the ground? When driving around Noblesville this week, Adrian and Ryan spied these hot air balloons launching in a field near our home. Isn't the shoe balloon cool??? Here is a pic of Adrian, Ofelia and me in front of the Noblesville Courthouse. We also took them to the Hard Rock Cafe in downtown Indianapoolis.Me, Ry and Adrian...Monument Circle...What a beautiful day!View of downtown Indianapolis from the top of the War Monument...Flat, flat, flat for miles and miles and miles... The favorite activity of the week was the excursion to Sugar Creek in Parke County (about an hour and a half west of us). We went canoeing with the students. Everything was sooooo green!!!!Here are the kids walking down to the shore. It was a blast! I got to meet some of Ryan's students and also the exchange students from Mexico.

The scenery was just breath-taking. I am still in awe of the trees...

Hi Ryan!

We almost tipped over!!! I was supposed to be navigating and did not see a rock. We hit the side of our canoe and tipped half-way into the water. We got wet, but it was worth it!

This area of Indy is much more scenic. I think we are going to take Ryan's parents here in their RV when they come visit in June...

Lovely, lovely...

Row, row, row your boat. Merrily, merrily, merrily.....Parke County is the "Covered Bridge" capitol of the world. It has more covered bridges than any county in the United States. Here is one of them...

This is the 2nd covered bridge we have had the chance to check out since moving here.

The other, Potter's Bridge is literally down the street from our home.We look forward to this last week with our guests. Have a great week everyone!

Until next time...xo