another update- the last post i wrote over a week ago and have been trying to publish. maybe i will keep this site. i must say i hate blogger right now though.

in oaxaca there is more violence and almost 7 months later there is no solution to the conflict. 7 people died last weekend and it will probably just get worse as neither side appears to be giving anything.

hokies? uva(uva, by the way, means ¨grape¨ in spanish- vt means nothing. not sure what that says). i did not watch the game but read about it today. sweet. action.

i went to a blues festival on saturday. this city is incredibly fun and has something new everyday. i cannot say enough how happy i am here.

hope all is well up there. we are in exams right now so i am at school less but grading more. give and take.

I am done with blogger. i made a few posts that showed up blank over the last two weeks, and it sapped my desire to write more. if you have ever written a document/paper and had the computer not save it before being able to print, etc., then you you know the feeling.

I am going to look for a new blog site that is better and actually works.

it has gotten quite cold here. nights in the 30´s, days in the low 40´s. i have a vest and a rain jacket. slightly unprepared for this weather, but i bought a new blanket which keeps me warm at night. just like air conditioning, there is no heat in this country (outside of upscale hotels where i dont go unless a friend comes in town that works for a big company that will pay all sorts of cash for a huge, comfortable room- yes, for this and other reasons, i want my friend to come back and visit again). thus, most teachers are sitting around in their offices in big sweaters and gloves. the students look like icecubes. for the most part, i love it. when it gets cold i put on a stocking cap and am fine. i love the cold. i cant wait for it to snow (it snows in the surrounding mountains). most of the cold weather has to do with the location i believe. we are well over 8000ft, higher than flagstaff actually, which offsets the fact that we are so far south. chilly.

to counteract this, i have been eating incredibly spicy food. i now make my own salsa, which really has been a long time coming, and doing a fantastic job of it. two of my friends who live in apt building and i cook about twice a week, and one person always makes the salsa (we all like very spicy food). it has been a lot of fun actually. i like cooking in general, but it is more fun with a few friends and a dart board. it passes the time i guess.

i also began making hot wings. really, this was bound to happen as my penchant for our fine feathered friends has exponentially increased each month i went without them. i also make my own sauce for these bad boys, which although does not quite burn your fingers, sets every other part of the skin (and tongue) it touches on fire. not a good idea to touch the wings and then touch any other part of your face (a lesson i learned when trying to blow my nose- the sauce is also a wonderful decongestant.) good times.

yesterday was revolution day. holiday. long weekend. i stayed in town and hung out with friends and actually did some work yesterday. the runner-up in the presidential election officially declared himself the ¨official/moral¨ president of the country and a few parades were canceled due to protestors marching in the streets. good to know that almost five months later there are still problems with the presidential election. no was killed, however, so i think that is a positive.

i have my schedule for next semester. i will not be full-time in name, but will be working almost 19 hours a week and getting paid more. although i wont make as much as a full-time person, it will be more than enough to relieve me of having to do private lessons. i also will have a new schedule- i start teaching at 730am every day. this is good and bad. more good than bad though as i will finish each day at 1330. this leaves my afternoons free, although i will be teaching a small portion of my friend´s university literature classes twice a week. he has meetings during the first 30 minutes of each class, so i will begin with them. pretty good deal, he pays me, and i get to teach the literary theory component of the class- cuban b, who is taking another lit theory class right now knows how much fun this should be. no, i actually like theory and only teaching these kids basic concepts and major theorists should be fun.

i am no longer teaching esl classes. i am teaching 3 literature classes (folklore-mythology from all over the world, including a lot of native american works) and two media and culture classes. the second set of classes should be very interesting as it is essentially a rhetoric and lit course blended together. this schedule is perfect for me. i am actually teaching the courses i went to school to teach. i did not think i would be able to do this in a foreign country. in short, i am extatic. i am also going to start of literature group with a colleague of mine and we are going to recruit other professors and university students to participate. our goal is to create publishable texts: articles, short stories and poetry. this is also something quite exciting as 1 year ago i never imagined anything like this happening.

as usual, i am quite upbeat about everything. a few weeks ago there was ver bad news from my pops, not a health concern thanfully, and though this put me in a bad mood for a while, you cannot live like that forever.

i will extend an invitation to any and all who would like to visit mexico, but i know that it is extremely unlikely anyone will take advantage of it. understandable. if peaches is still out there, please know that you are also invited. do you have any more hints for me peaches? your identity is as unknown to me as the number of times i have died my hair.

and jimmy d, yes, you are correct. i do need a digital camera. let me get through december and once i start getting paid again in late january i will make an investment.

on a side note, i have thought of unplugging my refrigerator to save money. if the air in the house is as almost as cold as that in the frig, it would be silly not to do so (unless you want to argue that the internal thermostat would automatically stop the motor from coming on if this were indeed the case- you would be wrong bc the freezer portion is also located inside the regular frig part. and as the only thing in the freezer is coffee my friend caro brought me in september, i think this would be ok.).

if any of you have any favorite mark twain short story title you want to share, let me know. i am working on the assignments for my folklore-myth class and want to find some good writers(preferable from the usa and also from the south) to introduce the kids to. if these stories can be found online, well, you just made my job that much easier.

this had better work this time.

Happy Birthday Doughman!

i hope you have a great day and a relaxing weekend. If you find out the news today, or by monday, please let me know (not through the blog, send me an email to will_i_m@hotmail.com).

also, yesterday was my god-daughter´s, alexi natalia chavez rodriguez vega, birthday. she is now the big 1.

here is to you both!

today is the second day of the dead. today is for adults, yesterday was for the children. a celebration of the dead and remembrance of the departed. really, it is a lot more healthy than it might initially appear on the surface. the dead are said to be able to communicate with the living, and this is why there are offerings on graves. to appreciate the dead, the living make offerings of the dead´s favorite things- food, drink, clothing, anything.

i must say that in oaxaca this holiday was a lot stronger. perhaps the people in the city have lost some of their heritage. perhaps they have other things to do. i wont judge this, but i must acknowledge the difference. it is striking.

on a positive note, my papa´s birthday is tomorrow! happy b-day doughman! man, 75 years come and go like a flash don´t they? the last time i saw you, over a year ago, you didn´t look a day over 73, so you´ve got that going for you at least. good to hear you are getting the crops up with little problems. are you playing tennis? shooting?

a positive for me is that i will have a slightly different job next semester. i am going to be teaching bilingual students (their english is comparable with an average high schooler in the states amazingly) in an advanced program. we will do literature, cultural analysis (advertising, film, bias, government and media, propaganda, etc). also, i will be teaching advanced writing and critical thinking skills. in other words, this will be like teaching very high level school kids or low level university students. in short i am really excited. my main supervisor and another friend spoke to the main boss and told her that what i am currently teaching (esl) is not utilizing my training and background. i will know next week what my schedule will look like, but this is something i am very happy about for numerous reasons. i like what i am doing now, but as i have said numerous times, this is not really my future. teaching literature and critical thought courses, on the other hand, is exactly what i want to do.

however, until a contract is signed, this is all just possibility. fun to dream a bit.

after a long wait, i have an address. it is very very long, but here it goes.

ITESM-CCM
William Davis
Departamento de Inglés
Oficinas 2, 3 piso
Calle del Puente 222
Colonia Ejidos de Huipulco
C.P. 14380
México - D.F.


yes, there are 8 lines. i recommend doing it just like that and try to remember the accent marks (although if they are missing, it should not be a problem).

i welcome any and all mail and thank you in advance for it. do tell me when you send it so i can tell the secretary to be on the lookout for me.

ok, off to grade exams. just over two weeks left of class and then final exams! wow.