Teaching in Cuernavaca, Mexico

Hi to all our friends,
I have been here in Cuernavaca for three months now and perhaps it is time to give you all a brief update. First of all, most of the snow was gone by the time I arrived in January. Actually, January was the coldest January in modern history, well actually coldest in 30 years.
I arrived to a very empty house. That was ok because I was in a novel place, and this kept me busy finding food and coffee.
I right away began taking Spanish language classes and soon meet other fellow travellers. Classes were fun and yet somehow I always left feeling very stupid and inarticulate. My goal was to learn to speak like a two year old. Quite a goal, huh?
Leslie came down for a week in January and took Spanish classes also. Teachers at the language school still refer to her as the wizard of languages. My students began arriving in late January and we began classes in February. My students are all great kids with very high learning expectations. They often engage in lively discussions and thoughtful challenges to traditional ways of thinking. Today, for example, we spent time discussing the relative merits of the 'Gini' index, a measure of income distribution within an economy!
In the past three months I have met many great people. My work peers are fun to work with and have interesting lives. For the first time in my life, I actually have an intern to help with my classes. We work well together and are having a great time teaching. We have taken students to remote villages where the local wells are poisoned with lead and arsenic and the water is slowing killing those who cannot afford to buy clean water. Water seems to be a very difficult issue here, who owns potable water? Should they get to charge for that water?
Leslie returned in February to travel with me to the Monarch butterfly sanctuaries in Michoacan. Rains came to the mountains just before we were to arrive at a remote mountain village for our week-end stay. The night before our arrival, the stream beds overflowed and destroyed much of the village and several folks were killed. We were turned back at the town's edge by the military and soon found a safer town with open motel rooms to spend the night. With our luck, we met an enterprising young woman from Vancouver who quickly found an alternate sanctuary for us to visit. So, our quest was complete with an amazing visit to a remote valley full of monarch butterflyies in the highlands near Zitacuara, Michoacan.
Last week-end I travelled to Taxco, a silver mining town with narrow streets that go strait up the mountain. VW bugs and donkeys are the only sanctioned forms of public transportation. In its time, the city was made wealthy by the silver ore beneath the streets. The cathedral and surrounding hotels are public evidence of a wealthier time. Still, silver artisans display their work in every conceivable cranny in town. Last Sunday, I travelled along with most of our students, to Mexico City to see a national futbol game in the Aztec stadium. With a capacity of 105K, this was the location of the 'game of the century' I guess (Germany vs Italy '70). Unfortunately, the stadium was only 20% full and the home team trounced the visiting team 6-0. Maybe another game in April or May with more fans and better competition?
So, thanks for reading, life is good and I miss my family and friends. If you are interested in viewing more photographs of trips and my neighborhood you can go to: http://gallery.me.com/michaelschock
Warm regards,
Mike