Friday

Well the day got brighter as we all met at the Bolerama. Everyone had a good time and many parents showed up as well. Afterward, the kids went home with their families. It was a very nice night all together. Saturday we are meeting at Christian's (Kayla) house in a gated community of GDL for the Goodbye meal. All the families will be there and we'll be able to sit back ad discuss how the hosting went for them. They have hired a vendor to come and make tacos for us at the party. YUMMMMMM!!!! At 5:00pm we'll head to the Chivas game. Again, we have many adults joining us so our girls will be protected in the porra. No danger just a bunch of guys who will want to hit on the Blonde gringas :) After the game it's off for pizzas and early to the airport tomorrow. Most will have to get up at 4:00-5:00am.

BTW: we'll be back at 4:16pm flight DL1830

The photos from bowling aren't loading so maybe later

Friday

Today has been a sad and happy day! We just came from the goodbye party with "tortas ahogadas". These are sandwiches that are drenched in sauce. We had the choice of straight tomatoe sauce, hot sauce or a combo of both. I´ll try to post some things tomorrow if there is time, otherwise this may be my last entry this year. I hope that you have enjoyed reading about the trip. :)

Roberto

Friday

Today we are a little sad. It is the last day here at the school. They have treated us very but very good. It is incredible the support that this school has given us during our stay. We have our last Spanish class and our last class presentations today. Also, the kids have an early release day. Afterward they will be with their families until we get together again tonight. As of now we'll be heading out to go bowling. Plans may change if we can find a club that is for all ages and does nor require alcohol purchases. We'll see.

Tomorrow is the Goodbye Party and the Chivas soccer Game. The kids have been working hard to learn the chants that are done at the game. They are really excited about being in the Porra (If you ever watch a European or Mexican soccer match, this is the area with the people jumping and singing)

I'll try to include some photos later

Thursday

Today was a very fun day for the kids and for us (Mr. Raymond and I). We met at school in the morning and then headed to a resort called Roca Azul with the 9th graders. This was going to help a lot with getting those kids interested in the trip and wanting to stay at the school. We got back by the end of the school day and then it was each kid going home with their family. Everyone will have a different story when the kids get to school today.

Here are some photos of the day. A look at lake Chapala, chicken fighting,Posing, Jenna and Hannah at the Salon (Their mom spoils them so much:)

Wednesday

Well, the kids had a great time in Tlaquepaque. The food was great!(Photos to come). My experience was incredible. I actually got to play with some of the members of a group called "The Best Team of the Century", Former members of Chivas who among them have 8 of the 11 championships in the Mexican League. I am still flying high. We played at the Chivas Club where the current team trains and we played on one of their fields. We even wore their practice uniforms. I held my own in the game and they invited me afterward to eat and hang out with them. After that one of the guys gave me his tickets to last night's Chivas game. Each member of the "campeonisimos" as they're called has a lifetime ticket to the Chivas games. I also was invited back to play with them anytime I am here in GDL. That's a pretty big deal because they constantly have people show up and try to get autographs and get in with them. It doesn't happen. I was lucky enough to have Kelly's (Leti)"dad"(Luis) get me in. His Godfather is one of the Campeonisimos and in fact Luis also plays with the team when they travel. Even in their 60s and 70s they still are playing strong.

Arriba y a la derecha

Here´s some more photos. Downtown by the symbol of GDL, dancing at the Welcome party, in one of the carriages, giving a presentation, and "arriba y a la derecha" (an inside joke for the Guad Squad)

Photos from Emma´s parties

You can see the cake, the mariachi and Emma with cake :) It´s tradition to give the birthday girl/guy the first bite. You can´t use your hands or a fork and it must be taken dirctly from the cake. Of course as soon as you are close, someone pushes down on the back of your head. :) It´s fun!

Wed

Wednesday morning began with our debriefing sessions as always. All of the kids are telling us that they are having a great time. Last night some went to the movies and others went shopping. Some did homework and some took long naps. Today is Ash Wednesday so some of the kids went down to the basketball court where there was a ceremony with crosses put on their foreheads. As you can see, the kids are given some time to do homework and many are taking advantage of it. Today also, we are giving the kids some hours on the computers. Also, the middle school is beginning a social event where they concentrate on cultural parts of their country. The students learn about cooking, indiginous arts, indiginous dances, sports, etc. (in the photo they are learning how to make cookies from scratch- "deliciosas"-they gave me one:)

Later, the kids will be heading outside the school to check out the "Tianguis", a market that springs up every Wednesday right outside the school. Very cool.

After school the kids will go to Tlaquepaque where they will shop, see the sights, and eat at a very nice restaurant that has a mariachi band on site that will serenade them.

Speaking about mariachis, Emma´s family hired a mariachi band to help them celebrate her birthday. (photos to follow) Pretty Awesome.

And speaking of Awesome, I have been invited to work out with a local soccer group made up of some of the past chapions from the CHIVAS soccer team. The group consists of members that have between 5 and 8 champioship rings. (Chivas in total has 11 championships;more than any other team. It would be like playing baseball with Maris, Ruth, etc. I am extremely excited!!!! (Of course I will look like a fool trying to keep up with them but no matter.) [Photos to come]

Tuesday photos

Some photos of the CIATEJ and a little of the down time.

Hola!!!

Today we again gave some presentations in classes and then all brothers and sisters went to CIATEJ. This is the first time one of my groups have ever gone there so I wasn't sure what to expect. We learned that CIATEJ is a branch of the Department of Science and Technology of Mexico. One of the men working at the facility in GDL is a Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry. This facility works in three different areas: agricultural foods and derivatives (the development of new and improved food products i.e powdered forms, fragrances,better plant resistance, plant based medicines etc; biofuels; bettering the environment. Although it wasn't the most exciting of our tours, it gave the kids a look at this field (and some of the kids in the group both from GDL and Sibley are interested) and it is a source of pride for Guadalajara to have someone so prominent in his field in the facility which is the only one in Mexico that is certified by the FDA in the United States. That means that any new product developed in Mexico must pass through this facility before the FDA will approve its export to the United States. BTW: Dr.Molina, the Nobel Prize Laureate, has been invited to work with the Obama team working on environmental initiatives in the U.S. They are very proud of him here and for his being chosen.

In the afternoon all went off to be with their families. I'll post some Photos soon.

Tuesday

Once again an early start. The kids are starting to get used to it. First hour today, all the kids went into 9th grade classes to give their presentations and answer questions. 9th grade is a pivotal year for the school because the parents need to decide if they will continue sending the kids into the high schol. Since this trip is a huge selling point, it was important that our kids had a chance to talk to them.Once again, our kids have been awesome. RJ has become famous in the school. Everyone wants to talk to and get pictures taken with the Chico Alto (Tall Boy) :) After that the kids had Spanish class where they are learning some of the chants that are done at the soccer games. We're lucky to get Chivas vs Pachuca on Saturday. YEA! Also today we are going to the Scientific Investigation Laboratories of the state of Jalisco. Since many of our kids are interested in the sciences, we thought this might be fun to take a tour. Today is a free day. All the kids will be with their families tonight and many of our kids will have time to do homework.

Here's a picture of some kindergartners at the school. So cute!!!! Uniforms are required for elementary and middle schoolers

Monday

Today, during school, the kids had some time to do homework. They also gave presentations to some of the high school classes. After school we went to the historic downtown. We first ate in the Sirloin Buffet. (like Old Country Buffet)Then we took a tour of some of the sites. We also got to experience the art of bargaining in the largest open air market in Mexico. Pretty impressive. We finished the evening taking a carriage ride through downtown. We got back to school about 10:00pm and then it was off with their families.

Monday

Today we entered school at 7:30am. Many of the kids had to get up earlier because they don´t live close to school. The school had banners all over announcing our arrival. Right after the day started there was an assembly for the high school where they did a ceremony with the flag and they also presented us. We gave a short powerpoint presentation about Minnesota as well. Afterwards we debriefed from the weekend and we gave the kids some time in the computer lab. We also toured the school and ate some awesome food in the cafeteria "lonches, chilaquiles, tortas etc."
This afternoon we´ll go to the historic downtown. Lots of stuff to see and souvenirs to buy. The largest open air market is here in GDL! We´ll get back some time after 10:00pm adn get ready for tomorrow. TLAQUEPAQUE!

San Blas

The beach was awesome! the kids had a great time and the seafood was about as fresh as you can get. (by the way I don´t think that we´ve seen a cloud yet) Some of us were lucky enough to eat oysters that were brought and halved within hours of them being taken from the sea. We also ate fish cooked over firewood and various varieties of cooked shrimp. I think that I was eating for at least 4 hours straight. It was soooooooo good!We left about 5:30 before the No See ums adn the mosquitos came out in force. and 4 hours back to the school. We got back about 10:00 and everyone to their houses. I think most of collapsed on our beds as soon as we got home.

Sunday

Well, most of us didn´t get any sleep before 4:ooam hit but oh well. Today we went to San Blas, a beach town not far from Manzanillo. But first we went to a park preserve with mangroves and crocodiles. each tour in the preserve consisted of a 40 minute boat ride through the mangroves and then a walking tour where some of the crocodiles as well as other animals were housed. Kids who went on the biolgy field trip last summer helped with some of the info about mangroves. The nature was beautiful. By the way, the trip was about 4 hours both ways. Again, the kids were great! We left the the preserve about 10:30am and it felt like it was 6:00pm I haven´t been awake so long for a while :) We then drove about 15 minutes to the beach of San Blas

Saturday

We got up fairly early after the long night and then we went to the welcome luncheon. The food was amazing , fresh steaks and "chorizo" off the grill with beans, guacamole, tortillas, "queso fundido", yuca, cucumbers and more! Afterwards a dj was hired and we danced until 10:00pm. The kids even learned some new line dances. One of them modeled after the Mexican version of the Achy Breaky Heart. The kids then went with their families and tried to get home fairly early (which didn´t work very well with most of us) We tried to get home early because Sunday we were to meet at school at 4:00am for the day trip to the beach.

Friday

"HOLA!!!!!!"

Well, we´ve been going non stop since the plane landed. The flight was smooth and the kids were great. The pink shirts were a great idea regarding keeping track of everyone. We got to our houses about 11:30 and most were up until 2:00AM or later.

Hola!!!

We're about to get ready. Soon there will be commentary and photos so you'll be able to follow along as we are hosted by Colegio Mexico Nuevo en Guadalajara, Mexico