Just outside of Huatulco is a little place called Rio Copalita that features an iguanarium for tourists. I’ve considered stopping in some time to have a splash in their cool little river on the way to Barra de la Cruz but, as for the iguanarium, I often feel I work in one. They are everywhere on campus. Behind our language lab, this preening cactus is ready for a close-up. They really take care of students and staff here at UMAR. I’ve been too busy to hear anything about the swine flu vaccination being available already and I probably wouldn’t have had time to line up at the hospital for my shot anyways. I stepped out of my class a few weeks ago and there it was, waiting for me. They brought the flu vaccination to us.
Nobody likes needles but everyone stepped up. Neglecting the shot isn’t just a matter of personal risk. If you catch the flu, you can pass it on to others. My trick is to just look away. If I watch, my arm will stiffen.
It’s a friendly cooperative atmosphere. Theresa, one of our English teachers, got a flat on her lunch break. Within minutes, she found herself surrounded by helpful and willing assistants.
It’s a small community here. I finally found a little rock ‘n’ roll cafe, La Impudenta Patata Cafe, I’ve been looking for. Surprise, there is one of my best students working on a slow night. It’s a groovy little place in Sector J, near Infonavit. It was just me and Alexis on the school night but by Friday, people were spilling on to the street and it was standing room only for latecomers. This last pic is relatively early on a Friday night. I had no idea Teacher’s Day was last week but a hard working student didn’t forget. Nice surprise. It was a nice coffee mug filled with chocolate.
Life is full of surprises here. Most of them are good and some are even delicious.
Three weeks ago, my life of endless slacking finally came to an abrupt and overdue stop. I forced myself out of bed one morning well before the usual good and ready feeling arrived and it has been non-stop ever since. I was on the clock again.
I've been way too busy to update this blog. I tried yesterday on my lunch hour but it was down. All Blogger blogs were off the air. Hopefully I can connect today. Bad enough if this illustrated journal disappears off the internet but what about "PCL Linkdump", "Cosmobells" or "Data Junkie"? Those are blogs that really matter.
Emails? Hardly. I'm afraid I've lost touch permanently with some fun and interesting people I've met along the road. I've also had to bail on several social events in order to preserve my strength. I would have liked to join in the fun but I knew I'd be heading for burnout if I pushed myself any harder. From Crucecita to Pochutla by cheap bus, to Puerto Angel by camionetta and on foot the rest of the way to the local UMAR, the oldest and biggest of three Oaxacan oceanside universities. They even have a pool.
Puerto Angel is so hilly. It was a long hot climb but I made it to campus on time. A few minor details had been forgotten but the people concerned were quite friendly and cooperative and didn't throw up barricades. They just said to bring the missing items to the administrators at my own UMAR in Huatulco. I met only one man who spoke English so I didn't know how well things were going until I found myself officially employed. Photocopy machines all over campus had been dying of heat strokes and they wanted triplicates of something or another so I had an hour to explore the hilly campus.
Finally they said I could go and wouldn't need to come back which might have been good or bad. For all I knew, I'd messed up the application process so badly, it was pointless to go back because the cause had been lost. Ah, worst case scenarios. They rarely happen but I like to prepare.
I took a lunch break down at the beach. Had a 5 minute splash after the waitress took my order. That's probably my last visit to Puerto Angel for a while. I finally got around to the sea wall walk from Playa Panteon, where all the snorkeling tours embark, to the main one with the wharf.
There's a little video to commemorate the day, music courtesy of the Cryptones, tapped off with a peek at Dr. Simi, the pharmaceutical mascot, dancing up a storm in Pochutla across the street from the bus station.
I made it back to Huatulco in time to take over my first class. It felt good to be a productive member of society again.
From then on, it's been hectic. My lunch breaks have been spent racing to different offices for various essential documentation or catching up with the new game as I'm coming into class in the latter third of the semester. Only once did I make it to the beach at lunch hour and I was running a fever that day. I couldn't let it stop me. Sometimes exercise is a better cure than bed rest. Had a great splash at Santa Cruz, cycled back to work, popped a couple of Tylenol before bed and woke up tired but less feverish.
I think all the daily rush business is just about behind me now. I feel settled in and almost organized. This a great place to be. The atmosphere on campus is very upbeat. Students, support staff and teachers all seem quite happy. Some of the teachers I work with have been here several years which says a lot in this high turnover business.
