Sprucing Up the Landscape in Huatulco 2015

Something is underway in the downtown centre park.  I'd always thought it looked it pretty good but it's getting a facelift.  Half of it has been blocked off by a big white screen for a while.    

Just a quick peek behind the scenes.

  

The job is scheduled to finish in late November, well before Christmas.

 The amphitheater at Santa Cruz is undergoing some repairs.  Notice anything missing?  All of those white cloth sails have been taken down.  They look great but the years of sun, salt and seasonal tropical storms have taken their toll.  It's going to be great to see this spot all spruced aagain before Christmas.



A week later, it's looking better already with a fresh paint job.

 The upcoming pedestrian arcade looks ready to go.  The only thing missing are the expected shops, galleries and restaurants.



There's even a sweet new bus stop ready to drop people off at the downtown entrance.  Check out the ecologically friendly night lamp posts.  This will be up and running in no time.

Work continues at our newest building at UMAR.

Check out the new window and skylight.      

Moving earth at UMAR Huatulco

 

I don't know what's coming next but we have some massive construction coming our way here at UMAR Huatulco.   I pass the site every day checking out the development.     

 



 

It's already hard to picture but this site started as a hill.

 



 

Work continues across the street as men complete a roof over our new basketball court.  By the time I return from sabbatical, UMAR will be an entirely different world.

A New World

The new addition to the Centro de Idiomas building was completed this summer.  For the first time ever, all of the language teachers can be found under the same roof.  On the left, Teresa explains that the new offices would be allocated by lottery.  Naturally, everyone wanted one in the new place and the suspense was palpable as Monika read out the list of winners.

 

I almost went backwards down the new stairs to the first floor, trying to get everyone in the same shot.

Here's my new place.  All ready to move in.

There's Rowena, the happy resident of number 21 and me in front of 23.  Rowena insisted on taking two pictures of me but the second one was even goofier.  Some people just aren't photogenic.

There's the view I enjoyed from the old office.  It was nice seeing the entire campus walk by but I love my new place.  It's so spacious.  I've acquired a lot of teaching materials since I've arrived and it's so great to have more room.

On the same week, courtesy of UMAR's own architect and his staff, we received this beautiful solidly crafted sign board specifically for our movie nights now known as Cinemapocolipsis: Cultural Popular de Ingles.  It really catches the eye and attendance for movies has increased.  A huge thank you to the men who designed and created it.  It was their own idea to help promote education.  They're great guys and they do so much more than their job descriptions.     

Compare the solidly constructed new board to the old one I slapped together with a refrigerator box and scrap wood.  Sure, the old one had charm but the afternoon sea breeze tended to knock it into the woods.

It's not just me.  Enthusiasm among students and staff is high this year.   

UMAR Huatulco definitely rocks and keeps getting better.  This semester, thaks to Rebecca, we even have a new online student newspaper that is off to a great start.  Check it out and keep checking back.

http://umarbeats.wordpress.com/