Two Weeks In
(Originally posted August 2015)
Two weeks ago my family dropped me off at the Madison airport. The last time I went up that same escalator toward security was over ten years ago and I was traveling to Venezuela, an experience that inspired my life in so many ways and kick started my love of Latin American and travel.
I arrived in Guadalajara without any bumps along the way (didn’t know that was possible with airline travel). Fidel, from the school’s human resources department, greeted me and soon we were off in a taxi driving though my new city and to the next phase of my life. The past two weeks have been “filled” with settling in, making new friends and learning my way around the new city (which until recently, I had only seen on Google maps and images).
Step one, I have a place to live. I’m living in a three bedroom, three bathroom house with three patios, just a five minute walk from the school. Since I’ll be sharing with a teacher that has lived here for some time, I haven’t needed to purchase all the household essentials, like pots and pans and a coffee make (vital, I’m telling you). There’s a small corner market at the end of the block and two super markets where I’ve picked up groceries, like coffee, bread, eggs, tortillas, yogurt and roach killer. That spray killer was a necessity after a little confrontation I had my first night. I woke up to a faint flitching sound coming from the open closet. A huge cockroach was hanging out on my favorite dance shoes, mocking me with his swaying antennas. Trust me in that it was big, but this was not the moment for instagramming. Have no fear, my friends, I won that battle…with a plunger. Two weeks later and a couple of sprays around the house, I haven’t spotted any of his friends. I’ve unpacked, connected to wifi and waved at the neighbors. Overall the house is so comfortable, well lit and safe. I’ve lucked out, big time.
The first few days were quiet as I didn’t have many connections started and really had zero on my agenda. My first days included long walks around Parque Colomos and to the historic city center. Parque Colomos is a massive wooded area which contains two 5k run/walk routes, outdoor fitness pavilions with machines and weights, fountains and a pond with ducks, play areas and a horseback riding for kids and picnic areas. It’s a great place to workout since running around neighborhood streets isn’t common here compared to back home. My walking shoes have done laps to el centro and back, learning the roads and historic buildings downtown. I’ll be a great tour guide once I get some visitors, just bring those walking shoes with you because I don’t know the bus system yet.
Those initial days were a little isolated (“Yes, I’d like a table for one,”…”Yup, just one movie ticket”) but now I’ve met the other new teachers and we’ve enjoyed exploring more of the life of the city, night life included. Through Maureen, a teacher at Green, I met Ioana, another teacher new to ASFG and we’ve had a blast checking out our neighborhood and Avenida Chapultepec (think Uptown, times fifty). Through Jorge, a Minneapolis friend, I connected with Claudia who is completing a master’s program here in Guadalajara. She showed me the best place to get ice cream and introduced us to the Sunday evening market at the Expiatorio. I found a “MeetUp” group of both Mexican and international new-to-towners that went for Thai food. Ale, our main gal in HR, has brought us out to some great dancing venues with cumbia and salsa music until all hours. I’ve also been introduced to the taco stand on the corner up the street with delicious late night tacos de asada, pastor and yummmm. Is it crazy that we’re already on a first name basis with the folks at the TaCorner?
Today we started out orientation at the school and the back to school preparation. I got a peak at my new classroom and met more of the school staff. I am so jazzed about this next year both teaching at this top notch school and also about jumping into this historic and cultural city.
