Theo Speaks Spanish

Theo is a modest person. He doesn't always like to draw attention to himself. So it was a surprise to most of the parents--and a couple of administrators, too--that Theo actually has learned a lot of Spanish this year. On the next -to-last day of school he gave a presentation for his "Clase Abierta" for parents. The assignment was to integrate themes or bodies of knowledge he had learned throughout the year by using these themes to analyze and present a particular topic.

Theo chose to present on the jaguar. I took a video of the presentation. The light is bad, and I was sitting too close to show his PowerPoint slides (I wanted to be sure to get the audio). So here is Theo speaking Spanish after a year of immersion at Colegio Argentino.

(Obviously I'm a proud father).

Surfing in Sausal (haha that sounds like a magic treehouse book)

Today I went out with the coach to a harder surfing area in Sausal (a city north of Ensenada) with some really nice waves. It was just us two and we got on our boards and went out pretty far. I caught some nice waves, even a 5 footer (which is pretty good considering this was only my 4th time surfing). Anyway I had a really good time and I'll probably will be going again.
Here are some pics, and I hope next time I'll be able to say I caught a wave over 6 feet.

SURFING!! (again)

We went surfing again today. We had a lot of fun, and even improved some.
Here are some pics of the day:

SUCCESS!!!

I know it's been a successful year for this reason: I got 10s on all of my exams! All meaning 6 different subjects and 10 meaning perfect scores! This means that I actually have learned a little Spanish this year. The school year is almost over, and I have taken my last exams. I still have a big project that I have to present in front of parents and students and my teacher Mr. Martín. It's a big part of my part of my grade, but I'm almost done. I'm sure that the next two weeks will go by fast.

Here are a couple of pictures of me at school. You'll see me and Mr. Martín and the Olmec head I made for a different project a couple of months ago.

SURFING!!

Since we arrived in Ensenada, I've been wanting to try surfing. I've been swimming three days a week for the past 10 months so I could become a better swimmer and be more comfortable in the water.

Today we got out to the beach at about 9 a.m. with a this cool surfing instructor who calls himself "The Coach." He had all the equipment for us, including surfboards and wetsuits in various sizes. He and his wife, Americans who have been living in Ensenada for about 15 years, also prepared lunch, hot chocolate, and made a fire on the beach. It was great. We surfed for about 3 hours and had a awesome time, such a good time that we'll be going again next weekend.

We have very few pictures because my mom was surfing too so there was nobody to take pictures, but here are some we got:

Still Having Fun

Our life is Mexico is basically back to normal after a break in action due to swine flu precautions. A couple of school events had to be canceled, but otherwise everything is back to normal. Or, perhaps an intensified "normal" because we feel like we are making up for lost time. Teachers are scrambling to finish up everything before the end of the year, soccer teams are having multiple games on Saturdays, and that sort of thing. For us, it is a very intense time of trying to enjoy all of the friendships we have made here and squeeze every last pleasure out of life in Ensenada before we move back to Denver in July.

To be honest, we won't be able to experience everything in Baja before we leave. We have had an extremely full year, but there is lots to explore here. I think our trips to our local "Michoacana" popsicle and ice cream stand represent our experience well. Everytime we go to Michoacana we try to taste something new -- such as mango, guava, cantalope, strawberry, hibiscus, chile pineapple, and tamarind popsicles (to name just a few) -- but we still haven't come close to tasting every treat. So, we will leave Ensenada with flavors left to try . . . I think that means we will be back to visit before too long.

One of Theo's friends had a birthday in May and we all had a wonderful time at his birthday party. Here are some photos of us at Baja Mar resort celebrating Marco's birthday. The kids tried golfing for the first time and had a blast. Actually, it was one of two birthday parties and a lunada (an evening campfire party) that weekend, so our social calendar has been packed with fun.

BOOKS!!!!!!!!

Who would think that my source of Spanish books is in Burlington, Massachusetts? But, it is. When my Uncle Eric, the superintendent of Burlington schools, came to Mexico he delivered two books in Spanish. They were a gift from Ms. Hayes' class.

Ms. Hayes' class has been commenting on this blog for a really long time. I met with them on Skype and they asked me questions about Mexico. They always have good comments.

Now that schools are closed because of swine flu, and I have lots of free time, I am going to start reading Tuck Everlasting in Spanish (Tuck Para Siempre). This should be more fun than those ENLACE tests (the Mexican national standardized tests).

I'm glad I have something to do other than homework. THANKS!!!

La Paz

On our big Baja trip we stayed for 8 nights in La Paz, in Baja California Sur. There we met up with my uncle Chris, aunt Kaki, and cousin Marco for a relaxing vacation.

We rented a house in the center of town, it was quite big and had a nice view of the ocean. In La Paz, we spent many days going to some cool beaches, along the Sea of Cortez there are some really beautiful beaches and the water is really pretty. The town is very walkable and very pleasant. Along with going to beaches, we explored the town, ate good tacos (and some really great seafood), and had lots of fun hanging out with family.

While we were in La Paz my cousin ruptured his timpanic membrane (membrane inside the ear) and he needed to see a doctor. After looking all over town for an open hospital we finally found one and with me acting as translator we made an appointment, (it only cost about 100 pesos, which is around 8 dollars), we then saw the nurse. Only my cousin, uncle and aunt and I were allowed in and I had to translate everything. The nurse diagnosed him, gave us the medicine we needed to buy, and we were on our way. This was my first important translating job and I think I did pretty well.

We also went down and explored a small town called Todos Santos, we walked around to some artisan shops (not my idea of fun but whatever) and went to a deserted beach.

I really enjoyed our stay in La Paz, it's always fun to travel to new places, and sharing it with a four-year-old who had never been to Mexico before was great.

Here's some pics:

Us eating tacos

When we were in Todos Santos we bought some Mexican wrestling masks for all of us, that's me on the right, and my cousin on the left. We're being super heroes

All of us at the beach

Me, my dad, and Theo at the beach in Todos Santos

Chasing pelicans in Todos Santos

My mom at Todos Santos

Me, Theo, Marco, and random Mexican kid that walked into the picture

Marco and my uncle Chris building a volcano

Our family at the beach

Theo and my mom at the beach

There was no bathtub at the house, only showers, so we had to think of other ways to bathe marco

The Easter Bunny came to Mexico!

Theo and Marco