(Note: For those of you reading this blog who are not particularly interested in educational theory and practice, you may want to skip this entry.)

After an incredible four-day long weekend of travel and adventure, going to back to work on Monday was a bit of a shock. The past two days have been composed of a variety of teacher activities. Monday morning I met with David to discuss Tuesday’s test. He explained that all tests at Tec de Monterrey are completed by the students on computers, and are randomly generated from pools of questions created by the teachers. Tuesday’s would draw evenly from two pools – one on each of two units. I suggested that smaller pools (one on each topic within the units) be created, in order to create a more balanced test. David was enthusiastic about the suggestion, so I spent much of the day sorting questions into new pools, writing new questions to add to the pools, and correcting the English in the questions that had already been written.

During class later in the day, David’s (and my) students gave group presentations on a nutrient macromolecule of their choice. I asked the students questions at the end of their presentations, and, as in Canada, I found that these students often presented information that they had looked up and written down but did not really understand. David and I discussed this later, and neither of us are sure as to how it could be prevented, although we agreed that spending more time teaching presentation skills might help. I found out only after the presentations were over that David wanted me to help grade them. I had been paying attention of course, but I would have liked to have known that I was evaluating before seeing the presentations, so that I could have made notes. Thankfully the students were required to hand in a CD with their slides on it, so I was able to review these in order to evaluate the presentations more accurately.

This morning I met with David to discuss the grades for the presentations. He had graded them as well, and he was happy to find that his and my grades agreed with one another (thinking back to the assessment course I took at UBC, I believe this means that the assessment rubric had good validity). After our chat, I finished planning my lesson for tomorrow, then took a lunch and suntanning break before heading back to invigilate the test. This required a sharp eye, as the students all take their tests on their personal laptops but may not use any applications aside from an internet browser, which may only have open the single window that displays the test. The students find out their grade as soon as their test is submitted, and I learned today that, at Tec de Monterrey, any grade below 70% is considered an F. Many students failed the test today. I am curious to see how they do on the final exam.

Sunday morning, we’re strolling toward the Plaza del Revolucion, and we start to notice that literally every child who walks by is carrying a new toy, still in its box. A big toy store sale, perhaps? But just because there’s a sale doesn’t mean everyone will be buying something. So what’s going on here?

Things become clear when we reach the plaza, where some sort of children’s festival is going on, complete with toy giveaways as well as a free performance by the younger, Spanish equivalent of Justin Bieber. It was quite an amusing sight! However, we quickly moved on to our reason for visiting the plaza – enjoying the view from the monument at its center. Mexico City is not as beautiful as Puebla, but it is incredibly expansive, seeming to go on infinitely in all directions.

I personally enjoyed the basement of the monument even more than the viewing deck, as it is home to a museum that that takes you chronologically through Mexico’s revolutionary history from the early 1800s to 1920. The museum displays were entirely in Spanish, but by picking out key words and looking at pictures, we were able to piece together a reasonably accurate interpretation of the information (I checked our version against some websites later on). Like the pyramids, the museum reminded me of how rich learning can be outside the classroom. I think that field trips are most straight forward to organize for social studies teachers, as there are endless historical sites and museums that cater to their subject. However, I want to look for (and take advantage of) opportunities to teach science outside the classroom, as I feel that this makes for memorable and meaningful learning experiences.

Our afternoon was spent aimlessly and enjoyably wandering around the city. My favourite part was quite possibly seeing the locals enjoying the fountain in the park in a way that would be a faux pas back home. Lunch was also a highlight. We decided we were brave enough to try the day’s special menu without recognizing many of the words on it, and it turned out to be delicious! I tried squash flower soup, and though at first I had to ask the waitress in my best possible Spanish whether the flowers are in fact meant to be eaten (they are), I thoroughly enjoyed it.

We had to visit one more museum before we bused back to Puebla – the Museum of Tequila and Mezcal. It was small but interesting, and made me realize how little I know about tequila. Like wine, its flavours and aromas can vary according to the plant species, the growing region, the age, and the fermentation process. The museum displays just a few bottles to give you an idea of the surprising  diversity of this beverage.

I haven’t been to Egypt, so I can’t really compare, but the pyramids of Teotihuacan were absolutely spectacular. Kristina and I braved an early morning taxi ride and two long bus trips to reach the ruins, and they were well worth the effort. To make our visit even better, we were able to meet up with our friends Miranda, Margaret, and Hailey, who are doing the same thing as us but in Queretaro. We found them almost immediately after our arrival, and joined in with their tour group.

The tour was led by a Mexican man who learned his history from his grandfather, who learned it from his grandfather, and so on. He told us the meanings behind the figureheads of the pyramids, why there are pyramids underneath other pyramids, and what life was like in the time they were built. He showed us the plants that grow in the area, and shared knowledge of their traditional uses, from painting to drugs to protection from the opposite sex’s lust. He taught us the proper way to climb the pyramid stairs (weaving like a snake), and told us our names (dependent on our birth dates) in the native tongue, and their meanings. (If you’re curious, mine means “jaguar woman”). All in all, it was a fascinating, fun, and informative tour, and it reminded me of the high educational value of both field trips and guest speakers. I am interested to learn more about the natives of our own country, and the knowledge and culture they have to share.

The end of the tour left us at the Pyramid of the Sun, the largest pyramid in the city of Teotihuacan, which we climbed with excitement that masked our physical strain (my legs are still sore two days later). The five of us took time at the top to enjoy the view, the sunshine, and one another’s companionship, before making our way down and scaling the smaller Pyramid of the Moon next. I cannot think of a better way to have spent the day than with these lovely ladies in this place rich with history.

Before I describe the amazing adventure we had this evening in downtown Puebla, I should note that we spent all morning and afternoon working. I am teaching a short unit on the ecological impact of chemical processes next week, so I spent time researching the topic and preparing notes and activities. As with the previous topic, I was given a set of PowerPoint slides, and though they are helpful, I cannot use them as given. The information presented in them is severely disorganized and sometimes incorrect. I wonder whether this is more due to the writer’s lack of expertise on the topic, or to their lack of English language skills. Nevertheless, I appreciate the slides as a starting point for my lesson planning.

Downtown Puebla held many rewards for our hard work! First, as we wandered from the zocalo towards the Capilla del Rosario, which Kristina re-christened the “Sparkly Church,” we walked past a pet store and did a double take when we saw a large iguana sitting atop a cage containing two toucans! I can’t recall having ever seen a toucan in real life before, so I was quite excited about this. Unfortunately photos of them were not permitted. As we continued along our way, we stumbled upon a hidden gem of a bakery. It didn’t look like much, but it smelled incredible, and Kristina and I soon found ourselves purchasing a large bag of delicious sweet breads and pastries for only about four dollars Canadian.

Despite our frequent side-tracking, we did make it to the Sparkly Church, and it certainly lives up to its name. I would try to describe it, but I really think the photograph below says more than I ever could.

We peeked inside several other churches as we continued to explore the city, but what really took our breath away was the view of their towers from the rooftop terrace of the Museo Amparo. This spectacular place was yet another lovely surprise for us, as we had gone to the museum only to look at its exhibits, but were asked to wait on the terrace for a few minutes while a piece of art was being moved. Needless to say, we spent much more than a few minutes on the terrace once we discovered what it had to offer. In addition to an incredible view, this included comfortable white rocking chairs, lime trees and other flourishing flora, sunshine, and a chorus of ringing church bells coming from a distance. Add in some great conversation with a friend, and you have one of those wonderful moments in life when you are overwhelmed by your blessings and cannot think of anything in life of which you are in want. We stayed until the sun set, basking in the wondrous surprises that life holds in store.

Puebla is definitely not a tourist destination. Everywhere we go, we attract stares, questions, and even requests for photographs taken with us. This and the fact that we have seen nothing but Mexican faces since our arrival confirm that the people of Puebla are not accustomed to foreign visitors. Of course, this does not detract from their impressive degree of friendliness and good manners.

Anyways, as Puebla is somewhat lacking in tourist attractions, we have taken to asking the locals for recommendations of things to do. We explored one such recommendation today, and it blew our expectations out of the water! We went to Agua Azul, expecting a water-slide park something like the ones we have back home. What we discovered was a variety of slides and pools nestled within a gorgeous nature park, full of brightly-coloured flowers, palm trees, pine trees, and birds singing tropical songs.

The park was packed with locals enjoying their long weekend. After we’d wandered through the park and settled on a grassy area in which to set up camp, I left Kristina to bask in the sun and went to try out the slides. First, though, I had to find a washroom, which turned out to be a little adventure all on its own. It took me a few minutes of observation to understand that in order to flush, you had to fill a bucket with water and pour it down the toilet. Then the toilets themselves turned out to be fairly disgusting, but I had to go! This was a strong reminder of how spoiled I am by the level of sanitation back home.

The slides provided a great adrenaline rush as they whipped you through dark tunnels and down steep declines. The park also had a rope swing, a tire swing, and a long slack-line across the largest pool. While I was enjoying the slides, I inadvertently made friends with an adorable group of young Pueblans, around 5 to 12 years old. They were fascinated with me and my lack of Spanish, and while the youngest was content just chattering away in Spanish and giving me big smiles, the eldest was very determined to use the little English he knew in order to communicate as much as possible. He told me (with much effort) that he is going to move to the United States when he grows up. He seemed very proud of this. I wonder if it’s a common dream among the people here. As I moved around the park to try different slides, the boy followed me and continued to chat. At one point he asked if I like the weather here. I meant to say (in Spanish) that I liked it very much, but I mixed up my words and instead said that I liked him very much. This resulted in a deep blush on his face, followed by a pause and the response, in broken English, that he also likes me very much. I soon said “adios” and went back to find Kristina, and I’m almost certain that my young friend went right back to his friends to tell them of his foreign encounter.

For dinner we walked to the mall and had Mexican mall food. It tasted like… Mexican mall food. I don’t think we’ll be eating there again. However, we have made a list of Pueblan and Mexican specialties, and we are going to try to taste them all by the end of our trip! Wish us luck!

Ice cream, fruit, candy, nuts, chicken, you name it, it can be purchased covered in ground chili peppers. The people of Puebla love their chilis! This morning we took a bus to campus earlier than usual to try a coffee shop there and do some work before Kristina’s 10 am class. While we were paying, I picked up a small candy out of curiosity, and the man working there gave us each one to try, free of charge. They turned out to be dried strawberries covered in ground chilis and sugar. Maybe it’s an acquired taste, because the two of us both thought it was quite strange, bordering on disgusting. I’m glad I tried it though, just for the experience!

Instead of using the office, Kristina and I spent much of the day working in the sun at a picnic table. I think sometimes we almost blend in, but then we give ourselves away by putting on sunscreen and speaking in English. At lunchtime, we took turns going to buy lunch so that the other person could watch our things. While I waited for my food to be prepared (fresh fruit smoothie and a salad), I struck up a conversation with a young man standing nearby. He was, as with everyone we’ve encountered here, extremely friendly, and we spent several minutes chatting even after our food was ready. When we said goodbye, he caught me off-guard with a big smack on the cheek. Of course, this is standard custom here, but it is usually more of a cheek-to-cheek contact with a fake kiss sound, whereas this was a genuine lip-to-cheek kiss. I think I was blushing for the next fifteen minutes, but I’m sure he thought nothing of it. It’s an interesting cultural difference.

In the afternoon, we observed a chemistry class taught in Spanish. It was the first class we observed rather than taught, and it was quite interesting. On the plus side, the students seemed to like the teacher, and vice versa. The teacher was also very organized and seemed to know the material well. Further, at the end of the class, he played an engaging video clip for the students. However, besides the video, the entire class was teacher-centered, and there was no portion of the class during which students were engaged in discussion or in writing anything besides notes. I found this somewhat surprising, especially for a well-reputed teacher in a well-reputed school, but it also helps me see more clearly why the teachers we are working with are eager to hear our ideas. I think that they realize there is something lacking in their current approach to teaching, and they are, like all good teachers, open to improving their practice.

In my own class, I taught about the structure of macronutrient molecules. I gave the students plasticine and had them make primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary proteins. When I handed out the plasticine, the students thought it was a gift for Children’s Day, which happens to be today. I hadn’t realized how well my planned activity suited the occasion, but I’m happy with the way it turned out (and I did let them keep the plasticine as a gift). Some students refused the gift, claiming they are not children but adults. When I explained that they had to take one anyways, because we were going to use it to learn, they were thoroughly surprised. I don’t think they are accustomed to kinesthetic learning activities. However, when I asked some students at the end of the class whether they felt they had learned the topic well using the plasticine, they all said they had. Once again, I thoroughly enjoyed teaching the class.

In the evening, we went on the biggest Ferris wheel in North America – the Star of Puebla. It’s a 30-minute ride in a spacious cabin in which they play Spanish elevator music. You have a wonderful view of the city. Afterward we wandered through the mall for a bit and ended up seeing Hombre-Arana 2 (in English with Spanish subtitles). During the movie we enjoyed some popcorn, coated in – you guessed it – ground chilis!

The highlight of my morning was ordering coffee. I was able to get through the whole process without having to say “no hablo espanol!” I had una cafe caramel fria con leche and remembered to use por favor and gracias. I accomplished the same feat at lunch. Not bad for knowing only hola a few days ago! I am really excited to see how much Spanish I can learn in the three weeks I’m here.

I spent the majority of the day working in the office that Kristina and I share. As you can see, it is very clean, white, and spacious, which pretty much sums up the entire campus (except the grass fields, which are green, but still relatively clean and quite spacious). I have plenty of work to do, including planning lessons and creating assessment tools. Nevertheless, Kristina and I were able to take a lovely lunch break out in the sunshine, first enjoying some delicious mango-pina-coco smoothies at a picnic table, and then lounging on the grass, resulting in our first sunburns of the trip (tomorrow we will take more care to put on sunscreen!).

Teaching was certainly another highlight of my day. The students and I all enjoyed the lesson. They were especially engaged when I told stories, such as the tale of the Houdini’s death (thanks for that one, Dad!), that related to the content. David was very happy with the lesson as well. I am amazed at how advanced the students here are. The material that these 16- and 17-year-olds are learning is at a university level, and they pick up concepts very quickly. I am also impressed with how hard they work during class. Nearly all the students were on-task whenever I gave them something to work on, and those who finished earlier than others quickly moved on to doing homework from other classes. However, I do not want to jump to any hasty conclusions comparing Mexican students to Canadian students. I think the fact that Tec de Monterrey is an expensive private school likely plays a large role in the high levels of intrinsic motivation and academic proficiency that I see in these students. Teaching here is a different experience than teaching in a BC public school – neither better nor worse, but definitely different.

Today was our first day on the beautiful Tec de Monterrey campus, and the day was a whirlwind of introductions to staff, students, buildings, policies, and our new roles as Tec de Monterrey interns. Kristina and I were each assigned to a chemistry professor to work with, and we discovered that in our respective classes we will both be teaching a short unit on macromolecules, including proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates. We met our students today, and we start teaching tomorrow. If Tec de Monterrey will be hosting more teacher candidates in the future, I would suggest that they give the teacher candidates advance notice of the topics they’ll be teaching, as I feel very pressed for preparation time.

That being said, everyone here is extremely friendly and helpful. Multiple staff members have left us with phone numbers and the insistence that we call them if we need anything. In fact, the people of Puebla, in general, seem to be very friendly and polite. Everyone smiles and says hola or buenos dias when they pass one another – stranger or not – on the street. People always seem to be opening doors for us, and they are very patient with us as we try to express ourselves in extremely limited Spanish. For example, when we went out to try some authentic Mexican tacos (which, as you may note from the photo, are completely void of vegetables), the servers spent several minutes helping us distinguish between maiz and harina tortillas, giving us their recommendations, and warning us which sauces are picante. The professor I am working with, David, asked what the people of Vancouver are like, and when I told him how the people of Puebla have impressed me, he was thoroughly surprised to hear that we do not have the same mannerisms in Canada.

David is eager to collaborate with me and hear my ideas on teaching. He is open to all of my suggestions, and seems to trust my judgement wholeheartedly, which is both encouraging and a little surprising. After all, I am not a certified teacher yet. I was provided with PowerPoint presentations for the lessons I am teaching over the next two classes, which is somewhat helpful, but the presentations need extensive editing, as they are extremely content-heavy, have few visuals, and seem to leave no room for learning activities. To be fair, I do not know whether the professors here typically use such presentations to teach, but nevertheless I am excited to bring to Tec de Monterrey some of the pedagogical approaches I’ve learned at UBC. As a simple hook for tomorrow’s lesson on the functions of proteins, I‘ll be having the students savour a piece of bread in order to experience some enzymatic action (the breakdown of carbohydrates by amylase). Then, after going over the three main functions of proteins using some culturally relevant analogies based on my Puebla explorations from yesterday, I will have the students explore some of the effects of missing or dysfunctional proteins (for example, albinism, lactose intolerance, and sickle cell anemia). I’m interested to see how the students react to my teaching style. We shall see!

The more time that passes, the more obvious it becomes that learning Spanish would have been an extremely useful endeavor prior to this trip. Nevertheless, I’m sure that I will be learning plenty as I go! The people of Puebla, in general, seem to know very little English, making Puebla a perfect place to pick up Spanish. First thing this morning, for example, a smiling man at the coffee shop helped me distinguish between cafe fria and cafe caliente. Later, thanks to some miming on my part, and plenty of patience on the part of the Wal-Mart employee, I was able to find some huevos (eggs), which were hiding from me by not being in a refrigerator.

Although we were grocery shopping in Wal-Mart, I still felt that it was an experience authentically poblanos (Pueblan). After all, who knew that Campbell’s made canned tortilla soup? Kristina and I quickly agreed that the produce section, specifically the pile of guavas, was the first good smell of the many new scents we’ve encountered since arriving in Puebla, and we were even feeling adventurous enough to buy a cactus leaf! We will have to look into how to properly eat it…

Our next adventure was to take a cab to the main square, or zocalo, of the city. Apparently Mexican cabs do not have any seat belts, which I suppose makes sense when you consider how many people just ride around in truck beds, but we are still in one piece nonetheless. The zocalo was a bustle of balloons, clowns, music, and soapbox speakers, centered by a fountain and surrounded by colourful buildings.

Although there was no special event or occasion going on, the square was incredibly busy. There were many families with young children, many of whom had their faces painted, and every other person seemed to be enjoying some ice cream coated in ground chilies, a treat I sampled but wasn’t partial to.

Next to the square is a beautiful cathedral, which brought me back to my European travels. However, it has a Mexican touch – the center archway is decorated with an amazing piece of art made entirely of cactus leaves. We couldn’t take photos inside the building, but it was absolutely incredible, from the numerous statues to (my personal favourite) the giant organ pipes.

Continuing to explore, we viewed the fascinating frescas of the Casa del Dean, the oldest house in Mexico, bought some freshly made churros, and wandered the open-air markets, which feature everything from antiques to jewelry to hand-painted dishes. We finished off our little adventure by trying mole poblanos, a Pueblan specialty of shredded chicken in a spicy dark chocolate and nut sauce, in a restaurant overlooking the square.

I’m so glad we had the day to explore Puebla before we begin our duties tomorrow, whatever those may be. I feel at least a little more prepared now that I have practiced handling the language barrier and have seen experienced some of the culture in this new place. Plus it was just lovely to be out in the sunshine!

I am typing this post in my Tec de Monterrey dorm room, so after taking three flights, one of which we were unaware until this morning, Kristina and I have reached our destination! Kristina is a wonderful traveling companion, and though it was a long day, it was an enjoyable one. We exchanged traveling stories, taught each other games, and even practiced our French a bit.

We did almost lose each other at one point, though. When we were boarding the flight from Houston to Puebla, I was allowed through, but Kristina, right behind me, was held back. Apparently they had filled the plane’s tanks with more fuel than usual and were concerned about exceeding the weight restriction, so I was the last passenger allowed to board. For several minutes it seemed as if I would be required to fly to Puebla without my traveling buddy, who in turn would be forced to remain in Houston until the following day. Thankfully, however, there were several small children on the plane, so in the end it was determined that the weight restriction would not be exceeded if Kristina and I boarded together as scheduled. What a relief!

Upon arriving in Puebla, we were met by Paco, a friendly young gentleman who drove us to our temporary home and showed us the surrounding shops, including Wal-Mart and Starbucks (Puebla is much more commercialized than I expected). He also introduced us to the two security guards who monitor the entrance of the residence building in which we’re staying. Though everyone we encountered in the building seemed very friendly, it quickly became clear that we stick out like a sore thumb here – if our appearance does not bring us enough attention, our lack of Spanish vocabulary certainly does. It will be interesting to see how this translates into the classroom!