All is well here in Puebla. Certain things are drastically different from the first couple of weeks, and certain things remain the same.
With this being the 5th week, I continue to love the culture and the food in Mexico. I also continue to be amazed at how family-oriented D`Amicis is. The past week was portfolio night for the elementary school. At first, I was under the impression that each student´s portfolio contained all of his/her projects and activities from the beginning of the year. I was then told that each portfolio contains all of each student´s work since they were in Kindergarten.
Portfolio night at D’Amicis meant that parents would come to the school during the evening to their child's classroom to talk to the teacher and see their child´s progress during the current year and the years prior. By the end of the night, each parent would put a letter that they had written to their child and put it in their child´s portfolio. Some of the letters are quite long and thoughtful.
Also this past week, the Jardin de Niños (kindergarten) students had put up a big ceremony for their grandparents to celebrate Dia del Abuelo month. It was a wonderful ceremony to witness because one wouldn´t see a celebration such as this in North Carolina—or the U.S. in general.
Something that is drastically different between this week and the first couple of weeks is the fact that it is very close to Christmas time. Christmas songs are starting to play on the radio, and decorations are being displayed all throughout the streets, the house, and the school. Physically, it doesn´t feel like Christmas quite yet because I usually don´t get hot during this time of the year. Nevertheless, you can´t beat the feeling of Christmas being ever so near.
One of my favorite things thus far is the preparation for the Christmas ceremony of the elementary classes. Since art is only offered for the high school students, classes from 1st-6th are doing arts and crafts either in TLC or in their own classroom. Students are now doing Christmas crafts such as sewing a gingerbread man or a Christmas tree, and practicing hard for their dance routine. I have been enjoying listening and watching students practice, and sometimes we would even join in. We know most of the dance for the 2nd grade class, and I personally cannot wait to see how the final dance routine would turn out during the ceremony.
Until next time…