You Know You're In Mexico When...

1. As you're walking up the stairs to your room for the night, you see a huge tarantula (see pic below) almost the size of your hand walk slowly out of the shadows and spend the next 10 minutes trying to capture it. (Correction: You spend the next 10 minutes WATCHING others try to catch it :)

2. You are told to keep shoes on at all times inside and outside so you don't accidentally step on a scorpion with bare feet.

3. You're told that a scorpion was recently seen in your own room.

4. In the hour before bed, you actually see not one, but TWO scorpions IN your room (see pics below)...and then you lay your head down to sleep in restful peace. Note: Apparently these scorpions are not deadly-just painful...whew!

5. You're wakened not by birds, but by a deafening chorus of roosters and cows from all parts of the village.

I thought those experiences might bring a smile or tears of fright to some :), but truthfully I have absolutely LOVED my first 24 hours in Mexico! I was greeted with a sign of welcome that all the students had made for me (see pic below). They cannot stop talking about how excited they are to start school and ask us about it everyday, which is evidence of how special Jenny (my co-teacher) made it for them last year and how far some of them have come.

Jenny and I are spending today and tomorrow finishing the setup of the schoolroom and planning for the first few days, and then school starts on Thursday!

Thank you so much for all your prayers! My flights were incredibly smooth, with no trouble in customs or motion sickness.

I'll post pictures of the shelter and the school soon!