Teaching in Monterrey

Well, we decided that even though we are just starting our blog, we should tell a little about Monterrey and what we have been doing here. I'll let Mark take care of explaining Cemex and how concrete is made . . .

After many interviews, I accepted an extremely lucrative offer teaching at the American Institute of Monterrey. It is a private school here with all the instruction in English, a perfect job for one who is a native English speaker learning Spanish. (On a side note, it should have been called the Mexican-British-Canadian Institute of Monterrey, since most of the teachers speak a combination of the three.) After teaching special education for 2 1/2 years I changed roles and had my own class of 24 six year olds. It was great to see teaching from a different perspective and I was able to use a lot of my special ed. background with several of my students. I taught them lots of high-quality American words, like backpack (instead of satchel) and booger. I did have to get used to the students calling me "Teacher Sarah" instead of something ridiculous like Mrs. Tanner or something. This "Teacher" calling is very common here, but foreign to me! I had great students and it was a fun experience. All the other teachers in my grade are native Spanish speakers, so I have to say that my students were speaking gooder English than the rest of the classes. (Yes, proud I know). Anywho it was good way to get adjusted to the culture and people here. I will not be returning next year, due to the fact that I now have my own Mexican that needs a lot of teaching!

Here are the students at their best!

They were all great kids and tons of fun!