We just ended a two week period of unusually warm weather here in Toronto. About 15 to 20 celcius above seasonal average... so it's as if we skipped spring and got straight into summer. The warmest day was last Thursday with a beautiful 26 c.
Tree buds have popped, magnolias and cherry trees are in flower, crocuses and tulips are in full bloom, and I even saw a dandelion! Very bizarre.
The trip is still developing and we are now collecting the balance payments for accommodation and transportation from all our travelling companions. Exciting!!!
I have confirmed my teaching in the little Diego Rivera Preschool in Telchac Puerto - they are very happy to have me back, it feels good. And the school has grown to 3 Kindergarten groups (there were 2 last year). They are sweet kids, it will be fun.
I have also arranged to have lunch with Judy, a fantastic person who inspires me very much. She is the founder of Yucatan Today, and when she retired from the magazine she founded Telchac Education - financing the education of about 70 children of Telchac Puerto. Wonderful initiative which changes the outlook of the village. The power of one!
Judy has friends who own and operate a small music school in Merida, and I will explore the possibility of offering teacher training sessions there. I did try to arrange it for this next trip, but it's not realistic to pull it together without having met them in person. I would also like to sponsor one of the owners to teach a series of classes in Telchac. He has done it on a volunteer basis in the past, and I think that there is a way to finance a simple program for that community. The Yucatan - as all of Mexico - has a very rich musical culture and such a program would help in perpetuating the traditional music of the region. Iam not rich, far from it, but a little money goes a long way in rural Yucatan.
Departure in 5 weeks!!!
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