I just heard back from the Telchac Education coordinator - she is supporting my teaching project and will be meeting with the principal of the Telchac school this coming Wednesday. I am crossing my fingers and my toes...
Telchac is a small fishing village on the Gulf of Mexico, simple, rustic and tranquil. There are two small schools in the village, one for G1 to G6, and the other for G7 and G8. If this works, we will book the big house since it is walking distance to the village. It is a huge property, but the owner is renting is to us for much less than her regular price and it ends up being the same price as a two bedroom house along the coast. So it looks like we're back to the original plan after all !
Here in Toronto the weather is cooling down and school begins tomorrow. I pulled out some fall clothes for the kids and myself, and realised that I will have to select the summer clothes that we will bring to Mexico instead of putting it all in our usual seasonal storage bins. I really want to keep our luggage to a minimum though, it makes it much more simple to travel although we have to do laundry more often.
Hey, this means that I am starting to pack the suitcases! Slowly but surely!
Somewhere between Izamal and Sudzal, Yucatan.
Monday, September 6, 2010
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Oh my... I am feeling the anxiety and we're leaving in what... 10 weeks? TEN WEEKS !!!!!
Considering all the things we still have to do (which I take all on my own shoulders of course because I do have a big tendency to be my own worst enemy...), ten weeks is not very much time. I will have to manage the preparation of the house for the sub-let by asking for some help for a change... and everything else will be much easier.
I found a basic First Aid course with many dates available, it's a two day training and it will give us peace of mind. I also began to research the flora and fauna more thoroughly, and it reminded me that there are many creatures to be aware in the areas we will be visiting. I did come across some of them during my many trips there, like the barracudas, sharks, scorpions, crocodiles, and some spiders so big that I had to call for help to remove it from my apartment wall... But we will be further South, actually South of the Belize border which is just across the bay of Chetumal, and while the monkeys and parrots and toucans may be a delight, the tarantulas and the many types of snakes are not so good. I am now looking for a couple of good books to help us identify what we see...
Tim and I are now considering not booking the big beach property in Telchac Puerto for the third month. It seems that we might not have friends visiting us, and it is such a big place that it's becoming difficult to justify the commitment of renting it for one month only for the four of us (it accommodates 16 guests...) We are leaving our options open, and we will book it last minute if need be - the kids really want to go back and it would be nice to be in known territory, but only if we have company.
I have made contact to teach in Telchac Puerto through a local charity coordinated by two american women. They collect money and sponsor children's education in Telchac Puerto and Progreso (Yucatan state). They provide school uniforms, vairous supplies, and for older students they also cover tuition fees. They are very interested by my offer and I am waiting for their decision. If I do teach in Telchac, we may have to stick around that part of Yucatan a bit longer but it leaves many options open for housing in the area - maybe in a beach house, maybe in Merida, or we might stay at the ranch longer.
And the school year is about to begin, pushing us back into a very scheduled life.
Considering all the things we still have to do (which I take all on my own shoulders of course because I do have a big tendency to be my own worst enemy...), ten weeks is not very much time. I will have to manage the preparation of the house for the sub-let by asking for some help for a change... and everything else will be much easier.
I found a basic First Aid course with many dates available, it's a two day training and it will give us peace of mind. I also began to research the flora and fauna more thoroughly, and it reminded me that there are many creatures to be aware in the areas we will be visiting. I did come across some of them during my many trips there, like the barracudas, sharks, scorpions, crocodiles, and some spiders so big that I had to call for help to remove it from my apartment wall... But we will be further South, actually South of the Belize border which is just across the bay of Chetumal, and while the monkeys and parrots and toucans may be a delight, the tarantulas and the many types of snakes are not so good. I am now looking for a couple of good books to help us identify what we see...
Tim and I are now considering not booking the big beach property in Telchac Puerto for the third month. It seems that we might not have friends visiting us, and it is such a big place that it's becoming difficult to justify the commitment of renting it for one month only for the four of us (it accommodates 16 guests...) We are leaving our options open, and we will book it last minute if need be - the kids really want to go back and it would be nice to be in known territory, but only if we have company.
I have made contact to teach in Telchac Puerto through a local charity coordinated by two american women. They collect money and sponsor children's education in Telchac Puerto and Progreso (Yucatan state). They provide school uniforms, vairous supplies, and for older students they also cover tuition fees. They are very interested by my offer and I am waiting for their decision. If I do teach in Telchac, we may have to stick around that part of Yucatan a bit longer but it leaves many options open for housing in the area - maybe in a beach house, maybe in Merida, or we might stay at the ranch longer.
And the school year is about to begin, pushing us back into a very scheduled life.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
and time flies...
Business, business, business.... I am running late with the matters of The Little Workshop. In the crunch of the fall registrations, with some schedule tweeking to prepare for Tim's absence. Kevin Braun, our guitar and bass teacher, will take over most of Tim's students while we're away. It works out very well, he is a great guy.
The training schedules are done for my two new Petit Atelier teachers, and looking forward to being in the classroom with them. One is booked for the entire school year, and the other one will be covering the shorter contracts in smaller daycares for this year. All good stuff, very exciting.
The kitchen is finished at last - I mean really really finished. It looks great, still feels a bit awkward while getting used to it. The house is almost in sublet condition... only have to do a big paint job pretty much all over the rest of the house, and a new floor in the bathroom. Oh yeah, and change all the runners in the back entrance of The Little Workshop. We will get there!
While in Quebec city a couple of weeks ago I went to the big weekly flea market in Ste-Foy. I found many small instruments for a ridiculous price, and my mom had found some too a couple of weeks before. So now I have a nice bag of various percussive instruments that I can donate to the Majahual school. I will complete the collection with a set of rhythm sticks and maybe some bells and small maracas. I just hope that the teachers and children will keep having fun with the songs and games I will teach them long after I leave town.
I'm getting busier and I have less time to day dream but when I do, I admit that the prospect of spending three months in Mexico is scary at times. It is a long time considering that our longest trip so far was for only three weeks. I see it as a fun challenge to be out of our comfort zone, although we're not exactly going to live in misery... but certainly modestly and away from the big money machine of our crazy branded world. It will require interesting adjustments from each of us, not always easy of course. I once read that 'life is a balancing act of holding on and letting go', I think it's a very good way to look at it.
The training schedules are done for my two new Petit Atelier teachers, and looking forward to being in the classroom with them. One is booked for the entire school year, and the other one will be covering the shorter contracts in smaller daycares for this year. All good stuff, very exciting.
The kitchen is finished at last - I mean really really finished. It looks great, still feels a bit awkward while getting used to it. The house is almost in sublet condition... only have to do a big paint job pretty much all over the rest of the house, and a new floor in the bathroom. Oh yeah, and change all the runners in the back entrance of The Little Workshop. We will get there!
While in Quebec city a couple of weeks ago I went to the big weekly flea market in Ste-Foy. I found many small instruments for a ridiculous price, and my mom had found some too a couple of weeks before. So now I have a nice bag of various percussive instruments that I can donate to the Majahual school. I will complete the collection with a set of rhythm sticks and maybe some bells and small maracas. I just hope that the teachers and children will keep having fun with the songs and games I will teach them long after I leave town.
I'm getting busier and I have less time to day dream but when I do, I admit that the prospect of spending three months in Mexico is scary at times. It is a long time considering that our longest trip so far was for only three weeks. I see it as a fun challenge to be out of our comfort zone, although we're not exactly going to live in misery... but certainly modestly and away from the big money machine of our crazy branded world. It will require interesting adjustments from each of us, not always easy of course. I once read that 'life is a balancing act of holding on and letting go', I think it's a very good way to look at it.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
3 months to departure...
Summer vacation is almost over, and I brace myself for a very busy few weeks. Le Petit Atelier is set for the fall with my main daycare clients confirmed, and it is now time to make a round of registrations for The Little Workshop.
In terms of personal organisation, we are all going to the dentist next week. I also decided to look for a first aid course for Dylan and I, and I will also have to look into vaccinations and malaria prevention. We will arrive in Quintana Roo just at the end of the rain season, and our first destination is on a thin slice of land between the Caribbean and a long mangrove. Better look into that!
Still traveling with the roof top bag, still haven't filled it to full capacity - still very happy with it.
We will soon go back home after spending about 10 days in the beautiful Rimouski County, I love it here. We enjoy the amazing Appalachian scenery - we see a lot of birds. Can't help to wonder if the loons, the ducks, the hummingbirds, and all creatures flying South to the Gulf of Mexico will come back to the North next summer. Hoping they will, just like us.
In terms of personal organisation, we are all going to the dentist next week. I also decided to look for a first aid course for Dylan and I, and I will also have to look into vaccinations and malaria prevention. We will arrive in Quintana Roo just at the end of the rain season, and our first destination is on a thin slice of land between the Caribbean and a long mangrove. Better look into that!
Still traveling with the roof top bag, still haven't filled it to full capacity - still very happy with it.
We will soon go back home after spending about 10 days in the beautiful Rimouski County, I love it here. We enjoy the amazing Appalachian scenery - we see a lot of birds. Can't help to wonder if the loons, the ducks, the hummingbirds, and all creatures flying South to the Gulf of Mexico will come back to the North next summer. Hoping they will, just like us.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Active Tourism 101
I have been thinking about finding some type of active involvement with the communities that we will be visiting. Teaching music in Majahual is definitely along those lines, and I will also look into collecting used instruments to fill a box for the school. But this is more my own project, and the school is 65km from our little beach home on a little sandy road, which makes it more of a weekly commitment.
While trying to learn more about the area in general, I came upon a Facebook page about the sightings of the first lion fish along the Costa Maya. It is a fairly alarming situation, and I think this is a cause that we can embrace as a family.
The lion fish is a fierce coral reef predator. It has no known natural enemies (except humans), it can wipe a reef of its fish population by 80% in about five weeks, and they reproduce at a rate of up to 30,000 eggs per cycle with a few cycles per year. Here is a very informative piece on the subject : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar0CX8dj948
Our little house is located inside the Xcalak National Reef Park, and this puts us literally in the heart of the matter. For a prime diving destination like the Costa Maya, the local economy relies on the preservation of that section of the reef barrier, as well as the Chinchorro banks located a couple of hours off shore from Majahual. Chinchorro is known as one of the last coral reef garden in the caribbean, take a look at this arial photo : http://www.locogringo.com/maps/tour/P1010093a-t.html . I really want us to go out there, it would be amazing.
So... a lion fish safari? Hey why not! After all that's what they do in the Bahamas, and they end it with a feast of fried lion fish on the beach. Now we're talking !
While trying to learn more about the area in general, I came upon a Facebook page about the sightings of the first lion fish along the Costa Maya. It is a fairly alarming situation, and I think this is a cause that we can embrace as a family.
The lion fish is a fierce coral reef predator. It has no known natural enemies (except humans), it can wipe a reef of its fish population by 80% in about five weeks, and they reproduce at a rate of up to 30,000 eggs per cycle with a few cycles per year. Here is a very informative piece on the subject : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ar0CX8dj948
Our little house is located inside the Xcalak National Reef Park, and this puts us literally in the heart of the matter. For a prime diving destination like the Costa Maya, the local economy relies on the preservation of that section of the reef barrier, as well as the Chinchorro banks located a couple of hours off shore from Majahual. Chinchorro is known as one of the last coral reef garden in the caribbean, take a look at this arial photo : http://www.locogringo.com/maps/tour/P1010093a-t.html . I really want us to go out there, it would be amazing.
So... a lion fish safari? Hey why not! After all that's what they do in the Bahamas, and they end it with a feast of fried lion fish on the beach. Now we're talking !
Saturday, July 17, 2010
We shall have some visitors!
A couple of good friends have confirmed that they will be visiting us at the ranch - yé! They will arrive on Boxing day - family of four - so we will be in very good company to celebrate the new year. Looking forward to it!
On the practical front, I have received the 'Roof Bag' for the car and we had the opportunity to try it last week when we went to the cottage. It's very easy to install, it's very sturdy, and it will be absolutely perfect for our Mexican adventure. It was not even filled to half it's capacity, and it allowed us to use the car trunk for instruments. So for the first time ever, we were able to bring a guitar, banjo, mandolin and violin to the cottage - and best of all, the kids had the back seat to themselves for a change!
While at the cottage I studied a great big book of French early childhood repertoire that I purchased last month and found a lot of new songs and activities to add to my program. Many of them can be easily adapted to Spanish, and I also found some traditional South American material - very inspiring. It makes me feel better about teaching in Spanish, I'll be just fine.
This coming week will be busy, I will settle a lot of business details for the fall. All I need is a good 'to do' list, my computer, a phone, and a few days. Voilà!
On the practical front, I have received the 'Roof Bag' for the car and we had the opportunity to try it last week when we went to the cottage. It's very easy to install, it's very sturdy, and it will be absolutely perfect for our Mexican adventure. It was not even filled to half it's capacity, and it allowed us to use the car trunk for instruments. So for the first time ever, we were able to bring a guitar, banjo, mandolin and violin to the cottage - and best of all, the kids had the back seat to themselves for a change!
While at the cottage I studied a great big book of French early childhood repertoire that I purchased last month and found a lot of new songs and activities to add to my program. Many of them can be easily adapted to Spanish, and I also found some traditional South American material - very inspiring. It makes me feel better about teaching in Spanish, I'll be just fine.
This coming week will be busy, I will settle a lot of business details for the fall. All I need is a good 'to do' list, my computer, a phone, and a few days. Voilà!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Majahual and Xcalak - aka the Costa Maya
This is what the Costa Maya looks like, with it's main town : Majahual. We will be there from November 16 to December 12 - 27 days. That first month will be very much about the pristine Caribbean water, the coral reef barrier and the creatures that live in and around it. It will also be about living on the ocean in a remote location, with limited commodities and lots of time to explore the coast. We have rented a one bedroom apartment on the second floor of a beach house, about 65km down the coastal road from Majahual. Xcalak is the most southern town on the Caribbean coast of Mexico, and it is a jewel of a place on earth. This the view from the dining room. Looking forward to having breakfast there!
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