Teaching makes me laugh

"Write an email to a tourist who wants to visit the Galapagos."

In Galapagos, we have much seafood, like octopusy.

***

Please, what is the difference between:

bear

beer

beard

bird

***

Luis.

Yes, Teacher?

What's my name?

Mary.

So call me Mary.

Yes, Teacher.

Emails from Mom

"Last night I woke up in the middle of the night standing in my room with my heart about to give out as I could not figure out which hostel room I was in and my purse was not anywhere. Took me at least a minute to get it together."

Embrace change, blah blah blah

After 5 months on San Cristobal, I raised my hand to move to Isabela, a less developed island, because the university decided to offer English classes to its meager population. My first week was sweaty and stressful, but major hurdles have been jumped, such as:

1. Opening an account at the fisherman co-op, because there is no bank or ATM.

2. Buying a bike. A tire popped on Day 2 and an axle jammed on Day 3, but neither Junior nor his father (Senior?) charged me for repairs.

3. Finding Pancho the water man and pre-ordering enormous bottles of water so that I don't ingest worms and E. Coli from the untreated tap water.

4. Stocking the fridge. $1 for two carrots? Fine.

5. Meeting the neighbours. Reuben took me to his farm yesterday, Jeanette invited me to her sister's birthday party last night, and today people gave me more bananas than I can eat in a month.

6. Finding a laundry place. $13, you say? Petty cash is here for a reason.

7. Finding a lunch place. The woman hasn't smiled in the last decade, but she doesn't serve me red meat, so I'm a fan.

8. Accepting that homes on the beach with tile floors need to be swept daily, if not more.

9. Accepting that the internet cafe might not open all weekend. 

10. Remembering my good fortune.