One day this past week—or was it the week before?—a ceremony for handing out diplomas to students who had completed their language studies at the Centro de Idiomas was held at the school. After the diplomas were given out, the festivities began. A large band from the Universidad de Veracruz, assembled at the front of the largest salon in the school, began playing salsa music for the assembled students, teachers, and administrators.

I had been invited to attend, but I ducked into the faculty computer room to finish some work. I had a sneaking suspicion that if I went to hear the music, I would be invited to dance, something I have been hesitant to do here because I don’t know the dance steps to salsa and other kinds of Latin music. But I was curious to see what was going on in the salon, and the music was great. So I stepped inside and took a chair near the door.

There must have been about ten members of the band, two of them women who danced and sang. No one in the audience was dancing until a couple of teachers pushed back some chairs to make room, and they began to dance, some pressing students to dance with them and get the ball rolling. And sure enough, in no time, another teacher asked me to dance. I tried to resist, but there was none of that. Everyone at the school seems to want to make sure I have the full experience of Mexico, and that definitely includes dancing.

So I danced with several other teachers, thinking all the while, “Would that I had been so popular back in dear old Clayton High School!” back in the 'sixties. The music was fast and loud, easy to dance to (in my fashion), and I even enjoyed it. But after about fifteen minutes, I left the salon and went back to work. Still, I was glad I’d danced, recalling the advice from a song my daughter Shelley gave me a few years back:

When you get the choice to sit it out or dance
I hope you dance
I hope you dance
[Hear the song and see the video on YouTube.]

Have I mentioned before that most Mexicans love to dance? I’ve seen them dance on the sidewalk as they pass by a store with music blaring from speakers pointed streetward. I’ve seen them hum to themselves in offices and hallways to accompany their spontaneous urges to dance. I’ve seen them dance in the city parks and plazas and at home. Young and old dance here, and dancing seems to erupt whenever music does.

I finally looked carefully at the Proposed Assignment Form that Isabel sent me back in May. I had skimmed the document when I first received it, but today I really paid attention to the information it
contains--to wit:
Here's my fall teaching schedule at the Centro de Idiomas. The fall term begins for teachers on August 7 and ends February 8, 2008. The spring term begins February 8 and ends July 8, 2008. Each semester lasts 15 weeks--but "there are 2 periods between semesters called 'periodo intersemestral' when teachers must spend time at school or present a plan of work that can be done outside of school." I am not expected to be there by August 7, though, thank goodness, because I will be finishing up my term by submitting grades August 6 or 7 here at CNM.

I am expected to work 40 hours a week. In addition to the assignments above, I will also be expected to provide "support for checking spelling/grammar of some standard exams, support for
MEIF and EXAVER recordings."

My immediate supervisor will be Miguel Angel Murrieta Rosendo, Academic Coordinator. The head of the school is Luz del Carmen Rivas Morales. My mentor will be Esperanza Zamora Lara, and there are two other teachers who have agreed to help me as well: Rosa Elena Lopez Jimenez and Laura Gonzalez Oliveros.

I have an appointment to meet with Sr. Murrieta Rosendo on August 16, 10:00am, in his office in the Centro de Idiomas, located at Galeana Esq. 7 de Noviembre, CP 91000, Xalapa. (I don't know what CP 91000 means. Perhaps the numbers are similar to a zip code?) The purpose of the meeting is to meet him and my mentor, Sra. Zamora, to receive the textbooks I'll be using, and to learn my way around the center.

The Centro de Idiomas is part of the Universidad Veracruzana, but it's not located on the UV campus, I learned. It's actually located in downtown Xalapa. Students who attend "are of different
backgrounds: high school students, university students and professionals, they only attend here to take their language classes--that is one hour a day. Some university students take our courses to get credits in their studies."

I learned that the following equipment is available for teachers to check out in advance: "There are two laptops , overhead projector, one electronic board, [maybe this is like a SmartBoard?] VHS, TV, DVD and a self access Center to be used by the students."

In response to this question on the Proposed Assignment Form--"In your opinion, is there an aspect of life in your school/community to which a foreign teacher may have trouble adjusting?"--the following answer was given:

Maybe personal space: we Mexicans tend to get closer to people when we talk. Also Punctuality may be something to be considered since we Mexicans have the reputation of not being punctual ( not the case with school schedule but maybe with students arrival to classes or other “social” events. And of course paperwork or having to attend government offices. Which is really slow. But I don't think any of these aspects would be too serious to create trouble.

I experienced the smaller area of personal space--the space people keep between themselves and others when communicating--when I taught at the University of Texas at El Paso. When students, most of them from Juárez, came up to talk with me before or after class, they got closer to me than did my students at the Doña Ana Branch Community College just 47 miles away. At first, I found myself stepping back to re-establish my personal space--and then they would step forward to get closer. Finally, I got comfortable communicating with them at closer range.

As for the punctuality issue, I had to laugh. Last Thursday, I had lunch with Cynthia Woolley, a CNM instructor of ESL and GED who lived and taught in México for eight years. She suggested the Grove, a restaurant on Central. Shortly before we were to meet, I did a Google search for the place and ended up on the Albuquerque Convention and Visitors Bureau website, which provided a map to the Grove, showing it near 8th Street. By the time I figured out that the Grove wasn't located at 600 Central SW but SE, I was a good half hour late. I apologized first and then asked Cynthia if she thought I would fit well in México--referring to my timing--and she said I should fit right in. Also, my son Shane is always commenting on my [lack of] punctuality, so maybe I'm about to find my cultural home. (Nevertheless, I am punctual about arriving to my classes on time.)

An aside: Cynthia Woolley--who describes herself as "obsessed with México"--emailed me after our lunch to recommend several books:

• Mexican Days by Tony Cohan
• Guanajuato, Mexico (survival manual by Doug and Cindi Bower): "Much of the info on renting, etc., will pertain to Xalapa. They also stressed we should use the ATMs that take the whole card rather than swipe them, as people have been known to make false machines from that kind in order to steal acct. #s. --Not trying to get you paranoid, just prepared." (It's not just in México that such things hpappen, of course. There are plenty of ATM scams in this country.)
  
  

  The U.S. State Department's "Tips for Travelers to Mexico" webpage advises that "U.S. citizens should be very cautious in general when using ATMs in Mexico. If an ATM must be used, it should be accessed only during the business day at large protected facilities (preferably inside commercial establishments, rather than at glass-enclosed, highly visible ATMs on streets). U.S. and Mexican citizens are sometimes accosted on the street and forced to withdraw money from their accounts using their ATM cards." The wording, "if an ATM must be used...," sounds ominous. But I have read elsewhere that getting cash from an ATM is the way to go when in México, allowing one to withdraw money deposited in the U.S. in pesos at a good rate of exchange.

• In a Village Far Away by Catherine Finerty
• Mexico, A Love Story (women write about Mexico) Camille Cusumano
• Mexico in Mind by Maria Finn
• A copy of the latest Lonely Planet guidebook on Mexico might be good to take as well - "that's my fave guide to Mexico."