Internet's been down at school again, sorry for the long gap in posts...

We started a new term last Monday, which means I no longer teach my sophomore boys! It's quite a change. I can now teach a class without telling someone to sit down or be quiet or stop throwing that chalk/sink/student every 5 seconds. I haven't quite adjusted to my new classes yet, they are too quiet and obedient. I have a class of 19 sophomore girls, and a junior elective biology class of 9. Together they don't even add up to the smaller of my 2 boys classes! In a month, though, I will have another girl's biology class, because the other science teacher is leaving. My boys tell me they miss me, and that they didn't appreciate me when I taught. I just laugh and agree with them!

Holy week here is really a cultural experience. Sunday they did a procession complete with one of the teachers riding a donkey, which I unfortunately missed because of a nasty case of food poisoning (I will never eat potato empanadas again!). Monday was the procession of Our Lady of Sorrows. The parish has a 4 foot high statue of Mary, which is carried around on the shoulders of the women parishioners. It takes anywhere from 8-14 women to carry this, to give you an idea how heavy this is- the statue rests on a huge wooden platform, complete with floodlights. Following the statue is a guy rolling a portable gas generator- to power the floodlights, of course! They processed for about an hour around town. Last night was a two hour procession, and I definitely carried a statue! The procession was cool- three statues were involved. The men of the church carried a statue of Jesus carrying the cross through the town in one direction. Our Lady of Sorrows, carried by the women, took off in another direction. St. John, carried by myself and 3 other women teachers, followed Mary. Jesus and Mary met (in the middle of the western highway, which was shut down to traffic), and then processed back to Church, with St. John following behind. I wish I had some pictures- it really is quite a spectacle!
Friday is a huge procession day, with the stations of the cross acted out through Benque, which promises to be very cool.

Finally, Ali posted a lot of pictures on her blog- be sure to check it out, she wrote about a lot of stuff that I haven't had time to mention!