Mailing address

Holly Stateczny
511 E San Ysidro Blvd. J-521
San Ysidro, CA 92173-3110

No, this adress is not wrong, I am living in Mexico. We just got a mail box through mail box ect. and they just ship us our mail here from California. This way when people from the states send us mail they only have to pay USPS rates...so its cheap for yall to send mail...no international fees

another day in paradise

The 2 pictures are from last night. I went for a walk by myself to our down town square are, I guess Europes equivalent of a piazza. They were setting up for this beig concert they were having at 10pm (everything is very late here, its great for night owls). I didnt stay for the concert, I would have loved to, but that is to late for a lone white girl to be walking the streets...so I took pictures of the decorations and of the church that sits on one side of the piazza. The church is the oldest thing in San Jose, it is what the town formed around. Its beautiful.

Today, I woke up at 7am (my body has decided its wants to be a morning person here...I think my mind knows subconsciously that there is so much beauty ouside our walls that it forces me to get up). After making breakfast for Kara and myself we went to the Walmart in Cabo San Lucas. As much as I hate Walmart we have to go for some basics. However, I have decided Walmarts are worse here then they are in the states. Here they employ child labor. The kids who bag your groceries cannot be older than 12. Sure most grocery stores here use little children as cheap labor but here is Walmart who claims to be so wonderful using the little kids...its just sad. After Walmart, we went to the beach where we boogy boarded for a few hours. The heat here right now is so intense that a few hours is all you need. Then we came home and I made a late lunch for Kara and Jeanne. I made stuffed, twiced bake potatoes on the grill. The stuffing was made of potatoe, chorizo, green onions, onions, peppers, fresh garlic, and some differnt seasonings. Then we grilled them and put a slice of Mexican cheese on them...they were heaven.

Job #2

So yesterday after school I started a second"job"...if you really can call it that. I am getting paid $25 an hour to go and speak english to 3 girls and help them with their homework. The 3 girls are as follows: Natalia is in first grade, Mariana is in third grade, and Ana Gaby is in fifth grade. All three of them are amazing. They are so smart, this will be a breeze. I probably will start going another night too because they want me to come eat dinner with them...this way the girls will have to practice conversational English while eating. So I get paid to eat and talk...two things I am incredibly good at... Maraiana already even colored my a picture. I love them. And, they live in a mini-mansion that overlooks the water and they have one of those eternity pools....Its amazing and its only a 20minute walk from my place. The mom was really nice to. She told me to just ignore the gardner and housekeeper and if they get too noisy to just let her know...thats right, 2 servants... But the mom was nice, she said this was my new home, and that if I ever get sick or anything to head on over and she will take care of me. So that was really nice.

Back to my main job which I am loving. My 9th graders are amazing. Its made up of 7 boys and 4 girls. The girls are prissy but sweet and the boys all remind me of James (our cousin). They are all skate boarders who like to surf. They all like guitar hero and on the weekends they like to go to the mall in Cabo and just walk around...so they are just like Denton teenagers

This picture is of the night sky right before Tropical Storm Julio hit...isnt it beautiful?

Tropical Storm Julio

Tropical Storm Julio is in our direct line... It has been raining the last 24 hours and shows no sign of stopping. The streets are flooding...really, in the states this would not be enough rain for it to flood but it is here because there is no drainage system. In the states, the water runs off the streets into those underground water drains (whatever they are called) but here there are none. The water just pulls up here on the streets. We have been given our hurrucane preparedness sheet... its so stupid though, it says things like dont go outside during the storm, well no kidding... it reminds me of one of the Daily Shows where they poked fun at hurrucane reporters out in the storm...its really stupid. Also, sand bags are starting to show up all around the condo, I guess people are getting ready for the storm...atleast its just a tropical storm and not a hurricane. Our winds will only reach 50mph... Its so beautiful right now though because the fog is rolling into town covering the mountains, visibility is very low.

Hopefully school will be cancelled tomorrow. I love having hurricane days instead of snow days...less cold

what a day..

so I have attatched some pictures of my classroom and the school...

After school, Kara, Jeanne, and I went off in search of propane. It's hurricane season and we were told we need to get our propane tanks filled because power could go out for days if we get a storm. So we drove inward, away from the beach to find Caligas, a place we were told of. It was suppossed to be real easy to find in a nearby town but it was not...We had to turn around and U-turn it about 5 times and stop at one cantina before we found it. It rained today which caused the dirt road of Caligas to be flooded. Our car, "Betty Buick," did amazing and made it through all the flooded spots. We got our gas and still made it back in time for happy hour at our local bar....all is right with the world

There is a picture of our car, "Betty Bucik" named after Super Betty. Who is the hear tof our school, she knows everything and everyone. Then there is a picture of Kara and Jeanne at Caligas...after we had forged the floods

why kissing is so wonderful...

In the states kissing is NOT allowed at school. But here in Mexico everyone kisses and it's wonderful.It is such a personal connection with another human being but there is no hidden desires of lust hidden behind it. It is just a sweet way to say hi and let someone know you appreciate and like them. Today at lunch, two different little girls just came up to me and kissed my cheek and said hi. They wrapped their little arms around me and I truely felt I belonged out here. Such a great feeling. But it really isnt just children. All adults greet each other with kisses too, a peck on the right cheek is what the cultures says is acceptable...so if you are coming for a visit expect some kisses...

Mission

So school, Mission, is gorgeous. Our kids started on Monday. SO far all of my science classes (4th, 5th, & 6th grades) have gone well. Our 9th graders dont start till next week. This week I am covering a 3hour long second grade english class. The teacher will be there next week so I just have to cover it through Friday. That class is HORRIBLE!!! I hate them, and hate is not to strong of a word. They are all hyper, little, speak very little english, they pee every 5 minutes, they are dirty, they hit, they cant tie their shoes, they copy each others answers, and they dont know anything.....I know mom, you are probably thinking I should never have kids but I promise you, my child would never act like this...

But the school is amazing. The vegetation is so lush, there is a stream the flows thorugh out it and it has ducks. The garden and the farm are smelly but beautiful. I went back to the farm today and they have newborn puppies (weinerdogs). I thought it was funny that dogs are in a farm but apparently poeple dont have pets here so its exciting to the kids that dogs are here.

I will try to get a picture of my labroom soon. It's really cute. The turtles and fish in my room are still alive. They have not yet met the same sad fate that my hermit crab did last year. I usually tap their cages a few times a day just to make sure they are still alive (I dont like it when they are still for too long.

I have attatched 4 pictures. One is of the schools sign, one is of the main office, one is the view from

Kara's room, and one is of the goats in the farm.