La Casa en El Arbol

Well... two weeks into our schooling in San Cristobal, and we are still here and enjoying it. We are feeling very much at home, and it will be with sadness that we leave in under two weeks. We have even contemplated extending our stay in San Cristobal, but that would result in cutting back on some of the countries we want to visit towards the end of our trip, and we're not prepared to make that decision just yet. Maybe we will return to San Cristobal de las Casas for a more extended stay in a few years. But I can say for sure that now that we have passed our halfway mark in this town, I am starting to get a bit teary at the thought of leaving.

As we have mentioned in previous posts, the majority of our days are taken up at our language school, 'La Casa en El Arbol' (The House in the Tree). A typical day for us begins by revising our spanish notes over breakfast, followed by the 40 minute walk to our classes which begin at noon. Our first class runs from 12 to 2, we then usually have lunch in a park together, and then return to the school for our second class of the day from 4 to 6.



We are loving our classes, and our teachers are fantastic. Nyall and his teacher Jesús study very conscientiously, their heads down, looking very serious and concentrated. As a contrast, I have been learning Spanish with my teacher Minerva through a lot of giggling and my classes often consist of going on outings to the markets and various shops, learning Spanish along the way. We are both really enjoying ourselves, and both feel we have improved our Spanish immensely. Nyall is now speaking really well, and although I understand a lot of the language, I am still trying to gain confidence in talking it.

By 6 o'clock we are usually brain dead, and briskly walk back home (by this time it is totally freezing, so we walk a lot quicker!), to grab a quick dinner and an early night.

On weekends we have been visiting nearby towns, but also relaxing and giving our heads a rest from all of the Spanish. We usually head out to a restaurant or café for dinner, and if we're lucky we'll catch a reggae band that plays til the early hours of the morning.

So there is a little insight into our Mexican life for you! Yes, we are still alive. Much love to home.