After 5 Years We Say "Adios" To Escuela Del Mundo

Yesterday evening was Escuela del Mundo's annual end of the year event.  The beginning of the evening featured the students who were graduating from their respective programs.  Alex and three other classmates received their certificates for completion from what is called "la Primaria" or elementary school here in Mexico.  The graduation was followed by a colorful production starring all the students and was produced by several of the staff, parents, volunteers and "talleristas" who teach special classes at the school.  The yearly event was certainly fantastic as always.  As our kids have grown older they have take on more prominent roles.  This year Alex was featured as the "Goddess of Blue" and Trace was one of the three "Gods of Green".  This year's event was particularly bitter sweet since it will be our last at Escuela del Mundo.

After 5 years we knew that this would be the last for Alex. She was graduating from the primaria program and asked if she could attend a school with more to offer. More facilities, more types of educational experiences and understandably a bigger social aspect. Trace was more of an uncertainty. At 10 years old he has spent half of his life on this campus. We figured he would finish out his primaria education here too until earlier this year. Early in the second half of the year, a conflict between the school's administration and several of the teachers became unreconcilable resulting in Trace and Alex temporarily having no teachers to lead the daily coursework. A substitute took over for a short time and then was replaced by another. Trace's excitement for school dwindled and he also asked to move on as well. From that point the kids knew their time was short and finished the year out with their second substitute teacher who was eventually joined by a beloved teacher of theirs, Barbara.

Last day of school June 2017

Alex' graduation class from "la primaria".

Attending Escuela del Mundo has been one of the most important decisions we have made since coming to Mexico and has shaped our lives here.  The school is located in the next town over from Sayulita in San Pancho.  Over the years we have had dual town citizenship in a way.  We live in one town and benefit from all things Sayulita.  We have also been part of a totally second community in San Pancho.  Alex and Trace can walk around either town and be totally comfortable and there will be kids, parents, coaches community members etc who will recognize them and know exactly who they are.  We have met so many parents, kids, teachers, volunteers etc during our time at school.  I like to say that our Mexico is so much bigger due to our decision to attend school here.  It is a Mexican school it is fully Spanish speaking.  No-dual immersion.  As a result our kids have grown up fully immersed and are now fully bilingual and speak Spanish like native Spanish speakers rather than perhaps someone who learned Spanish along the way.

Last hugs with Maestra Barbara.

This is not to say that our time there has not had it's challenges.  Being Americans in a Mexican school has not been easy and we have often felt like outsiders.  Even at a small school not everyone knows that our kids have been at EDM most of their lives and that we have always been active, contributing parents.  Culture and language has certainly been a bit of the barrier.  We have seen two major internal situations that resulted in much of the student population leaving to find other educational solutions for their kids.  These were not necessarily quality of education issues but rather staff and administration issues.  The kids have been in the middle of this twice and they have certainly been effected by it as they have seen several classmates/friends and or trusted teachers leave the school. These were also huge blows to the school budget.  How can a school expect to improve or even survive when it's tuition income takes a hit like that every couple years?

Ashley and I have both been frustrated over the years since it felt like the school did not know how to even help itself.  It serves a very local population and as kept tuition low.  The school has never had a surplus of funds or substantial community support to really lift itself to the next level.  It has always relied on parental support to take care of those things that were not covered in the budget.  5 years ago the school culture was "everybody pitches in to help when needed" and scheduled school work days were always well attended.  Absence was noticed.  Parents were expected to show up when there was work to do but that has changed over the years.  I looked around the campus during the kid's parent/teacher meeting recently and our fingerprints are on virtually everything.  We helped paint that building, we managed that playground project, we built those shelves, we bought those light fixtures and furniture for the kid's classroom, we helped mix concrete and haul materials for the second floor expansion, we helped build that fence for the garden, we built that website and paid for hosting, we hauled that gravel etc.  So much time, energy, money, sweat, dedication, love etc.  We wonder sometimes what will happen once we are gone.  I am not saying we have been the school's saviors by any means but there will have to be other newer parents who need to step up to help change the culture and help along side the other parents who have always been involved as we have.  We know the school will survive our departure and will emerge better and stronger going forward.  It has in the past and will again.

So now we take our exit and move on to new adventures as far as schooling goes.  Costa Verde is next.  We wish only the best for Escuela del Mundo going forward.  Thank you July, Vero, Angie, Juan, Barbara, Carlos, Maria, Geoffrey, Claudia, Tanya, Paulina, Karol, Diego and all the talleristas for loving our kids, embracing them each and everyday and making our lives in Mexico so much bigger and richer during the last five years.  We will miss you.

First day of school at EDM August 2012

A New Casa In 2017 - Quick Photo Update

This photo was taken today, June 25th 2017.  It clearly shows the extra height that was added to the base of the structure that was mentioned in a previous post.  The first level, the apartment, is roughed in and the entrance level where the kid's rooms will be is in progress.  By the end of the week this level will be getting ready for a ceiling and preparations for the main living level can begin.

I hope to be meeting with our builder in the next day or so to question a few things and possibly add some windows to allow more air and light into these levels.  This most recent level has been painfully slow since each time I go by I can always see them hoisting up blocks and buckets of cement using the pulley system that they have rigged up.  You can see the yellow rope dangling from the front of the house to the right.  Once this next level is complete they will start to excavate the hillside again to allow construction of our family living level.  I just hope the rain is light for the next few weeks.

One Of Those Moments - Trace

Trace has been susceptible to ear infections since we arrived here.  Even more so in the last two years as he has become a bigger fan of the water whether it be in the pool or ocean.  We try to keep his ears clean each time he comes out of the water.  If we get lazy or forget for a little while then he usually develops something.  We go to the local clinic and get him checked out and get the proper meds to put him back on track scolding ourselves along the way.

Last week was one of those times where we(he) paid the price for not being diligent about his ears.  He came home from school Friday not feeling so well with a fever and ear pain.  Saturday am he felt a bit better but we were off to the clinic to get him looked at.

We filled out the paperwork and went into the same examination room where we had been several times before for various family ailments including Trace's ear issues.  We knew the routine.  Our doctor this time was someone we had not seen before.  She was a young woman who was bilingual and turned to me to ask some initial questions in Spanish from behind her desk.  I was about half way through my first sentence and she turned to speak to Trace.  She must have decided that my Spanish was dismal enough that speaking to Trace was a much more productive direction to begin getting some information.

Eggs on the head after losing a wager with his Dad.

She asked him if he spoke Spanish and he said yes.  After a few basic questions for him, off they went leaving Dad in the chair just sitting there watching the exchange.  After some additional discussion she examined him and then we came back to the doctor's desk.  They proceeded to discuss things further and she began preparing prescriptions giving him directions as I looked on.

They finally got to a point where she turned to me, a bit wide eyed and said to me how impressed she was with his Spanish.  How well he could understand Spanish, articulate his answers and sounded Mexican not an American.  She admitted that when we walked in she was not expecting this.  I was impressed too.  Not necessarily surprised but impressed.  I hear him speak to his friends, teachers and coaches all the time but when he has a discussion with a medical professional whom he does not know and that person turns to me and admits how very impressed they are with our son then it hits me that this is "one of those moments".

 This is just one of those moments, small but special moments, where our decision to come to Mexico almost 6 years ago makes total sense to me all over again.  The kids really have no idea how special they have become and what skills they have developed since they arrived.  Speaking a second language is just one of those skills.  It is totally normal for them.  My concern about things that they may not have been able to do up north doesn't really matter anymore when these moments happen.  Actually I should feel like this all the time but these little events keep me reminded just how far they have come and how proud we are of them.

Feliz Cumpleaños Trace!

Our boy is now 10.  He has come a long way since we first arrived and he was only 4 years old.

Sayulita holiday parade in pre-school

At a little party at school in San Pancho

A New Casa In 2017 - Construction Progress Week 7.

Well, we made it to week 7 a while back and already we had our first BIG issue.  FYI - This progress report is slightly dated.

 I had been watching the progress and getting pretty excited until I became very confused.  Having the floorpan in hand I asked our builder/architect for a meeting to explain.  I was confused as to why there was wall being built where the entrance to the bodega/garage was going to be.  After all, it was his idea to build this extra space to help elevate and support the structure.  A space we actually did not really want but came to understand was necessary.  We were always trying to build a smaller house but after thinking about it, we really liked the idea of being able to store our ever growing amount of crap and toys that one accumulates along the way of life.  The space would also allow for a small workspace for me and when we needed it a place to tuck the car away safely inside.  We finally absolutely loved the idea and embraced it.  Bodega, apartment and house.  Great!

Not so fast.  During this meeting our builder informed me that there had been an "error".  Not exactly something you want to hear as your new house is starting to take shape.  What was this "error" I asked.  He explained that the plan elevations were incorrect and that the goal for our living level finishing higher than the building next to us was not going to be possible.  The structure was going to be about 2.5 meters too short.  I was dumbfounded since I asked about this exact concern standing on the lot with him a couple months ago and he assured me we would get our light, airflow and view that we wanted.

So, back to my original question.  What was this wall?  Well, our builder explained that he took it upon himself to place the house on a shelf of sorts to lift the house up and result in making the house finish at the correct elevation.  In other words the house would begin 2.5 meters higher up and what I was looking at was a retaining wall and not the first level of our house.  "What"?  I asked astonished.  We contracted and signed an agreement for a particular set of plans that he drew and he changed them without so much as an email letting us know there was a "error"?  He totally changed the way the house will function and look.  Did he really changed the FINAL and agreed upon version of the plans without letting us know?  Did you really just do this?

Retaining wall for the extra height needed 

The answer was "yes".  So, the hope for a bodega was gone.  A workshop in some form was gone.  Easy in and out for bikes, boards and other items gone.  A place to store our car if needed gone.  What did we get instead?  We got a much taller house, more stairs and an entirely unnecessary above ground living level.  Do we argue that we needed the height?  No, but the plan we developed over several months should have accomplished this.  The bodega level that was once essentially hidden underground will now be the first living level and make the house an obnoxious 3 level apartment building sitting on top of a 2.5 meter platform.

What the hell were we going to do with what was the original apartment level?  We now had an extra living level that we had to come up with a solution for.  We didn't want to rent it since we really do not want people coming and going all the time.  We did not want to be a hotel.  Ashley came up with the suggestion that this level could become part of our living space.  More specifically an entry to the house and kids' rooms.  I was not so crazy about the idea since it put the kids away from our bedroom but the more I thought about the idea the more I liked it.  The idea could provide the kids with larger rooms and larger shared bathroom and we could get some storage along with it.  Another thing it would accomplish is that it would provide an opportunity for an interior staircase to use from the entry/kids room level to the main living level.  Interior stairs would allow the exterior stairs to end below the top level.  Lastly, it could provide the needed space for a dining area.  Something Ashley wanted in our original design but was eliminated when it became clear we did not have the room for it.

Garden to the right and what will be future driveway

Walls of first level going up.  This will now be the apartment level.

So what will all this look like now?  

The apartment level will stay the same.

The next level up, the kid's bedroom level, will look like this with an entry and interior staircase.  I have done some redesigning of the bathrooms since this plan but you can get the general idea.

The family level will now look like this with interior staircase in the courtyard accessing the rooftop and new dining room space.  The spiral stairs will end one level below this one.

So, that is where we are at for the moment.  Progress has continued quickly and I will have a more recent update on all things soon including maybe a few comments as to why we didn't fire our contractor immediately for changing things without discussing them with us.  Forward we go.

Sayulita Scenes - Looking South

Drone shot.  Nice!  Photo by Brian Stomp.

Sayulita Scenes - Road Improvements Continue

With the main entrance to town closed for what seemed like forever, the side streets became the main corridors in and out of town. Calle Pelicanos became the main route in to our pueblo during this time. It is easily the most traveled street after Calle Revolucion for car traffic. It is also the main route for people walking in and out of town, to school etc since it is the mid point between the front and back main entrances to town, runs along the river and is in or near several neighborhoods.

Once the new front entrance to town was mostly complete attention was turned to improving this particular side road.  Like a lot of things here, many things don't happen until they happen and may not even have the input of those being effected by certain projects.  There was actually an informal survey conducted on how this road should operate but whether or not it influenced the final plan is unknown to us.  This road originally had parking for residents on both sides of the street with about 1.5 lanes down the center of the road for traffic.  Not always a convenient route when there is two-way traffic, pedestrians and local resident cars parked on both sides.  I tried to never use this road while driving unless it was early in the morning.

The solution appears to be a one-way road.  Which way it will go is yet to be declared publicly but the assumption is that it will be a one-way exit road from the town center.  It is only about 1.5 cars wide with curbing on both side so there is no room for two way traffic.  There is also no room for resident parking.  Many of the houses on this street were originally designed without cars in mind so over time they were just parked on the road in front of the houses.  This will no longer be the case it appears.  Parking will have to be off the street.  There will also be a real sidewalk for pedestrians to use.  Stamped and colored similar to all the new sidewalks in town.

We will have to see how all this works out once complete.  We wonder how the residents on the street react with no parking and when some of the final details and decisions are made public.  Did they really have any input?  It is great that the street has a safe option for walking and many encourage Sayulita to become more of a walking town.   This is certainly a positive for the project.

Why is this street's transformation of interest?  Well, the street with our new house project may be on the short list for a similar make over.  It carried a heavy load during the entrance construction and becomes almost impassable during the late summer/early fall months when the rains come due to erosion.  We "hear" it's on the list but we have been hearing that for years.  We will wait to see.

Maybe not exactly the intended plan for the street.

Sayulita Scenes - The Feet Of Sayulita

It's a sight to make any mother cringe but it's reality.  Our kids go barefoot almost everywhere.  They always ask if they need to bring shoes and my favorite response is "just leave them in the car in case you need them".  Even that response gets resistance.

Having grown up in the land of "no shirt, no shoes, no service", the idea that our kids don't actually want or rarely need shoes is a totally foreign concept.  In snow country I must have had easily over a dozen pairs of shoes.  Shoes for every season.  Shoes for every activity.  Dress shoes, running shoes, biking shoes, snow boots, ski boots, tele boots, trail runners, work shoes, softball cleats etc......

Once Trace realized just how nasty his feet were even he was eager to clean them up a bit.

The kids have been pretty much barefoot since they arrived here.  At school the first thing they do when they arrive is shed their 60 peso flip flops.  Upon arriving home they do the same.  Circus and SUP practices are in bare feet.  Capoeira was the same.  They would go barefoot back and forth to the beach if they could.  I wonder what they would think about putting on a pair of ski boots for 6 hours.  It think they would lose it.  The best part of dirty feet is when you walk around the house when the floor is wet from the beach, pool or someone just got out of the shower.  What do you get when you mix dirty feet and water.......mud.

After some clean up