maestros

We have three teachers at CUDEM. Hzi (EET-see) teaches advanced grammar, Dante teaches literature, and Della teaches conversation. They’re all 25 or 30. I like Hzi the best. She is funny and her class is fun. I can understand most of what she says, and she seems to know when we don’t understand the question. She looks like the host mother I had in Cuernavaca two years ago. He talks too fast -- I never know what he is saying or asking. I’m not even sure that Dante is his real name. I also don’t like literature so far because I hardly understand the literal meaning, let alone the literary meaning. Plus, I’m supposed to be good at reading, so it’s frustrating when it takes me so long to read. I’m not sure about Della. All she talks about is her “novio” Obama, los borrachos, and how she’s really cool because she’s "naco" not "fresa" because she grew up in a poor neighborhood in Mexico City. Apparently, having parents who pay for your school makes you a stuck up "fresa". I think she wears pretty stylish clothes for a poor kid. She also told me that I look like Renee Zelwegger, and I think Renee Zelwegger is funny looking. I mean, I can see the resemblance, but she is not the celebrity look-alike I would have chosen. People tend to grow on me, though. These are only first impressions.

We also have Christian. He´s our paid friend, but we like him anyway. He knows thecity and can take us around places. He seems cool. He’s really easy-going and fun, and I don’t feel self-conscious about speaking Spanish around him. I also don’t feel like he cares if we speak Spanglish. Although, part of me suspects that he is hired to be an undercover chaperone, just to make sure we’re safe, which as long as he’s fun to have around, I’m fine with. Nothing wrong with having someone who isn’t lost around