Puerto Vallarta!!

As you know, after the long tiring trip back from Afghanistan, the in/out processing at DLI, and the TESOL conference in Dallas, I have finally made it to Puerto Vallarta! I can see why people have decided to make this a wonderful vacation spot!

I decided to rent an apartment located on a hill so that I would be assured some exercise while I am here. I am not much for going to the gym, so I do what I can to attempt to stay healthy. On the left you see the house directly across from where I am staying. Notice the angle at which the road comes up into the picture as if it is trying to take off in a huge hurry!

I must say that the everyday almost mountain climbing I due is definitely worth it. I have a beautiful view of the water and an fairly open floor plan. I could see myself living in a house like this.

View from my balcony

I am living with a nice host family here in Puerto Vallarta. We took a walk on the Malecon last night and went to a cafe to meet up with their family. It is Holy Week so it has been busy and quite crowded here.  I am hoping to be able to make it to church on Sunday, but we shall see what happens.

Same balcony.

Response

As much as it seemed I wouldn't, I did make it to TESOL. I believe there was no other way! I finished in/out-processing much quicker than most, and things went relatively smoothly.

I have no idea what direction the chaplain thing is going to take. Perhaps I am a bit too easily distracted, in which case it wouldn't work out anyway. I will have to keep you updated on that as things unfold.

I was all set to go to the first meeting in Denver to talk about my trip in November! I had booked the trip with 3 different airlines in order to accommodate my rather tight schedule. I was really bummed when the meeting was cancelled. Little did I know, however, that due to this cancellation, I would be able to hang out with one of the most fantastic people I have ever had the opportunity to meet! I met them at a session about the State Department's English Language Fellows. I had been to a similar one in the  past, and it really didn't provide any new information, but somehow, this person and I started talking. They had to go, so we decided to hang out the following day. It was good having someone to go to the plenary with (I hate large stadiums), and to try to figure out what sessions to go to.

I also was able to walk through the TESOL exhibit hall and randomly run into a professor of mine from Hawaii Pacific University! I would be able to go out to dinner with her and two of my colleagues from there as well. We went out to this Tex-Mex restaurant and had a wonderful time. We talked about who we still kept in contact with, what we were presently doing, and all the normal things people talk about... I think. We also were able to get an interesting and much too happy person to take this photo for us. It will be great for memories someday, I am sure!

Then there was the company that stopped me as I was wondering aimlessly around the exhibit hall. I found myself being pulled aside and asked about the possibility of teaching in Saudi Arabia. I happened to have a copy of my resume on me. When she saw it, she made sure to get me scheduled for an interview right away (which she could do because the one who reviews the resumes before oking an interview happened to walk by right at that very moment). The interview went very well. The two who were interviewing (a Saudi math teacher and a British English teacher) asked a lot of different grammar, methodology, and classroom management skills questions. Apparently I answered well enough as they both wanted me to go to their respective sites to work! I was offered the job and now just have to decide that this is what I want to do.

And then I had to check out of the hotel. That caused a bit of a mess, but it all turned out alright. I managed to get to the airport in plenty of time. I probably would have barely made it, but the flight was delayed! It was delayed but not enough to make me late for the next flight. I made it to the next flight with a little more time than I thought because it was delayed slightly as well. When I arrived to Mexico city, I had to wait a little while longer than the other places, but I was able to get through customs and recheck my bags with little difficulty. Even the light on the random selection station was cooperating this time around!!

All in all, the things that really annoyed me all seemed to result in things that couldn't have happened otherwise, and I wouldn't change these things for the world!

Why me??

Some people feel that they always have bad luck. Perhaps they are jinxed or just not able to focus enough to keep themselves out of trouble. Apparently I am one of those people. Here are just a few examples as to why this week has made me focus a little on this.

This past week was the TESOL conference. I figured I was going to be in the area, and it would be a good place to perhaps find a job in case other things don't work out. I was told that I would finish processing in plenty of time. It turned out that in/out-processing took a bit longer than first thought. I almost didn't make it here.

Then I called the Chaplain recruiter and FINALLY got in touch with him. He doesn't want to send me an application because in all likelihood he wouldn't be able to process it until October anyway. He wasn't too optimistic about  the whole process, so I had to shelve it for a few days at leas. :(

Then there is the meeting in Denver that I made plans to go to which was cancelled. This meant cancelling flights and losing out on some money. Not a happy thing.

Checking out today, my roommate and I went to the front desk so that we could split the bill. When he checked in, for some reason his credit card did not work, so he prepaid a large portion of the bill (enough to cover around 4 nights, I think). When I checked in, there ended up being a problem with the reservation. It seems that when we set up to be roommates, they added us to each others' reservations. This meant that when I checked in, I was put in the room of my original reservation while he was in his. We managed to figure it out and get my room cancelled and switched to his, but my card still has the hold on it for that room, and a little bit more! We explained what we were going to do when we checked out so that they were informed about the need to refund much of my roommates money. Apparently that word didn't get passed on.

We both went to the desk and requested that my card be charged and his money be refunded. The clerk had minimal funds and was not sure she would be able to refund the necessary amount. She was finally able to do so with a large number of 10s and 5s. As for me, my card would not go through. She tried it a number of times, and even attempted manually all to no avail! I called the company to make sure that everything was alright. They assured me that all was perfect on their side. I had the clerk run it again, and the card agent said that nothing even showed up on their end! They told me that I would have to pay with a different form of payment, which I didn't have.

This all culminated in my long wait for the shuttle to the airport due to the shutting down of the major roads. They did this because of the Rock and Roll Marathon that they ran this morning! Grrr.....

Brief... very brief!!

My time is once again being taken up by grand adventures and questions of the future. I am at the TESOL conference in Dallas, Texas at the moment. I am staying up way too late due to an unknown illness, but am relieved to know that it isn't anything serious... at least that the doctors could find.

I am not yet officially unemployed, but I am taking the next 2 months off before that happens! I am in the process of planning for the first weekend in June as well. I will be in Toronto for a conference there. Perhaps I can start to focus a little more and get into what I have wanted to for a few years now: travel writing/blogging. I have not been so good at it because of my lack of focus, but now I may be able to figure it all out.