Lunes, Lunes

Their is a full moon tonight as I write this. It has been a long day and I am tired, but it is a good tired. I taught my first class at Universidad Catolica. It was different, and I mean exactly that: different.

Over the last couple of days we've noticed the same things that everyone who engages in foreign travel learns. There are things that are the same as home and things that are different and even the things that are the same are different. There is ketchup. That is the same. It is marketed by Hellman's. That is different. It tastes just a little different too. That is okay because if everything was the same we could just stay home.

Jean, mi esposa, and I took a walk today. Hardly any of the plants we saw are the same as we have at home. There are some that look familiar but would look more at home in flower pots than standing alone as a tree as they are doing here. I did see mother-in-law's tongue, vast quantities of it in fact.

An then there are the palm trees and the orange trees and the fruit trees for which there is no word in English.

But back to my class. They are intelligent, nice, polite, and have a great deal of affection for one another. I am exhausted. They will be a challenge for me, but I know they will learn. I know they care.

My first Monday is over and the moon is full. Lunes, lunes.