December Update

I’ve been failing in the blogging world these past few weeks.  Why?  I can’t really say.  It’s not that I haven’t been doing interesting things (or having interesting things happen to me).  It’s not that I’ve been too stressed or busy to write.  I just…haven’t felt like it.  So, I apologize.  And here’s a re-cap of my last 2 weeks.

My parents and sister came to visit over Thanksgiving!  We did and saw a LOT together (enough for 4-5 blog posts!  Why didn’t I write about that?).  We hit up the beach, stayed in an awesome mountainside B&B, kayaked in the bioluminescent bay in Fajardo, hiked in the rainforest of El Yunque (and got rained on, of course), and spent some time sightseeing in Old San Juan. 

Sisters, together again!  

No beach day with my sister would be complete
without a sand castle... and her posing next to it.

Ready for rain in El Yunque!

La Mina Falls.  We opted not to swim
that day...



After my full 9 days off of school, I headed back to my students and routine for 2 weeks.  It was good to see them again and get back into the swing of life.  They were two pretty uneventful weeks of classes.  A few quizzes, a few new concepts, students mostly paying attention, etc. 

The first weekend after Thanksgiving, I spent a very quiet and relaxing weekend staying in town, having a sleepover with Rachel and Kelsey.  We played games, watched Christmas movies, listened to Christmas music, and ate delicious food.  And, of course…didn’t change out of pajamas until mid-afternoon on Sunday. 

This past weekend, we had planned a trip to Culebra (a small island off the east coast of Puerto Rico known for its beautiful beaches) on Saturday, but we woke up to rain.  So instead, we spent the morning and afternoon at Pozuelo (by then the rain had stopped and the sun even poked its head out over Guayama in patches), and then played Hoopla and simply enjoyed our own company all evening. 

Last Sunday, Rachel, Kelsey, and I went Christmas shopping in Old San Juan.  While we may not have made as many Christmas purchases as we hoped to, it was an enjoyable day in the city filled with good food and Christmas spirit.  (All of Old San Juan is decorated in lights, and we made sure we stayed until after dark to see their full glory).    
In another side-note: I had sushi for the 2nd time ever in Old San Juan this past weekend, and I still love it!  NEVER would have thought I would enjoy raw fish as much as I do.  Yummy AND healthy!

I love Old San Juan...even the streets that AREN'T
decorated for the holidays are pretty.


This week at school, the students come for half days.  They have 2 midterm tests each morning, and the teachers stay until 3pm to give us a chance to get all of our grading in before the semester ends on Friday.  I must say, I quite like this schedule!  Tomorrow is the last day with students, then on Thursday teachers have a workday, and on Friday is the staff Christmas party.  Can’t wait!

In 4 days, I’ll be back in Wisconsin weather!  Cheers!

Pretty standard photo for us.

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