New Week, New Classes

Peter and I are beginning our second week of Spanish classes at La Escuela Mexicana (The Mexican School). Per the director's suggestion, we are each taking four classes a day: 2 hours of grammar, 1 hour of conversation, and one hour of a class called escuela practica or "practical school."
What you do in escuela practica depends on your level, but the idea is to learn language as it is used or to learn local culture. In Peter's beginning-level classes, he learns thematic vocabulary in conversation class and then, in E.P., they go out and use it. For example, they learn words for restaurants or hotels, then they go to one and use those words. Lately, they have been learning localization words, so they go out and talk about the locations of buildings and things in relation to other buildings and things. In my advanced level, the class is a bit different. Last week, we read two newspaper articles, one about slang and one about the censorship of biology textbooks in the state, learned idiomatic phrases that use the verb "echar", and listened to a song with lots of subjunctives in it.
Each week, students leave or arrive, some arrive back who have left months ago, and they are greeted warmly. Each week, your schedule might change -- the hours you have your classes, and your teachers. Last week and this week all my classes were in a row from 9 to 1, and Peter started and ended an hour later. However, last week, I had E.P. with Luis, Conversation with Vicente, then two hours of Grammar with Alejandro. In my E.P. and Conversation classes, there were 5-6 of us, but in Grammar only two. On Friday afternoon, after everyone filled out their evaluation and plans-for-next-week forms, and the director had a chance to make the schedules (imagine making a master schedule weekly!), we stopped back at the school to see our new classes. Peter was sad not to have one of his favorite teachers this week and I was sad to see my grammar class had grown, and that I would not have one of my teachers this week, though I do like all of them. Last week, my bigger classes included a man from Germany, a woman from Scotland, a woman from Wisconsin, a girl (she's in high school, which weirded me out a bit) from Texas, and, some of the days, a man from Canada. This week, my classes still include the man from Germany and the woman from Wisconsin, and some days the man from Canada, but now we are joined by a woman from Canada, a woman from Oakland, and a woman from Kentucky.
In conversation classes both Mondays, Vicente has made us choose topics of discussion for the next three days, then Friday is "free day". Last week, we discussed the environment, health care systems, and religion. Friday we ended up talking a bit about immigration and a bit about what it takes for a Mexican to visit the United States on vacation (we are crazy, our country). On all the days, I talked a lot (yeah, no surprise there). After the first day, I felt bad about that and I asked Vicente if he thought it was too much. He thought I was crazy to ask -- if other students want to talk, they can, and that's what the class is for, so I should take advantage of it. Upon further reflection, I decided that none of the other students were less empowered than I, as far as I could tell and it was their business to pipe up. I did, however, ask the German man what he thought one day, just to get his input in the conversation. He had a lot to say.
This week, our class chose cooking, sports, and the economy. Someone suggested clothing styles and I nearly cried. Our homework each night, if we want the discussion to go well, is to come up with about 5 questions on the theme. I admit, I only have three cooking questions so far but, for me, it is not the most generative theme:

1. What are typical dishes of your culture or country that you like to eat/cook, or that you don't like?
2. Why do you think that the majority of home-cooks are women but the majority of the top chefs in restaurants are men? (I don't actually want to ask this one so much, actually)
3. What are your favorite comfort foods?

Honestly, I hope someone else has good questions. My friend from Wisconsin usually comes up with really interesting stuff. Meanwhile, just in case, I figured out some vocabulary: how to say gefilte fish (albondigas de pescado, literally "fish meatballs"), matzoh balls (bolas de matzoh), tripe (tripa, an example of something that is common here and I don't like).

On another note (Pat and Pete!), we seem to be able to see exciting birds from our house. We are up on a hill and there seems to be some undeveloped tree-ful green area to our right. Yesterday we saw a bird an today we looked it up: we believe it to be a vermilion flycatcher. This morning when I was leaving, I saw some sort of bird of prey across the valley on an outcropping wall of one of the houses. I was too far to see what it was, but I think it was a falcon or hawk.

Finally, I know there is a demand for photos of our new place. We are still setting it up, but will post photos shortly.