November in Colima

J, Perla and Seora Lety (with volcano in background)
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November Report

Professional activities

J's November Report for the British Council

Throughout this month I have still been organising classes and getting to know my students. I feel like I now know most of them (well the ones that come regularly!) quite well. They are really nice people and genuinely interested in learning “British” English which makes my job a lot easier!

Colima Volcano
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Lessons have been varied- as I have a lot of beginners I have found it quite challenging to plan lessons. The students find it difficult just to express their opinions and form sentences so I have found the best way is to use games or simple worksheets which focus on structures such as how to ask questions, or practising saying what they like and dislike- generally just getting them to talk.

For a lot of the advanced students I don’t need to plan very much as they are so interested in Britain and all things British they tend to lead the lesson slightly, asking what they want to know and they are generally very happy to just chat away about anything.

Manzanillo Beach
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A particularly successful class was a lesson on British Music, when I bought in music for them to listen to and give their opinions on… I was very shocked that some students hadn’t heard of Oasis or Coldplay, although they all seemed to know The Beatles! Also very popular was a lesson on the game “20 questions” where the students have to guess in 20 questions the name of a famous person. (The questions can only be answered by yes or no).

Resources wise I have been using the BBC website to download articles which I then make into reading comprehensions. I have also found a section on “lingo” which is words and phrases that we commonly use in British English that are a bit different. For example, “I’m shattered” and “Fancy a bevvie?” I have made up some exercises with these phrases that involve finding the definition or equivalent version in more standard English.

Museum at Nogueras
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Socio-cultural Activities

Whilst I really like Colima and I’m happy here, I’m starting to feel it’s a bit small! It’s a very pretty, tranquil place but there’s not an awful lot to do! However, this month I’ve been visiting other places and after some busy weekends I really appreciate coming back to the calm of Colima and spending time relaxing with my Mexican family and friends. I love the people in Colima, they are extremely friendly and I don’t get shouted at in the street- people are very respectful, and don’t even stare much. (Quite a contrast when I went to Puebla!) I’m speaking a lot of Spanish because I don’t know any other English people here- all my friends are Mexican.

Nogueras
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I spent one weekend this month with 3 girls from work and we went to Tenacatita to an all-inclusive beach resort. We paid $1000 for the weekend and everything was included (even alcohol!) so it was really good value. It was a really fun, relaxing, weekend. As well as sunbathing on the beach and round the pool we went on a boat trip around the different beaches in the area. In the evenings we watched shows put on by the Entertainment Team at the resort, one of which included a display of dances from different areas of Mexico. We also managed to have a few margaritas and dance around in the disco!

I spent a great weekend in Puebla with Helen and Michelle. I arrived Friday morning after travelling overnight and really felt the temperature difference!! When I left Colima it had been about 10º higher! Helen met me at the bus station and we went to her flat which is huge and right in the centre of Puebla. We spent the day wandering around the centre, which is really pretty and colonial and reminded me a lot of Spain. In the evening we went to see a cultural event at one of the universities where Helen’s tutor was hosting an “Irish Bar” with Guinness with “Irish” apple crumble! Michelle arrived in the evening and we spent the next day wandering around some more and trying mole, which is very rich! On Saturday night Helen had a party for her flatmate Alice’s birthday which was great fun and ended sometime around 7.00am the next day….

I have also been with my Mexican family into the centre of Colima various times. It looks very pretty with all the Christmas lights up and the stalls out, but it feels very odd that it’s warm- I associate Christmas with the cold! We also went one day to Nogueras which is a small village just outside of Comala where the famous artist Alejandro Rangel Hidalgo lived. We saw some of his work, and also lots of ceramics of the “Colima Dancing Dogs”. On the same day we drove towards the volcano so got some great photos as it was a clear day. (Sadly lost my camera the week later!)