A typical day? There's no such thing. I usually eat breakfast in our apartment in Wolcott House. This gives Juan and me some time to spend together in the morning. Then I run to assembly unless it is Wednesday. I then prepare for class, read the students' papers that I didn't get to the night before, or go directly to class depending on my schedule. I'm always prepping, and sometimes, especially on duty nights in the dorm, getting it all done is very difficult.

The schedule here is very intense. I teach four sections: Spanish 5 AP Literature, one section of Spanish 4, and two sections of Spanish 1A.

Spanish 5 AP Literature is a college-level course in literary analysis and is conducted entirely in Spanish. The students read a number of books and plays that we discuss. These students also write a lot of papers, so I do a lot of reading and since the students rewrite, I read everything at least twice.

In Spanish 4, Language and Literature, we finished a unit on pre-Colombian myths and legends. We read a play on the Mexican Revolution. We are now studying Mexican and Spanish artists. Tonight's assignment is to look at an image we have on the Web and describe it, in Spanish, of course. This class is a topics course, but it also includes some grammar and is conducted completely in Spanish.

I teach two sections of Spanish 1A. These are seventh graders and this is their introduction to the Spanish language. This is such a fun class to teach because the students are so willing and ready to learn. There is a lot of vocabulary, and listening comprehension is a top priority because the students have to get used to the sounds of the language and the pronunciation. Among other things the students do little skits, which are a big deal for them. They spend a lot of time in groups discussing just how the skit should run. We do a lot of "acting" which gets the students involved in the acquisition of the language.

Since I teach exactly what I like, I feel very lucky. I enjoy teaching at the middle school level, but also enjoy teaching literature to the older kids.

Being close to the city of Boston enhances our teaching. There are many cultural activities, lectures and conferences in the area. We share this information in the department, in case someone is interested or is able to go to a particular event. We use a lot of visuals in the modern languages department; pictures from magazines, television segments, information from the Internet. After years of teaching, you collect a lot of things. We use segments from movies here and there because a ten-minute clip can trigger a lot of conversation.

I'm a co-advisor to the Latino Association. The club is great because it meets the needs of students, especially Latino students. It consists of approximately 15 members. We usually spend Monday meetings discussing current issues relating to Latinos either here or in New York City, Colombia, Puerto Rico, or Mexico. Every other Thursday we go to the dance studio and learn to salsa or merengue. One Monday afternoon we danced in Thacher room, and 70 or 80 students attended.

I like to go to watch my husband's games on Wednesday afternoons and Saturdays. So I've seen a lot of soccer and basketball games.

Other afternoons I spend the time meeting with colleagues. In the Modern Languages department you see a lot of collaboration -- I don't think I would teach as well without the collaboration. Working with strong professionals enhances our work, because everyone is strong in a different area. Students are learning the language and also becoming sensitive to other cultures, people, art and literature.

During my free time I go to the gym, to the grocery store, do laundry, and read. Juan and I are on duty in Wolcott on Wednesdays. At around 2:00 the students begin asking for permission to go off campus.During the week we have advisory meetings and Latino Association board meetings in our apartment. And many times we tutor there. Sometimes I can get the kids to help bake cakes for birthday parties, but I have to make sure I have everything ready, cake mix, frosting etc...

Students call on us with questions about Spanish or Math, but sometimes they use this as an excuse to talk about something else. Other times, if the house kitchen is out of milk or eggs, the kids might come by to ask for some.

On the weekends I do the things I don't have time to do during the week. Once in a while I get into Boston. Some weekends we have to write comments or I have a lot of papers I have to grade. Once in a while we go to the movies or out to dinner. Juan and I really appreciate our vacations. Since we have been here, we've had the opportunity to travel to Mexico City, Argentina, Yucatan, and we are now closer to our home, Puerto Rico.