First day

I am taking advantage of the free time we´ve had today in the office to create this blog. It´s my first day, and I´ve already met my new colleagues in the departamento de idiomas and toured the modest, but very modern campus at my new place of work: Universidad de Oriente (UNO) . The campus is still in its beginning stages, and they hope to have begun construction of the library by next year. They have some really unique facilities already, though. There are three brand new computer labs, two large lecture halls, a radio and TV broadcasting studio, a model of a hotel front desk and guest bedroom (for tourism students), and a fully functioning industrial kitchen (for the gastronomy students)! Eat your heart out, Top Chef! I am definitely impressed, and I was relieved to find out that our office has powerful AC. There is a cafeteria with outdoor seating, and I ate empanadas for lunch. They cost about one dollar. I was joined by several colleagues, and the official dog of UNO - whose name is - appropriately -Una. There are also snakes and tarantulas on campus, and previous students in the Mayan Linguistics and Culture program have built a traditional Maya palapa (hut) which is a sort of sanctuary for anyone who wants to take a break.
We will find out our teaching schedules very soon. The earliest classes are taught at 7 am (!) and the last class is taught from 7-9 pm. The new students are on campus today for orientation, and they all applauded us when we were briefly introduced as the new English teachers. I do know that I will be teaching a TOEFL Prep course for students and community members who are interested in pursuing a Master´s degree. I don´t yet know about the other 3 courses I will be teaching, but I am inspired by the fact that there are some great materials to choose from and our program coordinator, Miguel, is getting his Master´s in Innovations in Education. He would like to use the Moodle in our courses. I never thought I´d say this, but luckily for me, I took an elective course in Moodling, so I am pretty familiar with the technology.
The weather is very hot and humid, and during the rainy season the bug, puffy, white clouds gather and turn dark every evening, sprinkling the ground with rain just a bit. Last night I took the bus from Cancun to Valladolid. We passed through many Maya villages and it gave me a chance to see their way of life. They live in huts made of palms and sticks with dirt floors. Many have no glass in their windows, but every property has hammocks inside and outside. I did see some TVs, though!
My colleagues seem really team-oriented and helpful. I get the feeling that we will be able to communicate well and everyone is laid back and motivated to teach, which makes me feel very comfortable in my new environment. The rest of the week will probably involve more talk about the syllabus, UNO policies and procedures, immigration stuff, lesson planning, etc.
I plan to explore Valladolid this evening and begin scouting for my apartment tonight or tomorrow. I hope to be able to maintain this blog fairly regularly, writing about my classroom experiences, cultural observations, and life in Yucatan in general.