Feliz Cumpleaños!

I had a very fun 23rd birthday (I can’t believe I’m 23 years old) and the celebration was extremely amusing. I have befriended other teachers in my program that live near my town. For the weekend about 7 other girls and myself went to a beach town, La Antilla, and stayed with one of the girls who lives there. The town was almost completely deserted because not a lot of people live there during the year but it is buzzing with activity during the summer months. We spent Saturday on the beach and met Spain’s National Rowing team. They had been checking us out and eventually approached us. They were guys (very attractive) between the ages of 19 and 26 staying with their coach and his wife for a ‘holiday’ before training starts up again. Apparently they have a good chance of going to the next Olympics!

Anyways, they invited us over that evening for a party. My new friends knew it was my birthday and they surprised me with a pasta dinner (perfect for me!) and a birthday cake with candles. It was very nice and thoughtful. The drink of choice around here is tinto de verano. It is red wine mixed with lemon fanta. Sounds strange but is actually quite good. It can be too sweet at times though.

Anyways, we had dinner and drank lots of tinto de verano and then went over the boy’s house. Let me just say it was one of the funniest parties I have ever been to. The boys heard it was my birthday so they sang happy birthday to me and then the party started. I was wearing a yellow dress so the whole night the boys called me “amarillo” which means yellow. It was kind of like being at my first boy/girl party back in middle school. The coaches wife played hostess and made us play games... I think she was trying to lighten the mood since the drinks hadn’t really started flowing yet! I felt like I was a teenager all over again. She made us stand boy/girl and we played telephone. Then we played 2 truths and a lie and also spin the bottle... Yes thats right I played spin the bottle for my 23rd birthday. It was one of the most comical things I have ever been a part of.

Eventually we switched to drinking rum and coke and things lightened up and the wife went to bed. The rest of the evening went on like a regular party and we ended up at a bar on the beach.

At around 5am all of us girls stumbled home and went to bed. I didn’t even realize until after but we had spent the whole night talking only in Spanish because the boys spoke little to no English. It ended up being very good practice and an interesting night to say the least.

The next day they met us on the beach again and I played a game similar to badminton with them. Then we parted ways. I will be interested in seeing if any of them make it to the Olympics!

On Monday, all my classes sang happy birthday to me and by recess, once the word had spread that it was my birthday, I had some birthday cards.

I am happy to say that I will always remember my 23rd birthday in Spain!

Manuel Siurot

I love my school and teaching!

The elementary school I work at is called Manuel Suriot. This is what has been explained to me: The regional government, The Junta de Andalucia, has decided to stimulate the bilingual interest in schools. This is a new idea. My job title is a Language and Culture Assistant. In other parts of Spain and Europe this concept is a few years old, but in Southern Spain the program is new and as English teachers and Language and Culture assistants we are helping develop the program. Last year was my schools first year having an American there to teach. Since the program is fresh I am helping with lesson planning and practicing English with teachers. The idea is not to add more hours of instruction during the school day but to start teaching the subjects in English. Some classes are taught partly in English and others are taught totally in English. There is a section in each school that is becoming bilingual.

I spend most of my time working with Guadalupe. So far from what I can tell she is a very fun person and has made me feel comfortable. She knows a lot more English then I expected she would and I am very glad because this makes things a lot easier. We get along very well and I love talking to her and learning about one another. I think we get along so well because she reminds me a lot of my mother. She is a good English teacher as well and I am excited to spend so much time with her this year. I think we will learn a lot from each other.

I also work with Sandro who is a first grade teacher. I work with him during science and art classes because those are the subjects that the school has decided will be taught in English. So far I say everything in English and then it is repeated in Spanish so the students are hearing everything in both languages.
Laura is also an English teacher that I work with in the third grade classes. I think we are going to get along well also. She is younger then a lot of the other teachers and I am excited to talk to her more. She seems very quite and conservative.
I also meet for one hour with some teachers separately. This hour is for English practice. We talk to one another in English about different topics. It’s a good opportunity for them to ask me questions and also practice their pronunciation.

All the students have so many questions for me. What is your name? Where are you from? How old are you? The student’s favorite question is asking if I have a boyfriend. In fact that is everyone’s favorite question. At first that question made me blush but now I am used to it. My answer is always “No I don’t have a boyfriend.” They are very quick to respond with “Do you want one?” I have had two women say they want to set me up with their sons and then they proceed to invite me over for dinner. Everyone is very blunt here, no beating around the bush. I like it but it also leads to some very awkward conversations.

The classes can be very difficult at points because I won’t know how to say something in Spanish and they won’t understand it in English. I do a lot of acting as I said and I draw a lot of pictures on the board. They have quickly learned that I am learning Spanish just as they are learning English. When I make mistakes they laugh WITH me but they also see that it is ok to make mistakes. This is good because they are eager to participate and not embarrassed when they are wrong. We have an understanding that we are learning from each other.

On the first day it was Hilarious. Guadalupe took me around to meet all the classes and teachers. I had to stand there and listen to each student say “Hello my name is ...” “Hello my name is ...” “Hello my name is ...” I heard that sentence probably 200 times that day. It was robotic. (I haven’t taken any pictures at school yet. Those will come.)

Welcome to La Palma Del Condado!

Better Ways by Ben Harper. I love the lyrics  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TILzJ-_4urk

Roommate: WONDERFUL. Carrie is easy-going, considerate, fun, and up for adventure – the adventure of experiencing life in general, which we have in common. We have especially had fun sharing our former experiences traveling abroad. I am so thankful for her company here, and it is really comforting to have someone to process these changes, adjustments, and experiences with as well as to figure out the logistics of life as an English teacher together. She is from Virginia Beach, Virginia. The only downside is she talks a lot, a lot. 

Apartment: INCREDIBLE. And by this I mean authentic, open, full of interesting history, spacious, cozy, home-y, and just right for us. It’s a 3 bedroom apartment, so we have a guest room for anyone who wants to come visit!!! The apartment has a cute kitchen, living room/dining room, 1.5 baths and a small terrace overlooking one end of the town.

I have decorated my room a little. I put up a Marilyn Monroe poster I found, so now it feels like home :)

Here are pictures: My dinning room.

My living room...gotta love the doilies.

My kitchen.

My bedroom.

Town: CHARMING… La Palma is quite small and out of the way – not the easiest or most convenient place to get to, but it is really beautiful and feels definitely Spanish. Real people live here, if that makes sense, and it has been fun to start getting around and explore a little bit of the near surroundings. I want to take advantage of what La Palma has to offer and enjoy living in this community, but I also know that I am eager to travel and I want to take advantage of opportunities to go out and see other cities and towns nearby. I have noticed a color theme in my town. Many of the beautiful buildings all are white with royal blue and yellow or gold trimming. It’s very pretty.

School: SURPRISE – It is better then I could have imagined. The teachers and students have been more then welcoming, they are so excited to have me there and want to help me with my Spanish just as much as they want to learn English. More later.

Things that seem so habitual at home are an everyday struggle for me. When I want to use the oven I have to figure out what temperature to do things in Celsius instead of Fahrenheit, I’m getting used to military time, I have to light the hot water heater to take a shower, etc. My current challenge of the day is trying to work our washing machine... First time around, I opened the washer door and water and suds spilled out everywhere, we could have had a foam party. We have a spot on the roof with clothes lines and we drape our clothes along those to dry.

Simple conversations at home with a landlord about how to get internet or with the lady at the cellphone store to pick out a phone plan are a big, exhausting ordeal. I am becoming quite the actress over here (thank goodness for the lessons when I was a kid, right?). I am quickly learning that sign language and acting skills are a must for communicating. Interacting with anyone would be impossible if I couldn’t gesture and act things out. Everyone tells me that Andalusians talk very fast and have a unique accent. I would completely agree with that statement. I am constantly asking people to slow down when they are talking. But is return I am always being asked to slow down my English as well. I am having to find the simplest ways to say things and express myself in English. I never realized it would be so hard. 

One thing I strongly dislike about Spain so far is that no one picks up their dog poop. It is everywhere and I am constantly dodging it on the streets and sidewalks. The good news is the streets are cleaned nightly so it doesn’t necessarily pile up.

Something I really like about Spain is they greet each other with kisses on each cheek. I prefer this to a hand shake because I don’t need to use my sweaty palms. 

Second Week in Sevilla

(Picture in Cadiz)

Important notice: The ever-elusive churro stand still evades me. They were sold-out once more (which only encourages my persistence, these must be some darn good churros!) but the vendor kindly laughed when I showed up again and told me that if I stopped by on the way to class instead of afterwards, he’d guarantee me some churro con chocolate… so morale is high. (Picture in Cadiz)

My first weekend I took a weekend trip to Cadiz, it’s a city right along the beach and absolutely gorgeous. Cadiz is thought to be the oldest city in Europe, founded in 1100 BC by the Phoenicians. After its foundation, the city became naval bases and ports for the Romans, as well as the subsequent Moorish and Christian empires. A group of study abroad students that I have met and befriended went on this weekend adventure and I decided to join the group and slipped on the bus as well as in tour groups for free and unnoticed! Cadiz had many ancient buildings and my favorite was the huge bell tour we climbed up and were able to look out over the whole city. We stayed in a very sketchy hostal because we neglected to arrange for one ahead of time. (Picture from the top of the Cadiz Bell Tower).

By the way I FINALLY got some good churros, on my last day in Sevilla haha. They were just as I had imagined… fried heaven dipped in melted dark chocolate. Now I'm hooked. (Picture overlooking the city of Cadiz).

After two weeks in Sevilla, I hoped a train to my small town and home for the next 9 months, La Palma Del Condado. My first impressions of my small town of 8,000 people is that it has good Spanish charm, lots of character, and very nice residents. Within a few days of being here I was able to find an apartment that I am sharing with the other American girl that is teaching at the high school in our town. We signed the lease and moved in within 2 days. 

I start work on Thursday October 1st...

First Week in Sevilla

Jah Work by Ben Harper

During my first week stay in Sevilla I managed to do quite a bit of sightseeing. I went to the Museo de Bellas Artes, the 2nd largest Art Museum in Spain (2nd only to the Prado in Madrid)! It was wonderful! I also went to the Museo de Artes y Costumbres Populares and Museo Arqueologico. I walked around the Plaza de Espana where the beginning of the second Star Wars movie, Attack of the Clones, was filmed. It was spectacular. I visited the Cathedral in town and also the many bell towers. (Picture is of the Giralda, originally constructed in the 11th century... still the tallest point in the entire city!)

My failed endeavor of the day: There’s this churro stand (they’re pretty common here) which is just a block or two away from where I take my classes. I’ve seen crowds of Spaniards lined up in the morning to get churros con chocolate (a typical breakfast or mid-morning snack), so I figure it’s the place to be if the locals love it so much. After only toast with jam for breakfast at 8:30, by around 11-12 those churros start to sound very appetizing. I had tried to go there a day or so before with another student, but the vendor informed us that they were sold out already, so this was my second attempt. Unfortunately, he once again had to share some bad news: they don’t sell churros on Monday, that’s potato chip day (duh!)… Oh well.  (Picture is of Plaza de Espana).

A very fun event while I’m staying with my host family is today is Jesús’ birthday (party was Saturday, real birthday today), I went next door to the parents’ house and finally got to meet the whole family! It was pretty great; there are at least 11 people (I kept losing count), and everyone was laughing and singing and clapping and hugging and kissing and banging on the table and EATING! When I came up the stairs, I was greeted by 11 pairs of two kisses (the common Spanish greeting) and the padre had everyone applaud for me, haha… also the first thing that the madre said was, “Ay si que guapa, que linda eres!” (The Spanish have no tact with words, they just say what’s on their mind, so I’m glad this was her response and not “que gordita!” Needless to say, I felt sufficiently welcomed to the family. (Picture is Jesus on his birthday).

We had this reeeeally good gazpacho (it was red and very thick, made with tomato, other veggies, olive oil, and some famous Sevilla jamón), followed by some brothy, curry-y, potatoes and chicken (not the technical name of the dish, but close enough, I’m sure). Lunch was concluded with several dessert items (all of which, of course, were placed on my plate), including bananas, chocolate/vanilla ice cream, and some kind of caramel whiskey cake… estaba completamente llena!

From Portland to Sevilla

Song I'm currently enjoying: In The Colors by Ben Harper

This first post is rather long but hang in there they won't all be this way!

Being three weeks into my trip I’ll get everyone up to date on the most important and memorable things. First of all, my trip did not get off to the smoothest of starts. What’s funny is the morning I left my mom said to me that I will come across obstacles and challenges all throughout my journey and to just take deep breaths and take everything in stride. I smiled and agreed that being gone for such a significant amount of time I was bound to run into problems. Little did I know that my first encounter would be later that morning, the first leg of my journey. On September 10th the morning of my departure I said a very hard good-bye to both my mom and brother and then left for the airpot with my dad. Dad helped me check all my luggage (which was a lot as some of you know!) and waited in the security line with me until the very last possible moment. I said my final good-bye to him passed through security and boarded my plane with butterflies in my stomach and tears in my eyes but a smile on my face. 

I was so exhausted from partying my final few days and staying up late with friends that I immediately fell asleep before take-off. I woke up an hour later realizing that the plane had not taken off and was still on the runway. Not long after we were told that the plane’s computer or something wasn’t connecting to the radio tower and we had to de-board the plane. I had to go all the way back out to check-in and all my flights were rescheduled for the next day at the same time. Thinking I was leaving for a year I had mentally prepared myself for not seeing my family, friends, house, cell phone etc. for at least 9 months. But instead a mere 4 hours later I was calling home asking for a ride and walking through my front door. All this threw me for a loop. At first, sheer panic was going through my head. Not only was I going to be a day and a half late for orientation but I would miss the airport to hotel transportation that was provided for me; as long as I arrived within a time frame. I was terrified at the prospect of navigating myself to the hotel moments after arriving in a foreign country. 

Anyways, the extra day ended up being very pleasant and helpful and the next morning the goodbyes were easier and the butterflies were tamer. The morning before had been like a practice-run. I boarded my plane and waited to fall asleep until after the plane was in the air. I slept all the way to Philadelphia and then had a very uncomfortable flight from philly to Barcelona. Once in Barcelona I was told that my flight to my final destination, Sevilla (where my luggage was), didn’t exist. I was thinking “oh great, here we go again...” Right off the plane and my spanish skills were immediately being tested. I showed them all my ticket stubs and explained I had a flight. They made a phone call and once again everything was settled and I was boarding my last flight. In Sevilla I picked up my luggage and catching a taxi and telling him where I needed to go ended up being easiest part of the whole long journey. (Picture of me in Sevilla).

I arrived at the hotel around lunch time and slipped right into orientation and meeting dozens of other boys and girls (fellow teachers) that all had their own traveling mishaps and setbacks. The next few days were go go go. I immediately met my host family that I stayed with for 2 weeks and I also started my spanish “refresher” courses that I took during those two weeks. (Picture is of the 3rd largest Cathedral in Europe. I walked past it everyday going to and from class)

A little bit about my host family. I knew nothing about them going into this experience but was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. I stayed with a family of 12+ (I’m still unclear on who was family, friends, cousins etc.). Between 2 houses, next door to each other, all these family members lived together. The mother, father, and youngest of the 10 kids lived in one house and I lived in the other house with the oldest 6 kids. 5 brothers and 1 sister all between the ages of 25 and 30. It is very common for Spanish children to live at home until they are married... On a day-to-day basis instead of having a “mother” cook for me, I felt like I was living in a frat house with my closest guys friends... It wasn’t so bad though. They were extremely friendly, attractive!, and patient with my Spanish. I had 3 meals a day, my own room and bathroom, clean laundry, and I always had an invitation to party with them. The Spanish schedule is ridiculous. Breakfast is not until around 10 am, lunch is at 3pm, siesta is everyday from 3-6pm, and dinner isn’t served until 10pm or later. Bars don’t open and parties don’t start until around 12:30 am and they don’t end until 7 or 8 the next morning. Some mornings I would run into my drunk "brother" just getting home as I was getting breakfast or leaving for classes. I made it out a few times with them but otherwise I was trying to overcome jet-lag and make it to my spanish and orientation classes everyday. Sevilla was very fun though and had beautiful buildings. They gave me an invitation to stay with them again anytime I wanted to go back into the city. (Picture is of my host brothers).