Sipping Shots at School

-I decided I really like my class with the parents. They’re a lot of fun, they listen, they ask good questions, I’m allowed to speak Spanish with them and good conversation always happens in and after class.
-On Tuesday I got my library card. I’m really excited about that because now I can read whatever Spanish lit I can find. I’m starting with some Julio Cortázar.
-I bought myself a new Fútbolista magazine. I love it. Now I’ll have more pictures to hang on my walls :)
-I ran into 2 of my students at the park and they were hilarious because they were trying to tell me stories in Spanish and they got really creative in explaining things to me by acting things out. It even involved climbing a lamp post. Haha
-I found an abandoned dog. I want to adopt it. It’s cute in a mutt way. Eddie said I can adopt it as long as it doesn’t live in the apartment. So next time I go back to that area of town, I’m putting chorizo in my bag and luring him home :)
-My classes with the kids have been better this week, not great, but better. I did Halloween activities with them. Hopefully today’s class goes well too.
-Yesterday was the one teacher’s 60th birthday so we had some cake and churros to celebrate during the recess break. I love other people’s birthdays :) But they had this drink thing and the birthday guy poured me some and said I had to try it because it’s very typical of this area. I don’t know what it was, but I could have sworn he said it was made from grapes before they fermented, which may have been true but something was definitely fermented and strongly so. So there I am, sipping a shot of something with all these teachers during the 30 minute break. And when I finished, he poured me another. Maybe that’s why my afternoon classes went so well :)
-I had fun with Alejandra and Estefania and our conversations in English. They both decided to talk to me about boys. Always a good topic with 13 and 15 year old girls. But Alejandra is hilarious. We came up with this plan to meet Pique and Casillas (Murrison, don’t worry I’ll send Casillas your way and just use him to lure in the Ramos).
-I love my conversations with Manuel too. They always start out so light and full of jokes but then end up pretty deep and thoughtful. Last night we ended up talking about immigration in the US and Spain.
- And… I found an Evangelical church. Apparently Felipe’s mom is Protestant so I asked him where she goes to church and then he walked me there so I knew how to get there. I’m pretty excited. He said he’s going to show her a picture of me so she can introduce me to the whole church. Haha. So I’m going to try to be around this Sunday so I can go.

Random Observations and Whatnots

This county ceases to amaze me in the way that eggs and milk don’t need to be refrigerated in the store and yogurt apparently doesn’t expire for a whole year. Everything closes down every day from 2-5ish, with the exception of random restaurants. The streets are dead during those hours and during Saturday and Sunday afternoons. On the weekends at night mostly, people appear from nowhere, people I’ve never seen before- mostly college kids home for most weekends. I still haven’t figured out the ringing of the church bells in this town because they seem to ring whenever they want. Rarely on the hour and sometimes with only a five minute break in between episodes. I love that after normal Spanish dining times the streets are usually occupied with people out for a stroll. I love how the one old man stopped me to give me a piece of hard candy when I walked by on my first week here, I want to find him again. I love how this is a small town where everyone knows everyone else, usually by name too, and if they don’t, they have a friend who knows them and they can report back to you in 5 minutes what that person is like. I’m anxious to be one of those people that everyone knows in town, and not just knows me as the American girl in town, cuz I’m pretty sure I’ve already accomplished that, but knows me in the way that if someone asked about me they could report back something about me and my life. I love that I can buy some of the best bread in baguette form and only have to pay like 45 cents. I love that I can watch El Hormiguero and Doctor Mateo without having to upload it onto my computer. Even more I love that I can watch every Real Madrid game on a big screen TV surrounded by lots of people who care in a bar owned by a man who is also a Madrid fan and insists on ringing a bell every time the team scores.

Life here is so good. I am pleased. Estoy super contenta :)

oh, and the only Protestant church in this town is Romanian. So not in either of the languages I speak. Looks like I have to find myself a Romanian translator who can teach me the language too haha :)

My first bad day

Tuesday was an average day. I don’t remember anything spectacular happening at school. In the early evening I met with Estefania, the one girl that I’m tutoring. I’m there to help her practice English conversation. It was kinda awkward. She’s 13 and her level of English is pretty basic so it was hard to think of things to say and ask. The rest of my evening was free so I enjoyed watching Madrid win against AC Milan. Always a good thing.

Wednesday was my first bad day here in Quintanar. I just wasn’t in the best of moods. At school everything was fine. I really like my 4th grade girls and I like that they seem to be content with just being around me even if we can’t really talk about a lot of things. At lunch we (Eddie, the one teacher Jesús, and another random woman that I’m not sure where she comes from) got into quite the conversation about religion, mainly focusing on the Catholic Church. It was certainly interesting. At 4ish I had my first afternoon class with the 5-7 year olds. And it was a disaster. It was me and like 16 kids with way too much energy. Some of them were wandering around, some were just off in their own little world. The most frustrating part is that I’m not allowed to speak Spanish to them (I still have them fooled), therefore I can’t really discipline them, but if you can’t even explain a fun activity to them, it’s difficult. And you try to tell them not to do something, and they pretend they don’t understand you, whether or not they really do. Right after that class I had one with the 4th-6th graders. It started off better and then it went way downhill. I tried playing a game with them but it got too far out of control, cuz once again, they did their own thing instead of listening to simple instructions. I don’t know. Maybe it was just because I was low on patience to begin with or maybe I just like my classroom a little bit more structured than they’re used to, but all I know is that I left super frustrated and ready to cry. But Wednesdays are my crazy day so I just had to keep moving. I met with Estefania again and this time it went really well. The hour passed by really quickly and it put me in a way better mood. Then after that I went to meet Felipe for coffee. And right after that I went to Manuel and Ana’s to work with Alejandra and for dinner. They brought home kebabs cuz they knew I loved them. And they were great because they were spicy. Like decently spicy. But I love that family (I probably say that every time I mention them). After dinner, Manuel and I sat and talked about a whole bunch of stuff, from life to traveling to Spanish literature. It was just a great way to end such a stressful day.

Excuse me, can I have my pants back?

On Thursday afternoon I went for a run. This time I made it 7 miles. Pretty sweet. I hope this continues. Afterwards I went out with Eddie to meet up with 3 of the teachers from his school. We hung out a little bit and it was fun. I love meeting new people. Afterwards I hung out with my friend Giovanni. He’s pretty funny.

On Friday I didn’t have class so I just kinda hung out for part of the day. I did my first load of laundry and when I went to hang my pants on the clothesline, and they fell on to the patio on the first floor. So I had to go down and ask for my pants back, but no one was there so I had to leave a note. I was slightly embarrassed, but the woman brought them back when I wasn’t around. I had been out with my intercambio (my language partner) Felipe. He somehow found me on Facebook and asked if I’d help him with his English and offered to help with my Spanish. He’s great even though he’s a Barca fan and he hates Enrique Iglesias and all other Spanish music I like. But he really wants to improve his English so he can get a job in Germany which is where his girlfriend is studying. Jobs are hard to find in Spain these days and apparently there’s a need for computer engineers in Germany, which is what he does. But it’s good to have another friend here in Quintanar.

On Saturday Eddie and I built my wardrobe. It was quite the project because there were no instructions. We had to imagine how it went and do it trial and error style. It went a lot smoother than I thought.. In the evening we went to the one bar around the corner to watch fútbol. Felipe told me it was the best place to watch the games because they project the games on a big screen. It’s fabulous. We caught part of the Atleti game, the Barca game (which started so good and then ended bad) and the Madrid game (which was fabulous the whole time through, except for the fact that my Ramos was injured and therefore not on the field…) but the owner is a Madrid fan too and he would get really excited about things. It was fantastic.

On Sunday we finished my wardrobe so I finally got to unpack everything and decorate with my pictures so now it feels more like home. And I got to watch Doctor Mateo. Now I made Eddie a fan of it, which proves that it’s not a Spanish soap-opera but that it’s actually a good, funny show.

Today I was back to school. Mondays are interesting. My one class of 4 year olds is… AWFUL! Honestly, I hate it. It’s the longest hour of my life. They scream, run and do everything but listen. And the teacher just kinda lets it happen and I don’t feel like it’s my place to discipline which sucks since I’m used to having to do so and it drives me crazy to have such chaos in a classroom like this. Like I can’t handle it. But then I end the day with my favorite class, my fan club of 5 year olds. They all just so funny. Later I helped with the 2 classes with the teachers. I love the teachers at my school. They’re fantastic. Afterwards I met with Felipe for coffee and then I had my first evening class with the adults. My lesson was short because I mainly wanted to see what level they’re at. And then we spent the second half just talking in English which was really good. I think I’ll have fun working with them, but it’s a little intimidating cuz I’ve never taught adults before.

Toledo Part II/The Kid Part III

Tuesday was like Spain’s Columbus Day. I got up and went for a 5 mile run. It was suppose to be just a 4 mile, but sometimes, things happen :) I went to my school to use the wifi, so I awkwardly sat out on the small ledge along the road since the gate was locked. Kinda like my days in Sevilla. One of my 5 year olds biked by and tried to talk to me. I’m still holding strong on this not speaking any Spanish. Then he went to get his sister so she joined us too. It was kinda funny. I like that my students apparently just want to spend time near me. For dinner, Eddie attempted to make a Spanish tortilla. Not too bad for a first attempt. We also made rice and we chopped up 2 of my small “illegal” peppers from C&C’s and they spiced it up really good. They must be some pretty wicked peppers straight. I love it. And during dinner was the Spain vs. Scotland Euro Qualifier game which was a pretty sweet game. Spain won 3-2.

On Wednesday Eddie and I had to go to Toledo for stuff to get our visa extended. The program emailed us on Friday, but because we don’t have internet (and were traveling) we didn’t get the email until Tuesday, but it said we had to come to Toledo either Monday or Wednesday. So that left us with Wednesday. We went to our schools in the am to make copies of everything we needed. Arturo in the office helped me fill out another paper I needed and showed me how to get to the building I needed by literally walking me through it on GoogleMaps (I love just how helpful these people are). So we caught a bus and off we went. We ended up meeting Casey, who’s a part of our program in the next town over, on the bus and then at the bus station in Toledo we met Jake who’s also in the program whom I had met on my flight to Madrid and then again at orientation. So the 4 of us ventured off together and found it no problem. We handed in our stuff and then moved on to better things. Aka: lunch. I indulged in a bacon and tomato sandwich. I can’t get over how amazing the bacon here is. It’s super super thick and bendy. And then it’s on the best kind of bread ever. Oof. Sooooo goooood. After lunch, Eddie, Jake and I walked around the park and explored a bit looking for where we’ll have to go next time. We never found it but the 4 of us decided that we’ll try to coordinate our schedules to go together next time since it worked out so well.

but the best news about today... WE finally got internet in our apartment. So if you want to Skype, it'll be much easier to schedule a time. And now I'm never going to get anything important done...

A Bridge in Madrid

On Friday Eddie and I caught a bus to Madrid around 5ish. Then from the bus station we caught the metro to his one friend’s apartment. We hung out at the apartment for a while before heading out to a Paraguayan restaurant for some yummy food such as yucca, croquettas, and Paraguayan tortilla. It was all sooooo good. And I discovered that I think I might like mustard. Then later a group of 7 of us went out for the one roommate’s birthday. Mar is from Andalucía so I loved listening to her talk cuz it was just like Sevilla. Haha. And her 2 friends were Mexico and they were hilarious. All 3 girls were super sweet and funny and I had a lot of fun hanging out with them. In general it was a really fun night, but like typical Spain, it was a very late night. Therefore we all slept in really late as well.

Saturday was pretty chill because it was raining allll day and was just really crappy out so we stayed in and watched TV and I read some. We only left in order to find Kebabs for lunch. After all, we were in the Kebab capital of the world :) Mar and I, plus the 3 guys went out later in the evening when it stopped raining. We first went to this taco place that was like really good and authentic. Good Mexican food is super hard to find in Spain, but this place certainly qualified. I tried one with cactus and it was sooo good. If you ever get the chance to try a cactus taco, do it. I highly recommend it. We hit two more places and did our fair share of walking. But let me tell you something. Madrid certainly is a one of a kind city. I swear it’s the only place where there are more people out on the streets at 2am then there are in the afternoon. And it’s not just young people out drinking, it’s all ages- some small children with their families, or some mid-aged couples just strolling or going out for a glass of wine. Like, it’s kinda ridiculous in a beautiful way.

We all slept in pretty late on Sunday as well. Especially the boys. Later me and the boys went out for Austurian chicken. Oh man was it sooo good. I swear it was just like Kauffman’s back home, maybe even a little better. Then we walked around the city just for something to do. But I just love Madrid. It’s such a fabulous place. Back at the apartment the boys watched baseball while I sat and read my book because I would rather go a whole month without chocolate than watch a game of baseball. And then I ended up falling asleep. Once again I was up hours before everyone else so I used my morning to read and do some reflecting and therefore it was a good morning to myself. It was like 3.30 when Eddie and I peaced out, grabbed some more kebabs and then headed to the bus station. For most of our trip we were worried we were on the wrong bus because apparently the outside of the bus said Quintanar del Rey which is not our town. Haha. But we ended up in the right place. Always a good thing. But Monday and Tuesday are holidays here which is why we didn’t have school so it’ll be a really short week.

The strange girl in town

Tuesday was a good day at school. I’m in 2 gym classes, an art class and a class with I think 4 year olds. They could be 5. I don’t remember. But I have another fan in that class. I did half of the class by myself playing games with flashcards having them identify the different classroom objects they’re learning. After school I went to lunch at the school cafeteria. It was definitely an experience eating there because all of the students that were there would randomly yell hello to me or just stare as I ate. They make me feel famous. The one little girl came over and said something about me being Jorge’s girlfriend who is the little boy in my last class on Tuesdays that started yelling “No te vayas!” (don’t leave!) when I started to head to towards the door. Haha. Oh boy.

After lunch I went to finally pay for my hostel. When I checked out on Saturday, they just told me to come back another day because Andres wasn’t sure how to do everything. I love that he trusted me so much to come back and pay. Back at the piso, the 3 of us did a little shopping for food and miscellaneous items and researched our wi-fi options. Eddie and I made our first attempt at making an actual dinner. Our spaghetti and salad were a success :)

Wednesday was our orientation thing in Toledo for the program. One of the teacher’s Eddie works with drove us and Piedad. Toledo’s like an hour away and it was a nice way of seeing the countryside. Our meeting was awfully boring. We sat there forever listening to people talk about all sorts of things. It was like death. Then we had lunch which was decent. Then we escaped for some coffee to wake me up. The rest of our meeting thing was a little less boring and then we were finally set free around 5. Soon after we got back I went for a run. I ran 4 miles around the city on Sunday but this time I ran out of the city, towards who knows where and it was a fantastic run- about 6 miles maybe a little more. But it’s like the perfect route, there’s this path along side of the road and it just goes on forever and I passed a few other runners, bikers and random cute old people out for walks together or with their dogs. They all looked at me really funny but smiled and responded as I greeted those I made eye contact with. But I totally feel like the weird girl in town when I run because people literally stop and stare at me. Oh well. They’ll just have to get over it.

China in Spain

Monday was my first official day at the school where I actually followed my schedule. My first 2 hours are with the 3 year olds. They're cute. I've never been afraid of germs or anything but I couldn't help being dismayed by at the snot and uncovered coughs and I think I sat there wide-eyed thinking "oh no! there's no hope to me not getting sick several times this year." My last class of the day is with a group of 5 year olds. And they're pretty crazy. I have a fan club of boys in that class. Like the whole time they're calling me "guapa" (beautiful), asking if I have a boyfriend or if I want to be their girlfriend. It's really funny but at the same time a little much for me. The teacher just lets them go on and I get to use the excuse that I don't understand anything they're saying. But it'll be an interesting 8 months with these kids. Oh, and 2 of them are twins (one named Alejandro. hahaha) and I keep running into them outside of school. I can't escape my five year old fan club.

After school I went out for Chinese with some of the teachers and that was fun. Then we had a meeting followed by an English class for some of the teachers. I didn't know what to expect or how to prepare so it was a little awkward. I only had to do a little part of the lesson though. Like the conversational part.

After that I was invited to go out for drinks with 3 of the younger teachers and the one guy's girlfriend. And that was a ton of fun. They're hilarious. The taught me a whole bunch of phrases and sayings and slang and whatnot which I love to learn. I'm excited to use them all. haha. We were out until 11 and then I went back to the piso.  Esther moved in so now we're complete. And she brought a TV so that's nice too. And that's about it. I should get going cuz I have a 3rd grade class to go :)

So far, they still think I don't speak Spanish and they teach me random words like "sunglasses"

First Weekend

Friday I went to school, even though I won’t normally be in on Fridays. I did a little bit more work with the kids, like I led the one class in an activity about prepositions and another with school materials. After school I went to Manuel and Ana’s again. They’ve definitely taken me in and I feel like a part of their family. I even have a pair of slippers to leave at their place. Haha. And unlike my host mom in Sevilla, they let me help with things like set and clear the table, which makes it feel more like home, instead of always being served. They’ve been introducing me to different foods like mussels, some sort of goose paste, artichokes with anchovies and all sorts of things. And like a normal Spanish person, I have wine and coffee every day. It’s pretty great.

In the afternoon I went to meet a girl named Esther. One of the teachers at my school had heard that a new teacher in the next town over was still looking for a roommate and had put us in contact. So we walked all around town for hours looking for numbers to call and places to check out. We found one that we liked pretty well and agreed to it after a little more searching. And it’s a pretty sweet place (pictures coming) and a decent price cuz we have a 3rd roommate, Eddie who’s in my program but at a different school. I’m so glad Esther was there to do all the talking and asking questions, otherwise I would have had no idea about anything. That night I hung out with 2 of the guys that work in my hotel. They obviously knew I was new in town and had invited me out to show me around a little bit. And it was a lot of fun. They were hilarious. So yay for making friends completely all on my own!
On Saturday Manuel, Ana and Anita helped me move my stuff in the apartment which was very helpful. A little later Eddie moved in. Ana insisted on meeting him so she could approve and make sure he was a nice person and not a creeper. I showed Eddie how to get around the city and then we went over to Manuel and Ana’s f or lunch. I ended up taking a nap in their lounge lawn chair and it was just perfect. Like I was sitting there in the nice warm sun of La Mancha, having just consumed some of the best food, there was a gentle breeze and it was just a still, quiet afternoon. Just sounds of birds singing, the occasional church bell ringing and tractors from the nearby fields working during the grape harvest season. It was a beautiful moment. I couldn’t help but to feel so spoiled and so blessed for just everything so far.

Later Eddie and I returned to our piso and then to buy random things like a few groceries and sheets. The guy at the store where we got our bedding was hilarious. We had fun chatting with him and he apparently really liked us because he gave us like a 10% discount. That night Isabel, Manuel and Ana’s oldest daughter invited us to hang out with her and her friends. It was interesting just because they’re all like 18 but it was a good night of people watching and observing some of the really different cultural differences. I’ll expand on those as my time here goes on, but this is already a long enough post.

the hallway as you enter our piso

the bathroom Esther and I share

 One side of our kitchen

 The other side of the kitchen...

 The dining room area

 Living room

 Other side of the living room. (we now have a TV here too)