today was the first day of the christmas plays! 3A, 3B, 4A, and 4B gave their performances, and it was absolutely hilarious. i missed the third graders, but i caught both of the 4th grade plays. it was a little difficult for me to understand exactly what was going on, but 4A's was about pirates, but mary and joseph and jesus were there. then they sang the 12 days of christmas. and when i say sang, i mean screamed. 4B i couldn't hear anything but it was something about the nativity and they kept introducing animals and people who were there at the birth. then they sang rudolph the red nosed reindeer.
one huge cultural difference that i realized after watching the plays is the topic of race. in each play, one of the three kings had his face painted black. i'm pretty sure that's extremely offensive in the U.S. and that an elementary school would never do that. but here it's not an issue at all. one of the kid's lines was even "i'm balthasar, i'm the blackest of the kings!" huh?!?! i'm not sure if they're racist here or if they just don't find it a problem, but it was very interesting. but there is no diversity here in granada, so it makes me wonder if they just don't take it as seriously as we do in the united states.
anyway, tomorrow i'm going to watch the 5th and 6th graders perform! one 6th grade class is singing all i want for christmas is you, and if it's anything like it was today, it won't be too pretty. after an especially bad run-through, the teacher turned to me with an exasperated expression and said "i'm not a wizard!!!" we'll see how they do!
Monday, December 19, 2011
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
weekend in paris
it's confirmed... paris is officially my favorite city in the world. there is not an ugly building in sight. it is the only place where dreary weather makes the city even more beautiful. i love everything about it. the architecture, the history, the language, the art, the people, the cafes, the food, i could go on forever. although i love spanish and know that it may be the more practical language, going to paris makes me want to take french classes and do nothing for the rest of my life but speak french, eat crepes, and look at monet paintings.
so recap of the long weekend...
we arrived on thursday after a long day of traveling. bus to the granada train station, bus to malaga airport, plane to paris, bus into paris, metro to the hostel. yikes. we went out to grab some food and wound up at a pizzeria (so french right?), but it was absolutely delicious. since we were celebrating the first night in paris, we decided to explore and find a fun bar to go to. we stumbled upon a street that had a few irish pubs and this fun looking bar with flashing lights that was playing lady gaga, so obviously we chose that one. eve's first comment was "there aren't very many girls here." hint number 1. flyers featuring muscular men in their underwear. hint number 2. the french guy coming up to us and telling me (in french) that this was the hottest gay bar in paris. hint number 3. yes, we mistakenly went to a gay bar. but they did have 3.50 euro heinekens, which is a deal in paris, so it was worth it. and it makes for a hilarious story!
the next day we did not get an early start. and by we i mean i was ready in 15 minutes while the rest of our group couldn't make it out the door before 10:30. the only thing that can make me mad in paris is not taking advantage of the little amount of time you have. but eventually we made it out of the hostel and headed to pere lachaise cemetery. if there is a perfect time to go to a cemetery it's a day where it's drizzling and overcast and gloomy. the cemetery was amazing and huge and hard to navigate. we did find jim morrison and oscar wilde's graves, so that was pretty cool. i wish i had a whole day to walk through it though, it was incredible (pics below). it also made me want to sing wishing you were somehow here again from phantom of the opera (in the movie she walks through a cemetery singing that song).
next we headed toward the seine just to see everything and explore. took some pictures with notre dame in the background, then stopped at the shakespeare and company bookstore (wikipedia history here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_and_Company_%28bookstore%29). i don't know where time goes in paris but we walked around for about 5 hours, stopping to take pics and in a cafe to recharge. i decided to order wine while eve ordered a café au lait and kelsey ordered water. guess who's was the cheapest and who felt better afterwards? yup. wine is cheaper than water in paris, as it should be! i wanted to do a little shopping on the champs d'elysées, so we headed there. we were distracted by the awesome christmas markets along the way, so we never actually made it to the stores. then we headed back to the louvre because after 6 it is a discounted price, but thanks to my spain residency card, i got in free (to everything!!!). we were dragging in the louvre. made it to the mona lisa, winged victory, venus de milo, some other things, etc.
saturday was another late start. we made it to the eiffel tower by 11, where we were meeting up with sebastien! he is my french friend who i met through our french exchange in high school... he came and stayed with us for 10 days when i was in 10th grade, then i went to france with our school in 11th grade and stayed with his family. we've kept in touch over the years, and i actually saw him when i was in paris in 2008 and then last year when he was in new york city! so we met up with him and headed to versailles. there aren't really any words to describe versailles, it is the most beautiful place. so elaborate and over the top, but in the best way possible. every room is as breathtaking as the last. and you can't even see the end of the gardens. incroyable. after versailles we wanted to go up to montmartre and sacre coeur to see the sunset, but we missed the sunset. still one of the highlights of the trip though. we walked up the stairs of montmartre (not as many as the eiffel tower, but enough to make me realize how out of shape i am..), and headed into sacre coeur to look around. it's a really interesting looking church, with a lot of mosaics. it was built in 1919, so i guess compared to notre dame it's modern. after we grabbed some mulled wine and sat on the steps overlooking the city and listened to some guy sing coldplay and the police. i could have sat on those steps forever!
sunday was our last day. we woke up and headed to the musée d'orsay, which is an impressionist museum that used to be a train station. it is now my favorite museum in paris. their collection was outstanding. and i don't want to act like i know a lot about art, because i don't, but i loved it. monet, renoir, manet, degas, van gogh, seurat, cezanne, just to name a few of the artists... after orsay it was time to head back to granada. not the best night ever. our flight was delayed 2 hours so we finally got into malaga at 2 in the morning, then had to sleep in the airport and wait for our 7 am bus back to granada. then i had to go to school at 10! oh well, sleep is a small sacrifice for a weekend in paris!
so recap of the long weekend...
we arrived on thursday after a long day of traveling. bus to the granada train station, bus to malaga airport, plane to paris, bus into paris, metro to the hostel. yikes. we went out to grab some food and wound up at a pizzeria (so french right?), but it was absolutely delicious. since we were celebrating the first night in paris, we decided to explore and find a fun bar to go to. we stumbled upon a street that had a few irish pubs and this fun looking bar with flashing lights that was playing lady gaga, so obviously we chose that one. eve's first comment was "there aren't very many girls here." hint number 1. flyers featuring muscular men in their underwear. hint number 2. the french guy coming up to us and telling me (in french) that this was the hottest gay bar in paris. hint number 3. yes, we mistakenly went to a gay bar. but they did have 3.50 euro heinekens, which is a deal in paris, so it was worth it. and it makes for a hilarious story!
the next day we did not get an early start. and by we i mean i was ready in 15 minutes while the rest of our group couldn't make it out the door before 10:30. the only thing that can make me mad in paris is not taking advantage of the little amount of time you have. but eventually we made it out of the hostel and headed to pere lachaise cemetery. if there is a perfect time to go to a cemetery it's a day where it's drizzling and overcast and gloomy. the cemetery was amazing and huge and hard to navigate. we did find jim morrison and oscar wilde's graves, so that was pretty cool. i wish i had a whole day to walk through it though, it was incredible (pics below). it also made me want to sing wishing you were somehow here again from phantom of the opera (in the movie she walks through a cemetery singing that song).
next we headed toward the seine just to see everything and explore. took some pictures with notre dame in the background, then stopped at the shakespeare and company bookstore (wikipedia history here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakespeare_and_Company_%28bookstore%29). i don't know where time goes in paris but we walked around for about 5 hours, stopping to take pics and in a cafe to recharge. i decided to order wine while eve ordered a café au lait and kelsey ordered water. guess who's was the cheapest and who felt better afterwards? yup. wine is cheaper than water in paris, as it should be! i wanted to do a little shopping on the champs d'elysées, so we headed there. we were distracted by the awesome christmas markets along the way, so we never actually made it to the stores. then we headed back to the louvre because after 6 it is a discounted price, but thanks to my spain residency card, i got in free (to everything!!!). we were dragging in the louvre. made it to the mona lisa, winged victory, venus de milo, some other things, etc.
saturday was another late start. we made it to the eiffel tower by 11, where we were meeting up with sebastien! he is my french friend who i met through our french exchange in high school... he came and stayed with us for 10 days when i was in 10th grade, then i went to france with our school in 11th grade and stayed with his family. we've kept in touch over the years, and i actually saw him when i was in paris in 2008 and then last year when he was in new york city! so we met up with him and headed to versailles. there aren't really any words to describe versailles, it is the most beautiful place. so elaborate and over the top, but in the best way possible. every room is as breathtaking as the last. and you can't even see the end of the gardens. incroyable. after versailles we wanted to go up to montmartre and sacre coeur to see the sunset, but we missed the sunset. still one of the highlights of the trip though. we walked up the stairs of montmartre (not as many as the eiffel tower, but enough to make me realize how out of shape i am..), and headed into sacre coeur to look around. it's a really interesting looking church, with a lot of mosaics. it was built in 1919, so i guess compared to notre dame it's modern. after we grabbed some mulled wine and sat on the steps overlooking the city and listened to some guy sing coldplay and the police. i could have sat on those steps forever!
sunday was our last day. we woke up and headed to the musée d'orsay, which is an impressionist museum that used to be a train station. it is now my favorite museum in paris. their collection was outstanding. and i don't want to act like i know a lot about art, because i don't, but i loved it. monet, renoir, manet, degas, van gogh, seurat, cezanne, just to name a few of the artists... after orsay it was time to head back to granada. not the best night ever. our flight was delayed 2 hours so we finally got into malaga at 2 in the morning, then had to sleep in the airport and wait for our 7 am bus back to granada. then i had to go to school at 10! oh well, sleep is a small sacrifice for a weekend in paris!
Saturday, December 3, 2011
una mezcla de pensamientos
not too much going on this week! i've been pretty busy with private classes... i now have four a week so i'm keeping busy! on tuesdays i tutor two different kids from 4:30-5:30 then 6-7:30, wednesday two boys from 4:45-5:45, then thursdays from 4:30-5:30 and then very young kids from 6 to whenever we actually accomplish something. so unfortunately, during the week i don't have much time for a siesta anymore, since i get home at 2:30 and then make lunch.
in school, the kids have been learning christmas songs. the other day i walked into school to hear the younger kids screaming "joy to the world!" then in one of my fourth grade classes they're learning rudolph, and the 12 days of christmas in the other. i was pretty impressed with the 12 days of christmas since i usually can't remember past 8 maids-a-milking... (i think its... 9 ladies dancing... 10 lords-a-leaping....11 pipers piping.... 12 drummers drumming. but i'm never sure). also this week i got a little note from a 4th grader that said "Maria Elisabeth. My name is Eva. You are fantastic. Happy Chistmas." it made my whole week!!! that's one of the things i love about teaching... the kids are so friendly and always say hi to me, and the younger ones usually cheer when i come in the room. it makes you feel so good!
last night my two friends and i went to a our spanish friends' house for a party! they're really awesome and even though it was a little intimidating at first, their friends were all really nice and actually talked to us so we didn't have to stand awkwardly in the corner. we were so tired when we left though, and decided that speaking spanish for that long is really exhausting.
this week i only have two days of class, monday and wednesday. for some reason, their holidays this week are on tuesday and thursday. basically the kids are going to be absolutely insane. but then on thursday i'm jetting off to paris! i can't wait!!!
in school, the kids have been learning christmas songs. the other day i walked into school to hear the younger kids screaming "joy to the world!" then in one of my fourth grade classes they're learning rudolph, and the 12 days of christmas in the other. i was pretty impressed with the 12 days of christmas since i usually can't remember past 8 maids-a-milking... (i think its... 9 ladies dancing... 10 lords-a-leaping....11 pipers piping.... 12 drummers drumming. but i'm never sure). also this week i got a little note from a 4th grader that said "Maria Elisabeth. My name is Eva. You are fantastic. Happy Chistmas." it made my whole week!!! that's one of the things i love about teaching... the kids are so friendly and always say hi to me, and the younger ones usually cheer when i come in the room. it makes you feel so good!
last night my two friends and i went to a our spanish friends' house for a party! they're really awesome and even though it was a little intimidating at first, their friends were all really nice and actually talked to us so we didn't have to stand awkwardly in the corner. we were so tired when we left though, and decided that speaking spanish for that long is really exhausting.
this week i only have two days of class, monday and wednesday. for some reason, their holidays this week are on tuesday and thursday. basically the kids are going to be absolutely insane. but then on thursday i'm jetting off to paris! i can't wait!!!
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
acción de gracias
i realized today that i have a lot to be thankful about in general, but especially in the last year. so on my walk home from school, i came up with this list of what i'm thankful for...
1) my family- my parents are the most supportive people in my life. they encouraged me (well dad a little reluctantly) to come to spain. when i'm feeling homesick, they're always there to talk to me and make me feel better, always reminding me that i'll see them soon. it's pretty amazing to have parents who support you so much in whatever choice you make, and i feel so blessed that they're my parents. and then of course sean and kathleen, who always make me laugh. sean is my drinking/sports buddy, kathleen my shopping buddy. having siblings is a blessing, but being as close as we are is a double blessing. and family extends to my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, all who have offered me words of encouragement when i decided to experience a foreign country. one thing my aunt joanne wrote to me was "never mistake being alone for loneliness." that was one of the best pieces of advice i received before i left, and everytime i feel homesick or like there's no one to talk to, i remember that quote. sorry that was mushy, i'll try to be funnier now...
2) my friends- new friends and old friends!!! my US friends, always keeping me updated on what's happening back home, always interested in my stories, some even planning trips to see me! what more can a girl ask for. and my new friends here, who can relate to how i'm feeling, and are always willing to go out for tapas and travel. or help me out if i need it.
3) food- this has several subcategories, because i've realized that there are just some foods that make life a million times better, and they are...
churros con chocolate- my sundays would be pointless and boring without them.
eggs- since they are basically the only thing i eat, i might be dead if they didn't exist.
stove top stuffing- two boxes arrived in the mail the other day from my mom. after a bitter internal struggle, i decided to share them at our thanksgiving dinner on saturday. guess you can't be selfish on thanksgiving.
french fries- no explanation necessary
croquetas- my favorite tapa of all time. so crispy and delicious
4)laughter- while being in spain, i have realized how much i laugh. i find everything funny. for example...
my students- every single class makes me laugh. sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. yesterday while the professor was teaching the possessive "s", he asked, "what does Charlie's chicken mean?" and one girl blurted out, "pollo que se llama Charlie!" (a chicken named Charlie!). the entire class could not stop laughing, and she was such a good sport about it, laughing along with them.
the leg of ham in the teachers lounge- i wish i was kidding. there is a whole leg of ham. see picture below.
the skinny black santa trying to sell bootleg dvds in the middle of the road today
5) opportunities- how many people are able to do what i'm doing?
6) airmail- how else would i have stuffing for thanksgiving?
7) trivia night at hannigans- actually makes monday my favorite day of the week
8) skype and facebook- you can keep in touch with any and everybody
9) a job- unlike a lot of people in spain, i have an income!
i know there's a lot more things i'm thankful for, but right now i need a siesta (#10), will add more later!
came up with a few more!!
11) hot water! those few days without was quite the eye-opener
12) that i'm healthy! and my friends and family too!
13) airplanes - i just can't imagine how the pilgrims did it!
14) that i get to see my friends and family in 28 days :)
1) my family- my parents are the most supportive people in my life. they encouraged me (well dad a little reluctantly) to come to spain. when i'm feeling homesick, they're always there to talk to me and make me feel better, always reminding me that i'll see them soon. it's pretty amazing to have parents who support you so much in whatever choice you make, and i feel so blessed that they're my parents. and then of course sean and kathleen, who always make me laugh. sean is my drinking/sports buddy, kathleen my shopping buddy. having siblings is a blessing, but being as close as we are is a double blessing. and family extends to my grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, all who have offered me words of encouragement when i decided to experience a foreign country. one thing my aunt joanne wrote to me was "never mistake being alone for loneliness." that was one of the best pieces of advice i received before i left, and everytime i feel homesick or like there's no one to talk to, i remember that quote. sorry that was mushy, i'll try to be funnier now...
2) my friends- new friends and old friends!!! my US friends, always keeping me updated on what's happening back home, always interested in my stories, some even planning trips to see me! what more can a girl ask for. and my new friends here, who can relate to how i'm feeling, and are always willing to go out for tapas and travel. or help me out if i need it.
3) food- this has several subcategories, because i've realized that there are just some foods that make life a million times better, and they are...
churros con chocolate- my sundays would be pointless and boring without them.
eggs- since they are basically the only thing i eat, i might be dead if they didn't exist.
stove top stuffing- two boxes arrived in the mail the other day from my mom. after a bitter internal struggle, i decided to share them at our thanksgiving dinner on saturday. guess you can't be selfish on thanksgiving.
french fries- no explanation necessary
croquetas- my favorite tapa of all time. so crispy and delicious
4)laughter- while being in spain, i have realized how much i laugh. i find everything funny. for example...
my students- every single class makes me laugh. sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. yesterday while the professor was teaching the possessive "s", he asked, "what does Charlie's chicken mean?" and one girl blurted out, "pollo que se llama Charlie!" (a chicken named Charlie!). the entire class could not stop laughing, and she was such a good sport about it, laughing along with them.
the leg of ham in the teachers lounge- i wish i was kidding. there is a whole leg of ham. see picture below.
the skinny black santa trying to sell bootleg dvds in the middle of the road today
5) opportunities- how many people are able to do what i'm doing?
6) airmail- how else would i have stuffing for thanksgiving?
7) trivia night at hannigans- actually makes monday my favorite day of the week
8) skype and facebook- you can keep in touch with any and everybody
9) a job- unlike a lot of people in spain, i have an income!
i know there's a lot more things i'm thankful for, but right now i need a siesta (#10), will add more later!
came up with a few more!!
11) hot water! those few days without was quite the eye-opener
12) that i'm healthy! and my friends and family too!
13) airplanes - i just can't imagine how the pilgrims did it!
14) that i get to see my friends and family in 28 days :)
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
two weeks worth of catch-up
as predicted, i'm not very good at keeping a blog! so now i have a lot to catch up on...
first of all, i am so happy here. don't worry mom, i'm not going to move here permanently, but right now i am just really happy. all the time too! but how can you not be when you're living in granada? it's impossible to be grouchy and moody and sad.
anyway, last weekend was a great one. on friday, my friends eve and kelsey and i went to our british friend tom's apartment since his roommate offered to cook dinner. his roommate is from italy, so we had the most delicious carbonara pasta i've ever had in my entire life. then on sunday, eve and i went to ronda, this really adorable little town about 2.5 hours away. the entire town was built on top of a really high gorge, it's actually kind of scary. the first thing we did when we got there was hike down into the gorge. really awesome pictures, but the hike back up was brutal! next up was visiting the bullring, which is the oldest in spain. ronda is really beautiful, but after you see the bullring, the church, and the gorge, there's not much else to do except walk around.(see pics below!)
i can't believe it's already the middle of november! next week i have two thanksgiving dinners to go to (so popular, i know...), but they don't have full turkeys here. or stuffing. or cranberry sauce. or pumpkin pie. or football. or the macy's day parade. but it will be fun anyway!!! the second week of december we have a four day weekend (actually we have tuesday and thursday off, so it's kind of a pointless week), and i booked a trip to paris! i'm so excited. i thought i was going to do soo much traveling here, but i'm finding out how difficult it is. i love granada, but it's really inconveniently located. almost no flights fly out of granada, so i either have to take a 2 hour bus to malaga or a 5 hour bus to madrid. even traveling within spain is kind of a pain! but i'm really really excited for january... i'm going to go visit sean in london for a few days!
have i mentioned how much i love my school? there is never a dull moment. and i guess i like it so much since i'm not the main teacher who has to yell at scream at the kids to be quiet every second. they really do talk nonstop. and like i said before, the teaching style here is extremely different from the US, and even though i love it, sometimes i feel bad for the kids. for instance, last week one of the students was telling on another, and instead of solving the situation, the teacher went off on the tattletale, telling him he looks and acts like a grandfather. i had to hide my face because the kid really does look like a grandfather. two weeks ago, in the third grade class, they were drawing pictures of animal habitats. when the biggest boy in the class came up to show the teacher his gorilla, she burst out laughing in his face. again, i had to turn so he wouldn't see me laughing, but the drawing was just so funny looking. when he walked away she turned to me and said "it's funny because it's big and looks like him!" i felt so bad for him that i went over and told him it was great. she then came up and told him it either looks like a man dressed like a gorilla or a gorilla dressed like a man. these kids can not have high self esteem. and just yesterday, while learning the formation of the present third person, the teacher became so frustrated that they didn't understand that she started screaming that she was going to jump out the window. then one of the girls started crying. i don't think yelling at them will help them learn, but then again, i'm not the main teacher, so i just try to be nice and help them as best i can.
pretty random series of thoughts, but i'll get better at writing, i promise!!
ps... there's snow on the mountains here!!!! so pretty!!
first of all, i am so happy here. don't worry mom, i'm not going to move here permanently, but right now i am just really happy. all the time too! but how can you not be when you're living in granada? it's impossible to be grouchy and moody and sad.
anyway, last weekend was a great one. on friday, my friends eve and kelsey and i went to our british friend tom's apartment since his roommate offered to cook dinner. his roommate is from italy, so we had the most delicious carbonara pasta i've ever had in my entire life. then on sunday, eve and i went to ronda, this really adorable little town about 2.5 hours away. the entire town was built on top of a really high gorge, it's actually kind of scary. the first thing we did when we got there was hike down into the gorge. really awesome pictures, but the hike back up was brutal! next up was visiting the bullring, which is the oldest in spain. ronda is really beautiful, but after you see the bullring, the church, and the gorge, there's not much else to do except walk around.(see pics below!)
have i mentioned how much i love my school? there is never a dull moment. and i guess i like it so much since i'm not the main teacher who has to yell at scream at the kids to be quiet every second. they really do talk nonstop. and like i said before, the teaching style here is extremely different from the US, and even though i love it, sometimes i feel bad for the kids. for instance, last week one of the students was telling on another, and instead of solving the situation, the teacher went off on the tattletale, telling him he looks and acts like a grandfather. i had to hide my face because the kid really does look like a grandfather. two weeks ago, in the third grade class, they were drawing pictures of animal habitats. when the biggest boy in the class came up to show the teacher his gorilla, she burst out laughing in his face. again, i had to turn so he wouldn't see me laughing, but the drawing was just so funny looking. when he walked away she turned to me and said "it's funny because it's big and looks like him!" i felt so bad for him that i went over and told him it was great. she then came up and told him it either looks like a man dressed like a gorilla or a gorilla dressed like a man. these kids can not have high self esteem. and just yesterday, while learning the formation of the present third person, the teacher became so frustrated that they didn't understand that she started screaming that she was going to jump out the window. then one of the girls started crying. i don't think yelling at them will help them learn, but then again, i'm not the main teacher, so i just try to be nice and help them as best i can.
pretty random series of thoughts, but i'll get better at writing, i promise!!
ps... there's snow on the mountains here!!!! so pretty!!
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
halloween and the greatest day of the year
since i haven't written in a while, i first have to acknowledge the awesome package i received from my family this week. it had a little bit of halloween, birthday, and christmas! and cheez-its (my obsession from the summer thanks to the waescos and their never-ending supply!!) and pez and sweedish fish. here is my newly decorated bookcase...
moving on...lucky for all of us here in spain, on tuesday we didn't have school because of all saint's day (and because it was my birthday...). so instead of having to stay in and do lesson planning (i wouldn't have done that anyway but it's beside the point), i got to celebrate my birthday... zombie style!!
i learned a lot about how the spanish do halloween in the past few weeks. the students all know about zombies, frankenstein, witches, ghosts, etc. they don't know about candy corn, they don't know how awesome trick-or-treating can be, and they don't know how to be creative when it comes to costumes. since it's only apartment complexes here, the kids can't really go trick or treating, which sucks for them because in my opinion eating all the candy is the best part of halloween. i saw very few kids out and about, and the few that i did see were the ones that came into hannigans. yes, they trick or treat in bars. as for costumes, everyone dresses up as something disgusting and scary and gory. the little girls that came into the bar were nurses with blood all over them. very adorable. but since i'm totally immersing myself in the spanish culture, my friends and i decided we should do as the spanish do. the result was a ton of white and red makeup all over my face. (see below) everytime i looked in the mirror i was actually scared of myself. so after an hour of getting ready, we were ready to head to hannigans for trivia (we are devoted.) i guess it was a little too early for some people since we were the only people out in costume... definitely got a few stares.
all in all, this was one of the most fun halloweens i've ever had. we wound up winning 2nd place in trivia (4 bottles of wine), getting a free bottle of champagne for my birthday at midnight (it pays to be friends with the bartender!), and stopped for french fries on the way up the steep hill to my favorite dance club in granada. it is basically a cave carved out on the side of a hill with an amazing view of the alhambra. to top off a great birthday, the next night we went out for sushi! and gelato of course
moving on...lucky for all of us here in spain, on tuesday we didn't have school because of all saint's day (and because it was my birthday...). so instead of having to stay in and do lesson planning (i wouldn't have done that anyway but it's beside the point), i got to celebrate my birthday... zombie style!!
i learned a lot about how the spanish do halloween in the past few weeks. the students all know about zombies, frankenstein, witches, ghosts, etc. they don't know about candy corn, they don't know how awesome trick-or-treating can be, and they don't know how to be creative when it comes to costumes. since it's only apartment complexes here, the kids can't really go trick or treating, which sucks for them because in my opinion eating all the candy is the best part of halloween. i saw very few kids out and about, and the few that i did see were the ones that came into hannigans. yes, they trick or treat in bars. as for costumes, everyone dresses up as something disgusting and scary and gory. the little girls that came into the bar were nurses with blood all over them. very adorable. but since i'm totally immersing myself in the spanish culture, my friends and i decided we should do as the spanish do. the result was a ton of white and red makeup all over my face. (see below) everytime i looked in the mirror i was actually scared of myself. so after an hour of getting ready, we were ready to head to hannigans for trivia (we are devoted.) i guess it was a little too early for some people since we were the only people out in costume... definitely got a few stares.
all in all, this was one of the most fun halloweens i've ever had. we wound up winning 2nd place in trivia (4 bottles of wine), getting a free bottle of champagne for my birthday at midnight (it pays to be friends with the bartender!), and stopped for french fries on the way up the steep hill to my favorite dance club in granada. it is basically a cave carved out on the side of a hill with an amazing view of the alhambra. to top off a great birthday, the next night we went out for sushi! and gelato of course
Sunday, October 23, 2011
relaxation time
this past monday at hannigans my team won a free trip to the arab baths!! even though we didn't place in the top three, this was the grab bag prize, and our team name got picked out of the box! so last night after some filling tapas the 5 of us headed over to the baños arabes, and it was amazing! it's basically just a big hot tub, but after a cold rainy day, a big hot tub was pretty awesome! after a little bit, the guy told us to quickly dip in the freezing cold pool, then we went in the steam room for a little. since they weren't kicking us out, we decided to head back into the hot tub for a while before we were served tea in the tea room. we had completely lost track of time, and when we finally left it was 11! (we had got there at 8:30) needless to say, our prize for not winning trivia was better than the first prize!
afterwards, we headed over to our teammates amazing apartment about 5 minutes away. we sat on their rooftop terrace with some wine and some snacks. tough life right?
afterwards, we headed over to our teammates amazing apartment about 5 minutes away. we sat on their rooftop terrace with some wine and some snacks. tough life right?
pensamientos sobre la escuela
before i write about my super exciting trip to the arab baths, i wanted to share my thoughts on teaching and the school system here...i have discovered that i really really like teaching, something that surprised me a little. i approached this job with a really open mind since i had no idea what exactly i was going to be doing...would i be teaching a whole class? would i just sit there while the teacher goes on and on? would i have to do a lot of preparation? so far i've found that it is a mixture. the 5th grade teacher i work with is really nice (she's my favorite), and she really wants to include me in the lessons and have me teach when possible. she also likes me to prepare things out of class for the students to do. but the 6th grade teacher doesn't seem to know how to use the teaching assistant, so a lot of the time i will just sit there and read something when he asks me to, or go around and check the students work when they're doing a worksheet. the 3rd grade teacher doesn't speak english very well at all, so i have pretty much been teaching those classes. and the 4th grade teachers like to have me involved too. on thursday, i actually helped with the oral part of their test... i took two students at a time, asked them questions about a picture, and then graded them. i was probably more nervous then they were! but they understood me perfectly and did really well!!
there are several things that have really surprised me about the teachers/spanish school system. i don't want to sound like i'm knocking it, since i've only been involved for 3 weeks, but it doesn't seem efficient to me. first of all, many of the teachers don't enforce the "english only" rule. when i was in middle and high school learning a foreign language, my teachers rarely, if ever, spoke in english, even when we were just beginning. but that's how you learn! there is only one teacher i work with who constantly speaks english; all the rest speak spanish more than english. the third grade teacher can barely speak english, so it's a little surprising to me that she's teaching it! another thing that surprised me is the way the teachers act towards the students. they are not afraid to scream and yell at the students, or talk about them negatively right in front of their face. for instance, in the 3rd grade class there is a boy who is overweight. he doesn't cause trouble or anything, but the other day the teacher turned to me and said, while he was right there "oh, he's so big for someone so young!" i was really caught off guard! granted, i'm not sure if he understood her, but the fact that she was saying that shocked me! i wouldn't say the teachers are mean here, but there are definitely a few that will go off on a kid if they aren't on the right page or even if they don't understand...
which brings me to the special ed aspect of the school. or lack thereof. in one of the 3rd grade classes, there is a kid who i think has autism or some sort of mental disability. he is disruptive, gets up and walks around, and speaks the whole time. but instead of having someone there to help him, they had a man who just sat there and did his work for him. i think there may be one period of the day where he leaves the class for a private class, but i'm not positive. i don't know if it is the spanish school system or just my school, but they have no idea how to handle a child with a mental disability. i've seen several other children who need more time on exercises, but the teachers ignore it and continue on.
also, i have no idea how these children learn anything... they are in school for less than 5 hours a day! and the lessons NEVER start on time, and if you subtract the time it takes for the teacher to yell at the kids to be quiet and for them to actually get around to doing an exercise, its probably only 35 minutes of class time instead of 55. then of course they have 30 minutes of recess, and everyone comes back in late and can't settle down for the first half hour of the class. it's crazy! wayy different from my experience!
i'm not trying to put down the spanish school system at all, but these are just some of my observations so far. the kids are bright and fun, maybe a little out of control, but all in all i love them. and to be honest, i went to the same private school for my whole life, so maybe this happens in schools in the U.S. and i just have no idea. but it has definitely been a wake up call!!
there are several things that have really surprised me about the teachers/spanish school system. i don't want to sound like i'm knocking it, since i've only been involved for 3 weeks, but it doesn't seem efficient to me. first of all, many of the teachers don't enforce the "english only" rule. when i was in middle and high school learning a foreign language, my teachers rarely, if ever, spoke in english, even when we were just beginning. but that's how you learn! there is only one teacher i work with who constantly speaks english; all the rest speak spanish more than english. the third grade teacher can barely speak english, so it's a little surprising to me that she's teaching it! another thing that surprised me is the way the teachers act towards the students. they are not afraid to scream and yell at the students, or talk about them negatively right in front of their face. for instance, in the 3rd grade class there is a boy who is overweight. he doesn't cause trouble or anything, but the other day the teacher turned to me and said, while he was right there "oh, he's so big for someone so young!" i was really caught off guard! granted, i'm not sure if he understood her, but the fact that she was saying that shocked me! i wouldn't say the teachers are mean here, but there are definitely a few that will go off on a kid if they aren't on the right page or even if they don't understand...
which brings me to the special ed aspect of the school. or lack thereof. in one of the 3rd grade classes, there is a kid who i think has autism or some sort of mental disability. he is disruptive, gets up and walks around, and speaks the whole time. but instead of having someone there to help him, they had a man who just sat there and did his work for him. i think there may be one period of the day where he leaves the class for a private class, but i'm not positive. i don't know if it is the spanish school system or just my school, but they have no idea how to handle a child with a mental disability. i've seen several other children who need more time on exercises, but the teachers ignore it and continue on.
also, i have no idea how these children learn anything... they are in school for less than 5 hours a day! and the lessons NEVER start on time, and if you subtract the time it takes for the teacher to yell at the kids to be quiet and for them to actually get around to doing an exercise, its probably only 35 minutes of class time instead of 55. then of course they have 30 minutes of recess, and everyone comes back in late and can't settle down for the first half hour of the class. it's crazy! wayy different from my experience!
i'm not trying to put down the spanish school system at all, but these are just some of my observations so far. the kids are bright and fun, maybe a little out of control, but all in all i love them. and to be honest, i went to the same private school for my whole life, so maybe this happens in schools in the U.S. and i just have no idea. but it has definitely been a wake up call!!
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
scatterbrained thoughts
things i am used to/ slowly getting used to...
-eating eggs for at least one meal of a day. and rice.
-my daily cafe con leche and pan con tomate y queso (toasted bread with a tomato spread and manchego cheese). my friend at my school introduced the toast to me, and it's pretty incredible! everyday at "recreo" (recess) we go out and grab a coffee and toast!
-the teachers yelling at the students in a kind of scary way that would completely unacceptable in the US but doesn't bother the kids at all
-my long walk to and from school... i actually love it! i'm usually running a little late so i have to walk pretty fast... good work out!
-not having an oven... the dinner i made tonight made me realize i don't need an oven to make a good meal (and that i'm not actually that bad at cooking!)!
still adjusting to...
-the way people walk here! they take up the whole sidewalk; will not move if you are walking towards them and so you have to walk in the street; mostly everyone walks like they've never had anywhere to be in their lives; and they cut you off any chance they get.
-the orange juice here... it's no tropicana!
-i haven't tried the milk yet... it's not refrigerated at the store (neither are the eggs) so i'm a little ehhh about it
-no hockey! i caught some football games last week, and the mlb playoffs have been on, but no hockey!
-my phone... as american and spoiled as i sound, i miss my smart phone!
-speaking british english at school... "Have you got a maths book?" "Yes, I've got a maths book." it's weird
-still can't stand the dog poop!
- not having a lot of clothes. i'm getting extremely bored with my wardrobe
-eating eggs for at least one meal of a day. and rice.
-my daily cafe con leche and pan con tomate y queso (toasted bread with a tomato spread and manchego cheese). my friend at my school introduced the toast to me, and it's pretty incredible! everyday at "recreo" (recess) we go out and grab a coffee and toast!
-the teachers yelling at the students in a kind of scary way that would completely unacceptable in the US but doesn't bother the kids at all
-my long walk to and from school... i actually love it! i'm usually running a little late so i have to walk pretty fast... good work out!
-not having an oven... the dinner i made tonight made me realize i don't need an oven to make a good meal (and that i'm not actually that bad at cooking!)!
still adjusting to...
-the way people walk here! they take up the whole sidewalk; will not move if you are walking towards them and so you have to walk in the street; mostly everyone walks like they've never had anywhere to be in their lives; and they cut you off any chance they get.
-the orange juice here... it's no tropicana!
-i haven't tried the milk yet... it's not refrigerated at the store (neither are the eggs) so i'm a little ehhh about it
-no hockey! i caught some football games last week, and the mlb playoffs have been on, but no hockey!
-my phone... as american and spoiled as i sound, i miss my smart phone!
-speaking british english at school... "Have you got a maths book?" "Yes, I've got a maths book." it's weird
-still can't stand the dog poop!
- not having a lot of clothes. i'm getting extremely bored with my wardrobe
Sunday, October 16, 2011
ahhh the weekend....
this weekend my friends and i decided to live life as the spaniards do. unfortunately, none of us are wired for it, but it was a good effort. on friday night we went to a discoteca. in spain, the discotecas stay open until ungodly hours, usually until about 8 in the morning. and people usually don't arrive at these clubs until 3 or 4. it's crazy! so we decided to test out this lifestyle, and in the end, i think i'll stick to the american way of life. i wound up sleeping away my entire saturday! i really don't like wasting the weekend, and that's exactly what i did. but it was a fun experience minus the guys, which brings me to my next ranting point...
in spain, they have a word, "machismo," which basically describes a lot of the men here. it's that they think they're superior to women, and the women should accept that. maybe that would fly with spanish girls, but it definitely doesn't with us americanas. in the club, guys are constantly grabbing your arm (and other things...) and then will look at you like your crazy if you pull away. my one friend told me that on the way back from the bathroom some guy grabbed her, she pulled away, and he elbowed her. what?? in the words of billy madison, "that's assault brotha!" the grabbing and stuff is just annoying and obnoxious, and i'm pretty sure i'm taller/stronger than a majority of the men here, and could definitely kick some ass. and that's saying something because i'm not very strong. the guys also probably spend more time doing their hair then i do. and they live with their parents until they're like 28 (although at this rate i may be doing the same...) so don't worry grandma, it's highly unlikely i'll be bringing home a spanish boyfriend!
on a brighter note! i decided to go to mass at the big cathedral in the center of granada. it's an absolutely amazing place, and on the weekends it's the only place in the city that's busy. so i decided to go to 1:00 mass. i'm not sure if it happens every week, but this sunday the archbishop was saying mass. and a boys choir from london was singing. it was pretty cool! usually mass here is only half an hour. they blow through everything, there's no singing, the homily is about 3 minutes, and then everyone's our of there. but today's was an hour and fifteen minutes. but anyway, it was really pretty and afterwards i got gelato :)
so all in all it was a pretty great weekend complete with tapas, dancing, and gelato! i'm off to watch some american football now!! adios!
in spain, they have a word, "machismo," which basically describes a lot of the men here. it's that they think they're superior to women, and the women should accept that. maybe that would fly with spanish girls, but it definitely doesn't with us americanas. in the club, guys are constantly grabbing your arm (and other things...) and then will look at you like your crazy if you pull away. my one friend told me that on the way back from the bathroom some guy grabbed her, she pulled away, and he elbowed her. what?? in the words of billy madison, "that's assault brotha!" the grabbing and stuff is just annoying and obnoxious, and i'm pretty sure i'm taller/stronger than a majority of the men here, and could definitely kick some ass. and that's saying something because i'm not very strong. the guys also probably spend more time doing their hair then i do. and they live with their parents until they're like 28 (although at this rate i may be doing the same...) so don't worry grandma, it's highly unlikely i'll be bringing home a spanish boyfriend!
on a brighter note! i decided to go to mass at the big cathedral in the center of granada. it's an absolutely amazing place, and on the weekends it's the only place in the city that's busy. so i decided to go to 1:00 mass. i'm not sure if it happens every week, but this sunday the archbishop was saying mass. and a boys choir from london was singing. it was pretty cool! usually mass here is only half an hour. they blow through everything, there's no singing, the homily is about 3 minutes, and then everyone's our of there. but today's was an hour and fifteen minutes. but anyway, it was really pretty and afterwards i got gelato :)
so all in all it was a pretty great weekend complete with tapas, dancing, and gelato! i'm off to watch some american football now!! adios!
Friday, October 14, 2011
whirlwind two weeks
well, i finally made a blog! i've been here for a little over two weeks and absolutely loving every second. i don't know what it is, if i'm older and more mature or what, but i think i'm enjoying my time here more than when i studied abroad in 2009. i loved my Delaware group of course, but i don't think i was ready to go away yet. but now i'm older and ready to try anything. or i wonder if it was because i was so comfortable with my group that i was less outgoing and less willing to do/try new things. either way, i'm having an amazing time so far!!!
the first few days were very stressful, trying to find an apartment was the biggest challenge i've encountered so far. after visiting a few apartments and being very disappointed, i finally settled on one really close to where i lived last time. not the prettiest area of granada, but i like it! i'm about a 30 minute walk from school, which is actually a blessing in disguise. but i LOVE my school! it's so much fun there, the teachers are really nice and helpful, and the kids crack me up. i work monday-thursday, usually from about 10:50-2. last week the teachers actually let me do some of the teaching... i was nervous at first but have found that i really like teaching! the only issue is that the students are used to "british english" and they have a tough time understanding my accent, since i don't always pronounce all the letters. for instance, i told the 4th grade class i love harry potter. in the other classes i had actually received applause when i said that, so when i didn't get any reaction i was bummed. they all stared blankly, as did the teacher. she finally realized what i was saying, and repeated in an english accent "'arry poTTer". applause ensued. my favorite story so far from school happened yesterday when i was teaching the 3rd grade science class about the 5 senses and we were going over taste (sweet, sour, salty, bitter). so i asked what kinds of foods or drinks are bitter. a kid raised his hand and responded "chupitos!!" chupitos are shots. not quite sure how this kid knows what a shot of alcohol tastes like, but i couldn't stop laughing.
what else... social life! i've met a decent amount of people so far! i have two really good friends that i basically do everything with. we have been to hannigan's two weeks in a row for monday night trivia, and placed 5th place both times. we're about due for third place. we've also been taking advantage of the free tapas. seriously the best thing ever. we've found some places that serve you sandwiches and french fries, so for a 2 euro glass of wine you get a full meal. it's a beautiful thing!
things i love about granada...
siesta
free tapas
my school
the architecture
the mixture of cultures
gelato
the park
the shopping
things i'm still getting used to...
no oven (but in reality what do i care, i'm a terrible cook and probably wouldn't cook even if we had one!)
having to light the water heater if i want to take a hot shower
no dryer/ the washer takes 2 hours
the dirty streets/dog crap
i'm really reallyyyy going to try to keep up with this blog! hope you all enjoy (all 4 of you!)!!
the first few days were very stressful, trying to find an apartment was the biggest challenge i've encountered so far. after visiting a few apartments and being very disappointed, i finally settled on one really close to where i lived last time. not the prettiest area of granada, but i like it! i'm about a 30 minute walk from school, which is actually a blessing in disguise. but i LOVE my school! it's so much fun there, the teachers are really nice and helpful, and the kids crack me up. i work monday-thursday, usually from about 10:50-2. last week the teachers actually let me do some of the teaching... i was nervous at first but have found that i really like teaching! the only issue is that the students are used to "british english" and they have a tough time understanding my accent, since i don't always pronounce all the letters. for instance, i told the 4th grade class i love harry potter. in the other classes i had actually received applause when i said that, so when i didn't get any reaction i was bummed. they all stared blankly, as did the teacher. she finally realized what i was saying, and repeated in an english accent "'arry poTTer". applause ensued. my favorite story so far from school happened yesterday when i was teaching the 3rd grade science class about the 5 senses and we were going over taste (sweet, sour, salty, bitter). so i asked what kinds of foods or drinks are bitter. a kid raised his hand and responded "chupitos!!" chupitos are shots. not quite sure how this kid knows what a shot of alcohol tastes like, but i couldn't stop laughing.
what else... social life! i've met a decent amount of people so far! i have two really good friends that i basically do everything with. we have been to hannigan's two weeks in a row for monday night trivia, and placed 5th place both times. we're about due for third place. we've also been taking advantage of the free tapas. seriously the best thing ever. we've found some places that serve you sandwiches and french fries, so for a 2 euro glass of wine you get a full meal. it's a beautiful thing!
things i love about granada...
siesta
free tapas
my school
the architecture
the mixture of cultures
gelato
the park
the shopping
things i'm still getting used to...
no oven (but in reality what do i care, i'm a terrible cook and probably wouldn't cook even if we had one!)
having to light the water heater if i want to take a hot shower
no dryer/ the washer takes 2 hours
the dirty streets/dog crap
i'm really reallyyyy going to try to keep up with this blog! hope you all enjoy (all 4 of you!)!!
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