Hot in the face today

Spanish bureaucracy is a bit difficult. It involves a lot of waiting. I have been waiting for my NIE card which will make me a legal resident of this country for a time period since I got here. I found out today that the head of the school district forgot to put my name on the call list. So I spent the afternoon, with the help of my great friend Manoli, speaking with officials. At first I was told it was going to be impossible for me to leave the country for my upcoming vacations, but then that it's a risk I can take and really the NIE card is only good within Spain. When I came back from Bristol, the customs representative in Madrid barely looked at my passport before letting me through so I'll take the risk since I've already spent my entire monthly salary on my Christmas vacation. Today was the first day I actually felt panicked, but as usual, no pasa nada.

Then Manoli and I spent the long car ride back to Moral speaking about relationship lingo. She explained the proper terms to be used and the important questions to ask and how to ask them. As well, I learned that "te amo" is hardly used in Spain. Rather, "te quiero" is more appropriate. Americans believe they are speaking wise Spanish when they say "te amo." When we got to school I got to help the 4th graders make pizzas. We are also playing a game called "Invisible Friend" (Secret Santa) this week, and I've gotten an assortment of Spanish cookbooks. Not bad. I expect the week to end with lots of delicious food and next week will consist of only games and fun. Me encanta!

6 buses, 6 trains & 2 planes

This weekend I visited Charles & Kyle in Cardiff (well a small village nearby) in Wales in the United Kingdom. I calculated that I spent 24 hours of the weekend just traveling and 34 hours actually with my friends. To get from one small village to another country to another small village requires buses, trains and planes. Pressing "accept" buttons & watching money disappear from my bank account is the easy part. Anyway, it was worth it. This is part of it. It was such a relaxing weekend in Cardiff. The inclement weather was expected. There's never much sunshine, but there wasn't any snow, luckily! We went to several pubs and ate local food and had Guinness beer which is was oh, so tasty. We sat by a fire last night and got to know kyle's fellow chiropractic mates. I finally got to see where Kyle has spent the last 4 years of his life. There were rolling hills, loads of sheep perched on the sides of these hills and signs in English and in Welsh. Kyle introduced me to the local coffee and Welsh cakes. We visited an old English bookstore, played Christmas music & had a proper English breakfast this morning.

I enjoyed listening to Charles & Kyle spit their medical terms, knowledge about diseases and what their grueling exams were like. It was informative and interesting. Kyle also pretended to be handicapped (spur of the moment, he says) in order to get passed on old lady to the handicapped toilet. Charles described only being able to take a bath for the first 4 months in the UK which was quite a process for him considering his height!! Lots of laughs.

As we go from Northside Baptist youth group to studying and teaching in Europe a lot changes and so many little things stay the same. It was simply a home-like feeling for me this weekend with these dudes. A girl at the pub last night kept repeating to me, "You all are from the same city in Florida and why are you here? Are you crazy?" And it was so nice explaining that just to be hanging with old friends in a new place is really enjoyable. Once again, I just can't believe how lucky I am.

I miss home on Sundays

I think everyone has that little nostalgic feeling on Sundays no matter where he or she is in the world or whom he or she is with. I typically spend Sundays alone, unless traveling, catching up, reading, preparing, thinking about what I haven't gotten done, feeling bad about that, enjoying a movie on my tiny TV, and chatting with Jesùs, a clase particulare student, in the evenings. Today I have been trying to put together the puzzle that is my Christmas break in order to get in as much travel as possible for the least amount of money. The latter is surely impossible. It is a beast. With my slow internet connection and the enormous amount of so-they-say cheap airline options I have spent hours going back and forth. But I have accomplished booking a flight to Prague and will be skiing with Kylah and Felipe in the Sierra Nevada at the beginning of 2011. Last night I was the first quest to arrive to my 2nd Thanksgiving feast at Mady, Bryn and Noemi's house so I sat on the couch staring at a map of Europe and feeling overwhelmed by the dozens of cities I have to visit before heading back to the United States. I will surely have to spend another year on this incredible continent.

My fellow American auxiliares, myself and others were able to put together two Thanksgiving dinners this past week. It was great to share the tradition with our Spanish friends. Both Bryn & Kylah were able to pull off the stuffing which is the most important part of the meal. It was delicious. When it was my turn to say aloud what I was thankful for I kept thinking about the movie Hook during the meal scene with all the imaginary food, except that in my case, the food was real, the perfection of my current situation is real. I don't think I've thought about that enough until this weekend.

A couple of weeks ago my umbrella was destroyed by sideways, pelting rain in Moral de Calatrava on my walk to the miniscule shelter of a bus stop where I must sit and wait. With that rain brought very chilly weather to this city, and I'm told it only gets worse from here. I have tackled the phrase, "tengo frio," because I use it every single day.

This Tuesday I went horseback riding in a small pueblo called Migelturra with the music teacher from my school, Marta. Once again, it was another situation in which I could only laugh. It must be 4 years since I've last ridden, and I think I was overconfident when I mounted the horse. Even at the youthful age of 25, my stamina has decreased and I actually got scared for a moment when my Spanish horse started cantering. Of course they gave me Old & Slow. Marta kept yelling, "You must kick him harder!" And I was thinking, yes, I'm kicking the freaking horse as hard I possibly can. "Vamos horsey. Vamos!" The instructor spoke to me in Spanish as if I understood every word, like all the people do here, and I just smiled and made arm motions. The experience was just perfect though. I had lunch at Marta's house in her small village. She showed me that she was practically next door neighbors with her parents and everyone she knows. We looked at photo albums of her travels and Carnivale (I can't for this!) for which she makes all of her costumes.

Seriously almost every experience I have had here has been so pleasant. Despite waiting for trains, occasionally getting rained on, having to walk and walk and walk, I still am constantly learning. I'm so impressed with the Spanish peoples' commitment to their families. Everyone I've met has been more than hospitable, welcoming, eager to share this pleasurable country with me.

Tomorrow starts my week 1 week, as I call it, and then we have a puente and a ton of vacation time!

I do miss, but I'd miss this more right now. Hasta pronto.

I sit with my english thoughts

Everyone in Spain loves futbol (soccer) especially the children, and since Spain is coming off a World Cup win, they are even more ecstatic. There are some talented 8-year-old athletes in my classes who know everything about soccer. As I mentioned, I teach English in a LOT of P.E. classes. I know very little about the standards for physical education but have spent some time looking up old games we use to play in middle school like Capture the Flag which the teachers find very fascinating. Today I finally met the "real" P.E. coaches after being confused for a month about why I was working with teachers who spoke zero English. The female coach was in Canada teaching and the male coach was on paternity leave. Yes, paternity leave.. for a month. Ana greeted me with a ginormous hug and her enthusiasm poured out during the very first class of 2nd graders. I also met Javi today. If you have the typical American idea of what a "Javi" would be, you're exactly right. This 6"3 beast of a man has deep eyes and dark longish hair, curls at the end, and gel to hold it back. His nose is large. His skin is tanned all year 'round. He of course played professional (or some sort of semi-professional) futbol in his "younger" years although he doesn't look a day over 30. He speaks Spanish fast and loudly, using his hands to get the point across to the children. I have finally seen a real Spanish man. Later this afternoon I mentioned to Manoli my take on Javi, and she, without discretion, offered up the information that he "has been successful with many of the ladies in the past." I, at first, thought she kept saying "sexual", which is really the same, and we had a huge laugh. Today I also sat through a meeting where two representatives from some healthcare company were trying to persuade the teachers to use their services. The two kept looking at me for some reason, and I nodded as if in agreement although I had no idea what they were talking about. Manoli sat across laughing and poking fun. I got a free multi-colored pen out of it.

There is more play than work at my school. I spend my stressful hours traveling to and from school and the non-stressful hours following teachers around, trying desperately to understand what they'd like me to do and getting hugs from little Spanish niños who robotically say to me, "Hello. How are ju? I'm fine, thanks. bye bye." Hopefully I'll get something accomplished here.

Hurray for weekends

Despite my increasingly long workdays, I still can't believe I get to live a real life in Spain. This program is pretty amazing. I get to go to a brand new primary school and basically conversate in English with little kids. The salaried teachers take care of everything else. I got my first paycheck yesterday.

Bryn and I went to Toledo last weekend, and like she had promised, it was completely different than Ciudad Real. It was built on a mountain, like many Spanish cities, was extremely hilly, and the tiny roads created a maze for us. It's on the list of World Heritage Sites, the entire city that is. So of course we saw the grandiose cathedral, customary of all Spanish cities, and the mosques and natural wonders.

I have come to terms with the fact that for every 2 things I can't get done, I get 1 thing done. Slowly, but surely. I finally have an internet pincho so let's skype it up.

Halloween is tomorrow. I have face paint, a skeleton costume & a place to go. I will forever love theme parties and dressing up. Dancing will always be the best way to release endorphins, get to know people, show off my style & to get excited about life.

My motivation for learning Spanish: All of the cute boys at the gym!!!

kisses

It´s getting chilly

Last night the piso´s lights went out, and my roommate and I tried to figure it out. I was trying to understand the situation with her, but she speaks absolutely no English. The neighbors ended up helping. I made jokes in English, slowly, but to no avail, and I just went to bed.

I sorted out my work schedule with Manoli. Things are never completely clear for me. I am teaching mostly English in the music and P.E classes which is interesting because I spend most of my day just watching, singing songs with Marta (music teacher), and I guess will now play games and sports most of the time. Not too bad. This afternoon I had my first clase particulares with Tomas, the principal, and his kids. His family was very welcoming. We spoke only English, had lots of laughs, and I enjoyed his little dog (can´t remember the name). Names are very hard to pronounce and remember. I am very happy about the extra money I will get from these lessons and also getting to know Spanish lifestyle firsthand.

I get to sleep a little tomorrow. I don´t have to wake before sunrise to catch a bus. Hopefully this weekend I will go to Toledo with Bryn. I can´t wait to start traveling! I´m trying to budget but enjoy myself. I forgot to say, I didn´t sign a contract to live in my piso. I just paid. Things here are so relaxed and easy at times, and at other times, you are walking in circles. I think I´ll have the ¨to do list¨complete by the end of this month. There is really no way not to enjoy myself here though.

In the morning it´s as cold as it gets in Panama City. That is scary! So, lots of scarves, sweaters, jackets, boots from here on out.

I enjoy my lists. They make me feel productive, but I´m trying to just be open to what is happening around me. Another auxiliar said she wants to grow up to be an old Spanish man sitting on the benches of the city chillaxing and chatting it up with other old dudes, and this is true. It´s nice.

Adios for now.

pues........

Hola! So it's the end of basically my 2nd week in Spain. I only had to work on Thursday this week because of the puenta on Tuesday which is a Spanish holiday. There are supposedly lots and lots of these! The weather has been strange. This past weekend it was rainy and cold. I imagine that contributed to me getting sick on Monday with a cold. I spent most of the week resting and trying to get the right medications from the pharmacy. I missed school though, and I really enjoy working with the children.

(Moral de Calatrava at dawn)

Yesterday I went to my first free Spanish class. Ben, Paige's boyfriend, came as well. We were the only Americans and probably only 2 of maybe 5 who spoke English at all. It was introduction day so of course I was first to go in front of the class with another student and ask her all the questions I could think of in Spanish. Lots of laughs, lots of fun. I spent the rest of the day with Paige and Ben. We went to 6 Caja Castilla La Manchas (banks) until we finally found the one that can give us the Carnet Joven (youth card for discounts), but of course it was 2:15pm by then. Very odd hours for business here. Siesta is real!!!! We had burgers in an American restaurant, ha. They made sure to tell us we got free refills. Afterwards, Paige and I spent a hilarious afternoon searching for gyms and getting lost around town. She has a very magnetic personality. She's candid and extroverted, not afraid to ask for help with as much Spanish as possible.

(Paige & me in my piso. mucho mucho verde!!!)

Today I went to Almagro to see Manoli and meet her husband Checho and baby. Her home is stark white with the typical persianas window blinds which shuts out any light. These blinds are on all the windows in Spain. Good for sleeping not for waking. We went to a local restaurant and tried about 6 typical dishes of the area. Everything was fabulous especially the gacha and desserts. Checho tried to tell me a story about lemmings, the animals, which I mistook for lemons, the fruit. I was imagining suicide lemons and just said "si" "si" as I often do without understanding. When we figured it out there was unrelenting laughter. Lost in translation. Perdido en traduccion. Afterwards, they took me on a walk around the city. I saw the Plaza Mayor (every city has one) and Corral de Comedias, a famous theater. We finished the afternoon with cafe con leche and then headed back to Ciudad Real because the baby had made lots of caca in his diaper!

(Manoli & me in Almagro)

Tomorrow a group of us will travel to Madrid for the Rastro, a market with lots of great things to buy!

Oh yeah, we did the Tapa hop last weekend here, but I only made it to 7 bars. There were 32 in total.

(Tapa hop)

(Outskirts of Ciudad Real. There are trails for running.)

There are so many babies in Ciudad Real!

Learning the music.

This is a remix version of "We No Speak Amerikana," but it plays at every disco in Ciudad Real. It's a pretty fun song for groovin'.

Hola

Hola cyber world! I haven't blogged since the days of Xanga, and I'm nervous and shy as I type. I started my journey in Spain 6 days ago. The travel was less stressful than I imagined. I slept 1 hour instead of 0 hours, and sat next to a Chinese man from Buenos Aires who gave me his business card. He is the president of some sort of fishing company. This was my very first (of which I expect many) situation in which he could not speak English and I could not speak very much Spanish, and we still got along during the journey over the Atlantic. I was tickled by the Arab man to my left who couldn't stop laughing during the corny movie,Grown Ups. I was filled with excitement and hope in those moments, surrounded by the eclectic

voices of the passengers. Spain came quickly.

I've been so lucky since arriving because Kylah's roommates (Bryn, Madeline & Neomi) are all auxiliares and fluent in spanish. Bryn, from St. Louis, Missouri basically found my piso for me by translating to the landlords. Thank God. She has spoken spanish for 10 years (impressive) but is an all-American girl, and I expect that we will be great friends. Yesterday, she showed us a 4-5 minute video describing her life and city to show to the students this first week of school. What a great idea. Neomi is from Vermont and she became friends with Kylah quickly last year through this program. Madeline, from France, was Kylah's first encounter in Spain. Neither spoke very much spanish, but have overcome the barrier and are super tight now. This.gives.me.hope.

I am so eager to put together spanish sentences instead of speaking in spanglish. I knew it was coming; to be so interested in every new person I meet and having to sit quietly behind, hoping to learn a new word or too. This is so hard for me, Questions,but I imagine months down the road I will be able to say, "Ah, finally, Manoli, I get to ask you every detail I've been holding inside for all these months!"

And Manoli. She is my little guardian angel. I met her in the Plaza Mayor just hours after I arrived, and she came prancing towards me with a smile from ear to ear. We chatted slowly in English, both of us timid but curious, and by the end of our cafe con leches I felt welcomed and confident. Monday, at the orientation I sit still, understanding little of what is going on. She says "Me Maten!" (kill me!) after Juan Ignacio goes on and on about whatever important thing it is that I'm missing. I can't wait to have many laughs with this incredible Spanish woman. She is the English director at my school, Agustin Sanz, in Moral de Calatrava. My first day was today. Manoli gave me the tour of the pueblo, in 5 minutes. It looked more like a movie set against a backdrop of hills and windmills than a city. We visited the one and only bar in the town, the bar in which I will spend an hour in the morning having a cafe due to the early bus schedule. It's important to be flexible in Spain! I think I spent most of the day learning the Shakira song, Waka Waka, while dancing alongside spanish boys and girls. After school, another English teacher says, "Yes, we all go home at two. More play and less work." And that's why I'm here.

Kylah & Neomi helping haul my broken luggage across calle Toledo.

5 pisos, I got it to 1, without meeting the roommates. Buttttt, last night we came face to face, and it took 2 hours to get out about 20 main facts about each other. Ah, well, aprendo pronto! They are 2 spanish students who chain smoke in the piso but are making every effort to be friends with me. You must be adaptable in Spain!

I have spent almost every one of the 8640 minutes of time I've had here learning, being surprised, being stumped, feeling alone, feeling surrounded, having information overloads and most importantly, being inspired by this place I now ca

ll home. I have been to a weekly event called the botellon, similar to a university tailgate at night. I got a taste of spanish dance on my birthday. I hope to learn flamenco! Two nights ago I went with Madeline to a kabob restaurant with 9 others. At the table there were 2 people from Spain, 2 Colombians, 1 Italian, 1 German, Madeline the french girl, a Lithuanian girl, and me, the americana. It was exhilarating sitting amongst these special people trying my very best to get some sort of information across. When it happened, wow, that was magic. I just kept saying to Madeline, "I love this." Besides this, I have shared spanish and non-spanish

meals in Kylah's pisos with new and old friends, and laughed hysterically at Sandra's french accent interpretation of dirty American phrases. Laughter has been a prominent theme so far.

Tomorrow is my first bus trip to Moral de Calatrava. Day 2 with the kidos!

So much to learn.

A very simple piso.

Kylah, Philip, Ben, Paige, Flo y Bryn