Thanksgiving and More

I think that this is the shortest amount of time that has ever passed between two of my blog posts. As I said in my last entry, I am going to make a concerted effort to update more frequently, first and foremost to keep everyone back home current on what I am up to and, secondly, to make it easier to remember what I have and have not written about. And, with that said, I will now get to the (hopefully) more interesting part of this entry...

It continues to amaze me how quickly the days and weeks here pass, especially given the fact that I only "work" 12 hours a week. This week at school was especially minimal in terms of work. It must be mid-terms or something, as several of my classes were cancelled because the students had to take exams. The teachers that I work with definitely seemed to be a lot busier than usual and a few of them had to cancel our sessions to get other things done. I would say that it is frustrating to spend an hour or more commuting only to be told that you are not needed. However, I do enjoy getting out of the house and at least pretending to be a worthwhile member of Spanish society. Plus, it's nice to see and talk to the other teachers at school. From what I've gathered from some of my other Language & Culture Assistant friends, I lucked out in terms of getting assigned to work with such great people.

This week I only went to my tutoring job once, as I took Thursday off to prepare for my Thanksgiving festivities (more on that later). Tuesday's session wasn't nearly as stressful as last week's and I was thrilled to not have to tell the kids to sit down and be quiet quite as many times. The past couple of times we have been working on the months of the year. I'm taking it slow and trying to have them learn 3 or 4 at a time. It's becoming apparent that not overloading them with new words is key. I was pleasantly surprised that Paco remembered all of the months from our previous session (January through April). I tried teaching them a song to go along with the material... once again, though, that approach failed. Either these kids don't like songs or they are frightened by my singing voice. I'm inclined to think it's the latter. They do seem to like doing little craft projects to go along with the topic at hand, so I've been trying to incorporate that into my lessons. Lately we've been working on making a 2011 calendar, with the months and days of the week in English, which seems to help them remember the months and keeps them occupied. I finally remembered to take my camera along and was able to snap a photo of Paco and Raquel (Isabel had already left for the day). I think Spanish kids might be the cutest in the entire world.

Raquel and Paco.

My very light workload this week gave me lots of time to prepare for one of my favorite days of the year: Thanksgiving. Two years ago, when I studied abroad, we went to TGI Friday's and ate chicken fingers and french fries to celebrate. This time around, though, I was bound and determined to have a real Thanksgiving meal. So, Rachel, Briana, and I planned a grand feast to celebrate and help us not feel too sad about missing out on the festivities back in the states.

Monday afternoon we went to the supermarket at El Corte Ingles (Spain's huge department store chain) and searched for all of the ingredients we knew we wouldn't be able to find at Día, our usual, slightly sketchy grocery store. Amazingly, we were able to find cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, chocolate cake mix, and even marshmallows (colorful and Christmas-themed, of course) for the sweet potatoes. We then went about finding recipes for sweet potato casserole and stuffing and then spent the next few days gathering the rest of the ingredients. By the time Thursday rolled around, we had planned a delicious meal and our party of 3 had morphed into an impressive gathering of 7, which made celebrating that much more fun. We decided to cook and eat at my house since it's a good size for entertaining and, unlike most other kitchens in Spain, has an oven.

Briana came over Thursday afternoon after lunch so that we could get a head-start on cooking and we whipped up some awesome stuffing and sweet potatoes, plus a killer chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Of course, no Thanksgiving would be complete without some sort of drama in the kitchen, which came when water inexplicably started spraying out of the wall by the sink, completely soaking me and the kitchen floor in the process. Luckily, Fátima's brother David helped me solve the problem and we were able to continue cooking without any other snafus. By the time Rachel and Pam arrived a little later, Briana and I had taken care of most of the cooking, so we had some time to relax, uncork a bottle of very bad cheap Spanish wine, and enjoy the cheese plate I had thrown together at the last minute. Around 8, just before our other guests arrived, we ran over to a little store in my neighborhood to buy a couple of rotisserie chickens as we had decided to forgo turkey. Once everyone had arrived and settled in, we set up a buffet in the living/dining room and everyone fixed their plates.

I have to say that, all things considered, we did a pretty bang-up job of recreating Thanksgiving in Spain. The complete menu included the chicken, stuffing, sweet potatoes, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes, pumpkin soup, cranberry sauce, and bread. And, if I do say so myself, it was all delicious! Even better than the food, though, was the excellent company. I have so many things to be thankful for but I think that the friends I have made thus far in Sevilla are at the top of my list. Everyone had a great time and by the time they left we were all very satisfied with the way things turned out. Other than being at home with my family, I can't think of another way I would have rather spent Thanksgiving 2010. Here are a few pictures from the fiesta...

My beautiful fruit and cheese platter. I was quite proud of it.

Sweet potatoes and stuffing. Just like home.

The girls: Briana, Alli, Rachel, me, Pam, and Stephanie.

Eating at the dining table for the first time since I've been here.

Everyone, minus me. Couldn't have asked for a better group.

Now that Thanksgiving is over, I am enjoying my second consecutive laid-back weekend in Sevilla. I guess I need plenty of time to rest up, as I leave a week from today for 5 days in the UK. Rachel, Briana, Jan (who also teaches English at Rachel's school) and I are going to be traveling to Liverpool and Edinburgh over our puente (long weekend). Having grown up with my dad, who is probably one of the biggest Beatles fans in the world, I am really looking forward to checking out the city where it all began. I am also excited to return to Edinburgh, where I spent a couple of days when I studied abroad. It was one of my favorite cities in Europe and I'm glad to have an opportunity to see more of it. I'm also looking forward to seeing Granada for the first time the following weekend. My friend Pam invited me along on a trip with her friend Ana (who is Spanish), Ana's boyfriend (also Spanish), and another American girl who is living in Sevilla. I have been dying to visit Granada and am so glad that this opportunity presented itself. I'm not sure that we'll see the Alhambra (Granada's enormous 14th century Moorish palace) on this trip since I'm sure the other people in the group have already done so but luckily it's only a short train/bus ride away. I have to keep reminding myself that there are tons of cool places to visit within Spain... sometimes it's just so easy to get carried away with the ease of traveling to other European countries!

The only other news I can think of is that Ayako, my Japanese roommate, is leaving Sevilla for a few months to move to Barcelona. I have to admit that I will miss her, a lot! When I first got to Sevilla in September, we were the only 2 people in the house for about a week, and for that reason I feel closer to her than my other housemates. I have enjoyed being able to practice Spanish with her and appreciate the times when we are both in the kitchen together. Luckily, she is going to be coming back to Sevilla in March and, if no one else moves into her room, there is a chance she could live with us again. We did exchange contact information so we can at least stay in touch. I can only hope that whoever moves in next will be as great as her!

Well, I think that's about it. I hope that everyone had an enjoyable Thanksgiving and is looking forward to the holiday season. I know that I am! And on that note, hasta pronto...

A Very Disjointed Blog Post

(As a disclaimer, this is going to be a rather disjointed entry, in part because it has been a while since I last wrote and in part because there are so many little things I want to comment on.)

At one point in time Sundays were my favorite day of the week. That point in time has passed... In Sevilla, Sundays are long and boring, as just about everything is closed. Luckily, that means that I have a lot of time on my hands today to update the blog and tell you what I've been up to for the last two weeks.

After returning from Viterbo, I worked for all of 3 days before heading to Milan with Rachel and Briana, two of my friends from the Teach in Spain program. I thought that traveling 2 weekends in a row would be exhausting. However, I had a wonderful time on my second trip to Italy in two weeks.

We arrived at an airport about an hour outside of Rome on Friday morning and, after a very drawn-out ordeal involving public transportation, finally made it to our hotel that afternoon. After a quick lunch at a café near our hotel and an obligatory gelato stop, we had a few hours to explore the city center and (surprise) do a little shopping. Later, we met up with Anna, an Italian woman who was Rachel's cousins' au pair several years ago. She treated us to a wonderful dinner, complete with foccacia, homemade pasta, several local hams, and vino. We were all exhausted after a long day of traveling by the time we finished eating, so we headed back to the hotel for a good night's sleep.

On Saturday, we decided to take a day trip to Lake Como, about an hour north of Milan by train. Its claim to fame (at least in my book) is that George Clooney owns a villa there. The lake itself is very big and beautiful. Unfortunately, we happened to be there on a very foggy day, making it hard to get a full view of the landscape. Nonetheless, we enjoyed exploring the town of Como and taking a very eventful tram ride to the top of a nearby mountain. For more details on that excitement and the other strange experiences we encountered throughout the weekend, read Briana's blog entry (http://bgsevilla.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-do-you-give-screaming-baby-to-make.html).

Saturday night, our gracious Italian hostess Anna had us over to her apartment for a homecooked Italian meal. I have to say that I have been very lucky in both of my trips to Italy in terms of sampling the local cuisine! When we got there, she had already prepared a huge spread of appetizers, which was delicious and meal-worthy in itself. However, the tortellini she made for the main course was amazing and we all left very full and very happy.

Sunday was our day of sightseeing. Although Milan isn't neccesarily known for its history or architecture, it does boast a beautiful duomo--the Italian word for cathedral-- and an impressive 14th century castle, both of which we toured. Our motivation to explore the city in depth was limited by the cold and rainy weather. We ended our weekend with one last delicious dinner and gelato. Even though we had a great time and enjoyed getting another European city under our belts, I think that by the time we woke up at 3:15 on Monday morning to catch our flight back to Sevilla we were all happy to be going home. There is definitely something to be said about sleeping in your own bed and being in a city where you speak the language and know your way around.

The weather in Sevilla has changed very suddenly. It went from being summer to some sort of fall/winter hybrid in about the span of a week. Although the high temperatures are still in the low to mid 60's, it feels much colder than that because the air is very damp. I finally gave in and bought a winter coat in Milan, which is coming in very handy. The weirdest thing is that it feels much colder inside than it does outside. Luckily, Fátima delivered a heater to my room last night, so hopefully I will survive the winter.

Work is still going well, although there are times when I wish I had more responsibilities. The last 2 Tuesdays I commuted to Dos Hermanas, only to find out that I wasn't needed. I guess that was compensated for by the fact that on Thursday I got to teach an entire class by myself! I have to admit that I was very nervous when Cristobal announced to me that he needed to use that period to make phone calls and thus wanted me to lead the class. I am always with another teacher in the classroom and I hadn't mentally prepared myself to take charge of a room full of 17-18 year old boys. However, I think that it ended up being the best class I have had with the students yet. We read a document I had translated on electrical circuits (on itself not very stimulating material) to practice pronunciation and reading comprehension, which is what we always do. What made this particular class so great was that the students were all very engaged and continually asked me questions when they didn't know a word or needed help with pronunciation. I only wish that they could be like that all the time! By the end of the hour, I felt like they had actually benefitted from my being there!

I am still giving clases particulares to a group of 5 and 6 year olds once a week. I am quickly discovering that I much prefer working with older kids. The little ones are very cute and incredibly affectionate but I am not sure how much longer my patience with them will last. Their high energy level, short attention span, and inability to remember anything I teach them is wearing me out very quickly. I think that my feelings would be different if I didn't have to travel so far to get there. Now I just have to decide if $7 per child per hour and 2 hours of commute time roundtrip is really worth it...

In other news, I have completed travel plans for Alice and me for the first week in January, after the rest of the family goes back to the States. We will spend New Year's Eve in Paris, which is supposed to be one of the best places to ring in the New Year in the world, before spending 3 days each in London and Berlin. I am looking forward to returning to London and showing it to Alice for the first time and even more excited about exploring Berlin. I am also working on plans to visit Liverpool (home of the Beatles) and Edinburgh during the first week in December, when we have several days off from work. Life sure is tough over here...

And on that note, I am off to find another way to waste time. Look for another blog post later in the week... I am going to try to write more often from now on. Hasta pronto!

Viterbo

This weekend combined two of my favorite things: family and travel. After nearly two months in Sevilla, I finally ventured outside of my new home and flew to Italy to see Alice, who is spending her senior year of high school in a small city about two hours north of Rome by train. It's hard to believe that it took me this long into my stay abroad to be re-bitten by the travel bug... but on this end of my trip I can wholeheartedly say that it was well worth the wait.

After another typical week at work, I set off on my adventure late Friday. Due to the fact that this was my first time traveling out of Sevilla, I gave myself ample time to get to the airport and get checked in before my flight. Luckily, reaching the airport is incredibly easy... almost as easy as it was in Madrid. All I had to do was make my way to Santa Justa, which I could probably due blindfolded at this point, and hop on the special airport bus. I was glad that I had given myself extra time, as the bus was running late. I guess that´s what I get for traveling along with the rest of Sevilla on a Friday evening. Once I got to the airport, I checked in, grabbed a coffee, and waited for my flight, which left at 7:00. The flight itself was about 2.5 hours and very smooth. Nonetheless, I was very happy when we landed at Rome Ciampino a few minutes early at 9:30. Being back there brought back memories of my last trip to Rome, in November 2008 with Joi, my Vanderbilt in Spain roommate. Just as we did last time, I bought a 4 euro bus ticket, which got me to the central train station in less than 40 minutes. I then found my way to my hotel/hostel (I´m still not entirely sure which word best describes this place), dropped off my bag, and headed out in search of dinner. I found a decent restaurant right across the street, where I ordered a delicious pizza with salami and artichoke hearts. Afterwards, I was determined to find gelato, which was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I ended up at another restaurant, where the waiter brought me a sorry excuse for gelato and then insisted on chatting with me while I ate it. He kept telling me that it was too early to go to bed and that I needed to go out with him once his shift ended. However, on account of the fact that it was late and I had to get up early to go to Viterbo and he was supremely creepy, I called it a night and headed back to the hotel.

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early and headed back to the train station, where I jumped on the metro to go to yet another train station to catch my train to Viterbo. The trip itself was a little under 2 hours and I enjoyed seeing lots of beautiful Italian countryside. When I arrived just before 11 a.m., Alice was waiting for me on the platform. It was great to be reunited with her... in fact, the only thing that would have made it better would have been if all 4 of my sisters had been there! After that, we walked over to San Pellegrino, the medieval section of Viterbo, to find my bed and breakfast. Unfortunately, as is usually the case when I travel, I forgot one key piece of information: the address of the B&B. After walking around for quite some time and trying to ask several locals if they knew where it was, we finally found it. After I dropped off my bag, we had to get going so that Alice could make it to a high school where she teaches English on Saturdays. First, though, we made a quick stop at a cafe for cappucinos (my second of the day). This wasn´t just any cappucino, though... it came topped with sprinkles, marshmallows, and--wait for it--nutella. It was just what I needed to make it through an hour at an Italian high school, which made my school in Dos Hermanas look tame. Alice, her friend, and I sat at the front of the classroom and the teacher and students asked questions (in English) and we answered. I found the whole experience very interesting as I was able to compare it to what I have experienced thus far at my job. I have to say that I was very impressed with their conversational skills and it was nice to have a break from teaching English for telecommunications and information science.

Once we left the school, Alice took me to her house, which is located in the center of Viterbo, right across from the School Year Abroad building. I met her host mother, Alessandra, who was very welcoming and thrilled to meet one of Alice´s sisters. She invited me to stay for lunch, which I was more than happy to do, and we used a combination of English, Spanish, and Italian to communicate. Once Alice´s host siblings, Michaelangelo and Virginia, got home from school (Italians go to school on Saturday) at about 1:30, we sat down for lunch. Alessandra made a delicious carbonara-like pasta dish, which I devoured. It was fun to see Alice interact with her new family and I was very impressed by the Italian she has picked up in only 2 months. At the end of the meal, Alessandra invited me to come back for lunch on Sunday, an offer I definitely couldn´t turn down!

After lunch, a couple of Alice´s friends showed up and we headed to a really cool gelato place to meet up with some of the other SYA kids. The gelato place is in what used to be the lobby of a hotel and was absolutely beautiful. Even better, though, the gelato was delicious! I got a mix of straciatella (chocolate chip) and pistachio (my new favorite flavor). It´s a good thing that I´m not studying abroad in Italy... I think I would eat gelato at least once a day!

After our gelato stop, Alice and I went out to explore Viterbo. The city itself is very old and absolutely beautiful. It was exactly how I imagined a smaller Italian town would be. In fact, the whole time I felt like I was in Under the Tuscan Sun (except not in Tuscany). I don´t think I can do it justice in words, so you´ll just have to see pictures of the town and views below.

Saturday night I hung out with Alice and her friends, which was interesting to say the least. It´s hard to believe that I was in high school only 5 years ago. They all seemed so young to me, even though they are only a few years younger than I am! I think that by the end of the night I had met just about everyone in the SYA Italy program. After a long day of traveling, walking, and eating, I was exhausted and headed back to the B&B around 11:30.

Sunday morning I woke up around 8:30 and ate breakfast at the B&B. I then decided that I would try to find my way to Alice´s house on my own. On my way I happened upon a tourism office where I picked up a map of Viterbo. Using that and my excellent sense of direction, I found Alice´s house. Since she had homework and college applications to work on, I went out to do some more exploring on my own. I got back to Alice´s house just before lunch, which was a good thing because so much walking made me very hungry! The first course Alessandra served us was a black rice (riso negro) dish which was honestly one of the best things I have ever eaten. I think I will have to learn how to make it! Afterwards, we had roast chicken and potatoes, which was also very good. One of Alice´s SYA friends joined us for lunch and said that it was the best meal he had eaten in Italy. I can see how that could be true!

After lunch, I went back to my B&B for a siesta before going back to Alice´s. We made a second trip to the gelato place and then went for a walk around San Pellegrino. I decided that I would go back to her house for a little while and then tell her good bye before going out to dinner. I didn´t want to impose on Alessandra and Rafaello (her husband) for a third meal. When it came time for me to head out around 8, Alice and I went into the kitchen to ask them to take a picture of the two of us. She informed them that I was about to leave so that I could go out for dinner. However, Rafaello and Alessandra, in true Italian fashion, would have none of that. Rafaello exclaimed, ¨That is impossible!¨So, I sat down to eat pizza with the family and another SYA host couple and couldn´t have been happier that they ¨forced¨ me to stay. The pizza was fantastic and the company even better. After we finished eating, Alice got her laptop and we skyped Dad, Shelley, & Wardie in Sewanee. It was highly entertaining and, to make a long story short, our group of 10 (the family + Alice´s friend Jenny who is doing SYA France) will be spending Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in Viterbo with the host family. When I said goodbye to Alice and headed back to my B&B around 10:30, I could honestly say that my trip had gone above and beyond my expectations.

Monday was an uneventful day of travel. I couldn´t have left at a better time... the weather was cold and rainy and Sevilla´s sunshine and 75 degree weather was calling my name. I got back here around 6:30 at night, exhausted but extremely satisfied with my weekend. Now it is back to work with 3 days before I go BACK to Italy for a weekend in Milan with my friends Briana and Rachel. What can I say, I love Italy and couldn´t pass up the opportunity to see a new city!

Cappuccino + Nutella = Amazing.

View of Viterbo and the countryside!

Exploring the city with Alice.

Gelato!

Alice and I with her host parents, Raffaello and Alessandra.

Alice and I at her Italian home.

Excited to see fall colors at last!

Is it really November already?

It's hard to believe that I've been in Sevilla for 6 weeks now and even harder to believe that it's already November. I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. I have started writing a new blog post several times over the past week but always seem to get distracted or have something to do whenever I get started. I guess that's a good thing because it means that I'm staying busy and getting into a groove. However, in the interest of updating everyone back home on what I've been up to, I am making myself actually complete an entry.

There isn't too much to report on the work front. I feel more and more like a part of the school community every day, which makes the little time I actually spend at work a lot more enjoyable. I love going into the teacher's lounge during the 30-minute recreo period every morning, getting a cafe con leche, and sitting with the other teachers. I haven't quite worked up the confidence to join in on their conversations but I'm sure I will get there eventually. I have developed strong relationships with all of the teachers that I am working with and am slowly but surely getting accustomed to the fast, oftentimes hard-to-understand Andalusian Spanish that they speak. My only complaint is that I don't get to spend enough time in the classroom with the students. They seem like really great kids (or, in some cases, 40-year-old men) and most of them are remarkably eager to improve their English.

I have now completed 3 private English classes with Paco, Isabel, and Raquel. Those sessions (Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6-7 in the evening) are quickly becoming the highlight of my week. After working with high school electronics students during the day, it's fun to spend some time with younger students and teach them about things I actually know. Even though it's challenging, I love coming up with lessons for them. The first two days we focused on the ABC's, which is proving to be much more difficult than I imagined it would be. During the second session, I tried to incorporate Halloween into the lesson to make things a little more interesting and to share some American culture with them. Unfortunately, I think I was a little more excited about that idea than they were. Thursday we transitioned from the alphabet to numbers, which they caught on to a lot faster. Paco and Isabel could already count to 12 in English but Raquel couldn't. However, after some one-on-one work, she got it down and could do it without any problems. I felt a great sense of accomplishment in having successfully taught her something. It's nice to feel like you're actually giving their parents their money's worth.

While success in teaching English makes my twice-weekly trips to Montequinto satisfying, I think that my favorite part of the whole experience is building relationships with the kids. I love that they don't want me to leave when our hour is over and that they are enjoying having me around. Thursday, when I was waiting for all of the parents to arrive to pay me, it made me beyond happy when Paco asked me to play soccer with him. We had the best time kicking the ball back and forth and trying to score on one another. Moments like that are worth so much more than the money I get for my services.

Other than work and giving private lessons, I have managed to stay busy and get out of the house quite a bit. I am thrilled to have made so many great new friends who are sharing in the experience of living in Spain and who are just as ready as I am to experience everything that Sevilla has to offer. While most of my friends are American, I have enjoyed meeting and getting to know a few Spaniards. Not hanging out with Spanish people was one thing that I regretted about my study abroad experience and I am finding that doing so from time to time is great for my language skills.

This weekend has been great, in large part because today (Monday) is a national holiday in honor of All Saint's Day. Friday night I finally went to a flamenco show at La Carboneria, one of the most well known venues in town, with two of my friends from the CIEE program and some of their out of town visitors. Afterwards, we went to dinner at Los Coloniales, one of my favorite restaurants here, and then ended up going to a discoteca, which never ceases to provide a good time. Saturday's weather was pretty dismal by Sevilla standards (chilly and rainy) so I didn't get out too much. I did, however, go over to the same friends' apartment for dinner. They cooked chicken fajitas (a delicious diversion from my typical diet of sandwiches and tortilla española) and it was nice to have a laid back evening after two consecutive nights out. Last night for Halloween I went over to a friend's apartment for a party, which was a ton of fun. There was a good mix of Spaniards and Americans, as well as a few Brits, and it was fun to see the Europeans all decked out in scary costumes. I guess people of any nationality will take any excuse to have a good time!

After such a great weekend it will definitely be hard to go back to work tomorrow. The good news is that we went off daylight savings this weekend, so it won't be quite so dark when I leave for school in the morning. My long awaited trip to Viterbo to visit Alice is finally here and I leave Friday night for 3 days in Italy. I have a lot to get done between now and then, though, including my second appointment at the Oficina de Extranjeros. Luckily I finally received my Sevici card in the mail, so getting around will be a lot more efficient. Anyways, that's about all the news from here. I will update again soon, hopefully before I leave for the weekend. If not, be on the lookout for a post on my visit to Italy and lots of pictures at the beginning of next week. Hasta pronto...

Untitled.

I have the hardest time coming up with titles for these posts. It's so hard to sum up an entire week in only a few words. I initially thought I would be writing on here more than once a week. However, the weeks here fly by... I guess time really does fly when you're having fun.

As I mentioned in my last post, this week was yet another abbreviated work week for me. Monday was a holiday in Dos Hermanas so I enjoyed a 4 day weekend for the second week in a row. While sleeping in was a nice substitute for walking to the bus stop in the dark at 7 a.m., I have to say that I think I would have preferred going to work. I have always been the type of person who needs structure in my daily life and I like to have something to occupy my time during the day. I guess that learning how to fill my free time and enjoying a slowed-down Spanish lifestyle is just another part of my living here for a year.

My three days at work this week were pretty standard. I am finally beginning to get a better idea of what is expected of me and how I can best serve the teachers and students I am working with. I have a clearer idea of the teachers' strengths and weaknesses in their English abilities and thus can better prepare for our one-on-one time together. I have been printing out articles for us to read together, which provides them with an opportunity to practice their pronunciation as well as learn new vocabulary words. For those who want me to review grammar, I have also been finding handouts and practice exercises online. It is also a good chance for me to review grammar as I think that the last time I studied English grammar was in high school.

I only got to spend one hour in class with the students this week, which was kind of disappointing because I really enjoy working with them. Most of them are very eager to improve their English and I really appreciate the ones who take the time to ask me questions. The random middle-aged man in one of my classes, who I was a little wary of at first, really surprised me this week with his efforts to improve his pronunciation. Even though most of the students hate having to read aloud in English, he voluntarily read an entire handout out loud and took the time to ask me questions about pronunciation. It is little moments like that that make my work here seem worthwhile.

This week marked the beginning of my giving clases particulares, or private English lessons. When I first started working at the school, I was approached by Antonio, a teacher from another department who was interested in having me teach a group of 5-6 year old kids. This week we finally got started. After a miscommunication on Tuesday, I finally found my way to the correct metro stop in Montequinto, where Antonio picked me up and took me to his house. When we got there, I met his wife (whose name I cannot for the life of me remember) and the three kids I will be working with--Paco, Isabel, and Raquel. Antonio then showed us to his office upstairs where we are going to be spending our time together. I had planned a lesson on the ABCs and for the most part it went off without a hitch. We reviewed flashcards of the letters and I then had them color in the flashcards. In order to get a new letter to color, they had to tell me the name of the letter in English. Afterwards, we played an alphabet Bingo game. I had to help them out from time to time in identifying the letters but all things considered they did a great job. It was an adjustment working with little kids instead of teenagers but it was a welcome change of pace. When our hour was over at 7 p.m., they didn't want me to leave, which I guess was a good sign! Luckily, I'll be going back every Tuesday and Thursday, so they will be getting their fill of me.

I can already tell that my time in Montequinto will be just as beneficial for me as it is for my new students. While making a little extra money is a nice plus, I am looking forward to getting some extra teaching experience and to having more commitments to occupy my time. It is also interesting to see a glimpse of Spanish family life in the suburbs. In a lot of ways, the neighborhood that the family lives in reminded me of what I can imagine life would have been like in the 1950's in the U.S. All of the houses are really close together, so everyone knows all of their neighbors and they are constantly socializing in the streets. After our class was over, the kids went out to play with their friends in the street, something that I don't think happens nearly enough in the U.S. these days, partly because kids would rather be inside watching TV or playing video games and partly because of safety concerns. More than anything, getting to experience Spanish family life was comforting and reminded me a lot of home. I am hoping that I can get to know Antonio and his family better over the coming months and that in some small way I can become like part of the family. It's a lot to wish for but I don't think it's completely out of the question.

In other news, I have all of the details of my trip to visit Alice in Italy ironed out. I have booked a hotel for Friday night in Rome, near the train station, so that I will have a place to stay when I get in late that night. Per Alice's advice, I found a bed and breakfast in the medieval section of Viterbo, which is very reasonably priced and looks to be very charming. As much as I love Sevilla, it will be nice to have a brief change of scenery and of course to have some much needed family time.

That's about all of the news from here. In true Spanish fashion, I have no idea what my plans for the weekend are. I pretty much just have to fly by the seat of my pants and see what happens. So, on that note, hasta pronto.

I can't believe it's time for another weekend in Sevilla. Especially given the fact that I am coming off of a 2-day work week. Yes, that's right... only two days of my week included face time at I.E.S. Torre de los Herberos. Is the Junta de Andalucía really paying me to live this surreal life? You betcha.

My week started out Monday morning with my long awaited appointment at the Oficina de Extranjeros (Office of Foreigners) at Plaza de España, where I was to take the first steps in applying for my identification number and card. I left my house extra early to make sure that I got there on time for my 9 a.m. appointment and that I knew exactly where I was going. When I arrived around 8:30, the sun still wasn't up... yet there was a huge line of people waiting to go about their business just like me. Even though I knew that CIEE had set up my appointment for me and that I wouldn't need to wait in any lines, I asked the security guards outside where I needed to go if I had an appointment. In typical Spanish fashion, each guard that I asked told me to get in a different line. Eventually I ended up in the shorter of two lines. However, it wasn't long before another one of the people in line, a nice Latino man, informed me that if I was turning in my application I needed to go to an office that was on the other side of the plaza. He kindly showed me there, assuring me that he had turned in his own application at that office. I waited there for a little while with about 3 other people who were there to do the same thing as I was. However, as time passed and 9 a.m. approached, I started to get the feeling that this wasn't right. So, I decided to text some of the other participants from my program who I remembered had already had their first appointments. I ended up getting in touch with another girl who also had her appointment on Monday, who just happened to be waiting in the correct location with several other CIEE participants. So, after some minor confusion, I found my way to the right place and met some new people in the process.

It turned out that my appointment was with Sebastian, a friend of one of the staffers from the CIEE office here in Sevilla who was responsible for making all of our lives much, much easier. By some stroke of luck, I ended up being the first person to go in and present my application. A process that I thought would take a couple of hours ended up lasting only 10 minutes and was much less painless than I had anticipated. Sebastian merely entered my information into the computer, asked me a few questions (mainly for the purpose of small talk), and informed me about the next steps in the process. Like most Spaniards I have met, upon learning that I am from Tennessee, he responded, "Oh, like Jack Daniels!" I guess at least they have heard of our wonderful state... Anyways, I have an appointment November 4 to get my fingerprints taken at the police station and turn in my passport-sized photos and will need to pay a small fee for my I.D. card at some point before my appointment. I have to say that I can't wait to get all of this bureaucratic mess out of the way! That said, it really hasn't been all that bad. It's all just part of the experience of moving to a new country and like everything else I have had to go through I am taking it with a grain of salt.

After getting my appointment out of the way, I had the rest of the day to goof off, as I had already told the school that I wouldn't be making it in that day. I got some things done around the house--laundry, grocery shopping, etc.--and had time for not 1 but 2 siestas. Adulthood--so far, so good.

Monday night I met up with some other people from my program, some of whom I already knew and several of whom I didn't. Tuesday was a national holiday in Spain, so none of us had to worry about getting to bed early in preparation for work the next day. We went to a really neat tapas bar in el centro, although because I had already eaten at home I didn't get to try it. I'll definitely be going back though... the food looked really good! Afterwards we went to Alfalfa, which is a very popular area for young people at night. As always I enjoyed getting to talk to other people who are having the same experiences I am. You really can't have too many friends, especially when living in a foreign country, so I hope that I will see some of the people I met again in the future.

As I mentioned before, Tuesday was a national holiday. As far as I can tell, it is basically the Spanish equivalent of Columbus Day. I enjoyed waking up at an hour when it wasn't pitch black outside and then went for a long walk over to Cartuja, across the river, where there is a really beautiful park/garden and a great walking path, part of which actually goes out over the water. I spent the rest of the day relaxing and walking around a bit. Apparently there were parades to celebrate the holiday but unfortunately I missed out this time.

Wednesday was the first of my two days of actually working and I was glad to get back to school and see Cefe, Cristobal, Javier, and Ricardo. I finally gave my passport and bank account information to Mercedes, the school secretary, so that I can get paid at the end of the month. Cefe and I also took care of more paperwork, which the Spanish really seem to love. During my first hour, I worked with Cefe on finalizing course materials that had been translated from Spanish to English either by me or by the previous year's assistant. We went over the finished products so that Cefe could practice pronouncing the words and so that I could explain the changes I had made. Then, in my one-on-one session with Ricardo, I went over irregular verbs, a topic that we had started to get into last week. We practiced pronunciation and went over the meanings of the verbs, which he seemed to find very helpful. We had an interesting cross-cultural moment about midway through the hour when we came to the verb "to come." Ricardo looked at me and said, "Oh, like 'Come Together.'" I just nodded my head and smiled, which I seem to do a lot of these days. He then proceeded to launch into a feeble rendition of the famous Beatles' song, at which point I announced that I am a huge Beatles fan. We then had a discussion about the group and he was very proud to tell me that he had visited the site of John Lennon's assassination in New York. Moments like that--where I find common ground with someone who I didn't think I shared many interests with--make everything I am doing over here truly seem worthwhile. My Wednesday ended in the classroom with the first year students. Cefe had to go downstairs to take care of some paperwork during the first 10 minutes of class, so I was left in charge while the class started to read and translate one of the English handouts I had helped prepare. A couple of the students were bold enough to ask me questions, which I really appreciated. Not surprisingly, it was my only 2 girl students! When Cefe got back, the students took turns reading the document aloud (in English). After each section, I would re-read the text so that they could here the correct pronunciation. In the last part of the class, we worked together to translate the handout into Spanish. The whole process was a little difficult as the students' levels of English range from zero to pretty good. However, I finally felt like I was getting an opportunity to connect with them and actually impart some wisdom to them. I was a little nervous and intimidated standing in front of a room of 17-18 year olds. However, now that I have gotten over the initial hurdle, I think I will adapt to my duties in no time.

Thursday was a rather uneventful day at school. I was already on the bus to Santa Justa when I got a call from Cefe to tell me that Ricardo wasn't going to make it in for our 10:15 session. However, because I was already in transit I decided to go ahead and go in. After recreo, I had class with Cristobal and the second year students. As in Wednesday's class with Cefe, we went over a handout that I had translated into English, practicing pronunciation and then translating the text back to Spanish to make sure that they understood what they were reading. After we had finished going over the worksheet, one of the students, a random middle-aged man, started asking me questions (although I never really understood what the problem was). Before I knew it, Cristobal and the entire class were in a furious discussion in very fast Andalusian Spanish. I thought they were talking about having me review English grammar. However, after about 5 minutes of this, Cristobal turns to me and says, "They want to be your friends." Then two boys in the front row, who seem to be the ringleaders of the group, said, "We want to party with you on the weekend." I started laughing but they were actually serious. It seems that in Spain something like going out on the weekends with your students isn't unprofessional. I'm still not sure how to take their request but it was definitely an interesting cultural moment. My week ended with a laid back session with Javier, who was in and out dealing with Ricardo's students. We read an article I had printed out from the Nashville Scene about the Murfreesboro mosque controversy, which has been very prominent in the local news over the past several months. I think it was a good opportunity for him to get an idea of the issues that dominate conversation in the States, especially in my hometown. It was also interesting because he was able to make comparisons between that story and a similar one that occurred in Sevilla a few years back. When it was all said and done, my work week was short but incredibly rewarding nonetheless.

Thursday night I met up with one of my new American friends and headed to Plaza del Salvador to celebrate the end of the week. Funnily enough, I ran into Cefe there and enjoyed talking to him for a while outside of work. After a few cervezas, we went to grab some tapas, which I haven't done nearly enough of since I've been here! We then went back to Salvador to meet up with some Spanish friends. It was a lot of fun and my Spanish definitely got a work out!

It turns out that my 2-day work week will be followed by a 3-day work week, as Monday is a holiday in Dos Hermanas in honor of Sunday's Romería de Valme, one of the most famous religious celebrations in all of Spain. There is an all-day processional in honor of the Virgin of Valme that begins in Dos Hermanas and goes to the neighboring town of Bellavista. All of the locals get dressed up in traditional garb and eat and drink a lot along the path of the processional. All of the teachers at my school were telling me about it and I think I will have to go to see what it's all about!

My other big news is that I have booked my first trip of the year... the first weekend in November I will be traveling to Italy to visit my sister, Alice, in Viterbo. I will fly into Rome on Friday night, probably spend the night there, and then make my way to Viterbo Saturday morning. As is usually case, it was much cheaper to fly back to Sevilla on Monday rather than Sunday. Luckily, my school sees no problem with me taking the day off for travel, so I will get 2 full days to see Alice in her element and enjoy all that Italy has to offer. I have to admit I am really looking forward to indulging in some pizza, pasta, and gelato!

I would also like to take a moment to pass on the news that my (step) grandmother Betty Long (affectionately known as Granny Betts) passed away this week after being sick for several months. We all knew that she didn't have long but that doesn't make it any less emotional. It is at times like these that I realize just how far I am from home and my family. I wish that I could be there to give everyone, especially Wardie (my 9-year-old sister), a big hug. However, I am glad that I have been able to talk to everyone over the course of the week and let them know that I am thinking of them. As Shelley (my stepmom) reminded me, Granny Betts would be proud of what I am doing. I only wish that she was still going to be around when I get home next summer to hear all about my experiences.

So, on that note, I will end this post. It turned out to be rather long but then again it has been a while since I last wrote. Un saludo...

One Week Down, Many More to Go...

It's official... I have now completed my first week of work as a Language & Culture Assistant. The job isn't exactly what I imagined it would be... but that isn't to say that it's bad or that I don't like it. In fact, with each day that has passed this week, I have come to appreciate my responsibilities and daily routine more and more. After all, how can you complain about being paid to work only 12 hours a week in Spain? Exactly. You can't.

Although I've only actually spent 4 days at the school, I can already tell that the best part of my job is getting to work with such a great group of teachers. The four that I work with on a daily basis--Ceferino, Javier, Ricardo, and Cristobol--couldn't be nicer or more patient and have gone above and beyond the call of duty in making me feel welcome. Every day from 11:15-11:45 the entire school has a break, called recreo, when the students go outside to socialize and eat their morning snacks. During that break, those teachers who aren't overseeing the recreo gather in the teacher's lounge to tomar un café and catch up with one another. On Monday, my first day, I I went off campus by myself in search of coffee and got back to the school mid-recreo. Locked out of the department office, I decided to sit in the hallway and wait for the next class period to begin. When Javier found me sitting by myself, he was totally shocked and insisted that from then on I spend the break with the others teachers in the lounge. Thursday was by far my best day yet in terms of feeling like a part of the school culture. Javier bought me a café con leche and I sat and then I sat and talked with Ceferino about where he has traveled and where he wants to go in the future. Experiences like that seem insignificant at the time but are invaluable in terms of not only improving my conversational Spanish but also in bonding with my co-workers. I feel like a little kid again but I think recess just became my favorite period of the day!

In terms of actually fulfilling my duties, I am slowly figuring out what I am expected to do and how best to go about doing it. In my one-on-one sessions with the 4 teachers I mentioned above, I either help translate course materials from Spanish to English or review English grammar and vocabulary. The translation is proving to be difficult because it deals with telecommunications and information technology--things I don't know the first thing about in either English or Spanish! The English teaching part is also challenging, but manageable. On Thursday, Ricardo asked me to review all of the verb tenses we use in English. I really had to rack my brain but seemed to do an okay job! My session Javier went a lot smoother and was very enjoyable. I had printed out a travel article about Nashville, which he read outloud and then translated. More than anything I enjoyed sharing about my hometown and the culture I come from. He really surprised me, in a good way, with his level of English and seemed to enjoy learning about where I come from. I'm definitely going to try to incorporate similar activities into my future sessions with Javier and the other teachers.

I'm still trying to ascertain what my role in the classroom is. Thursday was the first day that I spent an entire period with the students in class, as my first few days the teachers simply introduced me and had the students ask me questions. Thus, Thursday's class period with Cristobal and the second year bachillerato students was a trial run. Basically, I just read some terms out loud in English and then observed the rest of the lecture, which was carried out half in Cristobal's feeble attempt at English and half in Spanish. I can only imagine that the situation will improve with time as both the teachers and I figure out how my abilities can best be used.

During my time at the school this week, I also had the opportunity to meet the teachers of the English department, who, like everyone else at I.E.S. Torre de los Herberos, are incredibly nice. I have to say that I kind of wish I was working primarily with them instead of with the technology department... but that's neither here nor there. I am, however, going to look into possibly sitting in on some of their classes, either on Fridays (when I technically don't work) or on Mondays (when I have about 2.5 hours of free time). I'm really curious to see how English is taught here and also how the students respond. It would be great if I could contribute a little to the classes but honestly I'd just be happy to be a bystander. I figure that any experience I have here in Spain will only add to what I get out of this year.

Apart from work and commuting, I haven't had the time or energy to do much else this week. Most days I come home from work, eat lunch, and then take a siesta before going to the gym. On Tuesday, I did choose to walk home from the train station rather than taking the bus and happened upon a really cool open-air market (I guess I would compare it to a farmer's market) on Feria, a main street really close to my house. I have always loved markets like that, both for shopping and just perusing. One of the coolest things I did last time I was in Europe was spend some time in the Boqueria market in Barcelona. You really can learn so much about a culture from visiting a local marketplace. Even though the market on Feria doesn't come close to the Boqueria, I still enjoyed walking through it and definitely plan on making it a regular part of my routine. I bought some delicious peaches and tomatoes there and plan to go back soon as I try to learn how to cook!

That's about all the news from here. I have no idea what I'll do this weekend but I'm sure whatever I end up getting into will be lots of fun. I hope that everyone back in the States has a wonderful weekend! Hasta pronto...