Ireland and Scotland

I finally have the time and energy to sit down and write a nice long blog about Ireland and Scotland... we got very lucky because on Friday and Saturday there was an air strike in Spain and so many of my friends who had tickets out of here to other parts of Europe were stuck in Spain. Our tickets were on Sunday, so we arrived in Belfast Sunday evening. Belfast was pretty, but rather like a normal city. They did have a great Christmas market though that had stands from all over Europe selling food and goods native to those countries... It was wonderfully delicious and colorful. We went out the first night and I had my first Guinness in Ireland, which was great! We also ran into some very drunk Irish guys that were hilarious and made our night. The next day we went on a Black Taxi tour. This tour was of the wall that goes down the middle of Belfast separating the Catholics (who want to be officially part of Ireland) and the Protestants (who want to stay under British rule). There was a huge conflict with these two sides that just ended about 15 years ago... before that people were being shot in the streets by the other side and there were many many conflicts between them. We went on a tour of the murals that are painted on either side, which were all representing political events or important people to that side. These murals are so sacred that no one is allowed to graffiti them, and no one DOES, because they're that important. There was one mural on the Catholic side that was painted by both a Catholic and a Protestant, but it is the only mural like that in existance. There is still a wall separating the city and the gates between them open at 6 am and close at 6pm. It just amazed me that these conflicts were so recent.

While driving into Belfast I was amazed at the resemblance to Oregon it had... It was like driving on 99W, though it was covered in snow and the cars were driving on the wrong side of the road. I was just staring out the window in shock. It was nice, that throwback to home. The only time it snowed on the entire trip was when we were in Belfast, and I was with a group of girls from California so some of them were overly excited about it as I think for one of them it was only the second time she had seen snow.

Anyways, from Belfast we went took a bus to Dublin, which was also rather city-like but had character! The first night we went out to several bars that were extremely fun, and my Spanish friend Montse and I succeeded in getting guys to buy us drinks... this was an economic decision for all of you judging me ;) But I met some really great people and at one bar there were some guys playing typical Irish music... I ADORED it, I wanted them to play all night but unfortunately it had to end. We also went to the oldest bar in Dublin which was pretty cool... it had several rooms that were all really quirky, and at the end of the night we ended up at a club. Irish people can't really dance, but that's okay! The club closed at 3:00 and I think we were all really shocked... I must be getting used to this Spanish craziness of staying out really late! The next day we went on a tour of Dublin and learned some interesting stuff about its history... but our favorite tour by far of the day was the Guinness factory!! It was quite a long walk to find it but it was really worth it. It was a self-guided tour in the Store house of the Guinness factory, and it was really well done. The guy who founded Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease on the property and its in a glass case right at the beginning of the tour. So you start at the bottom and work your way up to about 7 stories of tour, where they talk about the ingredients (Barley, Hops, Water, and Yeast), the history, advertising, and other interesting things. And when you get to the end you are in the bar at the top of the storehouse and you get a free pint of Guinness! The bar is amazing because of course it's at the top of the building, but its also circular and the walls are made entirely of glass, so you can see the entire city. Unfortunately when we finally made it to the top it was dark, but it was still pretty amazing.

Our next and final destination was Edinburgh (pronounced Edin-bur-oh). This was BY FAR my favorite city! It looks exactly like what you would imagine a northern European city to look like... a castle on a hill, old stone 5-story buildings and quirky little bars, cafes, and shops below, an old beautiful university, magnificent churches, and cobblestone streets. Just beautiful. I really felt like I could live there and really enjoy it. And it seemed to have great shopping. Montse studied abroad here for a year so she showed me all these really great places: a little village right in the middle of the city that was fairy-tale like, a cafe that donates all its proceeds to charity, the university dining hall... the first night we went to the christmas market they had and drank mulled wine (AMAZING) and met some Scottish people... Scottish people are SO friendly and helpful, we had a very pleasent time talking to them. The first night we went on a pub crawl and got discounts on many different drinks and ended up at a club that almost disgusted me with its amount of corny american music... Shania twain, footloose, YMCA. But again we met some really cool people while out! The next day we went on a tour of Edinburgh. When it was over, Montse said that there was a really cool hill very near to there where we could see the entire city. Unfortunately the sun was setting and our group was having troubles making decisions (like always), so Montse and I just decided to go for it, so we sprinted through the city towards this hill, trying to beat the sun so that we could see the city before it was dark (at 4:00!). I was PANTING when we finally made it to the top, but it was well worth it... it was beautiful! I could see everything and the sun was setting. Amazing. After we were done there and freezing, we went to a bar that had places where you could LAY DOWN and drink a beer, with decorative pillows and everything! So we laid there for an hour or so just relaxing, me adoring Edinburgh more and more by the minute, and then went back to the hostel to begin the celebration of Montses birthday! We went out to a club that night and had a great time. The next morning we left to Glasgow, where I basically ate food and went to bed at 6:00 pm until the next morning. I really needed the sleep.

Anyways, my trip was great! And I have another one coming up here soon... I am really going to be broke after this, and all my Christmas money is going to paying off my credit card, but I really dont care that much. I will get to see some great places and experience so much! I also discovered on this trip to Ireland and Scotland that hostels always have a kitchen, so to save some money I think we will buy food from supermarkets and eat THAT instead of eating out all the time in London and Belgium. As for classes, I'm done for the week. It went so fast! Today I taught a Christmas lesson where I made them write a letter to Santa saying that they have been good and what they wanted for christmas. And then I gave them christmas cards to color and fill out with some phrases I wrote on the board. It was my first year group who is usually very noisy, and it was the quietest I have ever heard them! I continue to enjoy teaching English, which is definitely a good thing. But I am already trying to find ways to stay here a little bit longer after I'm done here in Spain... Part of me wants to go home but part of me wants to enjoy everything that I can while I'm here... who knows when I'll be able to afford the plane ticket over here again?! The tricky part will be paying off my loans, and getting another visa. But I figure everything will work out how it should and the opportunity I'm looking for will present itself to me, hopefully soon!

Thanksgiving, "Football," and Travelling!

My American friends and I decided to have a Thanksgiving dinner, which made us all very very happy. We went to one of my friends houses (who had an oven!) and we all brought something to eat. I was supposed to bring mashed potatoes but I unfortnately had no idea what I was doing and was not confident in even making this, so my POLISH roommate Magda took over and made the mashed potatoes for me... Thank God! We went to the dinner and there were 12 people there, 10 of us from the United States. One of the girls made a real turkey, and gravy, and someone brought a green bean casserole and baked macaroni and cheese, and one of the girls mothers was visiting her so she brought apple pies... we were all sighing in happiness, thankful for our makeshift American Thanksgiving dinner that made us feel a little more at home. Our French friend made us hot spiced red wine, and we all sat around and drank this together with the brasero under our table and laughed and talked and enjoyed our evening immensly.

I LOVE my private classes! I love being the teacher and planning out my OWN lessons and getting to know the kids. My first class with the teenagers went really well. 12 students showed up, and I just basically did a little introduction lesson. Today I have the next class, and I plan on playing some games and teaching some stuff. ;) I also had my class with the 4 girls last week. They are really cute but they can barely understand me when I talk, so we went over their workbooks and did really simple activities. I'm hoping that I can play some games with them too. They are still young and therefore eager to learn. They would get really excited when they knew the right answer and the hour passed really quickly! I still feel a little nervous before the lessons, but during and afterwards I'm really happy with the result. I made it very clear during the lesson for my teenagers that they are paying for this lesson, and if they pass this exam it will help them to get jobs, and so I want respect and I want them to participate and ask questions. And I think they listened to me... at least I hope they did!

Tonight I went to watch a soccer game at the bar. It was a very important game, between the two most popular teams in Spain: FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. My town is pretty much split down the middle at who they cheer for. All the kids at my school have a favorite team and think it's CRAZY that I don't have one. At halftime of the soccer game my friend Kate and I ran to get a kabob and ran back to the bar... so there I was sitting in a bar, watching a soccer game, eating a (DELICIOUS) kabob, drinking a beer. So Spanish. Barcelona ended up smashing Madrid 5-0, and while walking back to my apartment, people driving in their cars were shouting, "BARSA!!" And the guy walking in front of me yelled back, "PUTA BARSA," literally saing, "BITCH BARSA," but more like, "F*** Barcelona!" It made me laugh. Spaniards are very passionate about soccer (football).

Yesterday I was invited to a Spanish friends house... it was a celebration for her birthday, so we had coffee and some drinks and she made us all pizza. Her children were there, as well as her husband, my friend Will, and an English family that has been living here for five years now. One of the daughters goes to my school, and the family is extremely nice. We had a wonderful time. I feel that the more people I meet and the busier I get, the happier I am here. Walking around the town yesterday, I was reminded of how beautiful it is and how lucky I am to be here, even if sometimes it seems difficult to be so far away from home and my family and friends.

Exciting news: this weekend I am heading to Scotland and Ireland for a week! I am SOOOO EXCITED to get out of my town and Spain and experience more of EUROPE with my friends! And it's snowing in Scotland right now, so I will feel like it's really December and the Christmas season. And after a week, about the time that I start to get tired of snow, I will come back here and be in just the rain again. Oh well. And that's another thing... its begun to rain here. I feel like I'm back in Oregon! But unlike Oregon, I don't have a car and therefore must walk in the rain if I want to go ANYWHERE (I finally bought an umbrella...), and we don't have a dryer so my clothes take forever to get dry, even though they're hanging under shelter! I'm going to have to find a way to move them inside.

More exciting news: I GET PAID NEXT WEEK! Unfortunatley it looks like the 700 euros will just tide me over living in my town for a month, what with food and rent and little excursions to Granada and buying a couple pieces of clothing... but I have my private classes now, and hopefully will be getting some money for Christmas that will go towards my trip to London/Belgium :)

Love you and miss you all, I hope you're doing well! I'm missing you during these holidays but I'll be home in 6 months, don't you worry :)

Private Classes

I FINALLY have private classes all set up! Fran helped me get students signed up for the classes I'm going to give for their Trinity University English examination... there are 22 who want to take the class! So I'm splitting them up into two groups, two classes a week for each group. And two days ago I met with the woman who runs the conversation group I go to and she took me to a beautiful apartment where her friend lives, and I met four mothers who want me to teach English to their daughters for one hour a week. Basically what I will have to do is just speak to them in English and help them with their English homework. I can't believe I'm going to make money by doing something I barely have to think about; talking in English.

I have also been trying to learn French. Last week the French teacher at my school started talking to me and so I told her that I was interested in learning the language. She told me to wait a moment, went over to the cupboard, and pulled out three books for me... first and third year French textbooks with CD's included! That day I went home smiling, and remembered that Laurie has been listening to podcasts to learn a little Spanish, so I did some research and found some free podcasts that teach French! I have been listening to these for the past week, and I am planning on calling my French friend here and doing some sort of trade-off between learning English for him and French for me. I am determined to at least know SOMETHING for when I go to Belgium in January.

Last night Magda and I went out with one of our friends to a salsa lesson at one of the bars... it was SO FUN! I love dancing! After we got done stumbling around and laughing at ourselves, the teacher and some of the Spanish girls danced together and I just stared at them. They were SO GOOD. I was almost hypnotized by it... they were so fluid and sexy and awesome. I WANT TO BE LIKE THAT! So we have vowed that we will go here every Friday night until we are good, haha. Today we are going in one of our friends CARS (Woo!) to Lucena, a nearby town that apparently has good shopping. I need to buy some boots before I head off to Scotland and Ireland in two weeks... also I am celebrating the fact that if all these private lessons work out, I will be almost doubling my salary. I FINALLY WILL HAVE MONEY!!! That feels pretty great. I have never been so broke in my life.

It's quiet around here...

Sorry I haven't written in awhile, but there really hasn't been that many things going on for me!

Last weekend I finally got out of town and went to Granada, where I met up with one of my college friends, Linnaea! She is teaching English here as well, but somewhere up north past Madrid. It was SO GOOD to see her! She is the first person I have seen from home, and it was wonderful. Our hostel had a view of the Alhambra, and when we opened the window in the morning, it was right there. Absolutely beautiful... I never get tired of looking at the Alhambra! Anyways, we spent 2 days in Granada, where we drank tea and mojitos and wine, smoked hookah, ate tapas, went shopping, explored the city, met new people in our hostel, danced, ate churros and chocolate, and generally had a great time! I was thinking about actually moving to Granada for a while, but then realized that it is just much easier to live here in Priego... I really hate moving and though it would be GREAT to live in Granada, I can save money here and then visit often. Granada is the coolest city I've ever been in, and I just LOVE that I can get on a bus and be there within 2 hours. On Saturday night Linnaea and I went to a flamenco show near the caves where the gypsies live. The show was in a theater and the back side of it was just a huge wall of glass, so we could see the Alhambra lit up behind the dancers, singers, and guitar players. Flamenco is so passionate and intense, an extremely unique dance that I just love to watch!

Also I have been meeting up with some of the teachers from my school on Thursday nights for drinks, which has been really fun! A great opportunity to practice my Spanish, since I feel like I have been speaking English a lot more than I want to. Last night I went to a meeting that my director was having with some of the parents at the school who are interested in their kid taking the Trinity University English Exam... basically it tells any employers or universities that the student who took it has a good level of English, and a lot of people feel that this is a great opportunity. So I went there and my director had me introduce myself to the parents... I stood up in front of all of them, and I felt myself blushing, but I'm pretty sure I spoke really well! I hope this works out so that I get some private classes, for something to do in the afternoons as well as some extra money so that I can travel more! Also in all my free time, I've started to write. Mostly because I love to write, but also because I want to see if I can write a book. It's always been a goal of mine, so since I have so much extra time, I though, why not start now? I really enjoy doing it, so it seems like a good use of my time.

Anyways, that's about all for now. Not much has been going on for me, but I hope you all are doing well!

Little Unimportant Updates

Teaching has been going really smoothly, besides the one class period where I accidentally taught the students the difference between some select words for insulting women. Anyways, I have had a Halloween lesson that I have been presenting in class, with four slides. The first one is titled "Halloween Costumes" and has a bunch of pictures of children dressed up. The kids here are surprised that children in the US don't just dress as scary things, but as princesses and superheros and fictional characters as well. The next slide is "Halloween Food," and I have pictures of candy corn, caramel apples, a pile of candy and cookies that look like eyeballs. I explain that in the United States, during Halloween we like to make food that looks like gross things that you wouldn't normally eat, like fingers and eyeballs and spiders, etc. The next slide is titled "Halloween Traditions," and has pictures of Halloween decorations outside someones home, a haunted house, and a corn maze. It always takes a while to explain what a corn maze is, because it is so different than what they've heard before. And the last slide is "Carving Pumpkins." I have a picture from last year of Brittany, Cassy, and Brayden carving pumpkins (Brayden is VERY excited), and the photos of different types of jack-o-lanterns. After explaining this last slide, I hand out a word search worksheet and explain all of the vocabulary on it, like bat, cobweb, coffin, witch, etc. The hardest one is "pillowcase." First, I have to make sure they know what a pillow is in Spanish. Then I have to explain how it has fabric around it. Once they understand that, I have to explain that in Spain, both ends of a pillowcase are open (The first time I tried to put a pillow into a pillowcase here, it fell right through and I was really confused), but in the US, one side is closed, like a bag. And THEN I have to tell them that some children in the US use pillowcases as bags for their candy. It's a long and tedious process.

Something else quite noteworthy is the fact that I made a grilled cheese sandwich last week for the first time since coming to Spain. I had forgotten just how AMAZING a grilled cheese sandwich was, and so when I ate it, I was SO EXTREMELY HAPPY... it's a comfort food for me, and thank God my friend Olivia mentioned it to me so that I could realize that it is possible to make here!

I have also started going to a Spanish/English conversation group that is on Tuesday evenings... basically people who want to practice their Spanish or English come to the group and we just talk to each other for a couple hours in each language. It's really fun! I get to meet new people, which is something I really enjoy. Also, the other language assistant at my school ended up going back to England this week because he was homesick, but I guess we already have a new one! A guy from Iceland, who I heard looks like he could be 35 and has a 1 year old daughter. I dont know what a 35-year-old would be doing as a language and culture assistant, but perhaps the economy is really bad in Iceland? No idea. Haven't met him yet, but hopefully he's nice.

Also, I got paid today!!!! Yesssss. And Fran talked to me today about coming to a meeting of the kids at my school who are going to be taking the Trinity University exam (and thus need to know English) so I can meet their families and offer my services of private English lessons... I really hope this works out!!

Things I am looking forward to:
1. A skype-wine date I'm having with my besties from home, Claire and Julie, on Sunday morning. (I know, you are asking me why I am having a wine date in the morning... this is because Claire is in Korea and so it will be 3pm for her, and Julie is in the US so it will be 11pm on Saturday night for her. I get the morning this time because last time I had the afternoon. It's okay, we forced Julie to drink wine with us last time when it was the morning for her, haha)
2. A barbeque with my Spanish friends on Saturday
3. The potential for some private classes soon
4. Heading to Scotland and Ireland in early December
5. Christmas dinner with my American friends, and then heading to London and Belgium for the break.

Yay!

But that's about all that's been happening here lately... I hope you all are doing well! :)

"Will work for adventures!"

So I figured I should update the blog because the last post was me being quite homesick, and it only took me a couple days to get over that. I now feel much better, mostly because I am no longer sick, I have plans with friends coming up, I am currently planning many trips for myself with various people around Europe, and I'll be getting paid next week. Yesterday while at the grocery store, I had to choose between buying wine or cookies (CHIPS AHOY!), because I had to withdraw money from my credit card to actually have the cash to go shopping. Surprisingly, I chose the cookies, which is a new step for me in life, albeit a sad one. But I figured I needed to wait until I had enough money to buy the good stuff (My new standard is at least 4 euros a bottle)... another new step. I guess this is what you get when you graduate college and no longer want to drink crap. I must be growing up.

I have found myself using British words for things, because here most English speakers learn British English, and for them to understand my English more effectively, I have started using words like "flat" for apartment, "rubbish" for garbage, and "timetable" for schedule. I just know that when I get back to the US people are going to laugh at me for using British words but not having a cool British accent. Also something new, is that I've actually started to learn how to cook. People are appalled when they hear that I don't have an oven, but I actually think of it as a blessing, because with an oven I would cheat. I could make a plethora of oven pizzas and other crap that I would just be eating in the US as well, but because I only have a stove, if I want to eat anything that's actually warm and not a sandwich, I have to COOK. Which for me is a whole new skill. Who would have thought that I just had to travel to Spain to get the incentive to cook? But I have learned how to make fajitas, which to me is even strange... I'm in Spain and I taught myself how to make fajitas. Probably because I miss Mexican food so much! I also have a new Spanish friend that said that he loves to cook and would be willing to teach me how to cook Spanish food if I wanted... honestly, Spanish food is okay but there are other things I would like to learn how to cook, but I figure that because I'm here, I better at least attempt to make some of the food!

I am desperatly looking for students for private classes right now... I am talking to my coworkers and anyone that I can, telling them to spread the word that I am teaching English. I also put up posters around town. That is the strange thing about Spain... if you want to rent an apartment or are looking for an apartment or have a skill that you would like to advertise for a job or want to teach private lessons in anything, all you have to do is put up posters advertising it, and at the bottom put your phone number. This is completely legitimate, and people do it all the time. For me, it seemed like something only creepers would do in the US... we go through more formal options like craigslist or listing it in the paper, which are much less personal and in your face. Here they just put up the signs wherever and people actually respond! Seems like a good system to me.

I'm really proud of myself because Spaniards continue to tell me that I have pretty good Spanish, and I feel that the more I speak it and correct myself and actually think about what I say before I say it, that I learn more and soon will be able to speak correctly AND fluidly! I love Spanish. I love speaking it and hearing it, and my goal is to be able to listen to a conversation that is not directed at me and understand it, because this is always the hardest. The other day when I was at the bus station, the guy and I were talking for about 5 minutes when I said something and he looked at me and said, "Espera, tu no eres espanola?" (Wait, you're not Spanish?). And I said, "No! Soy de los estados unidos!" (No! I'm from the United States!). And he just stared at me for a litte bit and shook his head and said in Spanish, "Wow, your Spanish is really good then!" True, we were talking for just about 5 minutes and it was more of him talking than me, but still. I was super proud of myself! That means that my accent is getting better and I'm not OBVIOUSLY American. It's amazing to see myself improving like this. I feel SO MUCH more confident in my Spanish, and even though it's frustrating at times, I feel like I'm getting better every day.

For now I am saving my money, because I'm going to Scotland and Ireland in the beginning of December for a week with some of my Spanish friends, then after Christmas I'm going with my friend Linnaea to London and Belgium... of course I would pick the most expensive places to visit! I plan on eating bread and perhaps cheese as a luxury to be able to afford these trips, but oh well! I also want to start to travel around Spain, which will be much cheaper but still I'll need money for these trips. But who cares, I'm IN SPAIN. I need to SEE SPAIN. So for the next 2 months I will try not to buy anything excessive, like new clothes or shoes or books... though I'm sure I will bend and end up buying chocolate and wine, like normal. So for Christmas, all I ask for is money because this trip will be the best Christmas present you could give me!! For actual Christmas Day, me, my American friends Kate and Will who live in my town with me, and my friend from college Linnaea (who is teaching English in Spain but up north), are all going to meet up and have a little Christmas celebration! All of us are leaving for London on the 26th, because it's much cheaper. I dont think any of us really know how to cook, so we are going to have to ask around to our mothers and grandmothers for Christmas recipes and then attempt to find these ingredients or something similar to them so that we can have a makeshift Christmas dinner, or at LEAST desserts!! And of course we will have to use someone else's kitchen, because I have no oven. I'm thinking of invading Will's apartment. But I figure we can bake on Christmas Eve, and then on Christmas have our grand dinner and give some little presents to each other and Skype our families and watch some Christmas movies... I think it will be fun, though I'm sure I'll miss my family a lot... it's going to be strange but this is life. It's exciting and boring and strange and breathtaking and ridiculous and I love it!!

Homesick

I spent some of my food money on a coat and a scarf, because it's FREEZING here at night and our apartment must have no insulation and thin walls (I know this is true, because I can hear the people above us walking around and talking all the time, and I always hope that something interesting happens... like hearing them have a fight, just so I can get some entertainment out of the fact that I can hear everything they do). I dont know where all my money goes... honestly, all I do is pay for food at the grocery store (which is cheap) and I went to Granada this last weekend, but oh well. I get paid soon, finally.

I was sick with what some people would call a "loose digestive tract" for several days earlier last week, with stabbing pains in my stomach that at first only got worse when I began taking the antibiotics my mother sent with me (THANK GOD... for the antibiotics, not the pain). Being sick in a foreign country really made me pissed off at all the little things here in Spain that are different than home... like how there is no carpet anywhere, just cold tile floors, and how there are bars on all the windows, and that the shower nozzle is in the CENTER of the shower rather than on one of the sides, and there is no central heating and I can't eat Tillamook Cheese and there is NO GRASS except in that one park, and all the trees surrounding my town are damned OLIVE TREES, and that I have to line dry my clothes because I dont have a dryer, or an oven, or a microwave, and my town is super small and there is NOTHING to do, there isn't even a movie theater, and the nearest place I can get to is Granada, which by bus takes 1.5 hours but if I had a car it would only take 45 minutes, and my room is tiny and with boring white walls and I can't afford to buy anything to put on them because I am POOR right now, and they don't have good tea here...

But they do have good chocolate. And good wine. And not having a oven or microwave forces me to cook, which is something that I never had to learn in the US and is a great skill to have. And the clothes are pretty cute and the people are really nice and actually long bus rides aren't bad because I can listen to my iPod or read, and the architecture is pretty nice, and I'm close to some of the most amazing places in the world and soon I'll be travelling to Scotland, Ireland, London, and Belgium, whether I can afford it or not. Whenever I start to feel homesick I go to that park, or I take a walk around my town and buy a pastry and remind myself that I'm here in SPAIN, living my dream, and that home will always be there and I have this wonderful opportunity, so just suck it up and like it.

And so I do. And the homesickness passes. And I am thankful and thrilled once again.

OUCH.

First week of classes shaped out to be pretty good! Things are just moving right along here, as I get my life in order and finally down to a routine. Hopefully I can find some private lessons to teach soon because my afternoons are boring right now! But anyways, after classes on Thursday I met up with my co-teachers in the cafeteria that they have here, and we basically sat around and talked, laughed, drank and ate. It was the perfect staff meeting! And I got to try some AMAZING Spanish wine... they said it was about 30 euros for the bottle ($40), so I can never buy it myself, but it was wonderful to be able to try it! But one of the teachers told me that if you buy any bottle of wine from 4-5 euros, it should be pretty good.

After the meeting I got on a bus to Cordoba because the next morning I had to go to the police department there to apply for my Foreigners Identification Card. I met up with my friend Ashley and we went to her apartment, where her Spanish roommate was making fajitas!! We stayed up late talking, drinking wine and playing Taboo with all her Spanish roommates (she has 3), which was really fun! But I decided to go to bed at 2:30, and they decided to go out. So when I got up to head to the police station, Ashley was just getting back and into bed... crazy Spanish nightlife. But I woke up and went there, and instead of getting a meeting with someone, I just got a number. I have to go back the 20th of October for my actual meeting, which is annoying but such is Spain.

I ended up going home right after my appointment rather than sticking around and doing touristy things, which turned out to be a wonderful idea because I was able to skype with my best friends from college, Claire and Julie. Claire is in Korea and Julie is in Portland, which means that we were all about 8 hours apart, so for Julie it was 7am, for me it was 4pm, and for Claire it was 11pm... we had decided earlier that this was going to be a wine date, so even it was early for Julie, we begged her to have a glass of wine with us, which DOESN'T make her an alcoholic, just a very good friend. And also, it seems that the rest of the world is much less puritan in all things than the US, but especially in rules about drinking. Basically... there are no rules about drinking anywhere else, like you can't start until 5:00. Spanish people would laugh at you if this was your rule.

Yesterday it was raining, which was actually really comforting to me. I love the rain, and going so long without it so far was really starting to weird me out. So I was inside all day, and I decided to get down to planning my Christmas break plans. I decided that I'm going to leave the day after Christmas (because it's WAYYY cheaper) and go to London for 5 days, then to Bruges, this town I randomly picked on the map that was between London and Brussels (I googled it and looked at the images and they were BEAUTIFUL, and this was my deciding factor) for 4 days, and then to Brussels for 3 and fly out of Brussels back to Spain. I even looked up hostels and found some good ones to stay in! At first, I was going to go alone, mainly because I couldn't find anyone who wanted to go with me, and because honestly it's extremely easy to meet people in hostels and make new friends, so I wasn't worried. But my plans to go alone changed last night.

Later that evening, I met up with some new American friends (Kate and Veronica), Will (ex-travelling partner in crime) and James (that British dude), and I met a guy from France as well! His name is Clemente (I think this is how it's spelled), and he knows barely any English... so when I met him I instantly asked, "Hey! Can you teach me how to speak French??" and he said, "If you pay me!" to which I replied, "Well, what if you teach me French and I teach you English?" And he looked at me and said something to the effect of, "That would be awesome!" Then I was talking to the girls and telling them about my Christmas plans, and I found out that though Veronica won't be here for Christmas, Kate will be and doesn't have any plans yet, so I invited her along with me on my newly created plan, and I think she's going to come with me! I really dont know how things like this just fall right into my lap... it fascinates me.

Anyways, so we all met up and we played some good ol' America drinking games, like Flip Cup and Beer Pong. We didn't have ping pong balls so I resorted to what Claire, Julie and I did while camping... aluminum foil balls. We are very resourceful. And I think the French guy and the British guy liked it! And us Americans got to feel back at home again for a little while... ohhh chugging beer. How American. Our game for next time- Kings Cup.

I had to leave at 11:40ish to meet up with my Spanish friends for botellon (like pre-funking, or if you prefer, pre-gaming), where we drank extremely delicious mojitos that my friend Sonia made! We went out to the club around 2, and at around 5 I sliced my foot open. We were at the bar and a glass fell off the table and onto the floor next to me, so I picked up some of the big pieces and the STUPIDLY tried to sweep the rest of the glass to the wall with my foot, and of course was stabbed by some glass. I bent down and saw that I was bleeding, so my friend Montse gave me a napkin and we went outside, and I sat on the sidewalk and held the napkin to my foot. Clemente came out to see if I was alright, and actually stopped my freaking out by talking to me and Montse... I was worrying about my foot getting infected and I jokingly asked them if I was going to die, and he cheered me up by saying, "Ohh yes. Don't worry, I will find a machete and fix that right now. Where is that machete??" Which made me laugh and really lightened the mood for me, something that I needed at that moment! After my foot stopped bleeding for the most part, Montse said she had to go home so Clemente walked me home... or should I say, he walked and I limped. I got home and put alcohol on the cut and wrapped it up so hopefully I stopped any possible infection right in it's tracks! I guess the price I have to pay for a great night is a bloody foot. Magda came home and was worried about me, which was sweet, haha. Me and Magda get along really well, and I'm so glad I found this apartment with her! Maria is nice but she's older and likes to do other things than we do... but this is fine. In general I'm really loving my life here in Spain... well besides my injured foot.

Roommates

I want to add a disclaimer to these following stories before I tell them. I really do like my roommates a lot. They are becoming more sisterly than anything, and though this is comforting at some times, at others it's rather irritating. Today Maria walked into the kitchen... and whenever my roommates walk into the kitchen as I'm making something to eat, I cringe a little bit. I know they are much better cooks than I am... I have never shared an apartment with someone who are as accomplished as they are in this area. So Maria walks in, looks at what I'm making, and says, "You eat pasta a lot. You know, this is not good for your body." Which, as I shrugged outwardly and pushed her over internally, made miss my roommates from my senior year at Linfield DEARLY... Claire Carter and Katie Cowgill. THEY wouldn't judge me for my cooking skills, as they are as about as knowledgable in the ways of being a chef as I am. In fact, they would be PROUD that I have been grilling vegetables with spices and olive oil... even if it DOES happen often. Even though I eat almost the same dishes almost every day, I feel extremely healthy about my food choices and I am not tired of my meals yet, so until that time comes, do I really need to get more creative with my food? And also, the food that I eat is inexpensive, which is great for me because the possibility of traveling to different parts of Europe is more appealing to me that getting experimental and fancy with my meal choices.

I will explain to you briefly what I have been making for myself so far. Firstly, "bocadillos," or sandwiches in English. I buy fresh sandwich-sized loaves of french bread about every other day, and put olive oil, white delicious cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, and chicken that has been grilled in oregano and pepper on one. And I usually add a piece of fruit on the side. This is one meal. Another meal that I like to cook is pasta. I make the pasta, and add cheese, olive oil, grilled mushrooms, and spices to it, and then I also grill up a sliced up red pepper and zucchini and some other veggies in spices as well. This is another meal. Also, I can simply make a salad with the chicken and vegetables... All of these meals are easy, quick, and delicious. And for now, they are good enough for me. Sometimes I eat chocolate. I did just find tortillas today at the store, so I will be reverting back to some of my go-to meals in the USA, but that is besides the point. I feel extremely healthy with these food choices, and also I dont have a car, so if I go anywhere, I walk. Another healthy activity.

Then later today, I walked into the kitchen and Maria looks at me and says, "Why aren't you wearing shoes?? Aren't you cold?" I looked down at my bare feet and shrugged yet again. All the floors here are tile. There is no such thing as carpet, so of course my feet were cold. But I have been conditioned, through every adult female of my childhood, to "TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU ARE IN THE HOUSE!!" I could only look at her and say, "Yes I am. I don't know."

And finally, tonight Magda and I went out for drinks, and I got red wine. Magda looked at me and said, "You drink a lot of wine." To which I could only agree, and yet again gave a salute my ex-roommates.

Teaching today was a little different... It seems that every day that I teach I will be doing something new. Today one of my classes was the 1st year students... 12 year olds. Unlike the older students, they were overly enthusiastic about everything and we ended up spending the ENTIRE HOUR doing introductions... basically them asking me all sorts of questions, including Do you have a son? ("I am not married and have no childre of any gender") Do you have a boyfriend? What is your favorite futbol team? Where are you from? What street do you live on? ("...I dont know.") Do you like the rain or sun? Do you like the beach? What is your favorite color? ("Green"... I miss trees!) Do you like Spongebob? Do you like Spanish men? ("I like all Spanish people... They are very nice.") Do you have a secret love? What is your favorite movie? and so on... I think they were doing it so the teacher wouldn't actually start class, but it was interesting all the same.

First day of teaching!

Today, besides being my first day of teaching, was also the day my roommate said this: "You drink your water cold?"
And I looked at her like she was had sprouted a third ear. Of course I drink my water cold! I had noticed that no one else puts their water bottles in the fridge, but it had never crossed my mind that they NEVER did that, that it was UNHEARD of.
I replied, "Umm, yeah... you don't??"
"No! Do you even drink it cold in the winter?"
"...Yes... What the hell, you don't drink cold water?"
"No, never!"
And that right there was when I had to stop the conversation out of incredulity.

It was also interesting to talk to my roommates about homosexuality last night. Maria and I seem both rather liberal about it, which for me is because I have several homosexual friends that I love dearly and the fact that I don't really care in general. Homosexuality is personal, and if you're a good person living happily in the world, it makes no difference to me if you're gay or if you'e green. But Magda, being from Poland, has a much more conservative view about it. She did say she has one friend that is gay, but she kept repeating, "I just dont understand it!" and putting her head in her hands. And Maria and I would laugh and try to explain our viewpoints, and she would listen politely, and then repeat her mantra. I found out that apparently homosexual people can get married in Spain, but they can't adopt children... the exact opposite of the United States.

Anyways, back to my first day of teaching. My director had sent me my schedule this morning before school, which was rather late but I was not surprised as this is rather typical of Spain. So I ended up being with Maria for my first class. She teaches natural sciences, and today I began by introducing myself and then asking all the kids (she was teaching 12-13 year olds) their names and then some questions about them, like how old they were or if they had any brothers or sisters or what they liked to do after school. And then Maria passed out a worksheet in English with bar graphs and a chart on it, and I wrote all the necessary words down on the board and asked them to explain it to me in English.

My next class was my favorite. It was the 4th year students, around 15-16 years old, and supposedly the highest level of English, though they didn't have the level I thought they would. I had prepared a powerpoint presentation about myself, with pictures of my home, my family, dancing, Beaver games, Mexico... When I got to the picture of me and my friends in Las Vegas, Fran (the teacher), asked me what there was to do in Vegas, so that I could elaborate more on my photo. I looked at him to see if he REALLY wanted me to answer this question, and he nodded, so I said, "Well, in Vegas, we went to the clubs a lot to go dancing... some people gamble a lot. Do you know what gambling is?" The class looked blank. "It's when you bet money on a game..." They still stared at me. I looked at Fran. He said something in Spanish and they all nodded in understanding. Then Fran looked at me and said, "What else can you do in Vegas?" He might have winked.
"Umm... well you can drink. A lot. All day if you want to."
The class stared at me yet again.
"You know, drinking? You go out with your friends and drink?"
Still nothing.
I cheated and used Spanish. "Beber alcohol?"
"Ahhhhh!" They all said, and started laughing. Whatever, Fran asked for it!

After explaining all my photos and asking them clarifying questions about it at the end, (How old is my little brother? What is my favorite football team?), we worked on some grammar that Fran had prepared. I basically got to run the class, and I loved it! It made me excited to look up lesson plans online and make some of my own... hopefully this enthusiasm sticks around.

My last class was in a technology class of third year students who knew less English than the second year students in Marias class did. All I did though was write vocabulary on the board and read the vocab off in English so they would pronounce it right. The teacher would then tell it to them in Spanish. And that was my whole hour. It was boring.

But of course Fran doesn't have my schedule figured out for tomorrow or this week, so I guess I will have to think on my toes tomorrow if a teacher wants help with a lesson! In general though, I think I'm really going to love this teaching English thing... so much that I'm already looking into TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) courses that I can take all around Europe when I'm done in Spain in June. I'm thinking France, so that perhaps I can exchange my knowledge of English for some French lessons... a language that I would have learned in a heartbeat over Spanish if our high school had had a French program... but I'm of course quite happy that it didn't, because I adore Spanish :)

After classes I just basically sat around and talked to people on skype... it's getting boring without those private English classes yet. After I said Good Night to Eric and Good Morning to my mother, I walked out of my room and said to my roommates who were sitting in the living room, "I'm bored!" This is when Maria started talking about her classes for tomorrow and what I could do in them. I mentioned making a Powerpoint of the organs of the body, and she told me she had no idea how to use a Powerpoint. I shook my head in disbelief and then thanked God for my extensive knowledge of Microsoft thanks to the many profesors and teachers throughout the years that forced our knowledge of those multiple Office programs... I never knew I would meet anyone who didn't know how to use them! I was pretty stoked that I could teach someone something that I know so well... I guess that is the story of today!

When we were done, she gave a little yelp of joy, hugged me, and said, "Thank you! Now I will teach you to cook." Excellent.

Living in Priego

It is 6:00 in the evening and I have only been awake for 3 hours... I believe Sundays here will be known from now on as "The Day of Recovery." Friday night and last night I finally experienced the never-ending party that is Spanish nightlife, which for some time now I had been dreading. It's rather intimidating to hear that Spaniards stay out until 7 in the morning, sometimes later, every weekend. But now that I have actually experienced this, it is a bit easier to see why it's this way.

Spaniards don't usually eat dinner until around 9 or 10, and then they wait a few hours before going out on the weekends. On both Friday and Saturday night, my Spanish friends met up with me and Magda, my Polish roommate, at midnight. We then walked to one of the few parks in our town in which it's completely legal to drink, and settle ourselves for a good 1-2 hours. We drink tinto de verano (a sweet, bubbly red wine), talk, laugh, take a walk around the park and talk to other people, and drink some more. Last night during this time I learned about 5 new words in Spanish, so if this continues I'll be fluent in no time! We also got onto the topic of English cuss words, which I think is always an interesting conversation as people from both groups yell these new words into the night, and the teachers erupt in embarassed laughter at the sound of "Shit" and "Bitch" being said so casually by people who only understand the significance and not the impact. And now I know how to say the "F" word in 3 different languages, which is always a great thing to add to any resume ;)

Anyways, so we sat in the park for a few hours and then finally headed to the clubs around 2:30. It's interestig because there are many different types of bars/clubs and there are specific times of the night in which you should go to these. Bars/cafeterias are places where you go first. This is where you simply sit and can have any sort of drink you like, alcoholic or not. Then we move on to the pubs, which to them is like a staging area for the dance clubs (discotecas). Here you drink and talk and are squished in with a ton of people, and sometimes you dance. And THEN you finally head to the discotecas around 5 in the morning, even though at this time it's still pretty empty, but the line to the bathroom is short! And this is where you supposedly dance, though I might not have stayed long enough last night, as it still seemed that it was mostly people yelling to each other over the music rather than dancing. It does make me wonder if they dance at all like they do at home, or if discotecas are just another place where girls dance with girls in circles and guys stand and watch awkwardly. I dont know if I'll ever make it out long enough to see how this works out, as I stayed out until 6:30 am last night and that is about as much as I can take.

On a different note, I start classes tomorrow. Friday I went to the school and it was basically an introduction day. We signed some papers and met a lot of the teachers and introduced ourselves to 2 of the advanced English classes (which, I must note, are not very advanced). Mostly the students sit there and are pretty unresponsive when you ask them questions... you really have to call on a student to get them to speak at all. Thank God I'm just a language assistant this year! If I do want to go on to make teaching English a career, this will be good training. Though they did seem to know the difference between an American accent and a British accent, as James and I introduced ourselves at the same time. My director has yet to send me a schedule for this week, but I know that I'm supposed to make some sort of presentation for the classes tomorrow about myself and my home and my culture. Hopefully that goes well!

Granada and Salobreña

I must begin this particular blog by stating that, in the exact moment that I'm sitting down and writing this, I am also eating the very first meal that I have cooked here in Spain, in my very own apartment. It consists of tortellini, grilled mushrooms, grated cheese, olive oil and herbs, and it is absolutely fantastic in my skilled opinion.. I am also of course drining wine that was about 3 dollars a bottle (an average price here it seems) at my local grocery store. I'm pretty proud of myself! But in my apartment we dont have an oven or a microwave, so I have to learn to not make too much of things that I would want to re-heat, such as this pasta. I will just have to eat the leftovers cold I guess.

But anyways. Since my previous blog I have (1) Moved into my new apartment, (2) Traveled to Granada and Salobreña with my two American friends, and (3) bought Spanish groceries. So after I spent my last night in our Hostal, I recruited Will and James to help me drag all my stuff down the road a few minutes (everything is down the road a few minutes in Priego) to my new apartment. But because my new roommate Maria prefered to play a game to assign rooms, I couldn't move into any rooms until she got there. She kept insisting that to "not cause any roommate problems" we should just play the game, which basically consisted of me writing the numbers 1 and 2 onto different sheets of paper, assigning the numbers to a room, giving them to Magda (since she already had a room) and having her switch them up behind her back and hold out her fists and us choosing whatever number was in the fist. But before that happened, I just hung out with Magda for a few hours, and she ended up making me lunch, for which I was extremely grateful!! She cooked up some chicken (YES!!) with herbs, and also grilled some veggies with the same herbs, and it was MOUTHWATERING. This Polish girl knows how to cook! After lunch she asked me if I wanted tea, and of course I said yes. She told me that she had to bring the tea all the way from Poland, because she had heard that Spaniards didnt drink tea. So I asked what kind of tea it was, expecting it to be some sort of amazing Polish tea, but she instead brought out a box of Lipton tea! I laughed to myself a little bit and she asked if I wanted sugar and a lemon in mine, and of course I said yes to that as well... it was delicious! And until Maria got home, we clasically started showing each other our favorite music, though surprisingly I already had what she considered was her favorite song on my iPod :)

So FINALLY Maria got home, we played the game and I got to unpack in the room I had been hoping for (It had a bigger closet, if nothing else!). When I was done, I went to throw something away and saw that Magda and Maria were out on our patio thing cleaning without me (my dad will laugh here and say, "Typical, even in Spain she avoids chores." haha)! So I jumped in and began sweeping and then moping, and this is when I learned that there are CERTAIN ways to clean here in Spain. Maria then did a demonstration of appropriate cleaning, where when you mop, you first go over the floor once get it very wet, and then you go over it again with a more squeezed out mop to get it drier, and then you let it sit until it's totally dry. And then I had to help her clean the bathroom, which to me was already pretty clean... she was very particular in her cleaning and reminded me of Laurie ;) The most interesting thing about living with people who all have different first languages is that we are constantly learning and switching between languges. They usually go something like this:
Me: "Maria! Tengo una pregunta..."
Maria: "Dime"
Me: "A que hora sale un bus a Granada"
Maria: "I dont know..."
Me: "Tienes que tener un... ticket the day before?"
Maria: "No, you can get it el dia que sales."
Magda: "Where... are you go? Going?"
Me: "A Granada."
Magda: "Are you going... (struggle)"
Me: "On a vacation? Yep!"
Maria: "Que bueno! A lot of fun."
Magda: "Okay, I'm going now. I'm going to.... turn the lights?"
Me: "Turn OFF the lights."
Maria: "Turn off the lights..." (repeating to herself)

Maria really likes to explain things to me first in Spanish and then in English. Not because I need the clarification, but because she wants to practice her English. I'm the English expert, Maria is the Spanish expert, and we end up finishing each others sentences when attempting to speak in the other language and exchanging words or phrases, like "This is how you say ____ in English/Spanish." I wouldn't doubt it if I learned something new every day!

Anyways, after I got done cleaning I was invited out by Magda to hang out with her Spanish friends, who are girls around our age. They were really nice, but the spoke so fast that Magda and I were pretty much left behind... at least I could understand some things and participate a little bit when they spoke directly to me, but poor Magda said she could only understand words! But she's picking it up.

The next day I went to the bus station with my backpack that I bought before I left for Spain (THANKS MOM!) and bought a ticket to Granada. It was about an hour and 45 minute ride, and the entire time I was just STOKED. I have always wanted to go to Granada, almost since I decided I wanted to go to Spain in the first place, so I couldn't believe I was sitting there all by myself like a grown-up on a bus to a place I've always wanted to go in a foreign country. I arrived about 5 hours before my friends Ashley and Kelly, who were coming from Cordoba, so I decided to take a bus to "el centro" (the center of the city), where I was sure I could find something interesting to do and see for a few hours. So I left the bus station so I cuold find a but heading into town... and I ended up staring at the board for about 10 minutes, just trying to figure out what the hell all the colored lines meant. Finally I looked over and there was a guy standing next to me, so I first asked him if he could speak Spanish, and he looked at me blankly, so then I asked him if he could speak English, and he replied to me in a heavy German accent that yes, he could.
"Do you know what this board means?" I asked.
"Um... No. I dont know."
"Well... I think that if we take the number 3 or 33 we will get to the centro?"
"I think that you are right."
"Should we go together?" I asked.
"Sure!" He said. So we got on the bus and hoped that we were heading in the right direction. Sure enough, we saw the cathedral on the right side of the road, so we got out and began the hunt for the hostal he was staying in. Since my fiends and I hadn't pre-booked a hostal yet and basically knew nothing about the city, I followed him and we ended up at a really great hostal! I looked into the prices and it was only 18 euros for a bed, so I booked 3 of them. The reception guy told us that we had 3 of the 4 beds in our room, so we might be sharing it with someone, but I figured this was completely fine. I did buy a padlock though to put on our cubby thing. The street that the hostal was on was absolutely amazing! It was tucked away and really cute, full of Arabic tea houses and hookah bars with deep reds and yellows everywhere, and a bunch of Arabic shops selling brightly colored clothing and jewelry and tea. I felt like I was in Aladdin! The hostal itself was really old looking and quaint and comfortable. So until Kelly and Ashley got there, I walked around and sat in a bar, drank wine and read my book for awhile.

After they arrived, we dropped our stuff off at the hostal and went to dinner at one of the Arabic tea houses we had passed, and had the most amazing food I had had in Spain yet, and since then. It was DELICIOUS. We shared all the dishes, so we had lentil soup, this eggplant salad, moroccan tea, and this mouthwatering chicken that fell right off the bone and had been cooked with grilled onions in some sort of honey... it seriously tasted like apple pie but in chicken form... my mouth is watering right now just thinking about it! After we oohed and ahhed at the amazingness that was that meal, we headed up the hill to a place that one of the people in our hostal said we should go. The walk up was beautiful, paths weaving between white washed closely placed houses and buildings, gardens, etc. when we got to the top, I was completely blown away. We were at a church that had a big plaza on one side of it, and it was completely open and we were high above everything. But the most breathtaking sight was the Alhambra. The Alhambra is a huge palace/castle where the Moorish royalty lived before Isabel and Ferdinand re-conquored Spain and kicked the Moors out, and it is also where they lived after the Reconquista. And it is absolutely kick-me-in-the-stomach, feel like crying a little bit, fantastically awesome. I couldn't stop looking at it. I think we sat there on that concrete half-wall and stared at it for about 45 minutes, barely even speaking. It's on this hill across a ravine-type thing so its just there, above everything, absolutely majestic in every way. Eventually the sun started going down and lights turned on to shine in it, and it was beautiful and mystical and I can't even explain. The most amazing thing I have ever seen.

We eventually decided to go back to our hostal, so we walked back down the hill in the falling darkness and went to our hostal bar for a free drink. There we met a whole group of new people, from all over the world. There were some people from Australia, the UK, Sweden, Germany, and even Malasia, but they all spoke great English and were in their 20's. We sat down and immediately started laughing with them as they included us in their conversations... although being Americans, eventually politics comes up, and this is something I've found that I actually like to talk about. Not specifically politics and politicans, but world events that I've learned about in school, such as Afghanistan, the Marshall Islands and nuclear testing, 9/11, Bush/Obama, gun control, ignorant Americans, etc. I really enjoy intelligent conversations about these things, because I love to hear what other people from other countries have to say about them and I like giving my own opinions as well. I think that if we could all just open our minds a little bit, the world would be much more accepting and less ignorant. So anyways, after I got off my soap box about how some Americans are dipshits, but then again there are dipshits in every culture that ruin it for everyone, we all headed out to some tapas bars. We had a great time with these people, but the only thing I'll say more about that night is that I do NOT like marijuana.

I have found out that I don't like the clubs in Spain. Well, I dont like the places people go BEFORE they go to the clubs because I've never actually made it out to the discotecas, as they open around 3 am, but people don't really start dancing until 5 am. But anyways, these bars that people go to are JAM PACKED full of people... there is NO maximum capacity, so people are just squished in there and it's almost impossible to make it to the bar for a drink, and the music is so loud that you can't even talk to these people you're pushed up next to, and of course there is some groping involved. I would much prefer sitting at a bar and being able to talk to people over that crap. It actually made me miss the Peacock... how crazy is that? At least we could go sit down and talk if we didn't want to dance at home, but here there is NO sitting and NO talking and there isn't even DANCING because it's not the time for dancing yet, so they're all just standing around like chumps staring at each other. Maybe I'll get used to it with time, and maybe I'll actually make it out to the clubs at some point, but I really have to brace myself for that.

We went back to the hostal that night and passed out... in the morning we woke up and there was someone else in the empty bed in our room!
"Umm... Andrew?" Ashley asked to the still passed-out person.
"Ghrauffw... no... David"
"Oh David! Hi! How was your night? Did you go to the tapas bar?" Remembering him from last night.
"Mmmm..."
"Oh I'll leave you alone now." Strange, having a random guy in our room with us.
"No, ugh, let me put on my pants." HA HA HA.
Because our hostal was booked that weekend, we had to find another hostal that day. Ashley started calling all the hostals in town, and finally found one. It was the same price as the one we had stayed in before, but it was APARTMENT style... like we had our own apartment with a kitchen and bathroom and 2 bedrooms and everything! We even had a balcony that looked out onto a plaza. So we moved in and the rest of the day we basically spent on a tour of the Alhambra. It's beautiful, especially the palaces, in which EVERY SURFAC is covered in intricate and elaborate designs carved into the marble, and mosaics.

I feel like Spaniards really have life figured out. EVERYONE gets dressed up in the evenings, especially on the weekends, and goes out and walks around, from children all the way up to the elderly. When we were walking around on our last night at about 10 pm, there was a random concert/dance in the plaza in front of the city hall... There was a singer and band on stage, and people of ALL AGES were dancing in front of it. There were a ton of people! There were couples dancing, and moms teaching their kids to dance at the back of the group, and grandfathers dancing around with little kids. People here really love LOVE too. There are teenagers kissing in the streets, old couples holding hands, couples on the beach kissing and holding each other in the waves... when I was at the bus station this girl was sitting there, and suddenly she saw someone and she got up and ran to him and jumped up into his arms and kissed him, and the didn't stop kissing right there for a couple minutes... people here are not ashamed of showing how much they love each other in public.

The next day we sadly had to say goodbye to Granada and we took a bus to this small beach town that everyone in Granada had told us to go to... Salobreña. Basically all we did here was lay topless on the beach, drink tinto de verano and wine, eat tapas, look for sea glass on the pebbly beaches, and sleep. We also toured the castle that was on the top of the hill and sat on the terrace at our hostal and drank wine and watched the sun set. It was extremely relaxing, at least until the last day. Our hostal guy said that it probably wouldn't affect us much, but it definitely did. There was a "huelga," or "strike" that day... a transportation strike. So we attempted to buy a bus ticket back to Granada that morning, but the guy at the station said that there MIGHT be a bus leaving around 3-3:30, but he wasn't sure. We felt a little desperate to get home by now, so we thought about renting a car or taking a taxi, and SERIOUSLY considered hitch-hiking to Granada (it's only 45 minutes away by car), but we decided that our parents would absolutely KILL us if they ever found out we had done that. This taxi driver who we had talked to earlier finally pulled over and said, "Just get in, I'll give you a 10 euro discount, you guys have been walking around here all day." So we all paid about 20 euros and got a ride to Granada, where I found out that the only bus going to my town that day was leaving at 6:30 pm, which meant that I got to sit around in the bus station for 6.5 hours. I hated that strike.

FINALLY I got home and basically unpacked and passed out. Today I got up and went grocery shopping, where I found out that Spain doesn't have cesar dressing or unscented laundry detergent! They put VINEGAR on their salads... which I'm not really a huge fan of. But I ended up buying all my produce from a stand rather than a supermarket. I got 3 peaches, 1 nectarine, 1 tomatoe, 1 mushroom and 3 oranges all for less than 3 dollars! Food will be pretty cheap here... thank goodness because I've been spending TOO MUCH MONEY as it is!

I start at my school tomorrow, but it's only a sort of introduction day, where I'll meet all the teachers and introduce myself to some of the classes, and then I really start work on Monday. I'm pretty excited to finally have something to do here, though I really had a fantastic time on our pre-school vacation :)

UN PISO!

So I will begin my story with a mini story from last night... I have been getting tired of Spanish food a little bit already, what with the crazy meats and ways of preparing them, so as I was complaining to a friend about this from back in the US, he said, "Why don't you look for a pizza place? I bet they have one, and the pizza in Europe is really good!" So with this advice in mind, I said to Will, "WILL. We are going to eat PIZZA tonight. Something I'm FAMILIAR with." And he said, "That sounds good. Let's look at the map." Will is a pretty chill guy. He is basically along for the ride, and that's nice because it forces me to actually make some decisions every now and then.

So we get to pizza, where we meet up with James who is from the UK, a Brett, who is from Iowa. They are both very skinny and they make me a tiny bit edgy... I'm not used to them, I like having Will around. So Will and I order good old Pepperoni Pizza... and I am not disappointed!!! The pizza was AMAZING, I could NOT stop ranting about it and how delicious it was and how this place will be my new go-to restaurant (they had at least 30different types of pizza, a ton of pasta, lasagna, and salads... perfect!). Basically, it made my entire day. We ended the day by drinking copious amounts of wine, to which I can only say, I salute my Senior Year roommates.

Then today I woke up and usually I knock on Will's door so we can start our random adventures of the day, but this morning he wasn't there. So I continued on my way and did a little walk around the town, visiting my favorite spots (El fuente del Rey, the Barrio de la Villa, El Adarve). I walked past the towns castle and was surprised to see that it was actually open! So I went in and paid the 2 euro and did some exploring by myself. I was able to walk along the top of it and see all of Priego de Cordoba, as well as the places where archers stood to shoot at enemies and other sorts of castle repitoire. I also went into the tower, which was pretty exhillerating as well. All I kept thinking was, "I'm in a castle... I'm in a freaking castle!" I touched the walls like they were made of gold, and I continually shook my head... I'm sure that after awhile in Europe castles get old, but this was my FIRST castle. Pretty awesome.

Later today I met up with my program director to look at the house his sister-in-law owned. With him came a Spanish woman, probably in her late 20's or early 30's, named Maria who is a temporary teacher at my school (until January). I immediately liked her. She was friendly and though she spoke rapid Spanish, I could understand her about 3/4ths of the time, and I felt comfortable speaking Spanish to her. I swear, in 3 hours I spoke more Spanish than all my time in Spain so far. But anyways, we went and looked at the house together, and though we both liked it, we decided it was too far away from our school to rent. So we walked with my program director, Fran, back to his car, at which point he asked me if I would like to go with him to meet up with the other guy who will be a Language and Culture Assistant at my school, James the British Guy, and I said no, I'd rather stay with Maria and look for apartments. So it was decided that we would live together.

For the next 3 hours, we walked EVERYWHERE in Priego, looking for a place to live. They have "Se alquila" (For Rent) signs all over, hanging on the balconies of the places that were for rent, or they had advertisements just posted on windows or lamp posts (which were totally legitimate ways to advertise this). So we walked around, looking up at the balconies, and if we found something she would call them and speak to them in Spanish for awhile... or she would ask people if they knew of anyone near that location that was renting a "piso" (apartment). Honestly, she was a gift from God. There is NO WAY I could have done ANYTHING without her. So after about 2 and a half hours, she gets a call from one of the teachers we had met and passed on our adventure. Suddenly she is ecstatic, speaking in rapid Spanish, saying things that I don't understand at all, and just generally hopping up and down... I thought she was going to pee her pants. We walk to the library, which is a sort of monument and easily spotted building in the town, and suddenly our teacher friend is there, with another man and some girls about my age. The man turns out to be the director of one of the schools, and one of the girls with him is his daughter, and another is one of his daughters friends, Magda, from Poland. Apparently Magda has rented a vacant apartment that the director owns, and she was looking for roommates. She has 2 rooms left. So we bounce off to look at her apartment with the director in tow. When we get there, we look around and decide that yes, we like it! We THEN find out that he is only going to charge us 100 EURO EACH for the apartment, and will set up the internet for us, for which we will have to split 40 Euro 3 ways... It's a STEAL and Maria and I high-five each other. The girl from Poland doesn't speak any Spanish but she is taking a class, and her English is rather broken. Maria speaks a little bit of English, but not much. So our roommate communication will be rather interesting, but I'm extremely excited! Tomorrow I have to go pick up the key from the director around 1:00, and I can't move in until Magda gets back to the apartment at 2:30, but I'm SO HAPPY! My wishes have come true... I'm living with a Spaniard AND it's extremely inexpensive!

So now I'm off to celebrate with Will... he also found an apartment today, and just in time, because tonight is our last pre-paid night at Hostal Rafi. We are going to go drink a bottle of wine and perhaps watch a Spanish soap opera. BUENAS NOCHES!!

What I have learned so far!

I am constantly learning something new here in Spain... lingustically, I learned that they call bathrooms "aseos" instead of "banos," all the "c"s that sound like S's are turned into a "th" sound, and they drop the "s" off of many words, such as "dos" (two) becomes "do," and "tres" becomes "tre." They don't say "Que triste" (That's sad), but "Que pena," and many other things that are very different between Mexican spanish and Spanish spanish.

In addition, I have learned that you cannot buy a razor and toothpaste in the same place, as they are sold at two different types of stores. Razors are sold at a "drogeria" (a place that also includes hardware store types of stuff as well as products like shampoo), and toothpaste is sold at a "farmacia" (where medicine and other such things are sold). I have learned that I cannot apply for my Foreigners Identification Card here in Priego, but have to travel to Cordoba to do so. I have also learned that if you ask for a simple meal of bread, cheese and ham, they will ask you what kind of ham you like. When you look at them, confused, and say, "I dont know?" the waitress will show you a block of ham, and then a full leg of a pig (they cut the meat right off the leg), and you will squirm and say, "The block of ham, please." At least I'm not eating things that are still alive and moving around on my plate as my friend Claire is, who's living in Korea and eating squirming octopus legs, suckers and all.

Today I applied for a bank account, so it was quite a productive day! Is it bad that I now consider a productive day as a day that I actually get at least one thing done? Also, I'm going to meet up with the bilingual director from my school tomorrow to go see a vacant house his sister-in-law owns, and if I move there, he's going to ask some of the teachers coming in from out of town if they would like to share the place with me, so I'm crossing my fingers for Spanish roommates and an apartment that I like!

ALSO today while having lunch, I introduced myself to the cute bartender, who's name is Pedro. Maybe I will make friends with him, but who really knows? When I was speaking to him he said I was good at Spanish... I dont know if he was exagerating the truth and this was his way of flirting with me or if I really do have good Spanish, but I'll take the compliment just the same.

Anyways, now it is SIESTA time... everything (except some restaurants) closes between about 2-5:30 during the day, and people eat lunch and take a nap, then go back to work around 6 until 8. Will and I wanted to go to a market and buy some wine, but this will have to wait until later tonight.

So after about 2 weeks of un-restful nights, I FINALLY GOT A FULL NIGHT'S SLEEP LAST NIGHT! This definitely calls for some celebration by me! Perhaps I'll go to a tapas bar for lunch and get a nice big glass of Tinto de Verano... Yum!

My last night in Seville was pretty fantastic. For one, I finally got to talk to a member of my family over skype, and this is just because Cassy has been a huge slacker for the last couple weeks and stays at home, watches movies and bakes stuff that she gives away to other people. It was 8:30 pm for me, and 11:30 am for her. My roommate and I were supposed to leave for dinner in the Centro at this time, but I decided we would be late because of the importance of this skype call. By the time we left for dinner, I was quite elated, but we were half an hour late, which is normal for Spaniards. We were already slipping into Spanish time.

We met our Orientation group for a goodbye dinner at an Irish bar, where we were able to sit at the bar and order drinks and watch the Soccer game going on between Seville and Paris. My first experience with Guiness in the United States was not a good one, basically because I was told it would be good, and it tasted like crap. So I decided to order a Guiness in Europe and see if it tasted any different... I silently toasted my close friends Claire and Katie, who are in quite different parts of the world that I am right now, and took a sip of my Guiness. And it was AMAZING! And I laughed and silently high-fived my figurative friends, and continued to enjoy the wonder that is a Guiness.
I had a wonderful time with my new American friends, talking and laughing at the bar, watching the game. I looked over at one point and saw this French guy staring at me... I knew it was at me because I asked Ashley if he was staring at her or me, and she said, "Definitely you." I tried to avoid the eye-contact but it was making me uncomfortable, so I went back to drining and he went back to singing their French songs loudly in the middle of the bar. I think that singing is the basis of the fight that broke out later right near our table... I had never seen a fight like this in real life, people holding each other back and the ones who are restrained fighting hard at the binds put on them, yelling obsenities and making the bar clear out faster than a giant spider appearing in the middle of a sorority. After that fight, the Frech guys were kicked out, as well as some Sevillanos, and we were able to enjoy our drinks in peace.

After the Irish bar closed (if it's not the weekend, most bars close at midnight), we ventured off to the Plaza, where we met up with the people doing the immersion programs right now, and then I ended up following a small group from our program off into the depths of Seville on a hunt for a club they knew of. Just as I was getting frustrated and annoyed and bitchy because of the amount of alcohol I had had, we found the place, where we were quickly shuffled upstairs where it seems all the foreigners were sent to leave the Spaniards downstairs in peace. Somehow I made it back down there during the night, and carried on quite and in-depth and philosophical conversation with a Spaniard. My speaking was amazing! I was flowing and making perfect sense and using excellent grammar... perhaps I should have a shot or two before I ever want to speak Spanish again! Sober me sucks at Spanish, but intoxicated me is extremely fluent and awesome.

At some point Ashley came over and drug me back upstairs to the land of foreigners, and we ended up staying there until 4 in the morning, at which point I was finally back at my hotel room, and crashed until 5:30, when I had to wake up and get downstairs to take a bus to the bus station at 6:00 am. So after a nice little hour and a half nap, I made it to the bus station and had to wait around until 7:30 for my bus with Will, the other person who will be teaching in my town with me. Will is extremely nice, kind of quiet, but as I was soon to find out, great company for a whirlwind trip.

We got on the bus at the station and headed to Cordoba, which took about two hours. From Cordoba, we got on the bus to Priego, another two hour trip. I could barely stay awake, but of course I did, as sleeping on some sort of transportation seems impossible for me. So I watched as, from Cordoba to Priego, olive trees streched out for miles and the landscape got steadily more hilly, then suddenly we were in the mountains, and olive trees were still everywhere you looked. I became more and more amazed as the landscape became more and more beautiful, and the mountains gave me a slight sense of home.

When we arrived in Priego, we had to call a taxi. When the driver got there, he was a little put out at all the luggage we had (2 suitcases each), and had to call another car to come help us. Once he found out we were going to be living here and teaching English, however, he seemed to excuse us for our vast amount of luggage, for which I'm grateful. I do not want to be accused of being a stupid foreigner that packs too much.

We told him where we were going (our program had ordered 5 nighs accomodation in a hotel in our town), and he was a little shocked. We need to be in the actual city of Priego, because during these 5 days we are supposed to be looking for an apartment, and the hotel we were going to was 5 kilometers away from the town.

WHAT?! What good would that do us?? It cost 13 euros to get between the town and this hotel, we are never going to find a place to live!

When we got to the hotel, my frustration diminshed slightly as I saw just how beautiful it was. White stucco walls, a small apartment-ish room all to myself, wooden, single-paned windows, flowers overflowing everywhere, cobblestone walkways... and a view of the mountains and hills of this area that was absolutely stunning. We were stuck at the most beautiful place I had been in Spain yet. As soon as possible, we sent an email to the coordinators explaining our situation, and as we couldn't find their phone numbers on line, we had to wait until the found our email and called us directly. So we decided to pass some time and eat, since we hadn't been able to earlier in the day. My dinner consisted of a first course of pasta, and a second course of ham stuffed with cheese with fries and mayonnaise (OF COURSE) on the side. And my dessert was flan with whipped cream and raspberries, and a glass of wine during the dinner... so far the best meal I had eaten in Spain. After we finished up, I went back to my room and ended up taking a 4 hour nap... AMAZING. Then I went up and met Will at the bar and we had a couple drinks before heading back to bed for another 10 hours for me. We then called the same taxi guy who took us out there and he gave us a lift back into town to a new hotel, Rafi. He said that it usually costs double to take a taxi on weekends, but he didn't charge us that much because I think he likes us! :)

After we got to the hotel, we went and walked around for several hours, exploring our new town. We have decided that today is Exploring Day. Tomorrow is undetermined, but Monday is Meet Up With Our Program Directors If Possible Day, as well as being a part of Find An Apartment Week. Also this week we have Apply For An NIE Card (foreigners long-stay identification card), as well as Make Some Spanish Friends. It's going to be a busy and eventful week! Anyways, Priego is beautiful and a bit bigger than I thought it would be. I have discovered that my school is under construction right now, and the temporary building is on the outskirts of town, which I believe will take me about 20 minutes to walk to. My biggest goal right now is definitely to find an apartment ASAP, as I am looking forward to unloading these damn suitcases I have been hauling around for a week now, and actually LIVE somewhere. I will post pictures on facebook as soon as possible, so that you can all experience the awesomeness that is Spain and my new town!! :)

Airplanes, Jet Lag, and Tapas

It's the strangest thing to watch the sun set and rise within the same 8 hour plane ride... like the plane is racing the sun to the horizon on opposite sides of the earth. It's even stranger to look out the window into the night and see the big dipper directly in front of you, like a picture on the wall, rather than up in the sky where you expect it to be. You are up in the sky with it. You are among the stars.
When I arrived in Barcelona, I had not slept yet. I then had a 6 hour layover in the airport, so I ended up sitting around at an empty gate, eating fruit, and struggling with my rudimentary Spanish. Listening was much easier than I thought it would be, but I quickly discovered that my speaking skills were in serious need of improvement. I basically suck.
While waiting for my flight, I sat in one of the empty gates and listened to my iPod and played Spider Solitaire on my computer for awhile. And then a guy sat down across from me, but not close enough that I felt uncomfortable. So I just continued to make faces at my game and tap my foot to the music. After about a half hour, he comes up to me and begins speaking in Spanish.
"Is that your computer? Do you have a lot of battery life left on it?"
I did NOT know where he was going with this. But I said Yes.
"Do you mind if I plug in my iPod to your computer? I have my cable and everything, my next flight is really long!"
I size him up. He looks nice, friendly, doesn't give up any creeper vibe. He has a Brasil jersey on. I say, "Of course!"
"Do you speak English?" he asks. I say yes, so we switch to English. One of the many amazing things about people abroad... switching the languages in which you communicate, as well as their generally outgoing attitudes towards others. We ended up talking for about 2 hours, near the end of which my sleepless night caught up to me and I began to get dizzy, so we walk around for a while and I discover how expensive the Euro actually is... All I can afford is fruit!
Eventually we say goodbye and I head off to my gate, where I meet about 5 people who are also part of the CIEE program. By the time we arrive in Seville, take the bus to the hotel, shower and attend the Welcome session put on by our program, it's 7:45 and time for cocktails that the hotel has arranged for us. I finally get to eat something other than fruit, and quickly begin to make friends with the people around me, who are all at various stages in the jet lag continuum. I, for one, felt like I was on a boat and about to tip over, so my night was very short as I babbled to the other participants about how loopy I was and how I had been awake for 30 hours, then somehow made my way up to my bed.
Even though it's now Thursday and I arrived here on Monday, I am still seriously suffering from this jet lag, as the second night I was here I couldn't fall asleep, and last night I was out late!
But on to Sevilla. Sevilla is absolutely beautiful. Whenever we walk around, I can't help but think, "I'm actually here. This is real. I feel like I'm in a movie!" Some of the streets are so narrow that only pedestrians can make it through them, and sometimes places you wouldn't think cars could fit somehow make their way through without becoming scraps of metal. There are shutters on some of the windows, plants hanging out of others, all the buildings are painted different colors, the streets are made of stones... there is an amazing and HUGE church that has some of the most intricate designs on it, and it's size and beauty are shocking in the best way. We have ordered tapas (small appetizer-like dishes that you usually get with drinks, costing around 1-2 Euros) several times now, and all I can say is that the Spaniards love their mayonnaise, potatoes, ham and bread... the staple foods of their diet, or at least this is what I have experienced so far.
We went to a flamenco show last night, and this dance seems to reflect Spain and it's unique culture.. it's fierce, sensual and beautiful. The best way I can describe it is as a mix of belly-dancing, clogging/tap-dancing, snapping and sharp movements... I was exhausted when we got to the show, but as soon as it started I was enthralled and wide awake. I couldn't stop watching their feet... I was going to try to take a flamenco class but now I'm a little intimidated by it! By the time the show was over, it was 11:30but I had no desire to go back to the hotel, as I was all pumped up from the show, so a couple of the participants and I went and had a bottle of wine.
The orientation classes have been really helpful, but I'm ready to get going! They told us that we should have about 1-2 token American friends that we can go to when we get homesick or just want some American time, but in general, if we want our Spanish to improve we should stick to hanging out with Spanish people. I feel like I have made that friend, and I'm glad I have someone who I can go to if I feel that I need help or just want to travel to another city and need someone to go with. Her name is also Ashley and she also is from Oregon, so we have a lot in common!
I dont know if you can tell by my writing (I certainly can), but I'm still absolutely exhausted and dead on my feet (Estoy hecha polvo, in Spanish). Tomorrow I leave for my town at 7:30 in the morning, so I assume that I will once again be stumbling through the fog that is sleeplessness, at least for one more day. I'm excited for this weekend because I will get to sleep AS LONG AS I WANT, and maybe be able to skype my family for the first time since I arrived, and of course explore my new home!
Well, I'm off to walk another half an hour into the Centro to have dinner for the last time with the great people I've met here. Hopefully I dont pass out into an ice cream stand before I get there. Hasta luego!

Meetings via Email

My departure from the States is exactly one month from today, which makes me a little bit panicky in an excited sort of way. There is so much to do, like figure out how to pack for all four seasons without filling 3 huge suitcases, have dentist, hair, and eye appointments, stock up on makeup, make sure my visa will actually get here, figure out my loans, put together some teaching materials for my students in Spain, and most importantly, eat a La Roca burrito one last time. Saying goodbye to Mexican food will be as much of a struggle as it will be to say goodbye to a dear friend.

The good news is that the program I'm going through, CIEE, sent me several different documents about the school I'll be teaching at, including names and emails of past participants at that very school. So I'm in the process of putting aside time to have extensive phone conversations with these people, asking them about everything relevant to my survival in Spain, including questions about the town, school, travel expenses, price of wine, living arrangments, etc. CIEE also sent me the name and email of the bilingual educator that I will be working with at my school, and we have contacted each other as well.

In addition, CIEE sent out a roster of all 309 participants going to Spain through their program, stating their name, email address, where they're from and where they'll be going. Since that time, I have been contacted by several people, via Facebook and my personal email. I have decided to attach the email conversation that was sent out to all the teachers heading to Cordoba with me, as it is something that amused me and perhaps will entertain you as well.


On Sun, Aug 8, 2010 at 1:47 PM, Joseph Pustejovsky wrote:

Hello all,

My name is Joey Pustejovsky, and I am one of the many CIEE participants who are going to be stationed in CORDOBA! I am getting so excited about leaving for Spain in 2 weeks for the immersion course that I could hardly contain my excitement anymore. My friends and family here at home are very excited for me, but they just can't feel the excitement like I know we all can. I am also writing this to build some camaraderie between the people I will be sharing the City, and outside provinces, with. That way we catch up in the city every once in a while. We can even discuss major psychological questions, such as, "How long will it take for people to realize Justin Beiber is not as truly talented as we think he is?"

This e-mail will also start a network that will help us help each other, like so:

Mr. Reed Onken (I hope I pronounced that right) I noticed you will be in Puente Genil, but if you are considering living in the city, would you be interested in getting an apt (aka apartment) with me?

See, easy.

And Just to see who I will be friends with in the future, I put together a little Survey, which I hope at least few people respond to. I have been compiling it for weeks.

1) Lady GAGA: Alien or Talented Human?
2)How far will the Dallas Cowboys make it next season?
3)On a scale of 1-10, how sacred are you of Genetically Modified Food?
4)On a scale of 1-2 how scared are you of the Bermuda Triangle?
5) Should The Greeks still put a TON of Fries on their Local delicacy, the Gyro, which only add MASSIVE amounts of carbs?
6)Country Music: Saving Grace of the U.S. or Nuisance?
7)If Beethoven and Mozart were to ever meet in Today's world, who would win the drinking contest?
8) And finally, Should the Status of GREAT be taken away from the Great Salt Lake? We do not refer to it when we say the GREAT Lakes, so it seems a wast of time.

These are all important questions and not to be Avoided....and i am just having Fun... except for you Reed, I need an Answer. AND, I saw that one of you is from Auburn, and as my college roommate taught me, "Go War Eagle!"

Ciao,
Joey P.


Sent: Tue, August 10, 2010 7:49:32 PM
Subject: RE: SHOUT OUT TO CORDOBA Teachers

Hello all!

First off, Joey, I just want to let you know that I found your email friggin hilarious. I'm excited for your phychological questioning and discussions to begin, in which I hope we cover the serious topic of why there is no tea in a Long Island Ice Tea. False advertising is what that is. And here are my answers to your survey:

1) Lady GAGA: Alien or Talented Human?
--Talented Human of course! To not only get away with wearing the things she wears, such as cigarette sunglasses, but making it look bad ass and stylish... definitely takes talent. Oh and her music is good too ;)
2)How far will the Dallas Cowboys make it next season?
--I dont really care.
3)On a scale of 1-10, how sacred are you of Genetically Modified Food?
--How SACRED am I of GMF? I'm gonna take you literally and say that that doesnt make any sense.
4)On a scale of 1-2 how scared are you of the Bermuda Triangle?
--I dont spend much time on the ocean so not that much. I'd say a 1.24.
--PS. Who makes a scale of 1-2?
5) Should The Greeks still put a TON of Fries on their Local delicacy, the Gyro, which only add MASSIVE amounts of carbs?
--I say hold the fries.
6)Country Music: Saving Grace of the U.S. or Nuisance?
--I like some, but a lot of it is too twangy and annoying.
7)If Beethoven and Mozart were to ever meet in Today's world, who would win the drinking contest?
--I'd say Mozart because he has a 'z' in his name.
8) And finally, Should the Status of GREAT be taken away from the Great Salt Lake? We do not refer to it when we say the GREAT Lakes, so it seems a wast of time.
--Keep it Great! There should be more great things in this world. Like Great Oregon.

Anyways, I will be in Sevilla September 13! Hope you all are doing well and I'll see you soon!

-Ashley


Re: SHOUT OUT TO CORDOBA Teachers
Joseph Pustejovsky

Ashley,

Please be my BESTEST FRIEND IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!! I feel like u get me. No one else called out the "Sacred" thing, nor questioned my comical 1-2 scale. I found your E-mail just as hilarious as (but not more than ((of course))) mine!!

I was going to invite you to share our apartment, but apparently you will be teaching 1.5 hours from Cordoba proper. I dont know what we are going to do, but we will overcome. I cant wait to meet you in person.

I know. This seems gushy for a first e-mail, but when you know, you know.

The only mark against you is the Cowboys thing, but oh well.

LOVE,
Joey


So apparently making friends won't be as difficult as I thought. The more people contact me, the more confident and excited I get to finally get over there and meet them and begin this experience!

Prelude to Leaving

It began in January, 2010. I was interning at Oregon State University at INTO, an international student program that focuses on a year of intense English classes for the students so they may enter OSU the next year fully prepared for what they may encounter there language-wise. Social-wise, I'm not sure if they knew frat parties, condoms and droning professors awaited them, but they would at least be able to talk about it in well developed English. I was only there for a month, but by the time I left I had witnessed many types of cultural interactions that never ceased to fascinate, amuse, or baffle me, including the time when a Japanese girl asked me why I wasn't fat.

But this story is not about that. This story revolves offhandedly around my supervisor, Julianna. She liked to serve Japanese tea in the office, deliberately forgetting the fact that it was 5 years old... but I never could tell the difference. I asked the fortunate question one day of where she bought the tea, and she launched into this story about how she had worked for the JET (Japanese Exchange and Teaching) program for three years and she had ADORED it. Suddenly her eyes were fireflys, dancing and alight with excitement and adventure and nostalgia for this place so many miles away and years ago. I couldn't help but soak in some of her craze and begin to get excited myself. Maybe I could do this! Maybe this was what I had been searching for for months, trying to find a way to get out of this country and overseas to a place without suburbs and 24-hour Taco Bells.

Just as I was starting the Google-Search stage of budding ideas and information gathering, my 5-minute dream was crushed by these four words, "The Deadline Has Passed." And suddenly I was back to where I had been 10 minutes ago: without a path. Wandering aimlessly through my last semester, imagining post-graduate life being spent working at a car wash, or worse, in an office. In charge of archiving and putting post-its on my computer saying things like, "Call ITS to fix mouse," or "Archive Anderson file." Or maybe reception, becoming a human recording each time I answered the phone, "Welcome to Carl's Electric, how can I brighten your day?" I headed home in a slight depression.

I walked in the door, threw my purse on the couch and grumpily sat down at my computer. While waiting for my email to load, I had a sudden flood of emotion and slammed my fists down on the table while yelling, "JUST TELL ME WHAT TO DO ALREADY!" I had been trying to figure out this crap for months now, why couldn't I get a break?! Give me a damn sign! I glared at the ceiling for awhile. When nothing happened I sighed and turned to my computer. And the first unopened email I had was titled, "Teaching Assistantship in Spain."

I stared. The words "ask and you shall receive" had never echoed in my mind more clearly. Talk about a sign.

I opened the email and skimmed it, then went back and read it more slowly, not believing my eyes. An assistantship teaching English in Spain for 9 months. Paid. It took me less than 5 minutes before I was reading the application requirements and writing down a list of everything I would need to do for the program.

And here I am, 6 months later: accepted, placed and confirmed, just returning from my visa appointment in San Francisco. I have been placed in a town of 22,000 people in Andalucia (southern Spain) called Priego de Cordoba, located almost exactly between the cities of Cordoba and Granada. I will be assistant teaching at a secondary school consisting of students from 12-16 years of age. I leave in about a month and a half and I have only a slight idea of what to expect, based on Google searches, word of mouth and guidebooks; everyone dresses up, even to go to the grocery store, the men are good looking, the cuisine is excellent and based on sea food, the partying in the big cities makes The Peacock look like a peaceful cafe, and my town is surrounded by olive trees. I have a week-long orientation in Seville put on through the program I applied to, and I have 5 days worth of paid accomodation when I'm actually in my town until I can find my own place.

Besides being slightly nervous, I also can't wait to be on that plane, heading for God knows what. I am putting myself in a difficult situation and I am exceptionally curious to see how I handle it. Will I cry? Will I run screaming? Will I simply walk up to someone and become instant friends? Will I choke on my pizza from laughing at the insanity of what I'm doing? No matter what, I am ready to grow and adapt and learn about others as well as myself. 9 months is a long time to be away from what you know, from home, from a place you can navigate without even thinking. Monotony. I know from studying abroad in Mexico that everything you do in a new country requires thought. Going to the grocery store, finding a snack, making a phone call... everything is much more vivid and complex, giving unusual life to all actions. I cannot wait to discover Spain in a non-tourist way. Being a tourist, so temporary, makes me uncomfortable. This, I believe, is the best way to travel; becoming immersed and close with the culture, learning it from the inside, teaching a skill as well as receiving hospitality, experience, and a way into the heart of a people.