Carnaval craziness

Today I learned a new word in Polish. I dont know how it's spelled in the language, but it sounds like, "Shwishish" and it means, "Are you listening to me?" I LOVE IT! I know some words in Polish now, which is always fun when Magda is talking to her friends and I can say "hi" (Chesst) and "thank you" (Jeinky). I can also say "good" (Dobra), "good morning" (Jen dobre), "yes" (tak), and of course, "f**k" (koorva). Also, "noh" means "yeah" in Polish. So sometimes I see Magda nodding her head and saying "noh" which really confuses me! Magda also clicks her tongue like she's trying to get a horse to gallop when she is getting the attention of her one year old cousin, which sort of irks me because to me it sounds like she's making noises you'd make to an animal at a child! I know this is a ethnocentric thing to feel, but I just can't help it.

Anyways, moving on from Polish. I realized today that the reason I love my private classes so much is not because I get to teach, though that is still enjoyable, but it's the fact that I get to spend time with people and connect with them. In my one-on-one class with this 26 year old girl, all we do is have conversations and I correct her grammar and pronunciation. But I get to learn about her and make a connection. Today in my class of nine-year-olds, I gave them a vocabulary quiz, and then we read their book they have for their English class, Little Red Riding Hood. I had them read it in English out loud (correcting their pronunciation) and then translate it into Spanish (I feel great that I understand their translations and can correct them when they're wrong). At the end of today I suggested that when we finish the book, I should have them perform it as a play, and the girls got so excited! I love seeing kids like that, and I feel great that I can get them excited about learning. One of the things they learned today was "Who is it?" so when one of their mothers knocked on the door at the end of the class, they yelled, "WHO IS IT?!" and then burst out in fits of giggles. Kids are really quite easy to please.

Last week I went on a hike with some of the fourth year classes at my school. The hike was 10 kilometers through the Spanish countryside, and it was beautiful! First of all, there were no olive trees to be seen, just natural landscape. We saw a small waterfall and walked through valleys and hills. Near the end of the walk we were trecking through a canyon that was so impressive and beautiful! I found myself holding my breath as I turned a corner, in awe of what was in front of me. I feel so lucky that my school takes every opportunity to include me on any excursions, understanding my desire to experience all I can while I'm here.

This last weekend was exhausting but HILARIOUS. We went to Carnaval. In Cadiz. This celebration of Carnaval (equivilant to Mardi Gras) in this city is one of the biggest and most popular celebrations in Spain. The gist of Carnaval is that EVERYONE dresses up (like Halloween), and has a huge party on the streets. So on Saturday some friends and I took a bus from Granada to Cadiz, which lasted four and a half hours. When we got there, Magda and I put on our costumes (Bees! We had bought them from a chino store and they were slightly too big, so we had to take them in a little bit by sewing. I can do at least one domestic activity!) and headed off towards the main plaza in Cadiz with our friends. We got there, found a kebob place because we were starving, and just stood there and watched people walk by. I think I was laughing for about two hours straight, simply because people REALLY get into their costumes! People really like to dress up as groups in the same costumes or as a theme... the first thing that got me laughing was this group of men that were dressed up as chickens. They would find an innocent bystander, and then circle around them and "peck" at them for about 10 seconds, and then continue on and find their next victim. Everyone would be laughing and the people in the middle just slightly nervous until the chickens moved on. There were people dressed as sheep and the Three Musketeers and the Pope and the Frog Prince and anything you could imagine, even a man dressed as an (almost) naked woman. There was even a group of people dressed as BOTELLON (they were all a different alcohol bottle). These other guys dressed as sailors walked by and I yelled, "MARINEROS!" and they all turned around and saluted me, and continued on. I also yelled at some people dressed as Superman and they flexed their muscles at me! Everyone was really into their costumes and I was having such a great time, just watching people walk by. Spain is crazy though with their parties. People bring their own alcohol and they were drinking it anywhere, and the ground is just a huge trashcan. This huge plaza was PACKED with people, I could barely walk around! It had to be one of the craziest parties I've ever been to.

At five in the morning, the bus came back and we got on and began the long ride back to Granada. Everyone looked bedraggled; my wings were gone, peoples makeup was smeared, costumes ruffled and we all were exhausted and smelling like booze. After the five hour bus ride, Magda and I looked real classy walking around Granada trying to get another bus back to Priego in what we had been wearing under our bee dresses (tight black shirts, black tights, shorts, and boots) and messy hair from the night before. It was like I was on the longest walk of shame ever, but without the shame part actually happening, and I kept finding glitter everywhere. I felt like Ke$ha. Thankfully I am back in Priego for this weekend, so there will be much less craziness and I can actually relax!