Games Galore!

Hiya there folks:
As we are all preparing to spend the holidays with friends and family I wanted to get this off to all my people.
Just to start off I had a nice relaxing weekend after the horror that was Marseille, I say this is jest, surely... Friday night I met Montse and Carlos at my house where we then headed to an art/culture exhibit on Pompeii. Now the question I'm still asking is where is Pompeii? It was a lovely exhibit but we were surprised how small the hall was. I got to see pottery and images of the volcano erupting.... who knew??
Once we toured around the hall we decided to indulge in a Starbucks coffee, or at least I wanted to. Montse and Carlos both got a chocolate FRAPPUCCINO in the middle of winter!! Although they tell me that that is the custom for Spaniard's to order a frapuccino anytime they go to Starbucks, its like their candy shop. I was appalled for sure. But I enjoyed my latte, even though I am sick of cafe con leche when its 10% coffee and 90% milk! I want to some good old Pete's Moka Java or some Dunkin Donuts. Now many of you probably are disgusted that I would actually ask for DD Coffee, but honestly the saying is true, you don't miss something til its gone! You know I thought I would miss friends and family, but ¡Hombre! I need my coffee!! But in reality of course I miss everyone and just wish that we could talk more. I knows its tough with the time change, but you are more than welcome to jot me a quick email or a comment here on the blog! I don't bite....

Sigo...
After a nice coffee we again thought to kick the cold with a nice meal and where did we go, you ask?? Good Ole' TGI Fridays of course. Its where all the cool people hang out! The meal was good and we had an awesome time watching the world cup of extreme lifting. These huge guys lifted cars and pulled big trucks and stuff, I must say it was a great way to finish off the work week.

Saturday I just chilled out at home doing some house work... Yes I do SOME cleaning once in a while. When Gina finally got up she told me that Carlos didn't have work so therefore I should call him because we both had nothing to do. Well Gina called Carlos's landline only to be answered by his mother, Who he had told that he was having lunch with Gina, when instead he was at his bfriends house! Yikes! But thankfully Gina has a quick memory and just made up an excuse. As soon as she finished with the mother though she called Carlos as fast as she could to warn him what she told the mother so they could corroborate their stories. PHEW!! it was close though. Gina is certain that the mom must think that Carlos and Gina are seeing one another because she is his wing girl.
Anyway though... when we finally got through to him he suggested that he and go to this interactive game place where you yourself play the game and climb over things and stuff. Like Lazer Tag but you have to answer questions and pass test before advancing to the next level. As you can imagine, I lost pretty quickly but Carlos had helped me on a few of the questions. It was really cool because the scenario was that you are a prisoner and you are trying to escape from jail, although Gina and I think its more like an asylum rather than a jail.
But I had an awesome time. That's what I like about Carlos, he is such a kid at heart, he loves any games so we always have a great time with him.
Then Sunday we had planned to go shopping but only us girls wanted to go so we changed our minds and decided to play mini golf instead at this cool mall. The previous evening Carlos was describing the mall to me and began talking about the cafeteria where you can buy any kind of food and then you all eat in the middle. Now I thought he meant a buffet style where you can choose any cuisine you like. BUT... he meant a FOOD COURT!! He thought it was the coolest invention ever and totally gets overwhelmed with so many choices. We had to nix the mini golf because Hugo was going to get out of work later than expected and then we wouldn't have anytime to play so we continued our Sunday movie night tradition and saw 1408.
But before I get into the movie... the other totally sweet thing was that there is an INSIDE SKI SLOPE!! How cool.... People were having a ball in the enclosure. When asked if I knew how to ski I said no, but couldn't resist telling them about my first time on ski in NH when I was five I think. There DAD was with the video camera glued to his eye while I sat crying my eyes out because I had fallen over and couldn't get up, like a turtle. The instructor said that I had to get up on my own, so I sat there tears and all while Dad continued to videotape the rest of the Zambizee sisters. I think that's why I don't cry anymore... I let it all out at the age of 5!
I'll continue... When we entered the food court everyone ran around checking out what there was to offer and we grabbed a table. The food was OK, not that food from a food court is that great anyway, but we made due. Finally when Hugo arrived we made out slips for "amigos invisibles" AKA Secret Santa. I was filled with anticipation about who I would get and hoped that it wasn't Gina because then I would get a challenging person to buy for. Well luck was on my side and I got Montse. Although I'm not sure what to get her just yet, but I've got time since we are not doing it until I get back from London on Jan. 5. Plus was is nice is that therefore I will be in Madrid for 3 Kings Day, which is like their Christmas. I hope we have a party or something...

Well again I want to wish everyone a GREAT holiday and a Happy New Year. I hope to talk to many of you over the vacation. I will have a phone card ready and waiting for me upon arrival. I will have my cell phone but I am not sure if it will work. But keep in touch and I don't care if you don't do anything for the holidays... but I better get pictures anyway!!!

I will stalk you during the entire new year if I don't get pics. Everyone takes some pics around the holidays, so make sure I get them. My Spanish friends have been warned too, so don't think you are getting any special treatment!

Miss you all
Felices Fiestas y Prospero Año Nuevo
Em

Parle voius frances?

I have no clue what has happened to the kind, gentle girl I used to be after this long weekend with the Meghans, and thank goodness I survived, barely...



SO you ask yourself, How did this trip come about? I don't even think I know what came over me, but my friend Meghan aka Brennan called me up on a whim and invited me to Marseilles France for the long weekend we have in Madrid. I agreed upon it, I'm not sure at this point if I should have, but hey lets say for the sake of arguement, that I did.



Well I had to call the airline company Wednesday morning to change the names on the tickets, because there was a mixup and Lawler, the other Megan, goofed. That in and of itself was nerveracking beacause I was left to deal with Ryan Air to get it taken care of. And I did.



I met Lawler and Brennan at the Barajas airport for a short, 2 Hour plane ride and we arrived in France, calmly and without problems, yet....

The coolest part was, Did we have a map? No, did we know anything about Marseilles, nope, but we went with it and it was AWESOME...

We arrived on Wednesday afternoon/evening to see the main street lit up with lovely Christmas lights, and wait for it.... A Christmas Market!!! Hooray!!! The Meghans jumped for joy to see and SMELL the portside harbour. You know me, no big whoops on my behalf. But then again it was nice to see water again, and the salty, freezing, kind that you shall uncover over the course of the longest blog entry known to man!



The first stop was our luxioury 2 Star Hotel, which Brennan has upgraded to a Five star, Hotel Europe. Now an inside look into who Lawler is... she lives in style and likes to have a nice warm, quite room to sleep in after a long, long day of treasure hunting. The hotel was wonderful. As soon as we entered the building, after figuring out how to open the locked door, we were greeted by Stephan, a tall nerdy frenchman. He was very nice and helpful, including when Brennan shouted with delight, OMG Is that a real dryer I smell?? We spaniards don't have the awesomeness that is heat to dry your clozes (as Stephan pronounced it). The room was big but with your typical paper thin walls and a showerhead that trickled like a dryed up brook. There was no contest who I got to spend my three nights with in that room, each even playing a friendly game of turtle. Oh and it was not friendly at all, the French know how to upset some people and not by the name... But I recovered quickly until te following night with Brennan, no hard feelings, eh?



Once we checked in and got settled we were famished with hunger and chose to go for a jont around town. We we came upon a humble little abode called, Le Suffren and I think we would all say we definately suffered through that meal. Thankfully Brennan knows, un pur of French and man are we greatful. Except the French apparently don't care if we are Americans and when asked if the waitor speaks English, in French and scoffs Brennan off and says you must speak to me in French. We thought it was quite rude especially because as Lawler and I ordered, in English he had no problem. Huh... The food was half way decent but the crappy waitstaff outweighed the food. From there we headed out for a walk around the town. We headed immediately for the Christmas Market with all the quiosks filled with French cookies, jewlery, crepes, mulled wine, teas and such. It even had a Merry Go Round!! We resisted the temptation to hop on for a ride since we had just eaten adn figured we'd save it for another day. From the market we walked along the water front which we can only imagine must be overrun with people and boats in the Summer. In December though not as much, I don't see why....

Over the course of our walk we stumbled upon this huge Fort the overlooked the port (Vieux Port is the name of the area we were in). The Meghans grabbed me by the arm and yanked me up on the top of the wall overlooking the water for a nice view and time to relax. Altough I fumbled through it, it was all worth it. We were checking out where we would head out the following day. Thankfully like most citites in Europe there was a cheap Bus tour that takes you around the town.
Day Number 1:
Once on the bus we met a cute French boy who was all about foreign girls and he came to check on us frequently, we agree that he had a thing for Brennan, and she milked it for all it was worth. After the bus tour Brennan decided to go back and "get some work done for school" plus she was really tired from a long week of hosting guests. So Lawler and I headed off to explore the city. We walked around to this huge, elaborate Church in the middle of the city, which was being restored or something and we were not allowed inside but it has the typical old town charm that many Eruopean buildings and churches have. From there we headed to this park that looked quite big on the map, but the cartogrophers took some liberties with the representation. There was a large fountain in the middle, but you could tell that it has been some time without use. The group of us had decided early on in the trip that we would attempt to take a day trip to Tolousse, which had been recommended to us by another girl in the program. Well we quickly found out that Tolousse is not as close to Marseilles as we thought. So we then decided that we would try Nice for a day, but later also found out that the train would be too expensive.
To finish out the day Lawler and I hopped back on the bus tour and headed to the big Chapel and statue that is situated at teh highest point in Marseille. It was really beautiful, except for the gale force winds that we encountered. While we were there we met these two French men that we had seen before at a coffee shop. We all share our love for coffee and averaged three cups a day, but we still think Spanish coffee is better. Anyway, the two guys told us about a short boat trip to some neighboring islands where you could disembarque and explore the island. Lawler and I thought it was a great idea and planned that the following day we would be "pirates" and explore the islands as a group. Well these two french guys heard that we were American and invited us to dinner. We were a bit sketched out but agreed that we would meet them later at the, "Quality Burger" Restaurant located near our hotel. Well on the walk down we realized that this was not the best idea we had and decided that we would grab Brennan when the time came and made a run for it. Yes I realize that this is not the nicest thing to do, but hey we are three nice American girls and didnt want anything funny business.

We grabbed Brennan and headed off for the near Irish Pub, called O'Malley which I think its safe to say that we are now part of their regular crowd as we spent each night there having grand ol time. O'Malleys was a great pub and we even got to hear some authentic Irish music, but oh wait... they sang it in French.... Lawler is a big fan of the jig and Irish music so we got the real thing thanks to her. While we were having some drinks we met a nice guy, Georges, who immediately came over to us to chat. The kind waitress tried to give us a warning signal and not waste our time but we let him come over anyway. Well Georges is now a great friend and we actually saw him a few more times over the course of the weekend. After a fantastic tutorial on the Irish Jig from Brennan we stumbled home, with Lawler's sore back because she tried to do a back handspring but landed on ehr tummy. The poor girl, but she laughed it off and we made it home fine.

Day number two:
The boat tour that was recommeded to us was a short twenty minute ride to the island of Frivole. We immediately ran for the upper deck to get a great spot. Well did I mention that it had been raining all morning so it was jsut us on the boat. We met our new best friend, Jean Marie, aka Gus from Cinderella who kept us intriguied with conversation on the trip. Brennan speaks a bit of french from highschool and we depended on her to keep conversation rolling. Well Brennan took a break from translating and decided it was a good idea to feel the sea breeze on the other side of the boat. What she didnt expect was to get soaked with the crashing waves becuase the water was choppy. We laughed with her as we approached the island. Now again the weather was not great, per the gale force winds again that were hitting the city, but we didnt let that stop us. Now over the short time we were in Marseille at that point Brennan had been commenting that she must go swimming because heck when you see the Mediterreanean you gotta take a swim. Well she wasnt fooling around.
After a jont around the island we all decided it was about time to test the waters. Oh and it was Freezing!! We all put our feet in for a photo op beause when will we ever be in the French Riviera and be in the Mediteranean again.
As Brennan's mom, Mary J. would say to Brennan as a child, don't be a dog and go jumping in without thinking first. Well Brennan gave herself the speech, but still ended up being the dog and went head first into the Mediteranean with her clozes on!! It was absolutely ludicrous!! We were prepared and gave her some warm clothes. But she kept saying that her mom says alls you need is a hat to cover your head, but we didnt want to risk it. When everyone was warm agian we continued on our adverture and found a great Spideman shot. There were these two rocks that intersected with a cool opening in the middle. SO we figured it was a good idea to get some pics of us in the hole. It was soooo scary but hella cool.

BTW: Expect Lawlers pics to come shortly. Mine are not as good as hers and she was the designated photogropher for the weekend. She got some amazing shots.

When we realized that the boat was going to leave shortly we hightailed it back only to see Jean Marie again who then invited/just brought us up to the Capitans booth for the trip home. Now we are still unsure if he even asked the capitan if it was allowed but no one said anything and we got the capitans view of Viex Port in style.
Next we headed out for a bite to eat and again stumbled upon a great little dinner spot called, Pain and Coe. It was great the prices were reasonable and we each got a huge salad. It was delectable. We then returned there for one meal a day for the rest of the week. THe waitor was great and of course spoke a little English which was a god send becuase poor Brennan was exhausted from all the translating.
After dinner we stopped by O'Malley agian for a drink. While we were chillin out we met more English speakers two guys were from Spain too here on holiday and one from Portugal. We even elaborated our vocabulary with a new Spanish word, "Calienta Pollas" which is not really appropriate for some of you but it basically talks baout a girl who comes to flirt with you and then leaves you high and dry. Who would've thunk in France we could improve our Spanish vocabulary?

Day number 3:
After a long nights sleep we got up for our morning cup of coffee and figured we would give Nice another try and headed for the train station to buy our tickets. Well did you know that ATM cards here must have a chip in them to finction? Well I certainly didnt and Lawler and I spend a good twnety minutes trying to buy tickets to Nice when the card didnt work. Of course our luck ran out when we missed the train to Nice and then it was going to be outrageously expensive. So she and I headed back out to meet Jean Marie for another trip to teh island to check out hte other side. But the cool thing was that this day the weather was great, but they had roped off the upstairs seating due to rough water. Well being our new best friend, what did Jean Marie do for us, he brought us up to the capitans deck again adn this time we got to sit outside but had to hide from the other passengers. We were living on the edge!!
This trip we headed for the castle. Well I felt like Brave Irene trying to walk against the winds on teh mountain. When we got to the castle we encountered a real moat and drawbridge so we climbed up the wall and walked around the castel for a better view. Lawler was the brave one who tried to jump over a missing part of the wall. I chose the easier route and walked around the wall again, but it was exhilierating to say the least. From there we continued onour way and came upon what we have decided was a WWII encampment. It had bunkers and barracks, I even bit the bullet and climbed into one for a photo op. It was totally awesome but a bit spooky too.
We had a difficult time walking back through the wind but stayed close to teh side of the walls for protection. After teh boat it was off to Aix en Provence a little village about forty minutes from Marseille and only cost 5 Euros. It was fantastic.
In Aix, as they call it for short they were hosting another wonderful Christmas Market with lgihts and quiosks. This one was much bigger than the one in Marseille. There were handcraftted childrens toys, carollers, candies and much more. We tooled around the stalls for a while and got a bite to eat at yes, another Irish Pub... do you see a theme here....
When we got back to Marseilles we HAD to make one last stop at our favorite watering hole. We were enjoying our Bulmers cider, when who walks in but Georges.... and Mr. B who we had met the other night at O' Malleys. What a small world!! We had a great time and even met a nice British girl who joined us for a pint too. It was soo much like a movie to me to meet all these nice people in aforeign country. I dont know what's come over me!!!

The FINAL day:
Well we said that we couldnt leave Marseille without stopping at our favorite restaurant one last time for a traditional French croissant. We had planned to meet Becky there that morning to say good bye and wish her safe travels, but as we walked in sadly she wasnt there. So we go to grad a table and see some strange man fold over his newspaper, and guess who it was.... GEORGES!! We could not belive that he remembered we were going for bfast. IT was such a treat. We said our goodbyes and took photos for our albums and headed back for our luggage before the flight.
Well to get to the airport you ahve to take a shuttle bus. Now over the course of hte weekend Lawler kept saying oh our flights not until 2 so we can take our time and at least we'll get home in time to do laundry and get ready for school. So we are on the bus adn I am beginning to doze off as I am known to do, when I here, Uh guys we just missed our flight!
Our flight was NOT at 2 but at 11:45! So.... we take a deep breath and remain calm until we get to the airport. And of course the best news of the day is that there is only one flight to Madrid on Ryan Air daily which we were not on because, "The plane left without us" says Brennan.
Rethinking our options we decide to check out other flights from Marseille to Madird but they came up too expensive and we really really wanted to get home on Sunday.
So.... what would any rationale person do.... RENT a car!!!
Lawler was the bright one with that idea and shuffled off to Hertz to check the rates. Well to drive from Marseilles to Madrid we were told was about 1,ooo KM and we could do it in jsut over 8 hours. Lawler was up for the challege as she is the only one who can drive a stick so we piled into the Peougot and headed off.
We only got lost twice and as Brennan said over and over, "Its like Kidnergarten, it always easier the second time around". Which proved true.
As we continued on our adventure Lawler pipes up with the profound comment, "If Napolean could go over the Pyranees on foot, well i sure as heck can do it in a car!" And we did.
The long of the short of it.... 14 HOURS later, and 1,500 KM we finally arrived in Madrid. Oh and did we ahve a map?? NO... we are rock stars or as the Meghans now call themselves, TEAM AWESOME!!

THe funny thing is that when we entered the airport Brennan turns to me and asks, Hey Em were going to Portugal on Friday, Wanna come?? What do you think my answer will be....

Photos to come shortly... Have fun and Viva le France!

Three Wild and Crazy Gals!

So you will never beleive what I am doing over the weekend!
I have been invited to take a trip to Marsielle, France with my friends Megan and Meghan. I received a phone call this morning for Meghan Brennan, who unfortunately just broke up with her boyfriend, and now had a space open in their trip for another person. Of course I feel really bad about her breakup, and its been hard on her, I can only imagine. Well I accepted the invitation and had to make some changes to my school schedule for tomorrow, but I am all ready to go.
The ONLY problem is that I have to go to the airport tomorrow morning at 8am to change the name on the tickets. I am nervous that they won't let me change the names because I was not the person who made the flight arrangements, but I'll give it a try.

Wish me luck!

I will give folks a call on Sunday when I get back. If you wanna chat send me an email and I'll get back to you when I get back. See ya....

A chill weekend

Hey peeps!
Wanted to give you a glimpse into my relaxing weekend, again. Well last week was a great week. I had a blast with the third graders who are working on their acting skills, by portraying different emotions. They were hilarious, although I had to ban the "happy" emotion from the group because every other one was happy. It was really fun. And you all know what a talented actress I am!
For the weekend I hadn't planned anything special. So we had the group over for a fun night inside. The weather is getting cooler each passing day. However, I have nothing to complain about since I hear its getting into the low thirties in Boston. I finally met the "famous David" another VIPS character who is a total hoot. We first had drinks at this little bar downtown which was nice. I chose to play it safe and just have a non alcoholic Pina Colada. Court I know you had a wonderful time in Cabo with the alcoholic kind, but not for me chica. From there we decided to come back to our house and safe some money on a dinner out. Well we had to go the OpenCor, which is like a big Tiger mart that sells overpriced goodies because they are open til 2in the morning 365 days a year. Before we could go in we must have driven around in circles for twenty minutes waiting for a parking spot. Miraculously a car finally pulled out, and guess where? Right in front of the shop, What luck!

After we got provisions we strolled home to get ready for the movie, Lucky Number Slevin. And I must say don't waste your time on it for a second. While we were watching it Carlos, who talked us into the movie in the first place had to explain the plot like three times. David was super funny because at one point Carlos received a phone call from his mom, complaining that he had forgotten to feed the dog, and David rushed to the machine to tell us to turn off the movie. Somehow something about the situation reminded me of someone I know....

Anyway after the dullest two hours of my life, we had a great discussion about what people think is attractive. Our debate became if people go first for the physical appearance of someone or their attitude. Well Montse brought up that you have to go for looks first, because that is what calls your attention to the person in the first place. Then someone brought up whether its true in the states if when people first meet one another then you plan a date for a time and place to have your first date. I realize this may sound weird but they honestly thought it was strange that we choose a place and time for a date. Apparently here they figure the first time you meet the person a first date. Weird huh? Of course I was not able to put my two cents in since I haven't had one yet, but got a kick out of the question. And then ironically what movie was on this Sunday?? 50 First Dates! HAHAHAHA.

Somewhere in the conversation/debate I jumped in a said my peace. But wow did I get put on the spot. When I began to talk, Gina practically feel off the couch to make everyone else SHH so I could talk. It was really strange but funny. Like a miracle happened or something. I told them the trick is to get a charged conversation on and at some point I would jump in. The hard part about the group is that its hard to find a place to jump in. Between Gina who reminds me of Laura Sutherland and her cackling and a chatterbox as that and Carlos who just says silly stuff. Have I told you that they have actually had a conversation about what a fish thinks while its inside its tank. I cant believe it either.

So class in back in session today, but boy oh boy did I get a surprise! Upon entering the second grade today, I opened the door to find another teacher in the room. It official that Gloria the teacher has officially left for Maternity leave. I am quite sad that she won't be here for the rest of the year. Additionally the teacher that's replaced her looks like he just got out of school. Not to mention he was wearing a TOOL shirt and faded blue jeans. The kids seem to like him and spent each afternoon with him last week. I could tell he was a bit overwhelmed. Plus the kids were off the wall because Gloria was gone. I felt bad for him because the students were unusually loud and nor he or I could get a full hold on the class. I hope tomorrow is better. But I miss Gloria! But I have plenty of other teachers to help me, which I am fortunate for.

Well wish me luck this week as I finish my seminar class on Wednesday and then have the rest of the week off for the "puente". But I plan to spend most of my time creating my unit for next term when Kellie Jones, from Simmons comes to join us in February. We'll see if I actually get it done.

Have a great week and let me know what kind of trinkets people want from Spain. I plan to go to the Flea Market on Sunday. Get your bids in now!

Give me a buzz over the weekend anytime, since I've got plenty of it!
Ciao!

Thankful for Turkey

Its hard to believe that the Holidays have arrived. It seems like only yesterday I was on the plane heading across the ocean. To celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday the Simmons group all met at my co-worker, Connie's house for Sunday supper. It was a special treat the Lynde Johnson, our coordinator was able to join us for the day. I arrived a bit earlier than some of the other to help with the preparations. As soon as I entered the house I was filled with excitement to hear Christmas carols playing in the background with the smells of cinnamon and turkey lingering in the air. Mandy, aka Martha Stewart was busy slaving away with the gravy and potatoes. We had nice conversation in the kitchen, even though it was a tight squeeze for more than four people to fit comfortably. There were paper turkeys and candles strewn throughout the apt. It was very nice. Once everyone else arrived the food quickly filled up the table. The girls from El Escorial brought homemade pies and pureed squash from a special recipe, which was delicious. Then there were potatoes, a yummy zucchini casserole that Mandy made, stuffed mushrooms, yes which I did try out of courtesy. There was plenty of wine and sangria which we drank plenty of. It was nice to be with people to share the day with. Of course we all were missing our family and friends but are fortunate to have spent the day with one another is a social fashion. We danced our butts off to the beat of Sir Michael Jackson's Thriller and some Hip hop. Yeah I know its not traditional holiday music but after a few glasses of Rioja or awesome sangria, no one noticed the difference.
Following the party I headed out to meet "the group" for our weekly movie night to see the film, Enchanted. Now because of my failure last week at choosing a movie, I chose Michael Clayton, which I am still hearing complaints from. The movie as I predicted was silly but we enjoyed it. Earlier in the weekend we all went to Carlos's house for Saturday lunch. Well quickly lunch turned into dinner with a game of Gestos (Gestures). I was so proud of myself that there were only two or three cards that I had no idea about any of the clues. At first I began to shout answers out in English but then got the hang of shouting our Spanish words. Cant wait for the next round another day.
I had a great weekend and holiday. I only wish I could have spent with family and friends from the states, but was able to spend it with new friends. Give me a ring when you can or jot me an email with all your news.
Miss you and talk to you soon

Toledo, FINALLY!!

So its been a while since I've been on. SO here's a brief overview...
Following my trip to Sevilla I had a busy week at school. Not to mention that it was hard to get back into the swing of things after such a long break. I have stayed busy between tutoring with four families. Tuesdays are the worst because I have a full day at school with one tutoring session during lunch, and then after school I have a session with two high school age girls and the I run back to school to be picked up for the next session with two second graders. Its tough but I am having a great time with the kids. Its nice because I can just play with them and have fun. I think that's the best way to work with kids. Let then be kids while showing them new things.

The next weekend we again had a long weekend. Gina, her friends and I all went to Toledo for the day. It was awesome. "The Group" as I have deemed us is such nuts. We actually got in trouble because we were trying to take a funny pic in a synagogue. I felt bad, but it was exhilarating. I hope you enjoyed the pics that I sent. Then on Saturday I had a relaxing day.
Gina and I took a trip to the American Store to buy Macaroni and Cheese. We had a craving for it. It was really nice to take a walk and see some of the places around our house. Neither of us had been in that neighborhood before. The best part was when Gina went to make it she totally screwed it up. Of course I didn't have the guts to tell her that she was doing it wrong. She put about three times as much milk in it. But it was ok. I'll make sure that I make it next time, just in case.
Then Saturday night I went with the "group" to their friend Diego's house for some video games and a few drinks. Well it definitely was interesting as I didn't get home until 8 on Sunday morning! We ended up playing this Karaoke game where we all battled against one another. The weird part was that when it came for me to sing, we found an English song, by Avril Lavigne. I knew all the words but strangely Carlos won! I could not believe it! Then I was instructed that I lost because I was actually singing the song, while Carlos was more speaking the words which gave him more points. I was outraged for sure. But I redeemed myself with Like a Virgin by Madonna. It was really fun except for the sleep deprivation. But I slept for most of the day on Sunday to make up for it.
Sunday night, as its out Movie Night we went to see another Spanish film, The Tower of Suso. It talks about an adult man who returns to his home town for specific reasons. It totally reminded me of a British film, only cause it was heartfelt and was pretty realistic. If it comes out there, I recommend that you see it, but for some of you you may want to wait for it to come out on video.
This week has been good so far. I was finally able to hook up with Alexis, who I hadn't talked to in too long. It was actually kinda funny because Alexis called one night after I had gone to bed, and Gina answered the phone. Well Gina then asked me the following day, "Does everyone in your family speak Spanish?" I just chuckled and said no but that most are learning. It was interesting because she asked me why we chose to speak Spanish, if it was a latin culture thing, being from CA or simply because we like the way it sounds. I figured it was because it wounds cool, but I couldn't formulate a good answer.

Earlier in the week I had seminar and afterwards most of the people in the program went out for a drink. Well my friend, Meghan, never goes out for just one drink. Anyway towards the end of the evening she had gone to the bar to order another drink, but when we asked her what she ordered she SHOUTS, "I don't know because I was speaking Spanish!" We totally lost it and its now her catch phrase. We were practically rolling on the floor of the bar. It was too funny. It may be one of those things that you need to have been there for... it was hilarious to say the least.

Anyway I gotta run and do some actual work but send me an email when you can. I am missing everyone terribly. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving and I plan to talk with all of you before then, so expect a call from Spain sometime soon.

Talk to you all soon!!

Southern Spain, in Sevilla

Hi everyone!

Phew, I am beat! I just got back from a long weekend in Sevilla, which is 6 hours away by bus. And I mean you can feel the energy drain from you immediately on the bus. As I said in the previous blog, we had a long weekend to celebrate the All Saints Day and since it happens on a Thursday, rather than going to work for one day, on Friday, we have a "Puente" or Bridge to make it so we dont have to go back til tomorrow. Cool huh?

I took advantage and booked a trip for myself! And I had a wonderful time. It was amazing weather for November, its was still in the 70s and I think even on Sat it hit close to 78 or 80. Who would've thought that it could be that hot in November, unless you live in CA, hahaha.


So I had booked a room at the hostal, Nuevo Suizo, which was a great choice. I had only been to one other hostal in London, and this one beat it by a mile. As I have told some of you it felt more like a hotel than a hostel. The building is more like a hotel with different floors, a beautiful rooftop terrace and one bathroom per floor. Having your own bathroom was great! I didnt have to pull the college route and shower with a bunch of people and I could have privacy. I had no conflicts either. Well I guess thats not exactly true...

When I checked in to the hostal on Thursday and they gave me the key, I just dumped my stuff and ran out to see what the city was like. Well no one specifically TOLD me that I was supposed to leave the key with the reception so that the other people could get into the room. Well returning that evening the reception lady said, Oh we've been looking for you for the key! You didnt leave it here and the other guests could not get into the room. Of course I was mortified, but the lady was nice about it. Next when I tried to open the door with "my" key, I could not open the door. No I'm not a wimp either I tried and tried but couldnt get the key to turn and open the door. So the solution?? Jimmie the door open with a knife. THe funniest part was that the lady, said I've seen this done in the movies, it has to work. I held in my laughter to spare her feelings, but it worked. However though then we couldnt extract the key from the door, and so I was left for the night with the door open a jar so the other guests could come in!

Thursday afternoon I hopped on a guided tour bus to check out the city and map out what I would do over the course of the weekend. It was gorgeous, and right at sunset. The tour lasted about an hour and we went all through the city.

So Friday morning, my first full day in Sevilla I decided to check out the famous Cathedral and Bell Tower. Wow it was amazing. The Cathedral was very dark but beautiful. There were gorgeous stained glass windows. I decided then to make the treck up the thirty two flights to the top of the Bell Tower, and it was sooo worth it. I got stuck behind some extremely slow people but I had to grunt through it because there wasn't room to go around them. From the top was a wonderful view of the city. I tried to get all the angles with my camera, but through the fences and trying to shift through the crowd was difficult. I am really glad I was able to go up this time. I feel like last time I was there we weren't able to go up.
From the Cathedral and Bell Tower I decided to head east, I think towards the Maria Luisa Park which holds all the buildings from the 92 World Expo, and the Plaza Espana. I couldn't stay on the main road and took a chance with the side streets. What an adventure! I thought that I had a handle on general direction skills, but they have dwindled since I arrived in Spain. Anyway I tried the side streets and found another nice park that I walked through, the Murillo Gardens. I was surprised by the large, winding trees that you can see through the pictures. I told myself while I was walking, that I wasnt lost and that I would end up where I end up. Boy was it nice risking the streets on Sevilla. I know I probably sound a bit cheesy but hey, I was by myself, and all the people in the city were really nice. I was proud that I was even asked for directions at one point. It would have been cool if I were able to tell them where to go, but I hadn't gotten to that point in my trip yet. Eventually I made it to the Plaza Espana and took a nice break around the circular plaza. There were a ton of tour groups passing around the plaza, but I enjoyed the people watching. I imagined that I was in the Common or near the Waterfront on a nice day just sitting around. You all will probably hate me for saying this but I am not a post card gal, but I make a promise that next weekend when I got to Toledo I will get a bunch of cards to send you.
Friday night I was brave and went to a Tapas bar for a cana and a bite to eat. For those who don't know a cana is a small beer, with foam! I've decided honestly I prefer the can or bottle, I don't enjoy the foam I must say. But over the course of the evening it grew on me. I had a nice little montadito, or sandwhich, of roast beef. It was quite tasty. Then I headed back for the hostal to check out a soccer match. Much to my surprise there was finally someone in my room! I met a nice boy from CA, although he didn't sound like it. I never even got his name though, It sooo bad of me!! He told me that Real Madrid was in Sevilla for a game and I flipped. I am a total fanatic for soccer now, only Spanish futbol though. On Saturday I had lunch at an Irish bar and sat next to a British guy who was a fan of Arsenal. I guess Arsenal and Manchester United (where Beckam used to play before Madrid and then Galaxy) are huge rivals and Arsenal is considered the underdog. Well it was for good reason, honestly. The team could barely make it to the goal, and when they did aim for a goal, they were totally off! But I felt funny that my first British football match was in Sevilla Spain, huh? I had a good laugh.

Then Saturday I went to the Royal Palace, or Alcazar. As in the pics it has a large Moorish atmosphere and architecture. It was really nice. Sorry that I lack on description. I can't do it. Even my friend Meghan says that I can't describe worth a dime. But I had a nice time and had my English Audio Guide to keep me company. I was surprised at all the French I heard over the trip and saw plenty of Swedish kids on a group. It was funny though because they had shirts that said that they were a sailing club... what are they doing in Spain I wondered?
From the Alcazar I headed back towards the river to catch a tour of the Plaza de Toros, or Bullring. Now I realize different people have different opinions about the topic but I really enjoyed myself. The tour guide showed us all the entrances for the different people that come out in a fight. NExt we moved to the museum within the plaza. This was neat because she went through the stages of popularity and history of a fight. I finally learned about all the instruments they use in the fights and got to see some prized bulls too. I enjoyed it , and hope that come the spring time I can see another fight here in Madrid. I think its quite artsy if you don't think about what they are doing to the bull. But I'll leave it at that and progress to the next topic.
Viva Flamenco!!!
I had the opportunity to see two Flamenco shows while in Sevilla. One I paid top dollar or Euro for, but it was totally worth it. It was held at the Flamenco museum and I had a prime seat, minus the rather large gentleman in front of me, but it always happens that you sit at a performance to have some type of obstruction. Anyway, it was totally AWeSOME!! There were two singers, two dancers and a guitarist. All of them were real artists. I wish that I could have shared it with someone just to have another person who can say they've witnessed the art in its true form. The expression and passion these people have is incredible. All of the notes played were incredible that someone could move that fast!! Really really quite amazing. THe other show I saw was free, but wasn't as good. Except that I finally found people to hang out with. Of course, it was on my last night in the town, but hey I can't complain. The two Canadians I met invited me to the show with them. We had a blast. Although I felt a bit silly when Kevin asked me about Iran and some type of missile problem or something and I had NO IDEA what he was talking about! I am soo ashamed, but probably now that I think about it I would have said the same thing if I still were in the states.

Ultimately I had a wonderful time in Sevilla and can't wait to go back to Andalucia to see Cordoba and Granada. But until then I will be working hard and trying to save up for the next big trip.

This weekend, I am off to Toledo, FINALLY. Gina and i have this joke when she asks me what I am doing each weekend that I am going to Toledo, since the last long weekend we had I told her each day that I was going to go. SO finally I am going with Gina and her friend, Carlos, Montse, and Hugo. The great thing is that Carlos has a car so I can save the bus fare and plus I get to share it with someone too.
Sorry for such a long entry, but I wanted to tell all. Have a great week and I'll be in touch over the weekend. Don't forget to send Holiday gift ideas to me too!!
Hugs and kisses

Greetings frrom Seville

Hi kiddos!
I'm writing from Sevilla Spain where i am spending the long weekend we have for All Saints Day. I decided that i needed to get away from Madrid for once and why not Sevilla. I have been here before but only for one day, and the weather stunk last time I was here. Boy is this a great weekend to come because today was near 75 degrees and tomorrow is expected to be near 80, oh and did you know its November? How cool is that! I am already thinking that this entry wont be too long, the keyboard blows and I need to take a shower.... i really smell. but I wanted to give a quick shout out, and ask all of you what people want for the Holidays. I need to start thinking now, so that I can get the gifts out to you all for the holidays since packages can take up to 2 weeks i think. so give it some thought and got me an email with any ideas. I already have some things in mind, but could use some more.
Have a great weekend and I will chat with all of you soon. expect Sunday to be on the phone with me and I will update the entry with cooler info when I ge tback to madrid on sunday.
Love ya
Em

Puppies!!!

So after a crazy week at school between the heinous tutoring kids with huge attitudes to being the first person to be observed by our supervisor, I needed a quite weekend at home. Which is exactly what I did! It was great, I slept in all weekend and had some great homemade food by my roomie, Gina.

On Friday night I met my friend Juan, from the cooking party, for a drink at this chill bar with some of his friends. I immediately found out that Spaniards are crazy for Formula 1 racing. This weekend was the big final race, so that was all I heard over the course of the evening. I met a guy who designs golf courses, which I thought Pat and Dad would love. Oh, I almost forgot the best part of the evening was when the bartender gave me a free beer!! I have never been offered a free drink by a bartender before.... I'm not sure whether that is a good thing or a bad thing. But anyway I was excited and immediately thought, Oh man THIS is going on the blog for sure. After a drink or two... I ran for the last train, thankfully I made it in time, I wasn't prepared to pay for a cab.

Saturday I woke up late, and as Jill would say, It was Glorious! Then Gina's mom and cousin came over for lunch, along with the Cuban couple from across the hall. I had a nice chat with the Cuban guy, unfortunately I can never remember his name, and its hard to pronounce, but anyway... the chat was about the difference between an acronym and an abbreviation. He used the example of NATO and UFO, but then he blew my mind, when he said that LASER is a word and an acronym. I probably sound pretty stupid at the moment, but I have a lot of those here cause I am constantly going between English and Spanish I get confused.

In fact today at school I called three kids in the same class the wrong name!!! I felt mortified because I didn't even recognize that I had done it, similarly I wrote the word "animales" on the board instead of "animals". The kids had a blast with that one! But I laughed too so I guess its ok then... i hope...

Ok, to continue... lunch was lovely as usual. Then I went up to the "surface" as Gina would say to do some errands. Then I came home and was a couch potato all night, but I watched some great soccer. Actually Barcelona played like dirt, but the game was interesting at least.

Then Sunday I was supposed to meet the group for a walk through the Botanical Gardens while listening to Bob Dylan, but instead I stayed home and played with a PUPPY!!!

OMG, Nana, like the dog in Peter Pan, is soooo cute!! I almost wanted one, but then remembered the responsibility it is having a dog. I think I remember signing some type of contract or something when I was younger, that thing faded away when Pat became attached to Chester. eh....

Anyway Nana, a golden lab puppy was the source of entertainment all day long, and we loved it! The proud owner, Carlos, is happy as a clam, and already slaves over her constantly. But Nana is his first pet ever at 30something years old, and he had to ask his parents permission! (only cause in Spain most people don't move out until they can by a whole floor, like a house). Attached I will include some pictures for you. We had a great time playing Monopoly too, and I did not go Bankrupt, yet I suppose.... We had to stop and take notes of where people were so that we can pick up the next time the gang comes over. It was a quiet yet extremely pleasant weekend that I hope to do again sometime soon.

Gotta run.. Love ya's

3day weekend... PARTY!!!

Hey peeps:
As I began to say with the pics, we had a 3day weekend here in Spain to honor Christopher Columbus discovering America. Well not to sound stupid, but it was, I did not know why we had it on Friday because I am used to having a day off on Monday, as you folks in the states had Monday off. Well I made a big fool of myself with my students because I did not know why it was on Friday here, the authentic day, when we just use Columbus day to get a day off from work, damn, we're lazy. Anyway as I began to say in the other post I had plans to go to Toledo this weekend, but ended up staying in town for a "relaxing" weekend, which ended up totally the contrary. Saturday night I joined a Spaniard at his house for a Supper club dinner. I was really excited because it reminded me of our Sunday night dinner's with Jill and Kimmie and Bethany. Well it was quite a different story here in Spain....
Top start off I had to wait for a bus at Plaza de Castilla to get to Juan's house. So I found the stop and proceeded to wait at the stop with a German girl, who spoke to me in English for thirty minutes before we realized that we had been waiting on the wrong side of the street the whole time. I figured that it picked up and dropped off at the same stop. Boy was I wrong. I felt super bad that I had told the German girl that she was in the right spot, only to find out that I had told her incorrectly. But hey it happens to the best of us. Then when I got of the bus at the last stop, I expected other people to be there since now I was a half an hour late, to find that it was just me and Juan. He immediately asked me what I thought we should make for supper, for ten people by the way. I was surprised that he had not had a menu planned, since that is what I am accustomed to, thanks to Martha, I mean Jill. SO we then trek to the Hipercor, like Shaw's in Brighton but three times the size for provisions. Well we finally come up with a Spanish Omelet of potato and onion, with the possibility of chicken with asparagus and lemon sauce. We totally made it up as we walked down every aisle. Once we had the menu we decided oh, well we need some beverages. Now Juan immediately said, "we must get Lambrusco for the girls, they drink it like water" Now Lambrusco, is this yummy concoction of sparkling wine but not a fizzy. Its really fantastic but I thought is a little presumptuous of Juan to say we would drink it like water, but I let it go.... Then he proceeds to the Beer case as his friends don't really drink wine. In my head I thought, WHAT! a thirty something that doesn't drink wine! what have I gotten myself into (only kidding of course)
We ultimately get back to Juan's apt to begin the preparation for the ten people he said were coming. Well we come to find out that oh, its only going to be 4 people including Juan and me. Now this got me a bit worried, as I was the ONLY girl present for the first hour. Boy oh Boy it was strange! I'll just leave it at that and spare the really really really boring details. Cindy Lauper is right, Girl Just wanna Have fun! not the boys.
Much to my surprise Megan decided to join us at the house and have a bite. It was such a relief, I must say. As I stated int the pics we managed on the tortilla and these really yummy green pepinos. But the cool thing was that the peppers were mixed so you had no idea if the would be spicy or not. Unfortunately Megan was unlucky and got the really spicy one, even after a glass of milk the poor girl was still suffering.
Moving forward a bit we decided to go out dancing, a new passion of mine, to keep in mind. As I have said earlier I was not planning on going out and therefore had sneakers on. As soon as Danny, the troglodyte, saw my shoes, he says, "Oh your wearing THOSE shoes?" Juan came to my rescue and replied, "Don't worry they don't care about the girls" Oh was Juan wrong. They completely wouldn't let me in the club. It was tooo FANCY i guess. I was ready to call it quits but Juan walked with me to an Irish Pub instead for a pint, which was much nicer actually. From there we moved on to a less fashionable club. That's where I was covered in fog machine smoke, yuck, but hey I did get to see a drag queen bust her moves on the stage. It was pretty fun but I don't think I'll go back there for a while. IT wasn't really my scene they played really old 70 and bad 80s music, sorry for those who like that stuff, just not my cup of tea, i guess.
Therefore on Sunday after I woke up at 1:30pm I was invited to go for some fresh air in Retiro park, my favorite weekend hang out spot, if you don't count the bars... hahahaha, just kidding...
We went for a leisurely stroll with some girl from the group. It was great because there were so many people out that day, plus the street performers were fairly entertaining too.
After the walk around the park we found ourselves in center of the park watching all these high hippies performing a drum circle.
Apparently its where all the hippies and musicians go to bang out their frustrations. It was actually pretty neat to see, and as you can see from the pics, there were some crazies out that day. The man on the statue was terribly funny, but you had to wonder if he was ok. There were a few tense moments, but I suppose that's life in Madrid, you never know what's going happen!
TO finish off the weekend, I joined Gina and her friends, Carlos, Hugo, and Monce for a movie, El Orfanato. Think the Ring combined with the Others for reference. I totally had a flashback of the Ring with Jill and I cowering behind my sweatshirt at Fenway. But I felt I survived this one ok. I didn't have to hide for very long, but there were some Shrill moments. Gina at one point looked at me and busted out laughing because I was covering my face. Great movie though, but kinda predictable. It was selected by the Spanish to go up for Oscar selection. If it arrives in Boston, you should check it out. But I only recommend that you see it in the daytime to avoid nightmares. But that goes for any scary movie for me...
I think I have said my peace for now. Have a great week and keep me updated.
Ciao!

A Crazy Week

Hey everyone,

Sorry for being so laxed lately I have been mad busy. I had a great weekend last weekend, I met with Lyndie, our program director to discuss how things are progressing in my school. Of course I had nothing bad to say, the school is great. Its just that I have trouble identifying language objectives with my students, but that is something that I have to work on personally. I am anxious to begin this stage, but I know that I will have to re-train my brain to think in a different way. Then I met Meghan to celebrate her birthday which was on Sunday but we chose to celebrate on Saturday because it was finally a good day, weather wise. We had a lovely lunch and then went for a walk around town. Following our long walk we had been invited to a Roman Party, by a friend of Maria's named Juan. We had a great time. Although we didn't get home til the wee hours on Sunday. But in my defense, That's how Spanish parties are. You don't even arrive at a party til 11:30 or so... and then the night goes on and on. On Sunday we tried to play baseball, yes I actually tried a sport, but the girls were making fun of me because I could hardly catch the ball let alone hit it. We had a good laugh about it. Continuing with our walking weekend we then walked to an Irish Pub to try and catch the Red Sox game on tv. However, it was quite the production to find a place that would actually have the game on, since it was the Ruby Finals that night. But we found it finally! We had to wait til 11pm after the Rugby match had ended. But it was worth it. Plus the Pub was pretty empty which was great.

So the school week was good. Each day gets better, but I still have a long way to go. I am getting better with the first graders. I actually played a song for them this week about the parts of the body, I can now sing the whole thing by heart of course since I heard it over and over again. But hey that's not the point! The point is that the kids LOVED IT! They were able to move around and shake off any excess energy they had. Plus they were so cute. The song identified different parts, like head, arm, body and feet. They got their groove on easily. They insisted on me playing it over and over again but I had other plans for them. The only thing was that the kids could do the actions but they could not produce the words. But hey they had fun, which is what counts.

I am conflicted at the moment, because Gina's friends just arrived while I am writing this so please excuse any weird words since I am hearing Spanish in the background. But I am glad to see them again, we had a great time playing Monopoly the last time they were here. Tomorrow is a Holiday, which I felt like a total idiot about.

So on Wed. the teachers were talking about the holiday tomorrow as the day of the Hispanidad. When I heard this I was really confused. but the teacher explained to her students that it is the day of Columbus. Well I of course said, Wait a minute, we just celebrated it in the U.S. on Monday, WHY is it different here. Thank goodness the teacher didn't know, because when I found out that we do it so we can have a three day weekend, I felt sooo stupid. Dad even thought that I didn't know what the day was for. Well of course I know why we celebrate it, but I was confused on the day! Oh well we always make mistakes.

Being that today is a holiday, I am heading to Toledo this weekend by myself, which I am very excited about. I hope I can travel the thirty minute AVE train alone. I'm terrible with sarcasm. I am currently charging my batteries to be able to take pictures. I have been there before but that doesn't mean I shouldn't go again! I think I need a break from partying this weekend. Its been tough keeping up with some of my cohorts, and I need to plan for the next few weeks of class.

Oh, and I just got another tutoring job with a student of mine, that is deaf! How cool is that!! To teach a second language to a deaf person is so interesting to me, and I spoke with the parents, who are pilots, by the way, and they are fantastic! They even asked if I know someone who needs a place to live, because they want an American to live with them, free of charge only that the person speak English with the boys at breakfast and dinner when they see one another. What a great deal huh? I hope I heard them correct but I'll check this week.

I am really excited to begin with him because he is a great kid. Plus he surprised the begeezes out of me today when he offered a sentence that I had them fill in about the seasons and what activities they do. It was awesome.

It seems like everyday a different person comes up to me asking about private tutoring, which is great, but I am running out of time in the day! I would love to have more tutoring jobs to get more money, but I have to keep some time to plan and have fun. I think I may take one more student after school on Mondays and Fridays, but I have to wait til next week to talk with the mom.

We'll just have to wait and see...

Give me a call or email when you get a chance, I feel like I haven't talked to anyone lately, but hey I guess that's partly my fault.

Another great week!

Hey everybody:
This week was a crazy work week, as this week we began the regular school day, which means that I am there until 5pm everyday. I thought that the day would seem like it never ends, but I was pleasantly surprised. Most of the children are able to continue their work fairly well. I think the long lunch break gives them a chance to unwind and therefore they are just as attentive after lunch than before. I don't think we can say the say thing for the US. I still struggle with the first graders, but as long as I have a song or something to break up the thirty minutes, they are tolerable. I am sooo happy with the other classes though. The second and third graders are great, and we have a wonderful time working together. If anyone has any ideas about short plays that I can do with the third graders, I would greatly appreciate it. I have them for drama each one day a week, and I am lost for material. I felt bad that I came in and they were so excited to have drama, but then I didn't have any plays for us to work on.
I have started to identify certain flavors with the second graders, and we even went over time today without knowing it. The director had to come in and remind us that it was time to go home for the weekend. I think that's pretty cool that we were having such a good time that we didn't notice that it was time to leave.
Socially I had a good week.
I had tutoring Tuesday and Thursday, which was ok. The kids are slowly loosing their concentration, but now that I have met with the mom and we have gone over her expectations, I think the subsequent weeks should go well. I was able to meet up with my friend Meghan on Wednesday for coffee, one vice that we share wholeheartedly. Then I got to hear about her week, which is leaving her drained. Not because of the students, but there is a girl in the group that is challenging to deal with. But I let Meghan vent so that she would feel better. Following coffee we went back to her apt and made a really nice supper. Daniella, the girl that works with Meghan had invited herself over for dinner, but it was even worse that she is a vegetarian and proceeded to hound us about the preparation for dinner. It was frustrating, but everyone deals with people on a different level i guess. After dinner we were supposed to go to an intercambio, or social exchange, at this cafe, Cafe Madrid, but after dinner we decided to stay in and chill. Plus its been raining all week, which does not help when Meghan and I had planned to start jogging through Retiro Park. We were pretty upset that we couldn't.
Then last night I met a majority of the group at a Tapas bar to have a drink. We had planned to meet at a nice Spanish bar, but then when we realized who many people were coming, we had to scrap the Spanish bar and go to the Irish pub across the street. We had a great time chatting about school and what people had been up to over the week. Unfortunately we have yet another person who is leaving the program. She was not able to come to a compromise with her school and was really unhappy. We are sad to see her go, but you have to do what is best for you.
I believe tonight I may hit a party with Meghan and her roommate, and then we were invited to a Roman Party tomorrow night. The guy mentioned that it is a costume party, but with all the rain, I don't think I will dress up. But it should be pretty entertaining. I am glad to have survived another week, without any glitches. Hope to hear you all soon to see what you are going these days.
Hear from you soon.

Birthday Wishes

Hey everyone! Thanks to all the fabulous people who called me on my special day. It was fantastic to chat with everyone and I hope that those who celebrated with Kate enjoyed themselves. I had a GREAT birthday, even though I was not able to spend it with all my friends and family in the states.
To begin the weekend, I spent the afternoon on Friday with a girl from the program at Retiro Park and we went for a walk around. The park is soooo nice and you can spend the whole day there and not be tired. Following the park we hung out in her "shoe box" of an apt. The best part was that she drinks just as much coffee as I do, and she had a coffee pot! It was lovely to have a steaming hot cup of real coffee. Here they drink their coffee like espresso so it was nice to have a large cup. The little things count for a lot.
From there we met up with her roommate, Southie, as she is called since she is from South Carolina. Her real name is Stephanie, and has a drawl to boot. Much worse than Bethany, if she's even from South Carolina. The three of us headed towards Sol to meet a friend of Southie's. Meghan, the girl from my group, knew of a great tapas bar near Sol, which was AMAZING. Even though we had to wait for thirty minutes to sit down, it was packed to the brim with people.
We ordered some traditional tapas, like paella, tortilla espanola (A potato omelet), croquettes, and some shrimp. It was sooooo good. Plus the pitcher of Sangria made everything taste that much better. We learned quickly that if a client enjoys their food, that you throw your napkin or chicken bones on the floor. The floor was covered in napkins and trash. From there I went home and got some much needed rest from a busy week at school. But Meghan and I planned to go to the Riena Sofia museum, which houses the famous Picasso painting, Guernica, on Saturday.
The museum was nice but as I have told some of you, I am not the kind of museum goer that can stand in front of a picture for twenty minutes absorbing the intent of the artist. That being said Meghan and I walked around for a bit and then to appease our coffee habit, went to a cafeteria to have a cup and chat. Oh, and I forgot to say that three other girls from the group came down from the Escorial district to meet us at the museum. We met up with them after the museum, to discuss what to do next. Now it may be that they are still on American time, but they wanted to have dinner at 6pm! Which is unheard of in Spain.
Well I had commented earlier in the day that I would really like to have Thai food for my bday dinner, so we Had to ask a tourist guide for suggestions. We found a place that was close to a metro stop, since the three girls would have to catch a bus at 945 to go home. Since we had time to kill, we walked a short distance to Meghan's apt to rest and have a snack.
Upon walking up the 64 steps to her apt, we had to sit down to rest our tired legs. Much to my surprise as I sat down, Meghan comes out from the kitchen with a small cake and candles, to celebrate my day. I was sooo surprised that someone I had only met for a month would be so sweet to do that for me. All the girls sang to me, and we shared a piece with coffee of course. To see pics of the weekends events, I will be forwarding the shutterfly link in an email.
The Thai restaurant was a big tricky because we arrived at the place at 8:45, which is still early for Spaniards to eat. Being the six of us we walk in to find a table, but unfortunately they could not seat us because we didn't have a reservation. We were about to scrap the idea, when the hostess, said, well we have another location, would you like us to reserve a table at the other spot for you. I thought that was above an beyond a normal hostess, so we jumped at the opportunity.
We hopped back on the Metro to get there on time, which was luckily really close to where we had been. This place, I must say, is better than Brown Sugar, in Boston, which I never thought possible. Many of the girls had never been to Thai food before so we asked the waitress for some recommendations. Of course, she recommended Pad Thai, but then we also got a beef and chicken dish to share. Oh it was DELICIOUS!! It was sooo flavorful and yummy. I will totally bring anyone there for a meal if people can come and visit.
Moving On... we made a quick stop at my house to change my shoes...
Thankfully Gina was awake so my friends were able to meet her and see my place. We had a really nice time chatting but shortly had to run back to the Metro so the girls could catch their bus back.
We were able to convince one girl, Maia, to stay in Madrid with us for the night and crash at Meaghan's house so we could go out dancing. Yes, I did say dancing. I know many of you cant believe those words came from my Suzy Homemaker, Grandma, mouth.
We got a bit nervous that Joycelyn and Jen would not be able to catch their bus, but thank goodness they made it.
We made our way through Sol simply by following the crowd. We ultimately found ourselves at an Irish Pub, O'Connells for the first round of drinks. This was a shack of a place, but full of people. We actually saw American Football on the TV, plus Rugby, of course. After a couple drinks, we decided it was now to time to go dancing. You always need a drink in you before you go to a club, or at least, I do, being so rhythmically declined.
Again we followed the crowd to this long line of people at a club called, Sweet. It was funny cause I think this was the first time I actually had to wait in line for a club, so I enjoyed it. Of course, I asked some random person in front of us to take a picture for me, which he did. And it turned out pretty good, actually. I have had many a photo taken by a stranger and it turned out crummy, but this was a young guy, and thus knew how to take a good photo.
The Club:
The place was jammed to the brim, thus why we had to stand in line. But in a good way. With the price of admission we each got a pass for a free drink, which was used right away. There were tons of flashing lights and great music. None of that 80's junk they play in Boston, sorry Kimmee I had to say it. We danced to our hearts content, until, 5:45 in the MORNING!! It was awesome, and I didn't even feel tired. No, don't worry I was still functioning, even though, Meghan was not. But hey that's the fun of it. As we stumbled towards the Metro it occurred to us that this would be a great time to go for Churros and Chocolate, a famous late night/morning eat. No Little Steve's for us! Well being that it was sooooo early in the morning, on a Sunday, no less, we were saddened to find that no such establishment was open yet, and proceeded to catch the 6:30am train back home to sleep.
No sleep for me, as I planned with Santi to catch a 1:30 bus to his house for Sunday lunch. But hey it was totally worth it.
Santi's house is amazing, I knew they were well off, but I had NO idea how much so. His dad actually has a squash court, in his house, and a basketball court. Not to be so materialistic, I met his entire family, grandparents included, right when I got there. Ironically he had just had his birthday this past Thursday, so everyone was over to celebrate with him.
Lunch was lovely. Of course, tons of food, and drink, but that's how Spaniards spend an afternoon, with nothing to do. I was able to understand most of what was happening, but must admit some was just white noise. After lunch the "adults" went to have a chat on the porch and enjoy the conversation while the children rested, no, still no sleep for me....
I ended up leaving his house at 9pm after the Real Madrid match on TV. It was a pretty boring game, but at least we won.
Finally I got home at 10:30 and was now ready for bed.
Overall it was a fabulous birthday, more than I could have imagined, being that most of the group had run off to Granada for the weekend, but I'm actually glad that not everyone was there so I was able to enjoy myself that much more with the company I had. I feel like if there had been more people there I would have hung around in the back, but thankfully that was not the case.
Again I want to thank everyone for the well wishes and phone calls/texts I received, its nice to know that so many people care about you. And not just on your bday, so thanks for calling daily/weekly too.
Some may joke that it took me leaving the country to finally call people, but hey we're all glad for that. Love you and miss you all.
Look forward to the pics, plus captions to boot. :0)

A great day!

Today was a fabulous day. I was prepared for all my classes, which is a rarity I must say. The best part of the day was with the third graders. I found a cute poem about Fall that you could read to the tune of the Wheels on the Bus. Don't tell Ri Ri I sang it with other people, she may turn jealous. It was totally cute. I felt like I was more of a music teacher, counting out the beat and stuff. But the kids loved it. Some got bored kinda easily, but that is going to happen... I even made motions to go along with the verbs. I had trouble thinking of a motion to show how the leaves change colors, but I just did a motion of a circle. But then for the verb tumbling down, I did a motion, like when you make a Conga line but from top to bottom. The kids all stood up to motion with me. Then to do the swish of the leaves as they hit the ground, we did a window wiper but from side to side. I realize now that the descriptions aren't that great but give it a try to see how it works. I felt a bit silly, but I guess that's what teaching is some times.
It was just a really good day. I really enjoyed it.
Can anyone try and give me some hints on where to eat for my bday dinner. I tried to ask people at my school, but no one had any ideas. I might like and try Chinese food, but I dunno. Maybe we can all do an Internet search and see what comes up?
Give me a ring or jot me an email when you get a chance. Love ya

Where the others live...

Hey Folks, sorry for the delay in entries. I have been sorting through what to do with the students, and I began tutoring yesterday. Where to begin... well this week is going better than last week, so far. Except that the first grade teacher is STILL out sick, I hope she is ok, but that makes my life a bit harder. Because she is absent, there is always a different person in the class with the students when I enter the class. Having so many different people in the class, must be confusing and frustrating for the kids, because none of us know all their names already, so we just say hey you, or walk up to them. The upper grades are going pretty well.
We began the week discussing the bones of the body. You have to be a doctor to know all the bones they wanted to students to name. I only know one in the legs and don't even start with the face! I hoped to high heaven that Maria would not ask me to name all the bones in English. Thankfully she did not, but it definitely gave me a scare. Sarah B. I totally thought of you immediately with all you Bio stuff. The kids laughed their butts off when I went to show them the hips, cause I started to dance. Now most of you know the kind of dancer I am.... it did not look good! But I guess with little ones you gotta be an actriz some of the time, and not be afraid to make a fool of yourself!
I began tutoring on Tuesday. I met with Phil, from Belfast, to discuss the family and what he could tell me about private lessons. Now similar to what you do Pat, a lot of it consists of homework help, but also advancing them to the next chapter or subject so that they can be prepared and have a head start for when the topic comes up at school. This place was gorgeous!! The floor was huge, for a Madrid flat. Not that I had seen a floor, before in Madrid, but I can only imagine what other places look like. I am working with a girl, Beatriz, who is 6 and her brother, Joaquin, age 8. The ages are perfect because they are the same age as my students at school. But that these children attend a private school, and have had more exposure to English than my students at Fuentelarreyna.
Poor Beatriz actually started to fall asleep on me, in my session! Granted she was just copying the alphabet, but still.... SO to animate her a bit I played Simons Says, the popular children's game. I'm sure you've heard of it, no? Well she immediately perked up, which was fantastic! Then I conned her into finishing the work before we would continue with the game. It worked like a charm. I gave her the rest of the alphabet to cover before I see her again tomorrow.
Now her brother on the other hand....
He was much more advanced, obviously because of age. But he was telling me that he spends most of his day doing English grammar drills and Science activities. For example, I was asked to help him with his homework, which Phil had inclined me NOT to do, but the mother insisted. But we worked on the different ways to describe size (small, itty-bitty, big, giant, enormous, and average). He had a bit of difficulty with the differentiation between sizes, but overall understood the difference. We then moved onto the way animals move... I was trying to ellicit an animal that jumps/hops (i.e. bunny, which took him forever to get, but I think because it was too easy for him. Well he tried his hardest to tell me this animal that jumps around at night, which I was lost about. Then I said, does it make a sound?? finally we figured out it was a cricket, I thought he was talking about a grasshopper, but hey I guess that's kids for you. Never know what they are going to say.
Overall it was a good evening. From there I trekked over to the a park near the Royal Palace for a nice picnic with some of the people from the group. Connie, the girl at my school with me, insisted that she make some brownies, which she had to purchase from the American Store. They were actually really tasty except for the burnt edges. I missed the sunset, being it was 8:45 by the time I arrived, but had a nice time discussing school.
Much to my horror though I came to find out that two people are leaving the program, one who left today. Its too bad that something could not have been worked out, but the guy who left today, Jon, was told that he would be working with high school students, which NO he couldn't by design of the objectives for the program. Two he doesn't speak Spanish and the worst part is he doesn't like young children. It was just sad that he couldn't hold out a bit until Lynde arrives next week. Other people that were told could work with high school kids, figured something out with their schools to give them the opportunity to work with that age, but he didn't ask, or maybe was just too much in culture shock to even care at this point. Then I heard that Margaret, who has complained since the beginning is leaving too, but that I'm not too sad about because she was totally bringing the rest of the group down. As I've said time and time again about this program is you need to be flexible because we are the guinea pigs, but i guess some people would rather have liked it to be more structured and prepared. Well tough noogies!!

I have extended the invitation to the whole group to join me for a night on the town on Saturday for my big day. Unfortunately some people have already made plans to go visit Granada, but I will arrange other plans for those who are not going to be here. But the only problem is no one knows where to go! But he when in Rome, make it up! I am hoping to invite a small group to my apt for dinner on Friday, but I'm not sure yet who. I cant invite the whole group, because as you can see from the photos I don't have enough space. But it will work itself out.

I hope the Boston crowd enjoys the Tapas night, and that we shall ALL be talking on Saturday evening, at any hour, cause chances are I'll be up. And even if you don't think I'll be up, call anyway, I love voicemail, but of course would rather talk in person.

Well gotta run off and find a short poem on Fall to teach to the 3rd graders tomorrow. Talk to you soon.

A relaxing weekend

So this week was pretty taxing so I have had a relaxing weekend to prep for next week, a full week. But before I was able to relax I took some pics of the apt and had an extremely long game of Monopoly. Gina was the first person to go Bankrupt and then I was shortly after her. But we had a great time, we stayed up way too late too, 4am!!! Take that to those of you who think I am a granny, ha, I say! But it was really nice. Then Saturday I just stayed in and cleaned. I was planning on going to the White Night events, but it started to rain pretty heavily, and today I heard from some people that went, that they were only able to see one event, there were so many people. I'm cool that I missed it though, I wasn't really in a great mood to go out anyway, so I stayed in and watched Barcelona play against Sevilla in a soccer match. It was fun actually just to chill out.

Our seminar begins this week which I am anxious to hear how everyone else is doing in their schools. Unfortunately though, I beleive we already have one girl leaving the program! Its sad to hear that Margaret will be leaving, but she doesn't have any teaching experience and is simply not happy. Its a total shame, cause she's a nice girl and has a lot of fun, but maybe its too much, I dunno. I hope we can convince her to stay, but I'm unsure.

This week should be a bit better for me, because Maria will be visiting the school to discuss with the teachers we are working with, what our roles in the classroom are to be. This should help identify what the purpose of the program is and so there is not anymore confusion.

Wish me luck in week #2!!

Attached I ahve included some pics of my room and the famous ghetto granny phone, if it doesnt work, I will attach a link to shutterfly.

Getting situated

Hi Folks,
I am beginning to get situated in my classes and am starting to like it. Most of the upper grade classes are wonderful and attentive, its going to be the little ones that need the most concentration. I was able to work with a great third grade teacher yesterday, Pilar. She was able to help translate for the day, because the students were asked to only speak to me in English of course. So the class had to write down some questions they wanted to ask me and I put them in groups to choose two questions that the brave kids to ask. It worked fabulously and they had some awesome questions. They seemed really excited too which certainly helps the situation. There is one deaf boy in this class but he can read lips and talk, so I imagine he is more hard of hearing than completely deaf, but I don't want to get into medicine. I was kinda sad already that I wont get to see this class til next Thursday, but am excited to do different things with them. I will be focusing on poems, dramas, and stories to do with them as it is a literature class, that I am proctoring.
Then came the hard part.... FIRST GRADE.....
Now I understand that first graders are small and have difficulty paying attention, but they couldn't even stay still for one page of a book. I couldn't even read the words on the page!! But at the same time it want a complete disaster. They were able to draw something red from the book, such as an apple, tomato, and some drew a heart, or watermelon. I was really impressed with the students that went above the task and thought about what in the world around them is red. It's a relief to know that some students can work on a different level. The tough part about this session was I could hardly get the kids quiet on the rug to listen to the page, and the teacher did not help me at all! Finally at the end, when I was leaving... she says to me next time to get them quiet there is a bell on my desk that you can ring or something else.... ( I often forget words and simple phrases in both languages so you'll have to excuse me sometimes)
But hey lets leave school for now and talk about the APT and my rommie!
I am so lucky to have a good roommate, Kate I hope you can say the same thing! Gina is awesome, we have a lot of fun together just talking, its funny though, cause she says that when I leave I will be more like a Latin American than a Spaniard. But I hope to be a mixture of both. In fact one of the students asked me yesterday what my favorite food was, and I said Mexican (I miss Boca Grande and a carnitas burrito) yet then tried to get them to laugh or respond because I said oh when I leave here though hopefully will say Spanish food! They needed the teacher to rephrase it for me in Spanish and I got a good response.
I am often surprised by the mixture of cultures here in Madrid. There are a ton of Chinese people and a bunch of Spanish people are white as white and blonde hair, which kinda breaks the stereotype of what a Spaniard should look like. But its all a part of living in a new place.
I should go now cause I should probably do something productive today, but please people call me today, for those people I have been desperately trying to speak with, and anyone else too.

A much better day

Today I felt much more comfortable with the students. My first class, a second grade group, did fantastically. We reviewed the parts of the body, such as arm, elbow, wrist, torso, and such. Then once we felt comfortable we cut out parts of the body to make our own people. The students were able to identify them but the difficult part was for them to choose between two images. The point was that the paper had pictures of two people, a chubby boy, and a skinny girl. I tried to get the students to make funny looking people using different parts, but they simply copied what I did. I am excited to continue with them tomorrow. We ran out of time to paste them onto a sheet of paper but we will do that tomorrow. The teacher was really helpful too because she helped me ensure that they were understanding the directions, by asking one student at a time what to do. Now granted they responded to her in Spanish but at least they knew what to do.
The next class was a first grade class, which I knew would be tough to keep their attention. However, it was much harder than I thought because their teacher was absent, and therefore, random teachers would come in to cover the class. I was left by myself for a while, and I didn't even know half the students names. I tried to read them a story about colors, but they could only identify the colors and did not get that I was trying to get them to solicit different things with that color. Eventually I let them go back to their seats and they had to draw an object that was red, such as a sweater or an apple. It worked but I think my expectations for them are too high. As a told one of the English teachers, that I am used to having students follow a mini lesson and then complete a task. However, with the younger children, to do all that in half an hour is a lot. Which I guess I need to keep in mind for the future. I am making my way though.
Gina already has me booked up for the weekend, having lunch with friends and her friends are coming over to play Monopoly. Now Jill you have to give me some pointers, I know you are very competitive with this game, so you gotta help me. Then she has invited me to meet her family on Sunday, but I think I am going to Santis house. But her family sounds a bit crazy, to which she can attest to also. Well just have to take a rain check. No worries though.
Well that's all for now. Hey and write me back peeps!! I miss talking to you all. This is our message board, so use it!

The first day jitters

Hey Folks,
Today was my first real day with the students, and it was TOUGH! I had an idea for what I was going to do with the kids, but when I got to class, I could tell that they were not going to be able to play the game. It was a bit of a disaster...
But I tried my best and the teacher was not upset. We simply reviewed different shapes, and where you find them in the classroom, or outside. The triangle was the hardest for them, which I kinda knew ahead of time, but they were able to come up with a few.
The most challenging part is that the school has limited materials, and are giving us the freedom to do what we want. Now some may say that's great, but I need a starting place before i can go off and do my own thing with them. Plus its tough because of spacial relations. These children stay in their seats for most of the day and don't get to move around. In the states (as your now called) we have a rug and a general meeting place for the community but here its just these huge tables. The kids don't even have proper desks to keep their things in. But enough complaining, i guess...
After school I went with Connie, the girl I am working with at the school, to an English bookstore and found some easy word books about colors and other words. Can anyone say, Richard Scary??
It was funny though cause it was like a step back in time, to see all these children's books we loved as children covered with dust in the basement of this creaky building. We kept saying, Oh, I LOVE that book, or we could remember certain series from TV or whatever. I feel a bit better about where to start now, but its going to be a long road for the month of Sept, which is almost over, if you haven't noticed!!
It was great to talk to many of you on the phone last night, others, though.... we need to talk more!!! Phone cards are not that expensive and once I get my land line connection on Thursday (plus a phone) it will be much cheaper to call me there than my cell, but that doesn't mean you cant call.
Listen I gotta bounce...
I am fending for myself for dinner tonight, Gina is working late and cant cook for me
(I feel very spoiled, but I have already offered to make her something tomorrow or Thursday (I was thinking Hoisin Chicken??) Any other suggestions?
Catch you later...

The ideal class

Well today I finally started my teaching. I am working at the Fuentelarreyna school with students between the ages of 6-8 yrs old. Now as some of you know I have not had too much exposure to the six and seven year olds, but I am excited to start. Now not to bag on BPS or anything, but already it was soo evident that the students know how to act and what is expected of them within the class, and not to mention that school just started hardly a week ago. As a side note please excuse any spelling errors or weird phrases as I sometimes transfer phrases from Spanish to English which sounds archaic (sp?).
Anyway... onto the important stuff...
The classes
So... I have NINE classes that I will be working with for thirty or forty five mins each week. Now I don't know about you but that's a lot of kids to deal with, but I guess for you high school teachers, that's not too bad. The students were so excited to see me, yet its easy to see that many of them lack the vocabulary just to ask questions. For the older students I told them to think of 4 or five questions to ask me next time I see them to give them time to absorb the information.
Now the hardest part of all this is... that I can not let them know I speak Spanish! Now yes its going to be very helpful if they don't know I speak Spanish, but really really hard for me because I can not help them find the word in English. Even over the course of the day today I found myself holding back a lot to not spoil the illusion. The littlest kids are sooo cute! It reminds me of Maddie and Sophie, our old neighbors, when they were little.
The Teachers
They are all very nice but having to work with so many may be a challenge to accommodate styles between the two of us. I can already tell who will be really influential and those that I will just be a colleague. But again am anxious to see what they think of my teaching.
As a side note, if anyone has any ideas for little nursery rhymes or songs that I can use with the kids, I welcome all advice you want to provide. The school does not have many materials, so I have to come up with a lot on my own, which is where you all come in...
Any Questions? Please let me know what else to include in these entries cause its hard to write everything down.
I gotta run and begin planning for tomorrow and the rest of the week.
And the best news is that I will receive access to Internet on Thursday!! Whoo Hoo!!