Well, here I am, sweating to death in my 90 degree apartment and being attacked by moths. It seems like summer is finally here and I know I wished for it, but it is HOT! I can't even imagine what it will be like by August (luckily I'll be home in the US for the most part)!
This year has flown by. I think in retrospect I've learned a lot, and I've definitely seen a lot while traveling! It hasn't been perfect, but its been a learning experience in many ways. I've taught classes of 30+ high schoolers alone (and in a language they don't understand...), I've lived with roommates from other countries and for the first time with a boyfriend, I've become an even better cook (haha), improved my Spanish, and I will now learn to sleep without air conditioning...
But there have been challenges. My job is difficult because I don't think they are using me the way they should be. I think I may have started out too eager and took on too much responsibility. It will be up to me next year to be more assertive, which is something I'm still struggling with. It's also challenging living in a different culture. There are so many little things that the people do here that drive me (and many of my friends) absolutely crazy!
For example: not saying excuse me/please/thank you, smoking everywhere, rude service in restaurants, malls, etc., children who have no interest in learning nor respect for their teachers, teachers who have no interest in teaching and are very passive in the classroom, being called crazy for eating eggs in the morning/lentils or garbanzos at night/considering yogurt and fruit snacks and NOT dessert, cell phones that are prohibitively expensive to talk on, doctors offices being closed between 1 and 5:30... and the list goes on. Taken individually they are trivial, even funny, but there are days when the things just pile up and the US looks like heaven. Though I know as soon as any of us return it'll be the opposite effect; "the grass is always greener on the other side."
Despite being busy this year I feel lazy. I miss being in school, studying something, or taking some sort of class. Next year I need to work less, and enjoy more. Although the money this year enabled me to travel and buy clothes etc. I think I'll be happier overall doing some more things for myself. Possible options for next year so far are: a Master's, Portuguese classes, dance classes...
The past 2 months have been pretty full. There was Seville's Fair and also one in El Puerto de Santa Maria where Ale lives. I went to both dressed in a beautiful purple and white flamenco dress. I couldn't dance Sevillanas, but at least I looked the part!
Here are some pictures to show you what I've been up to lately:
Beautiful Budapest
Hand Painted Easter Eggs
A View of Prague
Semana Santa Procession (Easter Week)
The Body of Christ
The Weekend in Gorgeous Granada
Qué Bonita!
The First Night of the Feria de Sevilla (Seville Fair)
American Gitanas
Ale's House Before the Feria de El Puerto
