~Photo Shoot~

A Typical Spanish Breakfast: Toast with Crushed Tomato, Ham, and Olive Oil

The Prison-like Entrance to my School

Cooking for 40

Maggie and her Turkey

Pumpkin Pie!

Out for the Night with Girlfriends

Visiting the Alcazar

Lee's Visit

Time Doesn't Stand Still...

December 1st. I really can't believe it. Maybe its because up until a week or two ago I still didn't need a winter jacket... or because I never saw the Fall foliage, celebrated my sister's birthday, or started to complain constantly about the cold. Well, now its officially December here and also definitely winter. I've been freezing, although the official high and low are around 62 and 40 each day, which anyone from Massachusetts would scoff at. Yet the houses here are not very prepared for winter, and thus my house is freezing! Although I have a heater in my room, it makes a lot of noise and is supposedly very expensive to use. So I'll probably end up buying some sort of small electric heater...

My life here so far has felt a bit like a tornado... moving so quickly I can barely keep up with it. Although I finally feel like I'm finding a bit of balance, I know that in two weeks my life will be even crazier travelling to and from the US and then possibly to the North of Spain (Oviedo) for New Year's. My goals for this month and the new year are to relax a bit, be more organized, and get into more of a routine. I also need to be more aggressive with certain people here that have been adding stress to my life!

So, what have I been doing? Well, first of all, work has been exhausting. 12 hours a week sounds like nothing... and it wouldn't be so bad without a commute, but in reality I spend a lot longer here than 12 hours and its 1 hour and 15 minutes door to door for my commute. So, thats 9 hours a week of commuting time, plus 12 hours of work, and 2 hours of breaks (approximately). Basically, my job is around 23 hours plus planning time. And I'm constantly stressed about planning. I have so many different levels and groups and its difficult to plan activities that I can use for multiple classes. Yet I also don't want to plan 9 different classes a week because that would be impossible! And, in addition to planning the High School classes, I always have to plan for my private students as well. So, I need to work on a system because right now I'm constantly stressed!

I also do a lot more work in my High School than any of my friends. I wouldn't trade my job for a better one in the US, but I still wish I was getting a little more help from my school. I need to confront my boss about this eventually, but I hate to ever sound like I'm complaining...everyone who knows me knows that that is my personality...

Other than work, my friend Lee visited me at the beginning of November and I did my best to show him the "authentic" Seville. We went out together at night, went sightseeing a bit, and went to my friend Claudia's birthday party. He tried the best Tapas, saw Flamenco, and one of the most beautiful Cathedrals!

Last week I spent in grocery stores and in my kitchen preparing for our Expatriate Thanksgiving feast/party. My friend Briana hosted it because she has a big apartment and us American girls cooked. It was supposed to be a potluck, but I of course had to make like 50 things...I couldn't help myself. I ended up spending a lot of $$ but I think it was worth it to get everyone together and introduce Spaniards and other foreigners to my FAVORITE holiday!

I made mashed pumpkin, mashed sweet potato, mashed potatoes, apple sauce, gravy and 2 pumpkin pies (thanks Mom!) a chocolate cream pie and two apple crisps. I started cooking/preparing on Wednesday (the feast was Saturday) with the pie crusts and apple sauce. On Friday, Briana and Caitlyn came over and helped me with the 5 pies (Thank God). I had already made the mashed squash and sweet potato during the day. On Saturday morning I woke up exhausted because I stupidly was talked into going out for "a little while" which turned into 6am. I headed over to Briana's because I had promised to be there to help get the Turkey in the oven.

A small group of us googled and youtubed how to make a turkey, where to stick in the meat thermometer, how to tie it together...etc. What would we do in today's world without google and youtube?

Once it was in the oven, we got coffee together and then I stole one of the girls back to my house so that she could help me carry everything over. We got back there, and I soon started on the mashed potatoes. Around 4:00 people began to arrive and we planned to eat around 6:00. Unfortunately, I began drinking wine around 4:00 and after that things get a bit blurry. My biggest regret is not eating much of all the amazing food I (and others) worked so hard to make! My problem with alcohol is that on an empty stomach it affects me a lot (of course) but when I drink after eating I have an EXTREMELY high tolerance. So I sometimes forget that I can't drink if I haven't eaten much!

Well, needless to say I learned an important lesson and will consciously abstain from alcohol next Thanksgiving! But still the party was fun and I supposedly wasn't the only one who had a bit too much. (Though I was the only one who accidently poured Turkey fat on one of the apple crisps... thinking it was sugar???) The girls informed the vegetarians at the party that they shouldn't eat that one...

So now, Thanksgiving is over and I somewhat have my life back. Unfortunately, I have a lot of work and planning to do this week, have to figure out my New Year's plans, buy a winter coat and Christmas presents, and start preparing to get home for Xmas! I'll be on a bus to Madrid in 20 days! I'm really just hoping to make it homw with no major problems...

This weekend I have a 5 day holiday! I really need it. I am definitely planning to get out of Seville (for the 1st time in 2 months!!!) but I'm not sure where I'll go yet. After Xmas I also have some travel plans:

New Year's: Oviedo
January: Morocco
End of January: Maybe Italy (but I doubt it as I can't miss work...)
February: Brussels and Amsterdam
March: Berlin (hopefully to visit Vanessa)
May: Not sure yet but I have vacation time
June: Will be here working by giving private classes but no more day job...! So possibly will travel...

So, that's a quick summary of where I've been the past month. Tomorrow I'll post some photos. I'm going to try to update much more often! Besos para todos!!!

Halloween... Spanish Style

I have never really been the biggest fan of Halloween. I mean, of course I loved it as a child, when I undoubtedly put my mother through hours of sewing to make sure I had a good costume and went trick-or-treating on Skyline Drive until my pillowcase was full of candy! But as an adult, I haven't really celebrated it, despite its popularity on college campuses across the US! This year, however, surrounded by my Halloween loving American friends and a country that has begun to embrace this American holiday in a familiar, yet at the same time unfamiliar way... I was forced to partake!

It all began two weeks before Halloween when I started giving each of my classes a presentation about the holiday. "What do you know about Halloween?" I would ask, knowing that they have seen it portrayed in countless movies and TV shows... Yet usually my response was blank stares. I had even brought candy from the US to motivate them for this unit, yet since I didn't have enough for all of my classes, and also because these children are insane enough without adding even more sugar to their diet, I decided to keep it at home for now!

So I finally would drag out of them their preconceptions about dressing up, trick or treating and Halloween candy. Despite my efforts, they cannot and will not understand 3 key elements.

1. Costume does not mean Custom. In Spanish the word for Costume is Disfraz and for Custom is Costumbre. So despite saying multiple times that a COSTUME is not a COSTUMBRE… they didn’t get it.

2. Halloween costumes are not meant to be only scary! They think that all Halloween costumes should be bloody and gory and here they only dress as witches, vampires, goblins…etc.
3. We call it CANDY, not SWEETS! Every time I would show a picture of Halloween candy and ask what it was they would shout “sweets, sweets!” I would respond, “We call it candy, not sweets!” Yet this week they are still saying sweets! Grr…

Other than giving my presentation for two weeks I also went to a pumpkin carving party at my friend Kelly’s house that was really fun! The best was Meg’s Spanish boyfriend who couldn’t find a pumpkin, so carved a watermelon, and instead of the usual jack-o-lantern face he managed to carve an intricate bull!

Finally, on Halloween, despite being very sick (hence why this blog has hardly been updated) I went to Briana’s Halloween party. The party started at 11, and at about 6pm I dragged myself out of bed and across the street to the closest “Chino”.

Sidenote: Chino means Chinese in Spanish and is used to refer to any store owned by Asian people that sells inexpensive products that are usually made in China! Kind of like super dollar stores only things can cost way more than a dollar!

So, at the store I looked through possible costume options. Cowgirl? A purple wig? Finally, I saw in the clothing section some Kimonos. Hmm… I thought. This would be very easy, virtually no work to put together! So, I bought a pink Kimono, chopsticks for my hair, and white face paint and decided to be a Geisha. I must admit, I felt a little politically incorrect buying the costume from the Asian lady… but oh well, it worked!

The party was fun and at around 1:30 we all went nearby to dance. Although I was sick, I had a good time!

Next year I will probably bring a costume from the US to make it easier! But despite the fact that no Spaniard understood why we Americans were dressed “funny” or “cute” instead of scary… I will continue to dress up like that forever!

Efficient or Deadly...?

An Apology

Dear Spain,

I'm sorry that I used to insult your cuisine to anyone who would listen. I hope you will understand that my last experience in your country consisted of many Boca-Burger looking patties, the Spanish version of the Hot Pocket, and living off of Kebobs and free tapas...AKA never eating meat outside of the kebob varietal (which some may question as being meat in the first place...)

I had certainly never been to a Spanish steak house, where I could get a very large steak cooked perfectly for 10€...

Nor had I ever been out for tapas that you had to pay for, and thus had only eaten whatever came my way in the bars and taverns of Granada...

And I certainly had never tasted the deliciousness that are cold prawns... although eating the little guys with the shells and feelers etc. was a bit too much for me...

So, although I still think you are a bit strange with your obsession with eggs, cured ham, olives, and fried food in general, I am looking forward to continuing my culinary adventure here and finding more of the hidden treasures you have to offer.

Sincerely, Lauren

Pobrecitas!

What is wrong with this picture? Oh yeah, thats right, the pet store is selling the North American Chipmunk as if it were a mere domesticated hampster... Joder!

My First Day of "Work"

My job has officially started today, and with it the frustrations of working in a different country! I am supposed to work 12 hours a week... this is what the Spanish government pays me 700€/month to do. The girls I have met who have done this before have never had a problem with their schools sticking to this time table. Of course I had to be the exception! As it is, Carmona is 45 minutes from Seville, adding an hour and a half to each day's schedule. But today, my coordinator showed me this week's "provisional" schedule. It was Monday through Thursday usually 8:00-2:30 (with breaks), 12.5 hours of teaching in total but 21 hours spent there, and on Thursday my "break" was from 9:00-1:30... WTF!?

So, I had to say something. If anything this experience will help me be more of an assertive person because I know that is the only way to not be trampled in this country! I told my coordinator that I am only contracted to work 12 hours a week, and that with a half hour break each day my schedule shouldn't exceed 14 hours at the school. She knew this already, but "it was soooo difficult because everyone wants you in their classroom" she told me. She made me a new schedule today that I will start using next week and its much better. Yet it will alternate every week which is annoying! Basically, she will be making me a "Schedule A" and "Schedule B" and I will keep alternating between the two. It also means that I see each class only once every 2 weeks! Personally, I don't see how this is very effective... wouldn't it be better if I saw only a few classes (not 20 different ones like it is now) and that I met with them more frequently?

But oh well. As long as my hours are reasonable, I don't care what they do!

Besides the schedule fiasco, my first day was fine. I introduced myself to the classes and had them "interview" me. Most classes were VERY shy and not very participative. Their level of English is very low. I met with a variety of age groups (from 12-18) and my favorite group was definitely the 12 year olds. I walked into their classroom and was overwhelmed by all the tiny people wearing pink! It must be this year's "color" or maybe it was just because the class was primarily girls... Anyway, these kids were too young to be shy! Although they probably had the lowest level of English they asked the most questions by far. My favorite had to be one little girl asking me:

"Do you like boys brown or clear?" Translation: "Do you prefer brunettes or blonds?"

I told her all like all boys! Haha. One of the hardest parts is having to pretend I don't speak any Spanish. The kids look at me like I'm crazy, and I almost slipped up and translated something many times. Oh well, I'm trying!

Other different things I've noticed so far:

• Like I mentioned previously, students don't switch classes-- teachers do.
• Students call teachers by their first names.
• Although students don't change classes, they must leave the classroom (which is then locked) and wait outside the door until the next teacher comes, then they reenter (pointless?)
• The classroom door is ALWAYS locked from the inside. Anyone who needs to get in knocks (maybe a good idea... Columbine etc.)
• The school itself is very secure. Its surrounded by tall, locked gates and the front (and only) entrance requires you to be buzzed in by security. (This is true of all Spanish Public Schools, not just mine!)
• The bell between classes is not a bell, but rather the most earsplitting siren noise I've ever heard.
• Students don't get a lunch break, but they do get a breakfast/snack break at 11:30-12:00. Lunch is served at home after they get out around 3:00.
• Teachers don't dress up AT ALL for school. They wear jeans and T-shirts, flip flops, converse sneakers, etc.
• Most teachers go to the teacher's lounge between classes or during free periods. Its a very social place since teachers don't have their own classrooms!

Well, that was my first day. We'll see how the next 120-something go...!