Well after 10 buses and 2 plane rides, I've made it back from Barcelona safe and sound. But before I jump into my weekend in Barcelona I would like to rewind for a minute. I did not get a chance to blog last week because I was so busy getting ready for the trip and with school and whatnot. But I had a very memorable weekend last weekend and It should not be over looked. I had my first visitor to Huelva! The wonderful Julia Shultz (a fellow Gustie who is also here in Spain student teaching) made the trip over to the Huelv to spend the weekend with me. It was so amazing to see a familiar face and to shower her around what is truly becoming my city. We spend the weekend catching up, having coffee, walking around the centro, eating tapas and of course going out Spanish style. It was a great weekend and I'm so happy I got to see her while she is in Spain. That whole week was just a great one in general. I tutor one of the teachers at my school and the hour we spend talking in English she showed me the map of the bus lines here in Huelva and which ones are the good ones, and closest ones to my house and the places I need to go (like places I tutor, the center, the bus station ext.) So I learned, and successfully took the bus last week! It is not necessarily faster, but my feet sure are a lot happier. School has continued to be great. I'm much happier being a regular teacher's assistant and not teaching my own classes. I got to go to on a field trip to the movies with my class and help out with the Christmas play some more. It was a great week/weekend.
Now to Barcelona. I was a bit nervous at the start of my trip. I've never had to travel alone alone to anywhere before, with really just an idea of how to get where I needed to be. Our group was going to stay in Barcelona together, but we all had to get there on my own. I had to get to Sevilla and then to the airport and then to the apartment we were staying on my own. Well let me just say, traveling here is possible, but it is not quick and convenient. I took a bus from my piso to the bus station, from Huelva to Sevilla, from the bus station in Sevilla to another stop in Sevilla. From there I had to take the airport bus to the airport to get my flight. I was proud I made it successfully with time to spare. Then I flew on an air plane where we were packed on there like pickles, it will catch on, (thank you to anyone who knows that reference) and hour and a half to Barcelona. Seriously if you thought regular American Airline planes were bad just try flying some the airlines over here. You literally have zero room, the seats are so close together. But I made it so no worries. Then I had to take another bus from the airport to a stop in Barce where I finally met up with the rest of the group and went to the apartment we would be staying at. 5 buses in total, and one flight. However the whole hassle was worth it. Barcelona is an amazing city! I was there when I was 16 but remember almost nothing about it, except the beach which of course was not an option this time of year. We spent 2 full days walking around and seeing everything we could see. We saw lots of Gaudi architecture (parks, buildings ext.), La Sagrada Familia, La Rambla, and the Gothic district. We walked to the Cathedral, the port and the Olympic stadium. We ate delicious tapas, drank sangria and our favorite of all, the famous grofres with helado, or waffles and ice cream. They were delicious! And the one of the coolest things by far was the the light fountain. At night there is a light show played to music and it is absolutely spectacular. It is in front of this beautiful cathedral looking building, which also has beautifully lit waterfalls cascading down the front. And the best part is, they have escalators you can take to the top. The architecture of this city is truly amazing, unlike anything I've ever seen before. Apart for the amazing city I got to see a good friend of mine, Cameron Smith. A friendship that started in Chile and has lasted through almost 2 and half years and 3 different continents. It was really great to see him again, along with meet other new friends. It truly was a wonderful weekend. But like any great trip it goes too fast and you always want more time. But this morning I had to start the bus, plane, bus process all over again. So I headed back home and like I said, 10 buses and 2 plane rides later here I am, safe and sound. Enjoying the comfort of my couch and letting my feet rest. It was quite the adventure and I must say I'm proud of myself for figuring it all out and am excited for my next traveling adventure. Hope everyone had a Happy Thanksgiving, I missed you all (and the food) so very much. Until next time, lots of love.
Katie
Sunday, November 28, 2010
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Hugs and hellos
After my work week last week, I think anything would have been a step forward. My mom told me that my last blog entry was depressing, as a mother and as a teacher. Well don't worry mom, this week was 10 times better. The sick teacher is was finally back at our school! This was indeed good news, not just for me but for the other teachers who have been running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to fill in her shoes. Like I mentioned, there are only about 13 or 14 teachers at the school, so when one is missing it leaves a considerable void in the staff. But she was back and all of our lives resumed a somewhat normal pace and routine. My first class Monday mornings is with the 4 year olds. With all the switching around I have not been teaching then for the last 3 Mondays. So as I walked into the classroom for English time I was warmly greeted with hugs and "seño!!!!!!!!" (means teacher). I gotta say, it was a wonderful way to start my week. I got a similar reaction from the 1st graders, who I also hadn't seen in 3 weeks due to the teacher shuffle we had been playing. Despite the rainy weather we were having, it was a wonderful day. The rest of the week was equally as nice. The teacher that is finally back is doing a play with the 3rd graders about Mary and Joseph (yes they can do a biblical play in a public school here) and it is going to be in English and in Spanish, so I get to help out with that. And the rest of my teaching this week consisted of me actually just being a teachers assistant. It was a breath of fresh air after flying by the seat of my pants the last two weeks in school. One thing I do miss though, when the teacher was gone I got to teach English classes instead of Bilingual classes, and the sometimes the Bilingual classes are a challenge. The 5th graders are learning about vertabrate and invertebrate animals. Well I am mostly there to help with pronouncing the names of the different animals. Well one type of invertabrate is mollusc. The plural is mulluscs. Now just say this word out loud to yourself. Then imagine a group of students who don't speak English try to pronounce it. It was quite comical. And the 6th graders are starting to learn the muscles. So the teacher hands me the work sheet and has me read the names of the muscles. Well i'm reading a long and get to the sternocleidomastoid. Yes, I had to stop and struggle through that one, it would have been embarrassing but something my dad taught me long ago was that you always need to be able to laugh at yourself, makes things much easier. So the kids got a good laugh and so did I. I mean come on! That word is ridiculous.
Aside from my lovely week of teaching no exciting adventures to tell. I've been going out a bit more with some friends I met. But going out Spanish style is a lot more exhausting. It's not like being home from Patty's at 1:30 or 2. No no, thats when we go out to the bars. I literally have to mentally prepare myself each weekend. But it has been a lot of fun. I realized something though on Saturday as I sat and had cafe con leche with my friend Mary Beth. It was gorgeous sunny saturday afternoon, I had slept in and just gone to get lunch with a few friends. Mary Beth and then walked to get a cafe. As I was sitting outside in the sun I realized how nice it was to not have to worry about anything. I could sit there and have cafe all afternoon and it would be totally fine. For as long as I can remember with being in school there is always something in the back of your mind to worry about. It was so nice to just sit there and literally for this moment in time not have a care in the world. It is such a different world not being in school. Even on weekends when you have free time you have to worry about that test on monday, or that paper thats due, but I don't have that at all. And aside from small lesson plans I have a job that doesn't require a whole lot of outside work. It just really hit me how completely free I am here, to do pretty much whatever I want. I hope this isn't coming off in a way that makes it seem like I'm living and easy stress free life, things are challenging and overwhelming a lot of the time. But that freedom, to be able to take the time to do what I want to do is something I have not experienced before. I can go to the gym and stay for 2 hours or more, because I have the time. I can sit in the aqua massage area for 30 minutes if I want to, and I pondered this freedom as I did that very thing (don't worry I swam laps first.) Now what I need to work on is not feeling guilty about that free time. Before I would always feel like I should be working on something, even when I wasn't. I have to learn to enjoy the freeness and the ability to just be. I feel like it may be something that won't happen again in my life. Sorry this blog went all inner monologue, but sometimes there aren't great adventures to share, but just the simple every day happenings that I think are the difference between being a traveler, and actually living somewhere. I have to remember that as continue to try and make this place feel like home.
Enjoy the snow Minnesota ;)
Katie
Aside from my lovely week of teaching no exciting adventures to tell. I've been going out a bit more with some friends I met. But going out Spanish style is a lot more exhausting. It's not like being home from Patty's at 1:30 or 2. No no, thats when we go out to the bars. I literally have to mentally prepare myself each weekend. But it has been a lot of fun. I realized something though on Saturday as I sat and had cafe con leche with my friend Mary Beth. It was gorgeous sunny saturday afternoon, I had slept in and just gone to get lunch with a few friends. Mary Beth and then walked to get a cafe. As I was sitting outside in the sun I realized how nice it was to not have to worry about anything. I could sit there and have cafe all afternoon and it would be totally fine. For as long as I can remember with being in school there is always something in the back of your mind to worry about. It was so nice to just sit there and literally for this moment in time not have a care in the world. It is such a different world not being in school. Even on weekends when you have free time you have to worry about that test on monday, or that paper thats due, but I don't have that at all. And aside from small lesson plans I have a job that doesn't require a whole lot of outside work. It just really hit me how completely free I am here, to do pretty much whatever I want. I hope this isn't coming off in a way that makes it seem like I'm living and easy stress free life, things are challenging and overwhelming a lot of the time. But that freedom, to be able to take the time to do what I want to do is something I have not experienced before. I can go to the gym and stay for 2 hours or more, because I have the time. I can sit in the aqua massage area for 30 minutes if I want to, and I pondered this freedom as I did that very thing (don't worry I swam laps first.) Now what I need to work on is not feeling guilty about that free time. Before I would always feel like I should be working on something, even when I wasn't. I have to learn to enjoy the freeness and the ability to just be. I feel like it may be something that won't happen again in my life. Sorry this blog went all inner monologue, but sometimes there aren't great adventures to share, but just the simple every day happenings that I think are the difference between being a traveler, and actually living somewhere. I have to remember that as continue to try and make this place feel like home.
Enjoy the snow Minnesota ;)
Katie
Friday, November 5, 2010
The adventure continues
I realize it has been a while since my last post, and that would be, you guessed it, STILL no internet. I will now explain our situation to everyone who my lack of internet has effected. We have been to every phone store in Huelva and we get the same response at each. To get internet strong enough to use skype we need to sign at least a 12 month contract for wifi. This not being our best option we have continued our search. We also tried reaching out to our landlord. Asking him if he would perhaps sign the contract, then he can have wireless in the piso for the next people who move in. But he lives an hour outside the city and refused to come in. He is not a very good landlord, the window in our bathroom will not close either. I created a makeshift fix with the rope that was sent in my package (thanks dad!) We had internet last month because we bough the portable internet you plug into you USB. It worked pretty well for skype at first, but then we used up all the megabites, or whatever the computer lingo is, I don't really understand it. So after our month was up we went to recharge it and of course the company was having problems and we couldn't. Then my roommate heard about this company that you could set up wifi by paying monthly, so she called them and they are scheduled to come next week to install it, but it's Spain so I give it 2-3 weeks before we actually have it working. In the mean time I have been going to a friend's house and the library to use internet, and occasionally I can steal a tiny bar from the neighbors. So thats the deal, hopefully it will be solved soon, so just bare with me.
Anyways school continues to go fairly well. I say fairly because I had a rough day this past Wednesday. One of the bilingual teachers at our school has been sick for the last 2 1/2 weeks, and I've been filling it for her in a sense for that time. I'm not allowed to be alone with the kids, so their teacher is in the classroom with us, but literally just sits in the back and does nothing. So I am basically another teacher at this school. I'm with the 6th graders often and I have a group of boys that will not listen to me. Wednesday was the worst. They kept asking me to go to the bathroom every 10 seconds and I would say no but they wouldn't back down. And they just talk and talk and talk. It's because they don't understand what we are doing and most of them forget their work book everyday. And the teacher just sits there and does nothing but watch me struggle. Same with the 3rd graders, after every single thing we do the class turns to caos, and the teacher just watches me attempt, without success, to get them to settle down. It was awful. I've been realizing now the reasons I never want to be a teacher. Since i've worked with kids so much people often ask me why I don't want to be a teacher. Well now I know. When I've worked with kids it's always been in a fun relaxed setting. I can be their friend, we can have fun, joke around, be silly. But that can't happen in a class room. I'm no good at discipline. That group of 6th grade boys would be my favorite if this was Park and Rec. I don't stand up well as an authority figure. Maybe I started out too soft and now they think I'm a push over, but it's just not my style to be tough on kids. I'm no good at it, and I don't enjoy it. So this whole teaching thing as been such a learning experience for me. I really have to learn how interact differently with the kids.
Last weekend was Halloween, and while it is not a Spanish holiday, some do celebrate it. It's funny though because in the states kids dress up and anything. A cheerleader, mickey mouse, a football player, here all costumes are Halloween related. Everyone is either a ghost or witch or vampire ext. I went out true Spanish style and didn't get home until it was light outside. It was a fun night. Other than that life continues to chug along. I have somewhat of a routine in my life now which is nice. The weather continues to be great. I've been in short sleeves all week. Well that is all for now, stay warm everyone in Minnesota, I miss you!
Un besito
Katie
Anyways school continues to go fairly well. I say fairly because I had a rough day this past Wednesday. One of the bilingual teachers at our school has been sick for the last 2 1/2 weeks, and I've been filling it for her in a sense for that time. I'm not allowed to be alone with the kids, so their teacher is in the classroom with us, but literally just sits in the back and does nothing. So I am basically another teacher at this school. I'm with the 6th graders often and I have a group of boys that will not listen to me. Wednesday was the worst. They kept asking me to go to the bathroom every 10 seconds and I would say no but they wouldn't back down. And they just talk and talk and talk. It's because they don't understand what we are doing and most of them forget their work book everyday. And the teacher just sits there and does nothing but watch me struggle. Same with the 3rd graders, after every single thing we do the class turns to caos, and the teacher just watches me attempt, without success, to get them to settle down. It was awful. I've been realizing now the reasons I never want to be a teacher. Since i've worked with kids so much people often ask me why I don't want to be a teacher. Well now I know. When I've worked with kids it's always been in a fun relaxed setting. I can be their friend, we can have fun, joke around, be silly. But that can't happen in a class room. I'm no good at discipline. That group of 6th grade boys would be my favorite if this was Park and Rec. I don't stand up well as an authority figure. Maybe I started out too soft and now they think I'm a push over, but it's just not my style to be tough on kids. I'm no good at it, and I don't enjoy it. So this whole teaching thing as been such a learning experience for me. I really have to learn how interact differently with the kids.
Last weekend was Halloween, and while it is not a Spanish holiday, some do celebrate it. It's funny though because in the states kids dress up and anything. A cheerleader, mickey mouse, a football player, here all costumes are Halloween related. Everyone is either a ghost or witch or vampire ext. I went out true Spanish style and didn't get home until it was light outside. It was a fun night. Other than that life continues to chug along. I have somewhat of a routine in my life now which is nice. The weather continues to be great. I've been in short sleeves all week. Well that is all for now, stay warm everyone in Minnesota, I miss you!
Un besito
Katie
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