9 things I will miss about Spain

1. The views
Whether its the view from my bedroom window, the view from the hill that the school sits on, or the numerous views I've seen while traveling Spain, this place is full of amazing sights and landscapes.  From my bedroom window I can see for miles, al the way to the Mediterranean Sea.  The Mediterranean Sea!!!! There are also mountains on mountains on mountains in Almeria province, which I have gotten to see numerous times while going on field trips; they're amazing.

2. School food
Now to all of you Americans reading this that probably seems pretty weird, but if you're thinking that go back an read my post about photographing food in Spain.  Although sometimes we complain, the school's food is SO GOOD. Its fresh.  Its got a variety.  Its just fantastic really, aside from the black pudding soup.... Bleh.

3.  Testing my Spanish knowledge
I'm one of those people who likes to plan out what I'm going to say, no matter if its in English or Spanish, but especially in Spanish.  Living and interacting in real time (lol) is a different story, and it really tests your ability to conjugate verbs and pull vocabulary out of your extensive internal dictionary.  I'm happy to say I have often been impressed with myself, but there have also been times where a few seconds after I say something I'm kicking myself because I know I got it wrong.

4. Going into work at 12:45
Why can't all life work like this? I've had the nicest mornings, eating my breakfast, sipping my coffee, listening to podcasts, talking with Jesus, reading... I'm really going to miss so much free time in the morning to just do what I want for a few hours before my responsibilities begin.

5. Having my groceries delivered
I know, I know, I'm starting to sound a little spoiled.  Yes, we have our groceries brought to us, however, when you know the reasoning its very understandable.  We live about a twenty minute walk from the nearest grocery store.  On top of that, its either a very hilly walk or a walk along the main road in Huercal.  So it would be impractical to get our food every week walking back and forth.

6.  Tapas
Don't even try to say we have tapas in the US... we don't.  In Spain, tapas are small dishes that you get FOR FREE with your drink.  You can very easily make a meal out of a few of them and eat for less than ten euro.  Basically you get a drink and a small plate of food for like two euro, and after three or four you're full.  If you still don't believe me, ask my parents or my brother, Matthew; they were pleasantly surprised at this fact.

7.  Everything included prices
In Spain, and I think all of Europe, what you see on the price tag or the menu is what you pay.  It is a nice change to actually know exactly what you are paying.  You also aren't expected to tip here.  It's a nice change from the US's way of doing things.

8. Minicasas
This has pretty much become my favorite show in Spain.  Alice might say I'm a little obsessed, but I think its really a fantastic show.  I don't know what it is called on American television, but basically they build a tiny house every episode and I love it.  I don't know what I'll do with my Sunday evenings without it.

9. The kids
Of course.  How could I work in a school and not develop a fondness for the children?  Obviously there will be those that I will not miss... sorry not sorry.  I'd be willing to say, though, that I will probably miss a majority of the children I work with.  The creative ones, the babies, the cuties, the geniuses, and the ones who are always talking and playing with me.  Yep, I'll miss them for sure.

In other news, summer has really hit this week.  Today it was 90 degrees while were were at school (with no AC).  

Sad to say I'm currently not feeling quite as jazzed as Kelly and Slater ^ about this heat.  

Ten days till I'm home :D :D :D

9 things I will not miss about Spain

Needless to say this journey has been full of ups and downs.

I am so blessed to have had this experience, and if nothing else it was an incredible journey of personal growth.

There are definitely things I will miss about Spain, but this post is not about that. This post is about what I will not miss.

1. Pilar's boots.
Pilar is our neighbor and some time around Christmas she started wearing boots with a little bit of heel and just about every morning around 9am you can hear her stomping about in her heels.  Back and forth, back and forth.
She also does this thing, early in the morning, when she leaves where she walks until she is passing our flat and then she runs, stomping as loudly as possible.  This is really annoying and it seems to be for the sole purpose of annoying us.  Like, what did we ever do to you, Pilar?

2. Our upstairs neighbors.
From the constant banging and tapping, to the random screams of a child, they will definitely not be missed.  I don't know if this building only chooses to house insane people, but our neighbors have definitely driven me crazy at points. We've also decided that they are carpenters by night... so that's fun.

3. The smell.
Huercal de Almeria just stinks.  I don't know what they are doing wrong, but something is wrong with the sewage here and about 50% of the time this place smells like absolute crap.

4. The milk.
Spain has really weird milk.  And this isn't just from me, who is used to milk that is heavily processed and probably only 1% real milk.  Alice and Aisha agree that the milk here is just off.  It has been kind of good though, because I don't necessarily think people should be drinking cows milk in the first place.

5. No AC.
I have come to realize how much I have taken air conditioning for granted my whole life.  Here there is very little AC.  Specifically in my flat and in the school. No AC. So when you walk everywhere and then you have no AC to relieve you from your constant sweating, you realize how important AC is in your life.

6. How people "wait in line."
I put that in quotes because there is really no such thing as waiting in line here.
For example, when you go into the bank the waiting process just depends on everyone walking in and asking who is last and knowing they are after that person and the next person to come in is after them.  The rest of the world knows that is the basis for starting a line. Spain hasn't quite gotten there yet.  You just stand wherever you want and make sure you know when to go.  This leaves room for a lot of people jumping in line and a lot of confusion in general.
Come on Spain, get it together.

7. Sticking out.
I'm blonde. I have white skin.  Sorry bout it.
In Spain those to facts apparently mean that I automatically give my consent to being stared at, talked about, and yelled at.
People, I'm not stupid, I notice you staring, I notice you whispering in your friend's ear and then looking at me.  If you find me so interesting, come talk to me, because I actually speak Spanish despite my "I'm an entitled English-speaking person" appearance.

8. The local DJ.
One of the more humorous parts of my time here is the mysterious DJ who lives in the complex directly across from ours.  While it has been great hearing his/her washing machine-like beats early on weekend mornings, it will not be missed.  Its been fun and all, but I'm just saying you might not be a very good DJ if half the time I question whether I'm hearing the garage door open, a washing machine, or your music.

9. The poop.
We often refer to Huercal as the wasteland, this is due, largely, in part to the fact that the sidewalks are littered with dog poop.  Not only this, but even the considerate people who bag their dog poop often have their efforts ruined by the fact that if the wind blows, the bags in the trashcans turn inside out and scatter the poop all along the street.


Check in next week to see all the things I will miss. :)

^In honor of Real Madrid winning last night. You're welcome. <3 <3 <3

19 things that working in a school has shown me

With just three weeks left of work at the school, here are some things I have learned:

1. Children should start learning a second language from a very young age.


2. Schools should not be run by business people, it should be run by educators (America you're doing something right).


3. Children should not be in school until 5:30.


4. Three year olds should not be expected to read in a second language.


5. There should not be a ton of expectations for children under 5.


6. Children under five should not be at school for 8 hours.


7. Learning to swim is important.


8. Children should be required to eat all of their food at lunch (this coming from someone who was the pickiest eater as a child).


9.Teachers need breaks, if only for their mental health and the safety of the children.


10. The United States may over diagnose/ over medicate for autism, ADD, and ADHD, but in my personal opinion Spain does not do enough for these disorders.


11. Appearances should not be a top priority of a school.


12. Administrators should not be allowed to speak disrespectfully to their teachers.


13.  Field trips are fun for the children and the teachers, there should always be more field trips.


14. Children should be allowed to have water bottles in class.


15. Schedules are important, do not constantly change them. They also need to be established before the children start school in the fall.


16. Having lunch provided for the teachers every school day is a nice added bonus.


17. School nurses should be a requirement for schools.


18. Teachers get sick too.  This is why you should have people available to be substitute teachers.


19.  At the end of the day, teachers are superheroes.  They do the impossible; they deal with impossible children and manage not to kill them.

Six ways I have adulted in Spain

I guess it is only the obvious next step after graduation.  I had to start adulting sometime, I guess twenty-two is as good a time as any.  Taylor Swift really didn't prepare me for this part.

So here it goes...


1. I signed up for a bank account all by myself.
Now really this isn't that big of a deal but I've had a bank account since I was like 7 so obviously my mom went with me then.  Now I've done it all by myself, not to mention in another language.

2.  I traveled by myself.
Teenager me found this to be a very scary idea, but now that I've traveled a forth of the way around the world, and all around Spain, for the most part by myself, I realize how doable it is.

3. I worked a job that I didn't love, and survived.
Not to say that all adults work jobs they don't love, or that this is what my future holds, but part of becoming an adult is learning from you experiences and sometimes that means working a job you don't love for a little bit.

4. I booked a hotel.
This one is pretty darn adult if you are a traveler in your early twenties.  Hostel life is for the young and thrifty, and that is definitely me.  However, for my trip back and all of the potential stress that includes, I decided it would be worth it to book a hotel and be able to relax a little bit.  (Plus its got a free shuttle to the airport, so all in all it wasn't too much more expensive).

5. I lived far away from my parents and my home.
This was a big one.  Going to school an hour and fifteen minutes away from where you live means you can go home or see your parents pretty much whenever.  So my three years of college living on campus wasn't really too much of a stretch.  Living more than a ten hour plane ride and six time zones away from home is quite a bit different.

6. I learned to appreciate my upbringing and my country.
Us millennials can sometimes get caught up in chasing our wanderlust and complaining about the problems of the world, a good chunk of which are a result of things the US has done. Independence has become part of our identities, whether that be independence from our families, from society, from cultural norms, from the seemingly omnipresent "man," or whatever it may be.  This trip, however, has shown me that no country or culture is perfect.  It has shown me how proud I am to be an American and to have grown up in Salem, VA.  My upbringing shapes who I am just as much as my travels and adventures do.


So with just one month to go, I am learning to find value in the big things and the little things.  I am thanking God for the view from my window and the moments when the children cooperate for even just a second.   Everyday my students are showing their knowledge of English and letting me know that what I have contributed in these last nine months has made a difference.

SEE YOU SOON AMERICAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!

My ranking of Spanish cities

Since I have just gotten back from Granada I have decided to share my opinion on the lovely cities of Spain and give my ranking of the ones that I have spent some time in.



5. Madrid

As Spain's capital, Madrid is probably one of the biggest Spanish destinations for Americans who come to Spain.  I visited Madrid over Christmas break and was there for about three days. In my opinion, Madrid was my least favorite city that I visited in Spain.  Basically it is like New York City without Times Square and Broadway.  Will I was there, it was relatively crowded with people from all over.

I think one of my biggest problems with the city is how unwalkable it is.  I'm a cheap traveler so I pretty much try to walk everywhere I go when I visit a city.  To me it seemed like the main areas of interest were on opposite sides of the city and I wore myself out walking between them.

The pros of the city are the Reina Sofia Museum which is free for a few hours on Sundays (and features Picasso's Guernica) and the Sunday market that has anything and everything.  That plazas are also beautiful and the palace is a must see just for its sheer size.

Overall I think I just expected more from Madrid.  It was nice, and obviously I cannot complain about any of my travels in Spain, but to me it did not offer as much as the other cities I have seen.

4. Almeria

I want to begin with saying that obviously it is hard to compare Almeria to these other big cities that are so famous, but since it is where I have spent the most time, I had to include it.

Almeria is beautiful and it really is a gem that most people don't find.  Almeria has beautiful beaches, an awesome downtown area with lots of shops, and its own "Moorish fortress."  On the weekends I love to just take the bus into Almeria and walk around, maybe get some food, go for a walk along the beach, and just hangout.

I love how walkable Almeria is and it is really beautiful.  It is obviously not a big city, but for me that is kind of a plus; at least in a place where I am spending a lot of time (more than just a visit).
 

3. Barcelona

My first experience in Spain was in Barcelona, I spent a total of three and a half days there.  I was absolutely blown away by the beauty of this city.  From Parc Guell, to Gaudi's buildings, to the Sagrada Familia, to the paseo, to the beach, I was constantly in awe of the beauty in this city.

Although Barcelona is massive the metro is pretty easy to figure out and it is also very walking friendly.  One day I literally walked from a mountain (or hill) to the sea and I was able to walk it with no problem.

I'm willing to admit that Barcelona probably would have a higher rating if I had spent more time there, three days is just not enough for such and incredible city.  I think the best way I can describe this city is vibrant.  All my memories of the city are just full of discovery, warmth, and amazement.

2. Granada

I was blessed enough to be able to visit Granada three times while I have been in Spain.  Even more luckily I managed to see it in the fall, winter, and spring.  Although the city is beautiful no matter what, I recommend the spring because of the smell of the orange trees.

I saw so much in Granada in my visits there.  I hiked to the most beautiful view of the city, rode the tourism train all around the city, lost a few cars there, ate some incredible food, and bought most of my souvenirs here.

This past time I "visited" the Alhambra.  Basically all I saw was a poorly lit portion of the gardens of the Alhambra, but it was beautiful.  Pretty much if you want to see the actual inside of theAlhambra you have to book tickets AT LEAST four months in advance, probably more.  It is also nice to look at rom afar.

This city has so much history to it and with the mix of Muslim and Catholic influence of the architecture, it makes for some pretty awesome sights.

1. Valencia

For those of you who have traveled Spain or read a decent amount about Spain, you may find my number one choice surprising... but if you've visited Valencia, maybe you agree.

Valencia was my unexpected discovery that I just kind of visited because it was relatively close to Madrid.  I visited Valencia over Christmas break for two days.  From the second I arrived I was amazed.

In Valencia my plan of attack was just to wander around and see whatever I stumbled upon.  My overwhelming opinion of Valencia is the absolute gem it is for architecture.  As someone who is relatively interested in architecture, and even considered being and architect at once point, this city stole a special place in my heart.

Once again, the walkability of the city was very good.  One thing I was not willing to walk to was the City of Arts and Sciences, but I was able to rent a bike and had a nice ride down to see the incredible buildings down in this part of Valencia.

Another notable thing in Valencia is the Ceramics Museum, which I just kind of stumbled into and ended up loving.  I am someone who in general does not like museums too much, but this one said ceramics so I wanted to check it out, plus it was free with a student ID.  Never mind the ceramics, the rooms were GORGEOUS.  You just have to see of yourself, because I totally loved it.

And that is that...
Spain is nice to visit, you should do it.
Obviously, if you are considering moving here for ten months I ask you seriously consider what you are getting yourself into, but definitely visit for a little while if you have the chance.

Also, if you happen to get the crazy idea that you want to come see what Huercal de Almeria is about, go check yourself into an asylum. The other day I google image searched Huercal de Almeria... this was the fourth picture that came up:

If that tells you anything...

14 foods that I cannot wait to get back to.

Mom and Dad, prepare the kitchen.

1. Burritos
Basically, Spain has seriously dropped the ball when it comes to Mexican restaurants. Almeria has almost zero opportunity for Mexican food, and we all know how not okay that is for me.

2. Tacos
I have been able to find Old El Paso taco mix and taco kits, so that has gotten me through, but it's nothing compared to LaCa, Alejandro's, or El Rodeo.

3. Refried beans
To anyone who knows me, this is no surprise. (Haters gunna hate).

4. Veggie burgers
Yeah, I don't know what vegetarians do here.  Veggie burgers are life.

5. Watermelon
So they have "melon" here, but thats kinda like honeydew.

6. Honey bunches of oats and Cheerios
They have a very limited cereal selection here, and I'm not even a huge cereal person to begin with.

7. Sushi
There is sushi, but basically its either hard to find, expensive, or too far away to walk to (no car struggle).

8. Bagels
I have yet to find evidence of a single bagel anywhere in Spain.

9. Doughnuts
Specifically Krispy Kreme, they seem to only have cake doughnuts here, nothing comparable to Krispy Kreme.

10. Waffles
Honestly, I'm not even a huge waffle fan, but the sheer lack of opportunity to have a waffle has really left me longing for a big Belgian waffle in the morning.

11. Lay's baked BBQ chips
The potato chip selection is also quite lacking here.

12. Good apple's
Maybe greenhouses just aren't good for growing apples, but the apples are relatively tasteless here.  They taste like those apples that they have in the Lynchburg College Caf that you can keep in your dorm room for three months and they will never go bad... yeah, that bad.

13. Corn tortillas
In Costa Rica I acquired a love for corn tortillas, and they became a staple in my pantry in college, but Spain hasn't quite caught onto the corn tortilla love (like most other Mexican foods).

14. Grits
Like a true southern girl, I do like me some grits for breakfast.  I can forgive Spain for not having this, of course, because I'm pretty sure grits aren't really prominent in most places.



There are definitely foods that I will miss, however, as I have recently realized, there is no Spanish food that I really, really love.

Less than two months, OH MY GOODNESS!

So today Aisha kindly reminded me that we finish on the 13th of June!!!

Here I had been thinking it was the 15th.

However, I still have to wait around for my final payment on the 15th so that I can close my bank account, but its still two less days I have to work :).

Here in Almeria it is finally starting to warm back up.  We have been stuck in the 60s for what seems like months, but it is slowly creeping up into the 70s and tomorrow supposedly 75 F.

My attitude towards my job at this point is kind of neutral/ positive.  I really do love most of the kids I work with and I have learned to manage my weekly duties as far as classes go.  I, of course, still cannot wait till I am back in the US, but I also realize that God had some very important plans for me here and now I know that He used this place to draw me closer to Him.

In two weeks we have a "puente" so Alice, Aisha, Monica, and I will be going to Granada for a few more days and hopefully to see the Alhambra before leaving Spain.

Although I still do not know what I will be doing once I get back to the US, (*cough, cough* LC get your act together) I am excited to see where God will take me next.

I'm also so ready for Summer in Virginia. I'm ready for baseball games, bonfires, cookouts, the Fourth of July, burritos, sweet tea, margaritas, lightning storms, warm rain storms, driving my car with the windows down, and Blue Moon.  I think summer is the best season to come back to.

Geez, now I'm even more ready to go home.

Welp, soon enough, Spain's not quite finished with me.