Puente en Diciembre

The past four days we had a long weekend thanks to the festival of the immaculate conception in Spain.  So I took advantage of it, but in a different way than the previous long weekend.  

This time I decided to get to know more of Almeria instead of traveling to another city and spending a lot of money.  Well.. I did spend a good amount of money, but anyways...

On Saturday around lunch time, Alice, Aisha and I set out to get the bus to Roquetas de Mar, which is the town right beside Almeria city.  We went there to go to the mall and more specifically a magical lang called Primark.  Apparently this store is something they have in Ireland, but the US has not discovered it yet.  Anyways, its got some good stuff for really great prices.  So we took two buses there and arrived in about an hour or so.  

After going crazy and maybe buying a little too much, we grabbed a lunch from Pans and Company (which is like a really good fast food sandwich place) and then we went to wait for the bus back into Almeria.  We caught the bus and arrived at the station in Almeria soon after and then took the 6 o'clock bus back home.  Thankfully all of our transportation worked out perfectly.

Later on we went to one of our favorite places call Arevacos (even though we are always the only ones there) and had some tapas and drinks.

The next day we lounged around and watched the Grinch.  (Everything is closed on Sundays, so you can't really do much unfortunately.)

On Monday we went back into town to see the Moorish Castle in Almeria called the Alcazaba.  It was really cool to visit, but it was also a super hot day so we were getting so sweaty.  After that we went by the big Cathedral in Almeria and then stopped for a small lunch/ snack.  (I got a simple grilled ham and cheese sandwich, and it was EXACTLY what I needed.)

Then we walked along the Rambla looking at the Christmas market that has been set up and we went into Tiger (another amazing store with cute quirky gifts that America needs to get, but it is also really dangerous because you end up buying a lot of things you don't need).  

Then we went ICE SKATING! Yep, you read correctly, ice skating in Almeria when it was roughly 70 degrees outside.  And, as it turns out, the place is owned by one of the parents of a kid we work with at the school so she gave us 25 extra minutes of skating for free! It was so fun, even though the whole time was was hiding from the ice rink monitor because I snuck in without gloves and apparently thats a requirement here.  

Then we went to the bus station and headed home!

This morning (Tuesday) I took the first bus into Almeria and met up with a girl that I met on couch surfing who wanted to practice English with me.  She was super nice and we spent a good part of the day together drinking coffee and walking by the beach and talking.  Hopefully we will get to hangout more in the future, she invited me to got hiking with her hiking group sometime which is awesome because I'm going through withdrawal.  So yeah, I think I made my first friend outside of school in Spain!

Sorry, I wanted to put more photos in this post, but my computer is being silly.

The end.  School is tomorrow....

Things I want to thank my parents for:

Being away from home and especially working with children has made me realize some things that I have definitely taken for granted for most, if not all, of my life. So mom and dad, this thanksgiving I'm sending a HUGE shoutout to you!

Thank you for having jobs that allowed you to be home for breakfast and/or dinner.

Thank you for having jobs that allowed you to take care of me when I was sick.

Thank you for being the type of parent who would take time to play with me.

Thank you for sending me to public school.

Thank you for bringing me up in church and helping me see the love of Christ.

Thank you for speaking the little bit of Spanish you knew to me, even if it was only "porque no?"

Dad, thank you for those times you randomly picked me up from elementary school just to go to lunch on your break.

Mom, thank you for being on of those moms who volunteered in my class, and for that time you surprised me on the playground at school when you came to help with a class party.

Thank you for giving me two older brothers, who taught me to be tough (kinda) and who played with me... sometimes.

Thank you for driving up to Lynchburg College on Sundays just to go to church with me or to go to lunch.

Thank you for not sticking me in front of a television for the majority of my childhood.

Thank you for supporting me studying abroad and now living abroad even though it meant I would be far away and you'd miss me.

Thank you for getting me braces.

Thank you for always having a dog in the house.

Thank you for selling Fiona to me (my car).

Thank you for cooking meals for me and not feeding me too much fast food.

Thank you for paying for those years and years of dance and competition.

Thank you for coming to all of my dance recitals.

Thank you for showing how to treat others with respect and what it looks like to be treated with respect.

Thank you for raising me to be confident in myself.

Thank you for taking me on vacation almost every summer.

Thank you for coming to visit me for Christmas this year!

Thank you for only throwing me a birthday party every other year. (Because I did get to celebrate, but I was not too spoiled).

Dad, thank you for making me laugh when I was sick, and for when you were just being your weird self.

Thank you for dance parties.

Mom, thank you for packing my lunch EVERY SINLGE DAY of elementary school.

Thank you for taking me to Disney World.

Thank you for being open minded people who like to travel the world just like I do.

Thank you for showing me that it is okay to have more than one job and to work in lots of different types of fields.

Thank you for taking me to the airport when I went to Costa Rica and Spain.

All in all just thank you for being the kinda of parents that I miss so much and that I am so excited to see in December!

Can't wait to Skype later!

Happy Thanksgiving, I love you!

Cool Story Bro

So, earlier I posted about the differences between American children and Spanish children; and I must take back one thing... Spanish children do actually complain about random stupid stuff just like American children do.

I have come to learn this very well from my time watching the four and five year olds on patio.  Often times, when a complaint is absurd I'll just say sorry and wait for them to walk away.  Recently, however, I have taken to just saying stuff in English that they obviously won't understand.  Generally I start with "oh my gosh" and I usually go somewhere like "in the grand scheme of things" or "compared to everything else going on in this world."  Its really a shame that the kids don't understand me, because I find it quite humorous.

Really, though, in the moments when a kids is telling me about their petty problems I just want to say,

So here is my compilation of children's complaints:

(Names have been omitted to save the children some pride... they're also translated from Spanish.)

"______ doesn't want to play dogs with me."

"______ did this (flicking motion) to my book bag."

(In tears) "______ wants to play police with me... but I don't want to play."

(In tears) "_____ won't listen to me when I talk to him."

"Teacher, _____ is screaming like a crazy person."

"______ pushed me on accident." (Clearly not hurt)

....And here is a bonus one from this summer that was actually my favorite ever:

"______ called me a cheese burger."

This is my life.

The end.

Nothing sadder... than being blind in Granada.

Dale limosna, mujer,

que no hay en la vida nada

como la pena de ser

ciego en Granada.

(Give him alms, woman,

for there is nothing sadder in life than being blind in Granada)

-Francisco de Icaza

This weekend I had a four day weekend, so on Monday and Tuesday I decided to go visit Granada, and one thing is for sure, Francisco de Icaza was right.  

On Monday morning I hopped on a bus at 7:30 and headed towards Granada.  When I arrived in Granada I headed straight for the closest stop of a tour bus/train that I had found out about online.  (SHOUT OUT to my Mom and Dad for getting me an international phone plan, because I would never make it anywhere without my data.)  So, for the fantastic price of 12 euro I got a two day pass to ride around on this tour bus and get on and off whenever I wanted.  I rode around until about 11am where I got off at the stop where they were offering a walking tour for free.  To kill some time I ate a Spanish tortilla at a cafe and looked around at some shops. Then at 12pm, two old couple, the tour guide, and I set out on a nice afternoon tour.  I highly recommend walking tour, you just get such good information that you would miss otherwise.  

After that I decided to take the tour bus to the stop that was closest to my hostel and made my way there.  As it turns out the hostel reception wasn't open yet, but luckily one of the volunteers found me and let me in.  So I joined the volunteers in their hangout spot and one of them, who is American, offered to show me around some.  So set out again.  And we walked... and walked.... and walked... for about three of four hours we walked and climbed stairs and hiked up hills.  She ended up taking me to some of the best views of the city and of the surrounding mountains.  

Once we got back to the hostel I relaxed for a bit and got ready to meet some Meddeas people who were kind enough to invited me out to dinner with them.  One of them met me at the hostel and we walked to meet the others.  We ended up eating Mexican and I finally got a BURRITO!  I was very happy to say the least.  So we just talked for hours and then headed back to our "homes."  Then I fell right to sleep.

The next morning I ate breakfast at the hostel and went around to some of the shops.  After finding some great gifts, I headed towards the closest tour bus stop and hopped on to avoid the rain.  Then my flatmates and our friend Ignacio came up for the day so I met them and we walked around and toured some ancient houses and buildings and got something to eat and were back on the road by 5 

(after hunting for the car in the wrong car garage for about 10 minutes).  

Needless to say, this was such a successful trip and I met so many great people in just one day.  Shout out to Hannah and Orla for being so friendly and taking me around with them!  I can't wait to go back and explore more, and also to continue exploring this beautiful country.  

Oh and here are some pictures in case you did't see them on facebook already:

Plaze Nueva

Inside an ancient bath house

The gypsy village

View of Granada from my hike

View from hike

Ancient house in Granada

Beautiful houses along the river

The Alhambra (ancient Muslim castle)

Beautiful streets and buildings

Souvenir market

Alright, thats it for now... I'm off to work!

Hasta luego!

Halloween in Almeria

So yesterday was Halloween, which is a big deal at home and I loved seeing all of the costumes on facebook... but what is it like in Spain?

Well first off, on Friday Aisha, Alice and I went to school dressed up for halloween just for the kids, and they loved it.  I got to tell a cute witch story to the five year old classes, and draw little halloween pictures on their hands, which they loved.  But we were pretty much the biggest deal for halloween at school.

So on Saturday we watched some Halloween movies and loaded up on candy.  Then we got all dressed up and at about 9ish we went to this restaurant near our flat that had a halloween drink special.  While were were walking there we actually saw some kids trick or treating! It broke our hearts because we had candy in the flat to give out, but had already left. So we get there... and we were the only ones.  But its fine, I mean four english girls attract enough attention, this was nothing new, and we actually gave the place some business which was good for them.

After that we went into the city which was having some special event for halloween which is cool, even though we pretty much missed it.  But because of that there were a ton of people dresses up in the bars and we didn't feel so out of place.  However, my head was killing me and no one was really feeling being out so we went home around 1:15... that may sound late, but Spanish people stay out till 6am so it actually was very early.

All in all, I think Halloween would have been fun here if I hadn't had such a bad headache and just felt like crap.  I was disappointed that I had to leave, but it made it better that Aisha, Alice, and Klaudia (our new British friend) were just as ready to leave as I was.


So thats halloween in a small Spanish town for ya.

Tomorrow I am going to Granada, so get ready for some stories and a ton of pictures coming soon!

Hasta luego!

This week's victory

So on Monday I had my appointment for my TIE (Targeta de identificacion de extranjero), or basically what I need to be able to stay in Spain over 90 days.

So I had to go to the bank Monday morning to pay for something that I needed for the TIE application process.  When I get to the bank, there are probably about fifteen people in front of me, and not just any people... about 90% old people.  And I'm sorry, God bless them, but old people are the most unreasonable people you will ever deal with.  So I get in line, figure out who I am behind (because there is no "line" its really just chaos), and then the craziness insues.  Apparently three people thought I said I was the last one, even though I didn't, they just didn't give me the time of day, so then a shouting fight ensues between the lady who was actually behind me and some very rude man.  But in the end I waited about an hour and got to pay my "tasa."  However another fight happened while I was paying cuz this other guy comes out of no where and says he was behind me (which he wasn't) and my good bank friend Fran explained that I was a foreigner (like DUH) and even though I understand and speak Spanish, I don't understand EVERYTHING.

So that was taken care of, phew.

Then Ignacio took me to the NIE office at 5pm and after only a short wait I sit down and the lady looks at my papers and passport and says that they gave me the wrong form and I paid the wrong amount (which I had already figured out but the people out front insisted it was correct).  So she wrote another "tasa" for the additional amount I needed to pay and gave me an appointment for.  And even though I was disappointed, I was grateful that it was only a small problem and I could come back the next day.

So Tuesday morning I go back to the bank.........
But its okay because there were only two other people there, so I paid the additional amount and was on my way.

Then at 4:40 (missing more work :/ ) I was able to get a ride from a guy who works in administration, who was very nice and I was able to practice Spanish with, and we went to the NIE office again.

This time we waited longer, but it wasn't bad. I sat down with one of the workers and after some time he says the fingerprint machine is not working... of course. Luckily is was just his, so I could go to another lady with purple hair and she was very nice and I did my finger prints and now all I have to do is go back on December 2nd at 11am and pick up my TIE!!!!!

Hooray!!!!!

Hooray!!!!

Hoooray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You probably don't understand what a huge victory this is, but I was fully expecting to have to go back multiple times, because that seems to be how Spain works.

Anyways to celebrate I got to go back to the school and help Alice with Halloween decorations and then we went back home and celebrated Aisha's birthday with ice cream, cake, muffins, and American Horror Story Hotel!!!!

That's it.
Oh, also, if you are looking for a Netflix recommendation, I suggest "You're not You" I watched it last night and it is so sad.

The end.

I FOUND FALL!!!

Yes, that's right, I found it... in Almeria!

For those of you who have never experienced seasonal depression, it is real.  Now, I'm sure I am being overly dramatic because it seems to be just as hot in Lynchburg and Salem, but all I want is fall.  Now generally seasonal depression is probably from too much winter, but Spain has definitely made me a believer in four seasons.  It has been hot since we got here and I think it is worsened by the fact that we have no Air Conditioning so it is literally ALWAYS hot.  

So anyways, I found fall.

How? Today I went on a field trip with the five year olds to a place called Abla which is about 50 minutes from Huercal and they have real trees and it is actually fall there.  The purpose of the trip was literally to see the "Autumn leaves." And I can truthfully tell you that was about as much as this field trip consisted of.  

For me a field trip is going somewhere to be educated about something outside of school.  For them field trip is an all day play day away from the school.  It was fun though and it was a nice break for me.  I got to hang out with the teachers while the kids played for like six hours.  There were chestnuts roasting over an open fire (which is apparently a fall thing, but I definitely thought was a Christmas thing).   

Plus I got to eat some nice sandwiches and got to take home like half of the extra food.  

So... short post... but that is what I did today.  Sorry I don't have pictures because today happened to be the day I lost my phone, but don't worry, the lady who found it was DETERMINED to get it back to me, so I have it now.  

Things that make me smile...

Sometimes after a long day when I have had three classes of psico in a row, it is hard for me to think about coming back to school the next day with a smile on my face.  However I am working on staying positive and focusing on the positive, because that is what can make or break a day.  So here is a list of small things throughout the day that make me smile.


1. Talking with one boy during patio.
I may not understand the majority of what he says, but I do know his dad has a friend that speaks only English and basically half of what he says to me is about English.  Today he asked me how to say ballet in English... ballet. I explained to him that it is a French word and he was like "oh, so you know French?" Then I explained to him that no, I don't not know French, but I have taken many years of ballet.  His endless rambling might not be well communicated, but its nice to have the distraction from the chaos around me.

2. One student's goofiness.
Although most of the time it comes out when he is acting out in psico, I can't help but have a soft spot for him. He has had an English nanny for years, so he understands English very well.  So if anything I can use him as an example to the other kids, because they pay attention when he is up front.

3.  One of my five year old class.
Just everything about them. They are the best class that I work with and she is just the sweetest woman.  At the end of the day I basically have my choice of classes to go into until I have to take the 5 year olds down to their parents, but now I only go to her class, because, well they are my favorite.  Today I even brought an English book with me to read to them while they ate their sandwiches and their teacher said "que suerte tenemos que Kendall ha traido un cuento en ingles!" (How lucky are we the Kendall brought an English book to read).

4. "Help, please."
This is what I have taught the boys in the previously stated class to say when they need help tucking in their shirts.  It comes with many variations like, "hop please" and "hell please" and "holp peas" but regardless, they are starting to remember it all on their own which is really cute.

5. Helping one of the five year olds at the end of the day.
He is this goofy kid who always has something going on.  Whether his shoes are on the wrong feet, his shirt is tucked into his underwear, or his pants are on backwards, it is always something.  But he is loving life regardless.  Sometimes he give me big whopping kisses on the cheek, and despite how grubby his little face and hands probably are I can't help but smile.  Today after he used the bathroom and put his sweater on, he ask me to tuck in his shirt and I looked at it and said "mira" (look) because it was already tucked in, he then got this amazed look and said "es magico!" He was absolutely in awe that the shirt was already tucked in, it was hilarious.

6. The endless flow of "teechair" and then a hug.
My second name is really just teacher.  That what I am called most of the time, which is fine because it is generally followed by a hug.

7.  The kids have started calling me Kendall.
Even though teacher is basically my name, the kids sometimes do call me Kendall.  Especially one boy from the five year olds who calls me Kendall just as if we are good friends, its really funny.  And last week, the THREE year olds started calling me Kendall, which is a major accomplishment for them because I don't spend much time with them.  One student even told her mom my name was Kendall.

8. This one very special boy with autism.
Anything he does is precious.  He has autism and he is absolutely the sweetest child.  He is always just doing his own thing and having the time of his life and it makes me so happy.

9. When my problem child is on his good behavior. 
Recently that is few and far between but I just love his hugs and when he holds my hand.  He has something wrong with his bones or something, so he runs really funny, but it is so cute (kinda like watching a puppy run).

10. How the english teacher understands that nothing at the school makes sense.
She is one of the English teachers and she understands our pain and she doesn't hide the fact that she just thinks some things are so dumb.

11.  A different boy with autism.
Even though I rarely get to work with him, we seem to have a special bond.  He also has autism and because of this he has the incredible ability to speak English.  No one has taught him, he just knows it.  He also loves to copy everything you say and that he has heard ever which is cute.  One time he was standing beside me while we waited to get into the pool and I heard him say "find the lowercase b." Completely random but I like he had probably heard it from a toy that was in English.  Anyways, overtime he sees me he just watches everything I do and he will go out of the way to hold my hand.  I think it might have something to do with me being American and my accent is what he is used to hearing from where ever he is hearing his English (probably the TV).

12. Five year olds singing the Tooty Ta.
As I said before, they are obsessed and will just go about singing it.  It makes me happy knowing tat least I have taught them on thing.


I'm sure there are more, but that is all I can think of for now.
Hasta luego.

I came to Spain to photograph food.

It's true.  I am here under the premise of being a language assistant, but I am really here to pursue my dream of being a foodporn photographer.

Lies, just kidding, but it seems to be what I do a lot.  But it was all in preparation from this blog post.

What I have been eating while I have been in Spain.
      A food diary by Kendall Faris.

School Lunch:
So our lunch is provided by the school each school day, and as you can see, they are quite large. 

Above we have a typical potato and broth soup, some melon (the Irish girls said it's literally just called melon), fish, and some weird scrabbled egg and vegetable stuff. This was not my favorite meal. 

Above we have some fried fish, carrot salad, potato and chickpea soup, and pickles vegetables.  This meal was better, but the pickled vegetables were too vinegary for me.

  

Here we have a slice of what supposedly was chicken (but it definitely looks like ham), a mushroom souffle kinda thing, this pasta stuffed with some meat and white sauce, and tomato salad.  Other than the weird chicken/ ham stuff this was a very good meal! That pasta stuff is strange but really good! 

Breakfast:

I make my own breakfast everyday, and yes, mom, I still pretty much eat an egg every morning, but recently I have gotten a little creative.

Here is an egg and avocado sandwich which was delicious.

Here are two pieces of french toast I made with some honey on top.

This is yogurt, granola, and pomegranate.

Here are some fried apple and nutella crepes I made with my daily dose of coffee!

Dinner:

Most of the time dinner is not spectacular because I am so tired from school that day, but here are some highlights.

Mashed potatoes, sautéed carrots, cauliflower, and onions, and pan seared lemon pepper fish.

Homade oven fries and oven cooked lemon pepper fish with a side of orange juice.

Pesto chicken sandwich with lettuce, tomato, onions, and cheese, and a side of mandarin oranges.

Salads:

Some days I try to eat healthy and vegan (or sometimes with chicken).

This is my attempt at homemade salsa, but really its just tomato, onion, and avocado salad.

Fired chicken, garbanzos, lettuce, other miscellaneous leafy greens, cheese, and croutons with a lemon and olive oil dressing.

Lettuce, garbonzos, grapes, walnuts, and avocado with a lemon, pepper, and olive oil dressing. 

So I am eating quite nicely here, it helps that our groceries are provided for and someone goes and picks them up every week.  Since I am at the school for only a fraction of my time I try to cook to stay busy and limit my Netflix time.  I try to avoid the frozen pizzas, but they win out sometimes too.

That's all for my food diary, thanks for reading!

Bye bye!

Patio- Readers Digest Version

Patio: Colegio Agave (the school where I work)'s version of playground.

So you know how people refer to NYC as the concrete jungle? ...Well patio is like that, except a concrete playground.

In case that didn't set off any alarms in your head, let me paint a better picture for you.  The setting is quite literally a patio, with granite and concrete and a small plastic playset with a tunnel and a slide.  This is what the children play on everyday for 45 minutes. Now when I say granite I not only mean this:

I'm actually pretty sure it is the exact same granite as the table in my kitchen at home....

But I mean a few quite sharp corners as well.






There are also stairs and granite benches that are super fun to jump off of.

Its humorous, really, how unsafe it is.  But somehow we survive each day with minimal scrapes and bruises.

Here is a little poem I like to call "Patio"

First its the four year olds.
They come in waving and smiling as they run screaming towards the playset.
Its adorable.
Then this one kid pushes someone.
A boy with glasses makes it to the top of the slide.
Children are pulling up the watering hose.
And then reality sets in.
The next forty-five minutes are filled with "no" and "down" and "pee pee."
Let's see who the boy from before hurt this time.
"Off the stairs."
"... me ha empujado."
Then the four year old teachers arrive.
Clap Clap Clap... "Time to go."

Then come the four year olds.
They are much less excited to see us.
Immediately they begin play fighting.
Climbing up the playset in every wrong way you could imagine.
"Hello tee-chair"
"Off the stairs."
"No (so and so)"
Then I sit for awhile until the next kid falls.
Some kid says something I don't understand.
I reply "sorry."
Leaves are pulled off, dirt is thrown.
Then someone pees on the wall or in the corner.
WHERE DID YOU KIDS COME FROM?
At least they don't get hurt as much at 5.
"Hoy tenemos psico?" (Do we have psico today?)
Clap Clap Clap... "Time to go."


If you think that sounds amusing, please ask me for some stories, I've got plenty.

Aisha and I stay on that patio for an hour and a half. And THAT is why I have such a great tan on my shoulders.

El fin.

P.s. Random revelation I had during patio today...
Why do we say, "Why aren't you going?" or "Why aren't you playing?"
That's literally "Why are not you going?" or "Why are not you playing?"
Kinda backwards... isn't it?
...wait... "is not it?"
That makes no sense either!!!!

K bye.

When a Spaniard tells you you're tan...

YES. Today it happened.  As I was standing downstairs at the school waiting for the parents to come get the kids, Irene, one of the five year old teachers, says "you're brown."  Now keep in mind that Irene is absolutely gorgeous and has a boyfriend that looks like a freaking model... so yeah, I'll trust her opinion.

So take that all you people who ever said I was pale, especially those who have lost their nice summer tan while mine continues to get better haha!

Anyways....

This week has been better.  For psico (the stupid PE class I teach) I took a different approach and stopped waiting for the kids to be quite and just distracted them from their talking.  Plus, these 5 year old LOVE the Tooty Ta.

If you don't know the Tooty Ta, here it is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4gNCR0HVuk

Its like a magic song.  I don't really understand, but they are obsessed.  They sing it while we do it, after we do it, and when I come into their class at the end of the day.  Literal magic. And its a great song for learning body movements in English.
--------------------------------------------------------

OH MY GOODNESS. I haven't shared the best news of all.  My bank account is open and I have a CARD! Thanks to Fran at the bank.  Fran is the best, love him.

If you think your finances are difficult... try going a month with no bank card and minimal money.  I'm sorry that sounded terrible and horribly insensitive, but when you are moving to a brand new country I really don't recommend it.

Granted, I still cannot use my cashier's check because it has yet to process, but I'm still in a much better place than I was last week as far as banking goes.
____________________________________


This weekend we have a THREE DAY WEEKEND! And even though I only have like 2 euro to my name at the moment, I am so excited! Two more days! Hooray!



Hasta luego amigos!

See the potential

This week my phrase to repeat is "see the potential in everyone."
Specifically each child.

I've found that so often I get caught up in thinking "this child is bad so I have to look out for whatever they'll do next to defy me." But recently those "problem" children have been the ones that will humor me when I try to rationalize with them when they do something they aren't supposed to.

Yesterday one boy was using me as a shield from another, so I joined in! And it worked, they continued to play with me for the remainder of patio time (that's basically like recess, just on a large patio). Last week I had a lovely conversation with two boys about how if they continued to climb all the way over the playset, that at some point they would slip and fall and crack their heads open... and surprisingly they listened.

For me the worst part of the day is the hour and a half that I teach three different "psico" classes.  Psico is basically the Spanish preschool version of PE, but in a tiny room that absorbs no noise and is blazing hot.  I teach psico for 3 and 5 year olds all by myself, supposedly only in English, however if I actually spoke zero Spanish to them, nothing would be accomplished.  Usually the first class goes decently and then from there it is a downward spiral. Something about four o'clock just makes children go insane.  It's getting better though, yesterday they were fairly decent. And that's all I ask for. I understand they are children and they aren't going to be quiet and sit and listen to me speak in a different language of half and hour without making a peep.  The thing I hate is that half the time I spend yelling at them trying to get them to be quiet, and they can't even hear me because of the roar of 20 children speaking drowns me out.

Most of them aren't doing it viciously.  I guess. I just need to try to keep my calm and not freak out when they've been talking for ten minutes of the thirty minute class.  Like Alice said, I don't need to be afraid of them.  As long as I keep confident in what I'm doing, they don't have any power over me.


Last night we had parent meetings where basically the five year old teachers just told each of their class's parents what they do each day.  And I was there for nothing more than to be like "this is Kendall from America and she does psico with your children."  I stayed for three extra hours for that.

I did learn that the math they do with these kids is INSANE.  You know those old Chinese math tablet things with the beads (I put a picture below)? They use those, but it's not some ancient way of doing math, its actually incredibly advanced! Check out this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXC41DphVI4   Skip to about 40 seconds.  Basically these kids will be able to do that in about three to four years.  Its scary though, I don't think I want children to be that smart haha.

In other news, I have a BANK ACCOUNT! Hooray! Now I'm just waiting until my check from the US clears and for my card to come in!!! Finally something.  Also, I have an appointment to get finger printed for the process of getting my TIE which is basically a foreigner identification number and lets me stay here for over 90 days.  Its at the end of October, but it could be worst, one girl from Meddeas has her's in February (which is impossible because she's from the US and will be illegally here by that point).  

The best news of all... TOMORROW IS FRIDAY! 

Hope the rain and flooding hasn't washed anyone away, stay safe.

Hasta luego!

An almost prefect weekend.

This was the weekend of beach.

Yesterday we went to the beach in Almeria.  We decided to figure out the bus system and our beach days are going to be gone soon, so yesterday was the perfect day to head to the bus stop.  We ended up waiting for the bus for like 40 minutes, but we did catch it! Twenty minutes and 1.30 euro later, we were at the bus station on the way to the beach.  It was more crowded than last time, but still just as nice.  The water was also kind of cold, but we ventured in anyways. ...then came the jellyfish. Then came the other jellyfish... :/ But they were both dead, but still I was ruined for the water.  Plus as a stood in the crystal clear water and talked to Aisha and Alice as they swam, all I could pay attention to were the fish swimming around them.  And if you don't know, I'm terrified of fish swimming near me.  

So after a few hours at the beach, we caught the next bus back.  Aisha and I were planning on going to the mall and just getting off the bus about half way into town... but of course, just like everything else the makes zero sense in Spain, we were not allowed to get off the bus. Even though it stopped. Still not sure what the issue was, but whatever, we just went home to rest for awhile.

Then we found out how truly sunburnt Alice was.  She referred to herself as the blond tomato, if that helps you visualize.  But regardless I made sure we did something after the failed mall trip. So we went out for tapas in Huercal.  We went to the same restaurant that we ate at last Sunday because Alice knew they make their own beer.  

So we sat down at the outdoor eating area and very soon were greeted by the only other group outside "Hello!" Come to find out this couple who were eating and drinking with their friend both spoke excellent English and we chatted with them for about an hour and a half as they gave us life advice and we laughed at the friend who knew very little English.  Then something even cooler than our Spanish/ English conversation happened; Aisha found out that our waiter was from Morocco like her dad is.  So they started speaking in French and the multilingual night went on.  After parting with our new friend and paying the bill we walked back to the flat and called it a night.

Today, Ignacio, a very nice looking 23 year old guy who works at the school and is the son of the school directors, took us to San Jose which is a beach about 45 minutes from Huercal.  So the first part of the day was filled with swimming and tanning. Then we ate some delicious Italian food at a restaurant in the cute town of San Jose.  

Just when Aisha and I thought we were headed home, Ignacio took us to the absolutely beautiful National Park in Cabo de Gata and to another beach where we spent about two hours relaxing some more.  *Fun fact: Some of the Indiana Jones movies were shot in the desert there as well as some Clint Eastwood western movies.  

Tonight is the Supermoon Lunar Eclipse!!! I'm waking up at 4AM to try and see it! See you then if you're on Snapchat!

Buenas Noches! 

I don't want to complain, but....

Today I told myself it would be a better day than the one before, and it was.  However, sometimes you just have to rant; so this is my rant.  Please don't think that I am being abused, its only the second week, but some things about this place are laughably infuriating.

P!nk has a song that starts off "These are my political facts and opinions..."

Well these are not my political facts and opinions, these are my Spanish Language Assistant facts and opinions:

Nothing makes sense.

If you ever have a question, just assume you are the wrong one.

If the teacher has time and you do not, it will be your fault for not doing something.

The kids don't understand you, or if they do they just pretend they don't.

They also act like you're an idiot because you don't speak to them in their language.

But the second you speak to them in Spanish, they listen.

Three year olds need someone to explain things in their language.

Just because I can be left alone with the children, does not mean I should always be.

When I walk into the room, you still have to do your JOB.

I may know Spanish, but I do not know EVERY SINGLE PHRASE.

There are no "playground games" in America; at least not where I went to school.

Granite and cement are not safe surfaces to have the children play.

If a kid has a nose bleed, CLEAN UP THE BLOOD!!!

Or at least tell someone before you take the kid.

Schools need air conditioning.

Three year olds will not sit and listen to a story when there is a table of toys behind them.

Two year olds will not sit and avoid playing with toys when you leave for fifteen minutes.

When you leave off the last letter of "can't" it causes some confusion.

It is IMPORTANT to have a schedule before you start WORKING at a school.

When there is no one to blame for the problems, everyone blames everyone.

Schools should not be run by business people.

Children are not dolls, they get dirty, they smell, they run around and don't listen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now a lot of these things could be culture and maybe I just don't get it.  Luckily the headmistress is still pleasant to me, if she says something, I might just cry.  I think everyone is getting in trouble and being upset at the moment.  We are all in this together (yes, just like high school musical).

At the end of the day, its not the children that I am annoyed with.  At the end of the day their hugs and smiling faces saying "bye bye Tee-Chair" that make it worth it.  It is the boy telling me about his dad's friend who speaks English.  It is another holding my hand and leaning his head on me.  It is the four year old telling me for the 100th time that he made it to the top of the playset.  It is a child asking me what my favorite color is... IN ENGLISH! These things make me come back everyday.  These things give  me hope that everything will settle down.

Just don't worry, just don't take it to heart, just stick to your guns.

"Always look on the bright side of life."

Tomorrow is Wednesday already! Hooray!!!!
Bye Bye. <3

Shopping in Almeria

Now this is a limited perspective, because, well, I haven't actually done much shopping, but this is what I can tell so far.

So far my shopping experience consists of four things:

~The grocery store Mercadona.

~Buying a fan.

~The "Chinese" store.

~El Paseo.

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The first day I got here we went to the grocery store and have frequented it often since then.  In general its a normal grocery story, except a lot more fresh fish than I am used to.  Oh and they have skinned rabbits just chilling in the meat section (yum...). Apparently though, getting make up and toiletries is pretty much only done at the grocery store.

As soon as I got here I knew I'd need a fan, because it is blazing hot during the days.  So about a week in a got one.  It took a little bit of looking but I found one for about 30 euro, which was kind of expensive I thought, but totally worth it.

Now the "Chinese" store is really something.  The first time Alice took us there, I was basically in amazement.  I can't exactly tell you why they call it the "chinese" store, other than the owners are Asian and well... they have everything there.  From clothes and shoes, to kitchen ware, to lamps, to party supplies, they have it.  But this is not Walmart or anything, its like a super low budget warehouse that sell a bunch of random stuff.  Its an experience, trust me.

This past Saturday Aisha and I went to El Paseo, which is really just the Spanish way of saying the strip where you do all your clothes shopping. Its actually super nice for what I would imagine Almeria would have.  All of these fairly nice clothing stores and shoe stores, plus some restaurants.  They have H&M and this nice little hipster store Pull & Bear which I had never heard of, but I liked it.  Granted, I didn't have any money to buy anything, but once I open my bank account, I'm headed back. Mainly because I need more heat appropriate clothes for school.  There is also a cool store called Tiger that reminded me of a quirky store you might find in Carytown in Richmond, Va.

======================================================================


From my limited shopping experience, I can tell you this, Spaniards are not as broad shouldered or long legged as I am.  The few shirts and dressed I tried on were definitely not made for someone with my body type.  I'm afraid I might have to stick to online shopping, especially when it comes to dresses.  But I'll have to try again when I have money.

Also, the shoes here are fantastic.  Spain is known for their leather products, so I might have to splurge on some boots.  Aside from leather, though, the oxfords, flats, and heels are all equally cute.  Which brings me to the women here and how they ALL where wedges ALL the time.  Even old grandmas at the bank have on their wedges, its incredible. So if you ever happen to find yourself in Almeria, be sure to bring your wedges, ladies.


That's it for now. Buenas noches. <3

Spanish children versus American children

After only three days of my language assistant job, being called "tee-chair" (teacher) by all of the kids, and being looked at like a crazy person when I tell kids my name is Kendall, I have already noticed the way these Spanish children act in comparison to the American children I am used to working with.


Similarities

They are eager to tell you what is on their minds.

• Even with a language barrier, these kids try to tell me the most random things.  The other day, a four year old boy was telling me about the type of wood he liked, and the tree I was sitting beside.  Today another four year old told me that his hands were the bad ones making him hit other kids.  Before that a five year old girl told me her whole family speaks Spanish like she does and that she absolutely could not speak English.  

They are full of questions.

• Where is your smock?  Are you Alice?  What is your name? Is this your book? Is that your son? What language do you speak? ...These are the questions all children ask; no matter where you are.  

The cutest ones are the worst behaved.

• Its true everywhere.  Today I had to keep getting after a boy named Emmanuel because he kept hitting another boy.  He's the one who told me his hands were bad, not him.  I kept an eye on him after that... and he kept an eye on me.  But he is absolutely adorable, big brown eyes, a little smaller than some of the others, too cute for his own good.  And worse off is he knows he's cute.  

Differences

There are no gender roles for children.  

• I cannot tell you how many little boys I have seen holding hands, hugging, and just generally showing affection to other little boys.  In one particular situation I watched as one little boy stroked the hair of another boy laying down with his head on the other boy's lap.  It was precious.  These kids have not been raised thinking that boys must constantly show their strength or how macho they are.  They are children. That's it.  

Kids here are not tattle tails.

• If someone does something to them, they take care of it.  They practice what I tried to teach all summer; they solve their own problems.  Of course, if another kid does actually hurt them, they'll surely tell you who it was and what they did. However, the petty "he called me this," She looked at me weird" is not a thing they do here.  

Bodies are bodies.

• These kids change in front of each other and use the bathroom in front of each other, and its no big deal.  Now the safe guarding children training in me tells me this is wrong, but once you see how absolutely normal/ brother and sister kind of situation it is, you start to wonder why it has to be such a big deal in America.  It's a culture thing, I know.

They eat all their food.

• The school requires the kids to eat all of their food. And this is not hot dogs or pizza. They eat Pork chops, carrots, rice, bananas, pasta, fish, tomatoes, EVERYTHING.  Now I can't talk, I was the American child not eating half of the food she was given.  But, these kids are expected to eat the food and that is that.  Some still cry... but they do it.

School is from 9:30-5:30.

• Apparently the U.S. is the only insane place that starts school before 9:00.  But, I think I'm better for it... just personally.  Even the poor little preschoolers, starting at two years old, are at school until 5:30pm.  Its kind of crazy and makes for a really long day, even when I only come in for the last half.  

Ten Firsts in One Week

My week in firsts:

1. First time going abroad all by myself.

Sure I've studied abroad, but I've never actually been totally solo while going to another country.  Whether it be a family member or friend from school I've always had a companion for my international journeys.  This was a big step for me.

2. First time in Spain (well Europe if we're being precise). 

It's a pretty big leap to commit to living in a completely new country for nine months.  But, hey, why not?  So what if I hate it? But I'm sure I won't.  So far everything has been amazing and I'm very hopeful for my experience here.

3. First time staying in a hostel with total strangers.

I don't know if you count my first few nights in Barcelona as being with total strangers, because they were people in the same program as me and we had met online.  My last night, however, I was totally solo in a room with some guys from possibly Belgium or Germany or Austria and a guy from China.  But I survived.

4.  First time exploring a city by myself.

This wasn't as scary as it may sound because I had been exploring it with other people the few days before so I kinda had a feel for the city already.  However, for me, a non-city girl, I was very proud of how I was able to navigate the metro system and the city using only a map.

5. First time literally walking from mountain to sea.  

As a result of my solo adventure, I found myself on a mountain in a place where I had not really intended on going. But from that mountain I could see the port where I had been earlier that day and decided that the walk wouldn't be too difficult.  So I set out to the port and then eventually decided to keep going until I made it to the beach for my first Mediterranean Sea experience.

From this view all the way to the coast in the far left corner of this picture. (All on foot.)

6. First time to the Mediterranean Sea.

Obviously, from the previous first...

7. First time living in a flat with strangers.

Strangers is a harsh word.  These strangers are Meddeas people who I will be working with at the school, but since I never met them they can be considered strangers.  Plus they're both from different countries from myself, making them culturally different from me.

8.  First time riding in a Mercedes.

Yes, this is not as monumental as the others, but I do think it is interesting that it took me going to another country to ride in a Mercedes.  (That's what I was picked up from the airpot in, just to clarify.)

9. First time eating tapas.

Tapas are a very Spanish type of appetizer, but you eat a lot and it turns into a meal basically.  In Barcelona we went out one night and had a round of tapas to split between about nine of us.  Some were good and some were bad.  I also tried my first calamari, but I won't make a separate number for that first.

10. First time using European measurements.

From Euros to Celcius to kilometers to liters I'm trying very hard to adjust to this new system.  Here is a quick look into my European cheat sheet:

• If the price is just slightly more that what it would be in dollars, its a good price.
• 25 degrees Celcius is about 80 Fahrenheit. Thats about the only temperature there is in Almeria. 
• A liter is a lot of beer.
• Five kilometers is about the max you would want to walk in one continuous stretch. 1-2 km is ideal.  

I live with an Irish girl and a Northern Irish girl, so whenever I say the temperature or a distance I know it basically means nothing to them so I attempt to convert it.  I'm the minority, I have to change.  Thank you backwards, American system.

What does half five mean?

This morning I woke up at my hostel in Barcelona ready for the next big step in my journey.

I got a taxi, arrived at the airport, and got to my terminal where I waited in line for about 45 minutes because the flight was late. (Although we were never informed of this...) Then off to Almeria!

Touch down. Less than a mile from the beach. Too bad where I live is not that close, but still close compared to anywhere else I've ever lived.  The director's son picked me up at the airport and took me straight to the school to eat some lunch. Its a good thing I wore decent clothes to fly in for exactly that possibility.  My lunch consisted of some kind of pasta, bread, calamari, and tomatoes.  Yep. That is a school lunch apparently.

After meeting a few people at the school, we went to the flat where I will be staying.  It is super cute and I have my own room with a closet for hanging and one with shelves, a desk, and a few small drawers.  We also have a nice living room with a TV, a bathroom, and the cutest kitchen you've ever seen.  I unpacked for a little while, then talked with my roommate Aisha until our other roommate Alice got back from the school.  It is Alice's second year, so she will be a lot of help for Aisha and me.

One of this year's adventures will be the fact that I am living with one girl from Ireland and another from Northern Ireland. And yes... for those of you who weren't aware, those are two separate countries.   So as I listen to the two of them converse I will be deciphering the mean of different phrases that they do not think about as being odd for me; as well as understanding their accents in general.

And all of that in addition to deciphering Southern Spain Spanish.

Anyways... we went to the market, took showers (because it is blazing hot here with no AC), ate dinner, and watched some American TV.

Since we have to go to school tomorrow in the morning we have all retreated to our bedrooms to relax and settle down for the night.

Hasta mañana.

“We Spaniards like to touch each other a lot.”

On Tuesday we had our orientation for the Meddeas language assistants.  It was from 9am-6pm and was packed full of information that we all were eager to hear.  I met one of my flat mates and got to talk to her for a bit so that was great.  The meeting definitely made me feel very blessed to have the placement that I got.  Some people are the first language assistant at their schools, others are the only ones in their town, and a bunch still have to find an apartment once they get to their cities. 

My placement is in Huercal de Almeria and I will be living in an apartment with two other girls who are also language assistants at the same school.  I will be working with 3-6 year olds and I am super pumped.  I also have all of my food provided for me by the school, which is basically unheard of. 

After our meeting we relaxed at the hostel and then went out for tapas and drinks.  I felt like this was my first true Spanish experience.  We went to a super cute little family restaurant where the owner was super nice and helpful and recommended a bar for us to visit afterwards.  We went to the bar, which turned out to be super aborable and quirky and I had a pina y fresa (strawberry) colada which was amazing. 

Then off the bed!

Today, Wednesday, most of my friends left me at 12 to go to the bus station. After saying goodbye, my British friend Michael and Canadian friend Natasha and I went on an adventure to find Las Ramblas and the beach.  We were successful and found Las Ramblas first.  Las Ramblas is a giant open market with fresh EVERYTHING! It was amazing and a really great place to visit when in Barcelona.  Then we walk around making our way to the water.  We ended up discovering a beautiful part of town and then ended up at the port.

We soon made our way back to the hostel because Michael and Natasha needed to catch their trains. After a really good lunch with Michael, we said our goodbyes and I was off again. 

This time I had the plan of going to a park with some different attractions… Well I must have gotten off at the wrong metro stop, because I was in a very non-touristy part of town, but I just kept walking till I found some amazing views and eventually found out that I was decently close to the port again.  So I walked back there, and then, determined to make it to the Mediterranean, I walked to the beach. 

I MADE IT TO THE MEDITERRANEAN!

I was so happy when I felt the cool water on my tired feet. All that walking paid off.  And the best part was that I found it all by myself!

12 miles later I am back at the hostel and ll my stuff is packed and ready to fly to Almeria in the morning!

Goodnight world!