Hola a todos! I haven’t blogged in a while because I don’t have easy access to internet here. There are some cafes that I can go to and buy a drink or eat something in exchange for using their internet, but there’s not always good connection. Also, it’s my only chance to call people over Skype and for some reason a lot of people stare at me when I am laughing and talking to my computer in public in another language. It’s kind of awkward. I have an apartment now, but I probably won’t have internet for a week or two because there are so many holidays and fiestas and siestas here that sometimes it takes a while for things to get done. The very relaxed daily routine here is definitely something to get used to. I have an apartment and a Spanish roommate until December or January. Her name is Beatriz and she is substituting for a teacher at the high school who is on sick leave. She doesn’t speak any English, only French and Spanish, so sometimes it’s a little challenging to understand each other perfectly but she is very nice and I can improve my Spanish much faster this way. My brain is so fried every night from trying to take in all of the unfamiliar Spanish that I didn’t learn in the classroom. For example, it was extremely challenging to try and understand my landlord’s descriptions of how to use the system of gas to get hot water. Needless to say, I had a couple of cold showers before I figured that one out! There are some many tasks that are seemingly simple that have initially been quite a challenge for me. Laundry is one of them. First of all, my washer doesn’t have instructions and there are a lot of symbols that I don’t understand. The first time I washed my clothes, the water didn’t completely drain from the machine and so everything was soaking wet. As there are no dryers here, it only took about two days for them to dry! But now that I have a Spanish roommate, hopefully I’ll get some good tips on how to overcome challenges such as this. It’s also nice to be able to split the cost of rent and utilities and internet! She’s also very helpful in trying to understand one of the many things that perplex me here, like, Spanish television. For example, a lot of times I don’t understand the comedy because of slang or Spanish inside jokes, and when she is laughing at something and I just look confused, she likes to explain why it’s funny. Besides getting an apartment, I also managed to open a checking account and cell phone. I’m so glad I took the Spanish business class; it has helped a lot with situations like this. I have also done a little traveling! Last weekend I went to the city of Cadiz. I can take a ferry for 4 euro to this beautiful city right next to Rota. I think it’s actually the oldest city in Spain. It’s also where they filmed one of the James Bond movies. Above is a picture of the high school I will be teaching at, IES Arroyo Hondo. Finally, I met the kids that I will be working with in the bilingual program. I basically introduced myself and explained to them where I was from and certain phrases we would say down south like “hey ya’ll” or the courtesy of saying “yes ma’am/yes sir” etc. It was interesting that they wanted to know what “Pell” means when I told them that I was from “Pell City.” I have no idea what “Pell” means. They also wanted to know things like “Have ju got a boyfriend,” “Do ju know any famous person,” “What is jour animal favorite?” They were very curious about all kinds of things. It’s going to be a very interesting 8 months! I’m excited though. Below are a couple of pictures that I have taken so far. Enjoy and I’ll update you more later on!
