Estoy en Madrid

one week mark - almost going home.

2009-01-13T02:26:00.000-08:00

Hello,
I am nearing the end of my year Spain experience. It definetly has been fulfilling, whorthwile, every moment - ok not every moment - but at least every week, full of adventure and new things. I have loved bursting out of my comfortzone and exploring the world. I don´t miss college life as much as I thought I would, it was always a fun experience there too with parties and road trips and roommate late night randomness, but there was always something missing there for me. It was too much the same with too many unimportant things with such a little outlook on bigger things. even when I look at pictures on facebook of my friends and some of the fun things they are doing, or old pics of my my freshmen year, I don´t really feel that I am missing out. I feel that I have experienced that but I don´t desire to go back to that. I´m always looking for new things, maybe there will be a new way to do school later. I bet it would be different married going to a different university!
I am glad I was here during the presidential elections. I heard alot of different opinos, I saw how much American Politics affect other people around the world. I learned why people did vote for Obama and why people did not like Bush. I´ve seen a lot of people who lack faith in a God. Spaniards are not a the high-faith end of things, I haven´t met one yet who is totally religious, but they are out there. Most people live with the eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die type of attitude. Which is ok - aren´t we all just trying to be happy? I guess if you asked my why I choose to follow my church it would be that - to be happy. And its not even so much of a -happyness for the future- type of thing either. My religion makes me happy daily. It helps me chose a lifestye without crisis, orients me with goals and refreshing perspectives, gives me hope with repentence and change. I know that every situacion can get better and I don´t have to cry over death. If you ask me, I eat healthy, drink frequently (eight glasses a day), and live very merrily with high hopes and love for what is around me. I couldn´t sacrifice all this for something so, as it seems to me, empty and boring.

2008-12-22T16:26:00.000-08:00

I used to be a fan of blogging but it has lost its spark for me. But I have alot of thoughts in my head and I want to get them out. And now i dont feel any more motivation - geez blogspot!

2008-12-17T12:45:00.000-08:00

I'm so content! I just found the book that I need to read for Literature on line, complete, with the Eng and Span translations side by side. And to think I was even tempted to Buy it! haha, tahts life sucker~!

lo lisa que era tu sonrisa

2008-10-28T14:34:00.000-07:00

And then we land back into marvelous. Bliss. Friends. Every moment flowing harmonic, pink and creamy swirls. The black inked rose sketched onto the kitchen table napkin. The arms abrigoed around my blanket full of trust love and comfort. It's easy to be with you and the afternoons seem to pass us by like the soft breeze in the trees; hardly noticed and gentle. For now we can continue así enjoying the stillness of the situation, but soon there will come a time where the rest of the world will be pushing us forward and we'll have to decide in which directions we will go and which of the maletas will we be carrying with us.

los problemas de vuelta

2008-10-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

I feel that I have not had the chance that I deserve. No, that is a lie. I have had a lot of chances but have wasted or better colloquially said, blown them all. But I am still asking for another chance. I think that I deserve it, and now that I can actually see where and how I have been wrong, I think that this time I will be able to do it better, a lot better. Please. I promise I wont be so proud this time, so cold. I will lower my guard just try to let lose and open up a little. laugh at myself, get to know people and not worry so much about how I am coming off. Why didn't I realize the faults of my ways sooner? Why didn't I just admit that I was wrong in the first place and then have given myself the efficient time to recuperate and attack with the Susie Spice that is really me. I feel that because I clocked myself with the mask of fear and shyness that night, I have lost your trust and respect forever. Worse, the intrigue is gone. For this reason I sit alone at home. Although you had promised to call me tonight, I wait by the silent phone. What did I do wrong? Where did it change? Can it ever come back? Can I ever get it back?
Maybe without you I will be better off. More space in my head to think about other things. School, work, school. This could be the best thing for my grades yet. But I'll miss you. I miss thinking about you. I miss holding your hand and rubbing my fingers through your short hair. I miss looking in your soft eyes especially when they are on the brim of tears. Not spilling over, but just moist enough that they glisten or sparkle in the reflecting light coming in from the passenger side door. I wont miss your blasting music or beeping seat belt sound. Or or or ....ok there is not much else that I wont miss about you.
Once again, in my defense I will say that if given the chance to go back and do it again I would do it differently. I am not the person that I you saw then, but much better, much funner, much fuller than that. I was younger then, stupider, scareder.
Wish your family and friends hi for me. Considering the situation it wont be hard to describe to them how or why my name has drifted from conversations and from your schedule book.

away on VaQue

2008-08-29T12:48:00.000-07:00

Madrid, Espana

se queda en el corazon

otro chico enmorado de mi

2008-08-02T08:45:00.000-07:00

why does this always happen to me? I don't ask for it, I don't look for it, I even tell them that I don't want it - not looking for anything other than friends. But they give roses, they sing songs, they dance with you on the corner wanting to show to the world the strong emotions they have for you. And then there is always dinner and a movie for a second ' getting to know each other ' party. Can this guy be for real? (does he realize how ridiculous cheesy and shallow he sounds?) too bad he goes to capilla...

my classes at El Escorical. How I do it.

2008-07-19T03:16:00.000-07:00

Oye!

Without any idea of who I am writing too, (only the expectation of Karie, CJR, and maybe an older self to read my impresonante life postings) I will commence to tell you the gory details of my great awesome past two weeks, here in the central zones of Espana.
So anyway, as you know I have been teaching at a summer camp at El Escorial. I started about the first week of July and the 25th will be my last day. (!) But it has been an experience that I have thoroughly enjoyed. I never thought I could pull it off as a school teacher (and trust me, it is more of my life goal to NOT do so) but I think that with the lack of materials and experience I had, I have done a pretty BANGING job. I try to do things a little differently in my classroom than the other teachers.
1. I don't talk down to my kids.
2. I give them responsibilities.
3. I give high points to innovation and creativity. One day I had to go down stairs to get the notebooks I had forgotten, so I put a writing prompt on the board to keep them occupied for awhile. The question was "Who am I." Maybe I little to deep for eleven year olds, but I had high hopes. When I came back, my face fell to see that each student had responded in exactly the same, identical format. "I am ....name..." I stood and I looked at them in shock. "Kids, what is this! What are you doing? Do you see something wrong with these responses?!" We went on to have a lengthy discussion about boring and creative. Imagine you live on a street and every house is exactly the same. The roof, the walls, the yard, the color. All all the same. Now, imagine that you live on a street where each house and yard is completely different. You have one neighbor living in a shoe, the next a rocket ship. The colors, the swimming pools, the slip-in-slides. Each house is uniquely built with its structure, colors, and theme structured to the personality of the owner. Now look at yourselves. Are you all the same with the same likes, tastes, looks, wants, dreams? No. I want you to look at yourself and pull out those great individual qualities that make you different than the rest of the world. We did the exercise again, and I was happy with the results. Ruben described himself as an animal with the capabilities of an extraterrestrial. Javier can fly faster than a bird. Andrea has 52 t-shirts. Marina will become the most famous basketball player. Hopefully at least I can teach these kids to move outside of the box with the English language. It is not only, "Is this a cat?" "No, it's not a cat. It's a dog" They have been trained like robots, to regooberate mechanically the words they see on the board without putting meaning behind them. And since this is a summer camp, and we teachers have been told by our boss to flee from grammar lessons like the plague, I feel that improving their writing comfortability will be the best thing for them right now.
4. I thrive on improvisation. I think my best lessons come when I enter the class room with nothing more than a piece of chalk in my hand. I always plan a basic layout of day objectives, and activities we are going to do for the day. but I let these curve and bend to the moment of actualization.
5. Routine/structure.
Yes, I love my improv but I still maintain a strict routine within the classroom. You always need to have the kids looking forward to something, they need to know the schedule of the day, that there is always something more coming - it prevents lulls in the lesson and clock watching. I try to never end the class with the 'game.' And I never call it 'games' either. Kids don't like 'games.' Kids like not doing anything structured until the bell rings to leave. I don't let them play games, we do activities or exercises.
On the first day we set up our daily structure. First we elected the President, Vice President, and Secretary. Then we began to form and create our class identity. (did I tell you about our class ignition process? lol, again hats off to the improv - best lesson ever) We had chosen the name of our class first, Susie's Champions Class. What does our class identity need students? And then it was decided: flag, official colors, matching uniforms, a motto, a password, a pledge, class rules, musical anthem, nicknames, mascot, slogan. The Presidency was in charge of handing out assignments. They got to work quick as a class, the color group working with the flag and uniform representatives to collaborate on the official spiritwear. The pledge, anthem, and motto trying to pullout paralleled themes.
We also layed out our weekly calender, with important events to look forward to, the program on the last night that we will need to prepare for.
I made a daily assignment chart with jobs such as chalk-board eraser, pledge leader, seat-assigner, Daily class summary writer (yes, I gave one of my jobs to a student - best move ever - but they take this job seriously and it helps them practice the past tense), flag-poster and photographer. Ana, the secretary, assigns the positions at the end of class for the following day.
Before we enter the classroom, I make them line up by the door and they must tell me the password before they are allowed to enter. We say our class pledge every morning, and I make them put their hands over their hearts while the flag poster carries and posts the flag on the door. Before we leave at the end of the day, we go over the schedule for tomorrow, then we gather around the door and chant our motto.
like I said, its all about the structure.

Monday is the Birthday of Rachel, I think we will have a birthday party. I will bring in 'Cake,' 'Balloons.' 'Decorations' we will sing 'Happy Birthday' and maybe open 'Presents.'

fotos de la vida

2008-07-13T12:30:00.000-07:00

My class from El Escorial. We had a 4th of Juli festival and here we are enjoying the delicious PB cookies and rice crispy treats that I brought in.

Fourth of July celebration, we went out to eat at the American restaurant in the Mall. Please notice my patriotic colors.

Payday!

If you don't know what it is I will tell you in both languages: Rabo del Toro (esp) Bull's tail (eng) era rico = )

HOLA

The vida aqui en espana. Supongo que es bueno apuntar cositas en vez en cuando, para que te recordes que te ha pasado.
Basicamente, si puedo, busco oportunidades para quedarme aqui en otono. Volvre a Utah y VA en augosto y un parte de septiembre. y luego, volvre a espana para realizar un semestre de algo qui en una zona de madrid. Como te parece?
A mi me dice gente que tenga que orar para recibir mi respuesta de el bien y el mal. y creo que le he recibido, lo cual que me ha dicho que cualquiera hago sera el bien. No hay una difernecia de los dos - solomente distintos y supong que no voy a revolverme despues de esta ano (porque invierno me ire a mision,

I finished my first two weeks at El Escorial. They went well, actually really great. I really enjoyed my classes, the kids, and I was able to do a better job than I thought iwould be able to do. Well, no, I htink that if I had put more time and planning into it, I could have done awesomet higns, but considering the lack of time and materials - I really did some great improve things.

Anyway the first two weeks are over, and billy and kathy (my two friends of the program) are not working the next two weeks, so we will see how it goes. Hopefully I will get a long ok and enjoy myself with justin and esmerelda. Ok, goal for the next two weeks, talk with Oiga more. She seems to be ok, so maybe if I suck up a little I'll feel more accepted. O, and also want to ask her for reference letters at the end of the program - so don't forget! I want to have fun with my kids these next two weeks, I hope I can think of some fun stuff to play.

O, also, I haven't called yet, but I have seen a few signs for particulares from some spaniard for school subjects. I might call him and see if I can get a few spanish lessons. I think it would be a worthwhile investment. Because it is really starting to bother me how much I can not express myself in spanish - mostly my terrible/horrible pronunciation. I really want to be able to communicate better, with conversations with javi being the most prudent at the time - I just want to have a good conversation, know what i mean? I have three classes in the afternoon tmw, only Two on tuesday, two wednesday, only one on thursday, and two on friday. We'll see if i can fill in any more huecos. I am expecting one more class with Ana, Francisco, and maybe with carlos but he has been sketchy so I don't think so. Friday I have plans with some chicos from the stake to go dancing in madrid. Hugo, Jessica, Ricardo and I are meeting at the tren station at 10:45 to go into the city and meet up with some others. Hugo is a great kid, but sometimes I worry about him. He's trying to live two different lives with two different sets of standards and I don't know how long he will be able to keep it up. Anyway I pray for him because he has been a good friend.
Pablo tambien, he is always very smiley and happy. I wish I could joke with him like carolina does. I love the way she talks - so clickly an so clear. One day I will speak Spanish similar, lol one day.

2008-07-11T18:36:00.000-07:00

The Escorial,

I finished my first two weeks! wahoo!
It actually went great. I loved my kds and the teachers were really fun. Man, I am getting the greatest experiences here. What other twenty year old has taught a full classroom of Spanish students in the castle of Phillip the II? Too bad I don't want to be a teacher, I would have a resume that kicks trash!!!

2008-07-01T15:27:00.001-07:00

What should I do with my life this fall???

A new shift in the schedule

2008-06-25T12:18:00.000-07:00

And I find myself shifting the schedule again. It is so hard sometimes, it seems that nothing ever just fits together right the first time. And I am trying so hard to be as economical as I can and squeeze the maximum amount of classes into one day as possible. But that is impossible as there is only so much time in one day and you can only be in one place at once. Today I met with a potentially new student at the shopping mall. He actually drove from Madrid to Alcala to meet with me. We had tried to meet up earlier but we had both been confused and ended up at two different 'Alcala Street' 's thirty miles apart. Yes, it was one of those - duh- moments on both our parts. I really do not wan to go out of my way to squeeze in class with him, but I feel like I should because as of now I have free hours and 2. He has tried so hard to meet with me and get a time figured out. We will see how it goes with all of my running around next week.
Talking about next week - ahhh - what am I going to do about my classes! ! I have no material I am so unprepared! I have no idea what I will do with these kids everyday for FOUR hours!!! O Goodness please help me.
I had one new student today, his name is Jorge he is 8 yrs old and was a reference form David's mother. Apparently she had been talking about me to a few of the other moms at school and they were also interested in a tutor. The kid is great but I feel exhausted by taking on another 'child student' they require a lot more individual time and effort than my adult/conversation students. O, if only that I had only conversation classes!
I worry about where my hours are going to come from in the next few weeks. These two last week have been incredibly slow, I need some mega burst of hours to bring me out of the hole - especially since I had so many expenses this week - well in comparison to my no spending habits of the previous semananas. We will see what happens. Don't think I am not making sacrifices for my classes though, I definitely am. I had planned a nice swimming meeting with Maribel on Friday *I bought a swimsuit and everything ; ( ) but I am canceling it so I can make 15 more dollars and two hours more of a headache meeting with this new student in Madrid. Why do I do this to myself?
It has been amazing weather these last couple days. And by amazing I mean hot enough to kill your horse and then melt it into goo. I was so hot the other day after my last and only class I had, I went straight into the first store I saw and bought two pairs of capris. They are exactly the same style but different colors - one in black and one in white. I felt good about my big purchase (the cual that came up to be 15 E including a belt)
O! but I also need to tell you about my amazing swimsuit that I bought!! It was like a purchase from heaven, I couldn't believe I could be so lucky! I few weeks ago I went into this swimsuit store with Maribel to see swimsuits I could only dream about buying. So cute, so sexy, (with one pieces of course! ) but so expensive. But then at work today, Pilar mentioned to me that this store was having a sale and since I did not have a swimsuit I should check it out. I was pretty skeptical at what I would find but I had some free time so I thought I would check it out. I walked into the store and there it was - the patterned halter straps tied loosely around the hanger, the brown elastic nylon ruffling in the light air conditioning breeze, and then the price tag catches my eye - 50% off. ah!!!!
And then I bought a swimsuit. The long awaited swimsuit. In my possesion for only 14.95. Don't worry, I will post pictures.

Churros in Madrid

2008-06-21T23:35:00.000-07:00

This week was full of adventures. Needless to say, I went out with quite a few times with different friends. Let me tell you a little more about my adventrues. Well Thursday came around and I only had one class. ( = ( as it is now summer time a number of my students are beginning to leave me = ( ) So I was free from 5 to 8, I just went back to the house and chilled out with my madre. I always love hanging out with her. At 8 I left to madrid to meet my good ole' friend Valentin. I can't get over how funny he is - just like the hugest guy you have ever seen but so loving, funny, and loves to sing and dance. We were planning to go see a moviebut ever theature we went to was closed. We continued our tour of the city just walking around, taking pictures, enjoying the warm night air. Although it was 12 in the evening, the streets were still filled with people. Once we got cones form McDonalds and jsut sat by the metro listening to all the different accents and people that walked by.
One time we say a girl take a dump by the tree, at that time we were ready to leave and went to find some places for dancing. Well by three o'clock we had not found any of our normal places open - I don't know why its was really strange, so tired and a little hungry (ok, really I wasn't hungry at this time in the morning but you know me, if there is the option, I usually don't turn it down. ) We stopped in a churro's bar and had some nice hot churros and chocolate, a Spanish must. That ended our night- we went back to Valentin's apt, he pulled out the mattress for me, and we both crashed for a few hours until seven when he had to leave for work and i returned myself back to Alcala.

The second Run with the bulls

2008-06-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to the Second bullfight of my Spanish experience. Javi is working at a number of them through the summer so I will probably have the chance to go and see alot more. I've actually been pretty lucky I think to be able to see this side of the toro's fight. I mean, we always have to go there early ( like Two hours ; O) we pick these other guys up too (they are always older) then we get there, everyone is setting up - picking out the sign titles, prepping and warming up the animals, I get to see the back where the picadors, matadors and everyone gets dressed and ready to go. Plus I help Javi get prepped in his little culturish outfit and help with the horse, her name is Botijo.
It was a pretty hot day yesterday, the summer is coming in. Aparantely they say it just keeps getting hotter from here. O what joy. Since Javi's bother didn't come with us this time, I just sat by myself to watch the show. (Javi has to be down by the rink watching the fight). For that reason I wasn't into it as much, the first time is definitely the most exciting, the most shocking, the most revolutionary. A lot of fun things happened in this one though, one time the horse guy got batted off, then chased by the bull. Another matador got ran over, then he continued the fight without his shoes on. Another bull just didn't want to play at all, so if took like ten minutes to get him to come out of the stall.
Anyway, I was glad I brought my journal and another book to read. I was writing half the time, and I guess with my glasses I appear to be quite the journalist, or as a number of people later asked Javi "Does your friend work for the paper?" I did get to bring home to batadors tambien,- the are the two colorful arrows that are slammed into the back of the bull. Cool huh? They still have the blood and everything all over them - lol. It was a present to me from Javi - which I know means a lot coming from him, because its not every person that has batadors from a bull fight.
Anyway, today I am going up to Madrid ward to visit Valentin and his supposedly awesome Sunday school class. Then after church we are going to have a dinner, Venezuelan style. Mmm I hope it is good.

2008-06-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

It is three o'clock in the morning here in Spain, but for some reason I am not tired, although I have had a long day. I did not sleep well last night either, and woke up around seven o'clock, went for a thirty five minute run and has a nice breakfast to begin my day.
These next two weeks are a little crazy because a log of my student are leaving, for that I am beginning to have a change of schedule, out with the old - in with the new. The hard part being not really having any new to come in with yet. Yea...so we will si. A lo mejor, I'll have lots of time to go out with friends next week!
Today I had extra time in the afternoon, so my friend Jesus came down from madrid to take me out to the movies. He arrived around eight, we walked to get some icecream, then took a bus to the movie theater. We saw, La Boda de Mi Novia. I was surprised at how well I understood it, well in how much I think I understood... - )
It was fun being out with Jesus though. He is from Cancun, Mexico and was only here in Spain for this year studying. He actually goes back in two weeks. He is so great to talk to though because he speaks so clear and beautifully. I never have a problem understanding.
It was after the movie and he was waiting with me at the bus stop to go home, and bejore I left he told me - When I first met you I thought you were different, as in not a 'miembro buena' I go out and I dance, don't live by the values ladada.."but as I have gotten to know you I know that is completely untrue. Siento algo bonita para ti y espero qur tuvieramos mas tiempo a concernos."
I hope to visit him in cancun one day, hopefully we can remain friends. I think we will get together later before he leaves, he said there was a mexican restuarant he would like to take me to.
So we will see.
I talked to Becky on Skype today. She is the love my live, I love that girl. Just talking to her and brighten my day and give me hope in anything - she is right- I am strong and I can do this! I miss that girl alot, O that we were together again!
Tommorow I am having dinner with Javi after my classes. Maybe we will go to Pollo de Alcala, its a nicer resuaraunt in the city but one we have always talked about visiting. = )

the sad realization

2008-06-04T14:52:00.001-07:00

Yea theres no way I could take classes here in Madrid. It is way to expensive. Well I guess I could but it would take a miracle

Morea baile more gente

2008-05-30T18:38:00.000-07:00

I had a great night today. Mucha fiesta, Mucha Baile. Just how I like it. It was just fine because, A, it was all in spanish, it was all wrldernss or lust the freshneed. For byea I htninks the is is he tase

2008-05-17T23:38:00.000-07:00

More students and more work today. I didn't recieve that phone call form that sweet postion that I really wanted. I suppose that means I didn't get the job, but I still have a few days with nothing to lose so let's keep up that hope for a little longer. The niece of my madre moved in on Thursday. She has gorwn up in America with her Spanish mother and American father. She has never learned Spanish, so her mother has sent her to a foriegn country to learn it. I feel bad for the girl becuase she really has nothing to do all day. She is shy and dosent know how to say anything, so when I am not home she stays in her room all day. What a boring summer!
We have become firends though and last night she left a picutre that she drew on my bed (she is eleven) My goal is to help her learn Spanish, it has been hard though - In the house I am the translator and do the commnication for both parties involved. It has actually elped me with giving me lots of practice. Sometimes they ust say pointless things thought and you don't know if thats something that you need to translate to the other or to jsut let it slide. Now I see where a lot of power could come to this role.
Stil alive and well, going to MAdrid today to see my firend Louis give a talk in his ward.

Amigos, Baile, Trabajo

2008-05-11T06:35:00.000-07:00

The above three nouns summarize this past week. Everyday this week was filled with things to do and work to get done. I started working at the Empreza tambien, giving classes there to the Advanced and Pre-advanced levels of employees. I think I went out about every night this week, each time with a different person to a different place. I haven't seen an other American once.

And I've met so many people and I have had so much fun!
The first day of my classes in Barrios Aeropuertos (con la empreza) I had to take the bus from my house to there. I asked an older couple at the bus stop to help me find the right place. They were more than helpful and even other people around us jumped in to look at the map and tell me where to get off and where to go upon arrival.

One mujer in the line joined our circle and started talking about the states and the general stereotypes that come up about the states. "O, you're American? And you are studying Spanish, how cool. Whew I could not live in the states too many hamburgers and all that grease! uG!" To make the story more Ironic she started talking about Utah and the crazy mormones there. I couldn't help but burst out laughing then I told here that I study there and that, yes in fact, I was a mormona. That didn't stop her comments and she went on to inform everyone at the bus stop about the atrocities of the mormon church and how the men treat their fifty wives like cattle, all impregnated at the same time..."
At this time in my life, I don't get offended by comments like this. Its just sad how so ignorant people can be some times. Of course she got her information probably from the t.v. or some friends, and how wrong actuality it has turned out to be. How many times do we hear something o T.V. or through the grapevine, that we as well ignorantly allow to effect our opinions and beliefs. Just be careful with what you read and hear. Of course, you need to trust media sources to a certain degree, but don't build a wall of ignorance around yourself. Be teachable and skeptical. Anyway, don't worry yourself about her hurtful comments, I don't think anyone else at the bus stop took her too seriously - thank goodness to the old man, He supported me when I tried to tell her that we don't practice polygamy and our church is not asi. "We know, no its not like that" he said quietly and understandingly to me when she wasn't looking. He knew as well that some people are just ignorant and unteachable so it wasn't worth battling over.

I wish I could tell you that once I got off at the right stop I was able to find the place without any problems. But no, they would be a complete lie. After I got off that bus, I walked around the three block area for Two Hours asking everyone I met "sabes donde estaria una escuela de idiomas?" Yes, that I was looking for a English school was the only information I had about where I was going. I had erased the number of the one contact I had with me in my phone the day before. I didn't remember the name of the company, and to make things better, I didn't have the address, phone number, or anything because I had left the class role at home. The funny thing is that I didn't even know that I had the address at home either, or else I probably would have returned home to get it (I had arrived that earlier, there would ahve been enough time)So the whole time I'm cursing this company thinking that they had sent me out to a area in the middle of nowhere with no directions or anything!
But at last, it was my own stupidity and forgetfulness that I never found the place that day. I had to return home with never showing up to work.

I didn't call anyone and no one called me so I didn't worry about it to much. I went back again on Thursday, this time With the address and I found it right away. Its actually not at a school, but at a company - the company hires English teachers to come in and teach their employees the language in effort of increasing performance and international contacts. I haven't started the Advance class yet, but my T/TH class has four students - all women- youngest 30 - oldest probably fifties. They are all very nice and i think I will enjoy the class. We conversated for the hour then I booked out of there to my students in Alcala.

Thursday I had one student, then afterwards I went to Madrid to visit Valentin, Fabian, and Louis. I had promised Valentine that we would finally make brownies.
After the brownies Valentin and I went went out on the town! I was tired before we even left and it still pretty early, about eleven. We took the metro into SOL. Valentin is the King at finding free clubs to go dancing in. We walked around for about an hour collecting those free entrance tickets that you see people on hte corners giving out that you usually try to ignore because you don't think they are giving anything out worth having. It was weird to be collecting them this time.

We went to about five different clubs, getting into one, dancing there for a while then bouncing to the next. I was dead by three so we went back early to his place, he gave me a pillow and blanket showed me the coach and asked what time I wanted to get up. Unfortunately we both had work in the morning (I had a job interview at 9:30/10ish in the city) so we ended up getting up at eight. He let me shower and eat breakfast there and took me to the tren station. A lot of people are a little intimidated or weirded out by Valentin at first, but I have always had a great and easy time hanging out with him. He is a good friend and I like the granola and yogurt that he eats for breakfast.

The interview went great and I am even more excited about the opportunity than ever. They said they would call me this week with the final decision. I feel that the interview went as good as it could have, so if I don't receive the job it will be on account of my age and nothing more. I at least feel good about that. So, we'll see.

Friday afternoon I had David and a new student named Eduardo. David has a English examen this Thursday so his parents were all anxious again. O gosh, I hope he does well just for the sake of my job. COME ON DAVID!!

Between the two classes, I had a two hour break where I met up with a boy named Rodrigo. Yes, his name really is Rodrigo. He is 22 student here who has wanted some help with his English conversation. "But he's not your student?" you may ask. Al fin, no. Through some weird email communication we made a non-fiscal deal where we would do a language exchange instead. I.E. he is MY new Spanish tutor. I was actually pleased when we met to find he is good-looking and with an even nicer personality. But don't get ahead of yourselves, he as a girlfriend. Its probably for the best. Anyway we spent the next two hours just talking and sharing language tips. In the emails he wrote perfect English and my Spanish was terrible. But when it came to conversation, i surpassed him by far. He even said that he was listening to things to correct me on, but couldn't find a lot. Accent included. He was completely the opposite. I had to talk very slow and it took him awhile to form the responses. I think with just more practice though he will get a lot better. He helps me the most in the emails - with corrections of verb phrases and such.
We met up outside Starbucks and he asked me if I wanted anything when he got up to order. I said "No thanks, I don't want anything. Really, I'm fine." UG but of course he comes back with two cups of brown creamy drinks. O great. I didn't want to tell him at this point that the reason I didn't want any was that i don't drink coffee, so the whole time I just kindof twisted my straw around in the lid trying to be conspicuous. When I got home I put it in the fridge thinking EDU or madre could drink it. The next day Edu tried it and told me to my surprise and bashfulness that it was hot chocolate without a trace of coffee. haha, all that for a cup of hot chocolate. Next time I'm just going to risk crushing the poor guys pride. It was raining when we finished up our conversation time, Rodrigo happened to live by Eduardo, my next lesson, so he gave me a ride in his car.

It was the first time meeting Eduardo, and as normal I was a little nervous. (don't you love those anxious first days?) I could tell from our conversations on the phone he was older but other than that I really didn't know what to expect.
Well he turns out to be a 43 year old, short, half-balding man, who seems to live solo in a very clean apartment. But one of the nicest guys I've met since (thankgoodness.) He speaks English slowly with an accent and many filler words obviously. He also takes two classes a week at his work but is looking for more practice so that hopefully he will improve even more. He mentioned several times that he would probably like to add more hours later on, so we can only hope. We got into some good conversations about grammer and he told me right off that if he says something wrong or mispronounces something that I should stop him right there and point it out. 'Don't be afraid to tell me I am saying something wrong. i like my teacher at work because if I say something wrong he corrects me right then and there before moving on." I need to practice being quicker with my corrections, many times I notice a mistake but they continue to move on before I have time to point it out without hindering their story or expressions.

As I was leaving the apartment I got a phone call from Robert, one of the guys from my original dance class that was at the club last week. He asked me if I wanted to come cenar with some friends and then go dancing afterwards. "Of course!" I said. (Its funny though because up until I met them at the restaurant I was thinking that it was Carols who had called me- who I had talked to previous in the week promising that we would go dancing. The real Carlos called me several times later that night but i didnt get his calls until I had returned home. oopps.)
It ended up jsut being Robert, his friend Reuben and Me for tapas. We went to Indaluo, which is a very famous tapas bar here in Alcala. We took turns buying the rounds of drinks (you buy a drink 2E and you get a free tapa-good deal for 6E total). It was the first time I actually felt I was there getting tapas with friends as a normal dinner rather than a foreigner eaten out. It was still early when we finished eating dinner (casco Antiguo - the salsa disco- dosen't getting going until 12:30) so for the first hour or so we went to Gambana, a younger, 80s-90s rock/alternative/techno music discoteca. I am so glad to be me sometimes. I was dancing like crazy jsut being ridiculous and not being self-concious. The guys thought it was awesome and soon we were all jsut bouncing around having a good time. (Reuben was doing more of a bummbling around once he got to his third drink, sigh poor kid.)
At 12:30 we made it over to Casco Antiguo. We stayed there until about three-thirty. It was fun, I mostly danced with Robert and Reuben but a few other people as well. Although I am not the best dancer, do the moves perfectly, or have great technique, i always get compliments on how well I follow so I hold pride in that.

Saturday was raining a storm! I had to walk to both my classes and I was drenched at the arrival of each. Daniel was enjoyable to talk to and he walked me halfway to my next lesson. David was bouncing off the walls and only wanted to play monsters. Plus i was late getting there, so his mom was trying to prepare lunch while I was running around the house with him on our treasure hunt.
I cam home about three, we ate pronto, and after that I went upstairs and slept till eight. I wasn't planning on going out again last night, but...well Carlos called me again, and i felt so bad for standing him up the night before that I agreed to going out for a little bit. He came to pick me up around 12:30. We went to a different Latin club in Alcala. It was awesome! It was a lot newer and nicer than Casco and the crowd tended to be younger. Plus they had karaoke, which we were actually going to do but I had him take me home before that (hah, I am kind of grateful) He introduced me to all of his friends. It kind of bothered me because with each person he introduced me to he would add, "O, and shes American. Talk slowly, she's still learning." Well with a great introduction like that people kindof give you that pity uncomfortable look in which you jsut don't know what to say, and if you try to talk anyway, they for some reason can't understand what you say then jsut look around with a ' o gosh what is this thing saying to me look' No, but they were all nice. I don't think the girls liked me that much but i hit it off great with the guys. I don't think I sat out more than three songs the whole time. The great thing about this club is that there are three/four professional dancers who work there and go around and dance with everyone. They are so good! And I love it! The funnest one is Javi, (who I met last week and Casco) who is about four and a half feet tall but just throws you around like hes sleeping. Raul is one of the others, hes very much Spanish if you know what I mean. I think we will talk again, for better or worse. Well I had a good time there with the new group of people. About mid way through, Carlos tells me that he likes me (after he's unsuccessfully tried to kiss me like five times)and asks me what I think about him. Poor guys. I told him straight up, I think your nice but I don't want a boyfriend and I don't like to kiss. "O, yea, I'm not the kind of guy who likes to rush things either. I think that you need to hangout with a girl a lot of times before you date seriously or anything." Well, for that reason I don't know how I feel about you yet. I said. "Does it bother you then when I try to kiss you?" He askes. Yes it does, and I don't like when you do it. But now that you know so we can be better friends now and i don't have to be so distant.
We left satisfied and it was a good night all in all. I ahd him take me home a little early so I could be rested for church today.

At church today, I finally talked to some of those new BYU kids. Actually just two, but thats enough for me. One of the boys I met, Daniel is nice. He lives where Garrett and Brock used to stay with maria. I should go visit her someday. But I made real church friends there! I talked to this one girl who I've always wanted to talk to before but never really had the change and we became like best friends. Well I hope so. She's taking me to the Lincoln Park concert! she is from Columbia and although has lived here for three years, dosen't really have a lot of friends here either. She actually works at the same building where I go to teach english classes. I told her I will call her this weekend to go out with me to dance. I hope we can some day. Also another girl named Laura. She's little bit more - wahha - over the top cheerfully , ditsy. But she loves to dance so we made plans to meet at Casco this friday. I'm excited that church wasn't all the way misreble. Even other members in teh ward talked to me. At last!

Well thats been my week so far. This next week I will finally be working my full 17 hours of students. Wahoo.

I think that one the fun, successful scale, this week has been the best one yet.

Retouch on the life of Susie Salisbury

2008-05-04T06:29:00.000-07:00

Hola!
So I guess it has been a while since I have entered the updates and latest occurrences in my life. Its been two weeks and four days since I arrived back in Spain, although it seems so much longer than that. My schedule and activities now are completely different then what they were while I was here with the study abroad. The largest difference being the lack of thirty-four American students students that I saw and hung out with everyday. I'm taking it as a good sign though that it hasn't been that big of an adaption to make. I haven't felt friendless yet so I think we'll be ok in that area.
My family has taken me in once again, with open arms and very little demands in return. The generosity I receive from them continues to awe me everyday. I try to return the favors with help around the house, and friendship - which I think is what they like about me anyway. Currently my madre is teaching me how to crochet. It was clearly the next step after the chilo scarf I knitted earlier this semester under her supervision. I am making a purse and it is coming along very well.
From the rumors that I hear, one of her nieces from the United States is going to come live with us for a month, in hope that she will learn some Spanish. I think she is about eleven. They got really excited because I'll be here so I can act as her interpreter or something. My madre was taking to her sister about it on the phone, and insured her that I knew perfect Spanish so communication would not be a problem. I just looked at Angel with a "did she just say that" look, and he started laughing. My Spanish is anywhere near good - I barely get by understanding and speaking. Its been a challenge too with all of my phone contacts I have made from my fliers. Its been hard though to study without classes. I have been trying to study on my own but what I really need is HUGE conversation time. With all of my classes in the day, it seems that I still speak more English per day than Spanish. I really cherish the talking time with any one I can get.
And now you may ask, what am I doing with my time there. Well this is where the fun part comes in. My classes! The first week I started out with nine hours - students that I had contacted through word of mouth and through my fliers posted around town. Since then I have gained six more hours - its really been a bit by bit process. Anyway I go to the house of the students, the parents usually let me along for the whole hour. Each student is different and is at a different level. So you really have to do individual preparation for each. I try to find their interests and what they like to form games or activities with the English that we are learning. One boy, David is obsessed with dinosaurs and monsters. One day we drew pictures of a dinosaur family and we talked and appropriately named each member of the family. I have two more advanced students, Paula and Alejandra. They are both fun to teach - we're able to focus more on conversation and its been fun to teach them about American life.
Daniel is my newest student. He is twenty-seven and from Guatemala. He has lived here since he was nine. Anyway, he knows English pretty well, apparently he lived in England for nine months and learned everything there. He has been suffering in the lack of practice and conversation though, so thats where I come in. You'd think it would be one of the easier hours because I don't really have to TEACH anything per say, but you try talking about things for an hour with out running out of things to say. Its like conversation extreme, with the pressure to never let the conversation die.
Today was Mother's day in Spain. I snuck a small bouquet of flowers in to the house yesterday, and left them on the counter this morning. I also wrote a poem for my madre but I have yet to orally give it to her.
It was fast Sunday today. I haven't enjoyed my ward to much these last two Sundays. I guess its just the transition. The new BYU group of students came today. I didn't talk to any of them. I didn't want to. I don't want to see Americans anymore, and I want any of them to take my Spanish things from me. Its weird because they are from a higher Spanish program, so unlike everyone in my group who was in first year Spanish, they all speak very well. I think the ward was impressed. O well, jealous.
When I got home, Abuela was over for dinner. = ) I always like when the old people come to visit. We chatted lightly until dinner. It was fried potatoes and sausage. We skipped the postre and went straight to Flan and then after ice cream cones. Its for that reason that I can't fit inside my favorite jeans anymore.
This last weekend was a huge festivals in Spain. No one went to work, eveyone went on vaccations (in result all of my students as well). But thank goodness for a few of those good souls who invite you to things. Louis, from institute, invited me to go with him and the singles from his ward to these natural springs in the mountains. About a two bus ride from Madrid. I went up Thursday night, stayed the night at his house, then we met up with the group at seven the next morning. I had a great time! It was a group about 12 and I don't think there was one native Spaniard. lol, apparently this part of the city is where a lot of the Latino families move. I met kids from Bolivia, Ecuador, Columbia, Venezuela. We played, games, snacked on food and passed along the day. At one point a few of us went on a hike and we found this great open area of the river - a little dipper - perfect for swimming - besides the fact that the water was FrAREEZINg cold. But, just so you all know I was the first one to jump in. = ) Don't worry I had a change of clothes so was able to change once we got back to our spot.
Tomorrow I have yet more citas for work opportunities. In the morning I am meeting with a woman in Madrid, who is looking for someone to help with help around the house. In the afternoon, I am meeting with a woman who is starting a nursery and wants me to cover the 0-3 yr old class. I didn't think I would be that interested wit h either, but after the activity on Friday with the kids from Barrrio five, I kindof feel a desire to live in the city. Its always attracted me, but I let the work I was able to find me keep me from developing any opportunities in the city. Maybe this lady has something good she can offer me....but don't worry I have gotten used to not to get my hopes up. Its just hard to know what I should do. Stay where I am in Alcala and just work with what I have here, or try to find stuff in Madrid to do - the latter is what I find more appealing, but we will see how it turns out. They both have their ventejas.
Well thats it for about now - for sure there will always be more to write about. Javi should be returning from Andulicia today and he sayed he would call me. We'll see if we hang out or not.
love you all!
un abrazo fuerte
Susie

actividades

2008-04-19T12:43:00.000-07:00

Friday night I went dancing in Madrid with Javi and four of his freinds. We went to the same cubana place as last time. It was fun, we only danced until 4:30 then we went to play games in casa.
This afternoon, it was freezing and raining terrible, but somehow we planned to go the the barn and ride horses today! It was a blast !he has two but I only rade one, arriba nad the the front. The other one was a lott bit mroe acive, and we were not sure if I would be able to control it or not.

Fist student

2008-04-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

I had my first student yesterday. It went great! I went to the house and met with the parents then they let me have the whole hour just chilin with the kid. His name is David and he is seven yers old and very smart. He understands a lot of English words. I spoke to him the entire time in English. He has problems forming sentences and expressing himself in English ya. But we practiced a lot of things. I had him show me all of the rooms of the house, which is what he has been practicing in school. We went to each room and he pointed out things that he knew. When I gave him a new word I had him sound it out, then write it on my notepad. A few times I had him make up a sentence, ec. "The Lamp is on the table." We also practiced parts of the body. We just took turns yelling out different parts of the body. I will think of a better game I promise. All in all I think the parents were pleased with the first day. I know that David had fun to. I started a log where I write down what we do each day, words we learned, and what I see he needs to practice for the upcoming week. I plan to do this with each child, for that reason I brought a pack of folders with me from the United States. sweet. I know.

2008-04-15T11:06:00.001-07:00

I'm moving to Spain!!!

2008-04-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

So things i wish I could do instead of going to Spain this summer:
Go to those potential weddings
visit Aunt Ann
visit Grandma's!
live with Karie
see Becky and those other dormies
Play with my nephews and my awesome sister
live in provo....no rather not do that
but see old friends!
see the padres
hang with my rad brother
There's alot of things I love and will miss terrible this summer, especially those people that I love.
Most of all Christy, I am said that I am not going to be there longer to be with you and my nephews. = ( I miss you guys an di wish that I always had more time to play and be the aunt I should be. I hope you know how much I love you nonetheless, and that I hope you still call me while I am here in Spain. I'll need your support!

until ruthie's wedding.
susie

2008-04-04T12:54:00.000-07:00

Today, I bought my plant tickets to return to Spain. I feel really good about it. Really, there is no doubt this is what I am supposed to be doing. Today I went around in the morning to hang up signs reading:

Soy una nativa Americana
doy clases de Ingles
a ninos, jovenes, y adultos
para obtener ayuda afuera de las aulas de clase
llamarme!
Susie Salisbury
6789392793
suswha@gmail.com

with my name and number on slips to be torn off.
I put up about fifty around the neighborhood.
I went on another walk this afternoon because it was so nice. I walked by my fliers, everyone had one or two ripped off. And that was in four hours.
anyway, it doesn't mean anything yet, but in those moments of insecurity, it just felt like a little nudge of hope. Thanks Padre!

My friend Javi and I

2008-03-20T09:07:00.000-07:00

These pics are for those who have complained about the lack of digital journaling. This lack weekend Javi and I went out for Kebobs and then tuesday for buffalo wings for his birthday. Pictures of eating seem to capture the atmosphere well so apologizes that I have so many!

Valencia

2008-03-17T07:55:00.000-07:00

Wednesday we are going down to Valencia for the huge celebrations there. Aparentaly every year at this time Valencia has huge parades, processions, fiestas. They built this gargantuan floats, parade them all around, and then burn them Wednesday night. We of course, are going purposely to see the fires!
I will try to take some sweet pics and update you on how it goes.
we leave 7 o'clock in the morn Wed, and then leave Valencia 3 am thrusday.
there was no space for hotels so a one day trip is the best we can do but I think it will be sufficient.

Santiago, the trip to the northwest

2008-03-17T07:18:00.000-07:00

Avila - the coldest place of my life. You know how sometimes people jock that hell will freeze over. That sentence would describe Avila perfectly. It was a frozen hell. The bad part was really just that the wind was so strong it just tore you to pieces. ! And it was the worst day of my cold so I was miserable the whole time. Actually, Rachel Loven and I even made a video screaming into my camera to demonstrate how miserable we were.
We stopped at this weird cathedral where some Jew saw a snake about to eat him after he mocked the penance of pious Christians. He repented before the serpent and was converted to Christianity. And also we saw this really old medieval wall. The wall really wasn't that cool . It was not even that tall or long. And it was so freakin cold. I just talked to Garrett the whole time about nose covering invention. I need to start the drafts for that, tis going to be money. Plus I really want to have one. It will come very much in handy.
Salemanca
(Old Castille) : Ancient Roman city, a Roman bridge. UNESCO World Heritage City. Has a Plaza Mayor, very similar to the one in Spain but a little smaller. From here, everything in the city branches off.
The plaza was beautiful! It definitely is smaller than the Plaza in Madrid. And it did not have the same, vibe about it. I little less lively and exciting.
A fascade on Calles de Liberos and San Isidro that appears like 400 scallop shells. It is called the “Case de las Conchas”
I didn't think this building was that impressive. Why is it so famous? I guess it is different, ints not every day there is someone crazy enough to plaster giant shells to their house.
A medieval ston monastery that has been converted into a discoteca called Camelot.
Salemanca
We received a tour from a BYU professor, who used to direct study abroads here. I think his name is Rice champ? Anyway, he knew everything!
He took us around to all the sites. I liked how he did it. It was quick, fast, and organized. We didnt waste time idling and each minute was full of something useful to know.
The University was interesting There was a stair case that had red splotches on it. Emily said that was where people would bleed after the run of the bulls. I don't know if I believe that, she also said the pine tree in the center was the oldest one in the world. My favorite thing was searching for the skull and frog on the facade outside. There is this huge carved facade in the entrance with a bunch of different people, animals, everything. We stood outside searching for it for quite a while. I do confess, I only found it after Andrew hinted at its coordinates.
He also took us to the two cathderals there. There are two, both built at different times with a different architectural style. This was a unique opportunity to compare the two. The Romanesque cathedral is lower and a little blander than the gran flowery Gothic type. I think I am becoming a Gothic fan.
After the tour, we were free to walk around the town. A small group of us, Sarah, Brock, Danni, Emily, Callie, and I started on our adventure. We found a few museums and crossed the bridge. Stopped at Cafe y te, for dinner. Most everyone ordered pizzas. I still had my sandwich from home at the hotel so I just got some hot chocolate. At least that is what I thought I was ordering, but when it came to me the better name to call it would be hot pudding! I was so thick! lol I think it was more o something that Spaniards use to dip their churros in. But none the less, it warmed me up well so it more than did its job.
When I did finally eat my lunch to was a little weird. How long can meat and cheese stay out with out turning bad? I didn't even eat the other won until the next day on the bus,. It was off too but I wasn't about to throw it way! I have never been a food waster, so if I have the food i will eat it - sanitary or not! Afterwards I did feel a little funny. I think that in the future I will skip the mayonnaise and just leave it with the essentials so it doesn't get soggy.
O, and Brooke gave me her sandwich too - which was a gross dry tortilla egg bochidillo. - but like I said - if there is food I will it. (also on the bus today, I ate three pieces of toast with jam just because Amy was giving them away. Not to mention the pack and a half of cookies that I ate plus Garrett's Pringles and Danni's digestive cookies that they shared.)
That night we watched Scrubs in the hotel. Not my favorite.
Breakfast was served in a cafe in the Plaza. It was a mystery to find. I had to go around the whole Plaza peeking into the windows until I saw Laura V. sipping leche at a table. It was just leche and a cressant roll. I had to beg for a refill of milk. O, well at least the Plaza is cute.

Santiago de Compastela: One of the most important religious cites in the world. The third holiest in the Catholic world, ranked after Rome and Jerusalem. Special postre called Santiago, a tart shaped like a cross, sold everywhere there practically. My parents gave it high rankings so I'll have to try it to see what the rave is about.
This was one of the first postres we tried. On our way to the cathedral we passed a store with the famous tart on display in the window. It was only four euro for the whole thing. We didn't think we could beat that so we entered and quickly made our purchase. We decided to wait to eat it until after the service.
The service was freezing. It was similar to the ones I have seen in Toldeo and the Valle de Los Caidos. The one exception, there were more seats. I suppose that those become necessary when during the heavy pilgrim season.
It was hard to share the sentiments of the priests and pilgrims of Santiago because of what I have learned from Faustino in Institute class. Did James really come to Spain? Is that his body? There is nothing wrong with National or religious traditions. As Americans, we except a lot of skeptical storeis ourselves, often without realizing they are relatively fictional. Washington and the Cherry Tree for example. The First Thanksgiving is another, as well as Revere's midnight ride.
For that reason I support the pilgrimage to Santiago. I am glad that the tradition has continued. It strengthens faith and revitalizes unbelievers. This reminds me of a principle taught be C.S. Lewis in this final book of the Narnia Series, The Last Battle. Here, Aslan accepts followers of the impostor monkey into his kingdom because, although they followed the wrong church, they did so unknowingly and faithfully.
After the death service (of coldness) we went outside to the warm sunshine. As has became tradition, we found a great spot on the floor and popped a squat to bask. Time for Tarta! We pulled out the great treat and divided it up among ourselves and others standing round. It was typical Spanish with lots of powdered sugar encima.
Wed – We drove to Santiago the whole day! The bus ride was forever!
but we made awesome stops so it didn't seem as long. My favorite was our stop in the port of Chambarro (?) The cutest little shore side city ever! The first thing I did, getting off the bus was run to this small little playground which was just right next door Wee! I swung on the swings. In the bus, Emily and Danni and Sarah and Erin had been talking about elementary schools and their different memories there. It was just amazing to look back to those long forgotten years and still see connections in to your life now. I think that who you war in elementary school and the teachers you have and what happens to you really does affect you who become. Kind of scary when you think about - hopefully you have a good experience, no?
Emily has this idea to write a memoriam of her elementary memories, I think I might join her , before I forget and they all go away.
The people in Chambarro were adorable. This was the first time we were able to sit and talk with the northern people. Everyone on the street greeted us, came up to as to talk, - it was so friendly! One old elder, working in his farm stroke up a conversation with us. After wards, we gave us lemons! we walked to the nearest cafe asked a young man behind the counter for three glasses and some sugar. He gave them to us without a hesitation,
We all sat around the table in the corner squeezing our lemons into the tall glasses. Laughing and smiling just like kids again . It was priceless and one of the best moments here in Spain.
We got back on the bus and rode to another great lookout on the coast. We got out and played on the shore. It was beautiful, and the cold water felt good against our naked feet. I wish at this point I would have separated from my 'group' a little bit more for a better grasp on the situation. It can be hard sometimes to really feel out a place for yourself when you are with other people the whole time. (I think that that is the one thing that I learned for this trip. I stayed with the same three people the whole time.. It was really fun and I loved it., because I love those girls, but I need to get away sometimes. I can not always go with the same people. I need to go out by myself more. Especially i n Leon - I hated going so slow! There are so much more to see and it takes other paces. Plus it is so hard for me because with them, I don't have a lot of influence so its hard to contribute to the group decision. For example we were walking back from our stop at the Panaderia, eating delicious dulces, and I said I wanted to walk back down the river, but when we got to the turn off point , I started to slow down and lead, but everyone, deep in tier own conversations, just kept walking the other way, until Danni, bless her heart, yells, "we're gonna walk by the river." at that point, all immediately turn around and follow. I feel sometimes that when I am with groups and have stuff to do that it keeps you from getting tose tings done.
Plaza reading in the sunshine. We stopped to bask. Entered three pilgrims. “Shalolm friends!” We greeted them as they came through the gate and slowly entered into the Plaza. They found themselves warmly welcomed with smiles and came over to talk. It was so fin to talk to them.
Before we left, we diced to try the Tarta de Santiago one last time (it was so good the first time.) We stopped into the same bakery as the day before. We just planned to get one slice today and split it among the the four of us. The couple there though wouldn't put up with it. The elderly woman, picked out three more pieces and gave us each one. “Enjoy your visit” she said.

Leon :
Not a lot had been said about Leon before we went. The sites were not even presented in class. For that, I was not expecting much, but man, was I surprised when we arrived. It is beautiful! The main calle through the city resembles the Gran Via in Madrid, yet on a smaller and quainter scale. I think Leon is more developed because it used to be the capitol of Spain before Phillip moved it to Madrid.

There are wonderful sites to see.
The Cathedral of Leon:
Windows! Who knew they could make such a difference! Every cathedral that we have visited in Toledo, Segovia, Seville have been beautiful, but this cathedral was the first to sport such huge colorful sources of light! Structurally, the cathedral is built differently to support windows in its frame. Every time a window is added, it takes away support for the roof. Architects had to use the Gothic flying buttresses to move weight of the roof outward to the outside walls.
The natural light added a celestial beauty and spiritualness to the vast emptiness. As the sun climbed in the sky, the pictures depicted in the stain glass grew brighter. I tried to pull out bible stories from the images. It was actually pretty difficult. I guess I don't understand the biblical symbolism that they used back then . Our tour guide in Salemanca, who I currently forget the name of, told us that since the average layperson in the Medieval Period, could not read or understand Latin, pictures and symbolism were used to teach the principles and characters of the scriptures. For example, Apostle Peter always hold keys. Apostle James always holds a cross and open book.
We returned later in the day when the sun was a little brighter. We had fun finding the circles of light on the floor, standing in the middle and taking pictures like it was a spotlight from the heavens. Ok, it sounds a little more sacrilegious now that I talk about it.
In the morning I woke up late. Yes, the sunrise would have been amazing. I am jealous of my roommate Erica. She got up every morning this trip to go running.
We went to a park, and Danni and I stopped a woman, Pilar, who was standing out side a small kiosk, to ask her about Leon. It has been a goal to try all of the typical tartas in every place we go. Pilar recommended the Tarta de San Marcos.
We walked down the street to the first bakery we found. There were five of us so we each got a different pastry to share. I got the best one in the world! It was huge and covered in fruit and flan! Mmmmmm.

Known for its handicrafts, old books and artifacts.
So I didn't find any old book shops, but I did walk into a small new bookstore of the calle mayor. I have decided that I love bookstores! Maybe its just here and the mysterious they offer in the foreign tongue, but I love to enter and bury myself in the pictures, words, recipes, places. You can reach out and contact any thing else in the world just by opening a book.

English Class opportunity comes! then leaves....

2008-03-03T13:44:00.000-08:00

So, since day one I have been trying to find opportunities to teach in English classes. I went around to three different schools, leaving numbers, feeling like an idiot, knocking and knocking doors but to no avail.

But then my ironic luck pulls through. Tonight one of the schools calls me out of the blue, ans asks me if I can come in this Wednesday because they need someone for about foour hours. Hell?! this is what I've been praying for!
but no, I have to be leaving this week for a trip. I'll be gone all week til saturday. He didn't sound like there would be many more opportunities coming up soon.
sigh, oh well. at least I did try.

Also, I asked Jeremy, one of the students I met at the club who teaches English Clases here somewhere, if he had any suggestions for techniques teaching Maribel. He said show a picture of something and ask her to describe it. Take about the different perspectives. Or, have her read a paragraph: do reading comprehension, pull out any words that she doesn't know and discuss them.

Goals to visit Tia Rita and Petri

2008-03-02T14:33:00.000-08:00

So, ever since the Boda I have had a goal to go visit my old elderly friends in Madrid. Seriously, I really want to go pass the day with them. But if I never do, let me say this now for my defense, I have had Encarne call Tia Rita two times! and she is always busy or its bad timing, or somehting. But anyway I feel annoying for always having to ask Encarne to call for me, I dont know if I will ask again or wait.
And its also getting so hard now to decide how to divide my time. I only have so many weekends left, and now theres so many ways for it to go: Madre, Padre, Familia aqui, Tia rita, PEtri, Javi, Meribol, studnets aqui, missionaries, ahi ahi ahi - I love spain I wont be ready to leave.

ug, I feel sick

2008-03-02T14:27:00.001-08:00

Ok, if any of my friends know me, hey would know that I am the weirdest eater ever. I enjoy mezlcas, and bland favors, and things that normal people wouldn't crave. Also, to a certain extent, I have been a rather healthy person in the diet I chose and the number of sweets I consume.
So all of that has gone to pot since I have been here in Spain. Its amlost as if I have lost all of my self control - or maybe jsut different priorites diet wise. I used to always try to eat was best for me, but now, I just like to try everything - theres so many new bueatiful things to try!
but none, the less, I think my linea is paying for it and I am kindof dreading the day when I am really having to come face to face with the weight I have gained. As for example when I return home and the bridal dress taht my sister is making for her wedding will not fit around the hips that have changed since she meseasured in January. And I am such a sucker for peer pressure. Seriously, so many people put so much into food here, they jsut want you to take and take. Abuelo came over yesterday and i love abuealo! He kept offerning me more food and more food, making sure my plate and cup were full at all times, and if I turned something done he would scoff and rule his eyes then look away like I had offended him! but If I took his offereing, he would smile, nod his head and seem very pleasant. So I kept eating and he kept smiling at me. Like I said, sucker for approval.

2008-03-02T14:00:00.000-08:00

SO I took JAvi to the stake dance. Yup, it was obviously a mormon dance. He was for sure the oldest one there, but I think he had fun still! I hope anyway, I had fun none the less. After he still wanted to do something because we got done so erly - 12 - so we went back over to his place in torron, a small pueblo right outside of Alcala. He has a really nice apartment, it was really cute and he had pictures of his nephews all over his entertainment center.
Yea, it did feel a little weird being in some guys apartment bit it wasn't that werid despite how it may sound. We ended up just tlaking for about four hours in his apartment. He had a lot of questions about hte gospel, I told him everyhting that I could explain in Spanish, which was actually a lot more htan I thought. I was very proud of myself! It really want a problem to communicate. We also played Spanish English games, so sometimes we'd write a sentence, draw a picture, or say a phrase and the other person had to translate it. IT was really fun actually.
Yup, well I actually love spending time with JAvi, he is really fun and its been fun to have a native spanish friend. We took a drive today, he showed me the Mormon chapel in Torron that he knew of, I gave him a Liahona to show him how the organization is set up. We've made future plans to hang out again. And he suggested going up to Andualcia with his family for Samana Santa. We'll see

Talking with Maribel

2008-02-29T11:24:00.000-08:00

Hola

Ok, so Maribel is the chica that had been looking around for a talking companion. We met for the second time today.

Our intercambio actually works very well. We usually meet up at some specified place, then we will talk about what ever for two hours. One hour in English and one hour in Espanol. Sometimes its hard to keep the conversation going. If you have no reason to be talking or no information you need to talk about, it kindof makes everything you say unrelevant. So I jsut say everything taht is unrelevant. But it is really good practice for me and I am so lucky that someone is doing this for me, its great! I hope that i am helping her as well.

Today, it was nice outside so we just walked around the park. Actually, about an hour into it, she had mentioned that she had to go to the store to buy a present for a friend, so I opted to go with her. It felt better being productive and talking at the same time.

It was hard though, because it took her forever to decide on a gift, and I wanted to help but I don't know what her friend is like, and then I helped her finally decide but I think I helped her make the wrong decision and now I just dont know! sigh.

She is thirty two, has one older sister one older brother both married. She lived in England for two years working with an advertising company. After a while she completely hated it and moved back to Spain. She has been here for five months and is curently looking for a job. She had realize she doesn't like her line of work but is too old, and far along to change fields.

She perfers the outdoors and nature and loves the country. She dose not like to run, but is in a hiking club.

She wants to keep up her English.

Ok, well thats it for now, I don't know how many more times we will meet up before I leave but its been good so far.

layts

susie

Dirty Dancing Cubana Nights

2008-02-29T01:07:00.000-08:00

Take any clip from the movie, Dirty Dancing Cubana Nights, and you would pretty much have my evening yesterday! I met Javi at the corner outside my house after his dance class and we went up to a Latin Disco in Madrid. (A, Madrid is so much cooler by car than by bus. And at night time it looks amazing!)

In the car he explained to me how Latin Dancing differs from the Spanish style. Apparently, Latins are more free with their bodies, more in the lower hips while Spaniards put more effort into technique and form.

We also talked a lot about the Cuban economy. I don't know alot about Cuba, but apparently I know even less than I thought I did after talking with him.

I had always pictured Cuba as a small, scary, dirty place, where everyone is running around scared and in fear of this oppressing dictator Fidel Castro. Death by violence is very possible and it would not be safe to go there.

When I told Javi this he just laughed. "No, Cuba is not Peligroso." he said, (no, he doesn't speak English) He went to Cuba last summer with a volunteer organization. he explained the Cuba economy to me as he saw it. (roughly translated) "There is not any money, very, very little. Trade is cut off from the United States so a lot of important products they don't have. For that they have to be very creative. For example, They do not have milk because they do not have cows, so do you know how they make cheese?" he asks, I didn't know so he continued, "They use the peel of fruit! And they make cheese! It is exactly like the cheese you would eat on a sandwich.
Everyone has what is necessary. They do not have a lot of money, but everything is free. They basic things that is, beer, chocolate, and things like that are not free but all of the basic needs are. Every citizen gets a card that says thier name and how big their family is. Depending on the size and their needs, they go to this store payed for by the government and pick up their things. Bread, medicine, toothpaste, it is all free. And everyone has it.

The Cubans are some of the happiest people. They do not have a lot but what they do have they share with everyone. When I left, I had one friend who did not have anything, hardly anything. But when I left he shared his (I didn't understood what it was his friend gave to him, but I think it was food or something, but you get the point of the story) with me. They are humble, but are always happy. Here, people have so much, but even with so little people in Cuba are happier.

They love to dance and smile and have fiestas. In the streets, they will carry a big stereo and play music. People will dance in the streets.
One time, I was up very early in the morning working on the school, and there was a man with his stereo who came by. Every moment is a party.
They are very clean people. Very clean clothes, hygiene, teeth. They do not have a lot of things but they always keep themselves very clean.

I was surprised by what Javi said. Through his interpretation it seemed that the Cuban governement was working well to provide the basic needs of the people. And maybe, if I went there, I wouldn't be gunned down as quickly as I thought.

We arrived to the place around 12. You actually had to pay to get in - 20 E for the both of us. Count this as my first Spanish date? It did include free drinks and food though...though we didn't eat any of the food, next time I wont eat so much before I come.

Salsa, marengue, Buscah (or some dance that starts with a B), cha-cha. We danced and danced. Javi showed me new moves every time. and yes, he did try to teach me to shake my hips correctly.

Towards the end of the night, however, I was getting more tired, and he was getting more affectionate. A, he started blowing on me then B, started ruffling my hair. O great. And then, here's the kicker, he said I had chocolate on my neck then tried to lick it off!

But if there's one thing I have learned at BYU it is to know when and how to say no. Sorry Javi, but I don't want to kiss you. (sometimes I am thankful for how blunt the language gap allows you to be)

After that we just made faces at each other while we were dancing. Sometimes he would get up real close, pucker, then flip away really fast. what a tease.
Anyway some things can only last so long, so by the end of the night we were were sitting down and he asks me why I don't want to kiss him.
If a guy ever asks you that, just be blunt about it, its the best way. I'm glad we were able ti talk about it actually it made us better friends.

I don't know you well enough. I said, if I kiss a guy I want to make sure that he is a good guy and someone I can trust.

You want to be friends first, hang out more, get to now each other by doing things together, then if things are good then you would kiss him.

yes. but you get to know someone by hanging out with them before you kiss them.

I wasn't surprised that things didn't go bad after that. Nope, things got better. They always do. Sometimes its hard to set lines and rules but if you do it will always help the relationship. We were both able to say what we wanted and would do. Communication is key.
After that I asked him if we could go, I was tired and done for the night.
He dropped me off, said he'd call me tonight. There is a single adults dance at the stake center in Madrid I invited him to. Still thinking if I want him to come though.

PS, on the way home we also talked about the other night and how I got a ride home with them and if I was thinking they were bad guys or something. lol, I thought it was so funny - like he could read my thoughts. Yes, I said, I was scared and I did not know if I could trust you. He said that Oscar had said I probably was thinking that. how brillant guys are.

Charity, the two circles of

2008-02-28T09:13:00.000-08:00

“Do what you will, there is going to be some benevolence, as well as some malice, in your patient’s soul. The great thing is to direct the malice to his immediate neighbors whom he meets every day and to thrust his benevolence out to the remote circumference, to people he does not know."

The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis

This is what I see in my life sometimes, and one thing that I need to stay away from. Most of the time, its much funner and easier to serve someone you don't know, or to go somewhere big and far to do something big and great. I know that when I'm standing in the bus at the line, I always look around for that old woman I can say hi to or help to the bus. I want to find an old folks home to go volunteer at. And although those are great things, many times, I don't go out of my way to see if Keri, my companion in line with me, is having a good day. I don't invite others in my group to come with me to an activity I have found, or to accompany me to the old folks home.

Its hypocritical to be prejudiced in where you place your charity. I want to make sure that I can truly be a person of Christlike love. Help those close to me as well as those who are far away.

portion of letter to a friend, posted for a summary

2008-02-25T06:38:00.000-08:00

my Spanish is slowly getting better, its a process but one that I am loving. I started taking Dance classes here. its kind of my own special little thing -

Tutoring with Merlinda?

2008-02-23T16:25:00.000-08:00

So, I called this girl today who had left a flyer up in the school asking for English tutoring lessons. Her name is Merlinda, i think, and we are meeting this Wednesday at the Plaza de Cervantes. I dont know anything about her, she sounded mid twenties on the phone, but I'm excited to help out and I think the conversations exchange will be good practice.
ps. this is what I have been looking for.

The Boda Hoy

2008-02-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

grandmas,
great family
candy, food drinks, talked to Alberto and his wife for the first time since I've been here. Why was I so scared of them before? I thought they looked so old and scary. We talked for about ten minutes, they showed me all of their pictures from Seville. Alberto is like his parents, he likes to show and talk.
Julio, the tio of Encarne, was one of the first of the family that I met. Immediate love. I don't know what it is about him but I just became friends with him! and his wife! Abuelo (thats what he told me to call him) talked to me a lot. A few times I brought them chocolates from the tables. The old ladies loved it when I brought them chocolates. I talk so easy with old people, if only every one was so free and unrushed. If I talk to anyone else, I feel that I have to hurry with what I am saying as not to waste their time, and if I do say something it has to be for a reason. Old people don't care what you say so simple - whats your faovrite color- questions are just as good to them as any other.
I love joking with old ladies and having them love you.
Another friendship was made, I now have to Madrid go hang out with the great aunt. I would rather go pasear the day with her than than go on a tripe with the group.
Perti, Abuelo's wife, showed me the flamenco on our way to the car. She just stopped midway through the hall way and started pulling me around in these crazy dance moves. She had the flaying arms and everything. Funnest thing in my life. I thought we would all die laughing.
Again, my decision to take dancing lessons is still paying off. The number of times to has come up in conversations and helped form friendships.
I love life sometimes.

Baile Baile Baile

2008-02-23T06:18:00.000-08:00

We had another day trip yesterday. We didn't return too late, around eight o'clock. After we ate, I went to Sarah's and Ericka's casa to watch a movie. It was an ice cream night- they brought the Helado and everyone else brought a topping. The ice cream was amazing.

When I got there I really wasn't feeling so hot. I haven't slept a lot the last couple nights, so my body was starting to feel it. Sarah gave me some asprin. What would have been best for me was if I had gone straight to bed after the movie, but ....

I had already made plans to meet Javi from my dance class at the club. And I made Oscar (my teacher) promise to save a dance for me when I came again this weekend. I couldn't back down?! And I really have been wanting to go, I don't have a lot of time left to go dancing, especially since my classes end soon and I don't know if I'm going to pay to continue or not.

I decided just to go, and If I still felt sick when I got there, I could jsut stay for a couple of songs then leave right away. Or so was the plan.

When I got there I was definitely out of place. American girl, jeans, long sleeve shirt, big frumpy coat. My hair was everywhere and I was only wearing eyeliner. In comparison to the GUAPAS that were elegantly dancing around me, I appeared like a child I am sure.

Even Osacr looked me up and down with a strange eye when he greeted me. But I didn't care, I was gald enough I was there. Those other girls didn't look so comfortable anyway so I wasn't jealous. Oscar was shocked that I was there alone and quickly pulled me over to another group of his friends to introduce me.

He also pulled me to the bar to get a drink, I think it would have been fine if I just asked for a coke but I didnt know what there was and I didnt know if this was going to be on his tab or mine so I just said no.

He was a little, "ok, ...if you're sure you don't want anything," He left me there to wait for a mereangue song that we could dance together.

Whew, great, at least if I stood there all by myself all night I would have at least one dance reserved.

I wasn't standing there long (although it seemed like it at the time, and i was trying so hard not to appear bored or alone - so every now and then I would clap my hands and kindof sway to the music like I was all into it. I don't appreciate pity stares.) before the guy from last class showed up. He arrived with a friend - he had called me around nine to see if I was still going to the club, I told him to meet there at 12:30. He was a little late, I was just relived I know had someone to stand by.

Thank goodness that at this point all of my pride was gone so I didn't have to put on a show for the Espanole. Probably had I been in better circumstances I would have acted a little more stand offish- requiring him to work for my conversation and attention. But at that point I was like -screw it- i am jsut going to have fun with this guy even if I do seem stupid, immature, or unattractive. (Remeber, I am dressed down and in comparsion ot the other ladies in the room I feel like I am twelve - Plus I later come to find that between Esponale and his friend Oscar they have more years than my father.) I asked them questions, I made jokes, I said I didn't understand if I didn't understnad. I'm sure I sounded and looked so stupid, but we actually had a blast! I juast acted totally cool and myself with them, and themselves in return. We just kept laughing the whole time! and I got to learn killer Dancing moves. Javi (the nombre de la Espanole) is very good at dancing. I mostly danced with him, and we usually just did merangue but we preacticed Salsa on the side. Oscar, the friend, was being a dancing bum and didn't dance at all the whole night! I don't know why because from what I did see from the his few swayes on the sidelines he had some killer moves. At one point when our connecting link, Javi, was out dancing with another girl, I crushed the wall of awkwardness by asking Oscar to show me a dance that he knew. He showed me the ... starts with a B. You stand facing together, right hands together. Both couple steps back on the right, then forward on the front while bringing the left hand up and together to push off for the next back step. Those are the basic steps and then you add in cool turns and twirls and it gets excited. I also showed them some country dancing skills as well as ballroom and swing. Yes, Javi and I did actually Waltz around the discoteca. And I was leading.

I saw a lot of cool dances. Did you know that they have Spanish line dances? I was surprised too . It was awesome what they did though - they worked off the typical box turn but at each vuelta some guy would yell out what dance move to do so every time it was different. My faovrite was when the men dropped to the floor to do push ups and the women stayed standing lassoing.

Javi did buy as all drinks at the beginning. I told them I didn't drink alcohol. They laughed when I asked for water. I ended up getting orange Fanta. I watched them open the bottle and pour it into my glass. In Javi and Oscars, the waitress added a little something special on the bottle, Javi stopped her before the third glass. I jsut had a little sip but then I left it on the table to go out to the dance. I've heard all of those horror storeis about people slipping stuff into your drink when you aren't there, so when I got back I was a little hesitant to drink it. I had a few sips but didn't finish it.

And ok, here is the sketchy part which I feel really stupiud about but I am still unsure about - a few hours into the night Oscar comes by again to say hi, chatting with the guys etc. He pulls us all over to the bar and hands us all a glass with some juice or something. I told him I don't drink alcohol, and they were all like its not alcohol, Oscar said that he dosent drink alcohol either - but its just lemon juice and something else - ok I said. I don't know why at this point I felt that I could trust what ever they say, but to a certain degree I do/did trust them and they are nice and dont need to slip alcohol into someones drink, right? Anyway, we toasted and I took a sip while the guys bottomed up. It tasted like rasberry fruit concentrate. I've never had beer, vodka, vine, or any other alcoholic beverage but it didn't seem like it tasted like any of those. I had Javi finish the rest of it for me.

When we started leaving though, I think they started joking about me haven drinken alcohol - I got mad because I didn't know if they were kidding or serious - I made Javi tell me the truth and promise me that he hadn't given me alcohol. Despite hes assurances I still wonder....

It was late and I lived far so Javi and Oscar gave me a ride home. lol, I guess I'm pretty lucky that they didn't try to kill me or something. But I find ppl are generally better than you think they are.

La Cumpleanos de Mi Madre

2008-02-21T06:58:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was my madre's birthday. I was really excited. I wish I had started thinking of something to do before so I could have done something really cool, now my head is filling with ideas but. But nonetheless, I made her a birthday card. I don't ahve a lot with me so ... lol, I ended up folding a piece of computer paper in half, and wrote a cute message with blue pen. I tore up a red and blue valentine that I had and glued pieces of it on the front for confetti.

She wasn't up when we left for school (i learned later that was her birthday gift to herself) so I left it propped up on the counter so it would be the first thing seen when you enter the kitchen. When I came home it was hanging on the fridge.

She loved it, and has been showing everyone who has come over, sisters, mothers, friends.

There was nothing I could think of to buy so I decided to help her with a ll of the household chores. We cleaned the kitchen! ironed! folded the clothes! then after all the housework we both sat in the saloon doing our needle work. I will make the best little old spanish woman some day.

I had to leave for dance class at seven and didnt get back until after dinner. So I wasnt able to sing - maybe next week when we officially celebrate and have a tart.

Partido de Futbol!

2008-02-21T06:43:00.000-08:00

We're going to see a prof futbol game today! I am really excited. ITs not REAL Madrid (we're not that rich) but it is in the stadium so how cool will taht be! The team colors that I am rooting for are white, blue, and red. Good thing I brought my face paint from the U.S. with me. I knew it would come in handy. Also, before the game we are stopping for Doner Kebabs, I love life.

La Feista Commenced!

2008-02-16T15:41:00.000-08:00

Ok, So we were able to carry out the fiesta! Do you remember me asking my madre about it? At first I told her about twenty or fifteen people would come. Well, word ended up spreading to the whole group, and as it turned out no one had any other plans, so Susie and Keri's Valentines party became the thing to do on everyones planner. Yea, o no.

Once you included everyone from our group (plus the random Japonese roommates that people also invited who then also invited their Japones friends) we had over forty people come to the house. Encarne had people playing parchezi in the salon, I started a game of charades in the living room, and Keri and Laura held down the Kitchen area where people congregated around the snake table. (everyone was encouraged to bing a treat to share, Encarne also made bizchoco de mansana and served two boxes of juice and one box of milk)

Both Encarne and Angel seemed to be having a good time, at least I think so. I had expected them to kind of stay back out in the other areas of the house, but they stayed there in the middle of it al the whole time. Well, Angel mostly watched from the side, but Encarne was talking and serving and teaching all over teh place. I'm pretty sure she got on everyone who let an English word slip as well. If I ever said anything in English thta night, she would come over and hiss at me while poking me with her finger :espanol, espanol!: (she tries to encourage me and the others to speak Spanish ALL the time. She was shocked and disappointed when she found out we talked English amongst each other.

Honestly, I had a blast hosting the party. It was fun to have the other students over to show them my house and my padres. Everyone loved them! Just cus they were so cool and in the middle of things. But, I really wish I knew what Encarne and Angel thought though. They didn't say anthing about it once people left, although I tried to bring it up. "So, what did you guys think about the party?" "I think it went well, what about you all?"

Today though, Keri and I were leaving to go to Sara's house who is in are group to watch a movie.
Angel was like, :why dont you watch a movie here sometimes, we have those big speakers.:
"Yea, we can have another fiesta!" -Yo
"O, no more fiestas! Maybe six or eight others and then you two. There were forty people! you said, 20, maybe 15, mas o menos." - Encarne
"Exactly, MAS o menos. Just a grande Mas." - Yo, innocent awkward giggle - he he

They both laughed and Encarne, shook her head to the side, "Eres mala."

That has become my second name in this house. = )

Segovia and Pardoza and the Lamb Testicle

2008-02-16T00:09:00.000-08:00

We went on a day trip to Segovia. It was a nice day, we were all pleasantly surprised, although a little over dressed, since the Weatherman had forcasted snow and rain.

I didn't see as much of Segovia as I wanted. I blame that on not having a map though, I should have been more agressive in searching out the places I wanted to go though. For example, it would have been really fun to see the old Mint where some of the earliest coins (dating back to the Romans and through the 18th century) were made.

We did get some great sites though. Cinderellas castle for one, (don't worry I found my knight in shinging armor inside) and then the last gothic Cathedral built in Europe before teh Renaissance began. I liked this Cathedral in particular becasue the stone they used is a littler shade then the gloomy gray that the Toldeo and Seville Calthedrals had. It made the outside look a little more happy. Although the Cathedral did sport the flying buttresses, and pointed arches, you could see some of the rising Renaissance influences. For one, the shape is not shaped as a cross like the others. And the statues and decorations on the trimming were more curvy, less spiky and intimidating. Hopefully that description makes sense but its the best I can do.

After Segovia, the group went about an hour or so south to a small pueblo called Paradoza. (?) The structures, buildings, roads, haven't changed since Mediveal Times. It was .... empty. There aren't a lot of people who live there to begin with but on Fridays I guess its not the place to be. They say Saturdays people from Madrid come up.

Despite the lack of activity we found ways to intertain ourselves. There was a huge field infront of the castle. We played Castilos and Cadeabears (?)
(casltes and Beavers), Dum-da-Da-Da (which I have at last been able to pass on and enjoy once again! thank you girls camp!), Oggly-boogly, and of course, the animal game. Mid way through our games, this groupd of old people came and circled the park. I think it was town pasear hour. lol, I love Spain.

So, to end the celebrative eveing, we decided to treat ourselves to an athuentic Horno/Asado dinner. This area (segovia ish) is famous for their baked pig and lamb. They actually use a brick oven and cook the things whole. They serve them to you, and a group of four or five will share each animal. It actually is quite an expensive dish, but the program found a way to cover half of it. I tried not to think about the money. But it turned out to be an excellent Spanish feast.

So the waiters come and they place this large dish in the middle of te table, it has all of thise animal parts sticking out here and there. Everyone just grabs a fork and pulls out the part of the slaughtered closest to them. My nieghbor and I had the fortune to pull out the lower tail area. The lower area...was still intact. We both had exactly half of what I think must have been a spine, hip-leg, and one large baked testicle. At first I didn't know what it was. "What's this ball thing?" I pushed it around with my fork at first. It streched connected to an elasticy cord. "Oh, no."

OnceI realized what it was I knew it would happen. I had to eat. I didn't want to, and if given teh option before hand I would never have requested it. But here it was, on my plate. The culture, the opportunity, they new things. The whole day became built up to that moment. It was all or nothing.

Like a gumball at the beginning. Big and round it filled my mouth. First bite, your teeth bite into a dense rubbery outerlayer, the inside suave, soft creamy like - like blended cottage cheese.

AFter wards I downed my coke, bread, and had three more helpings of salad. Needlesstosay, I was done with the meat entres.

But! I overcome a new barrier in my life, and I feel that I have grown and entered a new level of living!

Goodnight Segovia! Goodnight Pardoza! I have met your cultural challenges and I ahve conquered!

Fiesta Manana?

2008-02-13T14:46:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow is Valentines day so I really want to have a party! Hanging out in Madrid would be cool, but its to cold to play in the park or anything. I asked mi Madre if I could have people over here. lol, I wish you had seen her face when I said about twenty. Nonetheless she said it would be fine. I hope I can tell people about it tomorrow and hopefully there will be some interest to come and party. But who can pass up valentine games?

Haciendo Puntos con mi Madre

2008-02-13T14:40:00.000-08:00

Today my madre taught me how to knit! I bought a roll of yarn in Granada this weekend in anticipation of a lesson. I finally had a free afternoon today so I asked her if she had time to show me. She was more than happy to. I think she likes to teach me things, I hope so anyway because I ask her all the time.

The knitting skills? They are coming along, I have about seven rows so far - which no is not much - but I plan to have a beautiful bufando (scarf) soon, just wait.

Bailer?

2008-02-13T14:05:00.000-08:00

I met this girl, Danille, from New Jersey at the Alcalingua (the University I attend). We became friends when I randomly went with her to the Peluqueria to get her hair dyed. ( I talked her into getting a purple tint. Call it vicariously living?) Anyway I'm glad that I went with her because today she invited me to go to a dnace class at this club with a couple of her girlfriends. It turned out to be really fun!

The class was in this random bar in Alcala. It was all empty except for about the fifteen people who showed up for the class. A woman, Jessica, from CA, has been taking classes there for the last few weeks and she is the one who lead us there. The class included us six American girls, five Spanish men, and Oscar, the teacher.

We began with simple basic steps. Most of the moves I already know from Socail 180 or just the country dances I've been to. Oscar commented on how well I followed. = )

The five Spanish men? yes they were definitely men. Ok, maybe just one seemed to be in his forties, that would be Alberto who has been taking classes there for a year and a half. He scolded me for moving my shoulders with my hips. "Just the legs!" He kept insisting.
Angel was maybe late twenties. Think of Antonio Vanderez twenty pounds heavier and week long hangover. Good dancer though, He told me to come back on Friday night to practice when the club is open. I might take him up on that.
The other three I don't remember their names. One in the brown was a terrible dancer! I couldn't believe he was native Spanish. The better of the last two had horrible BO that reaked from his body, but he was actually one of the best dancers and while I was dancing with him I weighed the costs of the smell with the great twirls.

Well I didn't learn a lot, but I had a lot of fun, Especially with the Spanish teacher and partners (I mean - it is Spain, what better place to learn the Marangue?) We talked to Oscar after wards about signing up. Its 25 Euro for a month (so 5 euro a class?) I really am tempted to do it but I'll give myself a week to think about it.

After class, Dani wanted me to go with her over to these guys place for a while. I was all about going with her until I decided las moment at the bus stop to go home. I fell bad for leaving her there by herself (although I really am glad I came home) and I think she was a little upset to. O well. I hope she invites me to another dance place tmw, maybe I should invite her to my valentines party? yes, I probably should. Even though I don't know how she'll fit in the group for games. fellowshipping right?

A Ver: before I end I have to write about this couple that I met today! It is Jessica and Jeremy. Of course I only met them for about twenty minutes but so far they have impressed my expectations. They have been married for about three years working professional jobs in LA. Sick of the traffic and pressured life, they on a whim decided to do something a little crazy before they started their family and really settled down. So they packed everything up and moved to Spain! They had a friend here so he was able to help them find a place and get set up with phones, internet, bank accounts, etc. They also signed up for their beginner Spanish classes at the local University. Jeremy has a job here as well, teaching English Classes at a small organization.

Pretty much I am in love with their adventures. On top of that they seem to be the nicest people ever. Dani and I didn't know how to get back to the train station so they happily showed us where to go making sure we got there ok, and offering their place if we ever needed anything.
I don't know if anything will come out of it, but I asked Jeremy about volunteering at his job sometime. He seemed like it might work and said he would talk to me about it later. - I don't want to get my hopes up to high, but that would pretty much be amazing if I could go and help out. Again, one of my biggest goals here is to get involved, and I can't think of a more perfect way to do it.
But anyway, it wouldn't hurt to keep your fingers crossed for me.
Thanks

Seville

2008-02-06T16:01:00.000-08:00

Seville:

I saw it! and I loved it! If this place is so cool, I can't wait for what other areas! I dedcided that I am in love with Mudejar. Yes, a lot. It is definelty my favorite type of architecture. I think its because, I like the colors. I like that its smaller and more ....special when you take the time to look a it. and most of all I like that its geometric. Its shapes - all made out of shapes. Isn't that cool? I also had a great idea to complete the sourvinours of my trip - I want to buy a square tile peice in every place we go , to make a larger picture woith a ll of them. we'll see how it turns out. so far, i haven't gotten any and we have all ready been through two major places (toledo, and Merida) maybe I'll see some tmw?....

ok and ten bucks to rent a bike , what do you think?I really want to ...and probably will, becasue I'm crazy! woooo!! lol.

The cathedral was amazing, its the largest gothic cathedral in the world. And its not freezing like Toldeo was. We saw the tomb of Christopher Columbus.

I finally understand what flying ventrices are.

MUDEJAR - Gr

We walked along the river side of the Guadaliral ..??? We climbed upon Triana Bridge, whihc used to be called Isabel II.

WE saw a practice procession for Holy Week that takes place in Early April. Seville is renown throughout Spain and Europe for the processions that go on during that time. It was cool to see people practicing to walk in a pararde, I didn't know that much effort went into that.

But still I have to ask my self - what can I take from this, what is it going to help me learn? become? what now? sort of a thing... that I have to think a bout a little bit more.
I'll tell you how bike riding goes tomorrow. Callie, never found me so I might be going out a lone.
Over two thousand years old. Stands at the base of the Guadalquivir river (the only river port in the Iberian Peninsula). (Alamillo bridge, really want to see it) MAny old Roman structures remain such as the: aqueduct (ogeez really excited to see this one!) the Giralda. The bell tower of the Cathedral. One of the first most important symbols in the city. It is topped with a statue, known locally as El Giraldillo, representing Faith. The tower's interior was built with ramps rather than stairs, to allow the Muezzin and others to ride to the top. really big for its time. The Torre do Oro. Just a simple cylindrical tower. It has twelve sides, and the top of the dome is covered in gold. It was used as a prison during the middle ages.

Most excited to see: The Alcazar of Seville,

Mudejar styles: a mescla from :Jewish, Christian, and Muslim.
(The biggest difference between this style and others such as the Gothic, or Romanesque, is that it does not try to create new things, but simple takes other styles and reinvents or changes them)
*Uses cheap material elaborately worked, such as brick, tile, wood, and plaster
*geometric characters
*tile patterns on walls (its amazing with what you can do with jsut a few simple shapes)
*horse show arches, windows
*squares, block towers
Took

The up coming trip and sites

2008-02-04T14:34:00.000-08:00

Ola!
It has been a while since I have written.
This next week we are going on our first five day trip. We leave tmw at 7:45 to board the bus, then are off to Andalucia, which is the territory that covers the southern tip of Spain. While we are there, we are going to visit some prime cities, including, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, and Magala. These were all cities that were inhabited by the Moors for hundreds of years.

Granada was the last city to be brought under Castilian rule, under the riegn of Ferdinand and Isabel in 1492. It has said to have been inhabited since "the dawn of history." (yes, wikipedia baby!) How many cities in America can say that? The first treaty drafted between Granada and the new controlling Castialan rule allowed the Muslims to stay practicing with their faith unmolested. With five years, however, the Inquisition was growing, and surrounding bishops were not happy with the slow conversion rate. Soon, forced baptisms and conversions saturated the city with Christians and Moriscos (converted Muslims.) Although a lot of the Muslim structures where destroyed after the conquest, what remains is the largest collection of Muslim artifacts in Europe. The fall of Granada signifies the end of the 800 year long presence of Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula. Most excited to see: the Alhambra First moorish citadel and place, Second additions by Carlos V in a renaissance style, third Philip II, Italianized it and added many rooms inside. Before it was referred to as "a pearl set in emeralds" the pictures show the white washed buildings surrounded by the deep forest green of the cushioning trees.

Cordoba: the once capital of Caliphate of Cordoba
Under Moorish rule, it became the center for economic, and social activity. It was at this time, the largest city in Europe and most likely the world.
Most excited to see: the Mezquita was the second largest masque in the world. Inside the Mezquita, Patio de Los Naranjos. I can't wait to smell it.

Seville: Over two thousand years old. Stands at the base of the Guadalquivir river (the only river port in the Iberian Peninsula). (Alamillo bridge, really want to see it) MAny old Roman structures remain such as the: aqueduct (ogeez really excited to see this one!) the Giralda. The bell tower of the Cathedral. One of the first most important symbols in the city. It is topped with a statue, known locally as El Giraldillo, representing Faith. The tower's interior was built with ramps rather than stairs, to allow the Muezzin and others to ride to the top. really big for its time. The Torre do Oro. Just a simple cylindrical tower. It has twelve sides, and the top of the dome is covered in gold. It was used as a prison during the middle ages.

Most excited to see: The Alcazar of Seville,

Mudejar styles: a mescla from :Jewish, Christian, and Muslim.
(The biggest difference between this style and others such as the Gothic, or Romanesque, is that it does not try to create new things, but simple takes other styles and reinvents or changes them)
*Uses cheap material elaborately worked, such as brick, tile, wood, and plaster
*geometric characters
*tile patterns on walls (its amazing with what you can do with jsut a few simple shapes)
*horse show arches, windows
*squares, block towers

*Yes! I did use Wikipedia! and if you find it useful, good!

Toledo

2008-01-27T06:46:00.000-08:00

Toledo is an ancient town surrounded on three sides by a river. It used to be a Moorish strong point until taken over by the Christians in the eleventh century. It is one of the few places in Spain where three religions (Christian, Muslim, and Judaism) co-existed at the same time. Many of the Moorish masques still stand, but after Alfonso I took control in 1085, many were turned into Christan cathedrals. We visited three main sites, Cathedral of Toledo, Alcazar, and a Jewish Synagogue.
One of the first places we visited was the Cathedral of Toledo. The Cathedral is as large and intricate as you would imagine any Medieval Cathedral to be. Throughout the halls, there are large red hats dangling down from the ceiling. They hang over the burials of the bishops who have chosen to be buried there. The hats hang in the air until they rot away. Some of them looked pretty old.

We were able to attend a nine o'clock mass on Saturday. It was peaceful. I did not understand a lot, ok any, of the symbolism of the rituals they were doing, but knowing they were doing them in reverence and remembrance of their God was enough. They used inscents a lot, like the old testiment where the smoke carriers their prayers unto God in the heavens. It almost smelled like old men. The bishops there, sang, it was beautiful.

The streets are tiny crawl spaces between buildings. Somehow cars still manage to go through them, beware as a pedestrian, they do not yield. Every time we heard a car rumbling nearby, we learned to throw ourselves to the sides of the walls or rush into near by entryways. One of my friends actually did get car waked. Don't worry, she came out ok.

The Alcazar is a large, square like fortress. It was closed for remodeling so we were not able to view the inside, but even from the street, the size and outer architecture can not hide its greatness. The walls seem to leap to the sky, and even from the far-off view it stands well above anything else in the city. One of the things I liked the best were the architecture of the outside walls. Since it was built over a long period of time, each wall is designed with a different style. Even from a few miles off it is a significant difference. In modern times it has been used as a military academy, and apparently was besieged by the Republicans in the Civil War (1930's).
The actual layout of the city is a complete disaster. Apparently, the early designers of the city wanted to wind the streets in a maze-like manner to slow down any enemies who were trying to reach the castle. I'm pretty sure that they reached their goal. Besides being unnavigable, the streets are about as big as an over-sized sidewalk. Somehow cars still manage to go through them. As a pedestrian, beware, the cars do not yield. Every time we heard a car rumbling nearby, we learned to throw ourselves to the sides of the walls or rush into near by entryways.
Besides for its religious artifacts, Toledo is also known for many other things including swords, marzipan, and some weird type of jewelry which I can't remember the name of. Steel production has been its main economic source for centuries. There were sword shops everywhere with every type of sword you can dream of. Lord of the rings, El Cid, Zorro, Arabian. They dangled from the walls and the ceilings like mirrors reflecting in the light. We met one sword maker named, Mariano Zamorano. His family has been in the sword business for the last 125 years. He is the fifth generation to be called Mariano Zamorano. I think its to make their trade mark (a sword with MZ on the side) a little more lasting. He is teaching his niece to carry on the trade now. Mariano knew everything about swords you could think of, he even tried to compare the perfect sword with the perfect woman. “What do you think makes a perfect woman?” he askes. Personality? Looks? Intelligence? (I was trying to saver some respectability for the female race). "No, No." he says. "For a perfect woman she needs to be easy to move and to escort, flexible with tasks and obstacles, and balanced with a stable mind." Mariano continues then to pull out a sword, "Like a woman, a sword needs to be light," tosses it in the air. "Flexible." Sticks the point in the floor and bends the blade like a C. "and balanced." Placing the ¾ portion of the blade on his finger and he rises it perfectly in the air. Yes, we were all sold.
The Marzapan is a sweet soft bread like sweet. We all came to the same conclusion that it resembles a wet, sweet cookie dough. It wasn't amazing! But it was different than anything I have tried before, I would definitely recommend it for a treat.
The art, which I unfortunately don't remember was called is found everywhere as well. We were able to catch an artisan in action in his shop. He was working on a small medallion for a necklace. The medallion piece was fastened to a stand under a light. With a small fine thread of gold in hand, he would position the tip of the thread on the surface and softly pound it into the material. He worked quickly and before we knew it – he had molded an entire geometric like design into this small necklace piece. It was amazing.
This was one of the first sites we have visited on our trip. I am still trying to find ways to really connect and understand the cites we are seeing. Sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming to see and be surrounded by so much historical significance. You hardly know what to do to 'truly' take it in and appreciate it. I think that is one of the things I am most worried about, not appreciating the history or significance enough. With that aside, I do feel that I learned a lot with our visit to Toledo. It was helpful having the three groups give their presentations. It was great information to know and facts that I wouldn't have looked up by myself. Background information truly does add a deeper meaning to what you see. I think that for this next trip I am going to do a little research of my own before we leave, so maybe I'll be able to understand these next sites even better.

Madre

2008-01-24T12:12:00.001-08:00

Today Keri and I went running again. I love to run in the mornings when its is 'rociando' sprinkling. We got back and ready earlier than last time. We had hot milk and galletas ready – with a meridena (snack) to go. Encarne went to walk the dog before we left. Indy sleeps in the garage and has to be walked every morning although Eduardo usually does it.
..... Ok we just had dinner with Tia, muy divertida. Me cae muy bien, I was feeling pretty down because I felt so behind and falling in my spanish. Keri was out for a little bit, so I stayed in my room to study. I studied a few adjectives about flavors of food. I didn't know that I Was actually learning it! But at dinner I was able to use two of them. Tia moves around us like she was made to make us happy and meet our needs. Everything, - tienes hambre? Teienes frio? Quires mas? Quieres algo? So willing to do something for us. I am glad she is my tia. I try to make her laugh, it is very fun. I felt a little better about my espanol but I still have so much to learn.
We had hamburgeses for dinner, they were very ery good. And a secret recipe postre for dinner. It had flan in the middle and a fried outside. So good. We each had two. We each regret it now. But it was good. Tomorrow Keri has class at nine but I dont have it until 11:30, I might go with her in the morning anyway and do my hw? Or sleep in, run, and come later for class. But I think, since I have so much to do that I will go with her early.

Latino tunes

2008-01-24T12:08:00.000-08:00

Edu (el hijo, mi hermano) showed me some of his latin music today. There was actually a lot of things like I liked. Of the ones I remeber, Pignoise (which is like a spanish rockband) El cabeza del loco (or something like that) and David Bisbol.

Bonding with the Fam

2008-01-22T14:00:00.000-08:00

Hola Orta Vez!

I have been adjusting here to life in Espana. Yesterday a bunch of the group was going to Madrid to walk around the city. It sounded fun to go, but I decided that it wasn't something that I wanted, at least not know – to walk around with American kids to do and talk about Amerian things. (This is a social sacrifice I knew I was going to be willing to take) and so I decided to stay home instead. And it was a great choice! As it turned out, Keri and I talked and chatted and laughed with Encarne and Angel all night. It was so fun and the best thing for my spanish and experience that could have happened. It all started when I asked Encarne to help me with my espanol. We started from there, and soon we where drawing pitures on paper and asking questions and practicing phrases. When Angel came home, they showed us all of the music athat they have and we listened to a lot of that. They were especially proud of the Flamengo tunes. - really good, lol.
O we also found out that, they have TWO sons, not just Eduardo – an older one who got married in June. She showed us picures of the Boda (wedding). They were married in a catholic church and everyone looked very beautiful. In spain, they couple does not choose any specific colors for their wedding, everyone gets to wear what ever color they want. Most of the couples dressed to match each other, but beyond that everyone was wearing completely different colors! One bright green, another violet, and other aqua blue. Quite different from the U.S, I guess it would make weddings a lot easier. I think I have a tiny crush on their son eduardo- muy guapo. Encarne looked very pretty in all of the pictures, she thought so too. Other traditions that I thought were different: well the groom puts on the dress of the bride at the end of the reception...that was kinda strange. At the dinner there is a main table with the bride and groom in the middle and both parents on the sides. They cut and feed eachother the cake with a sword. (espada).
For dinner we had fried ham and cheese – almost like chicken corn on blue, with a tomate y queso ensalda. It was very good, I have never had a solo tomato salad anywhere else before but I am a big fan. O and then of course, they hit you the best for last – Arroz con leche – muy muy muy bien. Again, this mother is the best cook in the world, Keri and I were so blessed, we tell her that a lot. She heated the leache with naranje peels (orange) to capture the flavor. Amazingness in my mouth.
We also watched a little bit of tv before we went to bed. My favorite show here so far is a game show called, pasapalabra. Its fun because they read a definition really fast and the person has to guess what word it is. If they don't know, they call – pasapalabra- and it goes to the next person. When the subtitles are on its really good for reviewing vocabulary. They watch TV a lot here. Its interesting, something new to me. Its also weird because they are in love with all of these shows that are American! And are just dubbed over. I guess its all they have ever had so they don't know the difference, but for some reason I'm so bugged by it. Don't they know its not the real thing! Homer dosen't REALLY sound like that, ah so deprived. ' )

Las Tapas

2008-01-20T14:27:00.000-08:00

Tonight was Tapas Night! Encarne and Angel were really excited to share this Spanish tradition with us. The meal is a combination of several different plates. You use your hands to eat a little bit of this and a little bit of that (but don't worry, it all adds up to a lot of everything). It was definetly a night of new things. The prepared bread with mayonnaise topped with shredded fish and baby shrimp (which was my favorite). Oysters topped with mayonnaise or lemon. Carminaa..ok I still don't know the name but werid long leggy things, and the best for last - Octapus! with real tenatcles and suction cups and - yea, it was the real thing. I loved all of it, I think I have eaten some of the best seafood there is in Spain. Me encanta this country! (the Octapus was a fav - you just couldn't think about it or look at the suction cups too long)

The Prado

2008-01-19T13:25:00.000-08:00

We went to the Prado this morning. The Prado is one of the largest museums in the world, home of Valezquez and Gody, its exhibits are anything short from amazing. We went on the perfect day. The sun was shining, the air was fresh. It was 4 E for the entrance fee into the museum. There are three floors. We checked our bags and lunches at the door, they wont let you take pictures either so don't try. We walked through the exhibits for a good three hours. There was so much to see-and a lot of it good appear insignificant, and even to me I didn't know a lot about the artists or the styles of the times or what to look out for. But I found unique way to really enjoy what you are looking at instead of merely glancing and walking through aimlessly (which is always a risk when attending a museum). But to avoid such a tragedy, I walked around with a small notebook and pen in my hand. I would enter a room and scan through its elements, searching for something striking or intriguing. If I found such a thing I would nonchalantly sketch it in my notebook. This way by the end of the night I had a collage of things that I had seen and been impressed by. A great way to enjoy a museum, I recommend it.
The Parque De Bueno Resta (ok not correctly spelled but you get the idea)
After lunch, we all gathered to find a place to enjoy our comida in the beautiful sunshine. Not far form the museum is a park called the park of good rest. It is pretty much the most amazing thing I have seen in the world. The park is huge, with pruned trees and hedges and trails running every which way. A large lake in the middle with rowboats for rent. People walking and sitting and roller blading and kissing (its spain) and just being! and the trees with the grass and teh sun...some of the girls in our group had the right idea and plopped down in the middle of a plot of grass to have a siesta. We kept going however after an hour of meandering throughout the trails. There was still much to be seen though so know it will be a place revisited. We passed through the calles of Perta del Sol, Plaza Mayor and Gran Via. Brooke was on the hunt for shoes and found some really gu'y ones at a zapatos store. I also made my first spain purchase - a torros window sticker for your car. Its small and lightweight so I thought it would be perfect for sending through the mail. I owe someone a birthday present soon so I thought I would be prepared. I also bought a postcard.
Plaza Mayor
A social gathering point. The Plaza is surrounded by a large five story building which I think is now used as a hotel, and with the exception of a statue in the middle of the square it is completely open. People have spread to accompany the space. Small artist posts dot the sides, two restaurants elegantly laid out tease toward the center. Random couples sit directly on the cobblestone to chat in the shine of the day. A woman covered in mud poses as a statue for a the transient audience. I stop to watch a man paint a canvas. He scoops up large puddles of paint from the pails with his scapel. Scraping the color unto a slate he then continues to apply as necessary to the propped surface. "scrap,scrap,scrap" Almost magically a figure appears before your eyes. The man turns in his smock still holding the scapel. I think he was used to the audience but I felt discovered so I moved on.
We continued on past the plaza. There were people everywhere, I felt so much to be discovered. To be lost in such a beautiful mess would have been a wonderful thing. We were nearing the end of the adventure as people wanted to go home and rest. I could have stayed all day.
Cena
Once we returned I watched TV with the Padres for a while. I like listening to the spanish, I think I am getting better. Then they made dinner - ribs, sausage, and chiscabobs -the meat only kind. Encarne did mention that in Spain the ribs are never served conneccted like in Ameraice, they are always cut into slices for smaller pieces. O, but dont forget the pan and tomato salad. O another odd thing - fruit after every meal - I didnt know it was a custom.
I have a lot of HW to do today that I haven't done yet. You think there would ahve been a ton of time to do it this week, but that in lies the problem. There is just to much to see too much to do.

I apologize for the erroneous typing today, I am tired and spell check is not one of my fortes.

Madrid, the city

2008-01-18T13:51:00.000-08:00

I went to Madrid today for the first time. IT was breathtaking. I have been to big cities before but there was nothing to prepare me for what was to come. The life and hustle of New York, but the beauty and culture of London (?) We just walked one street, La Gran Via and saw centuries of architecture, So much life and style and grandeur was captured in a little strip of the city walk. The lower floors have gathered soot and grit from the streets giving them a gray tint. This in result created a scale of brightness with the dull parts of buildings at the bottom growing brighter and taller as you look up, causing your eyes to constantly be lifted to the skies. The daylight was great and the nice warm air was inviting to naked hands and eager glances. It grew dusk but the masses of pasearos grew larger. We walked through two plazas, great big open areas surrounded by stores and shopping. Along the way though, Madrid mixes the beauties of the nature and the city all into one great wonderful experience. There are fountains placed in middle of intersections, we passed through one park with two fountains and a olive grove with huge statues. The best part was they were free to be climbed on and sat and used- kids and tourists taking pictures adorned the marble base like birds nested on a telephone line.
We went into small panaderia by the Puerta de Sol. It was almost like a fast food restaurant but with fifteen servers behind the counter all waiting to serve you immediately with what you want. People would stay right there by the counter, standing up, to eat their sweet treasures.
We also went into a few shoe shops- i really love madrid shoes and have come to the conclusion that i want to buy some.
By eight o clock we all met back at the train station, I was exhausted. It had been a physically demanding day. I don't know how I stayed awake on the half hour train ride home. Tia made green beans with oil and garlic, amazing deviled eggs with tuna and tomate. I also finished off my bag of peanut brittle.

Disco

2008-01-18T04:43:00.000-08:00

We went to the disco-teca last night! It was quite the American experience. A bunch of us, about seventeen, met at the Plaza de Cervantes at 11:0. None of us knew the exact location for a dance club but we figured it wouldn't be that hard to find. On the other side of the Plaza, not far from us there was another group of students (I think from the University of Maryland) gathering to do the same thing. They actually had a place in mind so we jsut went with them. We actually ended up going to two differnt clubs, both smoke filled and blasting American pop stars. The funnest part was taht each place, it was the sober BYU crowd dancing it of as teh life of the party. Woo! Go mormon spirit! The dancing was incredible, and it was such a relief to jump and shout to English lyrics. I think that was the most satisfying part. It wasn't tell er walked home that we realized how bad we smelled. Ew! I hope Tia can get the smell out. Ok, funny story of the night: Keri and I got home around two, but we couldn't open the door. For some reason the key would not go in. We couldn't understand! We tried everything, even the garage but to no avail. I was up to kicking it on the doorstep for the night, but Keri (the more sensible of the two) had to pee and didn't think they would want us to be in the cold all night anyway. At first we knocked a little. Listened, no sound. Time for bigger measures: doorbell. BEEEEEEEEEEK. It seemed like it never stopped resounding in the silence. Oh no, I though, they are going to hate us! A little while after, we heard the upstairs window crack, saw a head appear, then shortly after heard footsteps on the stairs. As it turns out, Eduardo had left his keys in teh lock when we got home, thats why our keys hadn't worked. Tia was not upset at all, I was so releived it wasn't something we ahd done. We went to bed without showering so I think I need to wash my sheets.

Hermanas Hoy

2008-01-17T11:17:00.000-08:00

I went out with the Hermanas today, just a few appointments but was really fun. I had asked them at church if I could come along with them one time. I don't know what people do when they go out with the missionaries, but I've wanted to do it since El Salvador when the missionaries there invited us to accompany them. Plus what better way to speak spanish and meet native Spaniards? WE visited a older woman nammed Lydia, I don't know why she wanted the missionaries over. She is from chile but spoke with the thickest '-theta' that I have ever heard. It was hard to follow, I think that she has or hasn't beent to church in seven years, couldn't catch which, she dosent think that the saints chould be worshiped as gods they were only prophets and... anyway the hermanas also asked me to share my testimony with her while we were there. yea..great times. It was really hard I don't even know what I said, but it felt good when it was over. One of the Hermanas, Hermana Rice, is really new to the area and her spanish is still not very good. She spoke in church on sunday and I remember not being very impressed - but today, I saw her - be amazing. She would not let her lack stop her from trying. She poke slowly but persistently. When she felt the psirit during the lesson she jumped in even when it wasnt her turn. And when she bore her testimony, it was powerful. I couldn't understand it, but I could feel it. I went to two otehr citas with them before I left but both no one else was home. I hope taht they will invite me out with them again it was a great experience.

Las Primeras Cosas de Espana

2008-01-13T13:29:00.000-08:00

Hola Mis Amigos!

I am here in Spain, safe and sound. Already I have so many things to say and tell about. I am living in a small house with Keri Anderson, an other girl from my group.

La Familia: We live with a woman, Encarne (si, like the meat) her husband, Angel (si, like the celestial being) and their son Eduardo (who is twenty, plays futbol, works, and goes to school). Before I came, I was very worried about what my family would be like. I didn't know it they would be happy for us to be there, or if we would be a burden to them. Also if they would be patient with my infant Spanish. I must have done something Really good before I left, because I have been given the best familia ever. They are nice and patient and loving and understanding. They do not speak any English, and when Encarne picked us up she told us there would be No Iglesia en su casa! She wants us to learn Spanish, and speaking it, she says, is the only way to do it. They also have a dog, named Indy (short for India)
The House: The house is small and has four floors. The main floor consists of a bathroom, kitchen, and living room. The next floor has three bedrooms and a bathroom, and the top floor is an attic where there is a tv, table, computer, drying rack para las ropa, and exercise equipment. They also have a garage underneath the main floor. I know, it sounds big, but somehow they manage to do a lot with a little space. Its also interesting, because they are planning to move to a smaller house in a year because they say the house now is to big.
All the floors are tile and wood. I am glad I brought slippers. Before I used them however, I was just wearing my socks and she (mi mama o Encarne) kept telling me my feet were cold and if I wanted slippers (zapatillas).
They have a small basin in the bathroom. Keri and I aren't sure what its function is. So far we have bets going for urinal or buttock washer. Any insights are welcome.
La Comida: I'm not sure what to think about hte food yet. We have tried lots of new things while we have been here. First off, they eat three main meals a day: desayuno, comida, y cena. Comida (lunch- and yes I know it is also translated as food - but thats what they call it!) is usually at 2 or 3. Cena is eaten much later at 8 or 9. Tonight we finished eaten around 9:45. For breakfast we had hot milk and cookies. For lunch, which is typically the big meal of the day we had Pelle (??) very flavorful rice with some kind of seafood. It had small baby shrimp ? (i don't even know the English words) and then some grande shrimp things. The one she gave me had these huge blacks yes and pointy moustache. To eat them, you break it in the middle, peal off the skin and eat the insides. I am into trying new things but I was surprised when I actually liked it! We also had a small ensalda that had tomatoes and lettuce drizzled with a oil dressing. For dinner, Mama made Tortilla de Espana. A common Spanish dish made of potatoes and eggs. It is made in a sauce pan on one side as whole cake and then flipped to cook the other side. It is actually something that I had tried to make at home before I came here. I asked Encarne if I could watch her make it so that I could become better at it. She laughed but said sure. She showed me all of the steps she took.
they eat fruit after every meal. There is a large drawer of apples, oranges, and bananas that they keep in the fridge and pull out when the first part of the meal is gone. And then right when you think all the fun is over - surpresa! - they surprise you with the dulce. Muchas Muchas dulces! cookies, pastries, chocolates, Encarne is always offering us the 'best chocolate' (major chocolate) and other great treats that she got from the Christmas sales. I think I am going to gain winter tuck this semester.
La Iglesia: The church is not far from our house. Encarne and Angel are not mormon but they know many members and have been to church before. Good for us because they offered us a ride. (many of our friends were not so lucky and we passed many walking in the cold - heh heh heh) (o - and it is cold here. I am very glad I sacrificed the space to bring my coat. Its been in the low thirties so far.)The ward is a decent size. We go to a family ward and our girls about doubled the relief society (well there are thirty of us, so thats understandable) There is a single adults class. I didn't understand everything he said, but I could tell it was good when he started writing comparisons of Lord of the Rings and the Book of Mormon on the board. All of the people seemed happy and friendly. Encarne actually has three nephews in the ward - they are very nice. Not a lot of people went out of there way to talk to us but I felt welcome. There are eight groups of missionaries in this ward. I asked one group of sisters if I could go out with them some time. They said sure and gave me their number to call. I want to try to do that this week.
Acala: Acala is the city that we live in. It is a suburb -ish part of Madrid. The streets are small and quaint and very clean. There are lots or small park-like areas throughout. we live very close to three and we took Indy for a walk in one this afternoon. I know it is the middle of winter, but I was surprised at the lack of green vegetation. I guess I was expecting something more like El Salvador or at least Virginia - but tis more like Utah - small trees, no grass and kinda brown. Nothing breath taking yet but I like it. We also live very close to a mall, and apparently the biggest sales of the year are going on now. we'll have to check it out later.

I am also very blessed that they have wireless at there house. Hopefully, since this is the case, I will have more opportunity to upkeep this blog. I have lots more to say but its about 11:30 now, and although the family is still up I need to go to bed to wake up early tmw. Keri and I are going running.
Hasta luego.
Susie

My Goal

2008-01-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

My goal:

1. not to build relationships with the people in my group (although that would be nice), but to spend time with to bond with natives - non American - Spanish speakers.

Books

2007-12-28T10:15:00.000-08:00

Hello, pre-leaving preparations have begun. I ordered my course books on Amazon, they should be getting here in about a week. I couldn't believe how many books two classes are making me read. Whoo! I also ordered two Spanish verb and vocabulary reference books. I was going for pocket size, but we'll see how the final dimensions turn out. = )

2007-11-15T22:41:00.000-08:00

Hola! como Esta!

Aqui haceria post cosas de mis viajes!

Hasta Luego!