Bigger ≠ Better

In America we want our space for everything.  We want large tables when we go out to a restaurant, we want large houses, we want our personal space in a crowd, we don’t want people too close.  After I took the pictures of my flat I realized  how opposite I found it here.  We have a table for four and we seat eight.  Most families, young professionals, and newlyweds live in apartments.   If someone isn’t touching you during conversation you must have forgotten to shower.  Most importantly people want to know you,  where you’re from, what you do, and if you have a cigarette haha.  My challenge for the week is not to think of space as something that gives me freedom to move but allows someone closer to me.  I know it sounds obvious but I think it will be challenging.  That was an incredibly large tangent but I hope you enjoy the pictures of my piso (apartment).  I’m in love with it!  We have two bathrooms, not so common, and our kitchen was recently remodeled.  We live within five walking minutes to my favorite plaza so all in all it was a great choice!  My roommate is from Ibiza and such a bundle of delight to live with!  I’m sorry but I have tried multiple times to upload the photos and I’m having some technological challenge!  As soon as possible I will have them up! Adios!

Tu Boquerone (literally your anchovie but it's what the Malaga people call themselves) haha

Laughter and Love Make a Day Complete

Here I am back in Málaga and it feels like home!  Have you ever gone on a trip and at the end you’re on such a high all you can think about is when you can go back?  That is exactly how I felt when I was saying a tearful adios to Málaga.  I walked around this beautiful city for 8 months and couldn’t imagine leaving.  After a few weeks back in the U.S. I knew that I had to come back!  If for a month or a year time wasn’t important.  Honestly,  if I could, I would pay for every one of you to come visit me.  Neither words nor pictures  describe this story book beauty!  Likewise, if you’ve ever returned to a place that you once lived it feels new and familiar and strange at the same time.  Faces have faded out and new ones in; everything is constantly changing.   If it’s one thing that I’ve learned over the last couple of years it is EMBRACE CHANGE.  I used to be an X+Y always = Z kind of girl and it was such a boring way of life!  Change is different, it’s unfamiliar, nerve racking, and mysterious!  I remember reading a quote and I’m paraphrasing but it went something like “courage is being afraid but doing it anyway.”  Who isn’t terrified to try something different?  It could be the best thing that ever happens to you or it could be awful and you learn from the disaster.  Life with no risk and no chance will get you an ordinary life.  Talk to a stranger, take a back road, add some pizzazz!  Besitos! 

Dia de Andalucia

What is Andalucia?  Andalucia is a region that makes up the southern part of Spain. 

Over the years I´ve lived in a pretty random set of places.  The thing I´ve realized I admire most about a town or city is its sense of heritage and pride in its roots.  Dia de Andalucia takes pride of where you come from to a new level of intensity.  This day is a holiday and celebrated as a remembrance of all the great things, foods, and places that are unique to Andalucia.  My students have been preparing for this honor for months.  Different classes worked together and preseneted  (in front of the mayor, parents, and the town) dramatic poetry readings, hip-hop flamenco, performances on flute and guitar, and one class rewrote a traditonal Malaguenan song into a rap.  Needless to say along with the children I learned a lot about Andalucia!  This day inspired my roomate and I to host a "Taste of the South" dinner.  We want to give our Spanish friends here a glimpse of what life is like in the south and in America as a whole!  If you have any ideas on foods to serve or fun quotes about the south please feel free to send them our way!

My Parents Are Coming!!!!

This is how I feel about my parents getting here tomorrow:

Heal the World

Here is the video of my 3rd grade class singing Heal the World!

Heal the World

This Sunday is International Peace Day!  In celebration our school is performing Heal the World by Michael Jackson.  While the melody in a song is incredibly important I've always been more of a "lyrics" type person.  A well written book, a touching song, or a moving film all have a good chance of leaving me in tears.  I've faced the fact that I'm a cryer, and I'm ok with that.  None of those moments compare to hearing 28 five years olds singing "Heal the world, make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race."  Looking into those huge searching eyes and the smiles that immediately warm your heart, I felt the tear drops down my cheek.  Of course I want a better place for them and hope they get all the love and affection they need to grow into the amazing people I know they will.  I get frustrated in my classes when the kids won't listen, everyone suddenly needs to go to the bathroom, and I'm fighting for their attention.  I begin to doubt if I'm even making a difference.  But it's not about me it's about those beautiful children. So, if at the end of this experience they only learn one word in English  BUT know how much I love them that's what makes the difference.  With each day that passes they take up a little more space in my heart!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UGTISl1Gts

--I'm trying to download their performance and will upload it within the next day or so :)

Happy Holidays!

What comes to mind when you think about Christmas? For many it's family, religious traditions, and all the foods that make Christmas delictable (and that make you gain "holiday weight"). I wasn't able to come home for Christmas this year so I was unsure what this holiday season held in store. Some of you may remember Lacy, my best friend from England. Her family lived in NC for a year while we were in highschool. Lacy and I met up over the summer and when they found out I was in Europe for Christmas they so kindly, invited me to spend Christmas with them this year! If I couldn't be at home for Christmas, I couldn't have picked a more perfect place to be. Lacy's family opened up their holiday with arms wide open immersing me in every part of an English Christmas. I'm quickly discovering I'm in love with falling in love; with other cultures. Prior to the trip I was so excited to go into London I did not even realize how much more of England would be so enthralling. My trip began with a holiday party (soiree) that was an absolute blast! Last minute Christmas shopping began along with getting to know the small town of Guildford, my home for the next three weeks. After the snow began to clear and trains opened up we headed to London to see Lizzie, Ben, and the Eye. London was truly astounding with lots of hustle, bustle and Christmas energy. Our next big stop was to the Hampton Court Palace which is undescribable, so I'll include a picture. I still have that fairy tale mentality and all I could think about were the past kings and the gardens; I wonder what it would be like to be a princess? Christmas day quickly came and I felt right at home in all the festivities. The Christmas feast had similiarities and differences. The traditional Christmas pudding wasn't my personal favorite but it was entertaining watching it catch on fire! A tradition where you slightly drizzle a liquor over the cake filled pudding and then light a match over it! Boxing day, the day after Christmas was spent with Pete (Lacy's boyfriend) and his family. Nothing could have been sweeter than Pete and his family who didn't even know me inviting me to spend this holiday with them. The following week we headed to Breighton to see the beaches of England. One of the things I like most about Europe is how individual it is, while there are the few chains the majority of stores and restaurants are independent. This is what gave Breighton its flare and individuality! As New Years creeped on us we found ourselves celebrating fiesta style at a Mexcian restaurant! 2011 welcomes you with  fresh starts, new beginnings, and a year full of possibilities! Next we made our way to Windsor an adorable town complete with another castle for the queen to stay at upon her request, what is she royalty? England's music venue leaves little to be desired with lots of variety in genre as well as much live music you can handle! Check out the Fubars for a sample! Unfortunately, if I tried to document all the memories and laughs I had in England I would be writing a novel. Great scenery and even better company made my holiday season more than I could have imagined!

A Trip I'll Never Forget

    While you were feasting on pumpkin pie and fighting over who should carve the turkey, I was making my way to Edinburgh Scotland (looking for a bit of comfort in their English language). After a fish and chips dinner we hit the sack, an early morning was ahead. I should clarify "hitting the sack" means staying in my first ever hostel (note it was nothing like the movie, thank goodness). We got up with the roosters and experienced the traditional British breakfast sausage, eggs, beans on toast, mushrooms, and complete with a tomato. Following we had an important meeting with Arthur, the king that is. After a 10-15 min hike we found ourselves at the top of Arthur's seat. This special spot was created so that Arthur was able to look down on the city and watch over Edinburgh. To our advantage we arrived just in time for Christmas markets galore. Followed by a whiskey tour and how Scotch contributed so much to the past of Scotland. America felt so young as I walked down the cobble stone streets and the buildings that I was sure were historic were banks. Saturday the snow began to come down! We skipped and sang Christmas carols; in the meadow you can build a snowman...you get the idea. We popped into a pub/restaurant and enjoyed beef stew and live music. The real treat came later when we found a local pub playing American football. Once again the snow began to fall and cover the ground. What a beauty Edinburgh is with a foot of snow. We made our way to the airport and put seeing another beautiful country under our belt...

You though that's where the trip ended? So did we! We never imagined our flight that day would be cancelled and the next flight wasn't until Tuesday at 11:30pm. We also never imagined we would board the plane and then sit for two hours waiting to take off for our flight to the be cancelled. After being stranded for almost a week, the snow had melted for the most part and we were confident Satudays flight was going to happen. Let me remind everyone Scotland is on the pound and we had spent most of our exchanged currency over the weekend, not anticipating an extended stay. Leave three girls broke in a foreign country and resorting to humbly calling home and begging for money.
 -- If you're wondering if the airport gave us any accomodations at all the answer would be NO! Sleeping in the airport for 4 days IS as bad as it sounds.
Now back to Saturday, we arrive at the airport and make our way to check-in. What's that I hear? "ATTENTION: all flights to Spain are cancelled due to a Spanish air strike!" I know what you're thinking but I couldn't have possbily made this sotry up. Luckily, we had prebooked Sundays flight. Skeptics, we'd become, we didn't believe we were actually heading home until our plane was in the air and we were over halfway to our destination. I don't hold a grudge against Scotland, just their airport!

     As the halfway point of this amazing journey is quickly approaching, I realize I have been a slack blogger. Over the next few days (a week in Spanish time) I'll try to bring you to speed on some of the breath taking places I have seen, delectable cuisine I've tried, and unforgetable memories I've made.
    Close your eyes, let your heart begin to race (ok not to much no heart attacks) and grab an unbrella; it is November 10:30pm, local time, and we have just landed in Paris. We have only three days and so much to see! After finding our way to the hotel we toss our luggage into the room and make a run to the Eiffel Tower. My jaw is dropped and I have no words (very uncommon). I have never been so in awe of something man made. Looking back, I took around fifty pictures of this mesmorizing attraction.

     Fall is one of those seasons I didn't realize I'd miss and then I was captivated; by the smell, the vibrant yet tranquil oranges and yellows, the way leaves seem to fall with magical timing.
The next day we can't resist, and make our way back to the Eiffel for a daylight photo shoot. We forced ourselves to move onto our next excisting stop, the Louvre. I must admit like every other tourist my first stop was Mona. I would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed and intrigued. This 8x10 portraity managed to bring millions to her presence; all for a mysterious smile. I've never considered myself a lover of history (not even a little) but Paris brought history to life. Napoleon was no longer just a name in a history book and Notre Dame actually existed.
    I had a birthday to remember for years to come. Live music a traditional French stew, and great friends made my last night in Paris more than I expected!
Sunday quickly approached and our wallets quickly dwindled. We spent our last hours wandering around the city. We made our way back to the airport and Spain bound we were!

Teacher! Seño! Mi Corazon! Guapa

Teacher!  Seño! (short for señorita) Mi Corazon! (my heart)  Guapa! (beautiful)

No matter how many classes I teach, it never ceases to amaze me how the words of a 5 year old can completely make my day.  It's my third week teaching and there have already been many highs and lows at my school.  I have a little boy in one of my classes and each time he sees me he runs over and says ahhh mi corazon (ahhh my heart) like he was just waiting for me to get there and now he can relax.  Talk about heart melting and an attempt to be teachers pet, it's working.   The schools here are as different from the U.S. as the culture itself.  It's perfectly common for a child to start walking around the classroom or interrupt you in the middle of your lesson plan. The teachers don't make a big fuss about it and just continue.  The classroom is a lot more relaxed and the children are allowed to be children.  I'm learning more and more that all cultures have an asset in the classroom to make it more functional.  The Spaniards got it right with the relationship teachers are able to have with their students.  I walk out into the playground and the kids come running shouting along the way "Teacher!  Senor! Mi Corazon! Guapa" and if I didn't kiss each one on the cheek or give them a world famous Jessica hug they would be heart broken.  I love that you can have that relationship with them and truly feel connected!  Needless to say I'm in love with my job!

We are all moved into the apartment and settled in. Realizing I'm not Dorothy and no matter how many times I click my red slippers I won't get home has been adjustment. We are trying to do small things to the apartment to give it the feel of a home and small sanctuary.  I must say at this point in the trip I'm not to impressed with the cuisine.  I told a Spaniard this and they of course told me I haven't been eating the right things haha.  My goal is to take a cooking class and see for myself what I'm missing out on! 

I'm sure many of you have noticed the delay since my last post and I'm extremely sorry!  A drink was spilled into my computer and my computer is now dead :(...I use my roomates from time to time but my posts won't be as regular as I'd liked!  I'll load more pictures soon!

Your Work-aholic

Jessica

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

A favorite hideaway :)

A view from Alcazaba

The Port for Costa del Sol

The Bull Fighting Ring

View from the top

Kerianne, Me, Kelley, Bianca (Orientation Friends Came to Visit)

Soccer Game (Me, Juan, Kerianne) Arnesto took the photo :)

Ain’t no mountain high enough and no valley low enough…to keep me from a futbol game!

What a busy last few days.  I’ll admit the newness of Spain began to wear off and the shock of being in a foreign country with few friends and no family began to sink in; I was blue.  After walking around the city aimlessly we accumulated lots of numbers of available aliquos pisos (apartments for rent).  Sounds great lots of for rent signs however most of the follow up calls included some really fast Spanish speakers and the words occupado (occupied).  At last we found our gem of a place in the exact location we wanted; it’s a quaint 2 bedroom apartment and is going to be our first perfect cozy place.  Now if only my mom could fly in to help arrange furniture and decorate on a budget, her specialties.  Fun Fact: most apartments here do not include dryers or stoves and of course no air or heat.  Also, most guys/girls live with their parents until they are 28-30 or until they marry.  On the bummer side we can’t move in until Friday which puts us homeless for 2 days so we’re trying to bunk with friends so we don’t have to pay for a hotel or hostel.  The exchange rate of the dollar to euro is killing me haha

After the stress of the hunt we needed a little fun.  Yesterday we went for a hike and let me tell you it was a hike.  We climbed an old castle Alcazaba and Gibralfaro.  Talk about working for a good picture.  What I saw was nothing less than a speechless view.   I’ll put up pictures to explain it.  I being as graceful as I am managed to fall on the way down but left with only a scratched up knee, no worries friends. 

Now the highlight.  I went to my first Spanish futbol game!!   Spanish friends (Juan y Arnesto) invited us to take on the experience and who could refuse?  Fans of futbol here are like nothing I’ve ever seen; three times more verbal and cheerful than the states.  It was exhilarating and stressful as we chanted MALAGUETA MALAGUETA.  The other team kept taking cheap shots and kicking the Malagueta’s in the shin with their cleats OUCH so one of our players punched him and of course got a red card.  For all of you not familiar with soccer a red card means you’re thrown out of the game. I can't wait until the next game!
     On a final note I must share a funny story with you where our languages failed us.  We were discussing cars and Juan said “Cuantos caballo’s en un coche” “How many horses are in a car.”  Kerianne and I look at each other and are like what the heck, why does he want to know how many horses you can fit in a car?  So we ask him to explain in another way and he says the same thing. I’m like ok well maybe his family is into horses.  So we respond  “ahh dos cabellos” (ughh 2 horses)  Juan and Arnesto look at each other and die laughing and say “no no no.”  Kerianne and I are more confused than ever and say “well how many can you fit in a car?”  They respond “at least 200” and we’re like “no entendemos es no possible” “we don’t understand it’s not possible” and then a light bulb hit and I said “you mean horse power how much horse power is in a car” hahaha we died laughing and explained we thought they were talking about the animal it was a fun learning experience..
Your Struggling Spanish Learner

Encantada (Enchanted)

I’m pretty sure my heart just skipped a beat as this country continues to give me butterflies every day.  I continue to be enchanted by the places and people here.  I went to a Flamenco show and saw the passionate performance of two dancers who dance for one another love, it’s very intense.  The men here are beautiful, to put it mildly, but the women are equally gorgeous.  On the flip side Spanish women typically want nothing to do with Americans (men or women) so making friends has its challenges.  We left orientation today and I took a train to Málaga.  It was my first train ride and it was amazing it really helped me to see parts of Spain I probably wouldn’t have otherwise.  We got to another hotel, living out of a suitcase isn’t what it’s cracked up to be, and immediately went apartment hunting.  I wish House Hunters International would just come help us find a place. 

Your Homeless Traveler J 

a few tears and lots of airports

Or maybe that was lots of tears and a a few airports.  Today begins the first day of this scary, unfamiliar, out of this world journey.  I must admit I am quite technologically challenged, hopefully this blog will be user friendly.It's unreal to me how quickly this summer went by.  I began the summer worrying about saving money and buying a plane ticket, then I moved on to the tedious task of getting paperwork together for a visa, and then actually waiting on the arrival of the visa.  Before I knew it September was here and all I had left to worry over was nothing and everything.  I went to Ohio to visit my family and was able to temporarily hide from the anxiety but the last few days it managed to find me.  What will my class be like?  How much English will they already know?  Will the students like me?  Will I find an apartment on my budget?  Will I make friends?  Have I fell off my rocker for doing this?  These are the questions that swarm my mind the majority of the day.  I can't wait to answer these questions for you and myself!  I am thrilled and terrified to start this adventure. The song A Whole New World from Aladdin has an entirely new meaning!  Until we meet again!