First Week at School

It has been a little over one week since I landed in this wonderful country.  On Monday, I started at my school, La Immaculada.

So much has happened that I will just hit the highlights:

*Each day at school has been fast paced and exciting.  My tutor (she was assigned to me to help me adjust to everything) is extremely nice and helpful.  She helped me set up a bank account, etc.

*The kids.  Wow, the kids!  They range from 3 to 12.  P3, P4, and P5 are the younger kids and then there's 1st through 6th grade.  P3 through P5 students are pretty young and don't speak any English, but they are always very cheerful and they LOVE school.  They actually get really upset when they have to leave.  1st through 5th grade students love me and I guess they think it is pretty exciting that I am from America.  They had a lot of questions with topics ranging from Coca cola, to Santa Claus, to MLK!  The 6th graders are old enough so that they are a little more subdued but they are very smart and their English is at a pretty good level.  Every day when I go to school, I get mobbed with students who want to give me hugs.  Very different from the US!

*The Languages.  Spanish, Catalan, English, you never know what the language of the moment will be!  Exciting, slightly stressful, and definitely a learning experience.  I am picking up some Spanish from my host family and (very little amounts of) Catalan from the teachers at the school. Many people in Catalonia want independence from Spain so most people tend to speak Catalan.

*The FOOD.  You have options here.  Of course processed foods are available.  Cheetos are very popular with the kids.  But there's also fresh bread, natural meat, and locally grown fruit everywhere.  Yesterday I ate a large quantity of meat... lamb, pork, and beef with bread, calcot on the side, and mandarin/pineapple for dessert.  I also drank cava (another name for champagne) our of a porrón.  See photo below.  Also, see description of calcots below (stolen from wikipedia).

"Calçots [a type of scallion] are grilled until charred, wrapped in newspaper to steam, then consumed by peeling off the charred skin and dipping the white portion in salvitxada or romesco sauce. The green tops are discarded. The calçots are accompanied by red wine or cava sparkling wine. Pieces of meat and bread slices are roasted in the charcoal after cooking the calçots<sup>."

*The holidays!  People in spain like to have time off and I don't blame them!  This week in my town, we celebrated the Three Kings had had several days off to celebrate Festa Major.  There was a parade for the children and booths all over the town for the entire weekend.  My first week here and I already get extra days off?  OKAY! :)

More later, I've got laundry to do and other such important things.</sup>

Drinking cava out of a porron

Day One in Sant Vicenç

Today was my first full day in Sant Vicenç Dels Hors. After a crazy long day at orientation yesterday and going on 5 hours of sleep in two days, I was ready for some rest.

Thankfully I got just that. I slept in this morning and then my host mom, Sonia, took me with her to run some errands.... all on foot. I LOVE that you can walk to every possible destination around here. We stopped by La Immaculada, the school where I´ll be teaching, then visited the library (which was built over some preserved Roman Ruins about 6 years ago), farmer´s market, supermarket, butcher, and baker.

After we got back, my host dad (Roberto) cooked up some very fresh paella which consisted of rice, vegetables, chicken, and rabbit. It was my first time trying rabbit, and I must say that it was not bad. Kind of chickeny. I felt a little guilty though, seeing as rabbits are pretty common household pets in the USA. The paella as a whole was outstanding.

After a two hour lunch consisting of mouth watering food and conversations about the difference between the government/healthcare in the USA vs. Spain, some family members took a siesta. Roberto, Claudia (host sister), and I played Bananagrams, which was the gift I gave them upon arrival. If you haven´t heard of it, just imagine Scrabble.... but a little different. We played one game in English and one in Spanish!

Then it was time to eat again. We had another delicious meal, but what stood out most was the bread. Apparently this is an exclusively Catalonian tradition: they take a thick, fresh slice of bread and put it on a plate. Next, they slice an equally fresh and juicy tomato in half, then proceed to rub it all over the bread, making one side very moist. Finally, they pour a healthy amount of extra virgin olive oil on top of the tomato layer. Salt on top of that is optional. It was really good, and I intend to bring this tradition back with me to the USA (with an addition of cheese, perhaps).

All in all it was a wonderful day and I got to know my host family. They have been very welcoming. Tomorrow we are off to explore Barcelona, and on Monday I´ll be starting at my new school.

En el aeropuerto

Hola from JFK International Airport! This morning I woke up at the unnatural hour of 6:00 AM, got on an 8:20 flight to JFK, and now I'm powering through a 9 hour layover.  I'm feeling tired but not too bad because I decided to treat myself to a day at the Delta Sky Club, which is actually cheaper than getting a hotel.  They provide a salad/soup buffet (or you can pay extra for a full meal), a bar, comfortable lounge areas, wifi, and SHOWERS.  I haven't actually tried them yet, but the idea of showering and changing into fresh clothes before flight number two is just glorious!

Now that I have had a few hours to myself after the craziness of preparing for this trip, I think everything is finally sinking in.  All of the expected emotions are surfacing.  I am going to be gone for six months!  I said a tearful goodbye to my family and my boyfriend this morning, and I am already missing everyone at home.  At the same time, I am so excited.  I have already e-mailed my tutor and host family, and I know it is hard to tell from an e-mail, but they seem really nice.

T-minus 4ish hours till my flight.  Off to the showers, now!  Adios!

Moving to Spain

¡Hola! This is my first blog post about my trip to Barcelona, Spain!  I have not yet departed, but one week from today I shall be on a plane to BCN, where I will live with a host family while teaching English at a local school.  I am so excited and a little nervous. My Spanish skills are a little lacking. So far I can say things like "No hablo espanol" and "Me gusta la cena." Perhaps that will be useful.... who knows?  I'll learn. ;)

It is amazing how quickly time has passed since I found out I was accepted into the CAPS program (Conversation Assistant Program for Schools).  I was notified of my acceptance on December 4th.  From that day forward, I spent every moment of every day either working or running errands to obtain my visa.  It was costly and time consuming, but in the end it paid off.  I flew down to Miami on Christmas day, had my appointment the following morning, and yesterday the visa arrived.

Some advice regarding visas: get started as EARLY as possible and do not waste a single moment until you have handed off your documents. It can take several weeks for your visa/passport to be mailed back to you.  Each country has different requirements and so does each consulate/embassy, so you must do your research and read carefully.  Make calls and send e-mails.  It pays to ask questions.  I'm pretty sure I ended up getting documents I did not even need, but better safe than sorry.