Whatcha Doin', Nothing Just Chillin' in Spain

Nothing, just getting to know Jaen and Baeza a little bit better. Just a recap, I live in Jaen, but commute to the smaller town of Baeza to work. At first I was under the assumption that I was only to work in Baeza and play in Jaen, but thank goodness that fog as lifted.

Oddly enough, my true playtime did not begin until I quit working at the private academy I was teaching at during the evenings in Baeza on Monday and Wednesday. The two main reasons for my departure were the long hours into the night and the fact that I signed on to teach but later the school decided to go a different direction with assisting students in learning the English language. As I mentioned way back at the beginning of my moving to Spain adventure the point was to take a break and center my life goals. As much as I adored and miss, man do I miss, those kiddos I am definitely enjoying the freetime.

Despite being in graduate classes online and working, I was still able to do things I enjoyed in town, but now that I have more free time I've been able to transition into my natural groove of socializing and daily routine. I've worked out my carpool (just an fyi that is not a word in Spanish, you have to describe this one folks) and I'm enjoying the company and conversation well- not to mention my understanding of Spanish as tripled. I've been able to meet friends for dinner, coffee, or after work drinks- if you know me you know how much I just l.o.v.e. meeting up with folks in the evening and then heading home to an comfy bed and good book at a sensible hour. Because of siesta when I arrive to Jaen from Baeza after school everyone is locked away in their homes, but in the evenings the shopping and socializing come alive and I'm able to participate now. I know to some the point of this trip would be to visit all the town artifacts and stay up all night enjoying the infamous Spanish nightlife, but that's not how I work. In my opinion if you are constantly walking around looking at the buildings you miss out on the people, the living history that can tell you stories no history book would ever publish.

Tapas With Co-workers and their families.

However, no worries, I have spent plenty of time in Baeza- once even a long weekend (with many more to follow hopefully), which is actually a UNESCO World Heritage site, so I'm soaking up the history. In Baeza I have enjoyed, in my humble opinion, the best Tapas Spain has to offer. Many disagree, but I'm okay as long as they keep serving. I've found a place that throws great concerts every Thursday night AND I'm getting to spend more time with my co-workers and their families. From the personalized Pallella day, to tapas with other teachers in town, to a night out in Jaen.

A Fancy Kabob, in Baeza.

There is shrimp all in there, mmmgood!

At the same time I've been able to concentrate on graduate class, keep in contact with loved ones in the states more frequently and read about five books.

 Adjustment is not that bad at all, definitely unexpected in the relationships and routines I've developed, but an overall great start to this adventure.

Roommates walking through a lovely park we discovered in Jaen.

I'm sure you dear reader have had to adjust to something new and unexpected, whether moving to a different country or new marriage or a completely different job than the previous. I would love to hear all about it, feel free to even provide some tips and tricks!

Until next time, Adios, Hasta Pronto, Be Blessed . . .

The roommates doing Saved by the Bell Halloween Proper.

 

Albaicin: The Barrio of the Baeza People

The visit to Granada was great. The visit to Granada was the best. The visit to Granada was wonderful.

Spanish kindness in the form of Balien, showing us a good time.

 

Honestly that about sums up my feelings on the subject of my Visit to Granada.

Leaving the very homogenous atmosphere of Jaen and being transplanted to the mutli-cultural, alternative everyday life of Granada was just what the doctor order. Just as I was wondering when the homesickness would exit through the gift shop or when I just knew that the next Spaniard to comment negatively about my hair while tisking loudly about the color of my skin was going to be my prompt ticket home byway of the Civil Guard we took a little trip to Granada.

I bought no souvenirs, I didn´t make a life long connection with anyone I met at the hostel, and my visit to The Alhambra was regulated to the areas that dealt with King Charles. But who cares, I could not have planned a better trip.

I did meet some pretty great people at the Hostel, Makuto, whose travels across Spain seemed to be going quite well. I also meet this sweet little couple who in two weeks had traveled to 6 places and had 5 more to do before the end of the week. I was able to watch the sunset at The Miradora San Nicolas. There were so many street artist whose talent and skills went far beyond the norm idea for how objects, metals, images should be represented.

Then as the strawberry covered in chocolate topping  (I´m allergic to cherries) I attended the best guided tour anyone could experience. I signed up Thursday night for a Special Interest tour on the subject of King Charles and is impact on the Alhambra as well as the city of Granada. My tour guide graduate from university with a degree in Tourism and a master in History, focus on the development of Granada.

 The tour was on Sunday, it was in English and I was the only person to sign-up. It was more like a conversation focused on the Alhambra, past Kings and Queens, the Moor cultural impact on Spain and the history of Granada. I was able to see rooms and locations that I didn´t even know existed. My tour guide was obviously passionate about the subject and I´m even planning on attending a Wednesday night tour he guides about the roles of women in the growth of the city of Granada.

 

Alhambra at Sunset from the Miradora San Nicolas

Miradora San Nicolas midday from the Alhambra

View of the grounds from the Queens room.

On our first afternoon in Granada we ate at this little café called Cuatros Gatos and this college girl explained that while the city was great upon first arrival it could definitely get old after awhile. My plan is to visit often enough that it does get old- that we become old friends, with old haunts, and old memories that will last a lifetime.

Have you every visited Granada, please share your adventures and if not, is this somewhere you'd be interested to visit?

Until next time, Adios, Hasta Pronto, Be Blessed . . .

 

The Ladies and I enjoying the views!

 

Write Me Something, Anything Real

Toni Morrison at work.

This blog is just a piece of my thoughts or mind, your pick. It is not my entire writing ability, my complete thought process, or every bit of goings on from my daily life. Truly, you are taking part of the literal version of snap chat when reading a blog. Just a moment. No more.

Usually that works just fine for me honestly, I do plenty of my fiction writing in my free time that  I'm not bothered, but things have changed. There are so many things going on, I'm not able to free-write like I would prefer and due to my accepting the Independent Blogger Internship for CIEE I try to streamline this blog to aide future participants.

 What's a girl to do when the writing situation gets a little scrambled. Simple Journal. Instead of searching out random wisp of thoughts in my head I've decided to use a few prompts.

My new baby journal, so great! Mama loves you!

 

My journal is divide into sketch pages and lined paper. My first decision was to participate in "What I'm Thankful For" for every day of November. One sentence followed by a brief paragraph of explanation then I'm done. Next I answer a question from the following journal prompt page.

 

 There is prompt per day and the entire series for every month was designed to answer the same question for five years straight. Interesting.  

As for the sketch pages, once a week I have to sketch a drawing of what is consuming my life for the moment. The other days I have to choose a prompt from one of the following prompt generators. All prompt generators can be found on my Pinterest page, "Let's Have Some Fun". Stop on by for links to more!

 

 Not too creative I understand, but man am I excited to just write. So very excited.

 

Any suggestions for writing prompts feel free to add them or even share about your own writing preferences. All of you moving towards becoming Language Assistants next year, are you keeping a pre-trip journal? If so what do you find yourself writing about most?

 

Until Next time, Hasta Pronto, Adios, Be Blessed . . .

The Re-Education of D

I have taken two large steps in the growth department y'all and it feels good, real good to be honest. Let's start with the basics:

Co-teaching or even just aiding in subjects that I have no clue or memory registry about has opened my brain up to so much more information. In music I'm learning about the different instruments, the groups those instruments belong in and even the history of music in the middle ages. In technology I'm learning all the tricks and tips to Photoshop, how to weld metal, and how building structures work from every little angle. In art, well let's just say I'm trying. And math is a reawakening to words such as "exponent" and " least common multiple", these kids definitely figure out the equation before I do. I've always been an English and History buff, with very little deep interest in the other subjects, but now I have to be interested in order to aide the students in their language development AND I love all that I'm learning.

Awkard, and so naive on my first day at the private academy.

 

Now let's move to the hard part:

I was one busy baby one the school year started. I was headed to public school no later than 8:30, didn't leave school until 2:45. At which point I headed to private school around with the earliest arrival time being 3:15 and I set-up, planned for the days activities ( I taught five different ones, in a two day rotation). Finally I head home around 8:15, only to arrive around 9:30 and prep for dinner, hang with the roomies or work on graduate class homework. That's around the same hours I put in back in Texas with a lot less pay and in a much more enticing environment to have some fun. So I did the unthinkable after two weeks. I discussed the lack of sleep, extreme stress and lack of sleep with my Director at the private academy and we decided that no longer teaching my Tuesday/Thursday classes was definitely an option. I was definitely this overworked if not more in the United States and we had plenty of people who should've been qualified to aide in the workload, but after seeing so many of my colleagues fail at acquiring assistants in their hour of need I never spoke up and shouldered the battle. I know now that an as a work bee it is not my job to do all the work because others are to lazy or unaware of the position requirements, it is the person in charges job to make sure everyone is doing what they need to and doing it well. Just as ready as I was to say, "okay, adios" here I should have been just as ready to say "something has to change" back in Texas. Why we work bees, and women especially, feel the need to abandon all common sense and work our bodies into the ground while everyone else takes naps and orders drinks baffles me completely. But in a culture were siesta is an estimated time-frame and four day weekends are not rare there is the mind frame that overworking is a problem that needs to be fixed as soon as possible because you only have one life and it should not be lived at a desk, but with what you love and hold dear.

Now I'm moving to adjusting to my new schedule, being ahead in grad class, watching some television, dedicating my Tuesday afternoon to Spanish learning and just enjoying Spain.

 

Please share a time you had to step-back and decide what is important. Or if you're interested in the Language Assistant Program in Spain feel free to ask for job requirement details or extra income options.

Until next time, Hasta Pronto, Adios, Be Blessed . . .

25 and I Still Have Not a Clue

First off. The important facts. Birthdays abroad are hard. The first birthday you ever spend without any family member can be a blow to the moral. Combine those two and you have my 25th in Jaen, Jaen. BUT thanks to my lovely and always optimistic roomies and our American buds across the hall, that was not an option- seriously, they refused to accept a frown or pout. In return they secretly baked a brownie cake, oh my, while I was out for Tapas and then surprised me with it when I returned. They even broke the law and stole some butter in order to get the job done. Thanks, guys, I appreciate the time and thought more than I could ever express (no really, expressing emotion is my downfall and comedic genius)!

The lighting was a little strong, but such great folks!

Now on to the typical post about aging, getting older, wiser and just generally better like a delicious stinky cheese. Only, the truth is that honestly I still have no clue what I'm doing- hello quitting my J.O.B and moving to Spain.

Which is why I am not about to bore or fabricate a post about 25 things I've learned and instead will be discussing a few things that perplex me, the thoughts that my brain insist upon dissecting at 3a after I've fretted over my lesson plan and why I do not call my grandparents, parents, great-grandmother and little sister in five-minute increments to simply say I love you. Honestly, even just a few is a stretch since 25 years of life is just the beginning, at 50 maybe I’ll be able to muster the equivalent to my age. Feel free to solve the dilemma if you have an answer or just add your own life conundrums.

Warning: This is a long, wordy list . . .

 

1.) Why when people put you on the spot to speak, your mind refuses to respond. This happens often. In class, at work with your boss, when parents approach expecting wonderful news about their precious child that you teach and in any romantic situation where events are not going as planned.

2.) Why I have to remind myself quickly that the person talking on the phone to the person in the bathroom stall next to me has no clue who I am and may not even hear me handling my personal business. Cell phones everywhere, it’s a horrible intrusion upon others who have no desire to become listening participants of a complete stranger’s conversation.

3.) Why people believe it is okay to take Western ideas and throw them in the face of cultures that have existed longer than the years of the democracy of the United States doubled and then say they are saving these countries. I know so many people who travel and find work in communities all over the world without ever once believing or stating that they are there to help people who cannot help themselves. Instead they focus on their relationships, the community that has so kindly welcomed them and the life they intend to build while respectfully intersecting with that community. Yet still blogs, books, and memoirs continue to be published with people professing how much "good" they have done for a limited amount of time until their real life called them home. Righteousness ain't cute and Africa is a continent not a country. 

4.) Why politically correct lies are more acceptable than the truth. I like to know where others stand. I believe others like to know where I stand. More importantly language is the key to survival for a wolf in a sheepskin and can be the death of others in so many situations. Tell the truth, always.

5.) Why people use the phrase, “Do it while you can”. Wait, there’s an expiration date on accomplishing certain items in your life. Just because something is hard does not mean it is impossible, which is what my parents raised me to believe and leads to confusion when people state the previous phrase.

6.) Why guys become so offended when a girl says she has her own drinks covered. In this day and age with all the craziness of strangers my alcohol is not to be toyed with by anyone. So, " No, Johnny Boy who I don't know from the homeless man on the street corner you will not be buying me a drink or having a conversation with more possibilities with me because you threw major shade when I polity declined your offer". Now excuse me while I clutch my drink tightly, always keeping an eye on the clinking ice in the glass and dutifully watching the bartender prepare every drop.

7.) Why some men in business environments still think it is okay to pinch a woman's cheeks- either set. We attend the same universities, we’re working the same hours (actually I'm probably working longer hours because I have to work twice as hard), and we know the same necessary information (actually I probably know more because of those extra hours I'm working). So please know the next time you pinch my cheeks, blame my words on my Menstrual Cycle or tell me I can't hang with the boys you will learn my left hook is just as capable of breaking your nose as your frat bro from way back.

8.) Why some women do not trust, have friendships with, like or any other state of being that references their negative relationships with other women. Woman to Woman, I am your biggest ally. I know you because our basic life experiences are mapped out the same. I understand you’ve met and dealt with a few Crazy Caroline type ladies from around the way more times than a soul can handle. And that they maybe decided to go off wall on you for simply sharing your honest opinion. Also, just like you are not “Crazy Caroline” neither are so many other women, that’s the joy of female friendships: different personalities coming together for a great bond that only gets better with time.

9.) Why people confidently utter the statement, “I don’t read”. Shut. The. Front. Door. Better yet, stand there stock still while I hit you over the head with my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Then I will bury you in a location suitable to the taste of Edward Abbey and mark the spot with an “X”. I’d give you the option of a crafty headstone quote, but “I don’t read” is not acceptable.

10.) Why Passive Aggressive behavior exist and what exactly the behavior consist of, honestly. I have no clue. Are these your real emotions? Wait, what exactly is happening? How do I respond? A sticky note, seriously, a note? Well thanks for the long winded e-mail that sucked entirely too many minutes out of my life, didn’t I just talk to you in the corridor for thirty minutes- I thought we were cool?

11.) Why is hair so important? Seriously, the amount of time and effort, oh and money I and others put into our hair is ridiculous. I’m not the only one though, I know people who have standing appointments and get real cray-cray when their stylist goes on vacation. The debate that occurs when considering a change- the anxiety, stress and endless hours over photos. The extreme ties we contribute to hair when rating the beauty of others baffles me when you take into account the likelihood that all these efforts are still leading to receding lines, bald spots and extreme hair loss during old age. Why can’t I just shave it all off again, but this time everyone keep their comments trapped deep inside that dark place where all the other unuttered truths sleep.

12.) Why do we as humans continue to treat are bodies with such disregard? We are perishable. Humans do not last forever and personally I have no desire to last forever, but while I’m here I need to be at my best. “My body is a temple” should be the motto and everything placed inside of this capsule should be done with only the best intentions.

13.) Why are people so impolite these days? No “Excuse me” or “Pardon”, no “Thank you for your time, effort or consideration”. It baffles me, a little kindness and care goes along way. And youth of the world, Elderly always get the seat, have the right-away, are offered to cut in line and generally deserve every ounce of kindness your wee little body can expend because they’ve earned that right.

 

Tu Hablas Espanol?

No. No I do not, but I understand pretty well so be careful when you go to comment on my lack of language skills. Honestly, the comments are usually very helpful, feedback and smiles of understanding that I will learn. Smiles explaining that it's not a big deal since they've maybe learned a new language and understand how difficult it can be to be a language student. I've only had one bad reaction and honestly that in no form can out weigh the kindness of all the others.

Spanish Classmates

But why move to Spain if you don't speak Spanish? Welp, why not. I've done six years of sitting at a desk attempting to learn a language that so many surrounding me in Texas speak and understand, but when I arrived in Spain I couldn't tell the taxi driver the address in Spanish. What the Frog is that, serious time and money wasted for sure. When I look back on those classes, almost ten years ago some folk were still of the mind frame that learning Spanish was not a necessary. Those folks are now jobless. Replaced by Spanish teachers whose native tongue is Spanish and who hold a desire for the language of their people to be taught so that a person can move upward and develop relationships in a Spanish speaking world.

It is hard. Very hard, but I've come along way and I plan to go even further. While basic conversations with the people I must interact with daily have definitely aided me (i.e. bus driver, parents of students, students, the waiter and sometime neighbors) they are not providing me with the nitty gritty, just the basics.

 

For the whole get down I started with taking two weeks of Spanish classes at the beginner level in Spain from the Language Academy, CLIC located in Sevilla. The classes were not playtime, we had homework, test and the teacher refused to speak in English or bump her pace down to a snails pace. That definitely helped as did the language book which in every chapter provides at least two section dissections that graphic organize everything the information taught.

Now that I'm in Jaen and my schedule does not permit an extra 3-4hrs, I have to get in were I fit in- thank goodness for Intercambio. The basic definition of Intercambio is speaking conversational Spanish for an allotted time then switching to English for the same amount of time.

However, because my Intercambio partners are actually teachers I have received two work books ( one grammar the other just language related) and a novel to read, all of which are written in Spanish. During my sessions there is plenty of note taking and question asking.

Also, in my back pocket there are a few web resources I plan to put to use next semester when Graduate school is not a time requirement. More on those later. Just now I've made some baby steps since arriving her a little over a month ago and I look forward on looking back at the end of this adventure.

 

My biggest struggle or roadblock is myself. In the beginning I was so fearful of my Texas accent devouring my Spanish accent, which it does from time to time. This irrational fear stems from two seeds. 1.) Spanish class in High School when my teacher hated my accent so much she refused to allow me to speak and only assigned me reading and writing for language practice. 2.) Hearing the amazing accents of other Americans who have studied abroad before teaching abroad or who have Spanish majors is a little intimidating definitely.

 But then I got over those issues with a big gulp of "who cares" and little confidence boost from the many Spanish folk who've I've spoken to that like to compliment the fact that they understand me so well compared to other Americans (Thanks Mom and Dad for all the books, etiquette classes, and theatre participation). Now, I just speak, pause for correction and say "gracias". No big deal.

 

Here's to learning Spanish and having fun, Until next time . . . Adios, Hasta Pronto, and Be Blessed

Sevilla: Well That Was Quick

Roomie Photo Op one, checkout that background.

Seriously, those two weeks flew by with a flash. Weelll, everything except the constant walk from Triana to Centro every.single.day. In total guaranteed I could clock 3 miles a day simply walking. After our wonderful orientation week of making friends and figuring out "The Siesta" we were pushed from the nest and made to fly.


We like to coordinate.

There is a lot to be said for living with someone else's Grandmother for two weeks after having not share my place since sophomore year of college. She was 62 years of energy and was in constant bafflement of how little I eat, but how much I sleep. What ever the awkwardness or culture clash that can be said for living in someone else's house in a new country, me and my Senora ended on a great note!


Cabra with my Senora.

Actually everything ended on a great note, despite that fact that often I felt like I was just going through the motions ready at all times to be in my bed in my permenant city for the next nine months.
As I mentioned earlier the friends I made and people I was able to spend time with was hands down the best part. A constant flow of invites to go here or meet someone there and even the folks in my Spanish class are characters that I hope to always remember. Guys there is absolutely no way I could list for you everything we did or saw, but I can provide some awesome photos from the few times we remembered to document the moment ( maybe me and my amigos can be in the next Iphone Camera commercial) with my typical sarcastic comments.

Plaza de Hercules was my kind of place

When you stumble upon a Texas themed bar with your friend from Texas at 4a, you have fun.

Get your guns up, cause there's a Fox on the field and he knows how to win!



Rooftop concert directly across from the Catedral y Giralda.

Chocolate y Chorros con mi amigos de clase.

 Obviously, it was fun! I learned some Spanish, met some great folks and started this Spanish Adventure off on the right foot. Now, I'm headed to my final destination: Jaen, Jaen! And all of my new friends are headed to their own homes, I'm sure we'll keep in touch and I look forward to the days to come.


 

Until next time, Adios, Hasta Pronto, Be Blessed . . .

Music For the Road

The other day someone mentioned being able to connect to Spotify and listen to their tunes from home. This then divulged into a lengthy conversation of all the memories attached to music- the songs we love, the songs we dance to, the songs we hate, but can sing along to perfectly. And often the songs we find ourselves too emotional for words while listening to every syllable as if it is our last connection to the dust in the corners of our homes that we forget about until we move never to return.



What you don't wear your gafas to concerts, trust me the last thing I needed to worry about was taking out contacts come bedtime.

That last set of songs are the ones you start craving when all comforts have been exchanged for adventure, suitcases and a new face around every corner. Once you install your Tunnel Bear or find Hola Unlock and can access the joy that is your digital collection of music from the first time you were listening to a song and then stopped to really listen. Then replayed the song again trying to figure out what was different that time around, but you can never have that moment back. You can only have the memory- which is great for times in your live when memories are all you can really carry because of the time difference, or faulty technology, or no privacy to really just hold a conversation with your "talk for hours without a second thought" person.

While, I'm definitely excited to have all of my Spotify playlist and the playlist of my friends back in my life, for some reason I keep returning to the same artist over and over. Listening to his select few songs and enjoying the memories.

While the rumors are true and this is possibly one of the hardest working musicians in Texas, people enjoy him because he's got stories and he likes to tell them through his music and while he's knocking back that "on the house" shot in between songs.

The majority of my readers will have never heard of him, he's no Prince style musical innovator or JT making women of all ages swoon, but if I was to hear his voice playing over a speaker anywhere in the world I would stop and listen. Then stay a little while afterwards to savor the richness of everything he put into that one song. If you are located in Texas go to his website, find the closest show to you ( any driving under 10 hours will be worth the night) and have a good time!
Ladies and Gentleman without further, lengthy introduction I present to you Mr. Josh Weathers:

Mr. Weathers feelin' good. @Jeff Prince fwweekly.com

Josh Weathers Band – Truth and Lies

It was a good night, er day. @damoonman.wordpress.com



Josh Weathers Band – All That Matters

Josh Weathers Band – Mind, Body & Soul

Josh Weathers Band – I Am Blessed

Josh Weathers Band – Big Night in the City

and one for the road . . . Josh Weathers Band – I Will Always Love You - Full Version - For Momma

 

I hope you clicked on those links and didn't pull the whole, "what I have to follow a link" technology baby pout. If you did sad day, you missed out. If you didn't have a great day humming those tunes!

Until next time, Adios, Hasta Pronto, Be Blessed . . .

Things I Never Knew: All About the Eyes

The Ultimate Stare Down



Eye contact in Spain is a language all it's own. A language that every other person knew about, is progressing well at understanding and has been pretty successful at executing- everyone, but myself.
So the way the language has been explained to me by a few Americans and my Spanish Professor after I asked for some details and worked really hard to interpret is now broken down here for all:
1.) If someone ( of any gender) is simply staring at you on the streets, it's a compliment. It is that persons way to show they are intrigued or that they admire your physical architecture.
2.) If you spot someone you may be interested in romantically you adhere to the decoded rules below:

• You the female wait until the male begins his stare down.
• Once the male has made sufficient eye contact with you smile to invite him to converse.
• If you decide at some point during the eye contact phase that you are not interested, turn away quickly and don't smile or you will receive some unwanted attention.

After having these rules explained to me I had plenty "light bulb" moments and a few cringe worthy memories for the road. My favorite of which took place my first night out on the town:

Male: "I'm really into eye-contact, I believe it's important." ( But seriously who says that?)

Me: " Same here, but I love people watching- human interaction can be so interesting."

Moment of silence for you to enjoy your cringe and laughter.

 Now back to my ramblings. At first I was all, " In one night you can make eye contact and a smile with 5 guys". But then I thought about it, the nerves and surrounding atmosphere can seriously hinder holding eye contact long enough to convey, " Hey boy don'tcha you know, you got something going on". Don't believe me, just give it a try the next time you spot a hottie with a body.

You may be asking what happens if this interaction happens in passing on the streets. Welp, I give you exhibit A and B:

I'm walking down the street and make eye contact with a very handsome young gent on a bike ( if you know me then you know my love for boys on bikes). We made eye-contact until the point for him to pass me occurred at which point he whistled and we went about our merry little lives.

OR you could smile, him stop his bike to invite you for drinks and five years later you are happily married living in Espana.

Your choice ladies.

Alcohol and Eye Contact, it's about to get real.

 What interest me the most about these silent interactions is that in a culture full of bright colors, vibrant personalities, an appreciation of the human physique, and a known abundance for cat calls in the streets this demure interaction exists so widely. Daily I'm "bird watching" folks on the streets to catch a glimpse and I've been prone to catch more than I ever expected.

Thank goodness Alex Lunato made sure I didn't even have to Ping Back this awesome Ecard.

 Please if there is a book about this subject feel free to suggest, or maybe even throw in your own commentary on the matter in the comments section- just remember as my observations are purely out of interest and not sign, sealed and delivered scientific study your comments should be kind and respectful to a welcoming culture.







Spotted: A Heard of Americans in Seville

Honestly, from what I've heard we're a pretty small group compared to some of the other orientation groups. I'm not going to talk about CIEE in this post, I'm going to provide that evaluation after I've completed the entire 9 months. What I am going to talk about is my favorite part of orientation week . . .Meeting all my fellow teachers!

Abracadabra: Madrid Turned Me Into a Tourist

I made it, safe and sound! Being as the plane ride was the worst I've ever experienced you cannot imagine how happy it makes me to say that phrase!

Off I Go!

So as of tomorrow, I'm will no longer reside in the United States of America. Whoohoo! I'm off you guys to start this Adventure- first stop Madrid.

To tie you over lovely folks until my return I'm sharing a barrage of wonderful travel quotes that for my personal experiences sum up everything I've ever wanted to say.

 Feel free to add your own favorite quotes in the comments section below- that would be a very nice welcome back!

 Until next time . . . Adios, Hasta Pronto, Be Blessed.