So here's the deal. I've been really bad at blogging. Here are some horrifically brief updates:
Anne, my mom, and Kyla came to visit. It rocked my world. We bebopped around Madrid and also went to the beach which was kind of ghetto but still really fun.
I finished all my classes. I am currently wearing one of the bracelets my student made me :D
Astin and I went to Italy. It was rad and I saw a lot of famous-style stuff. Like the Colosseum. We also got stuck in Florence for a night and had to sleep on the train station sidewalk after we were kicked out of McDonald's by a man who thought his job was bouncer of McDonald's.
I'm flying to NY on Tuesday! And to Idaho on Thursday! And I will eat a waffle on Friday!
P.S. All you Portland peeps...I'll be in Portland-ish area from the 13th to the 17th. Without a car. Anyone want to come pick me up and visit?
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Sunday, May 24, 2009
I'm a celebrity
Well, well, well. It’s been a wee bit since I’ve written because last weekend Cassie came to visit. We had a grand ole time. On Friday, Liz, Astin, and I headed to the airport to pick her up with signs that said, “Hookers International Welcomes Cassie Lara!” Of course we drew hooks all over the signs so there would be no confusion of the purity of our group.
We came home and made breakfast together and then Cassie and I walked around Madrid for a while. In the evening, since it was the festival for the patron saint of Madrid, San Isidro, we went to this humongous outdoor concert with our Spanish friend and some of her friends. But really, we were just in the same park and couldn’t hear the music.
On Saturday the highlight was definitely a performance of Carmen. The director/producer/choreographer/set designer/costume designer/lighting designer is also the protagonist. She rewrote the story so that it was more of a flamenco performance than an opera and it was FANTASTIC. Here’s a sample:
We also almost had a showdown with some old ladies who tried to take our seats.
Sunday, we went to a town outside of Madrid called Ávila. You may have heard of the mystic, Teresa of Ávila. Yep, her old stomping grounds. The city’s surrounded by this massive wall that we climbed all over and I also stuck my leg out of. None of the other tourists did that. We visited some cathedrals and museums and we also found the finger of Teresa. Yup, they definitely have her finger on display along with her sandals, rosary, and a few other things. During the course of the day, Cassie dropped her ice cream cone and was also shat upon by a bird for the first time in her life.
Then a normal weekend of classes. But last night, I became a celebrity. Yes. Celebrity. I, along with Astin and some others, was nominated as teacher of the year in my company. Everyone at the pub where we celebrated thought the whole ceremony was kind of hilarious, but our bosses took it rather seriously. Although I only garnered a bronze trophy, I still count myself on the same celebrity level as Audrey Hepburn. On the way home, it started raining and I stuck my trophy/cup out into the rain to rinse out the champagne and some guy tried to take it. I was too fast for him, though.
If anyone wants an autograph, just let me know.
We came home and made breakfast together and then Cassie and I walked around Madrid for a while. In the evening, since it was the festival for the patron saint of Madrid, San Isidro, we went to this humongous outdoor concert with our Spanish friend and some of her friends. But really, we were just in the same park and couldn’t hear the music.
On Saturday the highlight was definitely a performance of Carmen. The director/producer/choreographer/set designer/costume designer/lighting designer is also the protagonist. She rewrote the story so that it was more of a flamenco performance than an opera and it was FANTASTIC. Here’s a sample:
We also almost had a showdown with some old ladies who tried to take our seats.
Sunday, we went to a town outside of Madrid called Ávila. You may have heard of the mystic, Teresa of Ávila. Yep, her old stomping grounds. The city’s surrounded by this massive wall that we climbed all over and I also stuck my leg out of. None of the other tourists did that. We visited some cathedrals and museums and we also found the finger of Teresa. Yup, they definitely have her finger on display along with her sandals, rosary, and a few other things. During the course of the day, Cassie dropped her ice cream cone and was also shat upon by a bird for the first time in her life.
Then a normal weekend of classes. But last night, I became a celebrity. Yes. Celebrity. I, along with Astin and some others, was nominated as teacher of the year in my company. Everyone at the pub where we celebrated thought the whole ceremony was kind of hilarious, but our bosses took it rather seriously. Although I only garnered a bronze trophy, I still count myself on the same celebrity level as Audrey Hepburn. On the way home, it started raining and I stuck my trophy/cup out into the rain to rinse out the champagne and some guy tried to take it. I was too fast for him, though.
If anyone wants an autograph, just let me know.
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Susie B. and the 6 Giants
So this guy I work with has been planning hikes lately and I decided to join. I showed up at the bus station and said hi to the 3 guys already there waiting. I soon learned that no other females were coming and I would be spending the whole day with 6 guys who promptly nicknamed me Susie B. in reference to facebook profile. Let’s just say the estrogen cloud I was living in was blown away by a huge gust of testosterone. Really, we had a good time and it was great to get out of the city and see the mountains. We scrambled up rocks, left pieces of our flesh on various pokey plants, and I know that I, for one, transported roughly half the forest home in my socks.
A Wild Journey to Barcelona
So here’s how it rolled out. Astin’s friends Traci and Kelsey stayed with us for 2 days before we left for Barca. And it a hilariously surprising turn of events, Liz, a teammate of Astin’s and a fellow council member of mine choose the same TEFL company as us. We had a full house with all five of us and lots of hectic last minute planning. After landing in Madrid, Liz (million props) decided to join us in Barca so we bought five overnight bus tickets, booked a hostel room for Liz and headed out.
After listening to some kind of stupid people refuse to shut up for most of the bus ride, we rolled into Barca at 8:30 am and found our hostel. We then went searching for breakfast and then busted out the map from the hostel and the guide book my student loaned me. After a while of planning, we set out for…nowhere. Really we were looking for some tourist discount card and never found it. This was pretty hard work so we decided to break for lunch. If the slideshow works, you’ll notice the “paella mixta” or “entire sea creatures surprise” that everyone else ate. I ate spaghetti and chicken…thank you seafood allergies!
Then we went to La Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family), a partially finished cathedral designed by Gaudí, who is now my favorite architect/artist. Seriously, google him. He’s really the first artist that makes me want to see more and more of his work. After that, we went to see two more of his works—Casa Batlló and Casa Milá.
Day 2 – We went on a “Free Walking Tour” which really means that they advertise it as free and then ask for money. But it was a really great, informed tour and I learned a lot…about Picasso, George Orwell, Evanescence, Gaudí, etc. We also went to the Guell palace (Guell commissioned a lot of Gaudí’s work), Parc de la Ciutadella (which had a huge mammoth statue), saw the Arc de Triomf. Did you know that Eiffel offered Barcelona the Eiffel tower for their expo but Barca wanted to keep their architecture classic and made the Arc de Triomf instead. So the next year, Paris got the tower. We ended the day with a trip to Parc Guell which was also designed by Gaudí. It was like something out of a funky fairy tale.
Day 3—We hadn’t seen enough of the park yesterday, so we went back for some more exploring. After lunch, we headed to the beach. It wasn’t warm enough to swim, so we just “took the sun” as they say and it was incredibly relaxing. Except that I kept getting a lot of sand stuck to myself. Happily, I was the only one who did not torch some part of my body. Everyone else was partially converted to members of the lobster family. Basically, Barcelona was a blast. Good people, good food, and good laughs.
After listening to some kind of stupid people refuse to shut up for most of the bus ride, we rolled into Barca at 8:30 am and found our hostel. We then went searching for breakfast and then busted out the map from the hostel and the guide book my student loaned me. After a while of planning, we set out for…nowhere. Really we were looking for some tourist discount card and never found it. This was pretty hard work so we decided to break for lunch. If the slideshow works, you’ll notice the “paella mixta” or “entire sea creatures surprise” that everyone else ate. I ate spaghetti and chicken…thank you seafood allergies!
Then we went to La Sagrada Familia (Sacred Family), a partially finished cathedral designed by Gaudí, who is now my favorite architect/artist. Seriously, google him. He’s really the first artist that makes me want to see more and more of his work. After that, we went to see two more of his works—Casa Batlló and Casa Milá.
Day 2 – We went on a “Free Walking Tour” which really means that they advertise it as free and then ask for money. But it was a really great, informed tour and I learned a lot…about Picasso, George Orwell, Evanescence, Gaudí, etc. We also went to the Guell palace (Guell commissioned a lot of Gaudí’s work), Parc de la Ciutadella (which had a huge mammoth statue), saw the Arc de Triomf. Did you know that Eiffel offered Barcelona the Eiffel tower for their expo but Barca wanted to keep their architecture classic and made the Arc de Triomf instead. So the next year, Paris got the tower. We ended the day with a trip to Parc Guell which was also designed by Gaudí. It was like something out of a funky fairy tale.
Day 3—We hadn’t seen enough of the park yesterday, so we went back for some more exploring. After lunch, we headed to the beach. It wasn’t warm enough to swim, so we just “took the sun” as they say and it was incredibly relaxing. Except that I kept getting a lot of sand stuck to myself. Happily, I was the only one who did not torch some part of my body. Everyone else was partially converted to members of the lobster family. Basically, Barcelona was a blast. Good people, good food, and good laughs.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Adios, buttface!
Well, here is what I have to report. Astin came back safely to Spain and I picked her up from the airport several times...only once successfully. All the other times were failures on account of flight changes, lost luggage, etc. But everything is good to go now. The greatest part being, of course, that now I have someone to play Frisbee with. Spaniards generally feel that Frisbee should be reserved for dogs and the beach.
To answer your question about the hilarious title, well, that is a direct quote (as far as I understand) from my 6-year old. I arrived to their house and buzzed to be let in. Their mom always answers, but this time the 6 year old got ahold of the system and asked who I was and I told her. She then decided it was important to find out...right then, whose turn it was to go first. I let her know and we continued to chat over the buzzer system. Eventually she decided to let me in. I go up to find her face red and puffy from crying and knew that was a bad bad sign. Then their mother cheerfully explained that she and her 8 year old sister had been fighting over a picture and that they were "a little angry." Yippee. I started class with the 8-year old who was protectively clutching a picture for the beginning of the lesson while yelling stuff to her sister like, “And no you can’t even LOOK at it” before we started. We had a few attitude problems, but nothing the eyebrow/yellow card combo couldn’t solve. All of a sudden the door flies open and the tiny 6 year old shrills – “Adios, BUTTFACE!” and slams the door shut. Buttface is a loose translation from the Spanish. Anyway, I found it to be pretty hilarious because she didn’t GO anywhere. She just needed some power, I suppose, and felt that “adios buttface” was the best way. She had her lesson later and at the end when we went over the behavior chart, we agreed that “Adios, BUTTFACE” hadn’t been the greatest idea and probably wouldn’t be necessary next time. I didn’t tell her that I thought the whole thing was hilarious and continue to use the phrase (I don’t really think Astin is amused.)
Next week, tragically, there will be no blog. I will be “taking the sun,” as they say, in Barcelona. A couple of Astin’s friends and the two of us will either fly or bus over there on Friday. Furthermore, my computer is being shifty again and so if you stop hearing from me for a long time, it’s due to some sort of crash. Well, keep it real on the streets.
To answer your question about the hilarious title, well, that is a direct quote (as far as I understand) from my 6-year old. I arrived to their house and buzzed to be let in. Their mom always answers, but this time the 6 year old got ahold of the system and asked who I was and I told her. She then decided it was important to find out...right then, whose turn it was to go first. I let her know and we continued to chat over the buzzer system. Eventually she decided to let me in. I go up to find her face red and puffy from crying and knew that was a bad bad sign. Then their mother cheerfully explained that she and her 8 year old sister had been fighting over a picture and that they were "a little angry." Yippee. I started class with the 8-year old who was protectively clutching a picture for the beginning of the lesson while yelling stuff to her sister like, “And no you can’t even LOOK at it” before we started. We had a few attitude problems, but nothing the eyebrow/yellow card combo couldn’t solve. All of a sudden the door flies open and the tiny 6 year old shrills – “Adios, BUTTFACE!” and slams the door shut. Buttface is a loose translation from the Spanish. Anyway, I found it to be pretty hilarious because she didn’t GO anywhere. She just needed some power, I suppose, and felt that “adios buttface” was the best way. She had her lesson later and at the end when we went over the behavior chart, we agreed that “Adios, BUTTFACE” hadn’t been the greatest idea and probably wouldn’t be necessary next time. I didn’t tell her that I thought the whole thing was hilarious and continue to use the phrase (I don’t really think Astin is amused.)
Next week, tragically, there will be no blog. I will be “taking the sun,” as they say, in Barcelona. A couple of Astin’s friends and the two of us will either fly or bus over there on Friday. Furthermore, my computer is being shifty again and so if you stop hearing from me for a long time, it’s due to some sort of crash. Well, keep it real on the streets.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Well, bad news. I forgot the procession pictures again. Oops. Maybe next week. Maybe never. So this week Astin was in the States for a wedding, so I decided to become a wandering vagabond and walk around a lot. I tried some new spanish foods...membrillo (quince) and palmeras de chocolate (kind of like pie crust with chocolate on top). Both pretty good.
In student news:
-One student has announced that he likes to "rike a bike" and he was very cute about it.
-My ridiculous six year old gave me some empty sticker packets (mind you, they still had the borders, just not the actual picture stickers) she told me that they were "for my collection." I suspect she did this to ward off my increasinly-ominous glares that were directed her way for messing up our game. If anyone collects empty sticker packets, please let me know and I will send you some materials directly.
-Another student decided that, hey, why SAY grammar explanations when you can SING them. Her brother and I promptly started calling her Mary Poppins.
I also added "Good King Wenceslas" to my Sweet Flute repertoire. Other than that, not much to report. Below is a photo from the good ol' days. Take it back old school.
In student news:
-One student has announced that he likes to "rike a bike" and he was very cute about it.
-My ridiculous six year old gave me some empty sticker packets (mind you, they still had the borders, just not the actual picture stickers) she told me that they were "for my collection." I suspect she did this to ward off my increasinly-ominous glares that were directed her way for messing up our game. If anyone collects empty sticker packets, please let me know and I will send you some materials directly.
-Another student decided that, hey, why SAY grammar explanations when you can SING them. Her brother and I promptly started calling her Mary Poppins.
I also added "Good King Wenceslas" to my Sweet Flute repertoire. Other than that, not much to report. Below is a photo from the good ol' days. Take it back old school.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Semana Santa
There was no blog last week for a few reasons.
1) life wasn't too exciting
2) I was severely impeded on my way to blog.
a) the bus was incredibly delayed and it was really windy while I was waiting for the bus, so I was continually pelted with thousands of those little round tree seed pod things. When the bus came, it was really crowded, so the bus driver didn't notice me until he shut me in the door. A female leaping around frantically kind of attracts attention.
b) when I arrived at the coffee shop much later with lots of woodland particles nestled in my hair, they told me they couldn't change my 10 Euro bill. They literally didn't have enough change. So I went to another coffee shop, bought a yogurt, and then returned to my regular coffee shop. This all took an enormous amount of time.
Anyway. This week was Semana Santa and basically the whole country takes at least a 4-day vacation. I took a fabulous trip to nowhere on account of an upcoming trip to Barcelona that I'm saving up for. I did go to a procession though. They're wild. Basically different churches put their saint on a throne-thing and dress up in eerie Ku Klux Klan looking outfits and parade around various cities. It's pretty cool. I'll post pictures next week.
1) life wasn't too exciting
2) I was severely impeded on my way to blog.
a) the bus was incredibly delayed and it was really windy while I was waiting for the bus, so I was continually pelted with thousands of those little round tree seed pod things. When the bus came, it was really crowded, so the bus driver didn't notice me until he shut me in the door. A female leaping around frantically kind of attracts attention.
b) when I arrived at the coffee shop much later with lots of woodland particles nestled in my hair, they told me they couldn't change my 10 Euro bill. They literally didn't have enough change. So I went to another coffee shop, bought a yogurt, and then returned to my regular coffee shop. This all took an enormous amount of time.
Anyway. This week was Semana Santa and basically the whole country takes at least a 4-day vacation. I took a fabulous trip to nowhere on account of an upcoming trip to Barcelona that I'm saving up for. I did go to a procession though. They're wild. Basically different churches put their saint on a throne-thing and dress up in eerie Ku Klux Klan looking outfits and parade around various cities. It's pretty cool. I'll post pictures next week.
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