Aloha from Madrid!

Oops, I mean hola. I guess I'm just in an international sort of mood, after having spent the weekend wolfing down any sort of non-Spanish food I could find. (Because in Algeciras the only exotic food is schawarma...we do have Chinese restaurants too, but apparently their food is comparable to dog food.)

I've been in Madrid now for 3 days, and I'm slowly falling in love. I was here for a weekend last december, but this time I had more time to stroll around and really appreciate and get to know the city. Gran Via at night reminds me of what (I think) New York City is like. (I've never actually been..). There are bright lights everywhere, people flooding the streets, and a general feeling of importantness and excitedness. I like it.

So Emily and I more or less (literally) spent the weekend searching out any sort of non-Spanish food we could find. I mean yeah, we saw Parque del Buen Retiro, el Palacio Real, Parque Oeste, Puerta del Sol, Plaza España, and all the usual suspects.

However, the highlights for me where eating chicken tikka massala and garlic nan at an Indian restaurant, having bacon/eggs/French toast and mimosas for lunch, a milkshake for desert, pizza for dinner, and a REAL cheeseburger with french fries the next night. The beauty of parque Retiro just paled in comparison.

Besides the food, though, I had SUCH a good weekend seeing friends! My friend Emily, a co-auxilar and precious study abroad friend, and I came up from Andalucia on Friday. There we met one of my roommates from college, who is an auxiliar in Madrid, and her best friend from home who was studying abroad in Germany. I also found an old co-worker from Culvers, who I would like to take the credit for convincing to come study abroad in Spain. (Tell me if I'm wrong...but what can I say, I'm a very persuasive person.)
It was great to see familiar faces for the weekend and feel special that even though I was living 3,000 miles from home, I could still find pockets of familiarity among the foreign.

Here is the saddest thing that has happened to me so far: I bought a coconut ice cream cone to enjoy as I walked down Gran Via at night. I was so happy, cause coconut is by far my favorite ice cream flavor. I must have licked it a little to enthusiastically though, because one second I was licking it and the next second I was watching it fall, in slow motion, to the sidewalk. It was so sad. At least the cone was a waffle come so I could still enjoy a little bit of deliciousness.

Tomorrow is our last day in Madrid, and I can't wait to spend it holed up in Kaitlin's apartment eating McDonalds and watching movies in English on the computer. Don't judge me.

(I typed all that on my iPod touch by the way, that's dedication.)

In between being busy searching out delicious food, I did take time to snap a couple pictures. Enjoy!

Gate outside of el Palacio Real.

Enjoying some macaroons in Mercado San Miguel. Probably one of my favorite deserts ever...

This is my favorite building in Madrid. Not sure what it is, but its all white and looks like a castle.

"I love you Carlos." Awwww! This was scrawled on the steps by the lake in Parque del Buen Retiro.

Classic Andaluz.

Cadiz Carnival 2012

Oh hey there blogging world! No, I have not forgotten about you (even though it might appear otherwise). I've just been bogged down with momentarily hating my job, (but let's be honest, if you read my other post you know its not really momentarily), and being super stressed because I always get unnecessarily stressed out before I travel somewhere.

But since tomorrow I am headed off on a 9 day adventure to Madrid and the CANARY ISLANDS (!!!!!), if I didn't catch up on everything now, I would probably give up blogging when I got back due to the sheer amount of cool things I'd have to update you all about.

So. I'll give it a start. Last weekend I went to Carnival in Cadiz.

Oh. my. god.
Where do I even start with this?
Cadiz Carnaval was one of the wildest, most unique, strangest...things... I've ever been to. My friends and I rolled into Cadiz Sunday afternoon around 2pm, not sure what to expect because Spain is well-known for completely shutting down on Sundays. Apparently Carnaval is an exception to that.

The streets were hoppin'! Little kids in costumes holding onto their well-dressed and completely normal looking parents hands, teenagers still drunk from the night before wandering the streets in the remnants of their costumes, kids (yes, kids!) holding a beer in one hand and a sandwich in the other, and most importantly, people pouring off the incoming buses (all dressed in ridiculous costumes) to get started on their day of enjoying the party. It was an utterly unique experience to be a part of.

I had been a little hesitant to go on Sunday, because the night before is supposedly the big costume night when thousands of visitors pour into the city and stay up until the crack of dawn. I wasn't sure if the city would be in recovery phase from the night before. Thankfully though, the party was in full swing. A friend (who had gone a couple years ago for the night) even said that going on a Sunday was the better option!

Carnival in Cadiz is considered to be in the top 3 Carnivals in the world. (#1 is in Río de Janiero and #2 is in Santa Cruz de Tenerife). The one in Cadiz is also famous for being funny, witty and satirical, and people dress up in costumes that are flat out ridiculous and fun, versus in Río and Santa Cruz where its necessary to be dressed up, tanned, and in shape. Here, you can read a brief overview of the history of Carnival in Tenerife and Cadiz, if you're interested.

Since I don't want to bore with the complete day's events, //and quite honestly some of them are a little fuzzy for me//, I'll highlight the best parts with pictures.

A chirigota - a group that performs humorous or satirical songs during Carnival. Cross-dressing is a popular costume choice.

I was a vaquera, or cowgirl. Like my hat?

Okay, can we talk about this picture for a minute? This guy clearly knows what's up, considering he's 1) Spanish and 2) not just jumping on the Giants bandwagon for winning this years Superbowl. the only thing that would have made this more impressive would have been if it was Farve's jersey instead of Rodgers. 

No words...

Need a wig? Or 4?

Missing Larken, who was dressed as a viking.

Sun, wine, and the Mediterranean sea.

Another chirigota.

Just to give you a small idea of the crazy costume choices. At what point where they sitting around discussing costume choices and someone said "Hey, what about...snails? That'd be cool, right?"

Packed alleyways, and an awesome costume choice.

Knowing where the bathrooms are could be the difference between a happy Carnival and a miserable Carnival. 

Ending the night watching the sunset off the coast.

Finally, here's a shout out to all my friends who went to UW-L with me. Coming from a state where case races and chugging a 40 are perfectly normal Friday night activities (but I've never done either thank you very much), watching Spaniards stand around chit-chatting in groups while sipping beer out of skinny plastic cups naturally caused the Wisconsinite in me great pain. I decided to out-shine them all by drinking wine straight from the box. 

.........

I did out shine them, and also all my previous hangovers to date. I've learned my lesson. 

Carnival 2012, thanks for a great time!

La Pura Raza Española

La Pura Raza Española (PRE), also known as the Pure Spanish Horse or the Andalusian horse, is a native breed to the Iberian Peninsula. (Specifically, native to Andalucía. Woot.) If you're not a horse person, chances are you don't know much about this breed. I don't remember knowing much about them until I came to study in Granada, Spain. And now? Well, I'm pretty much obsessed.

In a nutshell, the Andalusian horse is powerful and muscular, yet still elegant and beautiful, and ridiculously smart. They are known for their ability to learn difficult concepts quickly, which is one of the reasons they are so popular for difficult dressage moves. They have also been prized as a war horse and the horse of nobility since the 1500's, when they were first recognized as a breed. Already, by the mid 1600's, the breed was described as "...the noblest horse in the world, the most beautiful that can be. He is of great spirit and of great courage and docile; hath the proudest trot and the best action in his trot, the loftiest gallop, and is the lovingest and gentlest horse, and fittest of all for a king in his day of triumph." [Source]


Anyway, what initiated this little history lesson was that I got to see a dressage show with these horses last Saturday. I tried to rally some friends by insisting that watching horses trot in circles and do fancy foot work was fun, but alas, no one believed me. I guess this means I am a true horse fanatic? Hmm.

I will save you all and stop gushing now, and just leave you with some pictures from the show.

This horse was my favorite. Absolutely stunning and ridiculously talented. 

Gorgeous, right? Told you.

These next 2 videos show the extent to which these horses have undergone training.  

Firstly, training a horse to jog in place, called the piaffe, is very difficult because it is not intuitive at all.

And secondly, to be that close to a flaming stick and not even flinch, well...could you do that??

My Rant about NALCA

Over the last couple months I've read several of blog posts by other auxiliars complaining about this program, the North American Language & Culture Assistant program. //Or NALCA, since that's a fun acronym.// I'd like to add my 2 cents.

I'm gonna be honest. When I applied for this program, it was solely with the intentions of living in Spain and traveling Europe for a year. I barely thought about how I had absolutely zero qualifications to be in a classroom. (My first few weeks in classes were pretty terrible, and a definite eye-opener. I had no confidence standing up to speak in front of 30 little pairs of eyes, much less to demand their attention when they were more interested in talking about the upcoming weekend.)

With that being said, my first few weeks were also my most enjoyable in terms of actual job experience. I got to plan lessons, feel included and special, and connect with the students while doing the lessons I had planned. 

As the months wore on, teachers would (and still do) routinely come up to me and say "I don't need you in class tomorrow, we'll just be working in Spanish." This week for example, I'll have only gone to 5 out of my 12 scheduled hours. One class is having a safety presentation, 2 more were preparing/taking exams, and 1 teacher just never showed up for class. Clearly, my time in their classes is of top priority minor importance. It is an oddity, not the norm, to have all 12 classes in 1 week.

On a daily basis I feel more like a nuisance to the teachers, and I don't feel like I'm making a difference in the student's learning environment. Today in class I read paragraphs out loud. The students would listen and then ask about words they didn't know. It's so great to feel like a human cd player. 'Play'. Okay, now 'Stop'. Aaaaaaand....'play again!' So much fun.

I would LOVE to be asked to plan a lesson. Love love love it. I have all these ideas, but for the most part its been made crystal clear that there is too much material to teach and not enough time.
So...I'll just continue to awkwardly stand at the front of the class and look at you attentively all hour, because god forbid you catch me day dreaming out the window when you're asking me to pronounce a word for the students. God forbid.

So basically, to all you wanna-be future auxiliares, yes, you get paid 700euros/month for 12 hours/week. Is it worth it? Well, if you're looking for a job where you can feel appreciated and challenged on a daily basis, look elsewhere. However, if all that matters is making the most amount of money for the least amount of work, then this is your calling!

WITH THAT BEING SAID: I don't regret doing this program. It has been such an amazing experience regardless, and has given me the opportunities I wanted to travel abroad. This is an experience I never would have gotten elsewhere, and while it annoys me daily, I'm still thankful for it.
I love my students to death, they are funny and cute and so so sweet. I'm always grouchy when I enter the school, but no matter what I leave with a huge smile on my face because of something that happened in class.
(It's just the whole rest of the situation set-up that needs work.)

The hike to Honey River

Yes, it really is called Honey River (el Río de la Miel) and yes, it was as lovely as it sounds.
Saturday was the day of my Grandpa's funeral back home, and so rather than being miserable all day wishing that I was home with my family, 2 friends and I set off on a hike to commemorate his life by living ours :)

Enjoy the pictures!

"If those fell on your head they would knock you out."

We found an old crumbling down grain mill by the river. So picturesque!

Orange trees hangin' out by the river. So Spanish.

They went exploring by the pond, while my lazy self stayed behind.

"A pretty view of Uglyciras??" Yup, it can look quite idyllic if you're far enough away.

Some telltale signs you've adjusted to life in Spain...

• You accidently say American words the way your students say them. Like how I said 'facebook postes' instead of 'facebook posts' this morning.
• You start trying to spell American words funetically phonetically.
• You have to differentiate by saying 'American words' so that others know you don't mean 'British words'. Because by now, especially if you're an auxiliar, you know they are completely different. 
• Toast with olive oil, salt and tomato spread for breakfast? Sure!
• When someone offers to drive you somewhere, you get giddy with excitement at the prospect of not having to take the bus.
• There are ACTUALLY some Spanish foods that you will miss when you go back home to the States. 
• You automatically read the weather in Celsius now, not Fahrenheit. Which can lead to some confusion when a friend on facebook complains that it's only 30 degrees out. (And you think...only??)
• You understand that while Europe might seem tiny with all the countries squashed together, it's still a hassle to just 'hop on over' to another country. (Unless, maybe, you are lucky enough to live in Madrid or Barcelona. Curse you all.)
• When you hear you're friends back home talk about how they stayed out all the way until bar time, you laugh a little inside, cause you might not even leave your house until 'bar time'.

BUT....No matter how Spanish you might be starting to feel, you will ALWAYS be American because...

• You know that narrating your movements to the general public is not an acceptable thing to do.
• And neither is talking to yourself while in a room with other people. (If you talk to yourself when you're by yourself, that's fine. Do what you gotta do.)
• And neither is whistling a high pitched tune while in a room with lots of other people. Continuously.
• And neither is enthusiasticly singing Flamenco style music while you're in a room with other other people.

All of those happened to me today in the teachers lounge. The whole 'narrating your movements thing' happens to me anytime I'm in the room with my roommates. I've come to learn that they don't except a response, they just like to mutter to themselves.

• And finally, you know that saying "How cold. How cold! Hoooow cold! How coooooold!" does not constitute an acceptable conversation. 
• (Yes, this happened to me. And no, I couldn't get a word in edge wise. And yes, she thought she was making conversation.)

Comment and let me know what your list would be!

Sending my love all the way from Spain.

Living abroad can really suck sometimes. Like when all you want to do is drive home for the weekend, but realize that that's completely impossible. My Grandpa died Monday morning, and even though we'd all been expecting it and it didn't come as a complete surprise, it still makes it hard to walk into class and listen to my students scream and shout in my ear and not try to act like I want to kill them all. Sometimes silence is nice.

It's so easy to wrap yourself up in this little extranjera bubble, where everything back home feels like it's frozen in time until you'll eventually return. So not true. People back home keep changing, and living, and obviously, moving on. Things will be so much different than they were when I left 9 months ago. But maybe since I've recognized that fact now, it will be easier to come to terms with when I do finally get home. 

I've had my share of moments these past 4 months when I was so homesick I was ready to buy the next plane ticket home. But this is different. Knowing that all of my family is together back home celebrating the life of this fantastic person, but that I am 3,000 miles away by myself, is really hard. So, like the post title says, I'm sending my love to my Grandma and the rest of my family, all the way from Spain. I miss you guys and love you, and hope you'll save some of the stories about Grandpa for the next time I'm there too.

"All Americans are fat....right?"

Yesterday I learned that Spaniards think all Americans are fat. Period. Unless they are from California. California people are the only exception to the rule.

(Well at least that's what the 2 Spaniards who were working at a convenience store at 3am this morning thought.)

The whole conversation that I had with them was ridiculous. Funny, but ridiculous. It started with me (drunkenly) deciding I should buy some plain Greek yogurt at 3am so that I would have some to eat for breakfast the next morning. After a little fiasco with them only having Greek yogurt with sugar added and them not understanding that I wanted it au natural, they asked "inglesa?" And then when I corrected them and said 'Americana' they looked VERY confused. "But...you're..you're not...fat!" 

I couldn't help but bursting out into laughter and saying "Why thank you!" Cause I mean, what else do you say to that statement? Then they explained that they thought all Americans were overweight, with the exception of people from California. (Thank you Baywatch....) 

Just to humor them I told them that while that was most definitely not true, I actually was from California. I probably should have left that part out though, since that just seemed to confirm their belief.

Fellow American expats, it looks like we have a job to do while we're here. Either that or I just need to have a string of comebacks about Spanish stereotypes...Hmm..I'll start making a list.

[source]

[source]

America in a nut shell?


..................................................

OKAY, HOLD UP. This is a blog update. (3/12/12)

My blog has been getting an astronomical amount of hits lately from various forms of the search phrase 'all americans are fat'. This makes me feel...slightly ashamed of having posted anything with those words.
I gotta admit, I think its fun to check my daily stats section to see how many people have checked my blog today, what countries they're from (I once got a hit from Isle of Man...that was exciting), and what search phrases they've used to come across my blog. This last one is usually pretty funny.
For example:

• pura green flood --- (umm what??)
• reir entry system --- (again, umm what?)
• alien abduction egg harvesting --- (this one made me burst out laughing, it got a hit on a post about when I had to explain the differences of martians vs. aliens to my kids)
• funny person falling down stairs --- (about the time I ended up in the hospital after tripping on the stairs)
• surprised kid --- (this makes sense, since I myself googled 'surprised kid' and took the first picture I found)
• gas tank bombona --- (clearly I am not the only person who has trouble with these things...sorry that my post on this didn't actually clear up any of those problems..)

There were lots of other funny ones too, but they don't show up on my list now because the most popular search hits have been replaced by 'all americans are fat', 'fat americans', 'fat people', you get the idea.

STOP.

For all of you who are reading this because you just searched that exact phrase, I have a revelation for you.

It's not true. Sorry if that just crushed all of your dreams of America. 

Yes, there is an obesity problem in America. But no, it does not define or overwhelm our population.

It's a stereotype.

Just like it's a stereotype that all Spaniards get drunk off Sangria and dance Flamenco. Or that all Germans like leather pants, beer and world domination (gotta admit though, that one is kind of funny. And very Eurotrip-ish).

This post will probably double or triple the number of hits I get for that phrase, but as long as I can set at least one person straight about it, I'll be happy.

I also found this little quiz online, (which is where I discovered that classy German stereotype), about guessing which stereotypes belonged to which country. I got 18/24, how many can you get?

Trying to go on a diet...?

Take the light bulb out of your kitchen. This can effectively cut your eating in half, limiting you to only the hours that the sunlight outside comes in your kitchen window. Obviously, this doesn't mean you starve yourself, you can still grab quick little snacks that you can find in the dark, but it does mean that you can't cook large calorie-rich meals after dark.

Why do I know this?

Because for the past 3 days the lightbulb in our kitchen has been dying out, very slowly. Last night while I was making a sandwich and trying not to let the 'light DARK light DARK light DARK' of the light bulb bother me, my roommate walked through, laughed and said "...discoteca!" Which means that it looked like a club in our kitchen.
Pretty accurate.

In my defense, I don't know where to buy light bulbs or how to install them. Weak, I know. My boyfriend insisted that I should figure it out, but....I just don't want to. I want a roommate to do instead. But they seem pretty hell bent on not dealing with it either. Or the massive amounts of dishes that have piled up in the sink. Which for once, not my fault.