Well, I figured I would post today; after all this is the last day EVER of 2011! As we bid farewell to another year, it’s customary to reflect over the past twelve months and to look ahead to the coming year and possibly make resolutions. I’m not going to do any of that though…I just wanted to say “¡FELIZ AÑO, hombre!”

The weather was fairly mild today…52 and sunny; could’ve been much worse, so I’ll take it!

I didn’t end up going to Marilu’s this weekend (perhaps that’s obvious, as I am typing this!). She got tickets to an exclusive party there in Criptana (exclusive as in there were very few tickets), so I’m still here. It’s totally cool though, I’m such a homebody it doesn’t really matter to me.

I went to mass this evening and when I got there, it had already started! Not by much, but still, I was like “REALLY?” I got there at 6:28, which I’ve done before and never had a problem; I wasn’t the last one to walk in at least! I don’t know if Father had a party to get to or what, but I got home at 7:09, which puts mass at right about the half hour mark!

I got notice that my Christmas package from home has arrived. The notice was actually dated yesterday and I learned that I didn’t know which mailbox was ours! I knew it was on the far left but I thought it was the top left…actually it’s the bottom left; good thing I checked all three on the left! Note to self: DON’T FORGET THAT!!!!! I’ll go pick it up on Monday!

I don’t know if I’m going to stay up to “ring in” 2012…I could really go either way. Time will tell…

For the last time in 2011,

Xoxo,

Court

This afternoon it’s sunny and 48 degrees. The weather thing says it’s cloudy, but looking out the window I can’t see a single cloud!

I went to Ciudad Real this morning to pick up my NIE and I’m crossing my fingers I won’t have to go back again (there shouldn’t be any reason to) for as long as I’m here—I don’t like catching the 6:45 bus…it’s WAY early and freezing cold at that hour! Good news though, I didn’t have to chase down the bus…I arrived with plenty of time to spare this time! Lesson learned! I arrived at the police station at 9:01 (they open at 9:00). I told the guy who works the door I just needed to pick up my ID, had to wait for like 45 seconds, handed my passport and a document to the guy working the IDs and 30 seconds later I was out of there! I caught the 9:45 train and was back in Socu by 11:30! Carmen kind enough to pick me up!

Afterwards I went and got my hair cut, because it’d been forever—at least three months…the Iast time I got it cut was before I left! Yeah, it was getting bad! I when to the one right by our apartment and forgot how expensive it is! I went one time last year also because I figured it was so convenient. Thirty Euros later my hair is shorter. All I really wanted was the cut and nothing else, but they said it’d be the same to style it as well. I thought thirty was quite a bit…at least I got all the ends off…

I think I’m going to Marilu’s in Criptana for New Year’s. We talked last night and while nothing’s set in stone, I was thinking like Saturday-Tuesday maybe? I don’t want to overstay my welcome! We’ll see…

Xoxo,

Court

¡¡¡¡¡FELIZ NAVIDAD!!!!!

This afternoon it’s partly cloudy and 52. The sun has been out for the last several days also, so that makes it warmer!

I went to Christmas Eve mass on Saturday. It wasn’t at a special time; just 6:30 like usual. I left the house at five after six because I wasn’t sure what the pew situation was going to be like. I needn’t have worried though…got there a little before 6:15 and the church was practically empty! I thought it might be a longer mass than usual but it wasn’t; it was 7:18 when I got home, which means that I was about 35ish minutes long.

I had a pretty quiet night. Will asked if I wanted to go out with him and Gunita and everyone else but I didn’t…I watched Christmas movies instead. To me, that’s more fun than going out. Everyone’s always like “you never go out anymore”. I know I wouldn’t have to drink but being in a loud bar with drunk people holds zero allure for me. Call me weird if you want…it’s just not my thing.

Christmas was relaxed also; didn’t go anywhere. Will stayed in also; Gunita was at Igor’s the entire day. I watched more movies and hung out. Being here, it didn’t seem that much like Christmas but it was alright…I didn’t hate the day.

Will and Gunita both got me something (sigh). I didn’t get them anything due to financial restrictions, so of course I felt bad! I told them I’d make them something, like cookies or more toffee, so baking will be my present to them! Will said he like the Soda Cracker Toffee, so I’ll probably make that…and bonus, it’s super easy!

Gunita gave me a white scarf (yay!) a little clutch purse (which she said I had to go out more and use!) and a necklace. Will gave me a calendar of all the TV hotties here in Spain and also this book entitled “Jesús Me Quiere ~ Jesus Loves Me”. I thought it was a joke at first and he was making fun of me (because he does sometimes—nothing malicious, just light hearted jokes). He was like “Well, when I first saw I was, but then I read a little about it and it looks interesting”. It’s about this thirty something woman, who’s unlucky in love and meets this guy who on their first date tells her he is Jesus. I must say that I am  rather intrigued!

Xoxo,

Court

Today it’s super sunny and clear! It says it’s 50, but it feels so much warmer than that!

I did manage to make it to the market this morning before they packed it up, so I was able to buy some more raw almonds finally! I also got some mandarin oranges…I guess I didn’t realize they’re in season now, so they should be really good! I went to the store afterwards to do my weekly shopping and they were super busy! Everyone’s shopping for Christmas dinner it would appear.

Lunch yesterday was so good! We went to Casa Francisco, where we went last year. It’s probably one of the best restaurants in town; the food and service are both really good! After last year, everyone knew I don’t eat anything with heads or eyes still attached, so Francisco came out and gave me some special options. It wasn’t just me—there were two others—but I kinda felt bad that they had to prepare something else. I said it was fine (I hadn’t planned to eat that much anyway) but he and everyone else was like “No, No, No!!!”

We started with York ham, bread and lots of wine. That was followed by salad (which I tried to eat a lot of). Next came a platter of cheese, chorizo and jamón Serrano. After that, came shrimp for everyone else and ham pieces mixed with egg and mushrooms for me. It was good, except I was already getting full and wanted to save some room for what was still to come. It was also super salty because of the ham, so for that reason alone I prolly wouldn’t have eaten too much of it. I think it’s really good in small portions though!

For the entrée I had entrecot. I’m not sure what it is in English, but it was like thick strips of steak. And not the normally thin dinky pieces of meat they call “steak” here, this was actually REAL steak, or what I consider real steak, at least. It was fabulous! For dessert I had this Italian milky flan thing. I think it was the same thing Marilu made when I went to Criptana, although it looked a little different. I can’t remember the name, panicotta, or something like that.

After dessert came café…no Spanish meal would be complete without it! We had champagne after that…had to have something to drink for toasting after Alberto made his principal speech! Oh that reminds me, Antonio, who retired as principal in June, as there too! Shots were the very last thing of the lunch/dinner (I didn’t eat again yesterday!) though I didn’t have any…I was so full already!

We left the restaurant around 6:30 and of course there was talk of going to the bar and some did, but I went with Marilu, Pilar (one of the sixth level teachers) and a few others to go for a walk/shopping...why drink more when you can burn some calories? We went to several boutiques where they looked for clothes and shoes, but no one got anything. We ended up at the MOMA bar where Alberto, Aurora and a few others where. I stayed for all of five minutes before bidding farewell to everyone. I got home a little after eight o’clock, I think.

Now I’m officially on Christmas break until January 9!!! WOOT!!!!!!!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s such a beautiful day for being so close to Christmas…it’s 57 and sunny and the wind isn’t that cold! Tomorrow’s supposed to be the same, as well!

We did a review worksheet in 1A, to review healthy habits. The kids said they’d already done part of the worksheet, but Marina didn’t remember doing it but she was like “Well last time Corni wasn’t here to help us, so we’re doing it again!” it was a nice save and the kids were fine doing it again. We also reviewed the occupation vocab a bit too.

Noelia’s class was learning this Christmas poem about presents, cards and Father Christmas, along with actions, when I got there. I left halfway through class though to go with the sixth level to sing Christmas carols at the Residencia de los Ancianos (retirement home). They sang a bunch of carols that I knew nothing of, so it was interesting. Some of the residents started singing along; that was kinda cool. All the kids (and fifth level too) made cards for everyone, so at the end they passed them out. We then took a tour of the facility. There is a church/not very small chapel next to the entertainment room; I was surprised to learn that some residencias are public and other private/catholic. I don’t know much about retirement homes in the US…are there two types as well? I don’t know.

We got back to school at 12:30 and I headed to 4B. I arrived and Analen said we were going to the video room at see the Christmas symbols PowerPoint. I got really tired after that and was yawning all the way through! We finished with about ten minutes left in the hour, so I ran to the Sala de Profes to slam a café…didn’t have time to eat my snack though.

Last hour I as back with Noelia in 3B. They learned the poem as well and then they copied down the vocab from it (star, Father Christmas, etc). Oh and they also sang me their “new” song about the weather. It’s also the one that Espe taught her five- and six-year-olds last year. I didn’t tell them that though…

I went to the store after school. I started eating frozen grapes (shocking, I know…they make me even colder, but they’re so good!) as a snack after dinner and I was almost out! I couldn’t have that, so I tripped it to Mercadona (the only store where I’ve found seedless grapes thus far. I haven’t found red ones yet though. I’ve never been a fan of the green, but I take what I can get here). They also have six packs of tuna there, whereas they only sell three at Ahorra Más, so I usually go for the tuna also.

When I was checking out there was this kid behind me, maybe like ten or twelve years old, who was buying panty liners and nothing else. I felt bad for him because his mom (or some woman) had given him exact change, but not enough to buy a bag. He asked the cashier if he could have one and she said he didn’t have enough for one (all of three cents!). I was going to get one for him (I was still bagging my things) but I didn’t speak quickly enough and he was out the door. I’m sure he walked home fast!

One more day tomorrow…then a two week break!!!!!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s not as cold as it was yesterday; it 48 and the wind isn’t as cold either!

With the fifth levels we wrapped up the Christmas talk, or I thought we would, at least. First hour we didn’t get finished with talking about special holiday foods because they arrived late to the video room, so we only had about 40 minutes and hadn’t yet talked about decorations. We always finish everything in Marina’s class because she doesn’t interrupt like Rocío does. Then last hour we had finished everything and so she (Rocío) wanted to find another Christmas Carol—Sleigh Ride—the one sixth level sang at the festival last night. We sang it a couple of times, but still wanted it downloaded to sing again after we come back. Who knows? Maybe we’ll be talking about Christmas until MLK Day…

1B was doing a color review worksheet when I got there so I helped them finish it up. I would say things like “black cat” or “green frog”; it was pretty simple. They then had to color the rest of the picture. We ended by reviewing the occupational vocab; it’s still rather new, so many of them couldn’t remember the words.

We went back to the video room with 2B and I was able to use my Christmas Symbols PowerPoint! They were quite the talkers today (prolly because they were excited we had a change of scenery…that class hardly ever goes to the video room) so it took a while to get through the PowerPoint. I started talking about Christmas foods, but we only got half way through and Analen got fed up with the noise and took them back to class.

I was happy to see the toffee was polished off when I went back for the container after school, minus the several pieces I’d saved this morning for Marilu and the sixth level teachers who are in Toledo on a field trip today. Also, the festival was last night and it was really good, what I saw of it anyway; I left early. Infantil was super cute, although several of them just stood there and stared out at the crowd!

Xoxo,

Court

It was SO cold this morning; Gunita said it was below zero! I believe it…the walk to school was freeeezing!!! It’s still only 39 now, but it’s a really cold 39 because if I didn’t know any better, I would’ve guessed it was in the 20s!

Today was rather pointless for me; with the festival this afternoon, everyone was rehearsing and making preparations. First hour all the sixth levels had a science exam, so there was nothing for me to do. It continued into second hour and afterwards they listened to a presentation about Constitution Day (which was like two weeks ago, so I’m not sure why it was now…).

Third hour everyone, minus infantil, went to the Reina Sofía (the local theater here in town) to have one final rehearsal. Because they’ve combined infantil and the older kids into one festival, there were just too many people to have it at the school. I didn’t go with them because I still had infantil in the afternoon but then Ana told me during break that they were doing something else, so we didn’t have class either. So then I left.

I didn’t realize almost everyone was going to be gone during break, or I would have brought the toffee tomorrow. But the few that tried it said it was really good. So it’ll be there tomorrow for everyone else to try!

I’m meeting the lunch group at their restaurant at 3:30 and from there we’re going to the theater, because I’m not exactly sure where it is. Infantil starts at 4:30 and Primary at 6:15ish. I think it’s going to take a long time…not sure if I’ll stay for the whole thing (prolly not).

Xoxo,

Court

It’s cloudy and 46 today. The sun was out this morning, but it’s been cloudy most of the day.

I had wanted to go to the market on Friday morning. I figured I would pass through there on my way home, as it’s the closest to the apartment, but by the time I went to the post office, bank and the store, they were already packing up, a little before one. I should have factored the weather in because it was gloomy and cold, but I thought I’d make it in enough time…but I didn’t! I really have to make an effort to go earlier next week, because I’m almost out of almonds and buying them at the market is the cheapest!

I made some Soda Cracker Toffee yesterday and it’s so tasty! I had three small pans going and I wrecked half of one of them because I left the burner on from when I boiled the brown sugar and butter. I put the spread on the crackers and stuck them in the oven. I took them out, put them on the stove and after maybe 30 seconds the pan started smoking and everything was burning. I stood there and was like “Why is it burning? I don’t understand; it’s just one section of the pan. Of course after a few seconds I figured it out, quickly took it off the stove and turned off the burner. I must be more careful!

I wasn’t sure how that pan would taste, like if the burnt flavor would infect the whole pan, but I tried some and it tastes delicious still! I had Will try some too just to make sure and he said it was good, so yay! I’m taking it in tomorrow, so I hope everyone likes it as much as I do!

Xoxo,

Court

HAPPY WEEKEND TO ME! Only one more week until break!

My weather thing says it’s 52 and clear but there are still some clouds in the sky; in fact it’s been overcast most of the day. The sun is out now though which is nice…as it’s stayed away the last few days.

We didn’t do much first hour with five-years A because they had rehearsal for the festival and that took most of the hour. We got back with about ten minutes left and we listened to the story about Santa and his sleigh on CD…the one I read them last week, I think.

In four-years B we practiced their carol a few times then we did a workbook page. It was a picture of a Christmas tree and they had to stick on certain stickers that matched the shapes on the tree. There were three circles and four squares. They didn’t get an option with the circles because the only color was yellow but with the squares they got to choose red or blue. They could go 2 and 2, 3 and 1or 4 and 0. Afterwards they had to color in the number they had chosen. Some colored in random numbers so it took a little bit of an explanation.

2A has an exam tomorrow, so we reviewed. For quick practice I pronounced the vocab (clothing…hat, dress, shorts, etc) and they repeated. I then stuck the photos on the board and called up students to stick the right words with the pictures. Also we played Telephone, I think that’s what it’s called, where you whisper a word to one person and they whisper it to another and another until the last person has to say it correctly; although in this case they had to grab the flashcard off the board. We ended with BINGO.

As we don’t have as much time with the afternoon classes as with the morning ones, with four-years A we didn’t do the Christmas Tree worksheet. We listened to the story about Santa and then practiced their song several times and that was all there was time for.

The only English thing we did in 6B was the Christmas crossword, the one we did on Monday with the others. They have science fourth hour and always run over into fifth hour. Usually they take about five to ten minutes to finish up but today it was like half an hour! So we went through the crossword rather quickly after that and then the day was over.

I got paid today…YAY! Aurora included an extra 35€ for the Christmas lunch next Thursday (yeah, it’s that expensive, it’s like at least five courses!). That surprised me because last year they didn’t buy my lunch; not that I’m complaining in the least this year! It was really nice of them. So I need to run to the bank at five to deposit my check and then to the store after that.

Xoxo,

Court

It’s a tad warmer today…54 and cloudy, plus the sun has come out a few times!

I only three classes—Noelia’s grandpa is ill so she is with him. I don’t know he lives here or in another town, however. So I was able to leave early today, as I didn’t have to stick around for last hour! Second hour I went and hung out with Marilu and 6A and helped her with a few things for the festival next week.

I started off the day with Marina in 1A. After the usual numbers and such review, we introduced new occupational vocab (teacher, plumber, electrician, fire fighter, etc). Although I’m not sure what the point of that is now because the other day she told me they would just be reviewing the last two weeks before Christmas. We did a review worksheet after the new vocab and ended by practicing our colors.

Third was five-years B. We practiced their song, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, several times and watched the Christmas story about Ellie, who gives presents to all her friends. I read them the story last week. Finally they had to draw a ball, car or dolly inside the present on their worksheet; whichever one they would prefer to be gifted.

Fourth hour I was in 4B. I got there and all the kids were like “Sorry for what happened last time!” Last week Analen left to make copies and they were like wild feral children…not that it’s any different other days though. Anyway, I told Ana and then Aurora that I’d like to have my schedule changed and not go anymore and it kind of got blown out of proportion from there. Long story short, basically Analen got in trouble (I wish I would have chosen my words differently…that was the last thing I wanted to happen) from Alberto and Alejandro (whom she called ‘the dictators’) and I still have to go to that class, sit there and essentially do nothing…good times!

I did find photos of American Christmas foods yesterday. I was thinking about it and I could only think of like four or five, so I Googled it and wouldn’t you know there was a whole list on Wikipedia! They listed foods from all around the world as well, so that was interesting to see what they eat in other countries during the holidays. I’m glad I looked too because I would’ve totally forgotten staples like eggnog and candy canes!

Xoxo,

Court

This afternoon it’s cloudy and 50, though it is windy, so it seems colder than that.

Today was fairly easy. I had the three fifth levels. First and fifth hours with Rocío we started by singing the Miley Cyrus Christmas carols. She had them draw a Christmas tree and Santa on their lyrics so that took a little while. Then I showed them photos of house and city decorations. I didn’t have Marina’s class today. Apparently the school has a new library (which I didn’t know!) and they’re having all the classes stop by, take a look around and show them how to use a few things. Fourth hour was there designated slot so during that time I looked for the decoration photos…so I guess first hour didn’t see those.

Second hour was 1B. I reviewed numbers with them (it’s kind of sad to say that they know them better than a few upper levels) and then they did this color-by-numbers worksheet of a classroom. It sounds like it’d be really quick but coloring usually takes a while because they take pride in and are encouraged to color “well”—being careful to stay within the lines and coloring nice and dark. There’s always at least one who speeds through to be the first one done and without fail, every time, they’re sent back to do a better job!

Third hour was Analen’s 2B. they had an exam and were tested, among other things, on colors. They had a listening section in which they were shown clothing (shorts, pants, shoes, etc) and they had to color them however they were told. A couple of the boys got lost or weren’t paying attention when they listened to it on CD so I went back and read it for them…and boy they didn’t know their colors! They kept picking out random ones and saying “this one?” Yeah…some kids just don’t study at home.

This morning Rocío told me she wants photos of typical Christmas foods to show next week so I need to look for those this afternoon. I should have known she’d want food photos… I was trying to think of foods besides candies and cookies, but lunches and dinners are kind of the same foods as Thanksgiving, I think, with the exception of prime rib. We’ll see what I can find…

Xoxo,

Court

Today it’s 48 and cloudy…extra chilly with some wind and no sun.

Arturo’s going away dinner was Saturday night; we went to El Portón. We got there a little before ten o’clock and we were the first ones there…no surprise there, we are in Spain (Will, Gunita, Igor, her boyfriend and me…Igor drove). We were 15 in all, so we were there for quite a while; I think we left a little after one.

I thought it was pretty expensive, granted we were a big party, but we paid 18 Euros each! Of course we had to split everything, even though I ate very little, but whatever. Plus we spent 12 Euros each for his present—we got him a watch and a bracelet that we had engraved to say “We’ll miss you…from your friends in Socuéllamos”…except they left out the word “amigos” so it read “…de tus Socuéllamos”. Overall it was an expensive night for me! It was nice though; a last hoorah for him!

Everyone wanted to go to the bar afterwards, but I didn’t. I really wasn’t in the mood to drink anymore, I was already tired. I said goodbye to Arturo at the restaurant, wished him a safe flight and that was it. He took the 4:30 bus to Madrid this morning. I don’t know what time his flight was, but I assume it was early, as he took the pre-crack-of-dawn bus.

This morning I had two sixth levels first. First hour we played this interactive game about the Salem Witch Trials. We were this little girl trying to escape capture after her mother was deemed a witch. In order to pass each “level” we had to complete a list of tasks. For example we were shown a picture of the cellar and we had to click on all the objects on the list we saw (i.e. book, lamp, pawn, etc). Second hour, however, the site decided it didn’t want to work so we did this Christmas crossword instead.

4A was taking an exam third hour, so I looked, without much enthusiasm, for more Christmas activities. I actually did find one though one PowerPoint about Christmas symbols, so that’ll be useful!

I had the three-year-olds for the afternoon classes. I read them a short little story about Ellie, who builds a snowman but then he melts because the sun comes out. We practiced their song for the festival, (which I want to say is next Monday) Santa Claus is Coming to Town…though rather than singing it they’re doing gestures. I think it’ll be pretty cute, once they practiced a bit more, that is!

I need to investigate this Christmas activities website I found this afternoon. It has several online games that I think would be good for the older kids, so I’m gonna check that out. I haven’t really found a whole lot of worksheets/activities geared towards the upper levels, so I hope I find something!

Xoxo,

Court

Currently it’s 48 and foggy…it looks cold and dreary outside :(.

Not much has been going on the last few days. Thursday and Friday I looked for more Christmas activities…and I think I may finally be done! I now have SO many coloring sheets, word searches, mazes, connect-the-dots, etc! I did find PowerPoints about Christmas Around the World; although I was hoping to find some about symbols and more in depth explanations about traditions, but I have to take what I can get…I’m a little too lazy to make my own!

I’m going to mass tonight, in about an hour, and later we’re having Arturo’s farewell dinner, I think at nine. Several of us went in and gone him a watch and engraved bracelet. Gunita said that Barcelona and Madrid are playing tonight and therefore many places will be busy, so I’m not sure where we’ll end up going…I think there’s like ten or twelve of us.

Xoxo,

Court

I think it’s colder today than it has been so far, either that or my weather thing is off. It says 43, but it feels warmer than that…maybe because the sun’s out; although it has been wrong before, so I’m not sure.

My one day work week is over!!! Two days off, work a day in the middle, two more days off…I can handle that! First hour Marina and I reviewed a bunch of things with 1A; things like numbers, healthy habits, salty sweet sour, hard, soft, rough, I can bend, turn my head, jump, stretch and the five senses. They then did a workbook page in which they had to draw one healthy and one unhealthy habit. They had just gotten started and then this little girl started crying. Marina asked her what was wrong, she stood up and threw up everywhere. It was NASTY! So Marina went and helped her clean her clothes, called her mom and someone to clean the classroom. I stayed in there and tried not to inhale while breathing. It was gross. Poor little girl, though; she came back to get her things  and she was crying and crying…I felt bad.

Second hour I was glad to get out of 1A and head to 3A. I read with the class a few pages from new level four readers they got…they were excited for them! We read about dreams and nightmares and Disney World, in Florida, Paris and apparently Tokyo as well. We also reviewed the alphabet, sang the song and they spelled their names and classroom objects. We did the same in 3B last hour.

Third was five-years B. We reviewed some vocab from last week (car, swing, dolly, etc). I played a “game” with them in which they had to find the object I said. Afterwards, they drew and colored a stocking red and ate their snack.

I made some fudge on Monday and brought it to school today. I think they consistency was better than last year, it was harder, but it still wasn’t as hard as fudge should be. The good thing is Spaniards don’t know the difference and they all loved it! There was still quite a bit left, so I put it in the fridge and asked a couple of people to get it back out on Friday.

Fourth hour was 4B…which was terrible! Analen left to go make photocopies and was gone for at least ten minutes. In that time there was fighting, yelling, chasing and name calling. She came back with only a few minutes left in class and I told her I didn’t want to come to that class anymore. She understood and was like “Yeah, if I had a choice, I wouldn’t come back either”. But then I went to talk with Aurora and she and Alejandro said that wasn’t possible and they would talk with Analen. So I still have to go…BOO!

I’m fairly certain there’s mass tonight at 6:30 for the Holy Day tomorrow; I hope so anyway, otherwise I’m gonna have to go at nine tomorrow morning! I need to stop by the store also…I’m almost out of bananas and everything will be closed tomorrow!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s 55 and mostly clear this afternoon…pretty nice for December!

Friday was a rather rainy day. I was going to go to the market in the morning, but it was cold and rainy and I didn’t want to walk through it all. Plus the people who did go all had umbrellas and that makes for pretty cramped spaces underneath all the awnings. The rain kinda died down about one o’clock or so I ventured out but the market was already packed up—naturally they didn’t have the usual crowd, so they cut it short. I went to Mercadona instead and bought some fruit and a few other items I still needed for my Christmas baking. It rained on and off throughout the day and was just dreary.

I didn’t really do anything yesterday; went to mass at 6:30 and came home.

I’ve just been listening to Christmas music and hanging out today. I’ve been on a Christmas movie/movies in general kick this weekend and have watched several: The King’s Speech, Black Swan, Sarah’s Key, Christmas Vacation and Christmas with the Kranks. I’ve also downloaded The Nativity Story, Four Christmases, Miracle on 34^th Street, It’s a Wonderful Life, Love Actually and The Help, so I have several more to keep me busy! I’ve seen Christmas Vacation and The Help, but not the others, which is surprising because It’s a Wonderful Life is classic…or so I’ve heard!

Xoxo,

Court

Happy December! I can’t believe we only have one month left in 2011!!!

Today it’s partly cloudy and 54. It was really foggy this morning when I left for school; I actually thought it was raining when I looked out the window, but it wasn’t. Well, it was misting a bit, but nothing that called for an umbrella, thank goodness!

Starting off my almost entire day in infantil, I read five-years A a new Christmas story! It was about Max and Poppy who gave presents to Mouse, Monkey and Duck. Mouse got a little blue car to ride around in; Monkey got a yellow dolly and Duck got a rainstorm…though I’m not sure how what worked. Like, how do you “give” someone rain? I guess I shouldn’t overanalyze it…it is a story meant for little kids, after all. Later we sang a Christmas Carol, the one they’re singing for the festival, though off the top off my head I can’t remember which one right now.

In four-years A and B I told them a different Christmas story, about Santa, who got his sleigh stuck in the snow. Somehow Daddy and Ellie couldn’t push and pull Santa out but when Mouse comes along, oh they can do it! And then Ellie and Mouse join the reindeer and help fly the sleigh. We have more in “A” because it’s a morning class, so after that they did a worksheet in which they had to trace and color the roof, chimney and a tree and then put stickers of Santa and a star in their correct places. We also sang their Christmas Carol too, Santa Claus is Coming to Town. We didn’t have a whole lot of time in “B” after the story and song, so I was just kinda playing with them while Ana and Julia were talking. They got a little too excited though, they all rushed me and knocked me off my chair…then they all laughed. Yeah, they’re pretty darn cute!

I read 2A the story about Monica’s birthday party, the one I read the other class last, well, whenever that was. They then had to write sentences about what all the characters were wearing. They kept asking me how to say the colors in English; that surprised me because even the four-year-olds know how to say all the colors! I even had to write some on the board because me just telling them apparently didn’t jog their memories enough.

In 6B last hour they took a little time to finish up their science lesson, so I chilled for a bit. Later on I read to them about some precious stones, like gold, diamonds, pearls and silk (I guess that’s not a stone, but you get the idea!). I asked them so comprehension questions after and they had understood the majority of it, so that was good!

This afternoon marks the beginning of my first long weekend/Puente. This weekend I get five days; next weekend four! Next Tuesday and Thursday are national holidays (the 6^th is Constitution Day and the 8^th is the Immaculate Conception). The schools also get to choose two extra days to take off throughout the year and one they chose was Monday, the 5^th…so no school then either! Next week I just have to work Wednesday and that’s it!!!

I’ve gotta go to the store this afternoon. I’m going to make fudge this weekend and bring it into school on Wednesday, if it turns out well, that is…last year the consistency was just not good. I’m also gonna make some Soda Cracker Toffee later on and bring it in closer to Christmas.

Xoxo,

Court

Well, again today it’s sunny and 55!

In 1A first hour Marina tried to drag out the daily review of numbers, body parts, the five senses and everything else they’ve learned so far because the lesson/worksheet for today took all of two seconds. Apparently she just likes to focus on a page a day so we didn’t move on to the next page. It was so simple: they had to put a checkmark next to one of two photos of the child sitting correctly and then they had to put three photos in order. We practiced/reviewed colors and saying how old we were for a good chunk of time after that.

In 3A and B I read them a couple of pages about how we classify animals; particularly herbi/carni/omnivores and viviparous/oviparous animals. I had no idea what the latter two were (viviparous = born live, oviparous = hatches from eggs), I was probably even pronouncing them wrong… After I read each section I asked them yes or no comprehension questions like “Is a rabbit a carnivore? Do herbivores eat plants?” In “B” we also reviewed the alphabet and that turned into almost everyone spelling their names or classroom objects.

Those were my only classes today. I went to infantil third hour and Pilar, the five-years B teacher, told me Ana was at the dentist. So, I went and looked for Christmas activities. Then during recreo I asked Analen what the plan was for 4B and she said they had a lot of notes to take so she o.k.’d me skipping out to continue to look for activities…I was kinda in the zone!

I stopped at the store on my way home. Last night I dropped and cracked open my almost brand new bottle of mouthwash (I was so annoyed with myself!) so of course I had to buy more—I hate not having it! I’ll have to be more careful…mouthwash here is really expensive!

Xoxo,

Court

This afternoon it’s 59, sunny and clear. It was freezing again walking to school this morning, so I’m glad it warms up later in the day, otherwise it’d be miserable!

The three fifths were today; first, fourth and fifth hours. I showed them the photos from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade then we watched YouTube video. Actually first hour we weren’t able to because I was having trouble downloading it and didn’t get the whole thing downloaded until the afternoon.  We then started on Christmas. I found YouTube videos of two of Miley Cyrus’ songs so we’re going to learn those…I find Justin Bieber too annoying! We listened to both songs a couple of times, just to hear them and we’ll start really learning them on the 13^th (next Tuesday it’s fiesta so there’s no school!). So we’ve really only got two weeks of Christmas activities.

With 1B we listened to this story about some kids playing catch in the park who lose their dog. They find him hiding in an alley corner and “he” turned out to be a “she” and had puppies. We then reviewed/learned a few words from the story like “Catch! Stand up! Sit down! Go to sleep!” and some more that I can’t remember.

I got to 2B third hour and they were just getting ready to play this game to practice clothing vocab and the phrase “Are you/Is he/she wearing…” I guess it was a Battleship game of sorts: they had to mark three of nine squares and their partner had to guess which they’d marked. It might not have been the best game for second year though; they kept cheating and trying to peek at the other person’s board and several changed the pieces they’d marked after they’d started playing, so they wouldn’t lose! I don’t know what the suggested age is on Battleship, but I think it works better for older kids.

Xoxo,

Court

It was so cold walking to school this morning; colder than it’s been any other day so far! Because it was so cold this morning I thought it’s be freezing all day, but not so. My weather thing says it’s 51 but it’s also sunny so it feels a lot warmer. Not bad…as long as you’re in the sun!

Mondays are always easy. I have two sixth levels until eleven. Marilu said they needed to finish part of the unit before some evaluation in a couple of weeks, so she wanted me to read a story from their books and have them repeat and translate. She didn’t think it would take as long as it did though. For the first class I read the whole story first, then went back line by line and had them repeat everything. I skipped reading the whole story second hour because there just wasn’t enough time. It was supposed to go really quickly, but they didn’t know so many of the words (in both classes) that it took the whole hour and Marilu and I ended up reading and translating ourselves the last parts for the class. She was a little annoyed…

Third hour was 4A. Analen told me then hadn’t talk about Thanksgiving yet, as they planned to do Friday, but didn’t because the class behaved so badly she had canceled the lesson (imagine that!). So I went to the video room to set everything up and they followed a few minutes later. I explained one of the PowerPoints, Analen translated a bit, they posed a bit with the Thanksgiving cutouts and that was it.

With the three-year-olds Ana took a handful of students aside to color a picture of a sun while I manned the computer and showed Ellie videos to the rest of the class. That was a little difficult because they all wanted to be up close to see better, so they were moving around, up on their feet so others couldn’t see,

and some took to entertaining themselves. I’m kinda glad their class ends early and they take a little extra time to get ready to go home!

I’m feeling a siesta today after lunch…Monday siestas are nice!

Xoxo,

Court

Presently it’s a chilly, cloudy and 43 degree day. I have no intention of venturing out today…when it’s cold, only when I must—that’s my motto!

I went to the post office on Friday to do the monthly Western Union thing. I thought it’d be a good time to go, but for a Friday morning they were quite busy! I was like “why aren’t these people at work?” The crowd was nothing compared to a Saturday, though. One time I made the mistake of going then and it was like wall to wall people in there…I’ll never do that again. It was like going to Wal-Mart on a Saturday! No thank you!

I hit the market afterwards. Will had told me you can get half a kilo of almonds for seven Euros (I have no idea if that’d be a good price or not in the States, but it is here!) And since I love my nuts so much, I just had to get some! I’d hoped to get walnuts as well but they didn’t have any. I also bought some pears—a kilo for a Euro! That’s definitely cheaper than the store!

I went and picked up my money from ETIC on Friday night. I was hoping to talk with Monse and ask her about the “you can work here until May” thing but she was in class, so I couldn’t. I had thought about emailing her, but then I thought Jaime was the one who hired me and who I’d talked to originally, so I emailed him instead. He told me that they had decided it would be better to have Spaniards teach the kids so they can explain grammar points and things like that better and then have native English speakers work with the adults. And as Will is doing all those classes, there’s nothing left for me at this point. He did say though that when they get more adult students (he thinks they will) he’d call me to teach those classes. I’m not really holding my breath though; I’m going to look into other options this week.

Yesterday I found some photos of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I found some footage on YouTube also, so that should make Rocío happy! I then looked for a Justin Bieber Christmas song…sweet. Last week Rocío said she wanted to start talking about Christmas this Tuesday, so I needed to start preparing stuff. We sang a traditional Christmas Carol last year (though I don’t remember which) and I really enjoyed it! Then this year she tells me the students don’t really like traditional songs and that they’re more in to JB, Hannah Montana, Lady Gaga, etc., so try to find one of their songs. I like Lady Gaga, but out of those three she’s probably the least appropriate for tweens; so I ruled her out. I’ve found a JB song with lyrics, but I think I’m going to look for a Miley Cyrus song too…because I can tolerate her a heck of a lot more than JB.

I went to mass last night. The lights were all in good working order again; it was normal.

Today is a lounge/catch up day…prolly gonna start looking for Christmas activities for all the levels. We’ll see what I can find. I know Rocío is super PowerPoint happy, but I think it’s less common to make Christmas PowerPoints than for another holidays—I don’t think I found any last year.

Xoxo,

Court

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!

It’s not bad at all today; 57 and partly sunny! I actually got a little warm walking home wearing my big coat…for it being the end of November, I’ll take it!

It doesn’t feel like Thanksgiving here, it’s just another day, so it’s a little sad! But not that sad, because I know next year I’ll be able to chow down on the good stuff!

First hour I was in five-years A. I showed them holiday pictures, well mostly pilgrims and Indians and a turkey too! I didn’t explain anything because they’re way too little, just said and pronounced a few words for them. They then colored and made Indian headbands; afterwards we watched an episode of SpongeBob…yeah, Bob Esponja, sweet!

With four-years A and B again I talked about the photos briefly and then they did a pilgrim boy and girl coloring sheet. It was interesting to watch them; some color really well, like completely inside the lines, and others, well, don’t. There were a few who took a crayon and scribbled everywhere. Generally speaking, at that age they can color pretty well, but still go outside the lines a little bit. It was funny in “A” I was walking around looking and helping some kids and this one little girl pointed to this boy’s sheet and she was like “Look! He went outside the lines, it looks terrible!” I looked at it and he had BARELY gone outside the line! Pretty sure that little girl’s gonna grow up to be a perfectionist!

We went to the video room third hour and talked about a quick five slide PowerPoint. I then went over some vocab with them and that was followed by a word search. That class went by rather quickly because they didn’t arrive until late, so we only had half an hour…but it worked out!

I had planned on going over the PowerPoint or something Thanksgivingy with 6B, but when I got there they were playing this online game that’ll guess whatever character you’re thinking of. It asks a series of questions to which you click “yes” or “no” and it always figures it out! One of the girls picked some Portuguese soccer player and it eventually got it. It’s pretty cool; you can set it to like six different languages, too!

I found out that my last day at ETIC was yesterday. Monse said she’d be taking over again…which I’m a little confused about because when I talked with Jaime, the boss, last week he said I could work there until May, just working less hours after Monse came back. I’m getting paid tomorrow, so I’m going to ask what the deal is when I go in…that’s not how it was supposed to be!

Oh and I got paid yesterday too, so I’ll go to the bank this afternoon to deposit the check and then I need to run to the store!

Xoxo,

Court

At the moment it’s partly cloudy, 52 and the sun is out…not bad considering this morning it was cold and rainy.

With 1A first hour today we took a look at some new vocab about daily routines. It’s obviously really simple because they’re so little, but it’s things like “How many times a day do you…brush your teeth/take a shower, comb your hair, wash your hands”. Marina and I explained what everything meant using gestures, but I think there were some that still didn’t understand: one girl said that she takes six showers a day and a boy said that he washes his face zero times a day. I really hope he just didn’t understand the question; I hope that’s not true!

With 3A and B second and fifth hours we went to the video room to discuss Thanksgiving. Noelia brought her camera to take pictures all the kids posing in the pilgrim and Indian cutouts (something I didn’t even think of…I’ll have to ask her if she’ll share the photos!). We then took a look at one of the simple PowerPoints I have and finally we looked at the Thanksgiving photos I showed the upper levels last year.

Ana had five-years B make little Indian headbands. While they did that, I looked for some images for the little kids tomorrow. I have a few, but I guess she wanted more. Why she didn’t ask me earlier, I don’t know. She didn’t really tell me exactly what she wanted, so I hope she’s happy with what I found.

I went to fourth hour with 4B and Analen asked me to find another Thanksgiving PowerPoint! I found her two literally three weeks ago and all the sudden she’s like “I want another”. So I went to the video room and looked up activities I can do with my ETIC classes the whole time, then I went back to fourth five minutes before class ended and gave Analen a old different PowerPoint I have (oh yes, I have several!)

I have the eight/nine-year-olds at five. Today we’re starting something different with them: reviewing material from their school books. Apparently some parents like to blame us when their kid doesn’t ace an English exam at school…because it has nothing to do with the kid, right? Yeah, whatever… Monse, the one who’s pregnant and taking it easier, sent me a list of all the units I need to cover until Christmas. I only got it last night, so today might be a little unorganized. The unit we’re covering today is school vocab. I’ve found flashcards and games, but no homework to give them, so I don’t think we’ll be having any of that tonight…not that they should mind, though!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s a cold and windy 52 degrees today! Of course it was raining when I left for school, so my hair had to be all frizzed out the whole day. It hasn’t really rained since this morning; though it looks like it could start again any minute.

Classes were rather repetitive (but not boring) since I had the three fifth levels 1^st, 4^th and 5^th hours. We finished the Thanksgiving PowerPoint we started last week, sang the “Upon the Mayflower” song and then looked at the Scholastic website I found. It worked better with today’s classes because Rocío and Marina were able to help translate, ask questions and make sure they understood. We took “the voyage of the Mayflower” which stopped at certain points between England and the US and it discussed what they encountered or what happened there. We then “toured the Mayflower” which showed where people lived, how they sailed the ship, steerage and things like that. It worked out well today!

Second hour was 1B. Marina said they just started a new unit yesterday, about pets, so they’re still learning the vocab—dog, cat, rabbit, rat, parrot, frog, etc. I went over pronunciation and that was followed by a worksheet where they were given an animal to trace and it would say things like “Is it a frog/dog/goldfish…They then circled yes or no and then color the picture.

2B was third. I read them a story about a little girl named Monica who was having a birthday party. She called all of her friends to ask what they were planning to wear and in the end the all showed up in costumes, like a vampire, witch and pirate. Yes, they are in the middle of a clothing unit! I followed the story with comprehension questions…they know a lot. I never had to repeat them and they understood them and answered them correctly! That’s two things that fourth level can’t do…

I have the advanced kids at four this afternoon. That class is easier than the eight/nine-year-olds; they know more and it’s much more laid back. I definitely enjoy that class more than the other.

Now I have to go do some laundry…because I’m out of clean socks! Peace Out!!!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s 54 and cloudy today. It was a lot warmer earlier, when the sun was out, but now it’s almost completely cloudy and chilly. My weather thing also says we’re currently having intense rain, which we are not…although I did feel a couple of drops on my way home.

Today was fairly easy. I had 6A and C the first two hours. Marilu asked if I could go over the PowerPoint and other things while she helped other kids finish homework they hadn’t gotten done (she was a little ticked!) The first hour all but two were finishing activities, so it was kinda weird only teaching to two of them. The materials I thought would be suitable for them turned out to be a little over their heads (I didn’t want to give them something to easy, though, you know?) so they didn’t understand a lot of it and Marilu was helping the others, so I was pretty much on my own and it more or less bombed. Sort of a shame too because I thought they were awesome activities (I mean they are, but for American kids). Second hour was more of the same, so I was glad to get out of there at eleven!

I went to 4A third hour, they’re learning (or kind of at least…as much as 4^th level can learn) about the verb “to like” so they wrote all the forms down—I/you like…—but they always have to talk and fight though, so something that simple takes half an hour, literally. Analen has told me in the past that almost no one does their homework. They took an exam last week and only FIVE of them passed…we’re talking of a class of at least twenty! Yeah, they’re quite a bunch of winners; although to their credit, they’re not as bad as the other class.

              Last two were the three-year-olds. After all of our greetings and songs they drew a picture of themselves well some of them did, others scribbled inside the set lines, others outside and others still started coloring whatever page they felt like. I was walking around trying to help where I could and this one little cutie looked at me and was like “Look! He drew outside the lines—that’s wrong!” So adorable…too bad fourth level isn’t more like them…

I’ve got the eight/nine-year-olds at five. I planned several things out before I left for the weekend, so we should be good to go! I’m going to try to stay on top of the ball and stay and plan after class every night. It should go smoothly; I should never have to throw something together right before—that’s the plan, anyway.

Xoxo,

Court

It’s acold one (for me, anyway)…54 degrees! The high is supposed to be 55 and rain is in the forecast as well, so the temperature’s not going to get much better…:/

It’s been a relaxing weekend! I didn’t realize how much I’ve been on the go this week, since starting at ETIC! It’s good to be busy though; it makes the time go by faster. One of the best things about working there is that it’s literally two minutes away…I can see it from my window! I have one class an afternoon (which 1.5 hours) plus I’ve been staying after about an hour or more to plan and get everything figured out for the next day…I’m starting to feel like a real teacher again!

I was really tired Thursday night (since I got up at 4:45 for Ciudad Real) and was falling asleep at like ten. I finally went to bed a little before 10:30. I had planned on going to the market for some fruits and veggies, but I didn’t wake up until after ten Friday and it was a slow morning. I left the house at one, but everything’s always pretty picked over by then and the vendors start packing up by 1:30. So I went to Mercadona instead, which worked out well because it’s right by the chino store and the last time I was in there I saw something I wanted to get Will for his birthday (next Friday).

It was my turn to clean this week, so yesterday I swept, mopped, dusted and scrubbed everything, minus the roommates’ bedrooms, that is. Our apartment is pretty small, so it was only about a two hour job.

I also went to mass at 6:30 last night. I got there with maybe four minutes to spare and it was pretty full, more so than usual. All the lights were off except at the very back of the church; it was rather dark in there, with the exception of several candles around the altar. My first thought was that it was a special mass, that it was someone’s feast or some special day. I thought the lights would slowly turn on as mass started, but they didn’t and I couldn’t think of any special feast. I know the priest mentioned something about the lights once or twice, but I didn’t catch what he said (darn my foreign language abilities!). So I kinda think now that there was just a problem with the lights…I don’t know for sure.

I need to do some planning for the advanced kids on Tuesday. I’m trying to decide whether we should take time to talk about Thanksgiving. My first thought was no, I’m sure they’ll get an earful at school (well my kids will at least…that what three weeks of planning gets you). Maybe I’ll just ask them what they know already and kinda wing it based on their knowledge??

Xoxo,

Court

It’s a windy 54 today, and since windy = cold, now that we’re basically in winter, I’m not a fan!

Instead of school, I went to Ciudad Real this morning, as planned, although I ALMOST missed the bus! Having got up at 4:45, I left the house at 6:36 (yes, I checked!) and arrived at the bus station at 6:42…as the bus was pulling away! I had to chase after it and yell for them to stop. Luckily, I got the attention of one of the passengers and she must have told the driver to stop. Bless her! I was really surprised that they left early, because I’ve left the house at 6:35 before, gotten to the station within five minutes, and had to wait for several minutes…not today! After I was on I said I little prayer of thanks to God for letting me catch it!

I’m not sure exactly what time we arrived in the city but it was 9:02 when I got to the police station. I had an appointment at 10:40 and was a little afraid the guy would make me wait until then when I checked in, but NO! As soon as we spoke he said to have a seat! It took all of about seven minutes to submit my papers, get fingerprinted and sign a few documents. The lady told me I had to wait forty days before picking it up, like the last week in December, but I’m going to wait until early January, when we’re still on break, to go back, just in case it takes longer than anticipated.

I walked out at 9:12 and headed for the train station. I walked for 20ish minutes and got to the station at 9:30 bought my ticket (the train actually left at 9:45, not 9:50…they must have changed it since I went last. I pretty much headed out to the platform right away and said another prayer of thanks for making the early train! In all, I spent less than an hour in CR, although the travel time round trip was close to four hours! Plus bus and train fare…it’s so silly that we have to do this all over again!

It was a leisurely ride; relaxing. We got in Socu a little before 11:30. Carmen graciously agreed to pick me up (mainly because a half hour walk in the wind and cold isn’t my idea of good exercise). When I got home and did a little planning for class today (I have the 10-13 year-olds at four) and then went to the store. I’ll go to the market tomorrow for some fruit and a few other things, but I thought I’d take advantage of my extra time today and go to the store this afternoon!

I’ll be so happy tomorrow morning when I can sleep in…I’m tired after such an early day!

Xoxo,

Court