HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

This evening it’s 55 and partly cloudy. I haven’t been out today, but earlier my weather thing said it was raining. I don’t know if it actually was though, sometimes it’s wrong.

It really doesn’t feel like Halloween, it’s just another day here, nothing’s going on. It’s days or holidays like this when I miss home. :( I want to see little kids all dressed up, going trick-or-treating!

I did make some white chocolate candy corn M&M cookies today, so my day hasn’t been completely Halloween-less! It’s really hard mixing everything by hand, especially because the recipe was doubled. There was so much flour to be mixed in and the butter was kinda stubborn…it was quite a workout for my arms! Here is the finished product!

The first couple of batches I made a lot bigger (like the ones above) and then started making them smaller so they didn’t have to bake as long. I’m taking about 30 to school on Wednesday and leaving the rest here for Gunita and Will and whoever else. They’ve both tried them and like them!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s 66 degrees and dark already at 6:30! Daylight Savings Time was this morning, so we’ve turned the clock back. I wasn’t too bright when thinking about it; I knew it was to be done on the 30^th, but for some reason I thought it would be tonight, in the middle of the night (which I know technically would be the 31^st…I don’t really know what I was thinking). So, I got a little surprise when I turned on my computer this morning and it said it was an hour earlier!   

I’ve been cleaning throughout the day today. I started with dusting my room, and then I polished the glass and swept the apartment. I took a bit of a break and later cleaned the bathroom and lastly I mopped the floors. Everything is clean now (and smells like Clorox too!).

Yesterday I picked up the letter (as it said in the notice I received)/package Mom and Dad sent. I was super surprised and happy to get it…thanks again, guys!!! It was full of Halloween candy, Fiber One brownie bars (so very tasty!) and some M&Ms to make cookies. Of course I had to go right out and buy everything needed to make the recipe…I didn’t have any butter or sugar. I think it’ll make those tomorrow and then bring them to school on Wednesday!

I went to mass last night and then walked through Feria afterwards. I was able to kinda scope it out on my way to mass and I saw a LOT of scarves so I was really excited to take a closer look later on. It’s a really big fair for Socu being so small. It’s the only one around this time of year, so people from all the surrounding towns come to check it out. I saw a ton of my kiddos and other people I know; I saw some kids who were in 6^th last year and now at the high school, so that was cool!

There were so many food booths—things you’d find at an American fair—hamburgers, hot dogs and cotton candy! There were also hot peppers, chestnuts, churros con chocolate and so much more! Though I didn’t try any of it (fair food doesn’t exactly = low cal, you know?) it all smelled amazing! I looked at a ton of scarves and in the end walked away with seven! I spent 30 Euros. I wasn’t going to spend that much, but then I thought “why not splurge a little?” I really hadn’t spent any of my October entertainment money. All in all, I’m happy with my purchases…I picked a good lot!

Xoxo,

Court

Today marks one month that I’ve been back in Spain! You know, it actually seems longer than that…is that good or bad?

It’s 61 degrees and partly cloudy at the moment and it’s not raining, so that’s a plus! I went out this morning to get my picture taken to renew my NIE and it was kind of misting/spitting a bit…I hope my hair doesn’t look to terrible, but I’ll have to wait and see. I must have been his first customer of the day because he took my picture and then asked me to come back this afternoon to pick them up because his machine wasn’t on and had to warm up. So, I have to go back at seven to pick them up.

Afterwards, I went to the market with Gunita and Teo to get some eggs and just to sorta check things out, since I haven’t gone since I’ve been back. It was a little farther out this week because of the all the rides and food booths they’re setting up for Feria. I bought some tomatoes and whole pears (which I don’t think I’ve ever eaten before, but I heard they’re high in fiber!)

I was on my way to getting the eggs, but then Carmen called to see if we could meet. And since I hadn’t seen her yet, I left without the eggs and went to meet her at a nearby café for some cañas. It was good to see her! We talked for about an hour about the summer and our jobs and just some other random things! We also talked about my helping her with her classes, maybe like once a month or something like that. She’s not very good with pronunciation (or so she says!) and that’s definitely something I can help with, so hopefully we can make it work!

I then went back to the market for the eggs and came home. It’s kinda chilly in the apartment right now; my hands are freezing! I think I’m going to have some hot chocolate and then do a little exercise…that should warm me up!

Xoxo,

Court

Today it’s 59 and been raining on and off all day. Thankfully, the rain took a break while I was going and coming back from school!

This morning I went to Noelia’s class to help them bob for apples. It’s a lot harder than I remember, trying to sink your teeth into the apple. Many of the kids went for the stem…but that doesn’t really count! I took several photos and videos, so I’ll have to upload those!

Second hour I was back with Ana in four-years B. We first did this Halloween worksheet where they had to draw the next in the sequence: a cat, a monster and a witch. After that, she did the bat activity with them while I showed them videos. I’m glad we did something before, because we were left with about twenty minutes, which was just right to watch all the videos.

Instead of going to 2B third I went to the office to help Aurora fill out a survey LPS sent her after I put her down as a reference when I made a profile with them. It was fairly simple; I just didn’t realize they would send her something when I put her down as a reference. But, we got it done, so it’s all good!

Fourth hour was with infantil again, with four-years A. Ana decided to go to the video room there in the infantil wing, so we had a change of scenery. She played the videos on the big SmartBoard while calling up the kids one by one to do the bat thing. I think that worked out better…she was right there to keep the littles in check!

Last hour was with 6B…my first big kids of the day! I’m always happy to end with them after nearly the whole day in infantil! We played this interactive game online. We split the class into two teams and they had to answer questions about Halloween. Team A just barely beat B by two points, 9-7…and then they all cheered when they won while B just kinda sat there…

I don’t have to go back to school until Wednesday! Feria (the fair) is back again this weekend/through Wednesday, so it’s a special celebration. November 1, All Saints Day, is a national holiday, so we’d get that off anyway, but apparently the schools also get Monday off (but not businesses and such, for some reason). So, I’m off for five days! I’m kind of excited to see all the knickknacks (and scarves!) they have at Feria! I can’t spend too much, though, I have to be strong!

Xoxo,

Court

Today it’s partly cloudy and 63. The sun has been out most of the day, so it feels a bit warmer!

First today was 1A with Marina. I went over the Halloween vocab with them and we then watched several videos. Lastly we played a couple of interactive games on the computer, something 1B didn’t get to do yesterday. They got to practice their colors; it would give instructions like “color the vampire’s shoes black” or “color the zombie’s face green”. Oh and we played a memory game with pictures and words too…they liked that!

Second and fifth hours I was with Noelia in 3A and B. I went over the vocab first, we watched a few videos and then did some interactive activities, including the memory game and the haunted house game we played in Marina’s fifth yesterday. We ended with a song about trick-or-treating. It was really a simple yet catchy tune; they enjoyed it!

For third hour I was in five-years A with Ana. We did the bat finger painting thing again, so I was left to man the videos on the computer. I’ve totally had enough of that job already (which is terrible because almost my whole day tomorrow is in infantil!) They all stand up, crowd around the computer and tell me which video they want to watch, even though they don’t even know what they are. I started closing the computer each time someone stood up and every time someone said “I want this video!” I said “Nope, it’s my choice!

Fourth hour was 4B (great!). We went over the PowerPoint about the origins. Analen was more attentive today, so she translated parts of it for them and in the process, sent a few students back to the other classroom for not paying attention…I really hope the other teacher was in there, because those are some of the worst kids; you wouldn’t want to leave them alone. Anyway, it took so long to talk about the PowerPoint that we only had time to watch one video and then class was over.

I hope tomorrow is fun…I’m going to help Noelia’s classes bob for apples and do some other special Halloween activities! Hopefully I can take some good photos with my new camera!

Xoxo,

Court

Today it’s a windy and chilly 59 degrees. The sun and clouds have been in competition through the day, but when the sun peaks out it feels a tad warmer.

Today I had all three fifth levels, so it was a little monotonous. First and last hours, with Rocío’s classes we finished going over the PowerPoint and she made them repeat everything I said again. She then was like “can you find some more videos or songs, something we can show very quickly?” Sure, I said, so I found the theme song to the original Addams Family TV Series and played that for them. After that, she wanted me to find the lyrics. It seems like there’s always more to do with her.

Marina’s class (fourth hour) was more laid back; we played this interactive game on the computer where you had to guess where the Halloween character was hiding based on the given clues. That was fun! Better than Rocío’s classes, at least.

Second hour was 1B with Marina. I went over some flashcards with them, played them some of our videos and then we went back to the classroom and did a color-by-numbers sheet of trick-or-treaters.

Third hour I was with Analen in 2B. We went to the video room like we have in the other classes. But usually the teachers have a plan (that’s not my job) or ask me to do something, at least. Analen gave me some flashcards, sat down and started working on her computer. When I was done with those, she wasn’t paying attention, so I had to ask her what she wanted to do next. She asked if I had the PowerPoint I discussed with 4A yesterday; and I did, but it’s so not a PowerPoint for second graders, especially because it’s in English! I told her I thought it was too hard for them unless she translated it for them, but also that I had an easier one (basically it was the same vocab as the flashcard we’d just gone over in a PowerPoint format). It was obvious she didn’t want to translate it for them and she said to go with the easier one. So we did. She still wasn’t listening or offering any guidance so I started showing them video clips. In the end, she did show them more videos from her computer, though. She doesn’t seem to put a lot of effort into teaching…she’s always downloading movies on her computer.

Well, half the week is down, half still to go!

Xoxo,
Court

Today it’s cooold (well colder than it has been, at least. It’s 58 and been raining on and off all day; it wouldn’t be so bad if the wind weren’t blowing. So, it’s basically blowing rain…super fun to walk in!

It was Halloween, Halloween, Halloween at school! First two classes were 6A and C. After we went over the PowerPoint we had a few minutes left so we watched a couple of short videos about Bloody Mary! The first video just talked about who she was and “legend has it” kind of stuff. The second was these two guys and one bet the other $100 that she wasn’t real. So they go into the bathroom and do the mirror thing and lo and behold they see this creepy woman and it scares the begeezus (is that a real word?) out of them, or one anyway. It was kinda scary; the second time we watched it, some of the girls covered their eyes!

Third hour was 4A. I didn’t think we’d go to the video room because I didn’t think they’d be able to handle it. But we went and they were alright, I guess. We talked about the same PowerPoint as with Sixth, but it was way over their heads. I had this PowerPoint and one for infantil, so I thought they’d prefer this one. I asked them after each slide if they understood and they always said “Yeah, yeah, yeah” but I know they didn’t…there were some things even 6A and C hadn’t understood. I just breezed through it and then we watched a few videos Analen had on her computer.

Last two hours I went to infantil with the three-year-olds. Ana had this worksheet with the body of a bat and they had to finger paint on the “wings”. In most cases they weren’t actually wings, but rather smudges everywhere…they were pretty cute though. While Ana did that with five or six at a time, I watched videos with them, or tried to at least. Some of the videos are funny and not just silly, but it was hard to watch because some would stand up and walk around or stand in front of the computer so others couldn’t see. Still others started playing with each other and that would turn into hitting and fighting and inevitably crying. Luckily the class always ends early so they can have extra time to get ready to go home!

What a dreary, poopy day…it makes me want to go take a nap! Peace Out!!!

Xoxo,

Court

And thus begins another week! Nothing exciting to report from the weekend. It’s getting colder now; tomorrow the high’s only 61 and it’s supposed to rain…brrr! And then Tuesday it’s even supposed to get down into the 50s! I can wait for that. Tomorrow starts the official Halloween week at school. On the one hand, I like holidays because that’s when I get to do the most, but on the other hand, by Thursday, I’m probably going to be tired of talking about it and giving my same spiel over and over again. Such is life!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s 61 and sunny this afternoon; it’ll probably get a little warmer later on, since it’s only 1:30 right now. The high’s supposed to be 68…it should get up there.

This morning I went to the bank to take out money for November rent; as part of my budget, I’m trying to have all my bill money ready and put away, so that I have it when I need it! I then when to the post office to Western Union some money home for my AES bill and a little extra to be put into savings. I don’t have my new NIE yet, so I gave the guy my old one. He looked at it was said “this is expired, you can’t use it”. That was kind of annoying. So I gave him my Nebraska driver’s license and he said that didn’t work. He asked if I had my passport, so I gave him the copy I always keep in my wallet. And again, he was like “this won’t work…it has to be the original”. SERIOUSLY? It’s practically the same thing! and it’s not like I don’t look like the photo…

So, I had to run home to get the ORIGINAL. When I got back, the guy wasn’t helping anyone, but he conveniently acted busy when he saw me, so I waited for the lady to finish with the person ahead of me. Then, as soon as I was being helped he was magically free to help the person behind me. I mean, I know it takes several minutes to process everything, but really? Come on, guy, that’s your job!

I went to the store after that and did my shopping for the week! I only spent 16.30€ this week, less than last, although I’m going to have to go to a different store to buy some nuts, they didn’t have any, but I’ll worry about that later!

Xoxo,

Court

HAPPY WEEKEND! Today it’s sunny and 63. We have a bit of a wind, so it’s chilly in the shade and a little in the sun, too! At one point at school I said I was cold and Carmela was like “you better get used to it because it’s going to get a lot colder”. Yeah, great.

I was with Ana in infantil most of the day. First hour was five-years A. After the usual start-of-the-day activities we reviewed the shapes circle, square, triangle and rectangle. I drew them on the board, a big and little one and had them say what size they were. Then for their worksheet, they had to color big circles red and blue. They used stickers to finish the pattern of small circles. The pattern was fairly simple: red, blue, red, blue; I was surprised how many couldn’t follow it and put two blues or two reds together.

I don’t even really remember what we did in four-years B (apparently, it’s been a long day!). We didn’t do exactly the same thing with four-years A…I remember that. With “A” we talked about big and small circles and we listened to a song and as part of which, we drew big and small circles in the air. Ana then got out a small white board and had students come up and draw either a big or small circle. They understood for the most part, except this one little boy—she asked him five times to draw a small circle and motioned with her fingers ”small” and drew a small circle in the air and still each time he drew a big one. Eventually, she was just like “Ok, sit down”. He’s a cutie, but man, he does listen at all!

With 2B we played an interactive game on the computer. Well no, first I read them a story about playing hide and seek in the classroom (that I’d thought I read them before…perhaps it was the other class). Then we played on the computer. They had to do things like tell where the hamster was hiding and click on the correct word and drag the correct word over the classroom object.

Marilu was finishing up science when I got there, so I chilled for a few minutes. Later we looked at one of the Halloween PowerPoints I found (about the origins and traditions). It’s kinda long—26 slides—so I asked them quite often if they understood, and they said “yes” every time. I told Marilu I didn’t think they did and so she said she was going to give them a quiz…and they were all like “NOOO!”. They started asking questions after that!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s sunny and 73 today; it’s gotten a bit chilly in the mornings now though, you can tell that winter is on the way! Plus, it’s only supposed to be in the upper 60s the rest of the week!

1A was first today. They are learning to read each others’ names, so one student each day calls out roll. Instead of saying “here” like we say in the US, they say “it’s me”. I don’t know if that’s a British thing or what, but it just sounded strange to me when I heard that. We reviewed body parts and numbers 1-20. They knew the body parts really well, except when I said “touch your hand”, no one knew what that was; some touched their heads, others their feet, arms or legs. I asked Marina if they knew “hands” and she said yes, so I don’t know…maybe they all had brain farts? And they seem to have trouble pronouncing numbers if I don’t say it right before them, but they’re only six…we’ll work on that!

Second and last hours were 3A and B with Noelia; I haven’t seen her or the classes for a while, not since the first week I was here! I love those classes; they’re so nice! I quizzed them on flashcards of classroom objects (i.e. ruler, pencil, pencil sharpener). I asked about what colors they were and “did they have a _____ pencil case?” Later I showed them pictures of rooms like dining room, library, garden, bathroom and asked then how many plates, books, flowers…there were. I wouldn’t mind having more classes with the third levels (perhaps trade the fourths for more thirds?!?!)…unfortunately, that’s not how it works.

Third was one of the five-year-old classes (I can’t remember which, I don’t have my schedule totally down yet) with Ana. We watched a short video about parts of the body (head, shoulders, knees and toes) but we didn’t sing the song. Instead they did a worksheet and Ana said I could look for more Halloween stuff. I’ve looked for so many things—the next time someone tells me I can look for more activities, I think I’m going to start on Thanksgiving.

Fourth hour was 4B (oh joy!). I read them the story about Tom the Cowboy and Sue Ellen, that I read 4A last week and that’s really all I did. After that Ana Belén said I could look for more—wait for it—Halloween activities. Then she left the classroom for a minute to go get something (bad choice with a class like that!) and one person asked me to go to the bathroom. I said yes, so like ten others asked me and went (even though I really didn’t say they could go). Then one of the “good” students told me they really didn’t need to go to the bathroom, that they go there to talk…GREAT!  Analen (what I’m calling Ana Belén from now on) came back and was like “we don’t let them go to the bathroom during class” I apologized, because I didn’t know and then she yelled at them for taking advantage of me and made them copy a worksheet…which they pretty much deserved, I decided.

Xoxo,

Court

Today it’s sunny and 66; a bit breezy, but not bad!

I had all three fifth years today—first, fourth and fifth hours. This weekend I found a few more Halloween activities and a couple of PowerPoints, so I talked about the origins and traditions of Halloween. I remember that exact PowerPoint from last year, but Rocío was like “No, I don’t remember that”, so we talked about it again. It took a while because she made them repeat every line after me, so we only got through half of it, by the time they had gotten settled and done a couple of start-of-the-day things. We got through the whole thing in Marina’s 5A (Rocío teaches B and C) and then we had a little time to look a some funny Halloween YouTube videos

Second hour was also with Marina, in 1B. I reviewed the parts of the body by saying “point to your head/nose/legs/arms”. Most of the kids knew them well, so that’s good! I then reviewed numbers 1-20, mainly so they could practice pronunciation. Later we reviewed objects around the classroom and did a workbook page in which they had to color the classroom objects the exact same way as the flashcards on the board. And good news…Marina also told me that her friend is looking to take English classes so I gave her my number and he’s supposed to call me! I could totally use some extra dinero!

Third hour was 2B with Ana Belén. I got there and she was like “Rocío told me you have been looking for Halloween activities, so you can look this hour also”. I guess her word is law around school. So I looked for more activities…I’ve collected quite a few by now!

I also wanted to see if I could find some short little YouTube videos to use as fillers here and there, if we have a few extra minutes before class ends or something like that. I didn’t get a chance to look at school (I was looking for more important things, like actually activities), so I’m going to do that this afternoon.

Oh, and I got my letter in the mail today, meaning I can now go back to CR to get fingerprinted and actually apply for my NIE. It actually came early; they said to allow three weeks to get it, but yesterday marked only two. I’m a little miffed though; in the letter it says we have to pay another 18€ for the “expedition of the card" (then what did we pay 16€ at the bank for on the 3^rd?) I don’t remember having to pay twice last year. I’m not sure when I’ll go back though…I’m not really in that big of a hurry.

Xoxo,

Court

I think it’s starting to cool off a bit…today it’s only 68 and a little windy. It was really foggy this morning, so combined with the wind I thought it was a tad chilly.

The first two classes today were with Marilu and 6A and C. We reviewed/re explained comparisons (i.e. hot, hotter and hottest. She explained everything first hour and I took the reigns second hour. We talked about examples with words such as hot, cold, rich, poor, old and young. We then listened to a story about three brothers fighting for who will inherit their father’s farm. The father tells the brothers the wisest will inherit it. The older ones think they’re the wisest, of course and the oldest brother thinks he’s the smartest, the middle the strongest and they think the youngest is the weakest. Well, they go and visit the Buddha at the top of the hill and he decides the youngest brother is the wisest. Surprise, surprise! And it’s Marilu’s birthday today (29!) so we sang her Happy Birthday in English (sort of).

Third hour was with 4A and Ana Belén. When I got there they were correcting homework (or trying to) and being all crazy. The majority of the time they’re usually shouting, but I tried to introduce six new vocab words (leisure activities: listening to music, writing an email, talking with friends, etc) and that pretty much failed. It’s just really hard with that level because they talk and don’t know hardly anything.

Last two hours were with Ana and both three-year-old classes. I read them a story I’d already read them, about a sleeping Ellie who won’t wake up, but I guess repetition is the key with the littles! We then watched an animated cartoon about Ellie on Ana’s laptop. We ended by stamping everyone (the good ones!) on the hand with a pink butterfly stamp. They get different stamps everyday and when Ana said it was the pink one today, this cute little boy was like “NO!!!”, and then like 30 seconds later he wanted to be the first one stamped!

Xoxo,

Court

Today it’s clear and 75…I wonder for how much longer this rare October weather will last?

I went to mass yesterday and had sort of an amusing experience. They don’t really sing a closing hymn here (or at least not at this church) so everyone just kind of leaves all at once (usually when the closing hymn starts people begin to trickle out, at least in any American church I’ve been to). There is only one small little bedroom sized door for everyone to leave through and mass was pretty packed last night, so it took a while to get out. I don’t know why it was so packed, but normally it isn’t that busy.

I sat closer to the front because I got there only a few minutes before it started, and of course the back always fills up first. So I’m very slowly walking out (it’s the mass of the elderly, so naturally they walk slow, and then they see their friends in the aisle and stop traffic to talk with them). Well apparently I wasn’t going fast enough for this one elderly lady behind me because she started, like, shoving me forward when really there was nowhere to go. I guess she was in a hurry, but I wasn’t going to shove or breeze past someone else (how rude is that?!). When we got closer to the door I kinda turned a bit to look at her and she was muttering something under her breath to a friend.

I started walking home and at first I was annoyed, I mean who pushes people in the House of God? But then I thought about it and thought it was funny: here’s this old lady shoving me (and others in the past perhaps) to get out faster. Generally you would see a little kid pushing their way through. And someone would probably (maybe!) reprimand them (I would hope!), but what can anyone say to an old lady? Maybe when she was little her mom never taught pushing people is rude…?

Xoxo,

Court

Currently, it’s 77 degrees and clear; I don’t think I’ve even seen a cloudy day since arriving!

I was supposed to meet with Carmen this morning at 11, but she called me a little before and said her son had come home from school sick, so she had to cancel. I still haven’t seen her yet; I texted her a couple of days after arriving, but she’s been so busy, she hasn’t found time to meet up.

It worked out for the best though. I was planning on going to the store so I was making a list and that (somehow) turned into making a spreadsheet to keep track of my finances. I’m glad I did it though, because I broke everything down and now I have a pretty good idea of what I can spend this year after rent and bills and such. Not that I had problems with that last year, but I told myself this year I was going to put a little aside every month. That way if I don’t get a job right when I come home, I’ll still have a bit to live on. I would have done it eventually, but Carmen canceling gave me the perfect opportunity to do it. That’s why I say it worked out for the best!

After getting my finances in order, I went to the chino store to buy envelopes to be further organized and later I separated some money into different envelopes, like rent, internet, etc. My goal is to always have the money for the main/stay the same every month bills ready to go.

Then I went to the store as planned. It actually took a long time but I didn’t buy a whole lot (maybe six or seven things). Due to my self-imposed budget, I spent a while looking at prices and exactly how much you get your money. I thought I did pretty well; I spent 20€. Almost half of that was mouthwash and lotion (yeah, that stuff is expensive here!), but I won’t have to buy those every week, so that’s good! I’ve allotted myself 75€ every month for food and I now have 46 left for the month. I think I can handle that!

Xoxo,

Court

Happy weekend to me! Well it’s sunny and 80 today, though it feels warmer than that!

It felt like a Monday today, I guess that’s what happens when you get a day off during the week. I was with Ana in infantil most of the day. Five years A was first. They’re working on sequences now, so we did a worksheet in which they had to draw a red circle, then a blue one, then red, blue…In the next sequence they did it with yellow and green squares, then finally they had to put the two together and drew yellow squares and blue circles! And then this little girl came up to me and said I was pretty! She was so cute!

I had both four-year-old classes today, second and fourth hour. Apparently Ana had to get something finished, so she pretty much gave me the reigns to the class. The first class was pretty rowdy, so that was kinda hard…half the time I have no idea what they are saying anyway! I tried to do a couple of songs, but those pretty much failed. I explained a worksheet and that was it. The other afternoon class was better though, I know that class better and they’re more fun!

Third hour was 2A (again with Ana) and we started to listen to a story on CD, but then several people started talking, so she wrote the story on the board and had them copy it instead. I’m fairly certain they won’t be so rambunctious next time.

Last hour was 6B…I was glad to get out of infantil! We were going to start a new unit today, but then Marilu and I were talking and she asked me where we could find heroes and villains (the new unit). I said the movies. Then she changed the whole plan and we discussed the differences between American and British English…since they use the word film, rather than movie. We mainly talked about words with ts in them, because we say them like ds. That was really it.

I think the best thing that happened today was that I got paid! I don’t have to worry about money anymore! Which is good, because I only had 20 euros left for the rest of the month. I’ve never really worried about money before and I gotta say, it’s stressful! Planning out exactly what you can buy and putting things back because you don’t have enough is not fun! I knew I’d get paid sometime this month, but I’m so glad it was earlier rather than later…I was a little worried I wouldn’t be able to stretch my 20 through the whole month! Crisis averted!

Xoxo,

Court

¡FELIZ FIESTA NACIONAL DE ESPAÑA!

Today it’s supposed to be sunny and 84! Again, I see no clouds in the sky!

I had a nice sleep-in today, for the holiday. I found out/remembered (and not surprisingly) that it celebrates Columbus. I knew that Ferdinand and Isabel funded his journey to what would later be America, but I had forgotten. I didn’t even remember the US celebrated holiday on Monday! You know, being 4,000 miles away makes me forget lots of things!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s another beautiful sunny day; 82 degrees and not a cloud in the sky!

I had class with Rocío and 5C first this morning. She wanted me to get started looking for some Halloween activities, so that’s how I spent first hour. She always likes to tie everything into Nebraska and so she wanted me to find fotos of Halloween in Lincoln. So I looked for fotos of decorations, trick-or-treating, costumes, etc. and I told her they were from Nebraska!

Second was 1B with Marina, the first time I went to that class. We reviewed classroom vocab: door, teacher, window, pencil sharpener, (cringe) rubber, just to name a few. They then did a word search, so I was able to talk with Marina for a while, since I really hadn’t spoken with her yet.

Third hour was 2B with Ana Belén. They’re actually reviewing classroom objects too, so I read them a story about playing hide-and-seek in the class (who is actually able to do that, or lets their class do that?) I don’t know what it is about her classes but after I was done, they clapped for me, like fourth did last week. They then did this workbook page in which they had to draw certain class objects different places using, I don’t even know what they’re even called, like directional prepositions or something? On, under, behind, inside…I don’t know if Ana didn’t explain it well enough or it was just a bit over their heads, but they kept coming up saying they didn’t understand what to do.

The afternoon hours were 5A and B. Marina actually teaches 5A instead of Rocío, so that was surprising. I bet the other two classes are jealous they get a break from Rocío…I would be! Rocío wanted me to continue looking for more Halloween stuff (apparently we’re getting in to crunch time), so I spent the afternoon looking up other things, like more pictures and songs. I found The Addams Family song, so I think I’ll show them that, I’ll see if I can find the actual music, too. I still need to look for a PowerPoint though; didn’t get that accomplished today.

Last night Jesús told me that tomorrow is a fiesta, so there’s no school or work! Something about it being the Spanish National Day…I’m not sure what it’s actually honoring; Columbus? Some saint? I don’t know…I should probably find out! That made my day though, knowing that tomorrow there’s no school! That means only one day left in the work week!

Xoxo,

Court

It’s been another beautiful day! It’s 81 right now and the sky is clear blue! I hope it lasts a while longer!

Today was my first Monday at school, but I didn’t have the Monday blues too bad! First two hours was with Marilu and 6A and C. We did the same thing in both classes: I read and corrected this worksheet about the UK with them, things like the population, types of government and the weather. After that we tried to play this game with baseball sized cards Marilu had gotten at Madame Trousseau’s (is that how it’s spelled??) House of Wax. Each card featured a famous person (such as Gandhi, Brad Pitt, Elvis, Anne Frank, etc.). We taped a card to everyone’s back and had then ask questions to figure out who they were, i.e. “Am I a man/woman? Am I American? Am I a singer/actor/musician?” The only thing was the tape kept falling off, so that was kind of a pain, and then they started to get rowdy so the activity kinda failed.

Third hour was 4B. They seem better than last year (although the other class was always worse, I think!) I walked in and they keep repeating my name over and over again and finally Ana Belén said “If you don’t stop saying that, you’re going to write it 25 times!” They stopped (for the most part!) after that. I read them a story about a cowboy named Tom and his friend Sue-Ellen. I don’t know what to do with that class, because their English level is horribly low. I asked them comprehension questions and they couldn’t speak sentences…I had to change everything to a yes or no question, and then half of them STILL got it wrong!

The last two hours was both three-year-old classes. I read them another story about Ellie the Elephant and then we sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes again. They liked that, especially when we sang it really fast! And oh my goodness, this one little boy in the first class (I think his name’s Guillermo) sat in his little chair and cried literally the entire hour! Ana told me he didn’t feel well, but no one did anything to comfort him! So we sat there and listened to him cry whilst trying to continue the lesson.

I felt really lethargic earlier and so I came home right away and took a nap. I slept for a little over two hours, but still didn’t want to get up a little before five. I made myself anyway, in hopes that I’ll be able to fall asleep early tonight…

Xoxo,

Court

It’s still really nice for this time of year! I don’t really remember what it was like last October, but it’s been in the 80s, almost every day! I even saw it’s supposed to be 88 on Wednesday!

It’s been another good and relaxing weekend. I downloaded the first season of Mike and Molly, so now I trade off between than that and How I Met Your Mother (I’m in season 3 right now!) I cleaned for a while yesterday and a little bit today too. I cleaned the bathroom yesterday…don’t think it had been done for a while; it was kinda gross! Thank goodness for rubber gloves!

After cleaning I went to the store. I walked to Mercadona because they’re the biggest and have the most selection, but they are either remodeling or changing the store around or something (the store was empty with boxes everywhere) so they weren’t actually open. So I went to Ahorra Más, the trusty second! I was just out of a few things, so I didn’t have buy too much: just juice, apples, tuna and some more yogurt.

I went to mass last night also. I still don’t really understand it (I mean I do, it’s the same as in English, but I can’t really respond…I have to work on that this year!) all the responses are so fast, I find myself saying things in English a lot.

Today I swept and mopped the floors…I didn’t feel like doing it yesterday. I didn’t go out this weekend either. I’m sort of over the Socu night life, it just doesn’t do anything for me anymore; that’s one drawback to a small town I guess (can’t wait to move back to Lincoln next summer!!!). I’m more of the chillax-at-home type anyway. Drinking/loud bars aren’t really my thing.

Tomorrow marks my first full week at school. I’ll finally get to go to every class this week…there’s still some kiddos I haven’t seen!

Xoxo,

Court

HAPPY WEEKEND!!! My first full week here is down…I’m not exactly sure how many more to go. I spent the majority of the day with Ana in infantil (four of the five classes with her, three in infantil; that’ll be my Thursday schedule). We started with five years A. They started learning body parts, so we sang Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes several times; we also sang about the weather and days of the week.

Second and fourth hours were four years B and A. I read them a story about Max, Poppy and Ellie and their mom’s beautiful hair. It was so funny because at the end of the story Max and Poppy’s hair turned blue, red, yellow and green and they thought it was so funny, they laughed and laughed! I love how they are genuinely amused by things like that at that age. It’s kinda cool too because I remembered the story from last year!

Third hour, still with Ana, was 2A or B, I don’t remember which. They’re a rowdy class, but they were last year, also. We learned new classroom vocab, like teacher, door, window, bookcase, etc. I read the words and had the kids point to the object from the picture in their books. I don’t think they understand the words “point to” very well (even though Ana reviewed it with them in Spanish a few minutes earlier), some repeated the word, others raised their hands, but a few actually did point to it.

Last hour I got away from the littles and moved on to 6B. They have a Science exam or Monday, so they spent a while reviewing for that, including watching this gross video about digestion, which showed a real stomach and well, the whole digestion process. We corrected a few English activities and tried to do this activity about the differences between Socu and Nebraska, but it didn’t really work. The goal was to use the structure there is/are, but it kinda bombed…neither I nor María Luisa could think of many differences using those words.

I stayed after a little bit and talked with Marilu (because I think I’m gonna be too lazy to write María Luisa from now on), so I got home closer to 2:30. I downloaded last night’s Modern Family and watched that. The internet is great for some things…now if I could only figure out where I can stream live Husker games and not have to worry about it freezing up every five seconds! 

Xoxo,

Court

I got to school and my schedule still wasn’t down; Alberto said I’d be done by next week. In the meantime, he took me to meet Noelia, the new third level teacher. She’s pretty nice, and I actually stayed with her all morning, because again, I didn’t know what else to do. I walked in and the kids were all excited and shouted “Corni!” (Actually they’ve been doing that all week long.) I read them a story about Wally and the Wicked Wizard.

Second hour we headed over to the other third. They had Science and so I read to them some blurbs about bones, muscles and joints and reviewed the parts of the body.

Third hour we were back to the other class and although they had a Spanish exam, I still stayed in there. Which I probably shouldn’t have done, because sitting there not doing anything made me really tired.

During recreo Alejandro gave me a copy of my completed schedule! I started that afternoon with Ana Belén in 4B. And yes, the dreaded third level of last year has now become the dreaded fourth year. Same kids, same shenanigans. They may perhaps be a tiny bit better this year, or at least today, but not by much. I read them a little excerpt from their books (and then they clapped for me afterwards…) Oh and there was a lot of yelling on Ana Belén’s part, which I guess is to be expected with them.

Last hour, as per my new schedule, I went back to 3B with Noelia; it was their turn for Science. We did the same as in the other class.

I was so tired after school; I came home and took a nap right away until about five. Not sure why I was so tired, but I didn’t even have lunch. It’s almost eight and I’m still tired, which is good, I guess, that I shouldn’t have trouble sleeping. I’m kinda psyched for tomorrow. A—it’s Thursday, which really is like Friday for me and B—I get to go to some classes I haven’t been to yet!

Xoxo,

Court

My schedule still isn’t complete. I got to school and it wasn’t done, so I asked Alejandro (the new jefe de studios/vice principal [last year he was the PE teacher]) what the English schedules were. Rocío had class first hour, so I went in with her (mainly because I didn’t know anyone else).

I wasn’t sure what to do second hour, so I went back to the office to have a look at the master schedule again. I saw Albert and he took me to go see María Luisa, the sixth level teacher. I met her yesterday at the big lunch, so that was alright. I stayed with her during third hour too. We had two classes of science. I don’t know much about science, so I didn’t really do much, except pronounce the words and ask them a few review questions.

I was going to stay with her the rest of the day, because I didn’t know what else to do (plus she’s super nice…we’re going to have intercambios [conversations in half English/Spanish] throughout the year), but then Alberto introduced me to I think her name is Ana and so I went with her for the afternoon hours. She has a lot of classes, for sure three- and four- year-olds and second level, she might even have five years too, I don’t remember what she told me. We went to second grade first and they were really noisy and rambunctious. Last hour we went to one of the three-year-olds and I read them a story about Ellie the Elephant…yes, she’s back!

I’m not sure what I’ll be doing tomorrow. When I left Alberto still hadn’t finished the schedule. I really don’t even think if he’s started it honestly, because during recreo he asked me if I preferred English classes (like grammar stuff) or Science (in English). So we’ll see. Maybe I can go with María Luisa again…she’s pretty cool!

Xoxo,

Court

We went to CR for orientation today. When Alberto picked me up at 7:45, I saw Arturo and his boss already in the car, so that was a nice surprise to ride with them! I think we got there around nine, but I didn’t check my phone. We parked and grabbed a café nearby. We started walking towards the school and it was the wrong one. Alberto had them mixed up (and I just assumed we were going to walk from there), so we got back in the car and drove for another ten minutes. We were a few minutes late by the time we got there, but heck, we’re in Spain, so we weren’t really late.

We started off altogether (the principals and us) and then at ten we went our separate ways just like last year. Arturo, Will and I took that opportunity to go the police station to see about getting our NIEs. We couldn’t get them today, surprise, surprise…everything always has to be so complicated here! Anyway, we got this letter in the mail a few days ago saying we had to pay a 16.32€ fee for the actual NIE. I’d forgotten this from last year and didn’t know what the letter was. Luckily, I brought it with me because I wanted to ask Alberto what it was all about.

So we go to the police station two minutes away from where orientation was held. They told us we needed to pay that fee before we could do anything else. Arturo had already done that; poor Will, he didn’t bring the letter with him. So we found a bank so I could pay mine. Then we walked to the education office to submit the paperwork saying we’d paid. They took our papers and said we’d receive a letter in the mail in about three weeks (which really will be like five). We then have to take that letter back to CR and go to the police station AGAIN to get fingerprinted (we did all this last year). After that, we’ll have to make another trip back in four weeks (which again, will be like six really) to pick them up.

It’s just really frustrating because before the end of last year, on May 20, we went to CR to get a jump start on the whole process for this year and we thought we had. We filled out a renewal app (which was submitted that day) and were told we just had to bring that to get our renewed NIE. So that trip was a complete waste of time. We started the process in October last year and they weren’t even ready until after the New Year. SO FRUSTRATING!!!! Not to mention it costs about 20€ in bus/train fare each time we go.

We got back to orientation maybe about 11:15 and literally 30 seconds after we walked in we were dismissed on a break. We thought it was like ten minutes, but it ended up being close to 30…not that I’m complaining. We went back in and sat there until 1:15, listening to teachers talk about the program, what’s expected of us, etc. Then two second year girls gave little speeches about their experiences. The principals got done well before us and they started coming in to pull out their auxiliares to go home. One lady even came in, interrupted and asked how much longer we’d be…I thought that was totally rude!

We got back to Socu at 2:30, dropped off Arturo and his boss and went to school for a special lunch (to “celebrate” the start of the October-May regular schedule 9-2; in September and June it’s 9-1). There was a ton of food, as there always is at school get-togethers. I didn’t eat too much too, because I wasn’t actually that hungry and several people had to make note of that.

I got home at 4:15. Haven’t done a whole lot since then; I’m kinda tired since I got up so early (5:45!). I’m hungry now though, it’s 7:30, so I think I’ll go make dinner and call it an early night! Tomorrow is my first official day, though I’m not sure how much I’ll do—Alberto said he hasn’t finished my schedule yet—so I may be able to get a jumpstart on planning activities for Halloween.

Xoxo,

Court

Well, it’s been a very relaxed, sleep-filled weekend! I slept in until three on Saturday, went to mass at 7:30, stopped by the store, came home and watched Little Fockers and a tiny bit of the Husker game, and went to sleep. I wanted to watch more of the game, but the only free site I found to watch it on kept freezing up. So I watched some of the first quarter (including the Wisconsin score…boo, I missed Nebraska’s score though…thank-you, Mr. Freezing Screen). By then it was almost three in the morning anyway, so I turned out the light. Maybe it was for the best, so I didn’t have to watch the Huskers lose.

Today I got up a little before two. I haven’t done anything too noteworthy; Sundays are usually my pajama days. I did download last night’s SNL, with Melissa McCarthy, that was pretty funny! Tomorrow we have orientation in Ciudad Real. It’s a bit shorter than last year; it ends by one, according to the schedule. I hope I’ll have time to go pick up my NIE, since the police station is like two minutes away. Alberto, the principal (Antonio retired at the end of last year), is coming this year instead of Rocío. I don’t totally understand that, I mean, he makes my schedule, but outside of that he has like, nothing to do with the program. Oh well…at least it won’t be as long as last year.

Xoxo,

Court