HOLA :)
Sorry that it has taken me so long to write....I have been very busy! so beware-this is a long update coming up!
My first month back went very smoothly, after getting adjusted to the time difference and back into the swing of things.
I have more classes in the afternoons, which makes my life nuts! But I am loving it and learning a lot!
In February there were some students and teachers here from England and it was awesome to have them here! We took them everywhere and it was really cool to see the students interact, having to speak English! and the English students having to speak Spanish! Before they left we have a costume going-away party in honor of Carnival and myself, along with my boss and 3 other teachers all dressed up in traditional Spanish dresses! It was a blast and everyone thought that I looked the most Spanish of them all! haha
My boss and I are working to set up an exhange, or intercambio, with WHS and Mrs. Geaney which we are hoping to have for next year!!! How cool would that be?!?! I will doing research this week to help get the ball rolling-it's going to be a lot of work but I think that it will definitely be worth it!
Other than that, school wise and teaching wise everything keeps getting better! I taught about St. Patrick's Day and Easter the past few weeks and we had an easter egg hunt! It was a blast and the best part was teaching them something that they didn't know and that wasn't grammar!
As far as the apartment, Teresa and I have more adventures every day! We have started to become more adventurous in our cooking skills! Some things include rice krispie treats, beef stew, chicken with wine sauce, friend zucchini sticks, and fondue-cheese, oil, and chocolate!
We also painted the entire apartment except my bedroom! Teresa's room is green-that was our first Do It Yourself project so that room needs some touching up. But the hallway is a beautiful yellow that we painted in only 2 hours! And the living room is a coffee/cream color (it matches the couch perfectly! haha). Everyone that has come to see it has loved it and since we have it down to a science now, I think that we might start contracting out!
A few weeks ago Kate came to visit :) After a long and stressful trip she finally arrived! It was so good to see her and have her here! We did everything! I even put her to work at school for 2 days doing presentations about herself! We went to the Alhambra, stayed over-night at the beach, saw the Cathedral, met some of my students and I can't speak for her, but I had a ball!
Not long after Mom and Auntie Debbie arrived! They had already seen Marko in Italia and were experienced European travellers! haha We did everything on my tour-guide list and they got to meet people at school and some of my students! The night we spent in Nerja was so much fun and they even cooked brownies in my apartment! I was soo sad to see them go and I am happy that they are home safely!
I have vacation this whole week, as if it was spring break, because it is Holy Week here. Semana Santa is amazing! It just started yesterday and I am already loving it! Every day there are 5 processions through the center of the city. I thought that it was going to be like a parade but it was so different. There are people dressed up, kind of like the KKK, but it is supposed to be so that you don't recognize anyone, see them all as equal, and the big hats make them closer to God. Followed behind them is a big throne with images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, the Last Supper, etc. Every thrown is different and weighs a ton! You can't see them, but there about 100 men underneath the thrown carrying it! They go all through the windy, cobble stone roads of the city and all you hear is a drum and trumpets. It is very moving, and almost sad. It is quite a sight to see. If you go to this website, to the right is a part called Semana Santa and there are videos on there that the TV station took (www.canalsur.es) because I can't upload the videos that I took onto the blog.
I hope that I will be seeing you all on Easter through Skype!!!
missing you all soooooooo much!!!
only about 10 more weeks and then Ill be home again!
XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
ps-this time I am really going to try and be better at the blog-writing thing!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
BACK!!
HOLA :)
So I'm back in Granada...after spending Christmas with everyone of course! I am so glad that I came home! I would have hated not atleast spending the holidays with you guys and a year without seeing everyone would have been too long!
It was a long trip back though! My first flight was cancelled and rescheduled bc of the weather in London and then when I got to the airport, my second flight was cancelled! But I did get a direct flight from Boston to Madrid, which I was psyched about bc then it meant only 2 flights instead of 3!! When I went to check-in, my suitcase was over the weight limit, which we already knew. However, bc I was flying with a new airline, my suitcase was too heavy to go on the plane! So I had to take out things and put them in a duffle bag and check 2 bags!! It took a few tries and lots of skill to figure out what weighed the most to seperate everything, but once we figured it out, I checked 2 bags and I didnt have to pay for them!!!
However, my luck ran out when I got to Spain bc when we arrived in Madrid it was snowing. And when I say snowing, I mean a dusting. But bc Spain doesnt usually have snow, they have no idea how to deal with it! If it was Boston there wouldnt have been any problem! Anyways, flights were being delayed and cancelled left and right. My flight was delayed 3 different times, but not after they posted the gate number and made all of us go to the gate and wait a half hour before they decided that it was delayed again. Needless to say, after 7 hours I got on the plane and landed in Granada around 6 pm.
I have been working since I arrived and I have been super busy! But its great! The kids loved the gifts that I brought back for them and they were amazed by the photos that I took of the Christmas lights and how much snow we had! I am getting another person to tutor so Ill be every busier, and I am hopefully going to start reading some Spanish and doing grammar exercises in the time that I have to improve my Spanish even more, since there are only 5 months left! Can you believe how fast the time goes?!
The group of students that is here this semester seems like a great group so far! Much more fun than the other group that was here last semester so I have high expectations for these last 5 months!
I am going to be as diligent as possible and write in the blog every other week! Hoping to hear from you guys soon!
MISS AND LOVE YOU ALL LOTS!
besos!!!
hasta muy pronto.....
So I'm back in Granada...after spending Christmas with everyone of course! I am so glad that I came home! I would have hated not atleast spending the holidays with you guys and a year without seeing everyone would have been too long!
It was a long trip back though! My first flight was cancelled and rescheduled bc of the weather in London and then when I got to the airport, my second flight was cancelled! But I did get a direct flight from Boston to Madrid, which I was psyched about bc then it meant only 2 flights instead of 3!! When I went to check-in, my suitcase was over the weight limit, which we already knew. However, bc I was flying with a new airline, my suitcase was too heavy to go on the plane! So I had to take out things and put them in a duffle bag and check 2 bags!! It took a few tries and lots of skill to figure out what weighed the most to seperate everything, but once we figured it out, I checked 2 bags and I didnt have to pay for them!!!
However, my luck ran out when I got to Spain bc when we arrived in Madrid it was snowing. And when I say snowing, I mean a dusting. But bc Spain doesnt usually have snow, they have no idea how to deal with it! If it was Boston there wouldnt have been any problem! Anyways, flights were being delayed and cancelled left and right. My flight was delayed 3 different times, but not after they posted the gate number and made all of us go to the gate and wait a half hour before they decided that it was delayed again. Needless to say, after 7 hours I got on the plane and landed in Granada around 6 pm.
I have been working since I arrived and I have been super busy! But its great! The kids loved the gifts that I brought back for them and they were amazed by the photos that I took of the Christmas lights and how much snow we had! I am getting another person to tutor so Ill be every busier, and I am hopefully going to start reading some Spanish and doing grammar exercises in the time that I have to improve my Spanish even more, since there are only 5 months left! Can you believe how fast the time goes?!
The group of students that is here this semester seems like a great group so far! Much more fun than the other group that was here last semester so I have high expectations for these last 5 months!
I am going to be as diligent as possible and write in the blog every other week! Hoping to hear from you guys soon!
MISS AND LOVE YOU ALL LOTS!
besos!!!
hasta muy pronto.....
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
One month down....
Hey guys!!
I just want to start off by saying how much I miss you guys!!!!!!!!!! I cant wait to see you all at Christmas...although I am hoping that we'll be able to skype on Thanksgiving!
Things here are great!!
Let's see....where to begin
2 weekends ago we went to Madrid for the weekend! It was great! We went on a tour of the city, bc I was with Amalia, Teresa, and the students, and then Teresa and I met up with a girl who was a grad student studying in Granada when I was here the last time and now works in Madrid. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner!!! Teresa and I split ribs and they were delicious!!!! We took a cab home and the cab ride cost 4 euro....we gave the driver a 10, he gave the change to Teresa and we got out.....as he drove away we realized that he only gave us 45 cents and that he had robbed us of 6 euro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we couldnt believe it! next time in Madrid, be careful with the cab drivers! lesson learned!
The next day we went to the Prado, the most famous museum and it was wonderful! although I had already been, its still amazing to see those paintings up close and its great bc I studied them during my classes at Stonehill so they have that much more meaning. After lunch we went to another museum called the Reina Sofia....its more temporary art and it had the famous Picasso painting of Guernica! Its huge and I got to take a picture of it! Ill show you guys at Christmas! Its amazing!
This past weekend was a long weekend and Halloween...which I am very sad that I missed! if you guys have pictures, I wanna see them! Teresa and I had friends over Friday night for dinner and we had a blast! Saturday we carved a jack-o-lantern out of a melon and watched a scary movie after dinner....not a good choice! Sunday we went to her parents' house for lunch and then to the movies with 3 friends. We saw Agora...which I believe hasnt hit theatres there yet, interesting movie, Im not a big war/religious movie fan, but it was worth seeing. Monday we went to her grandmother's house in the country, on the way to the beach and we picked olives, smashed them, put them in water, and in 2 weeks we can put them in vinegar to make the olives that you eat!!! How cool is that?!
My teacher that I work with was in London with students for the past 10 days so I was teaching by myself which was great! we learned all about the US and Halloween, listening to songs, watching videos, and playing games!
I have two new tutoring classes- the daughter of one of the teachers I work with. She is about 20 so that should be fun! and then I am starting to teach a group of students once a week so needless to say I have a lot on my plate! But I am loving every minute!
No new injuries to date....yet! But I should be getting my residency permit this week!!!!!
anywayss....hope all is good in the US of A....missing you all A LOT!! Hope to talk to you soon!
love you!!!
xoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxo
I just want to start off by saying how much I miss you guys!!!!!!!!!! I cant wait to see you all at Christmas...although I am hoping that we'll be able to skype on Thanksgiving!
Things here are great!!
Let's see....where to begin
2 weekends ago we went to Madrid for the weekend! It was great! We went on a tour of the city, bc I was with Amalia, Teresa, and the students, and then Teresa and I met up with a girl who was a grad student studying in Granada when I was here the last time and now works in Madrid. We went to the Hard Rock Cafe for dinner!!! Teresa and I split ribs and they were delicious!!!! We took a cab home and the cab ride cost 4 euro....we gave the driver a 10, he gave the change to Teresa and we got out.....as he drove away we realized that he only gave us 45 cents and that he had robbed us of 6 euro!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! we couldnt believe it! next time in Madrid, be careful with the cab drivers! lesson learned!
The next day we went to the Prado, the most famous museum and it was wonderful! although I had already been, its still amazing to see those paintings up close and its great bc I studied them during my classes at Stonehill so they have that much more meaning. After lunch we went to another museum called the Reina Sofia....its more temporary art and it had the famous Picasso painting of Guernica! Its huge and I got to take a picture of it! Ill show you guys at Christmas! Its amazing!
This past weekend was a long weekend and Halloween...which I am very sad that I missed! if you guys have pictures, I wanna see them! Teresa and I had friends over Friday night for dinner and we had a blast! Saturday we carved a jack-o-lantern out of a melon and watched a scary movie after dinner....not a good choice! Sunday we went to her parents' house for lunch and then to the movies with 3 friends. We saw Agora...which I believe hasnt hit theatres there yet, interesting movie, Im not a big war/religious movie fan, but it was worth seeing. Monday we went to her grandmother's house in the country, on the way to the beach and we picked olives, smashed them, put them in water, and in 2 weeks we can put them in vinegar to make the olives that you eat!!! How cool is that?!
My teacher that I work with was in London with students for the past 10 days so I was teaching by myself which was great! we learned all about the US and Halloween, listening to songs, watching videos, and playing games!
I have two new tutoring classes- the daughter of one of the teachers I work with. She is about 20 so that should be fun! and then I am starting to teach a group of students once a week so needless to say I have a lot on my plate! But I am loving every minute!
No new injuries to date....yet! But I should be getting my residency permit this week!!!!!
anywayss....hope all is good in the US of A....missing you all A LOT!! Hope to talk to you soon!
love you!!!
xoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxo
Monday, October 12, 2009
A few weeks in.....
Hola a todos :)
So I have been here for what...3 weeks now?! I still cant believe it! everything is AMAZING!!! I am so glad that I did this!
The new developments.....well lets see...where to start
we'll start with school...I finally bought a bus card so its cheaper and I dont have to count out my money every time I take the bus...twice a day! I got my schedule and I dont go to school on Fridays, I just tutor that day so Im pretty excited about that! I am teaching a lot this week, which is great because that other girls that are here at different schools havent started yet. The kids and teachers are great- its different than in the US....the kids talk a lot more during class and I think that the teachers have a little less control, but Ill fix that! haha
Living with Teresa is great!!! we are trying to make a menu for the week so that whoever gets home first can start cooking bc we have very different schedules. This weekend we hiked a mountain!!! Her grandmother has a house in the country, on the way to the coast, so her brother, his girlfriend, her father, aunt, uncle, and cousin all went hiking on Saturday. It was quite interesting to say the least! we hiked from 10 am til 7 pm...a little longer than we thought considering we got a little lost and the walkie-talkies only worked in certain places. But besides that and the minor sprained ankle, I got some awesome pictures and it was really a sight to see!
I went to Pilar's house (my Spanish mother) for dinner on Thursday....she has 2 graduate students living with her and I really like them! It was sooo great to see her and she made my favorite dinner....she remembered! I saw pictures from her daughter's wedding, got the scoop on all of the family and she said that we will be seeing a lot of each other so im excited about that!
My tutoring classes with Amalia are awesome so far! I start tutoring the Dean and his wife on Wednesday...Im a little nervous so keep your fingers crossed!!!
But other than that and the burn on my arm from the iron, everything in Spain is wonderful!
How is America?!?! Brian- hows the hs?! Steven- have you written that college essay yet?! Mark I am hearing plans about Florence, but still havent heard anything from you! Michelle, I know that you just had your party and that your varsity game went well- goodluck in the next one and keep up the good work! As for all of you workers- I hope that no one is working too hard and that life is great!
Cant wait to see you all for Christmas!!!!
Update me on your lives and I will write again next week :)
miss and love you all soo much!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo
So I have been here for what...3 weeks now?! I still cant believe it! everything is AMAZING!!! I am so glad that I did this!
The new developments.....well lets see...where to start
we'll start with school...I finally bought a bus card so its cheaper and I dont have to count out my money every time I take the bus...twice a day! I got my schedule and I dont go to school on Fridays, I just tutor that day so Im pretty excited about that! I am teaching a lot this week, which is great because that other girls that are here at different schools havent started yet. The kids and teachers are great- its different than in the US....the kids talk a lot more during class and I think that the teachers have a little less control, but Ill fix that! haha
Living with Teresa is great!!! we are trying to make a menu for the week so that whoever gets home first can start cooking bc we have very different schedules. This weekend we hiked a mountain!!! Her grandmother has a house in the country, on the way to the coast, so her brother, his girlfriend, her father, aunt, uncle, and cousin all went hiking on Saturday. It was quite interesting to say the least! we hiked from 10 am til 7 pm...a little longer than we thought considering we got a little lost and the walkie-talkies only worked in certain places. But besides that and the minor sprained ankle, I got some awesome pictures and it was really a sight to see!
I went to Pilar's house (my Spanish mother) for dinner on Thursday....she has 2 graduate students living with her and I really like them! It was sooo great to see her and she made my favorite dinner....she remembered! I saw pictures from her daughter's wedding, got the scoop on all of the family and she said that we will be seeing a lot of each other so im excited about that!
My tutoring classes with Amalia are awesome so far! I start tutoring the Dean and his wife on Wednesday...Im a little nervous so keep your fingers crossed!!!
But other than that and the burn on my arm from the iron, everything in Spain is wonderful!
How is America?!?! Brian- hows the hs?! Steven- have you written that college essay yet?! Mark I am hearing plans about Florence, but still havent heard anything from you! Michelle, I know that you just had your party and that your varsity game went well- goodluck in the next one and keep up the good work! As for all of you workers- I hope that no one is working too hard and that life is great!
Cant wait to see you all for Christmas!!!!
Update me on your lives and I will write again next week :)
miss and love you all soo much!
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxo
Sunday, September 27, 2009
The beginning
Hey guys!
How are you? I hope that things are great in the good ol' US of A!
Things in Spain are awesome!
It has been non stop since I got here and Teresa and I are still getting into the swing of things. We had an interesting experience with the stove- I guess cooking will always be entertaining! We also started the washining machine- with out detergent! needless to say we wont do that again! Teresa lost her keys to her moto so she had to drive all around town- to the mechanic, to her Mom's house, and then back to where she was and they had them there! Its been a crazy week!
I went to a new musuem thats here in Granada and learned all about this region of the country- it was very cool!
We also went to a set of stairs that over looks the entire city and its covered with cool graffitti! If I could figure out how to post pictures you could see them! It was amazing and they paint new things every week!
We went to Malaga, about an hour and 20 mins away to pick up Damien, Teresa's boyfriend, at the airport and before we got him we went to IKEA to get a "few" things for the apartment, which turned into a bunch of things, but we had a blast! That night her brother and his girlfriend joined us for dinner and we all hung around, ate, and played the Beatles rock band version with the wii.....it was funny hearing them try to sing in English! Since my room over looks our terrace and the plaza below, we used the over sized window to create "Steph's BAH", Boston accent style! it was great!
Today was the day to celebrate the virgin Mary. They have processions with a statue of her, bands, food, and everyone from surrounding towns comes here to celebrate. BUT, it rained today, which is wierd for for Granada, so they didnt have it :(
We did go back to Malaga today though. Malaga is right on the coast and the beach is about 200 yards from the city. Its gorgeous. Teresa's aunt has an apartment there that she put up for sale and the guy renting is from England and doesnt speak English so I was the translator! After that got settled we walked around the city, went to the beach, even though it was drizzling, and then ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant!
I am going to school tomorrow to meet the director and hopefully get my schedule before I start on Thursday! I cant wait!
Well thats about all for now.....I hope that everyone was able to join this and can write back bc I cant wait to hear from you! Hopefully by next post Ill be able to add pictures!
Love and miss you tonsssss
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
How are you? I hope that things are great in the good ol' US of A!
Things in Spain are awesome!
It has been non stop since I got here and Teresa and I are still getting into the swing of things. We had an interesting experience with the stove- I guess cooking will always be entertaining! We also started the washining machine- with out detergent! needless to say we wont do that again! Teresa lost her keys to her moto so she had to drive all around town- to the mechanic, to her Mom's house, and then back to where she was and they had them there! Its been a crazy week!
I went to a new musuem thats here in Granada and learned all about this region of the country- it was very cool!
We also went to a set of stairs that over looks the entire city and its covered with cool graffitti! If I could figure out how to post pictures you could see them! It was amazing and they paint new things every week!
We went to Malaga, about an hour and 20 mins away to pick up Damien, Teresa's boyfriend, at the airport and before we got him we went to IKEA to get a "few" things for the apartment, which turned into a bunch of things, but we had a blast! That night her brother and his girlfriend joined us for dinner and we all hung around, ate, and played the Beatles rock band version with the wii.....it was funny hearing them try to sing in English! Since my room over looks our terrace and the plaza below, we used the over sized window to create "Steph's BAH", Boston accent style! it was great!
Today was the day to celebrate the virgin Mary. They have processions with a statue of her, bands, food, and everyone from surrounding towns comes here to celebrate. BUT, it rained today, which is wierd for for Granada, so they didnt have it :(
We did go back to Malaga today though. Malaga is right on the coast and the beach is about 200 yards from the city. Its gorgeous. Teresa's aunt has an apartment there that she put up for sale and the guy renting is from England and doesnt speak English so I was the translator! After that got settled we walked around the city, went to the beach, even though it was drizzling, and then ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant!
I am going to school tomorrow to meet the director and hopefully get my schedule before I start on Thursday! I cant wait!
Well thats about all for now.....I hope that everyone was able to join this and can write back bc I cant wait to hear from you! Hopefully by next post Ill be able to add pictures!
Love and miss you tonsssss
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
The beginning
Hi guys!
How are you?! I hope that everything is great in the good ol' US of A!
Things here in Spain are wonderful! It has been crazy non-stop since I got here, but its been amazing.
Teresa and I are having our won adventures- problems with the stove while cooking, which can only lead to more disasters, and putting on the washing machine- w/out detergent!!!!
I went to a new musuem about this region of Spain which was amazing and I learned a lot. We also went to see this huge set of stairs covered in cool graffitti. They paint new things on it every week! I havent figured out how to put pictures up yet but when I do you can see it!
Teresa's brother, his girlfriend, and Teresa's boyfriend were here Friday night and we all had dinner together, hung out, and played with the wii. Since my room over looks our terrace and the plaza below, we made the window sill into "Steph's BAH" because of the Boston accent!
I am going to the school tomorrow to meet the director and hopefully get my schedule before I start on Thursday.
I still have to go to the police station to get my residency permit, but I have a Spanish bank account now and Ill get my ATM card Tuesday- thank god!
We went to Malaga, its about an hour and 20 mins away to get Damien, Teresa's boyfriend Friday, and we stopped into IKEA to pick up a few things and a few things turned into a bunch of things! but it was so fun! We went to Malaga again today with her aunt because she has an apartment there that she is putting up for rent. I got to be the translator because the guy renting is from England is doesnt speak Spanish! We walked around, saw the beach, and ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant before we came back.
It rained today, which is wierd weather for Granada- I hope that this isnt a habit! Today was the Dia de la Virgen, so there are supposed to be processions with the statue of Mary around the city, bands, food, rides, but since it was raining they didnt have it :(
Thats about all for now....I hope that everyone could get into this and can write back!
Cant wait to talk to all of you!
love and miss you tonsss
xoxoxoxo
How are you?! I hope that everything is great in the good ol' US of A!
Things here in Spain are wonderful! It has been crazy non-stop since I got here, but its been amazing.
Teresa and I are having our won adventures- problems with the stove while cooking, which can only lead to more disasters, and putting on the washing machine- w/out detergent!!!!
I went to a new musuem about this region of Spain which was amazing and I learned a lot. We also went to see this huge set of stairs covered in cool graffitti. They paint new things on it every week! I havent figured out how to put pictures up yet but when I do you can see it!
Teresa's brother, his girlfriend, and Teresa's boyfriend were here Friday night and we all had dinner together, hung out, and played with the wii. Since my room over looks our terrace and the plaza below, we made the window sill into "Steph's BAH" because of the Boston accent!
I am going to the school tomorrow to meet the director and hopefully get my schedule before I start on Thursday.
I still have to go to the police station to get my residency permit, but I have a Spanish bank account now and Ill get my ATM card Tuesday- thank god!
We went to Malaga, its about an hour and 20 mins away to get Damien, Teresa's boyfriend Friday, and we stopped into IKEA to pick up a few things and a few things turned into a bunch of things! but it was so fun! We went to Malaga again today with her aunt because she has an apartment there that she is putting up for rent. I got to be the translator because the guy renting is from England is doesnt speak Spanish! We walked around, saw the beach, and ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant before we came back.
It rained today, which is wierd weather for Granada- I hope that this isnt a habit! Today was the Dia de la Virgen, so there are supposed to be processions with the statue of Mary around the city, bands, food, rides, but since it was raining they didnt have it :(
Thats about all for now....I hope that everyone could get into this and can write back!
Cant wait to talk to all of you!
love and miss you tonsss
xoxoxoxo
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Hola :)
Hi guys!!
I started this blog so that we could all keep in touch and talk to each other! It is easier to comment and I can add pictures, I think!
Ill keep you updated on life in Spain and you keep me updated with life in the US!
I hope to talk to you all soon and I miss and love you lots!
Steph :)
I started this blog so that we could all keep in touch and talk to each other! It is easier to comment and I can add pictures, I think!
Ill keep you updated on life in Spain and you keep me updated with life in the US!
I hope to talk to you all soon and I miss and love you lots!
Steph :)
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