El fin de semana

The weekends have been kind of boring it seems like. With little money to do things with, it's been a challenge to find something to do that is free. Jen and I have kind of wondered the streets looking at stuff. We talked about visiting a town for a day, but we didn't decide on that until Saturday. Since this weekend is a holiday (Spain has off Nov 1st for Dia de los Santos) we decided not to go anywhere because everything will probably be closed. We will be getting paid soon and will start travelling.

Marta, a friend of my roommates, is having a Halloween party tonite. I am pretty excited about it. Today her and her roommate Biance were here making food. I think the food will be a reason to go. They made little mini pizzas, a spinach tart, and dogs in a blanket. I believe there is more I don't know about. I have a costume. I'm going to be a vampire. My costume is very ugly and tacky, but it's for one night. I bought fangs and blood to go along. Marcella is going to be a pumpkin and Camilla is going to be a devil.

Mella, the last roommate arrived this week. She's very cool. I like here. She is Maria's best friend. It was cool to see Maria come to life now that her bestie is here. They have had friends over almost every night. The other day it was Maria's birthday and there were people here to celebrate that. There was a delicious looking cake that I really wanted to eat. Marcella and Camilla made her a cake too. She turned 26. Their friend Juanpa (short for Juan Pablo) comes over on the weekends. I believe he is here to use the internet. They are all working on some type of homework for school. Juanpa is a Spanish teacher and today he asked me if I wanted to do intercambio because he needs to improve his English. How great I think. We're going to do that today after I take a shower.

Tonite I will try and take pictures. I believe there will be Americans, Germans, Italians and Spanish people at the party tonite so I'm very excited. International party here I come!

Neewollah

On Thursday at one of my schools, I did a presentation on Neewollah. I use presentation loosely. I took in a brochure from Neewollah, a button and a program. I tried to explain that Neewollah was Halloween spelled backwards. I told them about the parades and the play. I showed them pictures in the booklet about the Grand parade. They were all interested in the pictures, but I'm pretty sure they didn't understand most of what I said. The pictures were the fun part. At the end I handed out some candy corn. That was their favorite part. Of course, what 11 or 12 year old doesn't like eating candy in class. I think next year I will send Isabel some candy corn to talk about at Halloween time.
At my other school, the teacher didn't really ask me to prepare anything about Halloween. We dressed up in costumes for the little kids and I helped explain some Halloween words in English. It wasn't a big deal to them. The 4 and 5 year olds just kind of looked at us like we were weird and they didn't really understand the process of dressing up or different costumes.

As I am here I would like everyone to eat the following foods for me at Neewollah.
1. Fried pickles
2. Gyro with lamb
3. Cheese on a stick
4. Cinnamon rolls with pecans
5. Roasted ear of corn
6.Mudslide

Thanks and Happy Neewollah!!

Pizzaaaa!!

Tonite Marcella and Camilla made pizza!! It was as wonderful as I had hoped Camilla made the dough, and it rose and then we made pizza. I think more people were supposed to come and it, but I don't care because we ate until we couldn't eat anymore. Then we had one more piece. And then we got ice cream. Also, from conversations tonite I need to learn more words about TV shows and Halloween. Pronto. Here are a few photos.


Above: Camilla making the pizza dough


Right: Rolling the dough out with a cup (improvision) and decorating the pizza. Mozzarella, crushed tomatoes, olive oil, salt, oregano, and black olives

And it was gone like that!

I seem to meet people at the bus stops, while waiting for the bus or leaving. One day i met a man living in Alhaurin while I was waiting for the bus. He was from Cordoba. He was going to the town near by. He said he had a car and a motorcycle but they were both broken so he was taking the bus. He also rides 50-70 kilometres every morning and then goes home and sleep. He told me about his life. When he got off the bus he gave me his phone number in case I needed help. I think he thought it was cool that I was from America. He said if i call him to just say that I was the American and he would know who I was.

Today I met a family. I was waiting at the crosswalk and a girl asked me if I knew how to get to their hotel. Her map wasn't very good, but on second look I knew exactly where the hotel was because I just happened to notice it one day while walking down the street. It was complicated to explain where it was so I told her they could walk with me because it was on my way home. Her and her family are from Iran and were in Spain on vaction. Three days in Malaga, and then off to Barcelona. She was the only one who spoke English. We chatted a little on the way. I dropped them off at their hotel and wished them good luck.

Also, I noticed I'm still tan. I like it. It comes from living near the beach. Jen and I go when it's warm enough. Last year I think people were going to the beach until December 20th. I like living where the weather is warmer, but I miss fall. My mommy sent me some fall pictures and will put them up to see. Fall is my favorite. Que suerte tengo.

Tonite the Italian girls are making pizza. I'm so excited!!! There will be pictures.

Language Learning

I've been in Spain for a little over a month. My Spanish is improving, but not at the speed I had hoped. Learning a language is hard. Some people say one thing, and others say another, but that's not what we were taught in school. I'm still nervous when I go places and ask for something. It seems I always have to say something twice. I don't know if I'm pronouncing things wrong or if they weren't listening. Even when we speak in English we have to repeat things. Maybe I just notice it more because Spanish takes more effort than English.

Generally I understand what people are saying, it depends on the accents. The way the Malagueños speak is by chopping off the last syllable of the words. This proposes problems because then the words don't sound like words, the sound like sounds. I am adopting to this. But some of the old people are hard to understand. The tend to cut off more than half of the word and slur their speech. I've just given up a few times. I smile and nod and walk away with no clue as to what they were saying. Part of my problem is understanding what they're saying and forming a response quickly. This will get better as I practice.

I have a made a few Spanish friends, but none that I see during the days. I talk with my roommates in Spanish and when we go out and do something. It is easier learning here than in the States. Grocery shopping is a learning experience because I'm learning the new words of the food I eat. Also, weights are in kilos. My friends and I are going to an intercambio that is at a bar. My roommate told me it was more about drinking than intercambio, but I'm going to look at the list and see if I can recruit an intercambio partner. I hope it will help me learn Spanish faster and I hope that I can find one.

My roommate Maria is from Greece. When she was in kindergarten she was learning 2 alphabets. She didn't start learning English until she was 6 or 7, but she still retains a lot of it. She only studied English for 5 years and then French for 12, I think. She can't speak French because of the age she learned it at. She hasn't studied English since she stopped learning when she was 12, but Enlgish music and movies have kept her somewhat up to date. She says her English insn't good, but I think with a little correction she could be fluent pretty quickly. The little girl I'm tutoring is 5 and the parents want me to work on pronounciation. She can't even pronounce the Spanish words correctly, but I will try anyway. I think different people have different opinions on when children should start another language. I have read a couple articles, but not enough to form an opinion.

Learning a language is an interesting experience. Sometimes after long hours of Spanish I could not construct a correct sentence if my life depended on it. Other times it flows out without trying. I don't understand. I wish I would have taken a language earlier in life. I see 10 year olds who are speaking 2 or 3 languages and I'm jealous. I definitely see a need for children to be bilingual and would like to allow that opportunity to my children. With different languages comes different customs, foods, opportunities and friends. It seems silly not to take advantage of the international world when it is at our fingertips.

I think I'm at the brink. If I continue the way I'm learning I will fluent when I come back. I am impatient. I wish that I was improving faster. I am making effort though and I think that's what counts. I don't speak English all day and I would like to eventually evolve to the point where I don't speak any, except in my classes. This is a time intense process, one that I was prepared to make. It's only been a month so I have 8 more to learn.

Mis Clases

This week starts my first full week of normal classes. The two school I teach at have determined my schedule. I will be at Emilia Olivares on Mondays and Thursdays and at Felix Plaza Ramos on Tuesday and Wednesday. I have different jobs at each school but both are fine. At Felix Plaza Ramos I feel like I do less. The teachers are in charge of lesson planning and exchange the directions. Normally, I lead the activites and ask the questions and play the games in English. The kids are excited to meet an American because most of the English speakers they meet are from England. I feel like I repeat myself a lot. At Emilia Olivares, the teacher also explains the directions but I go around and correct mistakes and check workbooks. I have begun a little to explain the directions in English. I think that eventually I will end up teaching the classes. I think I would prefer this anyway because sometimes the English of the teachers is painful and a lot of time is spent just sitting. But the kids are excited to ask for help from me and I am excited to give it. It is fun to see them learning.

Right now at both schools we're learning animals, how to describe people, family members, foods, and hobbies. The curriculum we have is from Oxford so the CD's are in British English. Some kids have trouble understanding my English because I have an American accent. This is understandable. I have trouble understanding them in Spanish because they have a Malaqueno accent.

Soon I will do a presentation on Halloween. This is exciting because Independence has the one and only Neewollah. I am excited to show the kids how the states does Halloween because here they don't celebrate it. One of the teachers is going to dress up and asked if I want to too. Of course I do! I'm going to buy a costume from the China shop! Hopeully, I will have a chance to do lots of presentations on the US. Our cultures are very different and now that I am here, the differences are very prevalent.

I'm sorry I haven't been updating very frequently. I will try to do better in the future.

¡El primer día!

Today was my first day at school. I was supposed to be there at 9. I planned on taking the 6:50 bus because I didn't want to be late to my first day of class. I asked my roommate about how long it would take to walk to the bus station. She said about 20 minutes, so I added 10...still missed it. Then next one was at 8, I guess I'll be Spanish today and arrive fashionably late. I had a coffee at the bus station while I waited and dreaded the ride there anxiously anticipating the day and what I would be doing.

The ride to Alhaurín makes me sick. It curves around hills, sharp curves, several roundabouts...you get the idea. I found my school pretty easily after being shown the week before. Today was the first day of school for the kids. I am teaching 6 hours at 2 schools. Both are primary schools and have grades pre-school to 3rd grade. I talked with several people before I found someone who understood that I was saying auxiliar and was expecting me.

I met all the teachers, most of whose names I won't remember on Monday. They understand. I even met the janitor. They all told me that I spoke Spanish better than they spoke English and tried out their English skills on me. I told them I would help them with English and they were very pleased.

The pre-schoolers were pretty complacent and didn't really care that I was there. The 2nd and 3rd graders were very happy to meet someone from America. I stood in several classes telling about myself in English. Then the teacher asked them questions about what I said. They had no idea. Whew. I have my work cut out for me. I was under the impression that they were fairly fluent. They all guess that I was from England or Germany as the American English speaker is rare here. Some gasped, others clapped their hands. Looks like I'll be pretty well accepted.

I will be helping the students mostly with pronunciation and helping the teachers with theirs and the development of curriculum. I think sometimes I will give cultural talks about customs and holidays in America too. I'm very nervous. Do they know I'm not really a teacher?

My last class of the day may be my favorite, mostly because I love the teacher named Pili. We are friends now. She gave me her phone number and told me to call her if I ever need anything. Since it's the last class of the day, there is mayhem at 2 o'clock. She told me as we were lining up that she takes the kids out front and then she slips out the back because parents and grandparents will ask her questions and she wants to go eat. They're not supposed to leave the back way but the supervisor doesn't care so they do it anyway.

Pili lives in a smaller town between Alhaurín and Málaga but goes to the city on the weekends to see her parents. She invited me to lunch with her and her friend. YES! Spanish friends. She gave me a ride back to Málaga and we talked a lot in Spanish. She said she studies abroad and she knows I don't have many friends and that I need friends who speak Spanish. So now, somos amigas. AND her friend Lila wants a conversation partner bu bu buuuumm...enter me!

My school schedule is good I think. I will work Monday through Thursday. I start at 9 everyday except Wednesday when I start at 11. I have a break from 12-12:20 (not lunch, snack) and I will be done at or before 2 every day. My school knows I take the bus so they are working on finding someone to give me a ride from Málaga. How sweet! I didn't even ask. They know the bus sucks. They told me when I would be paid, gave me the letter I thought they didn't have for me, and dragged me along as the two schools debated who would have me when. I think a native English speaker is needed there. EVERY teacher has said they need to work on their pronunciation. Todo está bien. Todo.

Today is Friday, Spain's favorite day because you can only work half a day if you want followed by 2 days off. Seriously, Spain takes their days off as serious as a heart attack. Tonite is fiesta with the Spanish girls and Jen...and I'm off!