In the words of Woody Allen...

You know what they say...
"Those who can't do, teach... those who can't teach, teach gym."
But what happens when you can't even teach gym???

Twice a week I have to go to gym class. I feel like I just stand around, and when I talk to the kids in Spanish their eyes get huge and they have to ask a friend what just happened. Or else they ignore me completely! It's like English is the buzzkill to any fun that gym class could have been.

Plus, think about it...when a group of children are in their play clothes, and when they have several balls available for the kicking, it can be a little chaotic, especially if they have no clue what the teacher is saying. For this reason, the gym teacher often repeats everything in Spanish, and when he yells, it's always in Spanish. And I'm supposed to pretend like I don't speak Spanish.

So, I'm not the biggest fan of gym class. I just feel pretty useless.

I thought things were going to turn around this week. I finally did some preparing of my own. I suggested ideas for the debate we're going to have in science class, and the teacher actually ended up using one of my ideas. I was pretty central to the math lessons on Wednesday. And I prepared a powerpoint about Halloween for the "English Club" that was supposed to be starting today.

Well, imagine how peeved I was when I got to school and asked about the English club, and they told me not to worry about it this week-- that we'd start next week. I was going to be ticked if I had spent all of that time putting a powerpoint together for nobody to see. But then, something happened!

My director has been sick for the last couple of days. She wasn't there Wednesday, and I wasn't sure if she was there today. For the last few weeks, I had been voluntarily going to her English class with her, so in order to find out if I should go or not, I asked another teacher if she was there. "She's not here, see who's on guardia (who is covering for her)... maybe you can still go." So we looked at the list. And guess what?! The OTHER person had also called off today. Sooooo... I'm going to assume that you are all smart enough to guess what happened.

If you guessed that I went to this class ALONE, you are right. If you guessed that it was a nightmare, you are also right.

It started out decently enough. I actually got to show my freakin' powerpoint, so I didn't feel like it was a TOTAL waste of time. But then we had a lot of time to kill. One of my American friends told me how she recently played Telephone with one of her classes, and how it turned out really well. So... I gave it a shot. Unfortunately, it didn't turn out so well for me. The first time around, all of the sentences ended in gibberish. "These are not English sentences," I said, "and I'm pretty sure they are not Spanish sentences either." So we tried again. This time? The result was 2 audible English words from the first team (big improvement!), and inappropriate sentences in Spanish from the second team. Ok, so I ended the game.
I am pretty sure I said "Be Quiet", "Sit Down", and "Listen" more times in that hour than I have in the last 6 months. It was not fun. I am pretty sure they didn't take me seriously.
I also spent half of the time telling them to speak in English. They kept asking if I speak Spanish, or if I understand Spanish, or if they could Telephone sentences in Spanish. Really, in an English class, what kind of question is that?
It was super frustrating. There are a lot of kids that barely speak English, and they are really badly behaved. For the most part, the ones that don't speak English are the most disruptive. And, having nothing to hold over their heads, I was basically powerless.

Anyway, we finished out the class with Hangman since Telephone didn't work out. It was less risky. Only about half of the class was paying attention, the rest... well, they were hopeless. As long as they stayed in their seats and remained relatively quiet (which they didn't), I didn't care. .... But please believe that I will have to tell Cristina how things went down! And hopefully they will never put me in a room alone again!

Today was definitely a "WHAT AM I DOING HERE?!" moment.

But, it wasn't all hopeless.

• On the car ride in today, I was singing songs by Elvis and ABBA with Rosa, and we were talking about how much of a stud George Clooney and Brad Pitt are. It was an entertaining ride to work!

• On the way home, I was talking about the Latin Kings with a few of the teachers, and they were asking me about gun laws in the US, and we were talking about Angelina's schizophrenic neighbors, and Monica's grandmother with Alzheimer's. You know, just normal conversations. I finally was able to add to conversations. That is a big step! I feel like I spend so much effort just trying to follow along sometimes, but it's really relieving to actually be a part of what's going on.

• When I got home, my roommates were eating lunch, and it smelled delicious. And then they invited me to eat some with them! It was awesome, and I definitely enjoyed the company. One of my roommates was telling me that she's almost 100% sure that Twilight was filmed in Pennsylvania. I don't know about that though.

• And then, tonight, I had a private lesson. It went well. I am actually enjoying the private lessons. This one went 15 minutes over before anyone noticed. But I actually didn't mind... we were talking and learning, and it was good. And then, of course, I had to teach them the phrase "time flies when you're having fun!"

Now it's way too late, and I have to wake up way too early. So goodnight all. Maybe toss up a few prayers that these children miraculously learn how to behave, or that I miraculously learn the art of classroom management. Don't people spend years in school learning this stuff?
And to all of my teacher friends (because you are many!), maybe you can toss a few ideas my way!

Teacher! (Or, in the Spanish-English accent, Tea-chair!)

I started writing a post on Tuesday and never finished it. It's probably just as well though, because I'm about to tell you the exact opposite of what I wrote a mere 2 days ago.

On Tuesday, I was thinking to myself, "Ok Rachael, it's time to find yourself some hobbies." Having a four-day weekend every week is BEAUTIFUL. But, unless you have ways to fill that time, it can be a little boring. I was thinking about ways that I could productively spend that time, when, all of the sudden, life seemed to answer that question for me.

On Tuesday alone I picked up 2 new private lessons, bringing the grand total to 5.
Today, I got another call. A 6th lesson is pending. (Though I told her, if my schedule doesn't work with hers, I have other friends looking to give lessons as well.)
Now my schedule seems plenty full.

This side business that I have going will supplement my meager income nicely. It will buy my groceries and allow me to support my "tapas and tintos" lifestyle. It will pay for weekend trips. It will be great.

But, I forgot to mention one thing. I'm not a teacher. I don't know where to start.
I am currently employed for the simple fact that I speak English. But I don't know theories and approaches to teaching, or how to build a useful classroom activity. And I'm not good at making sample sentences.

I still haven't done too much in the classroom yet-- just what the teachers give me to read or pronounce for the class. But I am beginning to feel comfortable enough to start planning my own activities. We'll see how that goes. I suppose I'm just going to have to dive in... pretend like I know what I'm doing. And hopefully, sooner or later I'll start to feel like it. Isn't that a psychological principle?

That being said, the lessons that I currently have are going well. It's just the fact that I don't feel comfortable calling myself a teacher yet. And yeah, I feel a little awkward asking for money.

homecoming.

This weekend was homecoming for all of my lovely Geneva friends. I kind of really wish I could have been there.

But I must admit... if I couldn't be at Geneva this weekend, I was in the next best place -- SEVILLA!

It was like my own sort of homecoming here in Spain. I went back to the city that I once called "home". I also got to hang out with Rachel, my MAS (Mejor Amiga para Siempre), who I studied with in Sevilla. It was awesome to be back there with her! Thanks to the super cheap bus prices (€35 round trip!) and my schedule of all 4 day weekends, I have a feeling that I may frequent that city a lot.

During my first few days here in Spain, I had doubts in my mind about whether or not I chose the right city; Toledo is great, but maybe Sevilla would have been better. While Sevilla is a fabulous city, and while I loved the time that I spent there, I am at peace with my decision to live in Toledo. This past weekend, I realized that Sevilla no longer felt like my city. Sure, I still love it, and I love the time that I spent there, but it's just not mine anymore.

If you know me, (and I would assume that most of you do), you probably agree with me when I say that it's an important step to be able to recognize that I have moved on, that my life has changed. For years it was like, no matter how good things were at home, I just wanted to go back to Sevilla. And now, here I am, living a new life in Toledo, and I can finally recognize that things are different, but just as good.

So, enough with the philosophical junk. Want to hear what I did in Sevilla? I always find that the best way to do this is bullet style. (I will never be a travel writer.)

• I went with Veronica. Her birthday was on Monday, and she didn't have a voice all weekend! But she was a trooper, and we had a great time.
• We traveled by bus (as I have already mentioned). Thanks to Bonine, my new favorite over-the-counter miracle, I survived the without getting sick.. and I even slept for most of the way there and back.
• I saw RAQUEL!!! And oh, how lovely it was!
• I went to C/ Betis. This includes Big Ben and Alambique, where apparently, the sangria still flows as freely as it used to. (I take that back... it's no longer free, but it's cheap. And I'm sure they still sell just as much of it.) This also includes a little tapas place that I can't remember the name of, that had delicious tintos and gambas rebozadas.
• I went to the Feria de Naciones, an international fair in the Parque de Maria Luisa. I ate at the Greek tent! Yum. I had a gyro and baklava. I am happy to report that I can make a better baklava than the Spaniards who run the Greek tent at the international fair (though, at the end of the day, it was still baklava, so it was still awesome!) Also of note, the Estados Unidos tent had Obama posters, pictures of John Wayne, Duff beer (like it's something that we all drink) and sold chicken & ranch hoagies. (Oh my God. Why did I not eat there?!)
• I went to Raquel's church, which was awesome! And afterward, we went out for tapas and bizcochos with one of her friends. Fun times!
• I went to the Plaza de España. Still under obras. Still beautiful. Hopefully this forever-long construction project will be done by my next visit!
• We walked around the cathedral, and the alcázar, but we didn't go inside.
• We walked around el centro, but we didn't go shopping.
• We ate at THE chino -- our favorite budget Chinese restaurant. This, I think, is turning into my ritual.
• I walked down the NEW C/ Asunción. It is now a pedestrian mall. It is gorgeous. And I kind of wish I had lived on it when it was this way.
• I know you're all dying to know.... did I visit my señora?! NO! I didn't! I walked right past her house, rather terrified of the possibility that she might be peeking out from her balcony, but I didn't ring the bell (though I was tempted to ding-dong-ditch... but in broad daylight, my better judgment told me not to :) ).
• I found €20 on the ground. Pretty awesome! The last 2 times that I have visited Sevilla, I have found money. Maybe I should go back often.
• And, quite honestly, one of the best parts of the weekend was the botellón that we had with friends of Raquel's intercambio. We may or may not have taught them how to play Kings (and, you may be impressed to know that we even explained it and played in Spanish). It was a lot of fun. I told Raquel to be their best friend... I don't know if she'll listen. :)

In short, it was a really great weekend. Hopefully Raquel will come here soon to visit! And of course, I'm sure I'll be going back in the not-too-distant future (aka, Thanksgiving).

(And I hope that everyone who went to homecoming had a great time there as well!)

constipada.

Estoy constipada. I will bet you $5 that that doesn't mean what you think it means.

What it means is that I have a miserable cold. My head is under pressure, I get occasional sharp pains in my ears, my nose is sore from having to wipe it so much, my throat is dry and scratchy. I feel gross. I've felt this way since Sunday morning. (I suppose staying out until 4am on Saturday night couldn't have done much to help either, but I digress...)

I'm not sure how long it will take to wear off, but every time a Spaniard asks me if I am constipada, I have to get over my initial, aghast reaction before I realize what they are saying. This has to be the worst of all of the false cognates between Spanish and English.

And, of course, of all of the medicines that I brought with me, cold medicine is not on the list. It only figures that I would need it within 2 weeks of my arrival. Tonight may just be the night that I waltz into the farmacía and admit, plain as day, that I am constipada. That I have a cold. And hopefully I'll get my hands on some magic pills. Lord knows I need them!

A caballo regalado, no le mires al diente.

I got my schedule today! I'm almost ashamed to admit that I was initially disappointed. I only have to work WEDNESDAY, THURSDAY, and FRIDAY! That is a 3 day work week. Why was I disappointed? Because everyone wants Fridays off, of course! I mean, ideally, I'd have Thursday and Friday off and I'd travel the world every long weekend... but let's face it, my budget wouldn't allow for that either!
And, actually, I do still have massively long weekends. They just extend to the beginning of the week, not the end of the week. I think I can work with this.

I got an idiomatic Spanish lesson on the ride to work today:
A caballo regalado, no le mires al diente.
It's the same in English. Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Only, for the first time in my life, I actually understood what it meant. Apparently, you can tell a lot about a horse's age and health by looking at the teeth? So, if it's a gift, you really shouldn't look for faults.
I guess that's kind of appropriate for this situation. How can I complain when I only have to work 12 hours/week??

I am SURE that I will survive this gig. :)

It's Been, One Week!

There are some days that I feel particularly adept at writing creatively. Unfortunately for us both, today is not one of those days. So I'll just apologize ahead of time if this a little dry.

Anyway, I've been in Toledo for just a little over a week. Everything is going pretty well so far-- mostly as I would have expected it to go. In some ways, it feels like I've been here for longer than a week. Maybe that's because I already had a familiarity with the city when I got here, I already knew some people, and I knew my way around. So, comparatively, I am further along than a week would allow in most cases. I'm really glad that I was able to stay at the Fundación for the first few days. People remembered me, (or at least, they knew my name), so despite arriving alone, I didn't feel so lonely. Everyone was super helpful as well. Reception was there to answer all of my questions about buses, maps, and taxis, (and even helped me carry my stuff to the plaza when I was moving out!). And Miguel has pretty much been my hero. He helped me find my private lessons and my piso, and on top of it all, he's been so encouraging, and I always feel so much better about things after I talk to him. So, basically, I am super thankful for having spent last summer here, and for the friends and acquaintances that I made. It has made this process so much easier than I could have hoped for.

Yesterday was the first day of school. And it was a pretty good day. First of all, I am pretty excited to actually feel like a useful human being again. I actually have a reason to wake up in the morning instead of just rolling out of bed whenever I please, only to meander throughout the rest of the day. It's good to have purpose! (Even though I wish my purpose would be so kind as to not require me to be up at 6:30am!)
Also, I would just like to state that I have never been a teacher in any capacity. I'm new to the whole thing, so I feel like I'm just diving into the deep end with no swimmies. I really had no idea what to expect when I walked into the school yesterday. I was admittedly a bit awkward and quiet (surprising?), but with time, I'm sure I'll be more comfortable and sociable.

Anyway, the students, who were about 12-14 years old, asked me tons of questions in their best English(/Spanish mixture), some of which included:
What is your favorite planet?
Do you like paella / cocido?
Do you like Japan?
Do you know Justin Beiber?
What are you going to wear on Halloween?
And, most importantly, Do you speak espanish?

The Spanish question was the toughest. I am not supposed to let them know that I speak Spanish. This could be tricky. One girl asked, "Then how do you communicate in Spain?" (Which, honestly, is a very good question to ask, though she did need help figuring out the word 'communicate'.) But I didn't quite know how to answer. I looked to Cristina for guidance and finally answered, "I can understand a little bit of Spanish, but I cannot speak it." Hopefully they won't catch on!

In the teacher's lounge, I met about 30 new people, (19 of whose names I have probably already forgotten), and about 60 kisses on the cheek. Nothing says "Bienvenidos!" like a bombardment of besitos. Everyone seems really friendly and pretty laid back. I am excited to get to know the teachers better. Some of them speak a lot of English very well, and some don't. For the ones that do, I try to speak English with them as much as they can. For the ones that don't, I speak Spanish. I think that I probably caught a lot of people off-guard by how much Spanish I knew. I was showered with compliments about my Spanish, which, let's face it, I LOVE to hear! So, despite my feelings about my Spanish, it's good to know that I am easily understood by others, and that I can successfully carry out intelligible conversations in my second language.

The only downside to having all of these Spaniards think that you know so much Spanish is that they proceed to talk to you like you actually do know that much Spanish. I think that means that my days of being coached through conversations are over! I can't decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing. I feel like I understand about 75% of what goes on in most conversations, (sometimes less, a lot less) but I still find it hard to join a conversation if I don't know what's actually going on. Heck, it's hard for me to insert myself into conversations when I do know what's going on, in my native language even. So that is just something that I will need to work on, but I'm excited for it.

Things do seem to be working out well here. Of course, I still have my fair share of lonely moments and confusion. I think that living in this apartment is going to be the most difficult, but ultimately beneficial experience. I don't really know how everything works here in the piso, and I feel dumb asking so many questions, but hopefully I'll start to get the hang of things soon. And I'm still kind of intimidated here. But, as everyone has told me... poco a poco, little by little, things will work themselves out.
I did laundry today, for the first time. The machine is TINY. I mean.... it's really small. I put in a tiny load, but the machine was running for over an hour. I thought I must have done it wrong. When the clothes were done, I was surprised that they were actually clean. And, of course, there is no dryer, so I had to hang the clothes from the line outside of the kitchen window. However, I have never actually hung clothes on a line, so I felt like an idiot when I had to ask how it worked. But oh well, I just keep telling myself that I'll be a better person for all of this!

I didn't go out last night, and I haven't been out yet today. I feel lame. I think I'm just going to go for a little walk. That always seems to help (especially when you run into people you know on the streets!).

Sorry that is a boring post. But, whatever!
Hopefully I'll have better stories to share in the near future!