A change of scenery

The past two weeks have passed so quickly I can hardly believe it. Life in San Lorenzo has become pretty routine for me. I fill my days with work, intercambios, work outs and more work. The family is still great, though Ana and David made this past week the least fun since I have come, however Blanca and I are continue to be BFF's. Ana (the other one) and Jara have been cracking me up. I look forward to going to their house everyday. Jara has informed me that at my ripe old age of 21 I am close to death. She also heard me speaking to Susana in Spanish the other day and gestured widely with her chubby little arms and screamed "Pero, como hablas!!" (the way you speak!) and I am still not sure if she was commenting on my accent or the fact that I was speaking Spanish.
My intercambios are a huge help to me. Every time I meet with someone I feel my ability to speak fluidly growing, I no longer feel embarrassed by my accent or if I make a mistake. Javier has started to lend me movies to watch in my free time, though I am not a huge fan of Spanish cinema I feel that it is my obligation while living in Spain to make an attempt to appreciate all aspects of its culture. Mari Fe and I have spent a couple of sessions going over the vocabulary and cultural differences of education, eating out and going out. These sessions are such a great help to me as I have the chance to expand my vocabulary in a way I wouldn't otherwise be able to do. I have met with Luis twice now, (I don't remember if he was in my last blog...) a yogi that enjoys long walks in the garden/forest surrounding the Montessori. I also met with Dario last Sunday and will meet with him again tomorrow. He is my age and a student getting his second degree. I enjoyed having the opportunity to speak with a Spaniard that is my age, it was the first time I have ever really joked around in Spanish in the same way I would in English with my friends. Needless to say this was a big confidence boost.


Today I went on a hike up one of the mountains behind my house (I still have no idea which one I was at the top of). The hike was beautiful and reminded me of Idaho. The trees and plants are the same as the mountains in Idaho and the smell of forest was spot on, so much so that all I can think about right now is S'mores. All long hikes should be rewarded with S'mores, but Spain lacks the supplies. I had a fantastic view of the Montessori from half way up, this was also a make-out spot for teenagers so I sadly did not spend much time enjoying the view. I continued up to the top where I enjoyed my snack the view of the mountains that surround my town.

 In other news I have finally heard from the program I applied for last November and am now in the process of waiting for my exact placement. Starting in October I will be living in the region of Galicia and helping to teach English. From the basic information that has been given I assume that I will be doing conversations with students so they can practice their English. The program is through the Spanish Ministry of Education and will allow me a lot more flexibility with my time. I am so excited to move to another region and get to know more of Spain. Esther and Jose will help me find possible roommates (Spanish roommates!) when I get exact assignment.This opportunity will be such a great addition to my resume and open so many doors, it even comes with a visa (though the actual attaining of the visa may be a difficult process for me as I am already in Spain with what we can label a questionable legal status...). No worries though, I will get the visa and will be living in Spain until at least May of 2013!

Two month mark!

This weekend I hit the two month marker in my time in Spain. It is surreal to think that I have been living here for that amount of time already, up until now two months was the longest amount of time I had been away from home. I finally feel like I really have gotten into the groove of life in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, which is no small feat. This past week I began to use the gym, an act that benefits me in every possible way. My time at the gym allows me to de-stress, something that I have to do a little extra of while living with the family, it is also something normal, I would spend time to go to the gym back home, going to the gym also allows me to eat Narcisa's cooking and not have to go up a size in my pants. Finally it serves as comic relief. On Saturday I saw someone fall off her treadmill (because she was too into the Nick Jr show that was on TV, she's older than me and there was no sound either...). The radio plays music from the USA, but the station is local and the DJs like to sing the lyrics, something that never fails to make me laugh. It is obvious that no one apart from me understands the lyrics as these are songs that are heavily edited in the USA before being played on the radio. This week I have also been out to eat at the Mexican restaurant, TWICE! Two months of no enchiladas (another mile marker, I had never gone that long before without enchiladas, and hope to never go that long again) and I broke the streak by going twice. I got to teach my friends how to take tequila shots, something that the bartender was clearly impressed by as I am assuming the Spanish are not savvy to the method either. The waiters also seem to be from Latin America as they understand the terminology from Mexico when I talk (this is something that is the biggest relief of all, Mexico and Spain have very distinct terms, think USA vs England, but augmented). Looking back now I realize that maybe the gym hasn't been my stress relief this past week and perhaps my money would be better spent at the Mexican restaurant...
I began intercambios with Mari Fe this week, the Spanish/English teacher, and absolutely loved spending time with her. We met twice this week and she corrects every little mistake I make, which is exactly what I want people to do; at the same time if I say something that is just odd sounding (i.e. a phrase) she asks if it is said that way in Mexico and will also teach me how it is said in Spain, though she insists that there is no reason that I should change the way I speak if I don't want to. This is fantastic, I have nothing against learning Spanish Spanish, but I was offended when I traveled in January and was told I had to change my Mexican Spanish to Spanish Spanish. I can tell that I will learn a lot from Mari Fe, both about Spanish as well as about how to teach. She is patient and encouraging and really down to earth. I also met with Javier again and we went on a hike to la silla de Felipe II, a long hike I was not prepared for, but valio la pena (it was worth the effort/hard work/exertion), the view is incredible from the top. He also lent me some films by a Pedro Almodóvar, a director I had mentioned I adore. I also received two more phone calls from my flier and will be meeting Luis and Dario this next weekend. I am so excited to have the chance to meet with more people and practice more Spanish. I am starting to feel like it is getting very well polished and that by the end of the summer (when I finish being an Au Pair with this family) I will be all the way polished, with my grammar that is.
Jara and Ana (not the girls I live with, the house I go to once a day) continue to be the two cutest girls in Spain, this week they began using English when they talk as much as possible and I realized I mislead them. Jara asked me "que cierres los ojos pleeease, no te voy a dar teeckle teeckle" (close your eyes please, I'm not going to tickle you). I had tickled her a week ago and said "TICKLE TICKLE. TICKLE TICKLE" when I did it, without thinking about it, and that is a word she has picked up on. Because of the way I said it she hear 'teeckle' and she also believes that 'to tickle' is 'teeckle teeckle', it is so cute I have no reason to fix that pronunciation. The girls also clipped roses from their garden for me to keep in my room so it would be pretty. I enjoy my time with them so much and it is amazing to see that in such a short amount of time they have gone from no English to being able to understand what I am asking to using the words they know in their sentences. All of this just from playing games with me for an hour a day.
Friday night I sucked it up and went out in Madrid. It is not that I was against going out and having fun, it was the daunting idea of the lack of sleep it would entail. Indigo and I left San Lorenzo on the 10pm bus and arrived to Madrid and then to a restaurant at 11pm, for dinner. Normal. Following dinner was the bar. We met up with Emily and her friends at a bar where we hung out until 2am, closing time, not bed time. 2am means club time. At this point we went and found a dance club. We danced until 5am (though the  club was open until 6am) and left for pizza and to catch the bus home at 5:30am. After the bus ride came the hike up my hill. When it was all said and done I went to bed at 7am. I had so much fun going out, but was so grateful that Saturday I had nothing to do because all I could do was sleep and watch movies.
Today a friend from Boise came to visit me in San Lorenzo. We took a class together my last semester at BSU and she has been studying in Madrid for the semester and we just found out a month ago we were both here. It was so much fun to be able to talk to someone from home, we could talk about restaurants we liked and use STREET NAMES! When I first said "The one on Apple St?" we both freaked out, irrationally to those around us, but I still hold that our reactions were warranted. We took a tour of the Monasterio de El Escorial, and I was thrilled to finally be doing that. I hadn't done the tour because when she asked a month ago if she could come visit I decided to wait and do it with her. The inside was beautiful, breathtaking really, with paintings, tapestries, church, crypts and a library.
The monasterio houses almost all of the kings and queens of Spain in the Pateon de los Reyes, a beautiful, circular room with marble caskets floor to ceiling (no photos were allowed anywhere inside, sorry, here is the Wiki link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Escorial). The library was my favorite part with the ceiling split to represent the seven 'liberal studies', including language, medicine and math. At the end of the tour we had limon granizados, a lemon slush that is unreal, lunch at a bar with NASCAR on TV, and housing the Spanish version of typical NASCAR fans (a treat in itself...) and finally we went for a walk around the town. It was so fun to show the town to a friend and I hadn't realized until we were walking around how much I actually know about San Lorenzo and that I have really begun to make it my (temporary) home.

The photos we took are of the monasterio, the gardens that surround it and of Marilyn and me. I also snapped some shots of a typical street in the downtown area of San Lorenzo (the area with apartments) and the 'gym' that is at the park. These work out spots are set up in all the parks in town, and most of the cities in Spain actually, and are typically used by the elderly or children who don't know they are working out. I look forward to a week full of intercambios and new experiences. HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Progress, Beaches and Tangier

Let me begin this entry by saying OOPS, I had not realized that it had been an entire month since my last entry. I will try to make this entry concise, though it is common knowledge I am not good at telling short nor concise stories. I apologize in advance.
This past month I have had a lot of experiences, both good and bad. The bad experiences can be summed up into work related stress and a lack of self motivation. I am having a hard time feeling fully adjusted to the dynamics of the family I live with. The two older kids, David and Ana, are quiet the handful. On the other hand Blanca and I are BFF's and she will do anything that is asked of her without hesitation. Jose and Esther are so great to me still, they go out of their way to make me feel welcome and part of the family, for which I am incredibly grateful. Esther has helped me find a gig during the day with two neighbor girls so I can earn some extra euros to fund my travels. This was so helpful, I had previously fallen into the habit of catching up on the TV shows I always thought looked good, but never actually had time to watch during college. This habit is one I have been more than happy to break.
The girls I have been working with during the day are the two cutest Spanish girls that have existed. Hands down. Susana (the mom) and her husband (a name I should remember as I see him five times a week...) are Spanish hippies, an elementary teacher and a doctor, respectively, that want their girls to be exposed to English more. The girls are Ana, 6, and Jara, 3. For the first week Jara said nothing to me. Ana said "yeeees" to everything, question or not. Ana explained to Jara in Spanish "Just say 'yes' to her, that's all they want to hear anyways." I about died. Jara was still pretty hesitant to talk to me, even after the wise words of her sister, I found out why last week. Ana told me she had a secret (in Spanish, they have a very low level of English, but they are learning so fast!), and that it was about me. I said she didn't have to tell me, but Jara told Ana to tell me. Jara thinks my name sounds funny and has decided that it is easiest to just not talk to me so she doesn't have to say 'Tiffany'. The logic of a 3 year old is astounding. I laughed so hard and told Jara she can call me whatever she would like, she has settled on 'Teefa'.
While on the subject of my name, it turns out Jara is not the only Spaniard to find it odd. Indigo told the girl she Au Pairs that my name is Tiffany, to which she received the response "Why would her parents name her after a jewelry store? That's kind of silly right?" As it turns out not only is my name impossible for Spanish speakers to say, it also conjures images of Tiffany & Co. and Audrey Hepburn, the two most common responses when people finally understand my name.
Another thing Esther and Jose have helped me get set up with is intercambios, these are meetings of two people where both get to practice the other's language. That is to say that I meet with people and we speak Spanish for half the time and English the other half. I was nervous to start this because 1-it involves me taping up fliers around the town asking people to do intercambios with me and 2-it means I have to talk with strangers for a couple hours, every week. Esther insisted that I would like it and that it would vale la pena (be worth the trouble), I sucked it up, made fliers with tear off tabs with my number, grabbed the scotch tape and hit the town. I have now done a couple of intercambios with Javier and will be meeting with Mari Fe starting next week. I plan on hanging more signs to find more people tomorrow. The experience is invaluable, I have already learned so much more about the culture and history of Spain from meeting with Javier than I could ever have found out on my own. Mari Fe teaches Spanish to foreigners in town and I can only imagine how beneficial having her as an intercambio will be for my grammar.
I also mustered up the courage to join a gym. I was not worried about the exercise, as would be the logical thing to dread, but rather the process of figuring out how a gym works in Spain. The gym has a million rooms, courts and pools. A membership pertains to only one of the activities, and each additional activity is extra. Classes are not included. I am not a Spanish citizen, there my price was raised. I am not paying an annual fee to the local poli (a YMCA on steroids), my price was raised. In the end I found that I can pay cash at the beginning of each month (the regular fee plus my monthly fee for not being a citizen plus my monthly fee for not paying a yearly fee) and I am in turn given a receipt. I take this receipt with me the first day of every month that I go to the gym and give it to the monitor, the rooms guard. Then I can use it. The gym has cardio equipment and machines. No group classes or pool or court access or anything else in the building. The process was so complex that I felt my anxiety in going through the process was warranted in every way. Tomorrow will be my first trip to use the gym. My final hurdle.   

 Finally this past week I took another trip. Indigo and I decided that the weather in San Lorenzo was just not cutting it for us, the rain that never came this winter has been hanging out for a month now (a huge factor in my lack of motivation), so we booked a trip to Southern Spain. Some beach time was vital to our health and my sanity.Indigo's friend Emily joined us on the trip and three of us rented a car and set out Saturday morning for Cadiz. The drive from Madrid to Cadiz is close to 8 hrs, for this reason we decided it would be best to stop for the day in Sevilla. Saturday in Sevilla was the Feria de abril, a celebration of the flamenco culture that originated in Sevilla. The streets were full of women wearing flamenco dresses and children dressed as bull fighters and dancers.

 The actual feria was held in a reserved part of town filled with casetas. We passed the day in one caseta watching people dance flamenco and listening to flamenco music while enjoying some manzanilla (normally an herb used for tea, but at the feria it was fermented and served with Sprite). Late Saturday night we continued on to Cadiz and arrived at 1:30 in the morning to our hostel. Sunday morning was a late start and relatively lazy because we were so tired. We decided to rent bikes from the hostel and rode around the island along the boardwalk. The views were beautiful, though the actual going was incredibly windy. We took a lunch break at an Argentine restaurant and then sat on the beach until the wall of rain started to head our way. At this point we headed back to the hostel and made plans for Monday.

The weather forecast showed rain for the whole day, so I suggested a day trip from Cadiz. To Tangier, Morocco! We drove to Tarifa from Cadiz and hopped a ferry, to Africa. I was enamored with the people and culture that we encountered in Tangier. The markets were bustling, I even saw sheep and goats stealing vegetables. The three of us stood out and it was like living in a fish bowl for the day, one man even commented as we walked by that he has never seen people that look like us before. I believe that I was equally fascinated with the people we encountered as they were with us. I took a picture in the market, and right as I clicked, I noticed that a woman had turned around to avoid being photographed. For this reason I did not continue taking pictures of public spaces, I had forgotten that this was an aspect of their culture and felt terrible for having put her in that position, though I am certain I am not the first tourist to click a picture.
Lunch in Tangier was a feast, we were told what to order and assumed that it would be a reasonable size. In truth we could have split one meal three ways and still not finished. We were brought two baskets of bread, two plates of fries, a bowl of tomato sauce/dip, salads, cous cous, bowls of vegetables and a plate of meat. Needless to say, we all walked away from that meal with food babies.
We went to the Kasbah, an old fortress with a mosque and museum. We went to the markets for pastries and breads and sat in the park for awhile to take in the town before heading back to the ferry. I have decided that I would like to spend a vacation in Morocco while living in Spain and hope to return for a week to be able to take in more of the culture.

Tuesday was beach day, finally. The entire trip had been centered around going to the beach, but the rain had prevented us from enjoying it up to this point. We woke up early, packed snacks and books and heading to the beach. Shockingly, I got burned. Despite my best efforts with sunscreen I have been nursing my cooked and swollen legs back to health since Tuesday.

 Tuesday night we went out with a group from the hostel to celebrate someone's birthday. The group was so much fun, two Germans, an Australian, a Brit, a Spaniard and four Americans walk into a bar...It was a late night. Wednesday morning we attempted to get some more beach time in, but the wind got the best of us so we passed the morning on terrace at the hostel instead. Late afternoon we got in the car and headed back to Madrid. I arrived home late Wednesday and Thursday got back on track with work. I met with Javier for an intercambio and aloe vera-ed my burns. Friday I had the opportunity to dress up as a princess/ballerina/Mexican with Ana and Jara and put on a play. Today I wrote this blog. I have aspirations of celebrating Cinco de Mayo, just because I'm in Spain doesn't mean I shouldn't partake in the American ritual of celebrating an obscure Mexican battle with cervezas and enchiladas.