BLUE

3 Musketeers

October 20, 2009

Yesterday was my birthday, and what a day it was.

The day started promptly at midnight when I got a text message saying that I had a voicemail. The last three times i received this text the voicemail was static and i had no idea who called me so this time i ignored it. I couldn't sleep the entire night. Every time I would wake up I would check the clock and only an hour would have passed. I'm not sure why I was having sleep problems because normally I want to get a good nights sleep the night of the birthday, but this was not the case. When the clock finally hit 8am i got up and spent a little more time than usual getting ready. I wanted to look nice so i wore a dress and did my hair. I also brought a huge piece of my birthday cake (which i purchase myself) for Pocho and Ana. The past week the weather has been hot and in the 80s, today it decided to be fall. I was cold and rainy but i still wore my dress. As i walked to school all the kids i passed would look at the cake and their eyes would get big. haha Not for you!

When I got to school I quickly started the internet because I wanted to check my emails as soon as possible because i had a full day of school. After Pocho came in I gave her the cake and she wished me happy birthday and any teacher she met in the hallway she would point out that it was my special day. First up for the day was my favorite grade, 1st grade. I had to retrieve flashcards from another teacher and when I reentered the classroom the teacher had signaled the kids to starts singing Happy Birthday to me. SOooooo cute. Already a good start to the day. After a hectic class of running around and helping the kids start a new unit of Food is was off to the second 1st grade class. After repeating the same lesson i had a short break to check my emails again. (THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO SENT ME AN ECARD, EMAIL, FB POST, MESSAGE, AND PHONE CALL (you know who you are :D) MUCH LOVE TO ALL). Next i had art with Inma and the 4th graders and then the rest of the time i worked on my Living Things poster, planned out my tutoring sessions for the day, and caught up on my news.

As i said goodbye to Pocho she said she wanted to do something special for my birthday on Thursday so I'm really looking forward to that. I quickly power-walked home for it was starting to rain. I made myself an AMAZING lunch and watched the news and some random tv for a while. Since I had finished planning out my sessions i had some time to kill so i decided to take a siesta. I was out like a log and didn't wake up for another 2 hours. When i woke, it was POURING out. I had to walk to my tutor session, which was one of the farther ones, in a literal MONSOON. I had my raincoat on top of my backpack because i was carrying my laptop and didn't want it to get wet. But it was too bulky to zip close so i had to clip it close with a hair clip (it didn't work). Next my hair was down so i tried to contain it in my hood but it just went all over the place because of the wind. I was also carrying another slice of my cake for the girls i tutor in one hand and an umbrella in the other. I was a hot mess. My pants and shoes were soaked midway through my trek down the street and at multiple times during my walk the rain and wind were coming at me from every angle so i was literally huddled into a ball, spinning around trying to escape the rain. It was quite a sight. It if wasn't my birthday i might have been in a bad mood, but instead i was kind of laughing at myself. The best part was as i struggled to cross the street this car full of kids came up next to me and every kid inside started pointing at me and laughing. Not cool. Again, if it was any other day I would have been tempted to use a hand gesture but i refrained (if you know me you know i would never use a hand gesture).

I arrived a little early and when i finally got to the house the girls had made me a birthday card and a cake with candles. There mom made the girls sing Happy Birthday to me and then i made a wish. (I wished for it to stop raining...it did). We ate the cake and hot chocolate and then started the session. It was so sweet of them to do that for me, i really appreciated it. I ended the session early so that i could check my mail on my own computer but their wifi was not working, so alas i had to wait until today to post my blogs and send out my long emails. The mom insisted that she drive me back to my house and gave me some pieces of the cake to take home as well as some home made dulces. So sweet. Once i got home i changed my outfit and quickly cut another piece of cake for my next session with my neighbor. I got to her house early and was able to use her computer to check my mail one last time for the night. The little girl Marta made me a birthday card and again i shortened the session because i wanted to get to Corrie and Kate's place for dinner. Plus i wasn't in the mood to be all teachery with the girl.

I dropped off my things, grabbed the rest of the cake, and made me way down the hills to Corrie and Kate's. At their place they had blown up some balloons and had an arrangement of sweets on the table for me. They cooked fajitas for dinner (not gonna lie it didn't come close to my Taco Tuesday/Thursday nights at Ivory---holla) but i didn't complain because it was a very nice gesture and one i really appreciated. I later checked my voicemail and kicked myself because Dani had attempted to call me (MY PHONE NEVER RANG errrrrrr) and then left me a message. She timed it so that she called me at exactly midnight. At the time i was like who would call me at midnight, i'm sleeping. haha it didn't even dawn on me until i heard the message. I wanted to call her back but i forgot her cell number and i didnt have the internet to use Skype so i was a little mad about that. After dinner we had dessert and i got to talk with my mom and dad separately for a few minutes. It was nice to hear their voices and speak to them in person. I kept it short so not to run up the long distance bill to badly. Being that it was a Tuesday and it rained all day there were not a lot of people out and most of the bars were already closing so my nightlife choice were minimal. We ended up going to the only bar that had people in it (and a tv with soccer FINALLY). The bartender was very friendly and asked us who we were and what we were doing in Valverde and all that jazz. Then a man walked in and sat next to us. Corrie and I turned to each other and were like, we know this man, who is he??!?!? Ah HA, the waiter from the Hacienda! He recognized us as well and said hello. We chatted about the bus schedule to Sevilla and then about soccer. When i asked him if i could watch the Real Madrid game here he said but of course, but here we have a lot of Barcelona fans and then the Hacienda waiter chimed in, Viva Barca! haha I said no, no, no. He then asked if i like RM because of David Beckham and I said absolutely not, b/c of Sergio Ramos. I think that impressed him that one, i knew a less famous player and two, that my favorite was a Spaniard no less. So after our drink we left and parted ways. The bertender (Vasquez pronouced Basquez) wished me Happy Birthday and said he would see me tomorrow. I now have my local bar hangout. Wahoooo. I will know all of their names shortly.

So yeah that was the bday. Nothing to crazy but i enjoyed it a lot and every email, phone call, voicemail, ect really just made my day. The weekend before i was really bummed about the bday because i didn't think anything special would happen and i didn't have my friends and family to celebrate with, but the messages i got throughout the day really did the trick and made me feel like everyone was here with me in Valverde. So THANKS AGAIN TO EVERYONE. I LOVE YOU!!!!!

Oh i forgot to describe my birthday cake. This was the holy grail of cakes. On top, creme brulee style carmelized sugar. HEAVENLY. Then a thin spongy cake layer, followed with rich vanilla icing, another thin cake layer, then Nata (chocolate mouse) with vanilla puffs on top. It was amazing and i'm keeping the rest for myself!!!! A picture will accompany this post shortly i promise.

The adventures of the 3 Musketeers

It’s FRIDAY!!!!! I have been waiting for this day since Tuesday. I just finished the bank ordeal, ate a large lunch, took a power nap, and now I’m ready to spend the next 5 hours in the Youth House. Lets do this! Hehe

Okay this week in school and tutoring: where to begin. Alright well Tuesday I had Ana and Rocio 1 (there’s another set of Ana and Rocio on Thursday’s so they will be A&R2) first. The session went well. I made them do some grammar worksheets and I think they benefitted from it. I tried to hit all the things they needed to work on since they had a test in English on Thursday. It went faster than I had anticipated so I procrastinated by asking them what kind of music they like so I could plan for the next session and then we ended with 20 questions. They’re not my favorite session, but the go along with my silly activities. After that I had Marta (neighbor’s child). She is a lot easier to deal with when she is the only one because then I can push her and do more challenging things with her. I got creative and made her figure out which three pictures went together, then I made her put them in order, describe what was happening in each picture, and then she got to color it. Her favorite subject is art so anything artsy is a winner. I made her say her favorite things in English and then draw them out on a poster to show her mom. The mom Toni likes to see Marta’s progress so having something physical to she her is a good thing. I had just the right amount of activities for her and at the right level of difficulty so I consider it a success. After the session I talked with her mom for a while and she told me a little more about the past bilingual assistant Kayla. She told me how Kayla couldn’t speak Spanish at all in the beginning and how she missed her home a lot so she only hung out with other bilingual assistants and only lived with Americans. Very different from me. It made me wonder how she conducted these tutor sessions without a good base in Spanish. Toni reassured me that even I spoke better than her and that I have a better grasp of the language than she did. There’s hope for me!

Even though I had my cita on Wednesday I still had to conduct my tutor sessions. First I ad Sergio. It took me forever to figure out what to do with him and try to find fun things to do to help improve his English. I spent a good hour and half planning something out and when I got to his house his mom had a list of things she wanted me to go over with him since he had an English test the next day. AHHHH all that time I could have been sleeping :( Well he wrote out a paragraph about himself and then worked on some activities from his personal English activity book. I tried to help but he didn’t need my help so I just sat there. I got paid ten Euros to watch him work. It was easy but at the same time I felt bad because if someone is paying me to do something I want to earn my money. Well Sergio could tell that I didn’t have anything to help him with so he made smart talk with me about soccer. He knows me so well and we’ve only hung out three times. He asked if I watch the games on the TV and if I want to see anyone play. I explained how I would like to see Recre and Real Madrid but he told me about how expensive tickets were and now I’m rethinking that goal. I tried to ask him when his game was this weekend but he didn’t quite understand and he told me he was playing in Huelva. I swear next class I will get the time of his game and I will see him play.

After Sergio I had only Paco since Ana was busy. Again I had planned to talk about controversial topics in the news to spark up conversations but first I was going to do my standard introduction to myself with my pictures. Well we got through half of my pictures and we didn’t even come close to my conversation starters because we just talked about all kinds of other things. He told me about the little towns close to Valverde that he likes to visit and told me where I should visit. I asked if a bus goes there and he said no. Great, how am I to get there Paco?!?!?!?!? He really liked the pictures of my house the best and because he loves the country and outdoorsy things he loved our chimney that we never use. He also couldn’t get over how big my house is. The session just flew by but once again I wasted that time planning a session. Now I’m thinking do I really need to plan so much or should I just wing it and see where it goes? Still on the fence about it…

Thursday at school I spent the first morning sessions with the first graders. They’re my favorite. I just about have all the names and faces down. When the kids see me enter the classroom they brighten up and get excited. Little do they know I do the same thing! Well this lesson was to make a mini book of body parts. They had to first color the correct pictures. Some had boy and girl heads so if you were a boy you only colored the boy and so forth. Once they colored the picture they had to cut it out. Once they finished one I would hand out the next sheet with pictures. All the kids really got into it and only one or two messed up and cut the paper the wrong way. The teacher Rocio had a good handle on the class and kept it very organized and efficient. We were able to staple every book together before class ended and had a few minutes to go around to some of the kids and look at their books.

Next I went to the other first grade class with Gregorio doing the same activity. THIS time things did not run smoothly. The teacher approached the mini book in a less organized and punctual manner so it ended up taking way more time and it was so hectic and frantic the entire class period. He handed out all of the sheets at once and said color. Well the girls started coloring the boy heads so then he tried to get the attention of the class to tell them only color the pictures that correspond to you. Well that did work and I would have to go around and stop kids mid color and say wrong picture! Then every time a kid finished one picture they needed approval to start the next picture. Oh man it was so repetitive and I was bouncing from kid to kid to kid to kid. Then kids started cutting the pictures wrong and I had to keep distributing extra pictures out. Then we only had one stapler. Geez I didn’t have a second to breathe. There were always four hands up saying Teacher! They were cute but I was worn out after it. There was no way Gregorio would have managed the class without my help. After that I was looking forward to art class with the fourth graders but I had to go to the bank so that class got the boot.

Thursday afternoon I had A&R2 for the first time and forgot that they added another kid to the session. Now its Ana, Rocio, and Leandro (a boy in Ana’s class). Goodness gracious. Since it was my first session I didn’t have to plan it, I just did the same thing I did with every other first session. After the picture session I made the kids write out a paragraph about themselves and then went over it with each kid individually. Next I did the comparison activity between Spain and USA. I really liked that activity and if I was a kid I would have thought it was pretty interesting to see how different our cultures really are. I ran out of time with that so that session was pretty easy. The only issue is the mom is Pocho and she really wants her kids to speak English better so I really have to step up my game with them because if I don’t get results with the kids she might get mad. After the session I showed Pocho all of my pictures because she hadn’t seen them yet and I finally got to show her a little more about who I am. I was more animated and extended to more stories with each picture because I could with her. When I got to my soccer pictures she seemed really impressed with the fact that I played on the team but I don’t think she quote grasped the concept that I’m a good soccer player and that I’ve played at a very high level my entire life. Here girls don’t know what a sports team is. If they play a sport its for fun on the weekends to pass the time. So having a girl say she plays a guys sport and she’s been playing her whole life is a very foreign concept here. I also told Pocho that I wanted to try and practice with Sergio’s team. She was horrified and said but they are so rough. You will get hurt. I reassured her that I could handle myself and that I was use to it. How lady like.

After that I had Marta (again) and Diego. The two of them are hard to handle. They kept speaking Spanish to each other. Errrr I had them read a book with me, write out some difficult words, and then do color some Pictures. Since I wasn’t sure if I was going to be teaching two or three kids I had an extra picture so I finally got to draw!!!! YEAHHHHHHHHH. The kids really liked the way I colored the bat. The session was a little harder than I expected because my reading activity didn’t take up as much time as I had hoped so I let them color more things even thought I know I should be focusing more on talking. It’s so hard to keep these sessions interesting and not repetitive. Especially since I have Marta three times a week (Wayyyy to much for a 7 year old girl but I’m not going to say anything. At least they pay me). The only blessing that the extra cita brought me was an excuse to cancel the third Marta, Diego, and Maria session because I didn’t have time to prepare a lesson in time, which is completely true. Toni didn’t seem upset, which was good. I thought she would be mad because she worked hard to set up all of these sessions. AND THAT WAS MY WEEK.

Now for Friday….

Youth Hostel time = catch up on long emails, blog posts, picture uploads, skyping with the family, chatting with my friends, and catching up on my diminished list of TV sows that I am attempting to follow while over here. The list has gone from like ten shows to three. I’m proud of myself for cutting out the unnecessary TV. Well Corrie and Kate tell me before they leave the YH that they want to go to Huelva and shop a little and then go to Punta Umbria tomorrow. They ask if I want to come. As tempting as getting one last day at the beach was I physically could not get on a another bus. I needed a break from traveling and I also had a lot of things I wanted to do on Saturday so I declined. I wanted to take full advantage of my relaxing weekend of no travel or money worries. Well before the two pack up there things Corrie gets a fb chat from our two Italian friends that we met in Lagos and they ask if they can come visit us this weekend. Well Corrie makes the arrangement with them to meet at Huelva, go to Punta Umbria together, and then take the buses back to Valverde and they can stay the night and leave sometime on Sunday. Sounds good to me. This made me a little sad that I passed up the beach, but looking back (its Sunday as I write this) I’m happy with my decision because I got a lot of thing done on Saturday that made up for the funny stories they told me they had at the beach. Also I knew the guys were staying in Valverde so I knew I would get a chance to see them.

So Saturday I slept in. HALLELUHA! First I made scrambled eggs for the first time in Spain. They came out pretty good for the first time. After a leisurely breakfast I put a load of clothes in the washer and headed down to Mercadona for a major grocery shop. I wrote out a list and was prepared to stock up for possible guests and so forth. I had a very successful shop and I finally purchased heavy items like potatoes, carrots, and wine since I had my rolling suitcase with me. So smart. After unloading my bags I cleaned the house. I started with the kitchen and moved into the living room and then my bedroom and bathroom. I swept each room and then mopped it like Elisa told me too. It was quite tiring being on my feet the whole time. I then took out my clothes and put in another load of clothes. Organized my room finally. It was getting out of hand because I still hadn’t unpacked completely from Lagos. Satisfied with my cleaning job I then went for a run around the town. After that I showered, got ready for the night by doing my hair really nice. I haven’t straightened it yet since arrival and I had time to blow dry it as well. What a treat. I did some other things like get organized for school and then that’s when I received a phone call…

Boy was I glad I didn’t go to the beach. I get a phone call from Kate about the time when they should be about to board the bus to Valverde saying that the PU bus is stopping at a million pueblos so they are going to miss the last bus back to VDC. Déjà vu anyone?!?!??! So yeah, she called me to see if Elisa could pick them up from Huelva. Elisa was in Sevilla so that was a no but then I told them I could ask Pocho. Well I tried calling Pocho but she couldn’t hear me on the phone so she was like just come to my house. Great, I’m not the one stranded yet I have to run down the hill to ask a favor. Ugh. I sprint down the hill because Kate was waiting for my response so that they could try and call someone else if they had to. Picture a girl in a dress flying down a hill in flip-flops. I had just showered and now I was getting sweaty. Not happy about that. Well I get to Pocho’s and explain the situation. She said if she could drive she would leave right now and pick them up except that she doesn’t know how to drive, her husband currently has the car and he’s out, and lastly he would have to go alone in order to fit all four into the car and he doesn’t speak English. In short, no she can’t pick them up. All that for nothing. Corrie and Kate decide to take the only bus to Beas (again) and have one of their teachers pick them up from there. I was VERY happy I wasn’t there. I wouldn’t have been livid.

Once they finally got home and showered they called me to come down and we pregamed with wine and combo game of spin the bottle and truth or dare. Man it’s been a long time since I’ve played either of those games. After finishing off the wine we headed to a grown up bar in town to find “the people of Valverde”. It was fun but the girls wanted to dance so we headed to the only nightclub in Valverde, Blue. It was packed. People everywhere inside the club and outside on the curbs and streets. I lost my friends and was afraid I was never going to find them again but eventually I did. The club was okay. The music wasn’t the best for dancing and nobody was dancing. I was disappointed.

After spending a good two hours at Blue we called it a night. I was too tired to walk all the way up the bloody hills again for the fourth time in one day so I decided to stay at Corrie and Kate’s (I was just thinking it’s a good thing Corrie and Kate are relatively short and easy names to spell because I write them a lot). I ended up sleeping in the same bed with Michele but we did not sleep together. Mind you he and Tony sleep in tiny Speedo underpants. Quite revealing I may add and they prance around in their underwear as if that’s normal, its not. Haha Well in the morning the boys decided to sleep in instead of catching the 9:30a bus so once they woke up I said goodbye to them and headed back up to mi casa. Now its Sunday and I’ve just stayed a home and wrote blog entries, more emails to friends, prepped for lessons, put away my clothes, and uploaded photos. To be posted soon I promise. Well that was my weekend. Peace mis amigas.

Me Odio La Officina de Extranjeros (w/ a passion)

Well after being stranded in Huelva momentarily, I thought the week could only get better. Not the case. Tuesday was painful because I didn’t get much sleep the night before, I woke up early to shower, I had a full day of work ahead of me, and then I had two tutor sessions to plan for. Oy vey. School is fun. I got to work a lot with the first graders and they are a lot of fun. They are learning the parts of the body so we get to sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes all day long. I think one of the cutest things kids do is whenever a song comes on every kid, boy and girl, does the same generic wiggle or sway (not sure what to call it) to the music simultaneously. I’m going to try and get it on video if I can. My day was going really well until Maria, my principle, knocks on Pocho’s door and talks to her in the hallway. I’m called into the hall and find out that The Office of Extranjeros emailed the school saying I was suppose to be there today for my appointment. Well there was no possible way I would have been there in time even if I had received the email personally because they only sent it today. Maria called the office and talked t someone explaining that it was 1, impossible for me to get the appointment tomorrow, and 2, that I have a scheduled appointment with them tomorrow. Maria told me to go to the appointment tomorrow and it should be okay, It better F*ing be.

I don’t mean to get vulgar, but this permiso de residencia business is the biggest pain in the butt for so many reasons. One, it requires me to take the earliest bus to Huelva at a whopping 6:20am only to sit for over an hour until it finally arrives in Huelva.------SIDE NOTE: The only good thing about this, I repeat the ONLY good thing is that I can see the stars in the sky in the morning and they are the most spectacular thing. Being in the middle of nowhere is great for star watchers. Kate and Corrie each swear they’ve seen a shooting star (I have yet to harrumph). I just stare at the sky as I wait for the bus and it is the only thing that brings a sense of calm over me. The big dipper and Orion’s Belt are so massive and so clear. Every late night or early morning I just gaze at the stars and planets. If you like stars you need to come visit me :)---------Next I walk the twenty minutes to the office and wait another 2 hours outside for the bloody office for it to open. Once it opens I wait my turn before I can finally go in and then wait another hour before my number is called. I either get something or nothing accomplished only to wait another hour for the next earliest bus back to Valverde that isn’t until 12pm. To pass the time I’m reduced to spending money on food because by now I’ve been up for 6 hours and am starving. Once I get on the bus I have another hour and a half bus ride back home. It is sooo time consuming, so yeah I hate it. Oh and the best part is how much money I’ve pissed away going back and forth. So far I’ve spent 32 Euros on transportation alone. Add in every breakfast and it comes out to 40 Euros. I could take a bus to Barcelona and back for that kind of money. Good grief. It gets better…

So I go in on Wednesday to my appointment with Kate and Claire isn’t there. This freaks me out because she’s the best one at Spanish and she knows how to get things done. Well once inside I notice these girls who are in the same shoes as us except one appointment behind us in the process. It’s a good thing I decide to pay attention to their conversation b/c at one point the Office people ask if they are “Erica, Mary, or Katherine” and I scream from behind the barrier, “SOY ERICA!!! AQUI!!” I think the only reason I got something accomplished during that appointment was because they realized that I was indeed present for my appointment and therefore I got to skip out of line and get my paperwork done promptly after the group of girls were done talking. Kate was oblivious to everything and without me she would have sat there for another hour and a half and maybe have gotten her papers filed, maybe not. Sometimes I wonder it she could manage anything on her own. It’s harsh but im convinced that she couldn’t. Well we leave the office with this paper we need to give to the bank and pay the bank 15 Euros and then come back some to the Office again. Little did I know that we were suppose to come back after going to the bank that same day. NOBODY TOLD ME THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So on Thursday, Maria knocks on Pocho’s door again. I see a pattern, every time Maria comes to the door its always concerning me. What did I do wrong now? Well the Office called and said I was suppose to come back today with the paper from the bank. Mother F*er. Maria tells me I NEED to go to the bank right now, pay the money, and then go back to the Office tomorrow. Yeah this is when I break down and start to cry. I just feel so helpless because I never know what’s going on with this dumb permiso process and I hate how inefficient everything is. Its reminiscent of the Visa process only this costs time AND money. Well I run to the bank just before it closes and get that sorted out. Again on Friday I do the whole travel to Huelva trip for the second time in one week. I don’t want to go on another bus for a VERY long time. I never thought that day would come for me but I am so sick of this and the bus is now associated with painful memories of frustration and anxiety. Well the whole time I waiting in line I’m reviewing what I’m going to say to the guard so that he lets me in since I don’t have a cita. My turns up and literally as I’m about to open my mouth he sees the paper takes it and motions me to go through the metal detector. All that prep work and anxiety I had about trying to get in without a cita for NOTHING. So I get to go straight to the desk and the lady gives me that “sigh, not you again look” and takes my paper and gives me another small slip of paper. I assume that THIS is the paper I need in order to open a bank account so I’m finally relieved. I know that this is not my permiso card but I knew that I would eventually have to return to get that at another date. I ask the lady if there is anything else I need to do. She says NADA MAS and motions me to leave. Gladly. I get back to Valverde at 1:30p and run to my school in order to get Pocho so she can come with me to open a bank account before the banks close at 2p. We walk to Santander and I get all my papers ready feeling happy that this day has finally come. Oh wait, this is the WRONG paper, I needed to have gone to the Police Station in Huelva, give them this slip of paper and get a temporary residency card and THAT is what I need to open a bank account. NOBODY TELLS ME THESE THINGS!!!!!!!!!!

That’s it, I have a mental and physical breakdown. I start crying. I am SO sleep deprived from my early morning bus rides and staying up late finishing lessons, I’m starving, and I’m an so sick of Huelva and Spanish bureaucracy. I want to collapse and melt away at this moment. Tear, tear… The lady is nice and takes pity on me and lets me open my account anyways. Finally, a little bit of sympathy. Pocho reassures me that everything is going to be okay and that she will call her brother and maybe he can give me a ride to Huelva so I don’t have to pay for the bus or wait that long. That was nice of her. Well I got ONE thing done on my list, finally! Ahh I’m so drained that’s all I can write.