Last week was a very busy week for me here in Toledo. On Tuesday I taught my English class, and it was interesting to say the least. I knew that this week I was going to be on my own because the teacher had a conference to attend, but I did not know until about a half hour before I was supposed to teach that I was completely on my own for lesson plans as well. I didn't realize how hard it is to maintain some level of control when I barely know any Spanish and when they barely know any English. They had sooooo much energy, and I had really no control over them. One of the little boys, Daniel, is just too funny...I catch myself laughing at him all the time, when I know I shouldn't be ;) For snack, he wanted a chocolate candy bar type thing so he breaks the chocolate piece and plops it into his milk and tries to eat the chocolate out of the milk like a dog. Hilarious!!
Last Wednesday I helped at the local library here, along with a few others from my school, with a program called "Let's Play in English." It only lasted an hour and was for people of all ages. We had a few different stations...I was in charge of "ropa relay" which is where we said a piece of clothing and then they had to run to the pile of clothes, put the article of clothing on and then run back to the start line. Another game was twister so they could practice their colors, hands/feet and right/left. We had a puppet station for the real little kids, and then also a game of memory going on to practice different vocabulary words. Then at the end we played the "Cupid Shuffle" and danced along with them so they could also practice their directions. It was a lot of fun!!! I am very glad I decided to help out with it. We also sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" as well as "Jingle Bells" before saying good-bye.
Also, on Wednesday night we had a talent show at the fund! It was super fun! I didn't participate because let's be honest I do not have a talent to perform haha but it was a lot of fun to watch! And even though we are already so far into the game, it was interesting because we got to know more about the people here at the fund as they performed their talents.
Last Friday we had an excursion to Segovia, Spain which is about 2 hours away from Toledo. Here we saw the Alcazar and got a guided tour of the palace. I really liked our tour guide (he is a history professor here at the fund)...he spoke slow enough, and I understood everything he was saying! I learned a lot too...it was all very interesting! We also got a guided tour of the city and saw the very famous aqueduct that is still standing after so many years! Finally we ate lunch..we had something that was like a beef stew and of course ate bread. It was delicious, as always. When I got home from the excursion I came home and my host Mom invited me to come with her and one of her friends to a new bar that was just opening that night. I turned down her offer (very dumb idea.) because I wanted to get some homework done because I kind of had a lot going on this week, but of course, I got nothing done Friday night so I should have just went with my Mom and her friend. Her friend came over to our house to meet up with my host Mom...she was very nice! And spoke to me so I could understand...always helpful.
On Saturday I woke up bright and early to take a bus to Madrid and then take another bus from Madrid to Salamanca. I was very excited to go to Salamanca because some of my friends from the fund had gone to Salamanca the weekend before and said how much they loved it. I absolutely loved Salamanca as well!! I have a lot of favorite cities in Spain because they all offer something different and are all very unique, but I think it might be my favorite city in Spain as of yet. When we arrived we checked into our hostal and the man working at the hostal was very nice. He gave us a map of the city and marked some "hot spots" on the map for us to go adventuring to. We went and visited the cathedral (both old and new) and even found the astronaut on the cathedral. We, also, walked by a lot of buildings that Laura and I thought were parts of the University, but not so much! haha All the buildings looked the same...all the same color and everything. After the cathedral we did some more wandering and wondered into the Roman bridge. I, also, found a track (a pretty crappy one, but still...) next to the Roman bridge. I was in heaven! :) Once I found a track I knew I could live in Salamanca!! They had a lot of great running trails too...I wish we would have had more time there. We also walked through a very gorgeous park. I really liked this park because it was the perfect size...a lot of the parks here are almost too big...I get bored. haha Even though it was pretty cool and rainy, Salamanca was still just as beautiful as ever. On Saturday, we also went and visited the church of San Esteban. It was huge and gorgeous! And the nice old man working the ticket booth gave us a discount because we were students...even better!!
Since we really hadn't eaten all day, I am pretty much starving by this point, so we decided to find something to eat. We ate at a restaurant across the street from our awesome hostal called Cuatro Gatos (Four Cats). I got chicken paella...yummy yummy in my tummy. For dessert I also ordered a hot chocolate with strawberries in it! So good. How have I not thought of doing that before? After dinner, we decided to meet up with another group of people from the fund visiting Salamanca as well, to witness the night life of Salamanca. My host Mom filled me in that the night life of Salamanca is great due to the University there and a "younger" atmosphere. We went to a pub/restaurant and had some drinks and then went to another club type bar. It was so packed and so hot in there, it was obnoxious. It was a lot fun though. At the first place we went to we met a guy that was from Brazil, the bartender. He was super nice and once he found out we were American he played "American Woman!" haha Such a classic. He, also, played a lot of other random songs in English for us...well, for everyone I guess, because a lot of the people here (especially the younger ones) listen to music in English.
On Sunday we got up early and went and checked out the Plaza Mayor and then went and visited the University (the oldest in all of Spain). So, now I have seen the oldest and the second oldest Universites in Spain. The University was probably my most favorite of the trip...it was so incredibly interesting! We, then, ate at a little cafe for breakfast before going to the bus station to catch the bus. I ordered waffles and a coffee (not sure why...I don't even like coffee! haha) but it was actually really good! I loved the waffles...I thought they were homemade, but Laura reassured me that she saw them take them out of a package :( boo. haha
This week started out a little rocky for me. It was hard to see everyone's statuses about going home for the holiday and whatnot. But then I remembered that I only have 3 weeks left here and need to take in every second of it! I will have many more holidays at home with those that I love! I need to remember that :) It definitely helped that I was able to skype with my Mom this week, received some awesome Thanksgiving cards and received packages from my Mom and my grandparents.
Teaching English was a lot better this week...there was much more control in the classroom because Nuria (the teacher) was back! It is awesome to see how much the kids have learned, even just since I have started teaching. The kids definitely bring something new each week. They also shared with me these things called pipas. It literally translates to "sunflower seeds," but they are kind of like breadsticks with sunflower seeds in them. So tasty! I know Jen and Dad would like them!!
Also, at the beginning of this week, we had a problem with hot water in our apartment complex. I woke up on Monday morning bright and early and started my week with a freezing cold shower. I didn't know if it was just a fluke that I had cold water so I didn't say anything to my host Mom about it. I got home from working at the hospital and my host Mom asked if my shower was ice cold. I was like, YES!! I'm glad it wasn't just mine haha After talking to some of the other neighbors and after a pretty guapo neighbor came to our door to ask me about our shower, we figured out that no one had hot water. My host Mom told me to not take a shower because it was going to be cold and that the next day they were going to call someone to fix it. I told my host Mom that I really wanted to take a shower because I had ran and had a presentation the next day that I really didn't want to be all gross for. My host Mom is such a sweetheart because she heated water up for me on the stove and I washed my hair in the bathroom sink and washed my body in the shower by using a sauce pan. Genius idea.
Also, I have a bad cold this week and my host Mom is very concerned about me haha even though it is just a little cold. She made me a concoction of hot milk, honey and some sort of alcohol. That did help my sore throat a little bit, and then she made another concoction for me with herbs and honey for my stuffed up nose. With heating water on the stove to take a shower and my host Mom making me concoctions for my sickness, I kind of felt like I was living in the olden days this past week!!
Today, after our Thanksgiving dinner, Elizabeth and I will be taking a bus to Madrid, spending the night in the airport and then taking a very early morning flight tomorrow (Friday) to Lisbon, Portugal! I am very excited :)
HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone! I hope everyone has a great holiday! And GO PACK GO! I will see everyone very very soon!!
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| a Japanese dance at the talent show |
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| the palace (Alcazar) in the distance in Segovia |
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| the castle :) |
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| the aqueduct |
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| it was so amazing! |
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| milk truck! haha i don't know, i thought it was funny |
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| la casa de las canchas (the house of the seashells) in Salamanca |
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| in front of the cathedral doors |
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| this car was made for me!! clearly! |
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| my delicious paella |
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| Plaza Mayor in Salamanca |
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| the oldest library in all of Spain (part of the University) |
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| on the right is Doctora Quintas (the psychiatrist I work with at the Hospital) and the other two women are like the secretaries or administration for the Psych department of the hospital |
Happy Thanksgiving, Sista! So thankful to have you in my life and call you my sista! :) I wish you a stupendous weekend in Portugal and safe travels! Love you!! <3
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