Finding the "Real World"

Namlish or English spoken by Namibians

2010-02-25T14:23:00.002-05:00

Here are a few gems I have run across in this beautiful country of strange phrases:

Categorically clear: as in "Let me make it categorically clear." I am not sure to which category we are referring. This is a favorite of my principal and the other teachers find it very funny to mock him in front of me because I cannot refrain from giggling, or full out fall on the floor laughing, at this phrase.

Mingling someone: as in "Are you mingling Johanna?" Besides the fact that mingling was not the word they wanted to use to describe the occurrence, this just sounds dirty (it was not meant to be).

"Good morning." or "Hello." answered with "Fine.": This used to confuse me to no end but makes sense with the understanding that in their language this is the translation of the greeting they use.

"Can you borrow me a...?": without the 'a' this is funny. The opposite of "Can I borrow you?"

Not a word, but they keep writing me birthday cards as greetings. I am not sure why, and may never know. But it is charming in its own way. At least they are writing me some sort of card.

Just thought I'd get in some short notes before bed. As I type it is raining on my clothes. Luckily I probably did not rinse out all the soap so they are just getting better washed. I would bring them in except I'm not sure where they would go.

Peace, love and giraffes,
Jenn

“You are too white, Miss.”

2010-01-30T18:30:00.000-05:00

Being white in a mostly black country has been interesting. I have not encountered racism among the blacks of Namibia, though I am often met with curiosity. I have not met any Afrikaaners, though I have heard stories from people that this is where the racism in the country still lies.

The learners find me strange. The community finds me strange. Outside of the community I am stared, grabbed and yelled at. Most people do not ask me what I am doing here. They tell me they love me and ask me to marry them. One man touched me and when I turned to tell him to stop he said, “I just wanted to touch white skin. I have never touched it.” I replied, “It is the same as yours.” He simply said, “Is it?”

My strange fascination with the everyday things also makes them laugh. I am in love with the baby donkey that lives nearby and grazes outside my house. I was asked by a taxi driver if I was planning to buy a cow. When I told him I wouldn’t know what to do with a cow he was appalled. “You milk it, you eat it.” It is as if I was asking him how to eat.

One learner asked me if we had the same subjects in American schools. I told her that we did, except some of the things they are learning, such as business and accounting, are elective or taught in college. She asked, “What about agriculture?” It didn’t even occur to me to include that subject, though to them it is one of the most important as it teaches them their livelihood.

Often I feel inept, but it is nice to need help with something just as much, or more, maybe, as they do with things. I helped one colleague with her computer today and in turn she made for me traditional porridge and fish. She is also patient with me when I ask her to repeat, usually for the fifth time, a word in oshikwanyama. It is nice to be able to exchange skills and not perpetually feel as if I am taking, taking, taking or being taken from.

Peace, love and giraffes,
Jenn

PS. The title is what one of the learners told me the other day. I agree.

Dodging Donkeys

2010-01-22T15:19:00.004-05:00

Ohaingu, Namibia

Journeyed to Oshakati Wednesday to get my tax ID number. I say journeyed because in a country where few people have cars it is a process to get anywhere. the principal informed me Wednesday morning that I would be going to get the number and I was to leave at 8:30 with my escort, a colleague named Johanna.

At 8:30 we met and walked to the end of the village to wait for a ride. We waited under a tree at the gravel road, looking for any vehicle going in our desired direction. the sun was already strong, even so early in the morning. While we waited she shared some pictures of the previous volunteer with me.

After about fifteen minutes of waiting, the principal drove by. He agreed to take us to Ondangwa where we could get a taxi to Oshakati. Minutes after hiking up my skirt and climbing into the bed of the bakkie (pick-up truck in Namlish) we saw a car going our way. After a brief exchange between the driver and Johanna, all in Oshikwanyama, we climbed out of the bakkie and into the backseat of this man's SUV.

I will not pretend that I was completely comfortable riding in some strange man's car. I am happy that I had someone with me my first time. I'm sure in time it will become normal, as it is the main form of transport for all Namibians, but it definitely is strange. It is what we are warned against doing all our lives in America.

The trip to Oshakati was amusing. The guy picked up more and more people as we went on, and a few times people shuffled around to make better room. At one point the driver switched places with the other man who was in the car with him when we got in. I did not understand any of these changes, as they seemed completely unnecessary, however it made everyone else happy. Aside from the strange game of musical chairs happening every few stops, there was the strange music playing and the donkeys.

Now I have experienced elsewhere the tendency for foreigners to listen to American music made decades ago that Americans in that decade didn't listen to and no one has heard of in my generation. It is that terrible music that might be playing in the background at a Caribbean resort to keep the guests in an uplifted mood, however it should never be played louder than white-noise level. I suspect it is the only music they can get on cassette tape, as all the good artists are now collectors items for music fanatics.

Someone once told me that donkeys were stupid. I could not have imagined the level of stupidity of which they are capable. Donkeys walk down the middle of the road here, and the cars must go around them like an elaborate video game. Were I a game programming genius I would definitely create a game for the Namibians based on the real life donkey dodging occurring everyday here. And these roads are not terribly great either, making it all the more precarious.

The man dropped us in Oshakati and we crossed the street to the Ministry of Finance. the paperwork was done in five minutes and I began to feel even more like an inconvenience to the other teacher than i had before, although she was very gracious.

I did not realize that the reason she seemed inconvenienced was that she had not been informed with enough time to prepare things for her classes or for the shopping excursion we then embarked upon. We went everywhere. At one store we heard a woman tell the cashier that there were straw floor mats for 10 dollars Namibian at some store. The woman behind the counter did not believe her, but the woman assured her that that was the price. About an hour later we were coming out of KFC and saw a huge queue of people outside some store. All the people were waiting for their 10 dollar straw mats. I have to admit they were nice and the price was great (10 Namibian is about the equivalent of $1.40 USD, or something like that). Anyway, we went over to investigate, but it appeared they were all sold out. Later on in the taxi, we heard another passenger make a remark about the mats again. News sure does get around here.

All in all, the trip was nice. I got a few things I needed for my apartment, though I am returning tomorrow to get some more things and to meet up with another volunteer. The water has been off and on for the last two days. you always forget how useful and essential water is until it is gone. We at least have a tap where we can fetch water, but i just deal until morning mostly. it's interesting to learn what you can go without.

Peace, love and giraffes,
Jenn

Spiders and Lizards and Goats, Oh My*

2010-01-19T13:42:00.003-05:00

Ohainga, Namibia (not quite Oz, but magical and terrifying all the same)

So I arrived safely in my village after a very long day of travel. My principal arrived at the drop point 45 minutes after everyone else left, so I practiced my patience (apparently the most important virtue in Namibia) and talked with the police a little, caught up on some reading. On the way we stopped about 5 times to do various errands, also apparently a common thing in Namibia, including visiting a lottery machine and stopping for directions (I was taken part of the way by a relative of the secretary to my school).

My apartment is small, but nice. I quickly unpacked things and made it quite homey if I do say so myself. I have hung maps and pictures and have become very innovative when it comes to kitchen utensils since I only have plastic knives, forks and spoons, one pot, two ceramic mugs and a few tupperware containers. The leatherman has come in handy (thank you Dad for taking care of that).

When I arrived I met the two teachers who live next door. I was surprised to learn they were males, but I am quickly learning that this could be a great advantage. They know how to use the gas tanks for the stove and how to kill spiders. Which brings me to the teachers' first impression of me...

Almost immediately upon arrival I was confronted by the nature of Africa. I was in my room staring at all my things and the unofficial greeting committee (two of my female colleagues came to greet me, which I found extremely nice and calmed my nerves a bit) when I spotted a very large spider out of the corner of my eye. He was hanging out just above the curtain rod, looking very menacing. I'm not sure I can fully express how scary this spider was. He had very long pointy legs and a flat body. I am pretty sure it is a wall spider, which I have been told a few times, by a few different people, are harmless. However, at that moment I just freaked about having the spider on my wall just looking at me. So the guys tried to kill it, but they are speedy little suckers and he dodged the broom just enough to fall off the wall, injured, but still mobile, and run into one of my bags. So they hunted him down, killed him and left me to fend for myself.

All was fine until I went to go take a much needed shower at the end of my unpacking. There, sitting on the wall, was another one, this one definitely scarier than the last since I knew he was living behind the broken tiles on my shower wall. Trying to hit him with a broom proved fruitless, and only caused greater frustration when I accidentally smashed a tile on the floor and had to clean that up.

At this point I actually almost considered not taking a shower, but the idea of crawling into bed sweaty and gross was worse than having to face the spider. So I showered, but never did I turn my back on the tile I suspected him to be under. I have a terrible feeling he is just lying in wait for the perfect opportunity to pounce on me while I'm shampooing my hair. I suppose I will just get used to him.

Hygiene ties in perfectly with the story of the goats. Today after school I decided to try and finally rid my white pants of the terrible orange stains caused by my efforts to try and rid them of coffee and dry them quickly using my brand new orange towel. It was an extremely ingenious thought, until it just wasn't. So I went out back to my laundry sink to try and bleach the pants (which worked by the way, YAY!) and I'm busy scrubbing away when what should just meander by but a few goats. I am not sure how they got into the school yard, but I do know both our gates are open, giving them the perfect opportunity to find some unsuspecting American girl by surprise. I felt like I was a part of Little House on the Prairie but with better clothes.

So the goats walk through the backyard, I told them just to go on their merry way, that's right, I talk to the goats. And then I realize, goats are like bad children that get out of your eye line because you told them too and wreak havoc on everything and everyone. I peaked my head in to my back door, and sure enough the goats are on my front porch looking in longingly at the shelter my apartment would offer from the sun. So I start walking through and two of them have stopped to have a headbutting contest on the porch. I shooed them away and they wandered out our gate and back around the school.

Soon after this I was sitting at my desk and saw something quickly moving across the floor. I have become used to the size and speed of the cockroaches that are constantly walking around, and this was different. I look toward my bed and what do I see but a little lizard hanging out by the leg. However, he ran away quickly when I moved toward him. I managed to find him under the large box I have in my room, but he escaped again and I have a feeling he is in the closet hiding in my shoe. Jocie recommended I call him Carlos, which I feel is an acceptable lizard name. I want to make him my pet and have him eat all the yucky bugs, namely the mosquitoes...which oddly I have not seen many of tonight. I know when I turn out my light to sleep I will hear them buzzing ready to bite.

Someone told me the creatures in Africa were exotic, but I was counting on giraffes and elephants. I suppose I'll settle for my house pets.

Peace, love and giraffes,
Jenn

*Although this is a completely fitting title to this post, it is also a nod to the card I opened this very morning from my wonderful NRLP. She is my Glinda, bringing home just a little closer with each envelope.

Coffee

2010-01-16T15:25:00.002-05:00

Windhoek, Namibia

I drank a bowl of coffee today. Yes, you read right, a bowl. We went to the Namibian Craft Center for lunch and one of their specialties is coffee in a bowl. I felt like a cat. Anyway, I had a great time. I bought an elephant pendant from one of the craft companies that sells their goods there. The nice thing about this craft store is that everything is guaranteed to be made in Namibia. Many of the things sold other places are not made in Namibia.

The coffee here is nothing to write home about. Most people drink mix coffee and sometimes you can get ok coffee in a restaurant. Nothing like Starbucks. I have been privileged to enjoy two cups of coffee made in a French Press by one of the volunteers.

Another drink that is sorely lacking in quality and variety is beer. There are two main brands sold here, Windhoek Lager or Draught and Tafel Lager. There are a few others but they are harder to come by and I have seen no advertisements for them.

They have plenty of juice, though.

Peace, love and giraffes,
Jenn

A while

2009-05-04T23:44:00.002-04:00

It's been awhile since I've written. Mostly because my life is much less interesting than it was in Mexico...well at least to other people. I have been working at the Y as a lifeguard/deck supervisor. I enjoy it most of the time. I've also been trying to hang out with friends as much as possible. It keeps me sane, and helps me feel like I will still be able to reconnect with people no matter how many times I leave the country, or for how long.
I emailed with Nadine about their situation in Mexico. They have left the country because of the risk of closing borders between France and Mexico. Right now they are in France with her family and plan to be there until mid-June. She says that the hospitals in Mexico are not equipped to deal with a pandemic should it really become bad. Emilia, the housekeeper, is staying in their house in Cuernavaca in order to avoid Mexico City.
I look back on my time in Mexico a lot. I know I complained a lot in the posts on this site. It was not an easy experience, but I am very glad to have had it. I have many fond memories and although I will not forget the difficult times, as with most experiences, they fade faster. I miss the children and I am glad to have Nadine to email with. It was also great to get to know another country and to have something that pushed me to learn more about myself. At times I think it would have gotten better had I stayed a little longer. I was just learning to really speak Spanish and to really get along with the family when I left. I will never regret going, even though it was very rough at times.
I miss being able to practice Spanish so easily. I found out today that the cleaning lady really does not speak a word of English so I was forced to speak Spanish with her. I still do not know what the correct protocol is for that. I never approach someone with Spanish because I find it rude since it is not the language of our country. Knowing Spanish I would never have approached anyone in Spain or Mexico in English first, so it only feels natural to have the same courtesy here. But it actually did come in handy today. I get to practice a little with Mary, our cleaning lady, and with a woman at work. I will try to speak with this woman at work, although I still feel self-conscious about it. It might make her feel more comfortable there though. I just never know.

As for the future, I am starting my application process to World Teach. I am applying to teach for a year in Namibia, with the option of helping with the HIV/AIDs programs in the country. I find this an ideal program for the price and the amount of involvement you get to have with the people. It is not simply a 2 week mission project, it is real international experience, something I need for any jobs I would be interested in. It scares me to really think about it, and I think that I will avoid really thinking about it until I am accepted. What scares me is not that it's Africa or that I might be able to do it, but that it will be a year in another country where I am really an outsider. I was an outsider in Mexico, but I had some idea of the culture before going. This is something I cannot fathom and will throw me completely out of my comfort zone, but the program seems very supportive and helpful. And I will not stop myself from doing it just because I have a healthy fear of the unknown. It is what I have always said I wanted to do, and how will I ever know that it is or is not without trying. A year is a big commitment, but I can't think of anything else.

Jenn

Ya Me Voy...

2008-08-02T11:34:00.002-04:00

I'm coming home in less than 24 hours, so last post before I leave. I thought I'd catch you up on last weekend. Saturday I thought I was going to go shopping, but it ended up that Juan Carlos's brother came to visit. It was nice to meet some of his family. They had three kids who were a bit older. The oldest girl, 16, wanted to practice her English with me. It was sweet. We had a nice day together, but by night I was exhausted.
Sunday we got up and went to breakfast at a old palace that a Japanese princess had built a long time ago. They had a fabulous brunch with lots of great foods to eat. And after this they dropped me off in the center of town so I could do a bit of shopping. After I went through the market I headed toward the Zocalo because I heard some music playing there. Apparently the pasteleria, El Globo, was putting on a summer concert thing. One of the bands, the one I saw, is pretty big. They are named Motel. The music was pretty good.
This guy at the concert started talking to me. He fixes computers and I think he was trying to get some business because I told him I lived in Cuernavaca. He was nice, but strange people always make me nervous, especially older men, however it was nice to practice my spanish a bit. I went to the super and bought some things for the kids and then went home.
The week went well, except I think I had lost my patience just itching to go home. I can't wait, I'm so excited.
Talk to you all on the other side!
Jenn

Estress

2008-07-31T22:28:00.004-04:00

Have you ever been somewhere and someone walks in the room and suddenly you can just feel all positive energy leave? That's what it was like 10 minutes ago when Nadine walked in the house from her three day business trip. It makes me feel sick to just hear that tone of voice for 10 minutes straight. I can't imagine how these children are supposed to grow up without heart problems. They are scared of moving for their parents yelling at them, although they are never punished. Which may be worse that they are threatened but nothing is ever followed through on.
I need to leave this place. I'm not a stressed person but it's hard not to let Nadine's stress saturate my emotions. AHHHHH! The poor children have been waiting and waiting for their mom to come home and she is sitting in the kitchen talking Juan Carlos's ear off about something that is wrong in the world of fruit. Leave it alone for 10 minutes and hug your kids. It pisses me off. It also pisses me off that I had two great days with the kdis and now tomorrow we're all going to feel the stress again because we can't talk or move without being told to shush.
I worry for the children and that's the one thing making it hard to leave. I can't wait to go home and see everyone and be out of this environment, but I was just getting the kids to learn things and now I have to go. And who knows what the new au pair will be like. Apparently they have a lot of applications. One was a 30 year old woman, who I think the kids could probably benefit from, but Nadine thinks there must be something wrong with someone who doesn't want to do real work. However, she thinks there is something wrong with most people. I like positive people, even if I'm not really one of them, I'd like to be.
And apparently now there's nothing to eat. But there's plenty. There's always plenty. She just wants to eat the same thing every day. If she got a little creative she could actually use her food. I hate that I've been criticized for not cooking new things, when really she would eat the same thing every single day if I wasn't here.

Playa Del Carmen Part 2

2008-07-29T12:38:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I got a little mixed up. Holbox actually happened on Thursday. So what really happened on Wednesday was that we woke up and said goodbye to Louise's sister who had to go home to England. I can't really remember what we did for the morning, maybe the beach or something. In the afternoon we went to Aktun Chen. It was a place in the jungle that had some animals to look at as well as a cave you can go in and see the cenote. It was a beautiful cave. Many of the stalagtites and stalagmites were pure white. And it was a lot cooler inside the cave than outside which made for a nice relief from the heat. I have a lot of wonderful pictures from inside the cave, as well as of the snakes and tigrillos (I have no clue what they are called in English. They are like little leopards and look just like a house-cat however the guide said that they are 10 times as aggressive.)
After the cave we went to a small beach to swim in the ocean. It's amazing how warm the water is, and although it's nice not to have to have that shock when you enter the water, it is a feeling I kind of miss. I also miss the depth of the Atlantic and the waves that take you up so high you can't stand. I plan on going down the shore on Tuesday of my week at home and I look forward to that.
On Thursday was Holbox (see Playa Part 1).
Friday Juan Carlos left early in the morning. On Friday afternoon Amelia, Nadine, the kids and I walked the Quinta, the famous shopping street with no car traffic. We looked in a lot of store but no one bought anything. Then when we reached the Cozumel Ferry we took a dip in the ocean. The kids were soaking wet and we didn't have a change of clothes so we went to the store and bought some cute little outfits. It was good because someone had forgotten to pack more than one pair of shorts for Louis (this someone was not me).
Saturday we went to Crococun. It's a park in the Jungle with crocodiles and other animals. They teach you about the animals and let you hold them. I held a crocodile and a snake. I also fed some deer. The kids loved the deer and I said they should come to my house in the winter because they are all over the yard. Nadine said if O'Bama wins they will come to America to visit. So everyone better vote O'Bama so that Louis and Clemence can come visit me! After the crocodile park I took some time to go shopping. It was a nice little break from the kids and Nadine. I also got some free tequila. Dad would have been proud, I tried everything they gave me, although I don't really remember what they were. I also got offered like 2 dates and a plane ticket back to the Caribbean. At least it all made me smile before I had to go back, or maybe it was the tequila.
Sunday we went to Tulum, a pyramid. It was very beautiful but I found it hard to look at with the kids to worry about. We went down some stairs to the ocean, which I don't understand because Louis doesn't especially like the water and the waves were big and there were a lot of people. But I'm going to stop complaining now before I bore everyone.
Monday we did absolutely nothing all day and by 5 I was aobut to tear my hair out. I wanted to go for a walk and I thought that Nadine wascoming so I said something to the ids. Apparently she wasn't planning on it, but we all went out and it was good to get some fresh air, although it rained. I guess I should have mentioned the hurricane was coming in and it rained all day keeping us inside. But we made it through the storm and I'm glad that that was our last, not first day there.
Tuesday we woke up at 4 in the morning and went to the airport. I thought that after having to take all our bags on the plane on the ride there because we were to late to check in that we would have tried to be a little earlier, but no. So we left at like 5 something and got to the car rental place, but no one was there. I am suspicious that maybe they had been there but we were 40 minutes after she had told them and they left. So, we went to the airport and left the car there. We got through the line ,got our tickets and everything was ok. I'm just hoping that if they decide they want to take me to the airport Saturday they don't hold me up, or I'm taxing it.

More to come about this and last week, but this is the end of Playa Del Carmen.
Jenn

Playa Del Carmen Part 1

2008-07-28T20:17:00.000-04:00

I'm still here. I'm sorry it's been so long but with both kids out of school I am very busy. I wake up early to try and get a little time for myself. Sometimes it works, but lately Louis has not been napping, meaning he goes to bed at like 7 o'clock and wakes up at 8 in the morning. This severely limits my time to myself, because by the end of the day I just want to go to my room and sleep (the end usually comes near 10). So here's what's been happening.
We went to Playa del Carmen. I had a great time, although sometimes it was difficult to be with them all ALL the time. However, over this trip I really started to leave behind my fear and laziness and try and speak Spanish more. It's paid off. I had some great conversations with Amelia about the family and the children. I was afraid to say something about the family in the beginning, of course, because she's been with them so long. But I'm glad someone else sees how lax they are with the children. I also met Louise, the old au pair, and she was lovely, as was her sister. It was nice to have someone my age around.
We flew in on Sunday and after picking up the car we arrived at the hotel, the Mayan Suites, which was huge. After this we headed to the beach but the mosquitos were really nasty so we returned to the room and went to bed. Monday we went to see Louise and her sister, Laura, and all of us went to Xcaret, a large park where they have animals to see and many things to do. Clemence and Louis swam with the dolphins. Well, Louis mostly cried with them until finally Nadine took him out of the water. He said that they were scary because they were ugly and very big. Then we walked around and looked at the various animal. The turtles were my favorite because they had little baby ones in some of the pools. We ate a lunch together on a rock and then we seperated so that Louis could nap and with Juan Carlos and the rest of us went to swim in the cenote. Clemence threw a fit and wouldn't go in the water, so Laura, Amelia and I went in. We had a nice relaxing swim and found out at the end that Clemence had calmed down and the rest of them had come in a few yards behind us. At night we went to the show they have which shows the history of Mexico and gives a taste of the cultures in different parts of Mexico now. It was very nice, although I always have reservations about these types of things and how they teach the general population as well as tourists, especially foreign tourists, about the culture. However, I feel it was well done and included a lot of the things I have found fascinating while learning about Mexico, such as how the churches were all placed in previous religious places of the indians, the Mayan ball game, etc.
Tuesday we drove to Merida early in the morning. Nadine met with a client while we all stayed in the car a little down the road and ate a little something. After the meeting we picked up Nadine and went to Merida center. We looked at some murals that were painted about the history of Mexico. It was interesting because it was a tourist attraction but was placed in the functioning offices of the state. We did a little window shopping and then found a place to eat. Nadine asked our horse cab driver to take us to a authentic Yucatan place to eat, but the place eh left us was horribly noisy and looked like a cafeteria, so we left and ate in a little Italian restaurant with great food. Amelia wanted a new dress, so we went in search of one and saw some very pretty but expensive things. We also went looking for a dress for Nadine for the wedding she is attending, and though she found nothing I bought a beautiful 100% cotton shirt.
We had a great day in Merida and were all tired so we headed to the car. WE got lost on our way out of town, and as we were coming to a place that we might not be lost in anymore we got in an accident. Besides the fact that it was an accident and we had to keep the kids quiet and in the car for 2 hours while the police and Juan Carlos and the driver of the other car tried to figure out things, it was very interesting. I say that because I got to learn a little about the Mexicans as well as about their police, who really are as corrupt as everyone thinks. We didn't get back until 3 o'clock in the morning, though, so Juan Carlos did not take his flight home that Wednesday and instead stayed until Friday morning.
Wednesday we went to Holbox. Holbox is the picture perfect Caribbean island. It has white sand beaches and little cabanas on the beach. The hotelitos are precious and the water is that perfect shade of Caribbean blue. We took a small boat to the island, stopping on the way to view an island where some birds nested. We were far enough away from the birds for me to enjoy the scene. Then we arrived on the island and took a taxi to the beach on the other side of the island. The taxis, and all transport there, are golf carts. It's cute. When we got ot the beach the taxi let us off and we walked to this little hotel, Casa de las Tortugas. WE sat on the porch and had guacamole and chips and a few beers. I really could get too used to that kind of thing. I think I might move tehre and open a hotel and never leave again. It's so beautiful and relaxed. It's such a small island it doesn't have a bank.
You'd think an island so small would not get so much tourism, and I'm sure compared to most places it doesn't have too much, but it is an attraction because it is a take off place to view the whale sharks. These are sharks with the shape and size of a whale. However, we did not get to see them, or swim with them, because they are far off shore and it takes 6 hours in a boat, something that could not be done or enjoyed with Louis and Clemence at this age. You also have to leave much earlier in the morning to beat the heat and the sun. I still had a great time. Clemence and I rode horses on the beach and we went to a beautiful spot. We returned to the hotel and took a dip in the ocean in front of their beach chairs. The hotel staff was nice enough to let us use their showers and bathrooms. Eventually, we got dressed, returned to the boat and left paradise.

This is a test...

2008-07-08T23:00:00.002-04:00

All people should have to au pair before they are allowed to declare that they want a child. I have never wanted one, and now I know I was right. I love kids, and it's great teaching them and spending time with them, but I don't think I could do this every day for 18 years+. I just couldn't. However, it is very rewarding and I can understand why someone would. Maybe if I have a husband who wants to take a large share in the care taking...but this would be the only way. There would still be no babies, too much work.
Anyway, the kids have been on vacation. It is a lot of work to have them all day and I have hardly any time to myself so I have found myself going to bed late and getting up early and wondering what all the coffee I am drinking is doing to me. Mostly they have been good, but there are some moments I want to tear out my hair. I am so glad we are going to Playa Del Carmen in less than a week. Then I have a week and a half left with them and then I'm home.
I had a great time with Mom and Dad. I loved getting to see some more of Mexico. Mexico City had a lot more to offer than I would have thought. We went to the largest Anthropology museum in the world, and it was just of Mexico! It was amazing how many things they have. But if you see enough artifacts things start to stick in your brain...at least for me, so I was able to see some patterns and things. One day there was a gay pride parade, causing us to have a fabulous journey through the subway with a mother/daughter traveling in Mexico together. We had some great dinners, one at La Casa de las sirenas, which is made of old pyramid stones, and one at Fonda "El Refugio," which was fabulous. the setting and everything was great and the guy was very nice and even spoke some Spanish with me.
After I went back for two days to help with the kids I got to meet Mom and Dad in Puebla. It is a beautiful city, much larger than Cuernavaca, but with many different things. Here they were albe to show me some things that their guide had taught them the day before and then the second day we went Chalula. It was cool to see a huge pyramid covered with trees and all. And there was a church sitting on the top. The view from there was good too. I also had some awesome tuna steak for dinner.
Then we all came to Cuernavaca together. I showed them around and we had some great dinners together and such. The hotel we stayed in was beautiful. Nadine got us a discount, so we got to stay in a very niec boutique hotel for less. Friday we went to Xochicalco. I LOVED it! IT was the most beautiful ruins I've seen here so far. They had reconstructed one of the pyramids and it had most of it's carvings still intact. It was awesome, and the guide showed us some of the stories that were etched on it. It was very nice and in all I had a great time with them.
It's made getting back into things pretty hard. I miss being on vacation and being with my family. And it's been raining the last two days straight. Mexico is crying for Mom and Dad. But I'll get back into the swing of things soon, and then I go home. I can't believe it's almost over. I really will miss the kids, but I'm excited to start something new.

Jenn

Ready for a little vacation...

2008-06-26T22:15:00.002-04:00

So, I figured I should write. Tomorrow I'm off to Mexico City to meet with Mom and Dad ! I'm excited to get to see them and to get to see a little more of Mexico. I have Friday through Monday morning with them and then I come back Mon and Tuesday and go to Puebla to be with them again until Sunday. I can't wait to write about it.
I have been very busy this past week. This weekend Nadine didn't feel well, so I had to spend the weekend with the family. I was happy to help, though I had thought about going to the center. However, I feel like since I am trying hard to be with the family and help them with things they are more willing to go places with me. It is nice because I feel a little bit more like family now, and I also feel that if I had the time I would stay for longer...but now there are so many things possibly filling up my time after Mexico that it is not really a possibility.
The kids are both doing well with their English. It is really awesome when they speak a word or a whole sentence without prompting. Clemence has gotten very good at the basic English things and both of them can name countless things when asked. It's neat that I taught them that, and it's also really cool watching the connections they make with the other languages they speak. Often, they structure sentences how you would in Spanish (I don't know about French), but it shows that they have a connection with the Spanish words and the English words.
The kids are also better behaved now. At least with me. I think often I can get them to do things with no more than a no or a change in tone. It's very rewarding, but often I think that the parents see this and bo even more into their way of doing things. It makes me sad to see the lack of patience they have, but I think it has helped me learn a lot about how I wish to relate to people and life.

Jenn

PS. Dr. Phil is a great guilty pleasure...specially when it's about teen pregnancy. It's actually really sad. Some 14 year old girl wants to be pregnant so bad she goes around lying about it. I hope Dr. Phil gets her counseling.

I don't know when I got so perky...

2008-06-19T22:54:00.002-04:00

...but I was watching HI-5 today with Clémence thinking how overly energetic and annoying these people are, but that the kids love the dramatic expressions and songs about everything, and then I realized that is me now. I am now one of these:

people. I never thought I could be so even-tempered. Sure I'm still sarcastic with the kids, and talk to them in a realistic manner most of the time. But I sing, A LOT. Like I know I did before, but now I'm going back into all those girl scout songs and camp songs that I only remember like half of. It's funny how you turn on yourself. But really, it's not so bad being perky. It beats sad and gloomy, or yelling and angry or something like that.

NO

2008-06-18T21:29:00.002-04:00

So here's what I think about the word 'no,' in case you wanted to know.
No, in essence is a very stupid word. It is useful, probably my most used word daily with the children, but there are problems with it. Problem #1: No is short. When someone is not listening well, one no simply will not get them to listen. So you end up sounding like you are singing some little no song, no no no no no no no. It's tiring, and definitely repetitive. Problem #2: There are different strengths of the word no. This mostly leads to Problem #3: Sometimes you start out meaning no, but something convinces you (or wears you down) into meaning yes. This is a problem because then kids learn that no isn't always no, and this makes them try to hard to turn a no to a yes. Maybe this is also the reason people mostly disregard when people say no and they want a yes. The last problem, Problem #4: When a kid says no, if you want it to be yes, it is always yes. Kids don't get to say no and mean it. This is a large problem.

Tengo un lugar

2008-06-16T23:50:00.003-04:00

So today Clemence calls me from the living room out onto the patio:

Mira, Jennifer, mira. El vaso de las bubuhas quedo un corazon. It's magic.

This means: Look, Jennifer, look. The cup with the bubbles left a heart. It's magic. And it was:

I mean it's perfect right.

Today was a good, no strike that, great day. I talked with Mom for like 2 hours. I got a late start on lunch and wasn't really ready on time, but no one said anything. I made chicken and some kind of salsa, which they ate, but I'm not sure liked. No one threw up. I guess that's a good sign.
After lunch I convinced Clemence to make cookies with me. We made sugar cookies with blueberries. It was the first thing I ut in the oven that came out tasting good, really good. I ate like 10 million.
The rest of the day was really nothing special, but it was good. I know that.

This weekend was also good, although I had a huge stomach ache thing the whole time. We went to the center on Saturday morning after swimming and looked around. There was a book fair at the Jardin Borda. Then we ate pizza at this little Italian place that has a GREAT view of the cathedral. I may just have to convince Mom and Dad to have some pizza there just to see the view.
Sunday we went to this market that was just starting up. It was a beautiful drive through a part of Cuernavaca I had never seen. There are so many beautiful houses and viveros (greenhouses). It was a gorgeous drive and less filled with the falling down buildings and garbage filled streets than most drives through the heavier populated center.
The market was not much to speak of. There was not much there. Granted it is just starting, but it is in an out of the way spot. It's supposed to be a place for organic growers to sell their things, but there was very little you couldn't get in another market. Nadine thinks it will fail because of the location and it does not seem to have very good organization. It's sad really. She was telling me how many growers here could be certified organic and sell their products on a large market if only some would come and organize a way to get it out there. They just don't have the money or knowledge to develop it into what it could be.
Sunday afternoon we had a nice lunch together at the house and then I went and had a little swim in the pool by myself. I love having a pool so close, and having the weather be nice enough to go in it.
Speaking of weather it's been gorgeous. The rains have made everything green and made everything clearer. The haze has lifter so you can see the mountains so clearly. I am in love with the mountains here. I will miss them. they surround the whole city and you can see them in the skyline wherever you look. It's beautiful.

Jenn

PS more pictures to come in some near future.

Warning: This may be a little sappy

2008-06-13T10:38:00.002-04:00

Well as sappy as I get anyway. So I was really sick yesterday and that made me a little nostalgic and homesick. I really just wanted to curl up in mom's bed and sleep all day. But I did my duties the best I could. Today I'm much better, thanks for asking, but I just wanted to post these thoughts.
I know I have said this before, but this experience has made me appreciate my family a lot more, and on the scale of appreciating families I was already pretty up there. You see, my family is cool. I'm not just talking about Mom, Dad, Sister here. I have had two grandmothers live in my house, one who :) is still there. Aunt Mel also lived with us for a time, and my family, though they live hours away, has always made the effort to be there for holidays, important occasions, and at times, just because we haven't seen each other in a while. In my opinion, this is very rare for a typical American family, and is becoming increasingly rare around the world, especially in westernized cultures.
We have been to visit the family once while I've been here in Cuernavaca. The funny thing is, they complain about going to Mexico City (an hour drive with maybe an hour or two of traffic) when we often drove 6 hours to get to New Hampshire (ok, usually the NH people drove the hours), but the family from Mexico City won't even come down for birthday parties in Cuernavaca. It's just a very different philosophy, one that I think many people have, but I am not accustomed to.
Also, I have so many people in my life I call family or consider family who are not blood related. The many other mothers I have and the amount of people who care about me and how I am is overwhelming seeing how little people these kids are surrounded with. They have their parents and Amelia and the occasional au pair, and that's it. In a way I guess it works, but it's just so sad to mae because I know how great it can be to have all those other people there for you. You feel safe, because there will always be someone there.
So I just wanted to say thanks to everyone for making family important in our lives. If you don't realize how special that is, then at least it is there for you to take for granted. But really, our family is special. And I didn't even need to leave to know that, I just had to leave to know I'd miss it so much. But then I also miss my piano terribly...

Love,
Jenn

Cabello Oscuro

2008-06-10T12:40:00.003-04:00

So I bought this shampoo because it was the cheapest. Translated the bottle says:
Shampoo "Organogal"
Blacker-More Brilliant-Silkier
Base of Cactus and Walnut
Better Formula
The Specialist in Dark Hair

So we have dark hair shampoo at home, and though I don't have black hair, shampoo is shampoo. Well, I guess "blacker" should have struck me, because it comes out of the bottle looking like this:

So I freaked at first, but so far my hair is no blacker than it was before- which was zero.

Jenn
Sorry about all the posts, I was hit by the blogger bug.

New Look

2008-06-09T23:08:00.003-04:00

So I've been meaning to change the look of this blog since I made it, but it's taken a while. I know sometimes it's hard to get used to change in a website, so I tried not to move around too many things.
On another note, I had a wonderful day. I just wanted to let you know that since some of the last few have been a struggle. I made some couscous lentil salad for lunch and everybody loved it. I realized somewhere around 7 that I had probably been on my feet for about 8 hours or something like that. But I can tell that putting in the effort has made them more comfortable and made them feel like putting in some effort. So all lessons learned I retired to watch tv, change my blog and eat this:

YUM!
Jenn

Cucaracha

2008-06-09T13:59:00.001-04:00

At this point I've killed so many cucarachas that if there is karma I'm coming back as one.

Lessons

2008-06-08T14:09:00.003-04:00

So I'm taking from this the fact that I have learned to step up my game. I know how to work hard when I like it, or when I like the person I am doing it for, but I ahve trouble motivating myself when I feel that it is a pointless or graceless effort. However, I have always known sometimes we have to do things we don't want to and sometimes we have to do things for people we don't want to. The last few days have been tough, but rewarding, at least to myself. I have tried to put more effort into being part of the family, although I still feel they don't treat me as a member. And I have tried to do extra little things, even though instead of a thanks I usually get, "You see how easy it is?" Sometimes I want to scream. So this is me letting go. I cannot change the people or circumstances, but I can be happy with knowing I have done my best. Well most of the time I can.

Gas

2008-06-05T09:37:00.002-04:00

So every time I read the newspaper and read that gas prices are at $4 a gallon I am relieved I am not driving at this moment in my life. I think I've spent as much on plane tickets as I would have on gas in the last 7 months. I don't know how you all do it. Get a bike!

It's gonna be a good day, just wait and see...

2008-06-04T22:20:00.002-04:00

So, for anyone still reading...first things first....Acapulco. Friday I had a great day. Amelia and I talked all morning. I helped her make some kind of meat dish with green tomatoes and chilis and it was so delicious. The family didn't come home for lunch because they got invited to a birthday party so I was able to leave a little early for the bus. It ended up being good that it worked out this way, since I didn't get the bus until the next hour and who knows what it would have been like if I had left any later.
The bus ride was long, especially since I was looking forward to getting to the other end. However, the country is beautiful. There were plenty of mountains and little towns to look at in between Cuernavaca and Acapulco. The one thing I find completely strange about the buses in Mexico is that you can ask to get off anywhere, as long as you have paid to the stop past it. The bus will just pull off at the side of the road and drop people off. Also sometimes they stop at the side of the road in the middle of no where and a man gets on with a clipboard. The door closes and the man goes up and down the bus as the bus takes off. He looks at the seats and at the clipboard, and a little while later the bus stops again and the man gets off. Strange. Really, it's how it happens.
So finally I got to the bus station. I had to pee and didn't want to go on the bus cause I knew we were probably close. So I was like dying to get my luggage and get woff. I peed and then found my way to a taxi. It happened that their hotel was on the complete opposite end of the town, about a half an hour drive. I talked to the cab driver and he told me about the town and what was good to see. The hotel was in a quieter area, which was nice, and was very beautiful. Well the pool was beautiful, the hotel was unimmpressive, but the rooms were nice.
It was great to see my friends. We spoke English, fast. I never realized how fast we speak. I also was able for the first time to speak to people without having to censor what I was saying...not in the matters of curse words or anything, solely the fact I could say whatever I wanted about whatever without anyone getting mad. It was glorious.
The first night we went over to another hotel in the Mayan complex and met up with some guys they had befriended during the week. After pregaming a bit in their hotel room, we headed out to Paladium, a discoteque that the taxi driver had actually recommended. It was a lot of fun. Open bar, lots of people, lots of dancing. They even had this weird guy painted silver with a feather headdress the color of the Mexican flag come out and dance to a very inappropriate lyriqued techno song. We had a lot of fun and headed in at like 3 or so.
Saturday we all were up by about 11. Melissa, RJ and I went to the market across the street and got some food to eat. Then Melissa and I went to the fort that is in Acapulco from the Spanish. She wanted to see some historic things, which hadn't been anyone's focus as they all have real jobs, so I was happy to go. It was a nice museum and had some interesting things to say. It was also very nicely laid out and had some cool things I had never seen before. There was also a great view from the roof, of course, because it was used as a fort.
After the fort we hung out at the hotel for the afternoon. At 5ish we started getting ready for dinner and we hit the buffet at the other hotel. It was a bit expensive, although the food was ALMOST worth it. I ended up mostly spending all my pesos in Acapulco, except for the few I exchanged with Melissa for some USD.
Anyway, we missed the sunset on the beach we had wanted to see, but we did get some nice after dark pictures. And then we went back and changed and went to some club that I can't remember the name of. The music there was a lot better than the first night. There were a lot of people and an open bar, although when we got there we weren't sure about the people part so we sent in a scout to find out (a guy from not our friends so none of us would have to pay). I started a dance party on the platform . No one was there but the crazy people the club hired to dance like the Mexican NSYNC. (This part wouldn't really be that important, but it comes into play later, the me starting the dance party, not the Mexican NSYNC).
We got back to the hotel at like 4 something and went to the beach to say goodbye to the ocean. My friends left at 5:30 to go to the airport and as the door closed behind them I got sad for a minute realizing I was again alone and if I wanted to do anything Sunday it would be solo. But the sadness got overridden by my need to sleep. I had to wake up at 10 and I hadn't felt like calling the wake up call so I had an alarm I wasn't sure would work and kept waking up. I got up at 9:30, took a shower and checked out of the hotel. I walked across the street towards the taxis still unsure what I was going to do that day and when the taxi driver asked if I wanted a taxi I just asked him where was good in Acapulco to see. I ended up negotiating a tour with him for $18 an hour, a little expensive, but it was a great way to see things.
First we went to the Capilla de la Paz (Chapel of the Peace). It was built by a rich couple whose sons had died in a plane crash. It was a beautiful spot and had a beautiful view. The mass was going on so we couldn't go inside, but I've seen the insides of churches. We stopped at a lot of places with great views. One was a hotel called Hotel Flamingos where many famous people have stayed. I recognized Sybil Sheperd, John Wayne and Roy Rogers. It was a nice little place and there were many other hotels in the area with equally nice views, but they are losing business because most people want to be on the beach front.
He also stopped so I could see the murals done by Diego Rivera and some other interesting things. We went to a market where I spent the rest of my money. I found some great little things I hadn't seen anywhere else. I also had a great time talking to him about himself and Acapulco and got to practice my Spanish a lot.
Last we went to see the divers of Quedabra. It was really cool. There are little kids there who are learning to dive and then the older ones who jump from the top. While I was watching on the platform some guy who had grown up in San Diego started talking to me. He is now traveling throughout Mexico as a construction worker on Mayan Hotel buildings. Apparently he's also in some trouble with the US law, though I didn't ask what it was.
I left Acapulco at 3:25 or something and was excited to be getting back to routine and all. I didn't get as warm a welcome as I thought, but it was ok, the kids and I played and I went to bed early. I knew I had to talk to Nadine about stuff, but I didn't want to ruin my trip feeling so I waited until yesterday.
And now for the next part of the story. For those still reading I know I have talked some about a problem I had with Juan Carlos. Basically, he told me he didn't trust me with the children. Most of it was because of one incident with Louis where I grabbed him too hard and he got a scratch.
So I decided to talk to Nadine about it to make myself heard a little. I apologized for things I felt were my fault and asked for further guidance on some things. I feel like she turned a lot of things into my problem and mostly a problem of my character. There were many little things we don't seem to agree on, but we talked it out and I felt a bit better. I felt at least I could try to do things right and make some changes and everything would start to run smoother.
I was just praying yesterday went perfect and I could prove to her that I had listened and heard what she said and was going to try and make it work. Everything was going great until Clemence hit her head. I had everything under control and Clemence had almost stopped crying when Nadine came flying down the stairs yelling, "What happened?" I explained and then Juan Carlos came down, yelling as well. I couldn't say anything in Spanish after the accusing look he gave me and (have to admit) lost it and yelled that Clemence had lunged for some candy and I purposely had her slam her head into the chair. Not my finest moment, but sometimes you just lose it, especially when you are under pressure already. Everything ended up ok, but I went to bed tired and a little defeated.
Today I woke up iwth a positive attitude. I made a pasta salad for lunch, which is something new (I apparently wasn't trying hard enough with the cooking). I was a little annoyed when Nadine came down and saw me cooking and said, "Oh, you're cooking," in that tone of voice that you use when someone hasn't ever really done something and then just decided to do. I wonder what I've been doing all the other days they ate. Apparently it was magically showing up from somewhere. Ok, end bitterness. I ignored it and just politely said yes. They ended up liking it and I felt much better that they actually seemed to appreciate something I did.
Sometimes I feel maybe I do things they don't see, because I just do them and decide not to flaunt it to anyone. But if she wants more effort I will do what I have to to make this work.
However, today was good and made me feel much better. The kids have really started speaking in English. Clemence can form fully formed grammatical sentences. It's really cool to hear and know that I taught them that.
I have a job when I get back to the states. Sorry for all of those who have been waiting for me to come home, but I will only be home a few days again before I head to Lake George to watch Hannah and Rachel. I am excited to see them again and to go to Lake George. Their house sounds very nice and Janice is very excited (she hasn't told the kids yet just in case something happens). So you better start filling up my week home (or maybe few days) before I get there or you get no time.

AMANDA- if you read this I need you to help me pack. Cause you know I'd get nothing done without you.

Sorry for the insanely long post, I just had an insanely lot to say. I have left out a lot of the stresses and things because I feel it is too long and boring to read, but I feel it is unfair to only show the happy times...

Jenn

La rata

2008-05-30T11:28:00.002-04:00

So....new adventure, a rat. We have known there was a rat in the house since last Wednesday. Nadine was putting laundry into the machine from the sink (Like the big ones most people have in the wash room). I was in my room and suddenly heard the loudest scream I'd ever heard. It happened four more times as I was coming from my room to the kitchen (passing the laundry room on my way). Nadine was standing by the window screaming bloody murder and would not tell me what had happened.
Finally she stopped long enough to say, "Una rata, una rata." She calmed down over the next minute, and told me the story. As she was putting the laundry into the machine she felt something furry move beneath her hand. She looked, saw a "huge, furry rat" and ran screaming from the room. Soon the neighbor came to see what had happened. I was surprised no one came sooner, as I had really thought she was hurt or in pain or saw something horrible. But, it was just our friendly rat.
Throughout the week we heard him a few times, rustling around in the washing room, which just happens to be located in the same area as my bedroom. So one morning I was not surprised to see the rat run across my path as I walked to the kitchen. It ran from behind the garbage to behind the washing machine. I just went about my day and told Nadine about it when I saw her again.
A few times in the last week we have found holes in some of the clothes in the laundry room. We also found droppings (or poop) in the kids bathroom upstairs. I even though I heard it running around one night. Although Nadine was concerned, we weren't quite sure how to go about getting it.
So last night I'm on my bed watching a little tv on my computer before I turn out my light when I hear a little noise. I thought, "the rat." Then I convinced myself I was being silly. I went back to watching, but I heard it again. I very bravely peeked my head behind my dresser, and sure enough, there it was doing it's little ratty things. I quickly but quietly moved from the room, climbed the stairs and called to Juan Carlos. I figured at least it was trapped in my room and maybe they could use that to remove it from the house. I felt a little bad, as I really didn't want the little guy dead, but he was ruining clothes and possibly furniture and there is the other issue of the diseases they carry and the biting and all.
So, after taking everything out of my room and me making a trip to the gate for one of the guards, asking in my nicest Spanish, "Puede ayudarnos, por favor. Hay una rata en la casa." (Ok I actually made a mistake and said Habia instead of Hay, but he understood rata). So we went back to the house and I let him in my room. After a lot of thumping around finally the door opened and out came the guard carrying the rat, bluck. Anyway, it was an exciting night, I guess.
I leave at 4:30 for Acapulco!!!!! YAY!!!

Jenn

Can't wait for tomorrow....

2008-05-29T09:05:00.002-04:00

Tomorrow I go to Acapulco to see my friends!!! Yay!!!! I'm excited. It's been kind of a rough week and I think this will be just what I need.
I'm going to skip the apology for it being so long and just go right to what I've been up to. Saturday the kids had swimming in the morning. Afterwards I walked over to the Starbucks and enjoyed some time to myself. I was only going to do a little shopping afterwards but ended up doing a lot more.
I followed signs from Starbucks to try and get to the pyramid that's in town. I got really lost and ended up at the Super. I bought a few things for the kids and then walked across the street to the outdoor mall. I looked around for a while but clothes are very expensive here and I don't really need anymore anyway.
After the shopping trip I tried again for the pyramid, this time with success. It was actually really cool. It's in a big cleared out field in the middle of the town. It is a double pyramid, the people were in the process of building a bigger pyramid around the original small one when the Spanish came and took over. I thought it was much more impressive than the one I climbed nearly a mile to see. I'm just sorry I didn't have my camera, so I might have to visit again.
After the pyramid I made my way to the center because I know that a cab can find me there (I always call from the same place because I know I'll see the cab). At the Zocolo(or town square) there was a concert going on of like reggae music. There were people drawing pictures on large pieces of paper and a lot of people all around watching. I had a great time listening and then I realized it was getting late and I should head back to the house.
Sunday we didn't do much. Nadine left for a business trip so we went to the mall to eat. And then she was gone until yesterday night. I guess I'm still having a little trouble getting used to what the family wants from me and how they want their children taught, because Juan Carlos and I had a talk. But I don't really want to go into details. It's not that important and I will be trying my best to do what they like. I'm just glad that the children are so great, although I do really like the whole family. All I can say is Yay for tomorrow!!!!

The Center

2008-05-22T11:48:00.003-04:00

I've wanted to blog about this weekend since it happened, but I have been busy. I taught the kids to make clay and we baked a few figures. Yesterday I was a little tired and right when she got home Clemence started acting out and I lost all patience with the kids, which in turn just makes them act worse.
But anyway, I had a great weekend. Saturday I was thinking about staying near the gym where we take the kids swimming, but Nadine didn't feel well so I wanted to stay and help her with the kids. So Sunday I was ready to go.
The family gave me a rid into the center and Nadine gave me a few suggestions on where to go. I started at the Jardin Borda. It is a large colonial period garden. I started by going to the two art room they have and then I entered the garden. It is very large and very beautiful (as you can see in the pictures I posted). there is a museum with pictures and other colonial relics. There was also a market to buy handmade crafts, paintings, and snacks. The handcrafts were some of the best I've seen anywhere in any market in the world. They weren't the same old same old that you get at all the Mexican markets, but actually well thought out crafts. I ended up buying two photographs as well as a bunch of things from one stall which I can't talk about because they might become presents for some of you.
However, at this stall I stopped and talked to the woman who had made the crafts. She had dreamed up the idea and figured out how to do it all on her own, which if you know what it is it's amazing she wasn't trained. She lives out in the forest between Mexico City and Cuernavaca and comes to the market int he garden every Sunday. She knew a lot about different things and even did my Mayan astrology for me (I'm Mano, the Hand). I had a good time talking to her and hope I can go back and see the new things she's made and get a chance to talk to her again.
After the garden I went to the coffee shop in the center that I have been to with the family a few times. I got a frappucino and sat and read my book for a while. It was a nice relaxing time by myself. After I had sucked my coffee dry I headed across the street to the Cathedral complex. There are three churches within the walls, two of which you can go inside. The third is very beautiful from the outside, though I really was curious about what was behind the heavy wooden doors.
I wandered around for a while and then thought I'd go to the supermarket I saw down the street for some craft stuff for the kids. I walked down there and around the air conditioned store for a while (however, Sunday was actually very nice out with a nice breeze and just enough sun). I didn't find anything I was looking for, so I headed back toward the center to look for the museum Nadine had mentioned. On my way I saw this sign for the Robert Brady house, so I went in.
Robert Brady was a man from teh United States who moved to Mexico and collected many Mexican art items, as well as items from around the world. It reminded me a lot of the house of Jim Thompson in Thailand who had a great affinity for Thai arcitecture. Many of the things in the Brady house were very interesting, and his garden was so beautiful I would have loved to live there just for that reason.
After finishing in the Brady house it started to look cloudy and ready to rain so I decided to call a cab. I walked to a little spot in front of the Cathedral where I could easily tell the cab company where to pick me up, called and waited. The cab came without fail and we headed home. And after I got there, it did rain. And the raind didn't stop until yesterday afternoon. It was my first rainy days in Mexico....bleh, let's not have that again.

Photos

2008-05-21T15:12:00.001-04:00

Hacienda: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2193770&l=b209e&id=7804820

Tepotzlan (the pyramid): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196608&l=aeda0&id=7804820

Around the Center (I will post about this soon): http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2196610&l=95595&id=7804820

Raton...

2008-05-16T12:04:00.002-04:00

So, the pests have grown larger. Yesterday there was a rat in the laundry. Well at least this is what Nadine managed to tell me after screaming bloody murder. I never saw the rat, thought there were a few holes in a shirt left as evidence that she did not make it up. I thought she had been bit by a scorpion or something. A neighbor even came to see what had happened.
I had a cucaracha climb in my bed one night. I woke up and thought I felt something, but I decided it must have been a hair or my imagination or something. But then I felt it again. I jumped out of bed, turned my light on full blast and took all the sheets off the bed. You never know, it could be a scorpion. I saw it scurry up the wall and, now fearless me, smushed it and left it on the floor to deal with in the morning.
Last weekend I went to Tepotzlan. It is an old city that brags a museum, a few churches, a market and a pyramid. I took a bus from Cuernavaca center, a small dark bus, through the bumpy roads and into Tepotzlan. I am not sure how the bus stops worked. None of them made any sense. There were just magically people waiting in certain places to get the bus. Having seen this on the way there at least I was warned and knew to start looking for the bus earlier than I might have, which in turn helped keep me from getting poured on by a sudden thunder storm. Turns out the bus ends at a bus station a little out of town. It took me three policemen and a little bit of exploratory walking and stopping before I figured this out.
But back to the day in Tepotzlan. I started out looking in a few shops after I jumped off the bus. I found the Zocolo, or market, and walked a lap around that before going in search of the pyramid. It took a little bit of walking and faith that I was not missing any of the signs, but I finally found it. You have to walk through a little market before reaching the bottom of the mountain that you must climb to reach the pyramid. I bought watermelon and sat at the bottom of the mountain and enjoyed it.
I thought I should go to the bathroom before the climb, but when I headed back to the place I had seen the bathroom I realized you had to pay and I didn't have a lot of change. So I walked all the way back to the base of the mountain to start my climb.
The climb started with stairs and then degenerated into stair like rocks and then just random rocks. As you climb the mountain you realize that anytime anyone ever wanted to go to the pyramid they had to make this climb. The sign said it was about 2 kilometers, so it wasn't too much, just very steep. The Indians must have had horrible knees.
It was a hard climb, in the heat, with no one to talk to, but it was nice. Having no one with me meant I could take breaks when I felt like it and go for as long as I felt I could before collapsing onto a rock to take a rest. I did talk to a few people on the way up, but it was nice to actually look at the things around me rather and take my time rather than just being concerned with getting up the mountain to see the pyramid. Honestly, if I had done that I would have been severely disappointed.
The pyramid was neat, but very small and mostly fallen down. There were a few carved rocks but the best thing was the view from the top. I guess that's why people bother climbing mountains instead of doing the stair climber in the gym. The view is always so cool and is almost as good as if you could fly. The breeze up there was nice too. I wanted to stay longer, but the sunscreen I had brought ended up being empty and I knew I was getting burned so I headed down.
On the way down I heard these people playing drums. They were on their way up so I fell in behind them and climbed up behind them a little bit. However, I finally looked at my clock and realized if I wanted to do anything else I'd have to get down because I had decided to look for the bus at 5ish.
I went down and went through the market. I found the entrance to the museum but decided I'd save it for another day because I didn't have much more time. As I said before I'm glad my schedule was what it was, or I would have been drenched. I got on the bus just as the first drops began to fall.
This week has been mostly uneventful. I have played with the kids and done my thing. I don't know what I will do this weekend, but we will see.

Cuchillos

2008-05-05T15:51:00.001-04:00

So it's hard to cut through things without a sharp knife. No, this is not some sort of metaphor for life, though I'm sure someone could make it one. And then I'd be the famous sayer of a saying. But really people, it's hard to cut things without a sharp knife. I never wanted for sharp knives in my life, since my dad is the king of the sharpener. So I never really understood those commercials, "It even cuts through a tomato." But I just tried to cut a tomato with a dull knife. NOT EASY.

Ok...

2008-05-05T08:52:00.002-04:00

So here goes, since I know I owe a post of last weekend, last week and this weekend, I will try my best to get it all done before the kids wake up. Last weekend wasn't very eventful. We went to the City of Mexico on Saturday for a birthday party. It took 3 hours to get to the house because it took almost an hour or so to get to the city, an hour to get across the city and an hour to find the house. We got very lost, which was find with me cause I got to see all the pretty houses of the city. There are many houses there where rich people live that are very beautiful. Nadine got very worked up about being lost and wanted to get home. She gets very worked up about everything, I mean EVERYTHING. I think that's the one big problem I have, because she is always asking "I'm right, no?" and what am I supposed to say. She's also very critical. It makes me sad to know the kids will most likely grow up just as critical as her.
It's hard watching kids who are not yours for the majority of their time at home. These kids are the spoiled kids you see throwing a fit in the supermarket with no one trying to do anything about it except the nanny and the parents kind of just stand there waiting. And then they buy them chocolate cokies and the yogurt drink they want and the flan and a toy and wonder why their kids are always throwing fits and never eating. Maybe it's because the minute they cry you give them what they want, so they don't even bother asking, they go straight to whining, except with me cause I won't let them. And maybe they'd eat better if you weren't constantly giving them sweets and bottles of chocolate milk. But that's just an observation. Maybe it's not that at all.
Anyway, this past week was ok. The kids were home from Wednesday on and Nadine went on a trip to Costa Rica Thursday night to Saturday morning. We didn't do anything too special. Wednesday after school we met some of their classmates parents and classmates at a restaurant. It was a little boring because no one was really talking or anything, so I went and played with the kids. At least they were having fun on the playground that looked like it might fall and kill them, but hey, fun...right?
This Sunday I went out on my own for the first time. I got a new cell phone at the mall last weekend, so I had all the numbers I needed. I headed out of the plaza where we ate breakfast and went across the street to the Muros cultural center. They had all this really cool modern art. I really liked it, especially the art that was there from the Down Syndrome initiative. I can't remember the name of the society, but a man decided to teach Down Syndrome patients to use art to express themselves, and they are really good drawings. Especially the ones in linoleum.
I really liked looking at all the art, but I still don't really understand it. I mean I understand it expresses something. But I feel that a bit of that expression is taken away hanging it on a white wall devoid of creativity. In the room with the Down Syndrome paintings there was a large mural done by Diego Rivera. That was really cool. It covered the whole ceiling and halfway down the walls. I felt that that helped me appreciate the art more. there were also two really nice photographs in another room but I can't remember the artist's name. However, the museum was free so perhaps I will go back at some point.
After the art museum I went to the grocery store to get a few things and then headed off to walk to the center of town. I got really lost, and ended up walking into the big market that they have in Cuernavaca. I bought a pair of flip flops cause my others smelled really really bad and then I went to look at the other things. It reminded me a lot of the market in Thailand that we went to, although it was a bit smaller and more confusing. It took me an hour to find an exit, although I got to see a lot. The people there were not too pushy. They called to you to ask about prices, but if you ignored them or said no they left you alone.
Finally, I found my way out of the market and walked some more until I sort of came upon the center by accident. I got myself an ice cream because It was really hot and I was kind of tired. I went to the old palace which was filled with a museum. It was $3 so I went in and looked at the things. they had really cool stones carved by the different Indian groups from before the Spanish conquests. I had seen many pictures of stone like them, but never one in real life. I really wanted to touch them, but I think it's prohibited.
In the upper half of the museum they had colonial artifacts. I looked at them, but not well because it was like an oven upstairs in a brick building with wood floors and no air conditioning. So I breezed past most of the things, but I got the idea. I've seen colonial things anyway. But it was sort of interesting seeing Spanish vs. British colonial things. The Spanish things were, well, very Spanish. And I can say that cause I've been to Spain and seen their things.
I took a taxi home. You have to call for a taxi, which intimidated me for a minute, but it was ok. My cell phone is clear and I can hear what they are asking well. Sometimes when I talked on Nadine cell phone I couldn't hear anything anyone was saying. But on mine I can, so everything worked out ok.
I came home tired, but they hadn't even eaten yet. So I helped with the kids and the food and the kids bath after that and finally got to bed at 10 o'clock or so. Now I'm just waiting for the kids to get up to start my day.

Much love,
Jenn

Cucarachas Disaperecen

2008-05-02T10:04:00.002-04:00

So, just a quick little story while I have a little time. I have killed two cucarachas in my shower- on separate occasions. I hide them under the drain so that I don't have to deal with them until they are dried out, cause squishy bugs are yuckier then dry ones. So anyway, the next day when i go to deal with it, I pull up the drain cover and the cucarachas are gone. Now I have no clue how tey disappear. I know they were dead. Maybe their friends come for them. Or maybe they dry up and fall through the drain. However, they do it, it is a nice surprise because it makes it easier for me.

2008-05-01T16:07:00.000-04:00

The kids don't have school until next thursday, so I will be pretty busy. I will try to keep you updated.

So you know what really annoys me....

2008-04-30T09:08:00.003-04:00

Well, I know a lot of things annoy me, like when people stand in the middle of your walking path and feel that it is your fault you can't get through or when people snap and me and then there's when people repeatedly tell me things I know (not stories, cause I know I annoy people with this, facts- like 2+2=4...although what is a fact anyway). All this is besides the point and mostly comes from growing up with the two parents that I was sent to. I love them (you) dearly but they both have their neurotic tendencies, which have now become my neurotic tendencies that I curse them and bless them for almost everyday.
But back to what really annoys me. Why do people get all frustrated over something so quickly? Now I understand there are sometimes circumstances out of your control, which automatically makes humans mad, but there are many things that you do have in your control before you have to throw in the towel.
Now for a specific example. Say someone had to shred carrots for their son's teacher one day and they waited til the morning of to do it. Now this could never happen in my family since my mother would have bought a prepared things like 5 days in advance with a written map on how to do it. Or maybe a bunch of whole carrots would have been sent with a grater and a note saying, "Sorry my daughter didn't tell me until 8:45 this morning." Whatever way, there would have been some exhasperated sigh and life goes on.
Ok, now say these carrots had to get done by not my family. Well, of course you could use the food processor that comes in handy for quick preparation. Three minutes into grating you hear a snap and there is plastic in your perfect carrot shavings. Ok, stop the processor, dump the carrots and move on. (This can be done with a lot of swearing...although this is what starts annoying me.) So now you try again. But something inside the processor is broken. More swearing, more annoying. You pick up the blender and take it to better light to better assess the situation. Good move. You take it apart, swear at the pieces and without really looking at what needs to be in place for this to work you reassemble the pieces and try again. Bad move. Do this a couple more times...take apart, look mad, put together, turn on, curse repeat.
So, we all know by now that this has gone way past hypothetical and is totally about my morning. I was just dumbfounded at how many minutes a person can waste not doing anything about their situation, not even thinking, well at least appearing to be not thinking. I think this annoyed me most of all, the not thinking part. If you stopped swearing and moving pieces and really looked and thought about what occurs when you turn on the processor and press the carrot onto the grater you might have seen the way to put it together. Now granted it was still broken after this, but let's at least TRY for some intelligent grating.
And when you see it is not going to work, what do we do next? This simple question, taught to most first graders when reading stories and problem solving, saves a lot of time. So why not look for something else that will grate a carrot, use your frustration and grate the carrots before someone punches you in the face.
And this is the end of the lesson on how not to annoy me, or how to do it perfectly.

ok, now i'm really being bitter

2008-04-29T09:03:00.001-04:00

but it's a pretty good article for dummies like me who don't understand stupid oil problems...

taken from http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/29/business/worldbusiness/29oil.html?_r=1&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss&oref=slogin

clipped from www.nytimes.com

In the United States and through much of the developed world, the higher fuel prices have led drivers to reduce their consumption, and gasoline demand is expected to drop this year. But that drop will be more than offset by the rise in energy demand from developing countries. In the next two decades, demand is projected to jump by 35 percent, and developing countries will consume more oil than industrialized countries.

Hace mucho tiempo

2008-04-24T09:51:00.002-04:00

Ok, so I'm long overdue. Sorry, but I just haven't felt in the blogging mood much, but I have been busy and have plenty to write.
First, an update in the Cucaracha Chronicles (this is what Lauren and I have taken to calling the unavoidable cockroach stories). Sunday night (well I think it was Sunday night), I was in th shower cleaning off a day full of dirt. There is a lot of dust here since it is so dry in the dry season, imagine that. Anyway, I was having a lovely time, when I looked down and there was a black smudge moving around the shower floor. I had not yet recieved my contact package so I was pretty blind, but I knew it was moving and therefore, had to be a cucaracha in my shower. I tried to get it to run out, but it was afraid of the water and every time I moved it charged towards me. Trying another strategy, I turned off the water hoping this would encourage him to get out of the shower. All of this was done with lots of those funny little hops people make when they see a bug or a mouse, as if this helps keep the bug from seeing you or being able to predict your next move- although they always do, as well as with me coaching the cucaracha, "Pelase leave...Please....Get out, please." I am very polite with bugs.
Ok, so finally it left. I finished my shower but then realized I had to figure out how to get the cucaracha out of my room without having to crunch it's little body below a shoe. It decided to crawl all the way up the wall as I chased it and rested behind my bathing suits that are hanging on the shower pole. I figured it was safe there for a while so I went to go talk to Nadine and Clemence. I returned to my rom after a few minutes with determination. It crawled even farther up the wall when I exposed it from behind the swim suit so I had to throw my shoe at the ceiling while yelling at it. Nadine thought it funny I decided to talk to the cucaracha, and we all had a good laugh as I climbed on the toilet and treid to get it to come down far enough for me to do something about it. And then it fell form the ceiling and disappeared. We looked everywhere for it, but the sucker had just vanished.
A while later, I was thinking about going to the bathroom (yeah I was thinking aobut it- you would to if there was a large funky looking bug lurking somewhere in there) and had an idea. Maybe the cucaracha had fallen into the toilet paper roll that was sitting on my toilet bakc. And sure enough there it was. So I slid the roll between two books and let it back out into the wild so that it may return someday to delight you all with another story.
And while we're on the topic of bugs, I saw my first scorpion yesterday. Nadine called me downstairs while I was reading to the children to help her with something. When I got to the bottom of the stairs she was standing there with a shoe in her hand. She told me there was a huge scorpion. Now being form the suburbs of New Jersey, I have not seen a scorpion outside of a museum or the televsion. I am picturing a monster with claws beared ready to eat my hand off. We get ot the laundry room, and there's this scorpion hanging out on the wall close to the ceiling. The tail was curled in and it was probably about an inch and a half long. I was less than impressed. But Nadine assured me that this little bug could kill Louis and cause serious problems for all of us if it bit. So she bravely killed it, with me standing behind with a shoe in case it should fall before being completely obliterated. Then we had to look for the "other one" because according to everyone they always come in pairs. When we did find the other one I realized why she said this one was huge. The second was tiny, probably the length of the word second. So then we searched everything.
Last night was interesting. Besides the scorpions there was a lizard in the house (good thing, because they eat the scorpions). It was cute with really buggy eyes. The power also went out for a while and we sat in the candlelight until it came back on.
Last weekend was good. Again Nadine said something about my effort, which, after working hard the whole week, really hit me hard. But she explained that sometimes Juan Carlos doesn't ask for things because he just expects you to do them and when you don't he gets annoyed. This is hard, especially because I am coming into their family and most of the time I am taking care of the children with their parents present (ok all of the time they are present) so I sometimes feel I am stepping on toes. However, just hearing that helped, and I am working harder and I do believe that Juan Carlos is making an effort to aks if he thinks I am not doing something I should.
Saturday we went to a botanical garden. It was beautiful and cool which was nice because sometimes it really is very hot. Anyway, we saw monkeys and ducks and some funny animals I don't know the name of. wE also went to the petting zoo they had with exotic animals such as cows, sheep, chickens and bunnies (which were soooooo cute and you could hold them).
Sunday we got up early and went to an hacienda. It was built in the 1500s and was beautiful (pictures soon, I promise). The kids, Juan Carlos and I rode a horse in a boring little circle, but Clemence loved it so much it was worth it. We ate breakfast on a really old deck of a really old hotel. After that we walked through teh gardens and took pictures and such. At around noon we left and I assumed we were going home until we didn't return to the highway. I got really confused but figured they knew where we were going.
We ended up going to visit Juan Carlos's aunt and cousins at their weekend house in Cuernavaca. They all live in Mexico City, but a lot of people there have houses out in Cuernavaca. Anyway, we spent the whole afternoon eating and playing and talking (well I mostly listened, but it was a good time in Spanish).
Monday and Tuesday were pretty uneventful. Yesterday, an accountant came from Mexico City and Clemence had a play date, so Nadine asked me to make some special food. I made oatmeal raisin cookies, which turned out good because I learned on Monday that you do have to adjust for high altitude when baking. I also made a fruit salad, fish, and a tomato and cheese salad. I started at 10:30 and wasn't finished until the kids walked in the door at 2 something. Then I had to go right into watching the kids. I didn't sit until like 4 or something and then after that I was going and going and going until the lights went out at 8 something. It was a long day to say the least.
So I am happy that Amelia is here today. I went to the pool and swam and read this morning. It was relaxing. Then I helped Amelia with the food. We made chipotle salsa again, but last week Nadine broke the blender so we did it the old fashion way, with a mojate. It's something like a mortar and pestle, made out of heavy stone. Because most of you have never done that, let me just say, crushing tomato and onion skin between two stone surfaces is not easy. Be happy we have blenders.

So sorry that was so long. I just did do a lot in the last few days. Hope you didn't give up on it.

Jenn

Oh and because I'm bitter, here's an article about how Europe also contibutes to Global Warming...Europe sucks too! Let's move to the moon...

Estoy Cansada

2008-04-18T23:17:00.002-04:00

I'm tired (as I said above) but I have told so many people that I was going to blog that I just have to do a little something. Not much interesting has occurred. Last weekend was a bit rough as I worked almost the whole time, got no thanks and got yelled at for not helping enough. But Nadine was gone Monday and Tuesday which helped a lot, not because I don't like Nadine, but because it gave me a chance to establish some kind of routine for the kids. Now they go upstairs to look for their parents less, they whine less and everyone's day is better.
This week I have figured out how to give Louis a bath without him crying, actually get both kids to eat, get the kids up to bed without a huge fight (even when I turn the TV off in the middle of their favorite show and how to get them to actually say please and thank you for things I do (If only this applied to the parents as well). Anyway, these may seem like little triumphs, but to those of you who remember your children young...you know what I'm talking about.
This week I also touched a piece of raw meat, beef even. I know...gasp! It's the first time I'm ever done this that I can remember. But when an elderly Mexican woman asks you to cut the meat muy chica, you don't really say no. It's just not a thing you do. So I'm not dead yet from this experience, so I guess it was a building character thing. Maybe I don't have to run sick every time I'm in a meat secton of the store, although I think it will take much more touching meat for this to be possible, and it's not really something I'd like to continue in my life.
Let's see...oh, so I find it really funny what people decide to get hung up on. Juan Carlos is hung up on the kids always having on sunblock, although I don't know if he realizes that 100 proof sunblock does nothing better than 45 and that you have to reapply. Nadine is hung up on the environment and health. This is all fine and good, buy organic food, buy organic products, drive a small car. But if you are really concerned about all the SUVs in America and how much we are ruining the planet maybe you should look at how many times a day the washing machine is running. I have never in my life had to do 2 loads of laundry a day or more in order for things to stay clean. Nobody's perfect, but lay off the SUVs. Yes they are gas guzzling, environment ruining machines, but a lot of people can actually use the space in America. And we have enough parking to fit them all.

Jennifer

I would also like to say that if I have things in all of my ten million hands, please do not ask me to carry something like you can't hold it for one more second. I will carry it, but I don't have more hands than you and your ten seconds is not more precious than mine, so just let it go. This is a random rant. Surprisingly I'm not mad tonight, I'm just tired and was mad like 5 days ago and writing about it helps. So thank you to all of you for being a great therapist. Good night.

Cumpleaños

2008-04-12T00:07:00.002-04:00

So, as an anthropologist and a rational human I know that stereotypes don't just show up out of thin air, there had to be some place they came from. Maybe they are not always one hundred percent acurrate or fair, but they are based on some truth- either picked up by the "others" or used to create inside jokes.
When I think of Mexico, I think of tacos (and other tasty foods), the chihuahua (which I have learned is also the name of a mountain range), and piñatas. And that's exactly what there was at the birthday party we attended today. Ok, there really wasn't a chihuahua, but one woman did actually use the expression "Ay, chihuahua," no joke. I thought it funny because when I thought about coming to Mexico I did not think it would actually be the way I imagined. I thought that they would eat things like we do at home, which they do, but there is always some kind of chili or salsa or tortilla to accompany the green salad or beef. There are a lot of things that are different from how I might have expected if I had time to expect anything, but a lot of things really are how they are. I guess that some Mexican traditions have become so ingrained in America now that it seems that they shouldn't really be Mexican...or something like that.
Anyway, the birthday party was a lot of fun. It was at a place kind of like chucky cheese, but a lot smaller. Really I should compare it to the McDonalds Play Place, because that it was it was more like. There was lots of food and I got to listen and practice my Spanish some. It also gave me a day to not have to constantly run after the kids (although yesterday was not hard since Clemence and Louis are both sick- with different things might I add).
The strangest things about the whole situation was the amount of foreigners at the party. Since the kids go to a French school many of the people are French (mostly the women). I met some women from the US as well. One woman I had met previously at Louis' swimming was born and raised in Mexico but has French parents and spent a year in Michigan as an au pair. Another Mexican woman had spent three years in France as an au pair. The people all have very interesting backgrounds and it will be cool to see if I get to talk to any of them more because, again, as an anthropologist all this is entirely intriguing to me. Often Nadine asks me if I am bored because I guess I appear to be completely spaced out, but it is just that I have to concentrate hard when listening to conversations in Spanish at a distance.
Anyway, I have to get to bed. I have not clue what I will be doing for the weekend, but I'm sure it will bring on more crazy thoughts for you to suffer (I mean read) through.

Jenn

Hace calor y cucarachas

2008-04-10T12:55:00.002-04:00

So I've seen my first (and second and third and fourth) Mexican cucaracha! Today one crawled across my bed as I was talking to people online. But at least they are friendly, unlike the scorpions. Luckily I have not seen one of these, but Nadine said she has killed two this week. Oh the wonders of living in paradise!
Last week nothing of too much consequence occurred. I learned how to make a tomato soup with alphabet letters and fish heads from the Mexican woman, Amelia, the family has to help with cleaning and other things. It was surprisingly good. She returned today and will stay through Friday afternoon, so I will hopefully learn some more traditional Mexican recipes. It's pretty cool to learn from someone who just knows these things. Although I should write them down so I don't forget.
This weekend we went into town and I saw some of the old cathedral, a market and some other building in the town center. I will have to return at some point to take pictures and to explore more. It is a little intimidating because the city is huge so I must take a taxi, or a very very long walk to get to the center, and I am a little timid of the taxis since I don't speak Spanish natively and I don't know where anything in this city really is. I am hoping to talk to the former au pair about this, as Nadine has given her my email (and if she does not contact me I will ask for hers).
I spend most of my time with the family and the children, though in the morning I do have a few hours of quiet to myself. So far it has not been a problem that I have not made any friends. I get to talk to different people when I take Louis to swimming and when I go to the pool around here. I do not know if this will become a problem in the future. The only reason it would be nice, would be to have someone to go places with since I would love to go see the pyramids and the rest of the center of town and maybe some other places outside the city. But either I will do it alone or I will find someone to do it with eventually. It is only my second week, so for now I am happy.
This job is fun, but hard. It should be required for everyone who desires to be a housewife. I do many household duties in the morning before I get my 2 or 3 hours off and then I go from the time I start cooking around 1 until 9 o'clock at night. It is a good eight hour job, and most of it I am on my feet doing something or carry someone. As a job it is fine, but I could not dedicate my life to this forever. Although it is not mindless work or useless by any means, I feel after a while it would lose some entertainment value. And in the end the kids are not mine and the house is not mine, so the entire responsibility does not rely on my shoulders. I do not know if I want to have kids, but if I do have them, I have no illusions that it will be an easy task, especially if, as I would like to, work as well. So thank you to all the mothers (and don't forget the fathers...I will explain later why here it was an after thought) out there. You do a pretty damn good job!
Now as for Mexican family relations, I do not think I could do it. Nadine and Juan both own the company that they work for, but Nadine also has all the household duties. I have no clue how she did it without an au pair. Juan helps with the kids often, but when I said that my father often cooks at home she was shocked. Juan has never cooked a day in his life. I find this frustrating. And I know all families work differently, ut the division of labor does not seem to be equal here. There are cultures that divide duties of men and women into separate categories in order to keep the burden of labor somewhat equal, even though the tasks are different. This is how it used to be in the Western world. Women has the house and men worked outside in the work world. But once women enter the work world (and the debate whether this is good or not has nothing to do with it) out of want or necessity it seems that there should be some balancing of the duties. Although this seems common sense, and most people I know share these beliefs, it is interesting living it for real.
Also, I have no clue what the history between France and US is, but I know there is tension. I will have to read up on the problems, but it is definitely apparent. Although, I think in Europe most countries have some stereotype of Americans that I and many would not fit and would be offensive if it weren't laughable. Nadine, as a French woman (and perhaps a Mexican), definitely has her ideas about America. Though she is never rude about it you can tell she thinks we are all wasteful people who don't care about the environment and continually consume packaged products that are bad for us. AND that we are too stupid to see what we are doing.
The latter part is the problem I have with this. Now, yes, many Americans are this way. But there are many countries who have decided to subscribe to this way of life. Are they all stupid too? Because, the US may bring their products somewhere and advertise them and maybe they know they are bad and shouldn't even be selling them, but the people in these other countries could just say no. I understand there is blame to be placed on the US, but not all of it. It is not the fault of Coca Cola that the people want to buy their products. Someone will always buy it regardless of the fact it is bad for them or it kills the environment or small companies or whoever or whatever cause we are defending this week.
These are not well thought out arguments, I know, I am not composing a paper on this at the moment, but they are just some interesting things I have noticed. They are not new arguments and will not be old arguments anytime soon, but it would be nice to not feel it is completely the problem of the US that the world weather system is going crazy. I may be paraphrasing a bit...

OK....

2008-04-03T11:18:00.002-04:00

Sorry it's been so long, there was the week at home and then there was the coming to Mexico and a problem with the internet, but finally everything is fine.
Anyway, first things first, the end of Spain. Normally I would not bother, but this seems a story worth telling.
So I went to bed at midnight, a little late because I had to get up at like 4:30, but it took me forever to pack. I set my alarm and all and warned myself to get up. So I woke up at some point and I was lying there for a long time wondering when my alarm would ring. Eventually I looked at the clock, it was 6 o'clock. I mumbled a few curse words as I jumped out of bed and got dressed faster than I ever have before. I ran out the door, looked for a taxi stand and tried not to panic too much. At some point I realized there was no taxi coming and that I didn't have enough time to get to airport anyway. The bus station was just a block away. I walked to it, hoping all the way there would be a train that got to Madrid on time. Luckily there was, and it left at 7, a half an hour from the time I arrived at the station. I bought my ticket without problems (although when the man said cien euros I almost had a heart attack) and got on the train. I chatted a little with the woman next to me and then watched the movie they had on, though I hardly understood it.
The train arrived at the station on time and I got a txi to the airport. It cost a lot, but I had a lot of cash from my deposit, although the night before I had decided to use it for something special for me at the airport shops. Anyway, I had a few cafe con leches and shopped a little bit and then got my plane to London. The flight was delayed because of the weather and then I think we circled over London a bit because the weather there was also nasty. It was 5:30 when we got to security for the connection. After we got through we had to wait in another line to get our tickets. I befriended the guy behind me, which ended up being good because we ended up staying in London for the night and I at least had someone to comiserate and eat with. The hotel Iberia put us in was beautiful and the food wasn't too bad. We went and watched a wedding that was going on and then went to the bar for a little bit where I had yet another political discussion with random strangers.
My flight the next day was at 8:55. Everything went smoothly and I ended up home one hour before Easter dinner.

And as for Mexico...
The flight here was uneventful. I collected my baggage and was so happy to have Juan Carlos there to greet me when I came through the gate. The drive from Mexico city was maybe an hour, but I slept through most of it. I was very tired from the night before and waking up early. When I arrived Nadine welcomed me and I met the children, Clemence and Loius. They are adorable. Clemence is five and Loius is two. Both of them have way too much energy but it's good because at least they are fun.
Saturday night we went to Costco and some Mega store that reminds me of Walmart. Then we had Santa Clara ice cream bars. Clemence was shocked I didn't know what these were, but they were good.
Sunday we went to breakfast with some of their friends. After we went to the mall and then to the house of the friends to look at the work they are doing rebuilding the house.
Everything here is very colorful and very beautiful. There are palm trees and blue skies. The house that Nadine and Juan Carlos live in is called a condominium, but unlike at home, all the houses look different on the outside at least. I have been inside one other house and it is similar but not the same. We wnet to visit a neighbor whose daughter had had a baby. Here in Mexico when you have a baby you go to live with your mother for the first couple of weeks.
My days so far are pretty full. I get up at ten of seven and go to the school with Juan Carlos and the kids. It is about a half and hour away by car in a tiny pueblo. There are already many people out by this time of morning and it is already 22 degrees celsius when I wake up. During the day it reaches more than 30 and inside the house it is usually 33 in the upstairs.
After returning from the school and whatever errands Juan Carlos has I have free time. I usually read or go ot the pool and swim a bit. Yesterday (Wednesday) I took a taxi back to teh school and helped with Loius's swim class. There is an instructor but basically every kid is paired with their mom or a family member and then we just hang out in the water for a little while. After an hour we return to the school and I read until Juan Carlos came for the kids.
After the kids return from school we eat a large lunch. Yesterday we ate at the mall at a sushi restaurant, but usually I make something for lunch for everyone and then I play with the kids until around7:30 and then it is bath time. After that we eat a light lunch and then the kids go to bed. Usually I go to bed soon after this because I am very timered. The sun is strong here and the heat is killer at times, so it is necessary to sleep enough or I can't function.
Anyway I will write soon.
Jenn

Ultima Dia de Clase

2008-03-20T16:33:00.001-04:00

Well today was my last day of class. There is no class tomorrow because of Semana Santa. Now, here's a little bit of Spanish culture for everyone. In the US we have Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Saturday (I forget the name), and then Easter. Here there is an entire week where they celebrate Semana Santa (the literal translation is Saint Week). I should have been in Andulucia, or the south of Spain, during this time because it is where all the action happens. I was there for Carnaval so I can't complain too much, but here in Barcelona, the Catalunya region, they celebrate this week differently from the rest of Spain. Here they have something called a "mona." This is a sculpture out of chocolate. In all of the Pastelerias are little scenes from different movies or other little sculpted animals. They are very cute and I wish I could carry one home without it breaking into a million pieces, but I do have pictures.
Anyway, in the Andalucia region, and many other regions of Spain, during Semana Santa they have processions every day with different scenes from the crucifixion. There are also often penetents, who wear robes similar to those of the KKK but in different colors. Thursday, Friday and Monday all schools are closed (except ours is only Friday and Monday) and the businesses are all closed Friday and Monday.
I may see if I can see a procession tomorrow in a town that is a part of BArcelona. My teacher said it might be possible, but it depends on how tomorrow goes and if I feel like trying to search it out. Anyway I will most likely not write again until I am in New Jersey. I fly out of Barcelona at 7 in the morning on Saturday (my time) and land in Madrid at 8:10. I will leave Madrid at 3:15, so it will make for a super exciting day in the airport! I land in London at some point and have a 2 hour layover. Finally, I land in Newark at 11ish, to be met by whatever family has dragged their butts out that late to get me. The next week will be crazy and quick then I pack up and head for Mexico. I'm so excited for my week home, but I just got an email from my family in Mexico and am excited to go there too. They sound like they are anticipating my arrival because they are busy with work and desperately need my help.
Adios mi gente! Gracias para su visita (ok I just like that all teh napkinds in Spain say this!).
Jenn

Una Buena Fin de Semana

2008-03-18T05:14:00.000-04:00

So this weekend turned out to be full of fun. On Friday I had class and then met up with Ashley. It was her birthday so we decided to go in search of some good food, a few drinks, then call it a night so that we could get up the next day for touring. We started walking around La Rambla, the large walking street. We found a plaza with a cute little restaurant where we decided to take a coffee and (we thought) a little food. We ended up ordering pesto pasta for each of us and a "tortilla" to share. I got a cappuchino. It was fantastic, the food, the drink, the little restaurant. It was so cute and the food was so tasty.
Afterwards, we were a bit full so we decided to walk a while. We walked up and down La Rambla. We thought we might get ice cream or some cake, but we needed to walk a while. We walked down one pretty sketchy street, although I think it was just the impression we got from how it looked. We turned around and as we briskly walked up the street I saw the cutest little shop. It was birght and full of color, the walls were painted with all different types of fruit and other colorful shapes and things. I got a juice, because I was craving something good for me. Strawberry Lemonade, freshly made. So good.
After the little foray into the juice bar, Ashley wanted to have a Bailey's hot chocolate, but it is tough to find like watery hot chocolate in Spain. We decided Dunkin Donuts would be the place to go. On our way back to the Dunkin Donuts on La Rambla we found a place selling little bottles of booze and purchased the Baileys. At DD she got a hot chocolate and I got a donut, which I have no clue what it was because it wasn't labeled, and I simply asked for "la naranja." Ashley felt a little weird about pouring the Baileys into the hot chocolate until two boys sat at a table across from us with an entire bottle of wine to compliment their donuts.
Finished with the sweets, we took back to La Rambla for a few more drinks. We took some pictures, peed in the McDonalds and laughed at the men selling beers on the sidewalk (so weird for two girls from country where this is far from fathomable). We were in the middle of one of these laughing bouts when we saw Mecca- and International Beer Bar.
Let me explain here a minute. There are three beers in Spain. San Miguel, Cruzcampo and Estrella, the last is not usually found in bars. To even find another type of beer is rare. Ashley does not like many beers, though she discovered one at Erasmus that she liked- Monte something that has raspberries in it.
Back to the story- they had the beer she liked. And I got a Hoegaarden. But they were expensive, so we figured we'd drink the one slowly and then head home.
Here's where the night really started. There were two English men fighting over a 20 euro bill, not really fighting, and we never did find out what it was about. But I turned to Ashley and jokingly said I'd take it, then we could buy another beer. The lady next to us heard, and she happened to be with the two men and relayed my message to the two of them. The two men and the woman asked if we would like another beer. We talked to the girl for a while, her name was Esther. They were there for one of the men's birthday.
Ashley and I went and sat with them at their table. Two Martins, Barry (who was kind of cute but with Esther), Collin, Esther and Sharon. Esther said they needed some more women in their group. We sat with them and had another beer and a few laughs. They were an odd group. Martin, Esther and Sharon had known each other since they were four. Esther was a stage actress, but also worked with Barry as a Property Developer. Sharon had had lots of jobs. I didn't really get either of the Martin's stories and Collin was a jittery little 60 year old English man.
After the beer bar they wanted to go dancing, but it was a little early for that in Spain so we decided to head for a bar on the Placa Reial. As we were standing outside the bar deciding this, Collin disappeared. A man on a bike approached us and told us that our friend had walked off with some prostitutes and they were going to mug him. So we thanked the man and set off down the road to find Collin. Ashley, Barry, Esther and I hung back while the others went to get Collin out of the prostitutes grip. They said that the girls were just about to take his money when they got him, so we got out of there quickly. Barry said this wasn't the first time this has happened to Collin...so I guess they weren't shocked at all. Ashley and I just laughed...because what else are you supposed to do.
We all walked to the Placa Reial, and somehow Collin got lost again, but this time we didn't go look for him and left him to his own devices. We sat on the plaza and drank Sangria and beer and had a good chat. It was fun to talk to some new people and all of them had interesting things to say. Later Collin returned, without his money and without his phone. No one really had sympathy since we had told them that was going to happen. Then Collin started some crazy conversation about America and the IRA and I didn't really follow it, but it's ok.
The fun ended at 5 or so and I came home to my bed to sleep until 11:00.
Saturday Ashley met me at my apartment at 12 noon. We headed toward this dress shop she had seen. We walked forever and ever and saw a lot of things. We walked through a large park, we ate crepes at a small cafe, we did some shopping, we saw all the people on La Rambla selling birds and animals and flowers, as well as all the "statue people." We also visited the market where they sell lots of different types of fruit and chocolate for pretty cheap. I bought a fruit salad, with kiwi and pineapple and dragon fruit, some coconut, a fruit drink and some chocolate. I returned home around 5 expecting to have gotten a new roomate, but there was no one. So I get my room to myself this week! However, I did feel bad because my roomate who is here had not done anything that day and I think he was a bit lonely but I was too tired to try and have a conversation. I went to bed because I had another big day ahead of me.
I had read that Palm Sunday the people of Barcelona bring palms to La Sagrada Familia, the large cathedral that Guadi (the famous architect with many buildings in Barcelona) started. Ashley and I were supposed to meet at her apartment at 11, but I didn't make it until 11:30 because I misjudged my time. Luckily I got there when I did, because I just caught her before she left without me.
We got some pastries and headed toward La Sagrada Familia. We were not expecting what came next. There was a huge crowd standing in front of the gates of the cathedral. Literally everyone and their dog was there that morning holding palms. Many of the palms here are sculpted into cool bird cage like structures. The children had palms, the adults had palms, some people carried clusters of another type of plant. It was so cool to see all the people there listening to the service. They answered the songs and waved their palms at the appropriate moments. The cathedral was pretty cool too, especially the big clusters of grapes on top of some of the spires.
Ashley and I purchased some things from the little stands around the cathedral and then made our way around the entire structure in order to see all the facades. On our way around the enormous stone carved building we saw a place with a huge salad bar. THe sign outside offered all you can eat for 10.70. We decided that this was a great deal and we would walk around the city and return at 4 for linner.
We made a huge square. We walked all the way down to the sea. On the way we got some ice cream, and must have looked totally like tourists in our summer clothes with ice cream cones while all the locals still wore their winter jackets and long pants. The weather was beautiful, exactly what we were hoping for since the day before had been a little bit of a disappointment weather wise.
However, once we got to the ocean it was so windy it was not pleasant to sit. So we walked up a little ways to the big park we had been to on Saturday. We found a nice spot to sit near a pavilion where there were people swing dancing to some nice jazz music. We laid in the sun for a good hour and a half and let our tired legs rest.
After the park we headed back up toward the food. On the way we saw La Pedrera, the apartment building Gaudi built that is all wavy, and we saw La Sagrada Familia again without all the people. Finally we made it to the restaurant. It was fabulous. The salad was so good and there was other food. Coffee was included in the price as well as ice cream and fruit. We ate to our hearts content and then a little, and I took some fruit to have for the next week.
After a good two hours in the restaurant we took another little walk and then we headed for our homes. I said goobye to Ashley. She is headed for Rome today and then will meet her boyfriend back in Spain and take a tour around Spain and head up to Paris. I will miss my touring buddy for the next few days, but there are still a few things that I hope to see on my last days here.

Hasta Luego,
Jenn

Una Semana Mas....

2008-03-14T07:50:00.003-04:00

Only one week left. I can hardly believe it. It definitely does not feel like I have been here for two months. And in two weeks I will be on my way to Mexico. It all doesn't feel real.
Yesterday I had a bit of a stomach ache so I did not do much in the morning. It was better by class time, although I just could not understand Spanish yesterday. After class I walked home with my roomate and we chilled for a little while. At 7:30 we headed to the metro to go to a Flamenco show that the school arranges. I was expecting a few people to be there, but there were tons. The show was 6 euro which is a good price, but it ended up only being half an hour. The man who took us tried to convince me that that is what the quality of these people is worth, and I think the concept is to be an introduction and to give people a chance to see something different every time they go. However, I was a bit disappointed since I had seen a two hour show in Madrid for 10 euro and it was as good or better. But I had a good time with the people from my class and afterwards we went for some Sangria and beers at La Oveja Negra (The Black Sheep). The bar was really cool because it was ind of like walking into a cave and it was just this huge room with tables. It was full of people drinking and laughing and having fun. There was no music, but it was nice. I did practice some of my Spanish as there were some people who did not speak English, so that was good.
My roomates all left for the next week, and my actual roomate is leaving to go to a different apartment for the next week, so hopefully some new people will come or it will be a quiet next week. However, that might be nice because I have a feeling my week at home is going to be even more chaotic than my life here. I am very excited to be coming home and seeing everyone. Although I really like it here, I do not think I could live here forever. I think if I did live anywhere it might have to be Barcelona because the rest of the places are too homogeneous. I complained about JMU being a homogeneous environment, but there were at least people with (naturally) different color hair. I think that is one thing we all know about the US, that we are a melting pot and blah blah blah, but it means nothing until you visit a country that all looks the same. And despite the fact that everyone else in the world seems to dislike the USA, I have decided I like it and I don't care what that means to them. There are plenty of problems in our country, but there are plenty of problems in every country. It just happens that the rest of the world gets to hear about our problems, and they usually have some effect on them as well. But I'm glad that I might have given at least one person a picture of the US that they never knew existed before.
Well that's all the rambling I have to do today. See you on the other side of Sunday.

SUNNY!!!!

2008-03-12T08:24:00.001-04:00

So let's see, I guess I'll start with Monday, since Sunday I did not do much of anything. Monday I did not do much of anything as well, although I did have class. I like my teachers here. We speak a lot in class which is really what I need to practice. It is natural for me to read and listen to people talk, but sometimes creating sentences with any sort of grammatical structure is difficult. Sometimes I think I resist being good at it, because it is so weird for me to not be constantly thinking in English and translating things back into English and just letting it be Spanish.
Yesterday morning I got myself out of bed at 10 o'clock. I made my omelet {which I've gotten pretty good at, although, Jess, this does not mean you do not have to make them for me anymore...I just might forget} and then read a little of my book. Then I decided to walk to Placa Espana {Everything here is written in Catalan, a different type of Spanish, which appears to be a mix between French and Spanish}. It was a nice walk and the weather was beautiful. On my way I stopped to read in a park for a little while. I ended up staying an hour and finishing my book, leaving me with only one book for the next two weeks. This might not be too bad under normal circumstances, but I have no computer and our electrical outlets all died so we cannot watch tv. Therefore I read and talk to my roomates, but the latter becomes boring after a while.
Anyway, I finished the book then my way to Plac Espana. It is big and there are lots of cars going in a circle, and there was a large function going on in one of the large buildings, but I ahve no clue what it was because the sign only said "Alimentacion '08." After that I walked to school and went to class. Last night the girls in my apartment asked if I wanted to go out, but I got a headache and decided just to do my homework and go to bed so that I could get up and do something this morning. They came home around 4 making a lot of noise, but I eventually got back to sleep. However, I did get up this morning at 10. I walked to the Estadi Olimpico and some other fine buildings. I also walked through two different gardens that were a great opportunity to photograph trees. It was a very nice morning. THen I came to the school, where I started this blog, but was interrupted by Ashley...so we decided to go get some lunch. I had a sandwich with egg and cheese. YUM. We plan to go out on Friday for some tapas because that is her last night here.
Until laters.

La semana pasada

2008-03-10T13:40:00.000-04:00

WEll I better write about the end of last week before I get too far into my trip into BArcelona I forget. The end of the week in Salamanca was very nice. On Thursday I went out for a walk with one of the girls in my house and a girl form school. We went shopping and I bought the cutest shirt ever. Then we went out for churros, so we had to walk some more.
Friday I met a girl form my class at the Plaza Mayor at 4:30. I thought that we would only be there for maybe and hour and I would have time to go back and finish packing before I had to meet Ashley for the night. However, we ended up talking and eating on the Plaza until 7 when I had to be in the same place to meet up with Ashley. IT was really nice, as the weather had gotten much better that day. I had an empanada with tuna and cafe con leche. Afterwards I met Ashley and we went for sangria and tapas at a cafe close by. I have no clue what I ate but it was good, as was the sangria and the whole thing was very cheap.
After tapas we were supposed to meet another person from the school to go out for more drinks, but he twisted his ankle and ended up in the hopital so we changed plans and went out with the girl from my house and her friends. WE walked forever to get to this little bar. There we had some wine and a few tapas. I got chorrizo (sausage) that was very good and I tried the Jeta(I think that´s how it´s spelled), which is the face of a pig. It was oki, salty and tough, but not something I would eat a whole plate of. After the bar, and after one of the girls got into a little tiff with a lady who didn´t understand crowded places, we headed to a seafood restaurant. There we shared plates of Mussels in vinager, chopitos(little tiny octopi), calamarie and patatos. It was all fantastic. Then I headed home to finish packing because I had an early train to catch.
The train ride was nice, though very long. The countryside was very interesting and there were plenty of different things to look at. My favorite was the end of the trip when we traveled next to the sea. It was so blue and pretty and the sun was just setting.
Barcelona is HUGE! Well at least in comparison to Salamanca. My roomates seem nice, if not a littel bit crazy. I have not seen much of the city yet, but there is much to see and only two weeks to do it in. I will update you on that as much as I can. I have no internet in my house agian, but I will be home inside of two weeks, making it less of a problem.

Hasta pronto,
Jennifer

Una noticia pequeña

2008-03-07T19:13:00.002-05:00

I leave for Barcelona in 7 hours on a train. I wanted to let everyone know I was going there because again I don't know if I have internet. I have lots to tell about the last few days in Salamanca and I will update soon. Love to all and see you on the otherside!
Jenn

Me duele la pie, pero todo esta bien (My foot hurts, but all is good)

2008-03-03T11:36:00.002-05:00

Hola gente. Sorry that I haven't blogged in a while. I haven't really even been that busy, just a little tired. I don't sleep well here. I think it is the combination of the bad bed and the light that shines in through the window all night from I can't figure out where. Anyway, I am enjoying Salamanca, although it is not my favorite housing situation (my romates are a little boring, but we got a new one and she seems very nice so I have hope).
Tuesday of last week the school organized a walk around the town. I wasn't sure I wanted to go, but I got my butt up and out of the house and decided to go see if I might meet someone who I could hang out with. I'm glad I went. I met a girl from Canada named Ashley. The tour was nice, as well, and I learned some things about Salamance, especially the University here.
After the tour, Ashley and I went and ate some churros! Me encanta! Son muy buena!!!! You should definitely try them sometime in your life because they are fabulous. However, this place was not the best place to get them, so we are going to go and try them at the place that my teacher recommended sometime this week.
Wednesday I had school and then I took a walk around the town. That night I met Ashley on the Plaza Mayor and we went to a restaurant named Erasmus. It was very cute and reminded me of an Applebees or Friday's at home. The tables were cool, each one was filled with different things, like beer bottle caps or bingo balls. WE each had a raspberry beer and shared some things that were called tortilla something, but they were kind of like a potato pancake cause they were deep fried and they had onions and shrimp in them. Then I got a hot chocolate with chili pepper. It was fantastic because the chocolate is like a melted chocolate bar with not too much sugar (it comes with a packet of sugar, so the Spaniards- who must all have rotten teeth- can make it more to their liking) and just the right amount of spice from the chili pepper. On top floated some lemon zest and somewhere in the bottom there was a clove I accidentally ate.
After all this food International night started. Twice a week at this restaurant they run a night were people can come and practice Spanish with locals and they can practice English with us (intercambios). It was fun, although we ended up speaking more English than Spanish and I was a little disappointed. There were also games and things, but we left too early to play them. It was going on midnight when we left and we had class in the morning.
Thursday I did not do much, though I did take a nice walk around the city. It is absolutely beautiful here. And it's been suny which has made all the buildings shine this orangy-pink color because they are all made out of the same stone, making it look almost like a Hollywood set or something. It is one of the most uniform places I have seen- especially near the University, one of the oldest in Europe.
Friday I was supposed to go out with some people from my class. At around 10 I went over their apartment and it ended up that one of the girl's was sick and they were going to go out on Saturday instead. I still stayed and talked to the girls in the apartment until almost 1 and then came home to get some sleep.
On Saturday I got up a little later and then hung around the house for a while. At around 2 in the afternoon I went for a long walk around Salamanca. I went down to the Roman Bridge, which was built lots of years ago by, you guessed it, the Romans. It was pretty cool to walk across something that old. On the other side there was not much, but I entertained myself y taking pictures of these chopped down trees in front of a church that some artistic young people had painted all different ways in a totem pole like fashion. One was a pencil and there was one with nails all stuck in the side and yet another with a funny face ont eh top. They were nice to look at and after I crossed back to the otherside of the river.
I saw a building that was all stained glass and I wondered aobut it and what it was, but I let that go and walked up the ramp back into the University area. I came to the museum that the teacher who took us on the city walk had recommended and decided to go. It just happened to be the stained glass building that I had been wondering about. It was such a pretty little museum that it almost overshadowed the collections that they had there. In the center of the ceiling of the main exhibit room there was a large stained glass window and there was stained glass everywhere. The collections were cool too. Itw as the art noveau of the late 1800s- early 1900s. There were porcelain figures and beautiful glass jars. It was all so pretty it made me kind of sad that it was sitting in a museum for people to look at and not being valued by someone in their home as a great treasure, but I think museums like that always make me a little sad because the objects feel so unloved. On the upper level was a large room of dolls. Now, if you have never been alone in a room full of dolls stuck behind glass, I wouldn't recommend you try it. All the movies and tales aobut dolls coming alive and doing terrible things to people run through your mind, and it is hard to find anything beautiful about their creepy vacant stares. Especially when the museum insists on playing music from the 1920's where that is that eerie scratching noise of the record player and the voices are a bit tinny. I was a little freaked out to say the least, but I had a nice time.
Saturday night I went back to the girls' apartment and this time we went out. We started at the Chuppiteria (chuppito meaning shot, and teria is the ending to all specialist shops- peluqueleria (barber shop), panederia (bread), etc.). It was sooooo crowded. WE moved on to another club, but it was crowded as well, so crowded you could not move let alone dance, so we headed out and went to a shop to get bocadillos (sandwiches). Mmmmmm they were yummy (can you sense my theme for Salamanca is definitely food- everything is so yummy). WE tried one more club, but it was very crowded as well- although the music was nice cause it was spanish. AFter that we headed home. I got to my apartment at like 5 and somehow in the dark squished my contact in the case top. So now I have to wear my glasses everywehere.
Yesterday I was going to take it easy because my foot has been hurting me a lot. I decided it needed a day without walking, but we got a new roomate and I decided I at least wanted to see outside so I showed her the grocery store (which no one understand here, it is always market or supermarket). Anyway, it was a nice time.
Today was class and a real trip to the supermarket (it is closed on Sunday). That's all the excitement for now. Hopefully I will feel the inspiration to write sooner this week.

Besos,
Jenn

Politics

2008-02-26T09:34:00.000-05:00

It is interesting being in another country as the primary elections are going on. Granted it is a milestone election, with a woman and a black man and all, but it is more important for me now to know what is going on. It has been easier and less boring this year to pay attention to the news on politics since I have come here.
The people here are from many different countries, but most learn about US politics and everyone has something to say about George Bush. Many people ask me about my views on the politics and this has forced me to take an interest in order to know how to answer questions. I have also had to explain how the political system works, to which I usually answer I don't even understand it and I have no expectations of anyone else to understand it either.
Even more interesting is that there this March in Spain there is a Presidential Election. I don't really understand the parties here, although it has been explained to me, but I have been paying more attention to the amount of media coverage. In comparison, there is little coverage here. The two main candidates have their faces posted all over the place, on billboards and posters, but the amount of tv and even newspaper coverage is a lot less.
Being here also gives me some idea of how little I know about the other country's politics and history, even geography. I think that besides being in Spain this is a great experience because I get to meet people from all over.
Oh and I'm glad the writers' strike is over. And may I just say that I think it was good, cause the SNL this week was actually good (and most of you know how much I despise that show- at least the current ones). Food Network: Porn for fat people, and "Bitches get stuff done. That's why catholic schools use nuns as teachers instead of priests" ... come on, it's funny. So thank you writers for coming back better than ever.
Anyway, I had class today. It was good, although so far I think my professors in Sevilla better, at least than my first professor. Hopefully, this afternoon I will be going out to find a market. My roomate and I were going to go explore a little bit, but she has not returned from the school yet.
Well I will keep you updated.
Jenn

I HAVE INTERNET!!!

2008-02-24T15:00:00.001-05:00

So yesterday I made the long journey from Sevilla to Salamanca. It was an eight hour bus ride, and when the Spanish list 3 stops on the schedule you should be prepared to stop at least 6. But when I arrived to Salamanca my welcome was much better. I found the keys and the house with no problems. This city is a lot more like Madrid and is easier to figure out. The streets are larger (I will post pictures of the tiny streets of Sevilla sometime this week) and the buildings are much more decorative.
but despite the fact that Sevilla is a spiderweb of streets meant to trap tourists, I will always have good memories of the people I met there. I have realized one really large draw back to moving cities is having to leave people before you can really truly be friends. I met so many people in Sevilla that I really felt I wanted to know better. It is kind of lonely here so far. I miss the activity of the house in Sevilla. But I remember feeling somewhat the same about leaving Malaga.
Friday I went shopping with Louise and her friend from school, Lucy. I didn't buy anything but it was nice to look at all the shops in the center of town. I think if I hadn't been too scared to go out by myself and get lost I would have enjoyed more of what Sevilla had to offer, another reason I wish I had stayed there a little longer. Friday night we went out to the Plaza and met a lot of people from school and then we went to some strange bar until 4 in the morning again.
Yesterday when I arrived only one person was in the apartment, a guy from Brazil. He is nice, but is leaving at the end of the week. There was another girl I met later, though she does not speak much English (and I don't know about her Spanish). I don't know what country she is from, but she is Asian, as is my new roomate who arrived just a little while ago. I do not know much about her yet because she came and dropped her stuff off and then left quickly.
Today I did not do much. I was tired from going out on Friday night and not sleeping much on the bus. So I slept late and then went on the internet. I found a site that has Prison Break episodes, so I caught up. Then I went out for some food. I didn't stay out long because it was kind of cold (although I guess I shouldn't complain because I checked the weather for home and it's 30 degrees lower) and started to rain soon after I started walking.
Tomorrow I start classes here. It will be hard for my teachers here to top the teachers in Sevilla. I really enjoyed them, but I will give the ones here a chance. I also hope I meet some people at school because it does not seem like I will connect with the people in my house. It takes a little more work, but I guess that's good, since it seemed way too easy and convenient that the people in my house in Sevilla were so nice and easy to get along with. Maybe if I had stayed longer we all would have hated each other. No one knows. But I met some people in the school during the second week in Sevilla that I wish I could have known better. I had fun touring with them and going out and things.
I'm glad I have internet here because I was beginning to get a little homesick. Especially on Friday when I had to pack up and move.
Anyway I will be going to bed soon. I have a bit of a headache today. I will write soon and hopefully put up some pictures.

No sé

2008-02-22T08:00:00.002-05:00

So I finally went and saw some things in Sevilla. It was raining the whole beginning of the week so I didn´t do much. I went out to the Factory, a "big" mall that had different stores. I got myself a new jacket and some other things since they are now in "rebejas" season.
Wednesday night we watched No country for Old Men and then we went out to Plaza El Sebasitian and to Boss. It was a lot of fun and I didn´t lose anything this time! We rode our bikes back at around 3:30 in the morning and I finally went to bed around 5.
I had class the next day in the morning so I got up and went to class. Then someone from my class was visiting the gradens at Alcazar so I decided to go along. They were all Dutch and I really like hearing the language. It´s cool because it sounds like it is all made up to me, like they just put a bunch of sounds together. Everyone here is Dutch so sometimes I wish I spoke it too.
After the gardens, which were very beautiful and large and hard to navigate, I came back to school to meet to other girls from my class. By this time I wasn´t really tired anymore because I had been walking around so much I just forgot to be tired. The two other girls and myself went to Trianna to eat tapas. On the way we walked past Plaza de Toros (Plaza of Bulls) and the Torre de Oro (Tower of Gold). We ate at a little cafe and then I went home. Last night we watched City of God.
Today I have to pack my suitcase because I suppose I will go out tonight with either the people from the house or some others from my class. Then I leave tomorrow for Salamanca. Again I´m sad to go and leave the people, but I will meet new ones. My roomate from this house is also in Salamanca now and I believe I am in her apartment.
I will write from Salamanca.
Hasta luego!
Jenn

Me molesta no tener internet!

2008-02-18T07:47:00.002-05:00

It´s getting a little ridiculous not having internet all weekend. I was pretty busy most of the time so I didn´t notice, but it would have been nice to have Friday night.
We started A2 classes on Thursday and this week I am in a new class in the morning instead of the evening. We have a lot more people in our class now, which can get a little annoying, but it´s ok. I have one of the same teachers, but the second part of the class is a different teacher. So far he is ok, but I miss Cielo (for those who know what this means in Spanish, one brownie point).
Friday I went out with all teh kids from my house. The boys went for dinner over someone else from the school´s flat and then we met them right before they went to the club. The club was fun, everyone from my flat was there as well as some other people. The trouble came when I realized I did not have my ticket from the coat check. I have no clue what happened to it, although I can assume that since my pocket book is so small it probably fell out while I was paying for drink. I was pretty sure I knew my number and after some convincing the lady showed it to me, but it wasn´t my jacket. She told me to wait til 6:30 when the discoteca closed or come back the next day. At that point I was tired and mad so I returned home and decided I´d go back the next night.
It wasn´t til the next morning I realized my keys were in the pocket. Luckily there is no address on the keys, but it does mean that I will not get some of my deposit back. I went back to the club but they didn´t have the jacket. It was a little aggravating, but there´s nothing I can do about it now. I will go shopping today to try and find a new jacket because of course it is cold now and it will be cold in Salamanca. Oh, well.
Saturday we did not do much. During the day we went to the supermarket and then Wan Chen, Victoria and I made tortillas. They turned out ok for our first time, but they need to be perfected a little bit. After dinner we all sat together in the living room and watched a movie in Spanish, although I can not remember which. Then I went to the club to look for my jacket. The others went out at like 2:30 but I was too tired so I just went to bed.
Yesterday we all sat around studying and watching TV until a new girl arrived at our house. Victoria and I took her to figure out the bikes and then took her around the town to find the school and such. It was a nice day.
Today I had class and now I think I will go shopping.

Hasta luego,
Jenn

Adventures in Sevilla

2008-02-14T07:39:00.003-05:00

It´s been pretty quite here. I´ve been studying and going to class and hanging out with the people from my house. Last night Victoria wanted to go out, and there were some people from the school going out as well as Remi and Willem from our house so we went along. The boys were going to bike out to the bar so Victoria and I decided it would be better if we rented bikes and go along with them. You can rent bikes for 5 euro a week from the stands, so, with the guy´s help, we figured out the machine, took our bikes and were off.
We got to the bar around 10:30 and the people from school were already there. It was one of the girl´s birthday so we sang "Happy Birthday" at 12 and then the bar closed and we went to a club. The club was fun. It was free to get in and the music was good. At 3 Victoria and I were tired so we decided to go home. We said goodbye to the boys and headed off to find the bike stand. We found it easily and got out a bike. We rode off, Victoria in the lead and headed home.
After a while everything stopped looking right. We kept heading straght, but none of the streets were on our map. I was happy to have the bikes, because walking we would have been so tired. We finally stopped and asked at a gas station, but I have become very skeptical of the Spanish directional skills. I believe they are even worse than mine. I knew we should not take the road he recommended because we had just come from that way and all that was out there was the Cruzcampo Beer factory. I pikced a road and after a few minutes we came to the Cortes Ingles near our house. We parked the bikes, ran across the street and went up to the flat.
The whole time on the bikes we had been joking about how funny it would be if the boys were home before us. When we opened the door to the flat, there they were sitting on the couch. Victoria and I just couldn´t stop laughing. It was hilarious to us because the boys already find our bike riding and directional skills something to laugh at.
All in all it was a good night. We wanted to take the bikes this morning to school but there was only one left at the station. However, we have staked out all the bike stands near the school and plan to ride back so we don´t have to carry our stuff and our groceries so far.

From a girl with a sore butt,
Jenn

Farewell, Málaga; Hello, Sevilla

2008-02-12T07:32:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the lack of update. I was shocked to arrive in Sevilla to find that there was no interenet in my apartment and I will ahve to use the school interenet when I can because it is free. I have a lot to write about since last firday afternoon, so I will try to get as much in as I can before I have to go to my class.
Friday night was wonderful. We had a great party full of food. My macaroni came out edible and some people even said they liked it. I enjoyed making it, but mostly I enjoyed eating everything. The professors brought pizza and one of Yumi´s (my roomate) friends made homemade sushi, YUM! WE had swedish meatballs and hummus, salad and enough bread to feed a third world country. There were about 26 people there and we stayed up until early in the morning talking and drinking and listening to music. Then I decided to start packing but did not get very far.
I woke up at 9 in order to get ready before the 1 o´clock bus I wanted to get to Sevilla. I packed my luggage and then Melanie and Magdalena got up and helped me clean up the mess we made of the living room. Tehn I said my goodbyes, returned my keys to the school and headed back to the bus station from where I arrived.
The city of Málaga is still ugly, especially by the bus station. But it has its charms. In the end I really enjoyed the sea and the sun and the people. The school was great and I tested out of A1. I loved my house and my housemates were great friends for the week, which, with the help of facebook, hopefully I will stay in touch with on some level. All in all, I was sad to leave Málaga and embark on a journey to a new city where I had to get to know new people, new teachers, a new schedule and a new town.
At the bus station I was in a pretty bad modd. I realized I really don´t like my traveling days and just wait for the bed on the other end and the next morning to come. As I sat and waited reading my book, I heard a Bon Jovi song on the radio. It was even from the acoustic album that never gets any play in the states. I though maybe the day was about to look up. And they did, for a little while.
I arrived in Sevilla and figured out how to get to the hostel where I had to pick up my keys. I got a taxi and he let me off in front of the street it was supposed to be on. I walked up and down the street twice and saw no sign of the Hostel Catalana. I walked back to the plaza I was let off in, and there it was right in front of my eyes.
The guy at the hostel desk was nice enough. He gave me my keys and a map and showed me where my apartment was. I wish I had realized then that it was not the one that I was first assigned to, because maybe I would have asked more questions about how to get there, since I only had directions to the apartment the school sent me in an email. He advised I take a taxi or a bus number 32. I opted for the buss. I got out at the train station as he instructed and walked toward Kansas City Avenida. It took a couple circles, but I found it in a sufficient amount of time. I knew from my map that the street went in two directions. I looked at the number and saw 32d, C, B... and surmised that 21 would be close on the opposite side of the street.
I crossed the busy road and made a few passes on the sidewalk searching for number 21. Half of the buildings did not have numbers. After maybe a half an hour I asked at a hotel. They called some people and told me that it was near the Cortes Ingles. So, since I had seen that on one of my many times down the road I walked back to teh Cortes Ingles.
The apartment was nowhere to be found. It was not on the side I had been on, it was not on the other side, it was not down a side street. I asked at another hotel but they were not helpful at all. The only told me that the road was really big and outlined it on a map. I made a few more laps up and down the street, but by this time it was getting dark and my arm was about to rip in two from the weight of my suitcase.
I went back to the Occidental Hotel (I would like to thank them very much for their kindness and patience) and asked if they knew where there was a phone I could use. By this time I suspected the apartment was on the other stretch of road around the corner, but I was too tired to explore so I called the school for confirmation of my address and to see it they could give me more detailed directions.
The first number didn´t work.
The second number didn´t work. I was wasting money trying to get the phoen to work. It was a type of pay phone that I had never seen (I´m lucky I had used one in my life) and I had trouble figuring out how to call. I didn´t really care about the money, though, as long as someone would pick up and help me find a place to stay for the night. I was tired (I only got 5 hours of sleep and I hadn´t really eaten since 10 in the morning).
Finally, someone picked up on the third number. The woman informed me that she was at a school in Granada. I explained that this was the only number I had that worked and she very graciously listened to my problem. Being in Granada, she had no idea how to help me but she told me to call her back in ten minutes and she would try to have some answers. I stepped out of the phone booth. I wanted to try and cause the least amount of disturbance possible since the hotel was being so hospitable, the man at the desk even offered me a seat (possibly because he caught me crying in the phone booth). I asked for more change from the desk and waited my ten minutes. I called back and she gave me some information and told me to call back again. I went through this 2 more times before she finally gave me an answer. Soemone was coming to get me! HALLELUH!
I walked outside and waited on the sidewalk and a man came up and said "Jennifer." He was from a pickup service the school uses and he brought me to the flat and took my luggage all the way up to my room. All for free!
So it wasn´t a pleasant welcome to Sevilla, but all ended well. My roomate´s name is Wan Chen. She is from Taiwan. She shared some of her paella with me that night and we watched TV together and talked. I did some laundry, took a shower and retired early to my bed.
The next morning I woke up around ten. Wan Chen offered me some hot chocolate and I ate a breakfast bar I had left from Málaga. A new student arrived around this time. Her name is Victoria, she is from Germany. After she got settled we decided to go find the school together and then we took a long walk around the town to see some of what was there. We saw the big cathedral, the Jewish barrios, the plaza de Espana and some gardens. It was a nice walk and a long one and by the time we decided that we wanted to eat something all teh kitchen s were closing. We found a small convenience store open where we bought water and some tortillas. We returned home and cooked the tortilla and then hung out. We met the two boys in our apartment from Amsterdam.
Yesterday was the test. I did ok. I explained that I had finished A1. The woman assigning my class explained that I culd go into A2 but they are very far along. There was a class of A1 that was finishing this Wednesday so I joined that one and will start A2 on Thursday. Wan Chen is in my class and Victoria has class at the same time so last night we all walked back together and went to the market on the way home to pick up food.
After the test we went out with one of teh teachers to walk around the town a little. sHe explained what things were and some good places to go. When we got back to the school we had about 2 hours before class so we went to a small cafe and got some breakfast things.
All in all, it´s been good here so far. I like my house mates and the school is ok. I like the school in Málaga better, but the teachers here are nice and I am still learning a lot. I have not done much today. I studied some, read a book and then walked to school (a 30 minute walk, which is good after the 2 minutes it took in Malaga because now I get more exercise). I have class soon so I will go.

Thanks for reading,
Jenn

Lo siento...

2008-02-08T12:15:00.000-05:00

I'm sorry for the late post. I am not dead or part of a workman's camp or held hostage by the military. I am just tired and every time I have a little time to sit down and blog it seems too daunting a task.
Today we had a test, so I was studying all week because I was behind the other people here. They have been working on the book for a month and I have only been here a week and a little bit. But most of this book was just a good refresher for me, as I hope the next one will be. I passed the test and passed the A1 level, so barring any problems I should be in the A2 class in Sevilla. I hope maybe I can move through that and then spend my last month working in the B1 book. If I get that far I feel I will have a good basis and will feel comfortable speaking when I go to Mexico.
I have been speaking more and more Spanish, with the people from the school, in class and even in front of some locals. It is nice, but sometimes I still feel awkward. I'm hoping that will pass soon as it is in the moments when I feel least awkward and self-conscious of getting everything right that the Spanish comes out perfectly. (Ok maybe not perfect, but it at least sounds as if I know what I'm doing and not just stringing together random words I know.)
This week has been good. Monday I had school at 8:30. Then I had a nice day of sitting in the sun and studying. At night we watched some movies. Melanie rented Cold Mountain and we watched it together in the living room. They were going to rent another movie but something happened with the rental machine so I said we could rent oe from the internet. But it took too long to download so they ended up watching it the next day and watching Just Friends instead (Thank you Lauren!!!!).
I went to El Castillo and Almaza. They are both historic buildings in teh heart of town. Sanna and I left after class on Tuesday and went to the center by bus. We decided to go to the Castillo first. The Castillo, which means Castle, is at teh top of the hill and I believe that it served as a defense for the sea port, however this is all conjecture as there were no signs that explained exactly what they did there (or maybe I just didn't understand them correctly). The castle is at the top of a mountain overlooking all of Malaga and the sea port. We slowly walked up the steep incline. It was nice to have the excuse of stopping for the view every time the path zigged back in the other direction.
It was a good half hour walk maybe until we reached the top. It was worth it though. It was a spectacular view. I did not realize that Malaga was as big as it is. It spreads out in every direction. From the top you can see the ocean, the old Cathedral and the bull ring. We walked around the whole wall and then headed back down to the bottom to visit the Almaza.
The Almaza is a fort and a living quarters (again I think so) during the Muslim occupation. Many of the buildings features, such as the way the doors arch in threes, are telling of Muslim architecture. There were also some old pottery and things in some of the rooms to look at.
The highlight (other than the wonderful view) was the orange that I took from the patio of the Almaza. Now, there are oranges (or some orange citrus fruit) that grow outside the house I live in and I have eaten them. They are a bit sour, but definitely edible. However, this orange was not only sour but bitter as well. And I eat the rinds of limes and thought that this was probably the most awful thing I had tasted.
Last night I watched Walk the Line with Sanna (Thanks mom!!!!). She made popcorn for real, with oil and corn kernels in a pot. I've never actually made it that way, so it was cool to watch (although I'm pretty sure that I ate some with Lauren and that we have done it that way in girl scout it was still cool). Then we watched the movie.
This morning we had our test. As I said, I did well and will be moving on to Sevilla in the A2 level. I have sort of finished packing, but I still need to do more. I leave tomorrow at 10 or so. Tonight we have a fiesta at our house because Melanie, who has been here for 5 months, is leaving. I cooked macaroni and cheese because one of the girls here had never had it. I'm not sure how it came out so I will let you know the verdict after the night is over. It is my first venture into cooking for someone other than myself or my family so I hope I do not kill anyone. I made it the real way, but I don't even think they have kraft mac and cheese here. And they don't have cheddar cheese blocks, only slices, so it is not as good. But we'll see.

Hasta luego,
Jennifer

Estudiar (to study)

2008-02-03T12:58:00.000-05:00

Song of the moment: Seek up- Dave Matthews and Tim Reynolds: Live at Luther College (it's been playing non-stop for like an hour now)
I meant to write this for a couple hours now. It's like 11 here now and I just finished studying for the night. I have class tomorrow at 8:30 now so I should have kept a better eye on the time but hopefully I can complete a blog and get to bed at a decent time.
Sorry that my last post was a little scattered. I had a lot of thoughts and did not really know how to organize them. I hope to make this a little more understandable, especially since more has happened in the weekend than during the week.
I went to see the movie on Thursday night. It was a British movie in V.O.S.E., meaning version original subtitlos espanoles. Therefore, it was in English which was nice because the dubbing can get pretty annoying. The movie was good. It was about a man with Tourette's Syndrome with OCD. It was called Filthy Dirty Love. I enjoyed it and it was nice to meet the girls in Sanna's house.
Friday I had class again. After class I came home and finally got to skype Mom. Then I took a nap because we didn't have culture class and I knew I would be up late. I studied a little and at 9 met Sanna at the bus station because we planned to go to the movie that night at the University as well. We went into the center and walked to the University (which is up a huge hill). We got a coffee along the way. There was a talk going on before the movie, so we sat outside and talked until people started to come out. The movie Friday night was about depression and was called Wilber Wants to Kill Himself. I thought it was a good movie. It was a little bit of a comedy, but dealt with the subject pretty well.
After the movie Sanna and I went back toward the center and looked around because Carnaval was in full swing. We caught the end of a drag queen show and saw some other street performers and many people in costumes. We bought some popcorn and made our way back to the bus station.
When I got home around 1 o'clock, Ana and her sister, Simona, asked if I wanted to go out with them. I decided that when in Spain do as the Spanish do and start going out at 2 (insane, I know, but I'm only here once). So we got ready and left for the bus at around 2. We took the bus to the center and went to a bar because the club wasn't open yet. We hung out in the bar and met some "bombestos," firefighters. They were nice and we talked with them awhile. One of them spoke Spanish I understood pretty well, so I was able to have a conversation. Someone said he was from Morocco, so it might be why he didn't speak as fast and pronunciated better than many of the natives do. Then we moved onto the club.
The club was interesting. It was a cool building, it looked more like a bar than a club with nice tile floors and tiled walls and an old wooden bar. It was nice. However, they only played techno music. Now, I will dance to just a drum beat, but listening to techno music for more than 10 minutes makes me feel dumb, as it takes no talent to produce. But I had fun with Ana and Simona and we ended up being chatted up by these older guys who bought us some drinks. I have to say it was an interesting experience. First off, the drinks in Spain are way too sweet. Everything has to be cut with some kind of syrup (they cut their beer with fanta...I have still to try this). Second, I don't know what men that age were doing in a techno club...one can only guess. They were nice enough and, as I kept my distance, they kept theirs. However, as it is a different culture it feels different than at home, where I know how the boys were raised. I don't know how to explain it, they were not mean or aggressive, just different.
Anyway, we left the club and took a taxi home. We got in around 6 and I took a shower because smoking is not ban in clubs here and I smelled like an old man's ash tray. Gross.
Saturday I didn't do very much. I got up around 10 and then did some studying. I hung around and eventually decided I should probably go out and do something in town. I didn't feel like riding into the center on the bus so I went down to the ocean and looked at it up close for the first time since I got here. I walked along for a while. It is very beautiful, but I think every family in the town was there. It was nice to see some of the locals. I saw lots of children, which I haven't really seen around. I sat for a while and watched the people around me. One little girl sat and fed the pidgeons right in front of me. I am not particularly fond of birds flying over my head, but I decided to stay. A little boy came over and was very excited by the bread and the birds. It was cool cause I could learn form the family talking to the little boy.
Saturday was the first day I really felt a little lonely. I just didn't want to go around by myself and wanted to have someone to talk to as I saw everything. But it passed. I came home and watched some tv in Spanish and went to bed early.
I woke early this morning because we had to get the 9:30 train to Fuengirola (pronounced Fwen here ola). Magdalena (a girl in my house) came to wake me up just as my alarm went off because we had not talked the day before about when we were leaving and she wanted to make sure that I got up. We met Sanna at the bus station and Julie and Eileen were on the bus when we got on. We exited at the center and walked to the train station. After buying tickets for the train (which is always weird cause they won't take my visa without a pin..I have to figure out if I have one) we boarded and took the 45 minute ride out to Fuengirola.
The town was very pretty, but very touristic. There are a lot of hotels and more expensive restaurants and people walking around with suitcases. We had a little trouble getting our bearing but we found a map in a Papeleria. We wanted to find the market and we asked a few people for direction. We got there pretty quickly. Sanna and I walked the market together and then went and looked at the ocean. We met the other back at the market entrance at 12.
It could have been a streetmarket at home (except for there were no greasy food carts). The people were selling things that weren't particularly marked from anywhere, although there were a few special things. It was a nice place because things were so much cheaper. Things are so expensive here.
After the market we decided to go find something to eat. We decided on seafood because it is at the ocean. So we looked at a few menus, decided on one restaurant, but their kitchen did not open until 1 or 1:30. What you must understand is the Spanish find eating lunch before 2 a ridiculous idea. So we settled on a cafeteria with much less variety. The meal was good, not the best. But I am in love with spanish tortilla (eggs and potatos) so it was worth it.
After lunch we headed to the castilla, the only thing to really see in the town. We walked up towards it and for a while wandered around trying to figure out where the gate was. We found the entrance and walked up a hill. As we entered I saw a bird on the lawn. It looked dead so I said something to Julie. She said it was just hiding and I said I didn't think it would hide like that. So, Julie decided to test it by throwing a rock gently in front of the bird. It didn't move so she threw one a little closer. We were pretty convinced it was dead (or it was a very talented bird) but Magdalena decided to try throwing a rock one more time. As she threw the rock (which did not hit the bird), a few girls came down the hill. They said something in another language, but Julie, who speaks 3 languages besides Spanish, understood them. She said that they said, in Norwegian, "Look at those girls throwing rocks at a turtle." We laughed about that for a while. We could not understand how the bird could look like a turtle, because it definitely looked like a dead bird. Julie explained that in Sweden (where she is from, sort of) they think the Norwegians are stupid, which just made the whole thing funnier. I thought it was interesting to learn that the Swedes had one people that they thought were stupid, as we have similar prejudices in US against others. It's cool to get to hang out with so many people from different places I know nothing about it.
Back to the story....we laughed about the turtle thing for a while as we walked up to the castle. We decided not to spend the three euro to go in, as it looked like there was nothing inside, and just walked around and enjoyed the view. It was quite beautiful. We made our way back down toward the gate. All of us wanted to stop and get a picture of the dead bird. As we were coming up on it Julie wondered if maybe the bird looked like a turtle from their angle. We stood where they were when they exclaimed, "poor turtle!" and had to admit it sort of looked like a turtle, or a mushroom, maybe, so it was the shrooturbird. It was silly, but it was nice to laugh with someone, especially the people in my class.
After the castle we were done with the town and headed back to Malaga. Julie, Eileen and Magdalena were tired and took the bus from the train station back to the house, but Sanna and I wanted to go see whether there was anything going on for Carnaval. The main street was very crowded and full of people in costumes, more children because it was day time, but it looked like maybe we just missed the festivities because everything was being cleaned up. Since there was nothing to see, we took a walk down toward the harbor because I wanted to see the large, old ship I had seen from the taxi I took to the house from the bus station the first day (the only thing I had noted of any beauty). We saw it, dry docked on some sand a the side of the harbor full of big cruise ships, and then took a bus home.
Since I got home I have eaten and studied and chatted with Melanie. I know that this week I have a test on Thursday, so I would like to do well. This week it looks like I will go to the castle here with Sanna, because it is apparently worth a look around and I can't leave Malaga without seeing anything. I may also go to the cathedral with Melanie. She says there is a day that it is free and that she would like to see if before she leaves on Saturday. Because she has been here for six months there will be a farewell party for her at the house. It will be a potluck type thing. I told Magdalena I would make her macaroni and cheese before I left because she has never had it in her life, so maybe I will make it that day.

PICTURES:
Malaga
Fuengirola

Happy Superbowl everybody! (I will not side because I do not want to upset my readers, I hope the commercials are good. I'm glad they will probably be on YouTube tomorrow. Let me know of any good ones.)
Jenn

PS I would just like to share that there is a cat making the most awful screaming noise I've heard right outside my window.

Me gusta mucho el sol.... (roughly: I really like the sun)

2008-01-31T12:05:00.000-05:00

And there's plenty of it. It's been in the 60's everyday and sunny. It's so nice to go and sit in the sun before and between my classes, especially since our house is FREEZING. The house is made for summer living and therefore is completely in the shade. They are putting in a heater but like always in Spain (whose motto is manana, manana, manana [tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow]) it is taking forever and will not be done before I leave. However, it proves a plus that we have people working on our house. Twice when I have come back from class for lunch one of my housemates, Ana, was sitting outside talking to one of the workers. He is very nice and doesn't mind me struggling through my Spanish in order for us to communicate. It helps hearing Spanish everywhere...although sometimes I struggle to get back into English when I am typing and things. Also when I speak English here it is usually with someone from outside Britain or the US, so many of the foreign habits have crept into my English.
Anyway, Malaga has started to win me over. I really enjoy school, although much of it is just a refresher from Spanish all those years ago and I am remembering quickly. In class we speak only Spanish and in the house I try to speak Spanish when I can, but any conversation more complicated than "how are you" or "I'm tired" is usually spoken in English. Most of my house mates are from Switzerland or Sweden. In my class all teh girls are Swedish and I felt like it was hard to fit in with them, although it was fine because the girls in my house were so nice. But one of the girls in the class, Sanna, is very nice and she invited me to go to a movie with her and some of the other people in our class.
There are seven people in my class, 2 boys and 5 girls. The boys are from, well I think the Netherlands but the teacher always says the country in Spanish and I can't figure it out, and the girls are all from Sweden. We have two teachers, Isa and Ramon. They are both very nice as I said in my last post. I am in school 3 hours a day, from 12-3, and then there is culture class, which is from 4-5. I really like the culture class. This week it has been about different places in Spain and the famous places to visit. We learn about the history of Spain as well as the geography and other things. Today we learned about the surrealist art movement. It was cool to learn about it from a teacher from a different culture.
Yesterday was my first trip past the school and the supermarket. Ana invited me to go to the park that is in Malaga to watch the sunset. The park was very nice, although it was up this huge huge mountain. She asked me if I walk fast and I said yes, but I didn't know we would be climbing 50 stairs and a mountain. The girl who is in my class and my house, Magdalena, came with us too. We hiked up up up and finally got to a little park in the woods. We walked down a little trail and stopped to wait for the sun to set and took some pictures. We met two guys who asked if we wanted our picture taken together. We talked with them for a while in Spanish and English. Ana is very good at Spanish and Magdalena is about my level, where we understand it well but have trouble expressing ourselves.
The guys left and we looked around a little and then decided to head back to our house. We got to the entrance of the park and the gate was locked. We stood for a second to take a picture and to assess the situation. We figured we'd have to climb over the gate and luckily there was a wall that went halfway up the gate. We were able to slip through two broken bars (it looks like people have been locked in or out before), put our foot on the bar across the gate and safely jump to the ground. We looked at the sign and realized the park closed at 7:00 and it was 7:15. But everything worked out.
I have not yet been to the ocean. Hopefully I will go tomorrow. We don't have culture class tomorrow and Melanie was talking about going to get coffee at one of the shops near the ocean. Tonight will be my first time to the city center. We are going to a movie at the University in the area. Because of Carnaval they are showing free movies every night about psychology. It is an American film, but we are not sure if the film is dubbed or in English with subtitles. I'll let you know when I update.

Hasta luego,
Jenn

La primera dia de escuela

2008-01-28T16:20:00.000-05:00

Today was the first day of classes. I woke up at 8:00 to get to classes at 8:30. At least they were just down the street. I met a few of the people in my house, but we did not have a lot of time in the morning. I went to the school and took a test for classes. The test was pretty hard because I couldn't remember how to conjugate any of the verbs except present tense. I did the best I could and handed it in to the girl at the desk.
After the teacher graded the tests, the secretary gave us a tour of the school and gave us our books and our schedule. I had class today at 2:45, so I decided to go back to the house and sleep a little bit since I did not get much sleep in Madrid. I took a good 2 hours nap and then got up for school.
The class was good. It was three hours long with a break in between. I did not go to the culture class today, however I think I will try it tomorrow because it will be an extra hour of hearing Spanish.
The whole class is taught in Spanish. It is nice because it really makes you hear everything and makes you feel ridiculous not trying to answer back in spanish. I did the best I could. I was able to get my point across. What was nice was that we weren't required to speak or anything. In the first class we went around and did and exercise that they had had for homework over the weekend. I was able to keep up with the class and felt they placed me in the right place since I can understand what they are teaching but have trouble making sentences.
The second class was vocabulary. We learned food and drinks, very important for shopping and eating in restaurants. We got into groups and made posters and then learned other words the teacher thought we should know.
I really liked the teachers. It was different from Spanish in the states because they are animated and when they describe things they often use very exaggerated body language to get the point across but it helps you put and action with the word. The first lady, Isa, was very funny. I enjoyed listening to her. Our second teacher whose name I can not remember, but I think it's Rodrigo, was also funny as well. He had a great way of explaining things.
It was difficult to concentrate for 3 hours on a language that requires me to watch and listen very intently. I felt very tired by the end of it.
After class I came back and was able to have some time to be on the internet. I finally got a hold of mom, which I was waiting for. I also went to the market to get some food. It was hard in the market, I think the worst I've felt yet, because if I wanted something I didn't know how to ask for it. Wait, I went ot teh market before class, because then I learned all those words. Oh, well. I will know them for next time.
I had homework and was going to work on it tonight but I ended up hanging out with one of the girls, Melanie, from the apartment for a while. She is from Holland and lives in Belgium. We talked for a while (in English - although we watched Spanish tv and she helped me with words I didn't know). She's been here for three months and will be leaving the same time I leave to go to Sevilla. She is leaving for Australia. We had fun watching tv and then I was going to show her on a map where New Jersey was and we found a quiz and took the states quiz. Then we decided to find one for Europe. I realized I didn't even know half the names of the countires in Europe. How sad. So now it is a goal to learn the European countries!
Well I'm going to go to bed. I have a busy day of homework and the like tomorrow.

Jenn

More adventures ahead....

2008-01-28T12:51:00.000-05:00

I will write about my first day later tonight, but I just wanted to let everyone know I talked to Nadine on Skype today and was able to get the au pair job with her family in Mexico. She was very sweet. She wanted to know that I would be attentive and happy with family life, and as I am not a huge partier or anything it should work out. She seems happy to help me with learning Spanish or French while I'm there and would like me to help her children continue to learn English. It sounds nice and she sounds like she is concerned with getting to know the au pair and letting them really be part of the family. She sounded concerned with how old I was since her other au pairs were much younger. She asked me to explain why I was putting off the real world (she used professional career), but again, what is the real world....

Hasta luego, mis amigos

Goodbye Madrid....

2008-01-27T12:38:00.000-05:00

5:00
My bus ride is almost over, I just saw a sign saying it's 93 miles to Malaga. So before I finish yesterday I should fill in the last hours of Friday into Saturday morning.
After I finished blogging Bill invited me to come sit with him and a bunch of US girls in town for the weekend from their school in Barcelona. We all sat together and drank our large sangrias and chatted. They all left at one point to go to a tapas bar and I was joined by some Brazilian girls. Then Bill introduced me to some other people he had met at another table. The band that night was very good, a raggaeton band singing in Spanglish. It was fun to get to meet all the people at the hostel because it had gotten more crowded for the weekend. We were going to go to a club after, but the place was 30 euros. I was tired, as were some others, so we headed back.
I woke up at 9 on Saturday. I was tired, but the night before the front desk had asked that I change rooms for my last night and i had to have my stuff ready by 11. I also had to meet Valerie at 11:30 at the Puerta del Sol, so I went and ate my breakfast. After my cafe con leche and croissant (original right?) I headed upstairs to move my things. I'd like to thank the front desk for only making me lug my heavy bag next door. It was also helpful to have all my things packed a day early as I did not have very much time yesterday at the hostel.
I headed to the Puerta del Sol early. I thought I could sit and read my book, but there were no seats. And man what a difference a weekend makes in, especially in the off season. I had been to Sol on Wednesday and it was empty and a nice place to walk around. Yesterday it was a mass of people trying to fight against each other to reach the statues or the many side streets that come off the plaza area. The transformation was amazing. At least on Saturday I did not stick out when I pulled out my camera to take pictures of random things as I did all the other days.
Valerie came at 11:30 as planned. We caught up as we walked towards La Plaza Mayor. The plaza was cool (definitely more impressive than what I thought it was my first day there), but there wasn't much to see. We walked off down one of the streets leading out of the plaza. We stopped to have some food and a coffee (I had fresh squeezed orange juice).
Neither of us really had a plan of what we wanted to do. I wanted to see the Palacio Real (The Royal Palace) and the Reina Sofia was free that night, so I was hoping to get there anytime after 2:30. After our little mid-morning snack we wandered off in search of adventure. We ended up in Plaza de Toledo and saw a band playing outside a mall. Then we meandered down toward a cathedral we saw. There was no way to get inside, and what looked like a pretty garden turned out to be a work in progress. We walked around the back of the church to try and find another way in, but found ourselves in a sad little dried up park with grafitti littering the walls that enclosed it. There were a few people who appeared to be living in a little treed in area and some kids on a playground. We made our way out of the ghetto and walked back up to the main street.
Before I finish our day I would like to take a moment to share some of the observations I made about Madrid. As a city it is very old and beautiful, however graffiti is everywhere and people drop cigarette butts and dogs poop all over the sidewalks. The city hires street sweepers to help control this problem, but in the less touristic areas the sidewalks are littered with trash. I commend New York on the job they have done keeping graffiti out, since it really does ruin the beauty of the city. Also, the Spanish don't eat vegetables...or drink water. Ok, I'm sure some do, but I haven't seen many.
Back to the story. After the disappointing Cathedral, there was another even more beautiful church which was open to the public. At about this time my camera battery died and I was glad that Valerie was there so there was someone to document the rest of the day. (And for you mom, we took some pictures of one another and both of us together so you will get to see my smiling face.) We looked at teh cathedral, which was huge and quite pretty and then moved on to El Palacio Real which was next door. It was 8 euro to get in, and not worth it for that price. I forgot to have my student card with me because it would have been 3. The palace was nice, but it wasn't anything too special. I did enjoy the Pharmacy with old bottles that were labeled for different medicines, many of them still containing their namesake.
Now, at this time we were starving. It was about 2 or 3 in the afternoon and we decided to try and find food. We walked through La Plaza Espana and looked at cafeterias in the area. They were all pretty expensive, so we decided to walk back toward my hostel. Here's where we get lost. I can't even remember where we got to, but it was not where we wanted to be. We tried to find our way on a map and both agreed on a direction to walk. It was the wrong one, so finally we hopped on the metro and rode back up to sol to see if the vegetarian place (Valerie is a vegetarian) was open. No luck. I thought I knew how to get back to my hostel from there, but I was completely turned around and we ended up back very far away. Finally we found a place to eat. We sat downstairs to avoid as much smoke as possible and ate a sicilian veggie pizza. YUM!
After luch we were recharged. We tried again to get to the hostel, but ended up getting more lost. We did end up near La Sofie Reina so we decided to go in. We looked at the paintings, which were a lot cooler than El Prado. The museum holds many Dali and Picasso paintings, including The Guernica. It was huge, and I could have stared at it for hours trying to decide what went on in Picasso's mind. It was coold because they also had a series of photographs documenting the progression of the painting. It was like playing "What's different in the pictures" with a real work of art.
We left the museum soon after viewing The Guenica. We were both tired and needed to sit for a while. We went back to the hostel and I charged up my computer for the bus trip today. We shared a large sangria and got recommendations for tapas places from Renee, the woman who took me to the Flamenco show. We went to a place called La Lacon, which provided free tapas with every drink. We each had one drink and an order of mussels with a pico de gallo type topping. Valerie ordered a tortilla (something like a quishe made of potato and cheese) and we shared that. After we wandered around a little looking for another place, but none of them were as good a deal as La Lacon. I had to go to the bathrrom and we saw a hotel a little up the street so we walked toward it. On the way there was a casino so I decided to see if they had a bathroom. The bathroom had a key and the man said that I would have to wait for it. I decided to put a nickel in the slot machine so I didn't just look like a bum off the street. I didn't win anything, but I did get the bathroom key and that was a good enough prize. After the bathroom we got lost again and decided to look for dessert. We found a chocolateria and each got an order of churros con chocolate. Churros are tasty fried sticks of dough (which are baked in a large spiral and cute up into long sticks. The chocolate was so rich. We thought it would be something like hot chocolate, but it was more like a melted candy bar. You dip the churro in the chocolate and it has a heavenly taste. When the table next to us got up to leave we stole their left over sticks because we both had chocolate left in our bowls. YUM!
After churros we walked back to the Sol metro station and parted ways. I went back to the hostel and went downstairs to use the computer to double check bus schedules and see who was around. It was very crowded and I didn't recognize anyone so I left. The vibe of the whoe hostel was very different last night. Less like a community and more like a club as people were leaving or went out, and outside patrons visited the bar.
I was sad to leave this morning, but it is a beautiful day and a nice bus ride through the country. The mountains are a little scary when the bus takes the turns ,but they make for a beautiful skyline and the quaint little houses and the large spread of trees and farms is beautiful. We stopped about an hour ago to get food and go to the bathroom and soon my ride will be over and it is on to the next adventure, finding my way from the station to the apartment.

6:30
So I'm in Malaga. This city is absolutely ugly. I thought it would only be in the more commercial area near the bus, but it seems to be just as ugly here. However, maybe I will find it charming in the end. The girl in my room, who's name escapes me now, has managed to last one and a half months here. She is from Japan and speaks very good Spanish. It is good because then I will be forced to stop speaking in English. It worries me that she has other friends here and I don't know if we will be able to become friends, but I will not let that deter me from trying.
There are very many beautiful buildings around here for such an ugly town. When I got in I tried to figure out the bus to my part of town, but it was too confusing and I gave in to a taxi. The taxi driver took a minute to find the right number, but the people there knew what I wanted so I didn't have to struggle through words I didn't know in Spanish. A man helped me with directions and they were very good so I was able to find the place no problem, however it took forever to get in. Finally, my roomate helped me out. She just went out with a friend, but I'm glad that I get a little time to myself. I thought I would have a lot in Madrid and I had barely any. Anyway I severely need a shower.

an exhausted Jenn

PS thanks for all the comments guys. And thanks for reading. Love you all.

Leaving

2008-01-27T03:19:00.000-05:00

Headed to Malaga on a bus. Hopefully I make the 10:30. I'll write to you from the other end.

Clouds

2008-01-25T15:03:00.000-05:00

Today I woke up around 9 again and ate my cafe con leche and croissant. I had plans to go to the park this morning and read. I just started Into the Wild and am really into it, so I wanted to find sometime to read. However, it was cloudy and kind of cold this morning, so I scrapped the park and just went to El Prado, the art museum, first (hoping that the sun might come out later).
El Prado was nice. I spent a long time there because there were so many rooms, but I found it a little repetitive. Many of the paintings were religious and every woman's face looked the same. I swear that a man form the 1500's to the 1800's did not look a woman in the face. One person painted one one time and it was copied for all eternity since.
I really enjoyed de Goya though. His paintings had expression, passion. It was different than the rest. The faces and the dark images. It wasn't conventionally beautiful, but it was powerful. They also had a special presentation of the butterfly bull or something of that sort. It was a series of de Goya's sketches with a flying and bull theme. The sketches were so cool. you could see the strokes of the pen/pencil.
I can see why people like to see art. It is nice and it is staggering to try and image painting them. I would realy like to know the amount of paint that goes into each. It is nice to be able to say I saw it, but it will not be my favorite memory of Madrid.
I did enjoy watching a man who was recreating one of the pieces. There are a lot of artists there with paint and canvas working on copies of paintings. IT was relazing to just sit and watch as the canvas transformed.
After the museum I was hungry so I started to walk back home to find lunch. I found a organic/vegetarian place and was in need of a vegetable very badly. They don't eat them here. So I piled the take out container with all this stuff, half of which I don't know what it was. I walked back to the hostel and sat in the patio. It was amazingly good! When I finished I read some of my book, then went upstairs to read in bed, but there was someone taking a nap so I went back to the patio. I met a guy (he's married, so we don't have to go through the "was he cute?") there who was from Chicago. We talked for a while. He is going to Egypt to learn Arabic for five months. I was going to take him to the place I went the other night for paella, however we got very lost. We walked past a place advertising paella for 6 euros so we went inside. It was a pleasant dinner and good paella.
Now I'm back in our hostel bar. There will be a band starting soon and I have a large glass of sangria so it should be a good night.
Tomorrow I meet up with Valerie from the plane. It should be a nice day.

Jenn

Photos

2008-01-25T03:56:00.000-05:00

Some photos so far:

http://jmu.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2167463&l=2d5f4&id=7804820

El Escorial

2008-01-24T18:53:00.000-05:00

Hola!
Today I woke up a little later, about 9:00. I went downstairs and had the same breakfast as yesterday. I met a man from Georgia who had just found a job in Madrid teaching English. We talked for a while. He had lived in Mexico for four years and said that Cuernavaca is as beautiful as I've been told. Today I heard from Nadine (the Mexican family) who would like to speak to me on the phone and then will finalize the arrangement.
After breakfast I went to my room to get ready. I decided to head to El Escorial, a monastery which houses the Basilica. It is an hour train ride from Atocha Renfre. I found the train with no problem although I had a lot of trouble buying a ticket. The machines did not take my credit cards and I did not have small bills so I had to stand in line and missed the train that was at the station then. The next one came in about 20 or 30 minutes and it was really a blessing I missed the first one because two guys from my hostel ended up in the same car as me. After some awkward looks, like "are you really the person from the hostel?" we started to talk. They are from Belgium and traveling for a few days vacation. I ended up spending the whole day with them and it was great because the town was a little hard to navigate and I would not have had as good a time by myself.
When we got off the train we were a bit confused but we finally figured out we had to take a bus up to the monastery. When we got off the bus we didn't know where to go as the signs were not very clear. We found a nice plaza and sat outside and enjoyed two cups of cafe con leche! Yum....I don't even know how Americans stomach our watered down version of coffee. It was a beautiful day outside and we sat and shared stories about our countries and such. It was very relaxing and also interesting to talk to someone from a place I know nothing about.
After coffee we tried to find a place ot buy food but we unable as everything closes at odd times in Spain. (I'm about to butcher spelling but his name was prounounced Yan) Jan had some cheese so we ate that and headed into the monastery.
El Escorial is very large. It houses many paintings from the kings' collections. Many of them are very beautiful but all are religious and without Johannes explaining about the painters and such I would not have enjoyed them as much. It was nice to be able to share it with someone. We weren't sure if we would be able to go to the Basilica because there was a part that was blocked off to us since we hadn't bought the guided tour. However, we got there and it was beautiful. The ceilings are painted and there are paintings everywhere. I couldn't imagine attending church there.
The tour took a couple hours and by then we were starving so we headed to a cervezaria I had a Manchego cheese sandwich. It is the cheese I liked from my professors house. It was three euros for a half sandwich filled with yummy cheese. We shared a bottle of red wine which was also very good. At ten something we headed back to the bus that took us back to the train station. The next train was not coming for another our (the last train). We probably should have planned the return ahead of time but it's ok (which I learned today came from war when they had 0 kills). We went to the bar right outside the station and had some beer. It was good, though I don't know what it was. They gave us free fried anchovies and little empanadas with some sort of tomatoe-y fish sauce maybe. They were both very good.
We got back around 11:30 and I took a shower and came downstairs to charge up my computer and write this. So that was my day.

Jenn

P.S. I tried to upload a video but it did not work. I will do something about it soon.

Downtown Madrid and More....

2008-01-23T19:23:00.000-05:00

I slept ok last night, waking up off and one. But I finally got out of bed at eight o'clock. I didn't have much to do since I didn't have anything with me but the deoderant I bought. I finally "met" the people in my room, a woman and a man travelling together from either France or Canada as they greated me with Bonjour. However, we did not say much more than that. I headed downstairs for my complimentary breakfast, a choice between hot chocolate, coffee, or milk; donut, croissant or cornflakes; and 1 glass of orange juice. I had coffee and a croissant and of course my OJ. I went back upstairs and gathered my things for another day out on the town.
I decided to do a walk through downtown Madrid with a detour to El Parque de Buen Retiro. I started out on Atocha and walked to La Plaza del Sol. It was cool, lots of buildings and a cool wall separating the sidewalk from the street.
I turned up Calle de Alcala and walked all the way to El Banque de Espana. Here I gawked at the Metropolis and the other architecture you just would not find anywhere at home. I continued down Alcala to El Parque de Buen Retiro. I am so glad I decided to visit so early in my trip as I am dying to return. It is incredibly beautiful. It think part of it is the way the light its everything. The sun here is so bright and always shining. I was there early (maybe around 9AM) so all the joggers were out for their morning runs, as nothing here seems to get going until 10 o'clock or so. I saw the biggest duck I've every seen. I'm not sure it wasn't goose, but it's neck seemed too tiny. There were a lot of cats, too. At one point a whole gang of them were convened under tree. It looked like an interesting meeting, but I didn't speak the language.
I headed back out La Puerta de Indepencia, the same one I entered. Outside the gate there is an imposing three arched stone structure just standing, kind of in the middle of nowhere. I headed toward La Gran Via, but got a little lost on the way. It was find because I got to see a lot of little streets. I saw FNAC (the big electronics store, sort of like Sam Goody or Virgin). The Schwepps and Rolex buildings were pretty cool; a large logo over and old Baroque facade.
Eventually I found La Gran Via. I walked on and off it taking side streets along the way. It was close to noon and I was pretty hungry. I looked at a few places but I couldn't really figure anything out, so I got a little discouraged (something for me to conquer another day). I looked up what time El Museo de America was open until, and decided since I had a few hours I would check it out.
I boarded the metro at Callao and took it to the end of the line (Moncloa). After exiting the metro station I got a little lost and consulted almost every bus map on about five different streets. Finally I found signs pointing to the museum. I'm glad I didn't turn back to the metro because it was one of the most interesting museums I've seen. They had artifacts from all over the Americas, however the emphasis was predominantly on South American and Mexican cultures, areas of Spanish occupation. A lot of the artifacts were things I had never seen before. One that particularly struck me was the knot language. Dr. Paugh had spoke of it in her lectures on language in different cultures. I cannot remember which area it was in, but they recorded communications with a series of knots on different colored strings. They also had some very old books, one by Voltaire which were impressive and even the museum itself was very modern. When I entered the museum there was a really cool pottery exhibit displaying Mexican pottery that mimicked Chinese porcelain and Also some more modern pottery, one by Frida Kahlo.
After the museum I wanted to return to the park to read for a while, but I also wanted to see if my luggage had arrived yet. The smell emanating from my body convinced me and I made my way back on the metro to the hostel. My luggage was there!!!! I have never been so happy to change my clothes in my life, or take a shower. I didn't even care that the shower didn't stay on, the push button lasted less time than the one for the sink. Now I know why hippies don't shave.
I spent about 2 hours at the hostel chilling and putting pictures on my computer. The phone place was open at five so I decided to head down there and see about getting a card for my phone. I bought the card and returned to the hostel to figure it out. However, the effort was futile. The card did not work. But while I was trying to use it I hung out in the patio and some guy asked if I was British. I felt like I fit in!
After returning to the phone stand, I brought my computer down to the patio of the hostel.
A woman sat next to me with her Lonely Planet book and we started up a conversation. She was from Philly and had taken two weeks off of her job to come to Spain. At around eight I joined her and two other girls for dinner. We went right down the street to a great paella place. It's a completely graceless food to eat, but amazingly good....rice and random things thrown in. What could be better?
After we headed to Cadamomo to see some Flamenco. Her book said it was a good authentic place to see Flamenco, where people yelled "Ole!" and the dancing was beautiful. The book didn't lie. It was fantastic. My battery is extremely low, but I will update more about the Flamenco tomorrow and add a video or too so you can join in the experience too!!!

Buenas noches,
Jenn

The Rest of the Day....

2008-01-22T14:10:00.001-05:00

So the first flight was good. I watched Across the Universe, ate chicken and rice, and fell asleep to the closing credits. Then the second round of entertainment came on and woke me up, so I turned on Ratatoulle and fell back to sleep. The girl next to me on the plane, Valerie, was going to Madrid as well, so we stuck together through the transfer. It was nice to have someone to talk to, to keep me up and make me feel less nervous about the trip.
The transfer was easy, at least I thought. The woman at the desk who issued my boarding pass asked for my baggage ticket, but I couldn't find it in my bag so she let me go and said to show it to the people at the gate, however they did not ask and I forgot. When I did remember I checked my whole bag and could not find it. It must have slipped out on the first flight when I took my computer out of my bag. I should have explained this to the people, but hind sight is always 20/20.
The second flight was smooth. The plane was a lot smaller and far less modern than many planes I've been on. There were no tvs, but that was good because I was able to fall asleep without distraction. I met up with Valerie after the flight and we went to baggage claim. Bags circled round and round and more and more people were picking them up and moving to the exit. I was still left standing there (though Valerie was very sweet and waited with me as long as she could). Finally after they had cleared all the bags away and there were only confused and upset people left standing at the carousel I headed to the Iberia counter to see what was up.
The woman at the counter couldn't be nicer. I explained to her that I had lost my baggage claim ticket and she looked me up in the computer. Good news, she found my luggage; bad news, it is in London. However, I took this as a blessing in disguise. It was definitely easier getting to the hostel without luggage and my luggage will be delivered directly to the hostel, hopefully by tomorrow.
After the luggage fiasco was settled I exited baggage claim and went to an ATM to get some Euros. That done I went to a small cafe for a little food. I got a yogurt (which tasted almost like sour cream...YUM! and no that's not sarcastic) and an apple. Then I set out to figure out the metro.
The elevator from the airport to the metro station was super cool, I can't really describe it you'll just have to take my word for it. It took me a little while to figure out how to buy a metro ticket, but finally I got one. It's just a little strip of pick paper and it's worth ten rides. The metro was nice an clean, especially the airport one, which looked the newest. The stations were very bright colors, which made the underground seem less dismal. I found my transfers just fine and got to the station I needed to, but after exiting I really had no clue where to go. so I just started walking and not too many minutes later I found my hostel. The guy checked me in and I was given a room (it has six beds, however I have not seen anyone else in this room). The key is super tricky and twice I've had to ask someone to help me get my door open, but everyone is gracious and helped me with no problem. I also couldn't find the bathroom for a long time, but that's solved now too.
After putting my stuff away in my locker I set out to do something with my day since I was super tired and did not want to fall into a bad sleep pattern. I walked out of the hostel and onto the main street near it, Calle de Atocha. It's a large street with lots of little stores that remind me of New York downtown area (like near Houston) but with more traffic. I set out to find the Parque de Retiro, however I eventually relized I was walking the wrong direction. I saw some large building ahead and decided not to turn back, but to explore the way I was already walking. There were lots of little plazas and streets, some of which I walked down. I stopped at another ATM since I had not taken out much and felt I might need more money down the road.
I think I saw Plaza de Mayor, but if I did it wasn't very impressive (update as of 1.23 It WAS NOT Plaza Mayor). There were some beautiful buildings and statues I saw, but I guess I expected more out of something named Mayor(major). Anyway, I eventually got to the end of Atocha, which ends near the art museums, El Prado and Sofia Reina. I walked in a large square and noticed a sign for the Museo Nacional de Antropologia. I decided it might be worth a look, and at 2,20 Euros it provided a good place to start my tourist exploration. The museum was laid out to describe the early cultures of Asia, Africa and America. There was a special display of things from the Phillipines. All of the artifacts were nice, some were even exciting, however the museum lacked depth. It was more like an introductory anthropology text book than anything; describing the economy, adornment and beliefs. The best room was the smallest room full of what would be considered a "cabinet of curiosities."
After the museum I walked back up Atocha to look for pajamas to wear tonight. I walked for a good hour and a half, two hours maybe, and found nothing. I was nervous to go to far out of the way, so I decided I will just have to be sleeping in my clothes tonight...good things I brought extra socks and underwear.
The city is becoming very lively at night. It was not at all scary on Atocha in the dark, however I can see why I might avoid some side streets. Right now I just want to go to bed but I know I should wait a little longer.

Good night,
Jenn

Newark to London

2008-01-22T11:15:00.000-05:00

Hey all:
I'm writing a little piece on the plane (which I of course did not upload until later). I was nervous on the ride here. We were running late because I didn't think to print my ticket off until 10 minutes before we had to leave. Mom and I had to stop at Drug Fair to pick up a prescription mom had left at the counter earlier in the day, making us even later. Finally, we arrived at Newark and had to face the blistering cold weather in order to get to the terminal. By some dumb luck, we ended up parking right in from of the British Airways Terminal and were able to check in quickly and get all our questions answered.
Then, Mom and I had dinner together at Chili's because I could not enter the gate yet. I had a huge ceasar salad and a never ending Presidente Margarita. It was yummy, and I'm still feeling the effects of it at this moment. After dinner Mom accompanied me to security where I bravely walked through the "Ticketed Passengers Only" ropes and headed off on my own. Everyone was pleasant and made me feel a little less apprehensive. So I would just like to thank British Airways for their great staff!!
I tried to call the credit card companies while I was waiting, but at 8:20ish I was surprised to hear last call for GATE 67. I decided it would be a good time to board, as I did not want to be stuck in Newark.
I am now sitting in 32H, watching Across the Universe. It's about 9:42 and we've been in the air a little less than an hour. The girl next to me, or rather in the window seat is my age and embarking on a journey to Spain to work for her aunt's non-profit company. It is nice having someone to talk to and makes me feel a little bit better about travelling alone.
Meals are about to come out. The food smells good, though I have no clue what it is. The drink cart came down the aisle. They offered free wine, so of course I took them up on it. My seat partner and I realized we were the only ones who received 2 bottles. I guess we'll have to take it for what it is!
Anyway, I'd like to watch my movie and make room for my food....I will write more in a bit.

Jenn

And the packing begins

2008-01-20T18:45:00.001-05:00

That's right, it's 6:45 the night before I leave and I said begins. I have a list in my head, now I just have to get the clothes out and fold them into their rightful places. I hate packing, which is probably why I spent the majority of the day cleaning out my itunes music and not cleaning my floor.
Anyway, this was just one more way to procrastinate. I'll check in tomorrow before I leave.

8:10: The weather report for the week in Madrid looks good. Weather.com is reporting mid-50s to 60 degrees and sunny everyday. Malaga looks even better and Sevilla still better than that. I'm hoping by the time I move on to Salamanca the weather there begins to warm up a bit, as that is the coldest area I will be visiting. Barcelona in March should be beautiful as well. YAY!!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-01-17T20:03:00.000-05:00

Today was my last day of work. It was sad to leave Hannah and Rachel, but I took their address and email and am excited to send them postcards and letters. I will miss hanging out with them.
I have been busy getting excited for my trip. I bought a book on Madrid (Top 10 Madrid by Christopher and Melanie Rice, DK Publishing) that was very helpful for picking out things to do in the limited time I am in the city. I also purchased Frommer's book Barcelona day by day, which I have given a quick look at but plan on using while in Spain to plan the last leg of my trip. I went crazy on my shopping spree and bought a carry-on that will carry my computer, a new book and all the toiletry items I will need for 2 months.
I have not begun packing yet. I have laundry at all the places I am going, so over packing shouldn't be too much of an issue. However, I still have to get everything out of the closet and in the bag. First, I need to get the things off my floor that don't belong there. Anyway, I will pull it together.
I have been nervous about this trip. At times going it alone seems like a terrible idea and I feel I'll be perpetually lonely. I am not incredibly scared of crime or violence, as this is a problem in the US as much as it might be there and there is no use getting myself worked up if I have prepared myself properly. I am more scared of getting bored of being alone. I love to be alone, it gives you freedom and flexibility you do not have when traveling with others. This is the plus side. The negative is I am not particularly good at meeting people. In the back of my mind I know this has been one of my motivations for this trip. I want to be better at being alone in a crowd. After reading some things on solo travel I have realized that it may be harder than having a built in companion, but it's not impossible to meet people. I guess I've come to think of it like going to camp...no one knows each other but everyone automatically likes you because they are as alone as you. I'm glad I will be in school for most of it.

With my fears aired, I leave you with this quote that Jessie sent me in a card she sent:
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in you sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
---Mark Twain

Jenn

P.S. I have officially been offered an au pair position in Cuernavaca, Mexico from March to August. However, I am still waiting for the mother to call me. I will keep you updated.

10 Days Til Liftoff

2008-01-11T23:05:00.000-05:00

Can you believe it? 10 Days! To me it's still some far off dream, but everything is set.
I just returned from a nice 3 day getaway to Atlantic City for a friend's birthday (I only lost $40 to a Blackjack table) to realize that I am leaving in 10 days. I have booked my hostel in Madrid for five nights, although I still have no clue what I will be doing in the city for the time I am there. I have barely cracked open the guidebook I bought because of all the frustration and confusion over the trip.
There was a bit of a concern over booking the language class as Christmas and the week following was very busy and I did not go to book the class until January 8th and realized they specify you must pay three weeks in advance. However, I applied and emailed them, and with some help from Mom checking emails while I was gone we were able to book the class and pay for it. Soon I will be receiving the addresses of where I am staying, I can't wait.

My itinerary for the trip is as follows:
21 January: Fly out of Newark International
22 January: Arrive in Madrid after a short stopover in London
22-27 January: Madrid
27 January: Travel to Malaga, a city on the southern coast, to begin classes
27 January- 9 February: Malaga
10- 23 February: Sevilla
24 February- 8 March: Salamanca
9 March- 21 March: Barcelona
22 March: Fly out of Madrid back to home

I have not heard from the woman in Mexico in a few days, so I am still not sure whether I will be their au pair. I am looking forward to my trip and to whatever comes after.

Good night,
Jenn

Plans are always changing...at least for me

2008-01-03T18:56:00.000-05:00

So I know I haven't written because of the holidays, and I have updated most of the people I have seen, but since I will not be au pairing in Spain I have come up with a new plan.
As of now I will be spending 8 1/2 weeks in Spain. I land on the 21st of January and will stay in Madrid until Saturday when I will travel to Malaga for my first 2 weeks of classes. I am taking an Intensive Spanish Course run by Enforex. This school allows you to pay for as many weeks as you want while also allowing you to move around Spain to anywhere they hold classes. I intend on spending two weeks each in Malaga, Sevilla, Salamanca and Barcelona. After these eight weeks I was intending on travelling throughout Europe, however this is the most recent change to my plans.
I had applied for a job au pairing in Mexico after I got the news about Spain. over the holidays I received an email from the family saying that they are interested. So now I will most likely return from Spain on the 22nd of March and then a week later travel to Cuernavaca, Mexico. The family there speaks Spanish and French (another language I wished to learn in orer to be available to more AIDs afflicted countries, mainly Haiti). They have two children 2 and 5 that both attend school so my duties would be similar to how they were for Spain. I am still in correspondence with the family, so nothing is truly set in stone for this part of my journey. However, it sounds promising and much less complicated than au pairing in Spain as I receive a six month travel visa as soon as I go to Mexico.

I will be sure to write more soon,
Jenn

Disappointed

2007-12-20T18:59:00.000-05:00

I won't be going to Zafra. Kirsty has informed me that it does not make sense for her to hire me for only three months and after extensive research I have realized it will be impossible to stay without one...although sometimes I want to believe differently. Anyway, I still have not given up. I have a plane ticket and I am determined to do everything I can to get there. I have informed the agency that I would like to be readded to the list of au pairs and that I would like to shorten my stay. I really want to go to Spain, so I have applied for a few short stay jobs. I can not go back to the consulate so soon with a change of plans, so I have resigned to go for three months if that is all I am allowed. I have also applied for one job in Mexico (another Spanish speaking country) and a few in other places. I would like to be able to learn Spanish, but I also really just want the experience.

Hopefully I will hear back from the agency soon. Probably sometime after all the holiday fuss. I'm super disappointed...but I guess these things happen. I feel a little silly for telling everyone, it just seemed so sure. I'll let you know what happens.

AHHHH

2007-12-20T02:10:00.000-05:00

So the second attempt was even worse. The guy at the window recognized me and sent me back to his supervisor. She explained to me again about the work visa and I gave her all I had. Still she insisted I must have changed the documents because she read them all. I had feared this and knew I should have had enough composure to fight her the first time, but I was not ready and when I was it was too late.
So now I am attempting to do all the research I can on staying in Spain longer than three months. I guess worse comes to worse I go for three months and that's it. From what I can tell it is only legal to stay in the Schengen countries for three months within a six month period, meaning I can stay three months and ten must stay out of the 14 Schengen countries for another three months. Most of what I've read says that they rarely enforce these rules, especially if you do not do any travelling outside of teh Schengen coutries (as the agreement of these countries is that they will not chekc your passport when travelling between them). However, with my luck I will be the one person who they enforce this rule upon and be exiled from Europe for 20 years.
I am awaiting replies from the agency and Kirsty about what can be done about this.

Ugggg

2007-12-13T10:29:00.000-05:00

So yesterday morning I woke up at 6, got dressed and drove to NYC to see about a visa. The commute wasn't bad, an hour of traffic between the first toll and the tunnel. I made it to the parking lot by 8:20, parked the car and went across the street to a Starbucks to pee. Back across the street there was already a line outside the embassy building. I was about number 20. The guy behind me decided he wanted Starbucks and offered to buy me soething in exchange for saving his spot. I got a latte.
At about 8:40 someone came and let everyone in the building. We were ushered into a service elevator and taken to the 30th floor. There we rearranged the line to make sure it matched the one outside. A few minutes later we were allowed through security only to stand in another line.
One by one we approached a window where we stated the purpose of our visit. Each person was given a paper to fill out and a number. I was Student Visa 4.
Everything seemed to be going smoothly. I got in line at the student visa window and at about 9:40 I was called to the window. Here's where everything went downhill. The guy was nice enough. He took my paperwork and to my surprise read everything thouroughly. Then he said he needed to go talk to his supervisor. About two minutes later he came back, handed me back all my papers and said I needed to go speak to the supervisor at the front window. So I did.
The supervisor said that I needed to get a work visa in order to be an au pair. This apparently needs to be started at the other end, meaning Kirsty needs to apply for something.
Anyway, I didn't get the visa. If the embassy is correct about the work visa, it shouldn't be a problem since it should take a lot less time to get everything and process the visa. i've got phone calls to make. I'll keep you updated.

Lost in Mail Land

2007-12-09T18:02:00.000-05:00

I have everything ready to go to the Consulate...but it seems that despite your best efforts things don't go as planned. My flight is booked (January 21st is my departure), I have my police records, I am healthy to travel and have the proof, I have some financial means of staying there, I have health coverage of the international variety...but the letters I need are still somewhere. Neither I nor Kirsty knows where...so I assume it is a great conspiracy against my future. Anyway this has left me frustrated...and I decided I needed to share that with the internet world. So thank you people who read this, whether you felt my pain or are sick of me whining, thank you.

Troubles and Triumphs

2007-11-28T19:34:00.000-05:00

I've bought my plane ticket. I leave Monday the 21st of January and arrive in Madrid at 3:15 on the 22nd. That is the plan at least, barring any problems with my visa. Getting together the documents has been a big task, and it isn't even finished. I am praying that I get to the consulate Friday, but I still am having trouble with the insurance company and have not received the documents from Kirsty yet. But I'm getting it done. Each check off the list gets me just a little bit close and makes it feel a little bit more real.

A Little more from the Email

2007-11-15T13:25:00.001-05:00

clipped from mail.google.com

I am from Scotland myself, and I came to Zafra on an exchange year originally, so I know exactly what it is like to be here and integrate yourself into the day to day life. I had a great expèrience during my year in Spain and that's why we decides to find an au pair rather than getting a local person to look after our children. We want them to discover other people and cultures. I spoke not one word of Spanish when I arrived here, and I can vouch for the fact that you would soon be chatting away as people are happy to spend time helping you to find the right word, etc. There are also many people keen to exchange time conversing in English for Spanish tuition, so there are many avenues to meet a variey of people.

Z is for Zafra

2007-11-15T13:22:00.001-05:00

This is from the first email Kirsty sent me to give me an idea of the town I will be living in. I thought it was a good intro for everyone to see.

clipped from mail.google.com

Zafra is a typical Spanish 'white' town in the South West of Spain, approx. 1 hour's drive north of Seville, and has about 18000 inhabitants. (If you look up on Wikipedia you can see a little more). It has a friendly and outgoing local community so it is very easy to meet people and get out and about, and a time here would be a great introduction to Spanish culture and social life. There is a cinema, castle, hospital, many shops and a bull ring(!). There are also academies where one to one tuition could be arranged, and there is a course run by the town hall for foreigners to get an introduction to the Spanish language and culture.

Reservations

2007-11-10T01:09:00.000-05:00

I'm scared. I mean I'm really excited and getting emails from the family that are supportive and helpful on a regular basis really helps. But it's the first time I'm going somewhere without a real base support. In college there were thousands of freshman who were just as excited and ready to meet new people as I was. My sister went abroad with people she didn't know, but they were all American and there were people there to help her. I think that this is the greatest challenge and the best challenge I face going to be an au pair. I think it is one of the forces that keeps me going, to prove that I can really be on my own and make new friends and have a life. It's also one of the things that keeps me up at night.

I'm not sure why I'm writing this other than I think it helps quell my fears knowing that other people know them before I'm there and really panicking. I know that no one can really stop them now or ever, but it does make it better just putting it out there.

Visas :(

2007-11-07T12:10:00.000-05:00

Afternoon y'all:

Not much to update. I have been looking at travel sites and getting excited about going to Spain. If anyone knows any good resources I'd appreciate any help, cause I love to have more resources than I need.

Right now I've been looking into getting a visa, I need to wait for answers from the agency. I did get told by one agency that since you can stay for 90 days without a visa you just need to go back to the airport and get your passport stamped every three month. I don't know about this, but it doesn't look too bad to get a visa, just takes a while. So I'm hoping to hear something soon so I can go when I want. Kirsty (the mother of the family I have committed to) suggested I arrive before January 6th because this is Three Kings day, the day they celebrate Christmas. Then after that the kids would start school/nursery and I would start my duties.

That's it for now...
Jenn

FAQ

2007-11-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

Hello All! I created this blog mainly to keep those who care about me or at least find me vaguely interesting updated on my adventures in the post-college world. As many of you have heard I am currently in the process of becoming an au pair. I am currently committed to a family in Zafra, Spain, a small town close to the border of Portugal. I will be writing about my travel plans and other fun facts that I have found in my google searches, as well as providing information from the emails from the family.

I have been asked many questions about the general process of becoming an au pair and wanted to answer some of those.

*How did you find out about this?
I was searching the internet for interesting things to do once I graduate. I wanted to find a situation where I could go abroad and get paid to travel. After many Google searches I landed at a site for gap year students. For all those who don't know, kids in Australia and possibly other countries are encouraged to take a year off after high school after they commit to a college. They get to go travel or work while having the security acceptance to a school. This site helped me search many options and I thought that this would be an ideal situation.

*Why au pair?
As I said I wanted to get paid to travel. I did not go abroad for a school semester for many reasons and really wanted to have an opportunity to live abroad and experience another culture. It will be great if I choose to continue in schol as an anthropologist, as well as be a great overall experience. As an au pair you live in another country and you get enough time off to explore and travel while still being paid. You are provided with food and board as well as a small pay (almost as an allowance, as ideally you are to become part of the family).

*How do you find a family?
There are many ways to find a family. The process has been made much easier because of the internet. There are thousands of au pair and nanny "agencies" on the web, but it is important to make sure it is not some sort of scam. I used Almondbury Au Pair agency (link to the right). They are a free agency that is easy to apply to and easy to search and they also have good support and are on top of the family and au pair profiles.

*What are your duties as an au pair?
As I understand it differs from family to family, but au pairs work 5 days a week, as well as up to three nights of babysitting. You are also expected to do light housework and possibly light cooking.

*Why Spain?
I chose Spain because I know some Sanish and would really like to be able to speak the language better. It is an asset to have when applying for jobs in the United States. It also shows I have a capacity for language, a plus as an anthropologist. Also, I just think Spain is cool.

I will write more about the family I have chosen and answer more questions later.

Laters!
Jenn