It's hard to believe it's already November! These last few weeks have been very busy, so it's hard to know where to start.
This past weekend was a four-day weekend for Linares schools, so a few language assistants and I went on an impromptu trip to Seville. Nos encantó! (We loved it.) What an amazing city between the delicious food, great nightlife and incredible history and culture. A definite highlight for me was touring the Alcázar of Seville ("Alcázar" is the Arabic word for "palace"), part of which was built for King Peter I of Spain during the Christian period but in the Moorish style. The Plaza de España, a half-circle plaza built for the Ibero-American Exhibition in 1929, was also gorgeous and symbolic: with a canal running through it, the plaza includes four bridges representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain and beautiful stone alcoves for every Spanish province. Naturally, we needed a picture with our temporary home province of Jaén!
A few weeks ago I spent the weekend in Andújar, a nearby city in the Sierra Morena mountain range, with the couple I'm staying with and some of their friends. We did some hiking, enjoyed the views, and por supuesto ate a lot! We were very lucky to have 30+ degree weather all weekend in the middle of October, which I thoroughly enjoyed compared to the 10-degree weather in Canada. We also visited a famous sanctuary where a pastor apparently saw the Virgin Mary and which is now the site of many religious pilgrimages. The sanctuary had beautiful views of the mountains, and it was interesting to see another aspect of it: people leave a variety of objects–pictures, jewellery, clothing, etc.–there, asking that Mary will look over them and their family.
A few weeks ago, I also experienced two new parts of the Linares nightlife: the clubbing scene and the Botellón ("Big Bottle"). With some friends we met here, my language assistant friends and I went to one of Linares's two nightclubs, which was pretty different from Canada. To begin with, nobody arrives at the club until 3 a.m.! We went at 2 and it was empty, so we decided to go to the Botellón while we waited. The Botellón is unlike anything I have ever experienced. Basically, it's a place where students go to drink and smoke in the streets, complete with music blasting from cars and even a strobe light from one car trunk. It was a very different experience, and I couldn't help thinking that a Botellón wouldn't last a night in Canada before being shut down. At 3 a.m. we went back to the club, which was now packed, and stayed out until 5 a.m.–considered early here.
Work is going really well. I'm surprised to say that I enjoy being with my kindergarten students (3 to 5 years old) the most, which I did not expect! I was worried that they would have too much energy and that they would be difficult to teach, but it's actually the opposite: they learn so quickly and simply love their teachers, so my classes often end in giant group hugs. However, an occupational hazard I didn't expect was humming along to children's songs for days on end after class. This is my face, this is my face; I've got eyes, look, look, look; I've got ears, listen, listen, listen... I am really happy to be working in two schools because I have students of all ages (from from 3 to 18), and I appreciate the variety in what I can teach them. This week I also started working at a private academy on Mondays and giving private lessons; both were more challenging than I expected, but I'm staying positive and am sure they will get easier once I get into a routine.
'Ta luego!
This past weekend was a four-day weekend for Linares schools, so a few language assistants and I went on an impromptu trip to Seville. Nos encantó! (We loved it.) What an amazing city between the delicious food, great nightlife and incredible history and culture. A definite highlight for me was touring the Alcázar of Seville ("Alcázar" is the Arabic word for "palace"), part of which was built for King Peter I of Spain during the Christian period but in the Moorish style. The Plaza de España, a half-circle plaza built for the Ibero-American Exhibition in 1929, was also gorgeous and symbolic: with a canal running through it, the plaza includes four bridges representing the four ancient kingdoms of Spain and beautiful stone alcoves for every Spanish province. Naturally, we needed a picture with our temporary home province of Jaén!
A few weeks ago I spent the weekend in Andújar, a nearby city in the Sierra Morena mountain range, with the couple I'm staying with and some of their friends. We did some hiking, enjoyed the views, and por supuesto ate a lot! We were very lucky to have 30+ degree weather all weekend in the middle of October, which I thoroughly enjoyed compared to the 10-degree weather in Canada. We also visited a famous sanctuary where a pastor apparently saw the Virgin Mary and which is now the site of many religious pilgrimages. The sanctuary had beautiful views of the mountains, and it was interesting to see another aspect of it: people leave a variety of objects–pictures, jewellery, clothing, etc.–there, asking that Mary will look over them and their family.
A few weeks ago, I also experienced two new parts of the Linares nightlife: the clubbing scene and the Botellón ("Big Bottle"). With some friends we met here, my language assistant friends and I went to one of Linares's two nightclubs, which was pretty different from Canada. To begin with, nobody arrives at the club until 3 a.m.! We went at 2 and it was empty, so we decided to go to the Botellón while we waited. The Botellón is unlike anything I have ever experienced. Basically, it's a place where students go to drink and smoke in the streets, complete with music blasting from cars and even a strobe light from one car trunk. It was a very different experience, and I couldn't help thinking that a Botellón wouldn't last a night in Canada before being shut down. At 3 a.m. we went back to the club, which was now packed, and stayed out until 5 a.m.–considered early here.
Work is going really well. I'm surprised to say that I enjoy being with my kindergarten students (3 to 5 years old) the most, which I did not expect! I was worried that they would have too much energy and that they would be difficult to teach, but it's actually the opposite: they learn so quickly and simply love their teachers, so my classes often end in giant group hugs. However, an occupational hazard I didn't expect was humming along to children's songs for days on end after class. This is my face, this is my face; I've got eyes, look, look, look; I've got ears, listen, listen, listen... I am really happy to be working in two schools because I have students of all ages (from from 3 to 18), and I appreciate the variety in what I can teach them. This week I also started working at a private academy on Mondays and giving private lessons; both were more challenging than I expected, but I'm staying positive and am sure they will get easier once I get into a routine.
'Ta luego!
