29 November 2010
27 November 2010
KENDY, JESSE, EMILY, DAVE, JUSTIN AND KELLY
Convinced that no one else reads my blog....
See you at Christmas, maybe!
M
O
M
A
N
D
D
A
D
A
R
E
F
L
Y
I
N
G
M
E
H
O
M
E
!
See you at Christmas, maybe!
M
O
M
A
N
D
D
A
D
A
R
E
F
L
Y
I
N
G
M
E
H
O
M
E
!
24 November 2010
PHYSICS
LAW III: To every action there is always opposed an equal reaction: or the mutual actions of two bodies upon each other are always equal, and directed to contrary parts. — Whatever draws or presses another is as much drawn or pressed by that other. If you press a stone with your finger, the finger is also pressed by the stone. If a horse draws a stone tied to a rope, the horse (if I may so say) will be equally drawn back towards the stone: for the distended rope, by the same endeavour to relax or unbend itself, will draw the horse as much towards the stone, as it does the stone towards the horse, and will obstruct the progress of the one as much as it advances that of the other.
--Newton's Third Law (of motion)
So...
When body A exerts a force on body B, body B reacts by exerting a force on body A of equal strength and in the same axis, but in the opposite direction. Action and reaction are present in ALL movements which happen around us. For example, when we walk, we press backwards against the ground and we use the Earth's reaction to propel ourselves forwards. The reaction to the weight of EVERY ONE OF US is in the Earth's core.
That second part I read at a super trippy science/cosmos museum here in Barcelona. It really struck me. We credit the Earth for giving us life and land space and plants to eat but I've never been aware of the Earth's generosity and purpose in this way. If the Earth gives and takes, in which direction and to where does our "reaction" go once it's a part of Earth's core? Imagine, if our equal and opposite reaction is absorbed into the Earth, and the Earth in turn is exerting equal and opposite forces upon other "Body A's," then our "reactions" must be transferred to these other life forms (who are also exerting some kind of force on the Earth which in turn will affect US).
¿¿?? RIGHT ??¿¿
Is this the true cycle of life?
Are we really all one amoeba co-existing together but spread out on every one of Earth's land mass?
No, I mean.. yes. We are all co-existing and we, the creatures and life forms that all benefit and give to this unifying body (Earth), are extremely connected.
Cosmically.
Universally.
Spiritually.
Energetically.
Your sun is my sun.
Your moon is my moon.
Sometimes Venus shines brighter than the rest and it's not just me that sees it.
I guess it seems more pertinent than ever to suggest that we remain conscious of our existence and the impact of our actions on brothers and sisters from every walk of life.
(And reactions).
Thank you for being a part of my world.
Also I heard somewhere once that giggling cures sick babies.
Try it!
Today, one of John's students called blueberries, "blue balls."
--Newton's Third Law (of motion)
So...
When body A exerts a force on body B, body B reacts by exerting a force on body A of equal strength and in the same axis, but in the opposite direction. Action and reaction are present in ALL movements which happen around us. For example, when we walk, we press backwards against the ground and we use the Earth's reaction to propel ourselves forwards. The reaction to the weight of EVERY ONE OF US is in the Earth's core.
That second part I read at a super trippy science/cosmos museum here in Barcelona. It really struck me. We credit the Earth for giving us life and land space and plants to eat but I've never been aware of the Earth's generosity and purpose in this way. If the Earth gives and takes, in which direction and to where does our "reaction" go once it's a part of Earth's core? Imagine, if our equal and opposite reaction is absorbed into the Earth, and the Earth in turn is exerting equal and opposite forces upon other "Body A's," then our "reactions" must be transferred to these other life forms (who are also exerting some kind of force on the Earth which in turn will affect US).
¿¿?? RIGHT ??¿¿
Is this the true cycle of life?
Are we really all one amoeba co-existing together but spread out on every one of Earth's land mass?
No, I mean.. yes. We are all co-existing and we, the creatures and life forms that all benefit and give to this unifying body (Earth), are extremely connected.
Cosmically.
Universally.
Spiritually.
Energetically.
Your sun is my sun.
Your moon is my moon.
Sometimes Venus shines brighter than the rest and it's not just me that sees it.
I guess it seems more pertinent than ever to suggest that we remain conscious of our existence and the impact of our actions on brothers and sisters from every walk of life.
(And reactions).
Thank you for being a part of my world.
Also I heard somewhere once that giggling cures sick babies.
Try it!
Today, one of John's students called blueberries, "blue balls."
19 November 2010
¡QUÉ FUERTE, TÍA!
I'm 23 and today, I had to buy medical-life insurance-coverage in the event that I die here in Spain and "I" need to be shipped back to America. As of this morning, that could happen legally now, and the government would know that someone was paying for it.
Creepy, weird and little depressing.
What happened to looking out for our brothers and sisters?
Taking care of each other because it's actually the right and natural thing to do.
The government is creepy, weird and depressing.
Also because, this is the 3rd year having legal residency in Spain and I've never had to have this kind of medical-life insurance-coverage. This is my 2nd year doing this program and neither last year or this year did anyone ever mention this as a step in the Visa/residency process. As I wait for a response from my program directors, I keep thinking that, because I'm a foreigner in this country, "they" can request that I have this medical-life insurance-coverage before issuing me my renewed Visa/residency without any other reason except: they want my money. Not just mine, because my tiny purchase this afternoon wouldn't even pay for a bottle of wine at the restaurants these people eat at, but.. because I am one of thousands and thousands and thousands of foreigners living in this country or even this city, it all adds up.
This is really frustrating as I know many other people who have studied abroad here in Spain and even other people doing the same program as I am and no one has ever talked about this. Is it a totally random selection process?
Well, I guess I'll feel less negative about this once a director contacts me about these concerns.
In other news, Barcelona is as beautiful and alive as ever!
Here's to a really incredible weekend for everyone!
UN ABRAZO MUY FUERTE!
Creepy, weird and little depressing.
What happened to looking out for our brothers and sisters?
Taking care of each other because it's actually the right and natural thing to do.
The government is creepy, weird and depressing.
Also because, this is the 3rd year having legal residency in Spain and I've never had to have this kind of medical-life insurance-coverage. This is my 2nd year doing this program and neither last year or this year did anyone ever mention this as a step in the Visa/residency process. As I wait for a response from my program directors, I keep thinking that, because I'm a foreigner in this country, "they" can request that I have this medical-life insurance-coverage before issuing me my renewed Visa/residency without any other reason except: they want my money. Not just mine, because my tiny purchase this afternoon wouldn't even pay for a bottle of wine at the restaurants these people eat at, but.. because I am one of thousands and thousands and thousands of foreigners living in this country or even this city, it all adds up.
This is really frustrating as I know many other people who have studied abroad here in Spain and even other people doing the same program as I am and no one has ever talked about this. Is it a totally random selection process?
Well, I guess I'll feel less negative about this once a director contacts me about these concerns.
In other news, Barcelona is as beautiful and alive as ever!
Here's to a really incredible weekend for everyone!
UN ABRAZO MUY FUERTE!
12 November 2010
AUBERGINES
I may not have a job that allows me to be home for family holidays or one that even begins to help me chip away at my own educational debt, however.. The 4 days a week that I get to ride the blue line metro to Esteves Terradas secondary school are very special. They say that teenagers are impossible in so many ways, and there's no denying that in general, adolescent behavior and attitude can be frustrating, especially being so young myself trying to get them excited to study and read, write, communicate and express themselves through personal development and of course language. But at the end of the day, these kids, practically my own peers (give or take a few years) keep me smiling through the weekend until Monday comes again.
I love my job.
We had friends over for dinner this last week and José, who works in retail/design/management, got into his work life and near future plans, interviews and the opportunities that he's discovering through his career. There was a moment in his well over 10 minute monologue that I became aware of this special glow emanating from his being. I also realized that I had been tuning out a lot of what he was saying and was so fixated on this aura that was clearly connected to his passion for what he does and... his smile! He had this smile and giddiness that was so incredible, and I realized, I had been zoned out, smiling just as big back at him.
I can safely say that I will probably never have a career in retail, in fact for me, that sounds awful. But who's to say it is actually an awful job? That's just subjectivity. And really, it has nothing to do with being objective, it all comes down to happiness. Honoring our own personal happiness. And clearly, for each person it's something different, which means there are 6,880,900,000+ unique human beings coexisting within each others' personal happiness. We're all really good at complaining about our jobs maybe because it's an easy outlet, and since in reality we all have to work to survive there aren't as many judgments towards each other because everyone can empathize. The culture we created is centered around working in the community to be able to survive within it. It's not a bad idea. In my opinion, working hard for something makes the fruit taste so much sweeter. A literal example of that idea came into my life over the weekend when I made a quick 3 day visit to Calatayud (the small town where I lived last year between Madrid and Barcelona)....
My friend Jorge (the one some of you haven't met) has over 300 hectors* of land covered in apple, peach, cherry and almond trees. The almond trees have been ignored for years and years. Jorge and his family don't touch them, yet the trees (he estimates maybe 400 of them more or less) continue to live their lives, sleeping during the cold months and producing fruit when the sun comes out to play for months at a time. John and I spent a good amount of time hand picking these 100% organic, legitimate Spanish almonds. The picking isn't laborious in the least, probably because once we got all the nuts in arms reach, we moved on to the next tree as they are never ending. What is taxing though, is getting the tiny morsel out of the 3 layers of protection and into your mouth. Without a nut cracker (not necessarily the one with an awkward black mustache and red top coat), it's not easy. We're animals too (and extremely capable ones), so the trial and error process eventually leads to problem solving. For us, that meant having bruised palms the next day. Either way, almonds are delicious, underrated fruits. And sweet! I mean ya, processed almond milk is delicious but these.. these almonds are so perfect. So, I kind of forget where I was going with this but I can say that the labor "intensive" effort makes the outcome extra sweet. Work.
I love my job. And EVERYONE should. None of that, "enjoy it while you're young" bull shit. Enjoy it always. Enjoy everything always.
So here's a sneak peek into how, during work hours, I fulfill my personal happiness on the daily..
It's obvious that most of my students don't want to be there. Most students in general (obligatory school, and more specifically, secondary/high school) don't. Between the hormones and peer pressures, their attitudes reach so many extremes and are also very reflective on the kind of person I am as I stand in front of them all, pushing them to try. If I want to be smiling everyday, it helps so much more when there are 25+ kiddies returning the gesture AND, vice verse. Luckily with the younger kids, it's much easier in that, silliness wins every time. This is all it takes:
Lesson: Family Vocabulary
The silliness all started when we were solving world scrambles. For example, "tobrher" = brother and "cenul" = uncle. Moving on to "uatn", student X yells, "atún!" So that was like instant giggle fest (atún = tuna in Spanish) for this group of thirty-four 11/12 year olds. After reviewing the vocabulary we moved onto the application stage and they each had to ask me a question about my family (last unit was asking questions with auxiliary word "do," plus, have you got any.... how old... how many... do you like, etc). The questions were repetitive. Have you got any brothers? Have you got any sisters? How old is your brother? But it's not like they are quick fire questions, it definitely takes them at least a minute to pull themselves together, get over the stage fright of having to speak in front of their peers AND THEN ask the question correctly. These are the duller moments of my job, for me and for them. Kids hate waiting their turn. So, I needed to shake things up a little bit. The best way to get everyone feeling better is to get every single one of those cuties smiling and/or laughing. And that for me, is like 3 shots of espresso. So then this series of questions happened:
What's your dad's name?
-David
What's your grandmother's name?
-I have two. Anne and Juanita (the gringa has a grandma named Juanita?!!)
Do you have any pets?
-Yes. A panda bear
Where does your family live?
-China
What's your panda's name?
-Dog
Someone whispers: ¿Qué ha dicho? (What did she say?)
Can you spell?
-D-o-g
Someone else yells: ¿Perro?
Someone else yells: TIENE UN OSO PANDA QUE SE LLAMA PERRO!! (She has a panda bear named dog!!)
GIGGLE BREAK.
Then, I can't get them to stop shouting questions.
What's your brother's job?
-Cameron is a farmer, Caleb is a professional baseball player.
What's his team?
-San Francisco Giants, they are the champions.
Is he famous?
-Of course!
¿Es guapo?
-Of course!
How old is your grandfather?
-85
Someone yells: 85! Pero que viejo! (how old!)
How old is your grandmother?
-115
GAAAAAASPS.
70 little eyes on me thinking, this girl is so weird!
And that's all it takes. I'm literally an alien to them, so they don't know what to do but laugh! Students still say things like: Do you like Canada? Are you going to see your family in England for Christmas? And then someone else in the class will pick up on the geographical error and say, "she's from California!" And then that same person says, "Ya, Canada." or "Ya, England/London." That part really bums me out because these kids are so fortunate to grow up in Europe where in 1+ hours you can be in a completely different country by plane, boat, car, train, bus.....
The weeks are getting cooler here, but they are in now way less sweet or beautiful. Happy November to all, stay warm, eat well and may innumerable giggle fests be in your near future.
I wore my favorite piece of clothing to Catalan class on Thursday (dijous) and the professor commented on it saying I was very eggplant purple that evening. Eggplant purple = porpra d'albergínia
¡!
*300 hectors = a totally made up number and land space
Recent happenings:
Some Calatayud homies.
Farm time.
Zaragocilla
My sunrise and sunset every day.
I love my job.
We had friends over for dinner this last week and José, who works in retail/design/management, got into his work life and near future plans, interviews and the opportunities that he's discovering through his career. There was a moment in his well over 10 minute monologue that I became aware of this special glow emanating from his being. I also realized that I had been tuning out a lot of what he was saying and was so fixated on this aura that was clearly connected to his passion for what he does and... his smile! He had this smile and giddiness that was so incredible, and I realized, I had been zoned out, smiling just as big back at him.
I can safely say that I will probably never have a career in retail, in fact for me, that sounds awful. But who's to say it is actually an awful job? That's just subjectivity. And really, it has nothing to do with being objective, it all comes down to happiness. Honoring our own personal happiness. And clearly, for each person it's something different, which means there are 6,880,900,000+ unique human beings coexisting within each others' personal happiness. We're all really good at complaining about our jobs maybe because it's an easy outlet, and since in reality we all have to work to survive there aren't as many judgments towards each other because everyone can empathize. The culture we created is centered around working in the community to be able to survive within it. It's not a bad idea. In my opinion, working hard for something makes the fruit taste so much sweeter. A literal example of that idea came into my life over the weekend when I made a quick 3 day visit to Calatayud (the small town where I lived last year between Madrid and Barcelona)....
My friend Jorge (the one some of you haven't met) has over 300 hectors* of land covered in apple, peach, cherry and almond trees. The almond trees have been ignored for years and years. Jorge and his family don't touch them, yet the trees (he estimates maybe 400 of them more or less) continue to live their lives, sleeping during the cold months and producing fruit when the sun comes out to play for months at a time. John and I spent a good amount of time hand picking these 100% organic, legitimate Spanish almonds. The picking isn't laborious in the least, probably because once we got all the nuts in arms reach, we moved on to the next tree as they are never ending. What is taxing though, is getting the tiny morsel out of the 3 layers of protection and into your mouth. Without a nut cracker (not necessarily the one with an awkward black mustache and red top coat), it's not easy. We're animals too (and extremely capable ones), so the trial and error process eventually leads to problem solving. For us, that meant having bruised palms the next day. Either way, almonds are delicious, underrated fruits. And sweet! I mean ya, processed almond milk is delicious but these.. these almonds are so perfect. So, I kind of forget where I was going with this but I can say that the labor "intensive" effort makes the outcome extra sweet. Work.
I love my job. And EVERYONE should. None of that, "enjoy it while you're young" bull shit. Enjoy it always. Enjoy everything always.
So here's a sneak peek into how, during work hours, I fulfill my personal happiness on the daily..
It's obvious that most of my students don't want to be there. Most students in general (obligatory school, and more specifically, secondary/high school) don't. Between the hormones and peer pressures, their attitudes reach so many extremes and are also very reflective on the kind of person I am as I stand in front of them all, pushing them to try. If I want to be smiling everyday, it helps so much more when there are 25+ kiddies returning the gesture AND, vice verse. Luckily with the younger kids, it's much easier in that, silliness wins every time. This is all it takes:
Lesson: Family Vocabulary
The silliness all started when we were solving world scrambles. For example, "tobrher" = brother and "cenul" = uncle. Moving on to "uatn", student X yells, "atún!" So that was like instant giggle fest (atún = tuna in Spanish) for this group of thirty-four 11/12 year olds. After reviewing the vocabulary we moved onto the application stage and they each had to ask me a question about my family (last unit was asking questions with auxiliary word "do," plus, have you got any.... how old... how many... do you like, etc). The questions were repetitive. Have you got any brothers? Have you got any sisters? How old is your brother? But it's not like they are quick fire questions, it definitely takes them at least a minute to pull themselves together, get over the stage fright of having to speak in front of their peers AND THEN ask the question correctly. These are the duller moments of my job, for me and for them. Kids hate waiting their turn. So, I needed to shake things up a little bit. The best way to get everyone feeling better is to get every single one of those cuties smiling and/or laughing. And that for me, is like 3 shots of espresso. So then this series of questions happened:
What's your dad's name?
-David
What's your grandmother's name?
-I have two. Anne and Juanita (the gringa has a grandma named Juanita?!!)
Do you have any pets?
-Yes. A panda bear
Where does your family live?
-China
What's your panda's name?
-Dog
Someone whispers: ¿Qué ha dicho? (What did she say?)
Can you spell?
-D-o-g
Someone else yells: ¿Perro?
Someone else yells: TIENE UN OSO PANDA QUE SE LLAMA PERRO!! (She has a panda bear named dog!!)
GIGGLE BREAK.
Then, I can't get them to stop shouting questions.
What's your brother's job?
-Cameron is a farmer, Caleb is a professional baseball player.
What's his team?
-San Francisco Giants, they are the champions.
Is he famous?
-Of course!
¿Es guapo?
-Of course!
How old is your grandfather?
-85
Someone yells: 85! Pero que viejo! (how old!)
How old is your grandmother?
-115
GAAAAAASPS.
70 little eyes on me thinking, this girl is so weird!
And that's all it takes. I'm literally an alien to them, so they don't know what to do but laugh! Students still say things like: Do you like Canada? Are you going to see your family in England for Christmas? And then someone else in the class will pick up on the geographical error and say, "she's from California!" And then that same person says, "Ya, Canada." or "Ya, England/London." That part really bums me out because these kids are so fortunate to grow up in Europe where in 1+ hours you can be in a completely different country by plane, boat, car, train, bus.....
The weeks are getting cooler here, but they are in now way less sweet or beautiful. Happy November to all, stay warm, eat well and may innumerable giggle fests be in your near future.
I wore my favorite piece of clothing to Catalan class on Thursday (dijous) and the professor commented on it saying I was very eggplant purple that evening. Eggplant purple = porpra d'albergínia
¡!
*300 hectors = a totally made up number and land space
Come visit us!
Recent happenings:
Some Calatayud homies.
Farm time.
Zaragocilla
My sunrise and sunset every day.
02 November 2010
MISCOMMUNICATION AND MORSELS
Today we split the class up and while Natalia did grammar stuff I had some students for conversation. We spoke about Halloween and La Castañada which is Spain's holiday on November 1, the reason why the city was so crazy on Sunday the 31st (No school or work the next day!). They are learning (for the 9th time, probably) the past simple, asking/answering questions, etc etc. One student, we'll call her Janet, was telling me that her family did this and that and also visited her Grandmother. So I asked, "Where does she live?" Janet didn't understand the question, I repeated it a couple times and she told me she understood the question but was still looking really bewildered. Finally she says, "the cemetery."
OOPS.
For La Castañada, Spaniards eat roasted chestnuts (castañas), sweet potatoes (boniatos) and true to all Spanish holidays (usually all religious), there is a special pastry called panallets. They are a delicious morsel made from almonds, pine nuts, sometimes coconut and sometimes chocolate. Tradition is to eat them while drinking a sweetish wine called Moscatel. It is really incredible to feel the warmth and smell the toasty wood of the open fires on every street corner, which literally, there are chestnut ladies roasting goodies everywhere you go.
In other news, reasons why you should come visit Barcelona:
·the pillow lounge isn't under construction anymore, it's fully ready for some serious lounging.
·we have an art wall, come add to it!
·and I'm here so uh...
·critical mass in Barcelona! but no need to have a bike.. Rollerblades only!
·I'll take you to sip on absinthe where Picasso, Gaudí, Dalí, Hemmingway and the like used to hang and get inspired
Lastly, if you haven't learned anything today: there are roughly 12,000,000 people in the world who speak Catalan. That is a lot more then I realized. Also, the first manuscript in Catalan, Les Homilies d'Organya dates back to the 11th or 12th century, ¡¡¡¡HISTORY!!!!
Catalan regions.. in all of the world
OOPS.
For La Castañada, Spaniards eat roasted chestnuts (castañas), sweet potatoes (boniatos) and true to all Spanish holidays (usually all religious), there is a special pastry called panallets. They are a delicious morsel made from almonds, pine nuts, sometimes coconut and sometimes chocolate. Tradition is to eat them while drinking a sweetish wine called Moscatel. It is really incredible to feel the warmth and smell the toasty wood of the open fires on every street corner, which literally, there are chestnut ladies roasting goodies everywhere you go.
In other news, reasons why you should come visit Barcelona:
·the pillow lounge isn't under construction anymore, it's fully ready for some serious lounging.
·we have an art wall, come add to it!
·and I'm here so uh...
·critical mass in Barcelona! but no need to have a bike.. Rollerblades only!
·I'll take you to sip on absinthe where Picasso, Gaudí, Dalí, Hemmingway and the like used to hang and get inspired
Lastly, if you haven't learned anything today: there are roughly 12,000,000 people in the world who speak Catalan. That is a lot more then I realized. Also, the first manuscript in Catalan, Les Homilies d'Organya dates back to the 11th or 12th century, ¡¡¡¡HISTORY!!!!
Catalan regions.. in all of the world
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
