ANYWAY YOU WANT TO, ANYWAY YOU GOT TO

Spring is the time of year for me when I truly realize how much in this world there is to love. Myself, along with the majority of humans on this planet are what we call: FRIOLEROS

Of course, there are exceptions to everything, and that my friends is the universal balance. There are many people, too, who enjoy the cold, rainy, windy, cracked skin, wet sock season. But I, without a sliver of doubt, fall into the FRIOLEROS category. I am sensitive to the cold. The sun constantly helps me find that special place where I love to be. Where positivity comes more naturally and everything I love aesthetically is accented by golden, warm light.

It's been a few weeks (maybe even a month) that I've been slowly becoming Spring-Karli again, the person I most love to be. And I'm fixated on one thing: Love. The most complicated thing I've ever tried to understand.. The thing that brings us the most pain and the most pleasure. Sometimes, both at the same time.

I think we first get some sort of notion of what love is, by observing our parents. In my case, (and for which I am very blessed), my parents are in that top tier of being in love. And it's always been so obvious. Pure, uncomplicated and everlasting. Corny, I know! But sometimes it feels so good to be romantic and poetic. Then, when the late-adolescent Karli began having interest in boys (for a while there, everyone thought I'd be a lesbian. Partially Kelly's fault for the bowl cut and partially the fault of the female basketball stereotype/generalization), it was clear what type of person I was interested in. Boys that reminded me of my brothers. I can't say that I've dated around so much (I've been more of the long-term boyfriend type of girl), but I can say that there has always been some qualities about these boys that I could trace back to something I loved about my brothers.

On Sunday I'm turning 24 years old, and just a few days ago I realized that I know exactly when I fell in love for the first time. Exactly 5 years ago, today. Two days before my 19th birthday.

Only 2 other people know what I'm talking about: Caleb and Cameron.
5 years ago, I fell in love with my brothers.

Now, this is one of the most important realizations of my life. Knowing how capable and how naturally the human hearts wants to love is an incredibly great power and tool and pleasure. (power tool, haha). In the most non-sexual way ever (duh), I am head over heels, would give my life a million times over for these two humans, in love with my brothers.

Whoever has a heart that pumps blood and oxygen through their body, also has this desire to love, be loved and let themselves fall in love with the people and things in their life and in the world. We are natural lovers. But unfortunately, with love comes jealousy and frustrations, sadness and in a world of universal balances, it also brings "hatred". In my opinion, a false hatred. A way to channel strange feelings that contradict the natural feeling of goodness, appreciation, admiration and gratitude. Example: War happens because of conflicting beliefs. Some people love their religion so much that they do a complete 180 and utilize violence to defend, honor and attempt to share his or her beliefs. Beliefs that they love. Beliefs that they would die for. This is where we got it all wrong. Anyways, this isn't a rant about war.

This is about pure love.

It feels so good to treat people well and be welcomed by smiles and hugs. It feels so good to let go of stresses and frustrations and just love your world, love yourself, love the way you look in your favorite dress, love the way that stranger looks in those tight jeans, love the smell of the bakeries in the morning, love the sunset instead of just talking about how much you love the sunset, love your 5 minute break where you sit on a bench, close your eyes and put your face up to the sun. It feels so good to love the sound of laughter and love tie-dye, love how big a baby's eyes are, love when your guilty pleasure song comes on the radio, love bbq's and love when you open the fridge and it's full of colorful food, fruits and vegetables. The say: be appreciative for what you have because so many people in the world don't have anything. Okay.. I mean, true? But, what are we really implying? People in third world countries, people in poverished communities, people with less.... money? Things? Thanks to my girl Kendy, I'm beginning to understand this a little more. She's living in Kenya and the people in her village are people, like you and me. The kids go to school, they celebrate holidays and birthdays, and they also deal with issues like death and sickness, and all types of suffering. BECAUSE THEY ARE HUMANS TOO! And while we sit here writing blogs about how fortunate we are, and talking about how sad it is that people in Africa don't have TVs and don't have tile floors in their house... Those people are just going about their lives in a different way than us.. Maybe they too are thinking, those poor Americans and Europeans have to wear suits to work everyday and go to war with guns and spend years building a house that is covering up perfectly good land. We may live very different lives, ones in which it is either acceptable or not to go barefoot, but there is one thing that ties us together... Love.

I'm willing to bet that there are people in Africa that love dancing to their favorite song, just like I do. And those that love sunset walks with a lover. There are probably those too, that love being a rebel and sneaking off with friends to smoke a joint, or swim naked in the river.

Anyways, this blog was meant to be a dedication to my brothers. So I'll get on with it... My brothers, Caleb and Cameron, are two of the most wonderful people in the world. I know everyone says that, but for real, they are. And I've always thought that, and for 18 years of my life I loved them, a lot, like my brothers. It wasn't until we had a weekend together, just the 3 of us (Plus Seth and his cousin Jesse, who were both crucial ingredients to the magic that went down that weekend) that I realized how IN LOVE with them I was. Coachella, 2006. I'll probably never go back to Indio for Spring concert madness, but, it was there, on the dry, desserty polo fields where my brothers and I conquered the world. Together. Barefoot and desperately trying to stay hydrated, we spent 2 crazy days and nights sharing smiles, tears, blankets, making sacrifices for each other (Caleb ditched some awesome band to sit with me where Damien Rice was playing to practically no audience), stealing shade and gulping yerba mate. It was the first time that we were really doing something together, outside of family functions and other events. That weekend was about us. And together, Cammy and I turned 19, and Caleb drove our hungover asses back to Orange County so I could make it to my Statistics test on Monday morning.

To wrap things up, here are some of the amazing qualities of my brothers for which make them my role models and the loves of my life:

· Hearts of gold: they sympathize, empathize and let people in.
·They listen
·They both have the "don't worry, be happy" attitude and it's really infectious. They are constant reminders that we are capable and strong to tackle anything that life throws at us. And as my mom says, "Seriously, we always find a way to make things work. We are your family."
·They are always concerned about others.. no matter where we are, they are constantly making sure that everyone is enjoying themselves.
·Their taste in music (and knowledge!)
·Their sense of humor.. a league of their own. And when they are together, it's a constant giggle fit.
· For how stubborn they can be sometimes, they have never been the type of boys to hit, wrestle and bully. They hug. Men, women, friends, strangers. They are huggers.
·SELFLESSNESS and willingness to make sacrifices
·Their pride
·I don't know how many times they've had to comfort me, but they always have endless supplies of warmy goo-goos to get me through whatever difficult time. They've held my hand a million times over and after the worst is over, they always find a way to replace the smile and twinkle in my eye.
·Caleb has great smelling deodorant.
·Cameron decorates himself in feathers.

CDK & CRK, not only are you great role models and reminders to live a life of love, you are the best friends anyone could ever have. Thanks for loving me and letting me love and obsess over you. Thanks for being my first and forever loves. And lastly, thank you for all the rugs we've cut and dance floors we've dominated. Everyday is unofficial brother day. Hug you soon, Kar.

Here's to love doing what we love, and love loving what we love,

JUST BECAUSE IT FEELS GOOD!

¡MÁS, MÁS!

Things you can never have too many of:

- Photos: as proven by the FB, fancy camera & digital age that we're in

- Socks & Undies

- Bobby pins: Those things disappear faster than Costco samples on a Saturday

- Blankets in your house: Slumber party and spontaneous pic-nic/night adventure ready, all the time!

- Ethnic, Stevie Wonder and Radiohead songs on your iPod or iTunes. Duh

- Nutella: Os lo juro, you don't get that expected chocolate-coma stomach ache. Must be the hazelnut protein!

- Obvious ones: Smiles and hugs. I'd say kisses too, but, no one likes a dry, chapped snout

- Books in your personal library

- Humor

- Amor

- Reasons to love unconditionally

- Clean air and water

- Tortillas! (Kelly would probably say boots, too)

- Deck sessions and top floor terrace chillin'

- And a special shout out to Dave: Baseball

Tomorrow is: Friday! New home debut! April! Emmy T's birthday!
.It's all good.

THE DAILY

For lack of motivation to write a thorough and meaty post, I'd like to share what I've learned this week and other things that are just great, in list form:

· Students of 4º ESO (equivalent to sophomores in HS) taught me this: Born in Honolulu, USA is the 44th and current president of the Karli's country. The most typical food of my country is: Chicken, potatoes and cake.

· An adult student of mine, Antonio, has a watch worth 800 or 900€, he can't remember.

· It would be unwise to mix these words up, unless you like those awkward social moments: macaco/a, macoqui & macoca

· Spanish cava (sparkling wine), almost-kind of-not really the same as French champagne, is better because: if you open the bottle and can't finish it, no stress! Tomorrow it will just be wine, sans bubbles!

· The "Tooth Fairy" in Spain is: Ratón Perez: Perez the Mouse. In other words, the "character" who sneaks into the bedrooms of small children at night to touch their pillows and watch them sleep is:

Señor Perez Hilton the Mouse. Creeeeeeepy·

PRIMAVERA Y POESÍA pt.¡!

The changing of seasons is like our Mother's way of reminding us 1) how awesome she is and 2) that she's still there, co-existing with every life form, all the while making our lives more beautiful.

Ya es primavera.

When I leave for work at 7am, it's not the moon that guides me to the metro anymore. Instead, the sun's perfect morning glow wraps me in a golden burrito and transports me to my kiddies while the sweet aroma of Spanish pastries escape the ovens and dance me up and down each block.

Winter was strange this year. There are still some rains ahead, but I'd like to leave the biting cold, the body chills and the boots behind... at least in a box to wait to be rediscovered in 7 months time. The comforts of winter fires and blankets and Saturday nights watching films must be appreciated, too. For now, it's full speed ahead toward budding bulbs of floral dreams and butterfly freedom.

This is a photo I took about a week ago, probably the last sunrise I'll experience while trekking my way to work in the early morn. When I arrive to Cornellá de Llobregat, a little city right outside Barcelona centro, there is a sliver of a road that offers just the smallest view of Barcelona. It is in that exact direction where the sun rises, and gives great splendor to this gem of city.

Goodbye, winter and hello, spring.

PRIMAVERA Y POESÍA

March 21 - In honor of the first day of spring and poetry day (at least here in Spain), I'd like to share a very beautiful poem:

Tu pupila es azul, y cuando ríes
Su claridad suave me recuerda
El trémulo fulgor de la mañana
Que en el mar se refleja.

Tu pupila es azul y cuando lloras
Las transparentes lágrimas en ella
Se me figuran gotas de rocío
Sobre una violeta.

Tu pupila es azul y si en el fondo
Como un punto de luz radia una idea,
Me parece en el cielo de la tarde
Una perdida estrella.

¿Qué Es Poesía?

¿Qué es poesía?, dices mientras clavas
En mi pupila tu pupila azul.

¡Qué es poesía! ¿Y tú me lo preguntas?
Poesía eres tú.

- Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer

In other news, last Friday (March 18th), was Women's Day here in España. To celebrate, the students of the 3rd and 4th level at the high school organized an activity for the 1st and 2nd years during patio. On the courtyard, they set up a mock "home" and all of the students got to experience what it was like to do house work and chores; ironing, dishes, setting the table, laundry, making the bed, cooking meals, etc.

Here's to gender roles in the good Old World!

HIDDEN TREASURES

In any given country, in any part of the world, a child may ask: "Mom/Dad, where do babies come from?"

People in Spain, like those in the US and numerous other Western/European countries, don't have to think too hard about what to tell a child when the timing is just not right for the truth. Long ago, the market capitalized on the image of a stork, carrying a baby by it's beak.

Storks, duh. Ok, so like the Easter bunny and Santa Claus, we need strange characters or animals to give reason for celebrations. Its a nice reminder at least, to not let go of our imagination and creativity. Children seem to be nice reminders of that (among many, many other beautiful things) and yet, we don't really even question or think twice about things like that. If someone is having a baby, we buy a card with a stork on it and we forget to laugh because its SO SILLY!!! Right??¿¿!!

Yesterday I was speaking with la Señora Marta. Somewhere between death, theology and Spanish pastries, we began discussing storks and babies. She was explaining to me that she has always questioned what is real and what is not. To her, its not real if she can't understand it. Death, for example, is nothing to fear. We are not capable as humans to understand death, therefore, religion cannot solve our problem and mostly, we shouldn't be afraid. We need to focus on what we know, what we feel, what we experience. We have 5 senses plus the way your body reacts to certain situations: adrenaline should probably be counted as a sense. We absolutely feel our heart beating and blood rushing. We are animals, we have instinct too.

ANYWAYS, her next example after "death" was the idea of babies coming from storks. She remembers questioning her mother. To her, there was no logic.

And then she said it.. I was totally captivated by her perspective on religion, faith, death and natural human experience and then she hit me with this one:

Spanish babies "come from storks," too. But the storks that carry Spanish babies ALL come from Paris.

WTF? No wonder 5 year old Marta was fucking confused.

And wait!!! There's more!!!

The babies are ALL carrying....... bread under their arm.

How have I lived in Spain this long, had so many cultural conversations with Spaniards of every age about traditions and customs and NEVER discovered this before?!

How exciting is life?! Hidden treasures around every corner! I hope you all get culturally tickled like I did this week!

¡BESOS GORDOS PARA TODOS!

WHERE'S MY STAR?

Hey Ya'll...

Here's a list of my favorite Catalan words (my vocabulary is still a bit limited, but you know, poc a poc) followed by a translation into Spanish and then English.

·ioga (yoga, yoga)
·soci (socio, member) - pronounced like a hybrid between the Spanish and English words for "sassy" (soso, sassy) and also happens to be the way Jorge says it.
·collonut (cojonudo, brilliant/amazing/awesome)
·qué fort! (¡qué fuerte!, oh my god!/holy shit!/no kidding!/wow!/unbelievable!)
·ou (huevo, egg) - words comprised of vowels only = !!!!
·tranquil! (¡tranquilo!, relax!) - the 'l' is silent

Also, a follow up to this Catalan lesson: let's see if you can understand this article/interview my school wrote about me! Here is the link to the school's website. They will be publishing the actual interview in the school newspaper later in spring. ¡My students are so cute!

Treat yourself to a real Spanish siesta this week!
XOX

¿HARMLESS?

Valentine's Day.

Everyone knows that Kelly was a teacher for 26ish years, right? Luckily for me, everything has trickled down quite nicely and she's always thinking of festive things to send in the mail for my students. Usually candies for different US holidays and cultural goodies.

Candy hearts.

Totally a 50/50 treat. While I hate them (don't hate the sentiment, just the chalky taste that produces instant goosebumps when grinding them between the teeth), there is someone who loves them. Anyways, I totally get extra points from my students (that I can use for "threats" and punishment) when I come bearing gifts (candies = chuches). I have one class of 15 boys and 2 girls. They are 13/14 year olds. Not only did I make them write love notes and poems today for their moms, girlfriends, sisters, etc.... They all got candy hearts. Anyone care to make a guess as to what "xoxo," (pronounced cho-cho) means in Spanish?

Here's a synonym: Coño

Now, take a little visit to www.wordreference.com (and then get lost on my favorite website ever) or google translator if you prefer, and find out for yourself what made all these little 13 year old adolescent boys squeal when their blonde, American, 23 year old teacher gave them candy hearts that say "xoxo" on them...

In other news, a few weeks ago when I was back in Calatayud, I met a (Spanish) girl who is studying abroad in California for the year. Anyone care to take a guess as to what her American University alma mater is?

Here's a hint: ¡¡¡ ZOT-ZOT-ZOT !!!

Small world? Well, thanks to the freakishly lucrative industry of TEACHING ENGLISH (6 billion Pounds a year world wide!¿?!) and the only suposed 3 universal taboos that we can kind of say exist (incest, genocide and cannibalism), the world is only getting smaller as we all make great strides to be able to communicate globally and better ourselves by creating a morally just human race that aspires to goodness.

¡Feliz día de los enamorados!
Love, be loved!
XO(XO), ja ja ja!

DAVID CHULO

OK. Imagine this tío but shorter (4' maybe?), younger (13), with huge diamonds in his ears and much, much chubbier. Then imagine that his name is David. Then imagine him singing "Barbie Girl," karaoke style, in front of a class of 20 comprised of his peers. Here's to Thursday's English class!!

(Side note: Today the students and I reached an agreement. Each time a student spoke Spanish, and I heard them, they got an 'X' by their name. With 3 X's, they'd have to sing a song in English. Pobre David... His classmates chose the song for him.)

NO WRONG TURNS

Some of my first year students' 2011 New Year's resolutions: (They are 11/12 years old)

·to falling love (fall in)
·to drink a little cava at New Years Eve (cava = sparkeling wine)
·to quit smoking
·to not be claustrophobic

In other news: California / Mexico was fantastic! Back to the big city and chillin....

More holiday photos can be viewed here:
(although my camera died on New Years)

POWER OF TEA

A gift from my cup of tea

See you soon, California!

PRIMERA PERSONA PLURAL

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
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F
L
Y
I
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M
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H
O
M
E
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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."

¡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!

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

Come visit us!

Recent happenings:


Some Calatayud homies.


Farm time.


Zaragocilla


My sunrise and sunset every day.

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

SMASH A KANGAROO

There should be a video on this page, but if it doesn't work.. GO HERE! (you should probably watch this)

¡¡VIVA LOS GIGANTES!!

REPPIN' THE ORANGE AND BLACK ALL WEEKEND!

PICHITA

Today begins Halloween week, and this means nothing except that my babies (ages 12-35) get to try candy corn for the first time, thanks to my parents. Naturally, I'm way more excited about Halloween then anyone in Spain, mostly because they don't really celebrate it. It's definitely a more western holiday, and whatever they know about it boils down to horror, vampires and blood. It's easier for them to keep Halloween simple because Europeans have Carnival, which is way crazier than our 31st, so.. The kids have been participating a lot this week because I preface each lesson with "there is a surprise at the end of the class IF you speak English a lot. An AMERICAN surprise."Anyways, Friday I'm planning on dressing up a little, give them a real reason to stare at the white girl in the halls.

Today some notable things happened. First, with my 4th level "special" class we had mini oral exams. They just had to speak for about a minute about themselves. Their names, ages, birthdays, star signs (seeens), phone numbers and addresses. At the end of the hour they practiced asking me questions, but María, the professor, requested that they brainstorm questions with more complex answers instead of just, "how old are you?" "Do you have a boyfriend?" etc etc... So, with María's help the first few were really good, "what is your dream?" "What do you want to change in the world?" 3rd question, "what is your email address?" Muaahaha.. my turn to screw with them. The second they all realized I was going to tell them something they scrambled for pens and pencils.

Someone yells from the back of the room "Despacio, eh???!!!"
María screams back, "IN ENGLISH!"
Student responds, "Ehslow pleeez."
So I answer, "youwish@gmail.com."
Kids, "HUH????¿¿¿"
Me, "y-o-u-w-i-s-h-@gmail.com."
Smart kid that puts things together faster than the others, "Tu deseo?" (Your wish)
Rest of the class, "OOOOOOoooooh, her desire."
María, "NO NO NO. It's not possessive! 'Tú deseas en Castellano."
Me, "It's an expression."
María, "Google it."
Students giggle, so excited.


Later that day, 3rd years. We've been talking food for a week or so. Today they get to make their own menus for a restaurant. María requires them to have a vegetarian section for me, so amazing. Jordi is charging 10€ for whiskey. Not going there. Sheila is charging 22€ for hamburger and fish but only 2€ for wine, (she gave me a discount from the original 3€ menu price). And then there is Carlos. Carlos with his gold bling, huge diamond earrings, baggy pants and the first one to greet me everyday, "Hgggggiiiiii Karrrrrli." His restaurant is "in" New York. He tried to name it Pizzita (little pizza). Instead, in Spanish, he accidentally named it "Little Penis." María first explains to the class what Carlos did and then whispers to me, "Hehehe, there's only one reason why he did that, right?"

Halloween is Sunday and the Monday after is a holiday. Then I work Tuesday and Wednesday. And Thursday I'd normally work, however, the program requires some 3 hour mandatory group session, talk about logistics, our roles in the schools etc etc etc... Immediately after, John and I have a bus to catch to..... Calatayud! I left a bunch of stuff there over the summer instead of lugging it all home and back again, plus I really miss my homies and I get to visit my old school, show John small town Spain.

Pictures coming soon to my online Picasa album.
Ya'll having a nice week?

Hope your costumes are coming together nicely... Not sure where this years inspiration will come from but I could certainly revisit the past for ideas if need be.....!!!