My 12 Classes....

Mis Alumnos: Aquí tenéis las fotos de vuestras clases. Podéis hacer clic en cada una para bajarla, vale? Quiero agradeceros por la oportunidad de ser vuestra lectora. ¡Realmente me he disfrutado la experiencia! Suerte con todo y especialmente con los exámenes. Ojalá que los aprobéis. (¡Ay, qué difícil....nunca he usado “vosotros” tanto...! jaja.) Pues, he puesto mi email al lado izquierda de me blog si queréis escribirme o tenéis alguna duda o pregunta.

I'm officially done teaching at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas....Thursday was my last day. Sad... Although, this next week I will continue with my all of my private lessons.

I have posted all the pictures in the order that I had each class each week. We’re going to play the “Where’s Waldo?” game, except it’s the “Where’s Kristina?” version. This should be fun! I’m in every picture except one….

3rd Level - Mondays

4th Level - Mondays
3rd Level - Tuesdays
4th Level - Tuesdays
4th Level - Tuesdays
3rd Level - Tuesdays
3rd Level - Wednesdays
4th Level - Wednesdays
3rd Level - Wednesdays
5th Level - Thursdays
3rd Level CAL (all teachers) - Thursdays
5th Level - Thursdays (Sorry guys, I couldn't straighten it out...)

The English Department

Well, most of them.... These are all the other English teachers at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas at an end of year party.....Heike, Maria del Mar, Celia, Blanca, Antonio, Paqui, Rosana, Laly, Pilar, Clara, and not pictured: Yolanda. Thanks all of you guys (sorry, it's American....) for everything and always helping me out so much! I'm gonna miss it there at the EOI!!!

NO WATER!!!

AAAAAAH! The other night I came home from school and the water didn't work! I had read a book about Almeria where the author talked about his frequent water outages in el Zapillo, an area of Almeria. But I thought that only happened back in the day. Well, apparently it still happens. It thankfully came back on late that night thank goodness as I had no water storage.... Even now, though, it still doesn't come out 100% clean. Good thing I only have a week and a half more here in Almeria....

Diversity?

The other weekend I went to lunch with some friends. By the time we finished we realized just what a diverse group we were....a Spaniard, an Ecuadorian, an Argentinian, a Chilean, and an American (then a Peruvian joined us later). And to top it all off we were eating Chinese! Haha! We were all from different countries, but not so diverse since we were all speaking Spanish.

Last Week of Class....

I can't believe my time here is already almost up! It went by so fast, too fast! It really only seems like I've been here like 3 months.....So I'm definitely getting sad to leave, especially because of all the wonderful people I've met. I have mixed emotions about leaving. Well, this week is my last teaching at the Escuela Oficial de Idiomas, although I will continue on with private lessons until my other sister gets here in 2 weeks. And then the traveling begins!! I'll give more detailed plans later.


Here is a picture of one of my classes. Can you find me? Hopefully, there will be more to come!

So I apologize for all the updates at once. I lost my free wireless Internet connection for 3 weeks so I decided to take advantage! I still don't know how long it will last.... Earlier today I was actually walking up and down the stairs and all over my apartment building trying to bum service off someone. Haha!

Differences in Spain from the USA

So I've compiled a list of things that are a bit different here for you own interest. In Spain....

• you bag your own groceries - apparently they can't afford to hire a bagger boy...haha!
• can't turn right on a red light
• ALWAYS have to show your ID with credit/debit card purchase. Doesn't matter if it costs 2 euros
• no carpet
• no central heating or AC
• light switch is typically on the outside of the bathroom
• eat big meal during the day, not at dinnertime
• only have to go to school until you are 16
• instead of stray dogs (Mexico), you see stray cats
• government pays for health care
• you live at home pretty much until you get married
• the tax is already included in the price
• greet each other with dos besos
• don't switch utensils in hands when you are eating
• cannot be home-schooled
• dress like they are going out for the night to go the grocery store (man, I miss my hoodie!)
• typically go to bed later
• grades are on a 10 point scale instead of 100 point scale
• high schools don't have popularity contests, nor dances, nor cheerleaders, etc.
• most cars are manual (my roommate has never even seen an automatic)
• more smaller, privately owned shops instead of big businesses taking over the world
• some people have never heard of Wal-Mart...now that's a shocker!!
• no death penalty
• have assigned seats at the movie theater
• sell beer at McDonald´s
• people say ¨goodbye¨in passing instead of ¨hello¨

Mexico vs. Morocco

These two countries have more in common than just starting with the letter "M." They are both problem countries....Mexico for the U.S. and Morocco for Spain. There is illegal immigration from both countries, except in Morocco they come in boat, kind of like the Cubans going to Florida. Also, drugs are brought in from both countries and there is a big drug trafficking problem. I've read about it in the newspaper quite often here in Spain. Also, Morocco thinks that part of Spain belongs to Morocco (the cities of Ceuta and Melilla) and there's also word that the Mexicans are going to take back Arizona and California since they once belonged to them. It's interesting to me, the comparisons....

Crazy Bus Driver....

Ok so I seriously think all the sun here in Almeria makes some of the people a little wacko.... I've seen a dude juggling who knows what on the beach, a dude sitting in the back of his car playing his saxophone, but there's this bus driver who makes me laugh.

EVERY time he greets each person with “Hola. Buenas tardes.” It never fails. I don't know how he does it....every single person..... Sure, I could do it maybe one day for an hour, but I would get sick of it. But, I've ridden his bus several different times and it's always the same. I don't know how he has the energy for it. I guess it gets pretty boring driving a bus all day though and not talking to anyone.

La Lista

So this is my favorite TV show to watch while I eat my bigger than normal lunch. I learn all kinds of good stuff about Spain and the world in general such as the top countries that grow oranges, religions found in Spain, the top spoken languages of the world, Spanish names that start with "A", etc. It's very educational! If you get bored, skip the video to 4:00 minutes and you'll find about the Cathedrals of Spain!

Sisters Reunited!!

I finally got to see my little sister, Sonya!!! It had been about 9 months since I had seen her last…way too long. She is here in Spain in Alcalá de Henares on a BYU Study Abroad. So her group came to Andalucía for the weekend and I met her in Granada.

What a reunion! We had talked on our cell phones and we planned to meet each other, so we were both walking towards each other on the street. But then the rain came down…in torrents!! BUT…I saw her from afar and started running despite the rain. She hadn’t seen me and she was hiding in a little alcove from the rain. I peeked around the corner and yelled DUDE!!! Then we both screamed really loud. Everyone on the street was staring at us of course, but we didn’t care!

It was such a great weekend and fun to hang with my little sis although it rained both days I was there in Granada. Bummer. We walked around the cutest little neighborhood, the Albaicín, which is supposed to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited parts of Europe. There are narrow, curving cobblestone streets on hills covered with white houses lined with colorful flowers and old Arabic doors. Every turn in the road brings a surprise! There is also a spectacular view of the Alhambra. Sonya, I found a good view Saturday morning after you left.

I actually ended up going into part of the Alhambra and saw a little of it, but I didn’t get to see the main parts since I didn’t have a ticket…all sold out. No prob, I was there 2 ½ years ago anyway. Sonya had a big disappointment when she saw the famous lion fountain….no lions! They are being restored. I gave her fair warning though.

Talk about an adventure! Tromping through the city in pouring rain and then that night I camped out with Sonya in her hotel room. We shared a twin bed…haha! And I didn’t even fall off it once! It was a sad parting in the morning…

We met some people from the Netherlands that took our picture and they asked us where we were from. I told them the U.S. and the man said he couldn’t hear my American accent! I’ve lost it forever! Bummer…

So here’s some pictures of Granada and also some of my more artistic attempts with color accents…

Ok, so you can’t laugh at my sense of fashion in this picture…I was walking through puddles, you see, and didn’t want my pants to be soaking wet. Yes, I know I look funny, even other people thought so as well…one dude walked by me laughing at me. He kept looking at me…what was I to do? So I just smiled and waved to him. He sure got a kick out of it!

Star Wars filmed in Sevilla

Sonya, this one's for you tia!! Since you're coming here to Spain in like 2 days and will be in Sevilla soon, I thought you should see this so you know just exactly what you're about to see! This part of Star Wars was filmed in Sevilla, in the Plaza de Espana. Of course there are computerized additions but the basic structure you will recognize when you see it in person. You might have to go on your own time. We went at night on our time when I was there before on Study Abroad. But I had no idea...

***Does this remind you guys of Portman kebabs??!! Delicious!

Neighborhood Ferias

Each neighborhood used to have its own little fair (more like a Carnival in American English as we know it...), but now there are only a couple that still do it. This feria was close to where I live so I decided to check it out. This stage and bar were set up for a lively performance later in the evening and then the other attractions were typical things at a Carnival - somewhere you usually wouldn't be caught dead at! Especially if you're from Thatcher, AZ! Unless you are 5 years old of course, it's OK. There was the usually games (1 euro for a toss to hit something), the rides (ferris wheel, bumper cars...) and then food for sale (cotton candy, hamburgers, churros and kebabs). It looked fun for the kiddies anyway.

Cruces de Mayo

For the fiesta Cruces (Crosses), there are many crosses set up all over the city. These crosses are covered and decorated with real flowers and are set up inside buildings. They are also surrounded by other typical things from Andalucia like old-fashioned sewing machines, shawls, pots, fruit, vegetables, etc.

The popular time to see the "cruces" is by night and there are make-shift bars set up with drinks and all kinds of tapas. There is great music playing and occasionally some women even break out into the sevillana!! It's great!

Last night I went "cross hopping" from one cross to another with one of the families of my students enjoying the tapas, the atmosphere, and the music. I really wanted to dance the sevillana, but I have absolutely no clue! Anybody want to teach me?!

There was also some live outdoor Flamenco music and I was hoping to see some Flamenco dancing, but nope....just the music and guitar. The stage was set up next to the Cathedral.

Poetry Reading

Yesterday at the school, there was a Poetry Reading to celebrate the poetry written by Mervyn Smale, a previous English Literature professor of Antonio's at the University of Granada. There were 44 poems total and various students and teachers (including myself) each read a poem. There was also a violinist who played some songs throughout the evening. Mervyn Smale, what a funny guy. He seems like he would have been a very enjoyable teacher. Here is a picture afterwards of a few of the teachers....Celia, Clara, me. If you would like to see more pictures and read the poems, please click HERE

I HAVE A JOB!!!

When I get back to the States that is! I was offered a position to teach high school Spanish at Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy, a charter school in Provo, Utah. I accepted, of course, so I will be moving to Utah in August to begin teaching Spanish. It's nice to know I have a job lined up when I get back. All of my siblings are in Utah so that will be nice to be so close to them as well. Ryan & Maranda, you can't move for 1 more year, ok? :) I still don't know if I want to be a Spanish teacher for good, but it's a good start. That's why you must vote on my poll!!!