La red (The Internet)

Those of you who would like to speak to me relatively in person, like on Skype or Facetime or messaging, will unfortunately have to continue to wait.  It may seem like all that I talk about is the fact that I do not have Internet, but I have realized that I am an addict.  There, I said it, so I guess I am taking the first step to recovery.  When I go more than a few hours without it, I get grumpy, a little twitchy, and feel the pains of withdrawal.  Seem a little extreme?  Well, at the very least, I have decided that having Internet is like taking a shower for me.  It isn't exactly necessary, but me and everyone around me is much happier when I do it every day.  It doesn't help that I desperately need it for the classes I am taking on line.  Basically, this is how I feel going without regular Internet for the last 10 days...

Let me explain a bit why it is so difficult to obtain Internet in this lovely country that I am swiftly developing a love/hate relationship with (though in truth, I mostly love it).  To get pretty much any type of Internet, with the exception of those terrible USB sticks, you must have a residence card.  To get the residence card, you have to travel to another city with the right documentation and then it may take 20+ days before you receive what is know as the NIE card.  It would have been tolerable, if we had been told this right away, but not everyone, including the people working at various stores, knows this.  Therefore, they let you sign up, tell you it is processing, to come back, and then WHAM! They hit you up side the head with the truth, that it just can't happen for you until you get that little card.  All that hope, up in flames.  The only good news I have is that we may be able to have our landlord "co-sign" with us, so that we can get internet in the meantime.  Only time will tell.  Wish me luck with satisfying my addiction!
 

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY SHOUT-OUT TO EMILY!!

Happy Birthday, Emily!  Wish we were at the lake right now, soaking up some good ol' American sun :) Not that el sol espanola isn't pretty great!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHOUT-OUT TO EMMA!!

Happy Birthday, Emma!  Love you and wish we could be together today!!!

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! And Logistics

I had my first day of school yesterday at IES Cristo del Rosario. For the most part it was uneventful, but it was still very exciting. My schedule is still not quite set, but tomorrow I am meeting with the whole bilingual section department to fix it. There are seven English classes in the bilingual section, 3 first year classes, 2 second year classes, 1 third year class, and 1 fourth year class. In addition to those 7 classes, I will have four content classes. So far, it seems like those classes will include natural science, arts, and something else.

I arrived at the school around 10AM to meet with my mentor, Chus, and tour the school. Just to see how a lesson goes, I sat in on a 2nd year English lesson. I was surprised by how good they were. They were learning about possessions. I had to explain the difference between a wallet, a purse, and a bag, which is a lot harder than you would think. Then Chus had to leave to take care of some family things, so I went with Antonio to tour the school and attend his last two classes. The first one was 1st year bachillerato, which is the first year of school after the 4 years of obligatory secondary school. It wasn’t bilingual section, so the students were of a lower level, and I won’t be working with them again most likely. It was kind of scary because Antonio just had me stand in the front and answer questions. I answered questions ranging like do I have a boyfriend (No), do I like Spanish boys (don’t know yet, but they smoke :/), do I like Spain (yes), and are cheerleaders in the U.S. what they seem like in the movies (no, lol). Then I had to ask them questions for them to answer in English, which was even harder. Finally the students begged to help me practice my Spanish, and I actually did alright :) The next class I sat in on was the 1st year bilingual section, so like 12 year olds. They seem so young and adorable. The class followed the same format, but the students were much more comfortable asking me questions. I am glad that I will have so many opportunities to work with the younger ones; I LOVE THEM ALREADY!

After school, Marissa and I tried to get phones, but the store only had one, so she got it. I went back today, and they said they are out indefinitely. I really don’t want to spend €50 on a cheap phone, but that might be what I have to do. We also tried to figure out what to do for internet, but the problem is that we really can’t get a 12-month or 2-year contract and many places want you to have your NIE card, which will take at least a couple more weeks. We ultimately settled on a modem with 5GB/month, but we needed a bank account with our passport. This morning, after stopping by the school to work on my schedule, I went to the bank and managed to open an account (ALL BY MYSELF!), though I need to go back with a phone number and my NIE card. Unfortunately, still no internet because when I went back to the store, they wrote my information down and told me Friday, but Friday is la Feria, so everything is closed. I think we are going to go back tomorrow and try to figure things out. ¡Qué complicado! It is a pain, but in the end, I will have internet at home and will be able to communicate with the outside world!

El fin de la semana

We have had a fabulous weekend here in Zafra getting to know our town and each other.  Rebecca stayed at our flat this weekend.  We are very lucky that we can host guests; there is an extra trundle bed that stores underneath mine.  We stayed up soooo late last night, like 3:30 AM, just talking and sharing stories.  Rebecca is a hilarious story teller, very animated.  She also tells stories like my sister Katie (shout-out to you, Sister!), where the story starts about one thing, but then ends up about 50 other things before finally circling around to the original point.  We had our first home-cooked “family” dinner, cooked by yours truly!  We ate tortellini with marinara sauce and salad, served with tinto de verano, which is this cheap wine-like drink that is fizzy (sprite-like) and the alcohol-equivalent of a light beer.  One of the strange things about Spanish homes is that many of them do not have dining tables.  It is much more popular to sit around a table in the living room and eat, which is what we did.  I think I am going to be the flat chef, since I like to cook and Marissa prefers to clean.

 

 We went out and walked around the town, trying to find places where we can buy cell phones yesterday, but it is all very confusing.  I don’t want to get one and then realize that I could have gotten a cheaper phone and “plan” elsewhere.  I say “plan” because I will actually be getting a pay-as-you-go phone, but there are still a large variety of rates and types.  It is looking like we will be going with Vodafone, which is Spain’s equivalent of Verizon; I actually heard they are owned by the same company.  

I already think we have found one of “our places.”  It is around a block from our flat and has good food, relatively cheap food, and free Wifi.  Considering how Internet starved we are right now, that is pretty much the clincher right there.  We have already gone by twice, though today we had to find somewhere else because it was closed.  That is one of the things about Spain, nearly EVERYWHERE is closed on Sundays.  I was really thankful we found another place up the street because I had some homework to do.  If we don’t figure out Internet at the flat soon, I have a feeling we are going to become experts on all the places around town that you can get free Wifi at.  

School starts tomorrow, and I have no idea what to expect.  My mentor, Chus, is being very Spanish about the whole thing, so I feel a bit overwhelmed.  I am fairly sure that I am supposed to go to school and walk around meeting teachers and getting to know the place and that is it.  I also think that tomorrow may be the only day that I am expected to go to school this week.  My schedule is not set yet because they are supposed to meet on Wednesday to finalize it.  Zafra’s Feria starts on Thursday, so I won’t have lessons at least on Thursday, Friday, or Monday and possibly Tuesday as well.  I have no clue what I am going to do with myself if I have all this free time, but I guess I will get to see a lot of Feria and walk around town a ton.  I’ll let y’all know how it all pans out!

Orientation in Cáceres

Thursday and Friday of this week we headed off to Cáceres, the capital of the northern province of Extremadura which is also called Cáceres.  The whole thing took place at la Universidad Laboral, which is a trade school.  The dorms were very interesting, with five to a room.  Marissa and I were very excited about hot showers, but we didn’t realize that we needed to pack our own towels.  She showered without a towel, and I gave up my dream of hot water.  

The dorms and Marissa

Though we did get a bit of information about getting our NIE and TIE cards, which are necessary to set up bank accounts and to live here legally, most of orientation was boring and useless.  The one exception was the opportunity it provided to meet other auxiliaries.  We started meeting people even at the bus station before leaving Zafra. It is not difficult out and about to tell who we are, especially in groups, because they are the ones speaking English.  While eating lunch, un bocadillo (sandwich) of chorizo y pan, we met Wade and Rebecca.  On buses here, the seats ARE assigned, and we were sitting near Wade, so we chatted with him until we realized there was wi-fi on the bus, and then we were hooked.  Thus far, wi-fi here is like a drug that I am addicted to and can never get enough of. 

We got to orientation a few hours early, along with many other people, so we all started chatting and getting to know each other.  I talked to one girl Michelle, from New York city, for a while, and spent a long time getting to know Rebecca more, who is from Atlanta, Georgia and is stationed in a small pueblo relatively near Zafra.  I also got to meet this girl Élodie, who is from France.  Some of the auxiliares actually come to teach other languages, like French and Portuguese.  Marissa and I ended up sitting with Rebecca and Élodie at the first meeting, and then we all decided to room together. 

Dinner was…interesting.  The bread was super hard, and the jamón (ham) a little weird, but the chorizo was good (haha). We also had tortilla española, which is like a potato and egg combo fried up in a bunch of olive oil in a giant “cake.”  I already knew I liked it, and theirs was not bad. After dinner, we decided to hit the town.  We met this girl, Yael, from England and she came out with us.  Somehow we got on the bus and headed to city center.  

We ended up at this really cute bar/restaurant with a ton of other auxiliares.  We drank cervezas, Cruzcampo, and got to meet a bunch more people.  Two of the guys were from UK, Ollie from near Cambridge and Craig from Ireland.  Gotta say I still love accents.  I was surprisingly outgoing and talked to strangers (i.e. other auxiliares), so it was a ton of fun.  We had to be back by 1, so we found taxis and headed back.  Caceres is SUCH a pretty city, the streets are quaint and adorable, and I cannot wait to go back :)    
 

Yael, Marissa, Rebecca, Elodie

 

Flat & Roommate

On Tuesday, I met Marissa at the bus station and her mentor, Juan Carlos, took us to our new flat.  It was really convenient, seeing as he is also our landlord.  Marissa and I met online when she was looking for someone to come live with her in the flat; we started emailing back and forth and decided it would be a good fit.  She is from Indiana and went to school in Denver.  So far, she seems really nice, and we have been having a good time.  Tuesday night we went and got drinks with my mentor, Chus, at the Parador, which is an old castle that has been converted into a hotel. She seems like she will be really helpful, but she is also very busy as head of the bilingual section at school and a mom of three. I'm not going to lie, I got a little tipsy because,  being so overwhelmed with all the newness, I sort of only at two apples and a few granola bars for the first 36 hours in Spain.  Suffice it to say, I was definitely ready for Marissa's and my first dinner in Spain at Casa Venanzio. 
  

The flat is nice and cozy, though a bit cold seeing as we have yet to see the infamous Spanish sun due to all the rain we’ve been experiencing.  Someone told us it is the first rain here in nearly a year, which explains why I thought everything seemed drier than in the States.  When we first got to the flat, Juan Carlos was showing us how things work, and we realized that the gas wasn’t working, which meant no hot water and no stove top.  Seeing as how we don’t have an oven (crazy, right?!?), this was really limiting what we could buy to cook.  I have mostly been existing on chorizo (a Spanish sausage) and pan (bread) with cerveza (beer).  It seems that everyone here drinks cervezas like it is water, probably because it is cheaper than water.  Oh it is only 2 o’clock, perfect time for a beer! It is definitely always 5 o’clock somewhere here. 

The flat is furnished, but we have still managed to find a good list of things we need to buy to make it comfortable/livable.  I brought my own sheets, which was nice, and he gave us some blankets, but we will definitely need more for the winter.  The kitchen is also sparsely equipped, but I think I will need some more things to be able to really cook the way I want to.  Speaking of buying things, shopping with Euros has been one of the most interesting and different experiences.  With Euros, the smallest bills are fives, and so you have one and two Euro coins.  It is very weird having coins with actual value and that can be used to buy things. 

Here are some pictures of the flat!