Yesterday a peculiar thing happened to me. As I was leaving the institute in Brenes and walking towards the train station, i noticed that a little, cross-eyed dog was following me. I would turn around every minute or so and there he would be, about 10 feet back, acting nonchalant. I even tried to cut through streets to see if he would follow me, and sure enough he did. I eventually starting cracking up with laughter because this crazy eyed, ugly little dog followed me for 10 minutes up to the train station! when i got to the parking lot of the train station another dog was there, so cross-eyed dog backed off. But then the other dog started following me! As I boarded the train and waved to the dog staring at me from the platform, I realized why I was so popular....I had a pork sandwich in my bag and they must have smelled it.
That cross-eyed dog was pretty funny, though.
The End.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Thoughts on a second time 'round....
As I start to get settled into the Seville life once again, it is becoming more apparent just how different the experience is a second time around, both positively and negatively.
On one hand, there is a sense of comfort in already knowing what supermarket has the best tomatoes or what neighborhood bar serves up the best ham and cheese tostadas. The area shopkeepers wave "hi" to me as I walk past them on the streets. I can give directions to a lost tourist without batting an eye. I know the opening and closing hours of clothing stores, the chino shops and the supermarkets. I can navigate with ease through the twisted mess of narrow streets in the city center. I feel comfortable here- I know what to expect, and I truly feel that I am a part of this neighborhood.
On the other hand, the fact that i have become accustomed to life here has, in some ways, made it lose a bit of its magic. I no longer gasp in awe at all the ancient buildings all around me, or stare up at the orange trees bursting with still-green fruit in wonder. The thought of living in a place where palm trees dot the cityscape no longer has me grinning with disbelief so much that my cheeks hurt. Hearing the sound of church bells ringing at dusk from my bedroom window no longer makes me perk up my ears in amazement. These things are no longer the forefront of my Seville experience- they are merely the background.
Its interesting how when all the glitter and sheen of a new and exotic place starts to wash off, you see that it is a normal city, just like any other place. It isn't just a mystical place featured in glossy travel magazines, it is a real city, like any other. There are bad neighborhoods and homeless people, rank sewers and air pollution. Of course I noticed all of this last year, but I think I was so blinded by the novelty of all of it that i chose to ignore it. This year, its not so easy to ignore.
All that being said, I love Seville. A lot. And even though the things that seemed so exotic to me last year are more along the lines of "normal" to me now, I still appreciate them. I realize that I have the rare opportunity to really get to know a beautiful foreign city, something that many people never have the pleasure to do. so i think this year will be a little bit more raw. Now that I have gotten past the awe inspiring sites, i can pull up my sleeves, dig in and really get to know this city, its people and everything in between.
I look forward to this year, and seeing what I am able to take away from my experience in round number two.
On one hand, there is a sense of comfort in already knowing what supermarket has the best tomatoes or what neighborhood bar serves up the best ham and cheese tostadas. The area shopkeepers wave "hi" to me as I walk past them on the streets. I can give directions to a lost tourist without batting an eye. I know the opening and closing hours of clothing stores, the chino shops and the supermarkets. I can navigate with ease through the twisted mess of narrow streets in the city center. I feel comfortable here- I know what to expect, and I truly feel that I am a part of this neighborhood.
On the other hand, the fact that i have become accustomed to life here has, in some ways, made it lose a bit of its magic. I no longer gasp in awe at all the ancient buildings all around me, or stare up at the orange trees bursting with still-green fruit in wonder. The thought of living in a place where palm trees dot the cityscape no longer has me grinning with disbelief so much that my cheeks hurt. Hearing the sound of church bells ringing at dusk from my bedroom window no longer makes me perk up my ears in amazement. These things are no longer the forefront of my Seville experience- they are merely the background.
Its interesting how when all the glitter and sheen of a new and exotic place starts to wash off, you see that it is a normal city, just like any other place. It isn't just a mystical place featured in glossy travel magazines, it is a real city, like any other. There are bad neighborhoods and homeless people, rank sewers and air pollution. Of course I noticed all of this last year, but I think I was so blinded by the novelty of all of it that i chose to ignore it. This year, its not so easy to ignore.
All that being said, I love Seville. A lot. And even though the things that seemed so exotic to me last year are more along the lines of "normal" to me now, I still appreciate them. I realize that I have the rare opportunity to really get to know a beautiful foreign city, something that many people never have the pleasure to do. so i think this year will be a little bit more raw. Now that I have gotten past the awe inspiring sites, i can pull up my sleeves, dig in and really get to know this city, its people and everything in between.
I look forward to this year, and seeing what I am able to take away from my experience in round number two.
Monday, October 6, 2008
How Aubree got her Groove Back
Greetings from sunny Sevilla! Well, actually at this exact moment it's not sunny- it is 10pm here and the sun has turned to black. I am sitting in my living room and enjoying the breeze from the balcony. I better enjoy it while it lasts, because the locals are saying winter will come early this year :(
So things are starting to get settled in my apartment. I have officially moved into my new bedroom, which happens to be the biggest, the brightest and the least noisy of all four bedrooms. I am quite happy with my room and feel very comfortable there. The walls are painted light blue, which is quite nice and calming, compared to the purplish-gray walls of my last room. Those walls weren't even a color- they were just blah.
In the apartment its me, my new French roommate Lea (she's awesome and so much fun) and Cora from Germany (medicine student, super awesome and cool chick!). Marco is still here, he will be here until november, and then a mexican law student will move in his room. I am very excited about the prospect of living with a mexican because A) I can speak Mexican with him, which is distinctly different from Spain Spanish, and B) maybe he'll bring me so hot sauce and jalapenos and other fine spicy mexican food which I dream of every night!
I went to my school in brenes this past week to get my schedule for the year. It was great to see my professors and the students again. It really lifted my spirits since before then I was trying to fend off a little homesickness (yes, miss independent does suffer from it from time to time!). I saw some of my students from last year and they all gathered around me in the hall and gave me kisses and asked me tons of questions and were generally pretty excited. Its a big ego boost to be around the kids of brenes, because they are so affectionate with me.
so this year my schedule is quite different than last year. Last year I worked with a variety of ages and levels and visited each class once a week, and also worked one-on-one with computer science professors. this year i am primarily working with the youngest kids, and the best kids in the Bilingual program. Basically these kids need good grades and special permission to be in this program, so i will be working with the best of the best. The group is called 1G, and they are the smartest and best behaved out of all other 1st years. This is a change from last year, when 1A was the best group and 1G was the worst. They apparently switched the levels around to fool people into thinking that one group is better than the other. If you ask me it's a bit strange to group children like that into "good" and "bad" groups, but whatever! anyway, I will primarily be working with 1G (which, coincidently, includes Guillermo, the youngest son of my boss, whom I adore!). I will NOT be entering their English classes, but rather their Music, P.E., Social Science and Math classes, but all of these classes will be in English. I will also visit 1E English class once a week and a class of 18-19 year old Computer Science classes once a week. So needless to say, I will be getting to know the kids of 1G pretty well this year! The bad thing about my schedule is that i have to be in brenes at 8:15 three days of the week, which means I have to leave my house at 7 to catch the train. I know, I know, many of you out there get up at 6-something or maybe even earlier. Good for you. I am NOT a morning person, and it doesn't help that the sun doesn't rise here until 8 in the morning, so I will be arriving at school just as the sun is starting to shine.
On another note, I am pleased to announce that I have so many offers for private English lessons that I just cannot accept any more classes, or I won't have any sort of a social life.
anyway i think i'm going to start winding down my evening and preparing for an early morning. this weekend is the Brenes Fair, which means no school on Friday OR the following monday. I am definitely going to the fair one of the days, my students have been begging me to come and I don't think I can pass up the great experience. I will take pics! :)
Anyway, so yeah, I am feeling better and better about everything. I feel like I'm getting my groove back slowly, and everything's gonna be A-OK. Still miss my friends and fam a lot though. I miss you, TEENS!
Before I sign off, I would like to give a great big welcome to my new cousin Braden Joseph Hartsock, and congrats to the proud parents Jill and Billy. I'm so sad I can't be there in person to share in the exciting moment, but I read your blog daily!
Until soon,
Aubs
So things are starting to get settled in my apartment. I have officially moved into my new bedroom, which happens to be the biggest, the brightest and the least noisy of all four bedrooms. I am quite happy with my room and feel very comfortable there. The walls are painted light blue, which is quite nice and calming, compared to the purplish-gray walls of my last room. Those walls weren't even a color- they were just blah.
In the apartment its me, my new French roommate Lea (she's awesome and so much fun) and Cora from Germany (medicine student, super awesome and cool chick!). Marco is still here, he will be here until november, and then a mexican law student will move in his room. I am very excited about the prospect of living with a mexican because A) I can speak Mexican with him, which is distinctly different from Spain Spanish, and B) maybe he'll bring me so hot sauce and jalapenos and other fine spicy mexican food which I dream of every night!
I went to my school in brenes this past week to get my schedule for the year. It was great to see my professors and the students again. It really lifted my spirits since before then I was trying to fend off a little homesickness (yes, miss independent does suffer from it from time to time!). I saw some of my students from last year and they all gathered around me in the hall and gave me kisses and asked me tons of questions and were generally pretty excited. Its a big ego boost to be around the kids of brenes, because they are so affectionate with me.
so this year my schedule is quite different than last year. Last year I worked with a variety of ages and levels and visited each class once a week, and also worked one-on-one with computer science professors. this year i am primarily working with the youngest kids, and the best kids in the Bilingual program. Basically these kids need good grades and special permission to be in this program, so i will be working with the best of the best. The group is called 1G, and they are the smartest and best behaved out of all other 1st years. This is a change from last year, when 1A was the best group and 1G was the worst. They apparently switched the levels around to fool people into thinking that one group is better than the other. If you ask me it's a bit strange to group children like that into "good" and "bad" groups, but whatever! anyway, I will primarily be working with 1G (which, coincidently, includes Guillermo, the youngest son of my boss, whom I adore!). I will NOT be entering their English classes, but rather their Music, P.E., Social Science and Math classes, but all of these classes will be in English. I will also visit 1E English class once a week and a class of 18-19 year old Computer Science classes once a week. So needless to say, I will be getting to know the kids of 1G pretty well this year! The bad thing about my schedule is that i have to be in brenes at 8:15 three days of the week, which means I have to leave my house at 7 to catch the train. I know, I know, many of you out there get up at 6-something or maybe even earlier. Good for you. I am NOT a morning person, and it doesn't help that the sun doesn't rise here until 8 in the morning, so I will be arriving at school just as the sun is starting to shine.
On another note, I am pleased to announce that I have so many offers for private English lessons that I just cannot accept any more classes, or I won't have any sort of a social life.
anyway i think i'm going to start winding down my evening and preparing for an early morning. this weekend is the Brenes Fair, which means no school on Friday OR the following monday. I am definitely going to the fair one of the days, my students have been begging me to come and I don't think I can pass up the great experience. I will take pics! :)
Anyway, so yeah, I am feeling better and better about everything. I feel like I'm getting my groove back slowly, and everything's gonna be A-OK. Still miss my friends and fam a lot though. I miss you, TEENS!
Before I sign off, I would like to give a great big welcome to my new cousin Braden Joseph Hartsock, and congrats to the proud parents Jill and Billy. I'm so sad I can't be there in person to share in the exciting moment, but I read your blog daily!
Until soon,
Aubs
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