algunos pensamientos

Hola amigos....

Month 2 1/2 now and there is one thing in particular I'm truly starting to miss.  It was after a very happy dream that I realized how much I miss the beautiful quilt of human skin colors of my home country.  To be different looking here is to really stand out.  Being mixed race and having a strong interest in this topic have offered me a few opportunities to talk about racial differences with the people here.  It all starts of course with having to explain that I'm not Chinese but this is not so difficult.  Recently I was a part of a class discussion about immigration in Spain and the students expressed their dislikes about Chinese people being in Spain.  I have also spoken with a professor of education in regards to 'teaching tolerance' to teachers who work in schools that serve students of Gypsy families.  There are students labeled Gypsies in the school and they are outcasted by their peers and in some cases (not at my school it seems) by teachers.  Like anyone including myself, when we don't know about people or types of people we default to stereotypes.  Some of those I have heard here include Korean is Chinese and Chinese people eat cockroaches (that was from today).  I have also heard that there is a Chinese mafia that will kill Spanish thieves with Samurai swords.  In addition, I was told that Gypsies are Spanish people and there is no need to address the issues of discrimination against them in schools.  "These people" are choosing to move backwards in time (with arranged teen marriages and unplanned pregnancies) and nothing can be done about it.  Lastly, Spain was awarded first prize in a marathon event and the winning contestant seemed to have African roots based on his appearance. "Very Spanish!" is what I heard a Spanish guy say sarcastically while the news was reporting the event.  

This all makes me wonder where we learn to be tolerant and the opposite to be racist.  I want to think that Americans today are very privileged to live in a society where one color or manner does not single you out as American or foreigner.  Whether this acceptance is conscious or not we cannot know of another way since our foundation is built on a "melting pot".  Maybe I'm living an illusion but I feel certain that someone from any race could win a prize for America and there wouldn't be much doubt to his/her nationality.  However despite the looks of the multi-racial nation of USA something is lacking that Spain surely is not.  There is a general sense of camaraderie that is definitely not felt in the states.  Through my fresh eyes it seems people trust one another more here and share a common sense of pride in the heritage of Spain.  For this, programs like Stop and Frisk, couldn't go very far since you can't single out a "criminal" based on his racial appearance.  You don't hear slang words for races different from your own.  Also there is no need to make a law against the use of the N-word.  (Remember this) Instead, you hear words like hombre, tia, tio (man, aunt, uncle) when young people are addressing their friends.  I'm sure everything is not as fluffy as it seems.  I know it's so natural for humans to discriminate against each other; it's just doesn´t seem to happen so much here.

And now for some photos....

you will hear them coming before you see them...this sheep herder passed by the back of my house the other day.  it was the sweet clanging of bells that prompted me to hurry and find my camera.  i did just in time!

this is tolerance for all in spain.  tv for the hard of hearing!

visiting a friend, monica, in granada, spain.  we met through andreas two years ago.  this was stop #2 in our walk to find good tapas and soak up some winter sun. 

cute wild kitties at stop #3

okay it's no bansky but this street art is worth a few props.

¡oh obama!

snow capped mountains of the sierra nevada.  this is the view from monica´s house in granada.  wow!

and the stunning sun sets behind the sierra nevada mountains on my last day before returning to siles.  what a nice farewell.

language learning tools

It´s been two months now of living in this little olive town and I´m as content as ever.  But more importantly, I am certain I would do just fine if someone blind folded me and dropped me off in the middle of a Spanish speaking country.  I am sure of this because my fear to speak, knowing that it is likely to be full of mistakes, is almost entirely gone.  It comes back at times when I'm sitting in big groups because I can't really hang out in Spanish yet.  It's kind of funny because there is a big delay in my brain which is by the time I have heard what was said, translated it in my head, and tried to think of something to add and translate that into Spanish, the conversation topic has changed.  It's a bit frustrating and I often feel muted while sitting in a large group and saying close to nothing.  However, that's just how it is.  Like a curious three year old that knows what you're saying, listens, but can only mumble nonsense or change the topic by making a request, "Pásame el pan, por favor", or asking a question "¿Quieres más cerveza?".  Okay, it's not that bad and three year olds don't talk about beer but perhaps you get my point.  I hope by April I can hang especially to the point of understanding the jokes.  I miss laughing about nonsense.

Anyway, because it's the holiday season I'm in the mood to give.  In my quest to learn a new language, I have encountered some great, fun, and effective online language learning tools.  They are all free.  I'm not going to preach why learning a new language is important (in this post) but I will say that I'm sorry I didn't start sooner.

So here you go:

http://www.spanishdict.com/learn
Videos on grammar, exercises with vocabulary and chances to write and speak.  A great place to start especially if you want to understand the structure of the language.

http://www.duolingo.com/
You get a base line assessment and then you go from there.  You can choose from many different languages not just Spanish. 

and my newest favorite.....

http://www.lyricstraining.com/
Watch a youtube video of a song in another language.  Watch it again and try to type in the missing lyrics.  The song will stop if you don't manage to type the lyrics in time.

Enjoy!

I went to Germany to meet Andreas at his grandmother's 90th birthday.  He took this photo and I love it.  It makes me think; seize the moment: to take a photo, go for a paddle in an ice cold river, catch the sunset, be curious about wildlife, or learn a new language perhaps.  This has been the year of  now or never decision making for me.
No regrets! 

más y más español

So another two weeks has gone by and there is of course so much more to share about life in Spain.  One thing is I thought that I would have struggled more with the language but in fact, the hardest part has been adjusting to a different way of spending time.  Sometimes I feel so-not-Spanish in my way of thinking about work and how my work life is my life.  For my teacher friends, you would be as surprised as I am to see lights out and doors locked very soon after dismissal.  In fact, by 3:00, the school building is dark and empty because everyone has gone home to enjoy a delicious meal with their friends and family and possibly a little nap (siesta).  Here I notice that people are more than their work life even during the week and I had a difficult time adjusting to that at first.  But after a few reminders to chill out, I am embracing it more and more.  In fact on Wednesday this week, I cancelled my private tutoring classes at the last minute just to go out with some friends to harvest olives.  I felt terrible at first but the parents of my students assured me that it would not be a problem and that the experience is worth it.  This way of thinking has certainly shined a light on another way to live; one filled with a healthier work/life balance.  I would love to say that I am a changed person but I know that when I'm back in the rat race in NYC, I will save my pleasure seeking activities for the weekend only as usual. 

Don't get me wrong though; work is getting done here.  I support five bilingual English teachers (three teach English, one teaches biology, one teaches social studies) and about 180 students over two weeks time.  Each class goes for an hour and my job is to speak as much English as possible with the students.  The youngest are 12 and the oldest are 18 so depending on their level I play a bigger or smaller role in the lessons.  And of course at first most of the students were too shy to speak much English with me but over time it has gotten much better.  It also helps that I can speak more Spanish now so we meet in the middle and find a way to understand each other.  It's challenging at times but really fun!  I also really like that the students call us by our first name instead of Mr/Mrs.  Or sometimes it's just "maestra" (teacher) especially with the younger ones.  I like that too.

Well I'll finish up with a little photo gallery of what I've been up to in my free time.  ¡Qué una buena vida! 

from a visit to the Alhambra in Grenada just before entering the beautiful palace of mosaics

the Alhambra was built by the last Arabs in Spain in the 9th century....definitely worth a google search!

this tree in the Alhambra gardens was totally staring at me (in a friendly way)

estoy cogiendo aceitunas para comer....FUN!

fresh green olives.  they look delicious but they are inedible like this.  there is a long process to make these taste good including a step that involves a toxic chemical called sosa which is used to remove the natural bitter flavor.

the people here go nuts for these mushrooms (setas in español).  this saturday i went on a mushroom hike with about 60 other people and altogether we collected nearly 200 different types of mushrooms from the hillsides.  in the evening the mushrooms were identified by experts who informed us on which were poisonous and which were edible.  most were poisonous and it was so hard to tell the difference.  my host family has their favorites and we often eat wild mushrooms sauteed in oil with a sprinkle of salt.  yum!

mi anversario de un mes

Yes, it's true and I can hardly believe that I've been living in Spain for one month now.  In the last weeks since I've written I have had the opportunity to visit Valencia, a beautiful city by the Mediterranean Sea, because  I was kindly invited by one of my colleagues and his wife.  It seems that it's always summer in Valencia compared to the freezing winter temperatures of Siles.  That is one reason why it is loved so much by the people living here.  I had mixed feelings about it because I wasn't prepared for the chaotic city energy of loud honking from impatient drivers, the odor of dog urine, and the huge crowds of people....ummm not much different than NYC.  However, the paella was out this world delicious!  Also it was really nice to spend some time by the sea and walk around a giant fresh food market.  I was impressed by the market because it was packed with local people who were buying fresh seafood, vegetables, and meats directly from the merchants.  The prices were fair and the stocks were limited.  You got the sense that the people take their food seriously here and have a strong connection to the fruits of the land and labor.
 

My dad would be in heaven here with all this affordable fresh seafood!

 "We only sell what we have" explains why you must get here early and 

why you only see products that can actually grow in Spain.

The pride of Spain: cured ham in all forms like sausage or simply sliced right off the bone.

And the pride of Valencia...can you imagine what this is for?

If you guessed this, Paella, then you're right!  ¡Muy deliciosa!

Then at night in Valencia we toured around this area known as the City of Arts and Sciences and you can see why from these images.  There are reflection ponds around all the buildings which create spectacular 3-D images.  I don't like taking photos very much but I enjoyed playing with the camera here.  

The IMAX theater and planetarium (front) and the opera house (rear)

The IMAX is designed to look like an eyeball when you catch it's reflection in the surrounding pool.  Very cool!

And this weekend I took a little day trip to a nearby city called Úbeda. This is the place to go shopping for clothes and passing time with friends.  I went with some teachers from my school.  It seems impossible but it is very typical to sit for three or four hours in the afternoon together and eat five courses of food usually to share and finish with coffee.  We did it and I enjoyed every minute even when I couldn't follow the all the conversation topics which were of course in Spanish.

From the left: Elena (English teacher), Carmen (French teacher), me, Marta (cooking professor), and another Marta (guidance counselor) who is not shown because she is taking the photo.

For them, it's their first time in Siles and they are far from home too.  Well, not as far as I am but far enough that they actually rent an apartment here by the school and only go back to their homes on long breaks from school.  Seems strange but the way the system works here in Spain is that you are appointed a teaching position where one is available.  That means you may be sent far from home and you take the job because it's better than not having one.  There are of course chances to change in the beginning but then you are lucky to keep the position for life.  Oh the differences between Spain and the States.  I'll save the rest for another time.  Hope all is well with everyone!

Besos!

discovering the beauty of siles

hace dos semanas moví a siles....
two weeks ago i moved to siles....

And what an adventure it has become already!  First, the beauty of this place is breathtaking.  There just are not enough good words to explain so I´m going to post a few pictures of my surroundings. 

These are the olive trees when you look to the right.  Every direction seems to be the same.  The trees are harvested in November and December then the olives are turned into the most delicious "liquid gold", extra virgin olive oil!  The people here take great pride in their olive oil and put it in everything they eat.  The most common breakfast is half of a toasted white bread roll, drenched in olive oil, then smeared with freshly grated tomato.  Se llama tostada and it's delicious. 

Second, the school is filled with a good collection of some of the most curious and ambitious students I have ever had the privilege to teach.  They sometimes giggle with nervous energy to speak with me in English and for many the desire to communicate is so strong.  It's adorable how they begin slowly in English then become overwhelmed with excitement and finish the question or whatever in Spanish.  The youngest students are 12 years old and they certainly have more courage to speak than the 18 year olds.  I am in complete awe of their learning and the education system here regarding English.  There are Americans doing the same job as me but are instead working in kindergartens.  Spanish children here take English for their entire school career.  How I sometimes feel doomed that I learned English first because the urge to know more languages ends when you realize that the whole world can communicate in your mother tongue.

Here is the front of the school.  Notice the olive tree growing next to the dedication of the founder of the school.  One part the building used to be a church until the growing community requested more space.  The majority of the student body is bussed here from nearby pueblos.  There are about 500 students who attend this high school which is actually called instituto rather than escuela because it serves the upper level grades.  You can leave at 16 or stay and graduate with something like an associate´s degree at 18. 

Third and perhaps last for this post, I am fully immersed in the language and culture of Spain or more specifically Andalucía. There is a very distinct accent here which involves a nearly total elimination of the sound for the letter 's'.  At first I was truly lost but the silence is growing on me.  To explain, instead of mas o menos you will hear ma o meno.  Adios becomes adio; hasta luego, hata luego and so on.  The people here know that the way they speak is distinct and they have a great sense of humor about it.  As for me, I'm holding onto my 's' for as long as I can.  However my vegetarianism, well that is gone for now.  My host family prepares the most delicious home cooked foods and I refuse to refuse anything.  Eating is such an important experience and the best time for me to practice Spanish so I go in with all my senses.  Qué divertido!  What fun!  And so much more to come....

a repost of an email "newsletter" to my friends about the first days

So I am writing first to say thanks for the really nice goodbye wishes and farewells and second to say I'm safe and happy in this new life.  I have jumped in with both feet despite all the fear.  I have been in Siles for a little more than 24 hours now and it's been non-stop Spanish.  Often I don't understand much but I try to hang in there and make sense of the few words I do know.  Also it's funny yet great that yes or no questions end in a certain enunciation which prompts one to answer yes or no.  Then you must read their face to know which they want you to say.  Hmm, seems funnier in the moment but probably you know what I'm talking about.  

Anyway, this little town is hosting 'la ferria de San Miguel' and it lasts for 4 days.  There is a big white tent with a stage, many vendors, and delicious food from the region.  Today I saw some real deal flamenco meaning there were about 20 gypsies dancing on stage and a few old grandma's dancing below.  Total immersion at it's best!  However many people warned me that this is a very special time and that usually the town is calm and quiet.  Of course I can believe it.  In just one view from the window you can see about 20,000 olive trees covering the hillsides of this little town (pueblo).  The land is public and protected and I've been promised many chances to go hiking (senderismo).  Which I am going to need or else gain 20 pounds before I leave.

What else?  Tomorrow I will go to the school to see what there is to see.  The high school here is very small but is the main school for students here in Siles.  Many students from a nearby town are bussed here daily.  The specialty at the school is cooking.  How much more perfect could this be?  Even the son of my host family wants to be a chef and his mother is a great cook too.  I told her I love to bake and word got around quickly.  Today I was asked by this sweet older woman to teach her to bake a pie.  I wished she asked about cookies but nonetheless, I will try.