It's been another slightly boring week. It's been 'cold' here- it even got down into the 30's one night. But I would like to reiterate the fact that there is NO HEAT in the piso. You would turn on your heat if it got down to 38 degrees where you live. And if you didn't have heat (like I don't) you would break down and buy another blanket for your bed (like I did) (it was 6,95 € or about $9.45). It was the best $9.45 I've spent this year. Aside from the stifling heat of the swimming pool locker room, last night is one of the few times I remember being comfortably warm here in Spain in the past few months. I look forward to another toasty rest when night falls today. This morning at school I was struck (special thanks Shunter Synonym Services for finding the perfect word to convey my thoughts here) by the crispness of the air inside the building. The students were huddled around the coffee machine awaiting their turn for a warm beverage. I think they are tougher than they themselves or any stereotype gives them credit for. They survive 'winter' (the equivalent of a MN/WI fall) without heat and sultry summer temperatures without the air conditioning in every room and every store that we have grown accustomed to. The temperature at school is teetering on the line of comfort for an indoor space. I would guess it was about 55/60 degrees. The floors are marble and and the walls are white (which makes it seem colder somehow) and bare. The school is just not built to hold heat. I will be thankful for this in a few months. For now though, I dress myself in a tank top, a sweater, a jacket (an overcoat, you might call it) and a scarf when I go to class. With body heat and the electric radiator I'm usually ok in the classroom. My hands get cold, but really that could happen anywhere.
This past Saturday it was too cold for my roommate to leave the house. So, I went to a movie (También la Lluvia) alone. It was a little harder to understand than the last movie, but I still got the gist of what was happening. Though, during the part where the Australian was speaking (in English) I had to use the Spanish subtitles that were provided. My ear is tuned to understand British English and English with a Spanish accent.
But back to it being too cold to leave the house- I disagree with this, of course, but a few mornings I have found myself wondering 'Is it too cold to run because I don't have the proper clothing?' Then I have a little talk with myself that goes like this: It is 45 degrees outside. You will be fine in a long-sleeved t-shirt and pants. You could even wear shorts if it is not windy. You are going running. Don't be ridiculous.
Class Story:
I had another run-in with the 'y' and 'j' sound differentiation in class today. The advanced students were talking about what they did as children. One student said that he played in the 'jar'.
'Jar?' I asked. 'A little glass container where you keep food?'
'No,' he said, 'Jardín, patio'.
'Oh, YARD' I said.
Switching subjects completely (again), my roommate and I went shopping yesterday (when I bought the blanket). On our walk home, I was surprised when Clarisse said, 'Sometimes I just stop and think to myself, I'm in Spain. I'm living in Spain. I am doing my grocery shopping in Spain. And sometimes I am having a conversation with someone and I stop and think how amazing it is that the other person is speaking in Spanish and I can understand what they are saying. I am having a conversation in other language.' I was taken aback and a little creeped out because she completely read my mind. I had that exact same thought as we stood in line at the grocery store just a few minutes before this conversation. And those weren't her exact words, of course, I am translating because she said this all in Spanish. I think about this sometimes too: how everything she knows about me and everything I know about her has been explained by one of us via the Spanish language. There have been times where I've been speaking to José or Megan or a student and I've asked myself, 'Were we talking in Spanish or English?' and most of the time I can't be 100% certain. (Most likely it was both. I probably in English while the other person spoke in Spanish. Or I said the 'easy' words in Spanish and the rest in English.) Somehow my brain works it out.
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
It's been one week
I've been back in Spain for one week, eh, a week and a half now- going on two. When I got back to Spain that Sunday, I went to sleep for 4 hours, got up and went running, ate dinner and went back to bed. That entire 24 hour period of rest really did a number on me and I've needed the past week to recover from it. I've had to take naps and get up at 10 instead of 8. I think I'm back on track now with my 8/9 AM - 12 AM schedule (and no naps or 'siestas', as you might call them).
My missing suitcase reappeared after an apparent (unplanned?) trip to Barcelona. It was delivered to my piso at around 9 PM on Tuesday (after getting home on Sunday). So that means that I owe Spain an apology: I'm sorry that I ever thought my suitcase would be lost forever and that you wouldn't deliver it right to my house (although a Spaniard did tell me that I'd have to go pick it up, so that one isn't entirely my fault, however, I still apologize for believing it.). I got a call from the airport telling me that someone would deliver my suitcase the next day. I had class in the morning, but my roommates were home until I got back. I waited from 2 PM-8 PM at my piso but by 8 I couldn't wait any longer so I left to go running. My roommate was home just in case that my suitcase showed up while I was gone. Shortly after I left she got a call from the person whose suitcase was dropped off before mine letting her know that mine would be arriving soon. Since we technically live on a pedestrian-only street (that allows exceptions for deliveries, mail vehicles and motorized vehicles in parades), the driver himself called soon after to say that he couldn't deliver it to our piso because of this restriction. He requested that she meet him in a plaza (that he didn't know the name of) so she could pick it up. My roommate (who is quite brave), told him that it wasn't her suitcase, she wasn't going to change out of her pajamas and back into street clothes to meet him at a plaza he didn't even know the name of and that he should just drive down the street like every other 'confused' person or delivery truck does. That was all the convincing he needed. I met up with him outside our building's main door at the end of my run just as he was leaving. My (filthy) suitcase and outraged roommate were waiting for me upstairs. My suitcase had a TSA lock on it and it didn't look like it had been open so therefore everything was accounted for. My packing job , however, was lacking: I don't need half of the clothes I packed (so I just left them in the suitcase to send home later) and somehow I grossly underestimated the number of pairs of underwear I'll need and grossly overestimated the number of pairs of socks I'll need. Don't worry though. I have a plan.
These past two weeks at school have been really boring. The students haven't come to conversation classes so I have even more free time. There's a new teacher at the school that I have four classes with. She's currently my favorite teacher (in the non-roommate category, of course). Unfortunately she is just a sub and thus will not be teaching here for very long. The first teacher for those classes, who taught from Oct-Dec was actually the sub for the sub (the second runner-up, if you will). The real teacher is on sick leave and the sub was pregnant so they brought in the sub for the sub. So now the sub is back from maternity leave and will pass on the teaching duties in March when the real teacher returns from sick leave.
Yesterday in class some 4th year students and I were discussing creative punishments for criminals. There was a question of what to do with teenagers who 'paint grafitti all over walls in a small town'. The first reaction from the students was to ask 'Well, what kind of grafitti? Is it nice? Is it art?'. They were very lenient in their punishment for these private-property-destroying hooligans. Based on their reaction, you might expect Alcalá to be covered in tagged buildings and to smell of aerosol paint, but I don't think there is more grafitti here than in any other city.
Another interesting moment came in one of my second year classes. Out of nowhere a student asked me (in Spanish), "Can you say the words for 'jefe' and 'autobus' in English?" So I said (not knowing where this was going), "Boss, bus". Ah, ha! There it is. Those words have just a slight difference in vowel sounds. Slight but important.
To show you just how messed up my brain is between the two languages here are two examples:
1. My roommate asked me a question like 'Why is everyone so loud?' My answer was 'Because estamos en España'. She just looked at me and said, 'Because?' And it took me a minute to realize that A.) she was saying an English word and she generally only speaks French and Spanish and B.) that there was anything wrong with my response. All the words made sense to me. I didn't notice that there were two languages in one sentence.
2. A student was speaking (in English) and didn't know a word so I offered 'bother' as a possible fit for what she was trying to say. She asked if I could write it on the board. So I went up to the board and wrote 'molestar'. Before I turned around I realized my mistake and added '= to bother'.
Although it may sound like I am completely capable in both languages, the truth is that I am not. My roommate is much more talkative than I am and has improved by leaps and bounds. I'm convinced more than ever that speaking is an extremely important part of learning a language. And it is exactly what I haven't done in the past 18 years that I have studied Spanish. So, I'm signing up for Spanish classes at the University starting in February. I am here and I am going to speak Spanish before I leave if it is the last thing I do (or the only thing). Plus, since my 3-day-a-week private lesson student is leaving for Germany for nine months, I will have a few extra hours on my hands each week.
Other exciting happenings this week:
- Went to 'The Tourist' with Clarisse. We liked it and best of all- understood it!
- Went to Sevilla to get the right size t-shirt for Jim. I didn't see it on the shelf in the store, so I asked the clerk if there were any XLs in blue (my Spanish speaking practice for the day). He walked over, looked at the shirts and said, 'No, I don't have any XL'. He then recommended that I go to their other store (that I didn't even know existed). He gave me a map and directions (and insisted it was easy to find). When I walked into the second store the clerk asked me if I was the girl that was there for the XL t-shirt. I said I was. Needless to say I was there on a Monday afternoon. You wouldn't get that kind of service on a Wednesday evening I bet.
- Went out for tapas with the Thursday night crew.
- Learned that they say 'marshmallow' in French. I was talking about the ingredients in Rice Krispie Treats and I didn't know the word in Spanish. I said they were white and looked like little pillows and she said, 'marshmallows?'
- Got a photocopied guide for Marrakech from my private-lesson student.
And if that all sounds boring to you, remember that I'M IN SPAIN.
My missing suitcase reappeared after an apparent (unplanned?) trip to Barcelona. It was delivered to my piso at around 9 PM on Tuesday (after getting home on Sunday). So that means that I owe Spain an apology: I'm sorry that I ever thought my suitcase would be lost forever and that you wouldn't deliver it right to my house (although a Spaniard did tell me that I'd have to go pick it up, so that one isn't entirely my fault, however, I still apologize for believing it.). I got a call from the airport telling me that someone would deliver my suitcase the next day. I had class in the morning, but my roommates were home until I got back. I waited from 2 PM-8 PM at my piso but by 8 I couldn't wait any longer so I left to go running. My roommate was home just in case that my suitcase showed up while I was gone. Shortly after I left she got a call from the person whose suitcase was dropped off before mine letting her know that mine would be arriving soon. Since we technically live on a pedestrian-only street (that allows exceptions for deliveries, mail vehicles and motorized vehicles in parades), the driver himself called soon after to say that he couldn't deliver it to our piso because of this restriction. He requested that she meet him in a plaza (that he didn't know the name of) so she could pick it up. My roommate (who is quite brave), told him that it wasn't her suitcase, she wasn't going to change out of her pajamas and back into street clothes to meet him at a plaza he didn't even know the name of and that he should just drive down the street like every other 'confused' person or delivery truck does. That was all the convincing he needed. I met up with him outside our building's main door at the end of my run just as he was leaving. My (filthy) suitcase and outraged roommate were waiting for me upstairs. My suitcase had a TSA lock on it and it didn't look like it had been open so therefore everything was accounted for. My packing job , however, was lacking: I don't need half of the clothes I packed (so I just left them in the suitcase to send home later) and somehow I grossly underestimated the number of pairs of underwear I'll need and grossly overestimated the number of pairs of socks I'll need. Don't worry though. I have a plan.
These past two weeks at school have been really boring. The students haven't come to conversation classes so I have even more free time. There's a new teacher at the school that I have four classes with. She's currently my favorite teacher (in the non-roommate category, of course). Unfortunately she is just a sub and thus will not be teaching here for very long. The first teacher for those classes, who taught from Oct-Dec was actually the sub for the sub (the second runner-up, if you will). The real teacher is on sick leave and the sub was pregnant so they brought in the sub for the sub. So now the sub is back from maternity leave and will pass on the teaching duties in March when the real teacher returns from sick leave.
Yesterday in class some 4th year students and I were discussing creative punishments for criminals. There was a question of what to do with teenagers who 'paint grafitti all over walls in a small town'. The first reaction from the students was to ask 'Well, what kind of grafitti? Is it nice? Is it art?'. They were very lenient in their punishment for these private-property-destroying hooligans. Based on their reaction, you might expect Alcalá to be covered in tagged buildings and to smell of aerosol paint, but I don't think there is more grafitti here than in any other city.
Another interesting moment came in one of my second year classes. Out of nowhere a student asked me (in Spanish), "Can you say the words for 'jefe' and 'autobus' in English?" So I said (not knowing where this was going), "Boss, bus". Ah, ha! There it is. Those words have just a slight difference in vowel sounds. Slight but important.
To show you just how messed up my brain is between the two languages here are two examples:
1. My roommate asked me a question like 'Why is everyone so loud?' My answer was 'Because estamos en España'. She just looked at me and said, 'Because?' And it took me a minute to realize that A.) she was saying an English word and she generally only speaks French and Spanish and B.) that there was anything wrong with my response. All the words made sense to me. I didn't notice that there were two languages in one sentence.
2. A student was speaking (in English) and didn't know a word so I offered 'bother' as a possible fit for what she was trying to say. She asked if I could write it on the board. So I went up to the board and wrote 'molestar'. Before I turned around I realized my mistake and added '= to bother'.
Although it may sound like I am completely capable in both languages, the truth is that I am not. My roommate is much more talkative than I am and has improved by leaps and bounds. I'm convinced more than ever that speaking is an extremely important part of learning a language. And it is exactly what I haven't done in the past 18 years that I have studied Spanish. So, I'm signing up for Spanish classes at the University starting in February. I am here and I am going to speak Spanish before I leave if it is the last thing I do (or the only thing). Plus, since my 3-day-a-week private lesson student is leaving for Germany for nine months, I will have a few extra hours on my hands each week.
Other exciting happenings this week:
- Went to 'The Tourist' with Clarisse. We liked it and best of all- understood it!
- Went to Sevilla to get the right size t-shirt for Jim. I didn't see it on the shelf in the store, so I asked the clerk if there were any XLs in blue (my Spanish speaking practice for the day). He walked over, looked at the shirts and said, 'No, I don't have any XL'. He then recommended that I go to their other store (that I didn't even know existed). He gave me a map and directions (and insisted it was easy to find). When I walked into the second store the clerk asked me if I was the girl that was there for the XL t-shirt. I said I was. Needless to say I was there on a Monday afternoon. You wouldn't get that kind of service on a Wednesday evening I bet.
- Went out for tapas with the Thursday night crew.
- Learned that they say 'marshmallow' in French. I was talking about the ingredients in Rice Krispie Treats and I didn't know the word in Spanish. I said they were white and looked like little pillows and she said, 'marshmallows?'
- Got a photocopied guide for Marrakech from my private-lesson student.
And if that all sounds boring to you, remember that I'M IN SPAIN.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car
"But it wasn't a dream. It was a place. And you and you and you...and you were there."
In 2.5 weeks I saw almost all of my immediate family members and friends (sorry to those who missed a photo opp.). It made me realize exactly what it is that I am missing here. (But not for long-I'll have several visitors over the next three months! Let me know if you'd like to be added to that list.) Being back, I jumped quickly back into the American way of thinking, like expecting things to be resolved immediately. Take my lost luggage, for example. I expected it to be at my HOUSE the very next day. Here in Spain my baggage is also missing and I'm having a hard time accepting the fact that there is NO information on it after over 24 hours and three flights from Lisbon (where I arrived from the US). And when there is information I will have to go PICK up the suitcase from the airport. This will require a 1.5-2 hour bus ride (one way and not including wait time). I find myself thinking that this is completely ridiculous. But it is not ridiculous for Spain. It is normal. As my roommate said, 'tu- paciencia' (You - (have) patience.) A week or so will be a normal time frame for my bag reappear.
I also find it disappointing that stores are not open here. I asked my mom how late the grocery store was open (I really wanted some grapes at 9 PM). When she said 'all night' I couldn't believe what I great country I was born in. I could buy grapes at any time during the day or night!
The little taste of freedom I got from having my very own car to drive wherever I wanted whenever I wanted (like to the grocery store, Noodles, Dairy Queen and friends' houses) was hard to leave too. (Although brushing the snow off my car off and scraping my windows part I could do without). My feet and the bus system here can take me places, but it requires more time and patience.
Central heating is one of the best things about the US. I wasn't ever as cold there (inside or outside) as I am inside my piso here. I actually have to go outside to warm up (the sun is shining!). And along those lines I love the clothes dryer. It makes washing clothes so much less of a commitment. You don't have to plan how many days it will require to dry the clothes and whether or not you have that time to live without them.
What wasn't hard to leave was the accent we all have. I was very sensitive to our whiney, nasaly 'a'. Sometimes I wanted to stop talking because I couldn't make my accent or the burning in my ears go away.
I also won't miss the store clerks constantly nagging (a word we can say with our accent) me to open a credit card account and save 10%, helpfully suggesting a car wash with my gas purchase, just reminding me that if I find 2 shirts that I like I can get one free, holding out a sample for me take or calling out 'excuse me, can I ask you a question?' as I walk through the mall. I much prefer the Spanish way- being silently stared down by a clerk or ignored completely while they talk to their coworker or friend.
And I won't miss looking like an ad for Tommy Barlett's Exploratory when I take off my winter hat. My skin and hair did not like the lack of moisture in MN and WI in the winter. My skin was scaly and my hands full of hangnails.
And what can we learn from this, boys and girls? That the grass is always greener on the other side and that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Class dismissed.
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