I am back in Spain for another year. I will continue to do updates like I did all last year.

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Finished the Course

On Thursday I finished the final day of the language assistant course that I signed up for in October.  On the last day we were supposed to do a presentation on an idea that "works" for us in class, I just presented on my conversation classes because they are different than what is done in the primary and secondary schools.  The night before I realized that maybe it would be a good idea to ask whether it had to be in English or Spanish.  The course organizer told me Spanish so of course I had a mini-heart/panic attack but then realized I can ask for help.  I asked Ana and a woman who I give lessons to during the week to help me refine my Spanish and presentation.  I was still very nervous though confident my Spanish was ok.  On Thursday I get there and the organizer says we can present in our native language if we feel more comfortable doing that.  (By the way there were French assistants there also which is why he said to present in Spanish in the first place.)  In the end it was fine, I don't know why I was stressed especially since only 2 of us followed the format he wanted and only 11 out of about 30 presented.  And I am pretty sure everyone gets a certificate of completion though we will see, he didn't mention anything about the certificate.

This next week we just have classes on Monday and Tuesday!  I am presenting about Christmas but not in the traditional way.  Confused?  I'll explain, I am presenting on the differences between Spanish and American Christmas but I am going to devote more time to teaching about Kwanzaa and Chanukah (Hanukkah).  Here in Spain these celebrations are not very well known at all so it will be interesting and I hope fun for the students to learn about them.  I am also making cookies for the Christmas parties that we are having on both days and I am working on getting a lot of holiday music in English to play at the party.  I will hopefully remember to take pictures and post them after the 3 week break.

So in closing, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Creepy Papa Noel

Ok well last week I had no classes and so on Tuesday I went into Zaragoza to do some sightseeing and met up with my friend from Canada and I went to stay with her that night.  She works in Zuera a town very close to Zaragoza, it might not be as "beautiful" as Tarazona but the convenience of its proximity to Zaragoza makes up for it.  We went back into Zaragoza on Wednesday to do some more touristy things and then I went back to Tarazona that night.  I had my other private lesson on Thursday and then on Friday was the short meeting.

My Christmas plans are to go to Benidorm on the 23rd where one of my cousins will pick me up to take me to Benilloba the pueblo where my cousins live.  It is very nice there but it is very small, even smaller than Tarazona.  I am looking forward though to some warmer weather, not that it will be hot there but it will be warmer than here, where it is below freezing at night.  I don't know yet how long I will stay or if I will try to get to Barcelona to visit my aunt.  I will play everything by ear (idiom) haha.

And finally the picture that explains the title of my post!

There are these "decorations" on balconies in Zaragoza. 
In my opinion it shows lovable Santa in a different light...............
PREDATOR!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Extra-long weekend

Last week's classes were great, nothing stands out as having been disastrous, thank God.  On Friday I renewed this language assistant program for the region of Aragon.  I had the option to renew at the same school but I want to experience another place and more people.  I love teaching at the language school and so I hope that if I decide to continue that I am teaching adults.

I am very happy that a holiday has come up, mainly so that I can rest my voice and the other reason is that I am getting sick of hearing myself talk. (And I am pretty sure other people are too!)  I have off till Friday which is great because it is just a short meeting so I really have a whole week of classes off.
Tarazona at night
Today I went to Soria, a larger town about a 45 minute drive from Tarazona, with a student and her friends.  The ride there was hilarious because on our way up the mountain there were cows running on the road right next to the car.  I assured them that this is not a common occurrence in New Jersey unless one escapes from a farm. We went sledding even though it was horrible weather, a rain/sleet mix was falling with extreme wind therefore we were soaked from head to toe, but it was totally worth it.

Foggy Mountain


Sledding Hill (there were so many accidents)



This is us going down the hill. (Just ignore my idiotic laughter)

After sledding we went and had a picnic lunch in the farmland near Soria.  It was very picturesque with the exception of huge cowpies near where the car was parked.  (I taught them cowpies or as they said "tarta de vaca," so funny!)  After lunch we went into Soria and walked around the town and stopped for some coffee and a typical treat that is made there, it is a cookie in the shape of a horse with either white or dark chocolate as the icing.  It was very good and it was great to warm up in the cafe.  After walking around a bit we got in the car and on the way out of Soria there is a famous hermitage "Ermita de San Saturio" so we stopped to take a tour and to walk and take pictures along the river, which was beautiful. It was a great day.