You know that sound on Tiktok where a young teacher walks the halls and other teachers tell her she needs a hall pass and she always responds with, “I work here.” Well, I can definitely relate.
I have mentioned that I work in a high school where the students are year one through four, or ages 12 through 16/17. As we all know, I am a below-average height human being, but I firmly believe I look my age… I think. I am convinced the Spanish people have something in their water for multiple reasons, but most prominently for how mature the youth look and how young I feel that I look. When I walk through the halls, I definitely feel more like a student than a teacher, and it must be obvious. On multiple occasions, especially while walking toward the teacher’s lounge or designated restroom, I have been asked if I am a teacher or a student. I sincerely hope I do not look 16 years old.
Over the past two weeks, I have fully integrated myself into the classroom setting. I think I am starting to get a good grasp of teaching, and I often prepare short lesson plans for each of my 12 classes. Thus far, I have discussed US Independence Day, how mathematics is used in art and its importance in daily life, various tenses in English, and this week, I will lead my first hour-long discussion on the history of Halloween and its role in US culture. I spend a couple hours each week preparing material for class, and I think my coordinator and my students really enjoy it. I do tend to procrastinate a little and wait until later in the evening to do my “homework,” but at least I get it done. Actually, I am procrastinating right now…
I have a range of classes, from English, to Technology, to Math, to History, to Physical Education. There is also a wide range between the level of English each class is able to comprehend and speak. I try to speak slowly, though I often repeat myself and write phrases on the board for further clarification. I think language is such an interesting concept, and I have found myself thoroughly enjoying the exchange. My Spanish is also getting a lot better, and I am hoping to catch on to the Andalucian accent soon.
Speaking of accents, I am often told that people like my accent. Who would have thought, the basic (in my opinion, boring) Mid-west accent would get compliments. Apparently, they like my accent because it is easy to understand and I pronounce my words clearly, even when I speak Spanish. If only my Spanish counterparts could enunciate their words a little better!
Moving on to more exciting things, I have finally moved into a townhouse! Yes, not just a regular old apartment, but a townhouse. I absolutely love it! Jude, Arthur, and I will be roommates for the next several months in our humble abode just south of the city center. We have three full bedrooms, a small “guest” room, a living room and kitchen, 1.5 baths, and two terraces! There is even a foyer and everything! Quite literally the house of my dreams, and it came fully furnished, as well. I have already spent some time enjoying both terraces by sunbathing, journaling, and keeping up with some physical therapy exercises. I just really love my life.
Over the past two weeks, I have gone on a few mini adventures. First, the boys and I decided to explore the tiny island in Tarifa on our day off. We may or may not have done a little bit of trespassing, though I promise we were not aware of our actions at the time. We climbed some tall rocks along the cliff side to get to the island, discovered it was closed because of the holiday, and continued to explore on our own. We were so far south that my phone said we were in Morocco! I collected plenty of sea glass, and Arthur helped me scope out some good ones, too.
I also ~almost~ went kite surfing. While still living in Tarifa, I overheard some girls on the bus talking in English. I decided to join their conversation and I quickly made plans with one of the girls to hijack her kite surfing date. She mentioned she was going to Tarifa for the date, and I said I would love to learn how to kite surf. Desperately, she asked if I wanted to join so that she felt more safe, and I instantly said yes! Us girls have to stick together. In short, neither of us learned how to kite surf and instead spent two hours at the nearby beach bar waiting for her date to finish his time on the water and join us. It was all a bit annoying.
We hit the town for a night out in Tarifa once again, discovering blue moscato ! and making plenty of new friends. I own a pair of red lens fashion glasses and wore them out, which turned into me making random people try them on for a picture. Needless to say, I have an interesting camera roll now.
Halloween is quickly approaching, and things are celebrated a bit different here. People don’t really dress up as their favorite Marvel superhero here, but instead, take things a little darker. From what I understand, people mostly wear darker makeup, like a skeleton or bloody face, with a more simple outfit. I spent this past few days practicing my makeup and contemplating several outfits. I think I’ve nailed it down to two options, though stay tuned.
As the days progress closer to winter (RIP), the waves in Tarifa are getting bigger! Last week, I headed back to Tarifa with the boys to play in the water. Arthur found a boogie board, and we spent a couple hours riding the waves. I once read that we all feel pulled to a certain type of landscape and feel at peace once we are there. Back in the US Virgin Islands, I discovered that was the beach for me. Arthur also rented a surfboard for a couple hours, and I think we all want to start taking a few lessons. I think my ideal life would be to live on a beach with sun-kissed skin and wild hair, surfing in all my free time. Better get those lessons going.
A few days ago, I took a carpool service, BlaBlaCar, to Cádiz to visit my Spanish friend. I was very proud of myself because I was able to communicate with the driver in Spanish the entire 1.5 hour trip. Go me! In Spain, there are regions and provinces, so my region is Andalucía and my province is Cádiz, so I went to the capital of my province. I got a nice tour of the city and ate some amazing food. If you have never been to a Michelin Star restaurant, I urge you to run, not walk, to the nearest one. So. Good. I tried shark and duck for the first time, and a couple of things that I do not want to know the origin of, but it was quite literally the best food I have ever tasted. Google croquetas. Now.
I am not sure if I have mentioned the Chihuahua Count on my phone, but I have a list in my notes app where I record each chihuahua I see. A couple weeks ago, I discovered I could buy a baby chihuahua for only 45€ and I am highly tempted to do so. Mom and Dad told me I can’t buy one, but I have a hard time letting go of a good thought sometimes. I told Mom that I would compromise and get a stuffed animal one and she could have a billboard in her classroom with his activities and pictures. However, I told the boys that once my count got to 45, I would buy the baby chihuahua. Well, today the count reached 45! Maybe I’ll settle for a fish.
This weekend marks my first big adventure, as the boys and I are traveling 7-hours to Madrid to celebrate Halloween. I am super excited - I love big cities - but we have yet to book our actual transportation. Eh, oh well. I can do that tomorrow. :) I might have spent a good portion of my evening trying on all of my outfits for our weekend trip.
A long and overdue update, but that’s about all she wrote, folks.
Hasta luego!