Pretty, pretty pictures

In order of appearance:
Happy New Year!
Mountain Pass to Asturias
Toledo
Playa Las Negras (A beach not too far away)

And Now for the: “What-the-Heck-Am-I-Doing-Here?” Phase

Oh, my poor blog has been suffering from such neglect; well they say no news is good news although I’ve never been partial to that saying myself. These past weeks have been something between a siesta and a flat out wog (walk/jog). Working only “twelve” hours a week means less occupational stress, but it also means that those questions I either went in search of or avoided by coming here (such as “what do I want to be when I grow up?”) have more opportunities to breach, puncturing the calm surface with their dorsal fins. “Why did I come here?” “Is my Spanish improving?” and “Am I being an effective teacher?” are three of the most frequently spotted members of the pod. Perhaps it’s the lack of distractions that leave me feeling fragmented (consequently, my recently acquired expenditures, i.e. car, plus my meagre salary, equal a decline in extra curricular activities that require monetary compensation). Luckily for me, I’m in such a beautiful place and I do have a car that, so as long as I can afford gas, distractions aren’t too hard to come by.
I’m always surprised by how American I am. Without the occupational stress to fuel me on, I’m not quite sure what to do. Create some I suppose. Having taken a back seat as a teacher in a system I fundamentally disagree with continues to be a challenge. I’m also impatient with myself and the rate at which my Spanish is improving. I’ve seen the language acquisition charts and I know that I’m at a plateau right now and the frustration I’m feeling is a precursor to great growth, blah, blah, blah, but it doesn’t stop me from feeling frustrated. After much reflection into why I’ve been feeling so raw these past weeks I’ve come to some conclusions. The first being that I still enjoy teaching (although I now know I greatly prefer adults) and that this experience has only consecrated my beliefs on teaching pedagogy. I can’t revolutionize their entire system, I can only offer ideas and that’s all the effort I’m willing to expend at the moment. I prefer to dedicate myself instead, to searching for additional employment. I’ve always wanted to get into translating but I’ve been hesitant, apprehensive that I my skills are not good enough. However, what I’ve realized is that there are a ton of English here, and only a handful actually speak Spanish, so there is definitely a market; I’ve just got to find a way in! By pursuing this goal, I’ll be forced to accelerate my Spanish and it’ll also cushion my budget some. I feel relieved having finally pinpointed what was bothering me, and to have a direction in which to focus my energy.
Aside from my mini crisis, I’ve actually been doing a lot of interesting and fun things. A couple of weeks ago I went to a flamenco concert and saw a very famous guitarist named Tomatito. I’ve also been checking out some of the beaches in the area which are spectacular and I can’t wait until the weather gets really nice (although I can’t complain, I did go sun bathing last weekend). I also went hiking through these boulders that were coated with gypsum, giving the landscape a dazzling, ethereal effect. There was a hippy community living there and one of the members, an English architect, had constructed various structures from the bamboo like canes that grow in the stream. They are something like a jungle gym and you could climb them like a monkey. Unfortunately, my precious weekend was marred by my third encounter with the law. The Guardia Civil pulled me over to do routine checks for documentation. I had with me my U.S. driver’s license, my international driver’s license and my insurance, but I’d left my proof of purchase and registration at home (stupid, stupid!). Alas, I got off with a small ticket, a “gift” according to the officer, but I have to go to the capital city to pay it. Doesn’t the officer get it that me trying to find my way through the city is punishment enough? Anyways, I’ve been wanting to go there again and I still haven’t seen the castle there. In short, that’s the summery of what I’ve been up to psychologically as well as physically these past few weeks. I hope you enjoy the photos, they are long overdue.

I Love Crunchie Bars!

I found a new internet place that has crunchie bars! They are these English candy bars that have some sort of honey comb center covered in chocolate. When I was in England I bought about 10 of them to bring to Spain, but my supply ran out long ago; therefore, I was pretty excited to find them here.
Anyways, to continue my previous story; after Toledo we headed back to Andalucía. I was never happier to return to the sunny coast. I spent the remainder of the vacation going to the beach and hiking and hanging out with friends.
I was dissapointed to learn that they don't really do New Year's resolutions here. So I shall share them with you:
1. Learn to salsa dance really well
2. Work on my harmonica skills (it's such an underplayed instrument and I think it's going to make a bang on the music scene any moment now)
3. Start doing translating work
4. Get decent at beach volly ball
5. Learn to spell better :0)

I know, I've got some pretty lofty goals, but gotta aim high. The first week back to school was tough; I'd gotten used to waking up at a humain hour during vacation, and it was difficult to readjust. The kids seemed well rested after their break and were relatively well behaved. Everyone around me has been sick, and I'm fighting really hard not to join the crowd but I can't hold out much longer captin, I don't have the power! I hope you've managed to avoid the cold, flu and ect. I promis to post some pictures soon.

Back to the daily grind

And now for a more complete version. Christmast was Texan, that's to say I spent it with Joanna (the other American at my school) and her family who were visiting from Texas. We ate fried chicken and mashed potatoes which it turns out are a different kind of potatoe- great for Spanish tortilla, terrible for mashing; it turned into a type of glue. Joanna was sick with the stomach flu and our gifts were all wrapped in garbage bags, but we managed to have a decent time of it. After Joanna's family headed back to the Lone Star State, Joanna and I headed North to Oviedo. It was a bit strange seeing friends I hadn't seen in five years. Alex, the little boy of the host family I was staying with was two when I last saw him; now the baby fat is gone and he's a spoild rotten seven year old; a bit dissapointing actually. I must say I agree with Woody Allen in that Oviedo remains the most beautiful and charming city in the world (I wonder if they'll erect a sculpture of me now). Although I never realized before just how wealthy (and a bit pretencious) the city is; we were happy to escape all the old ladies in fur coats to spend a day in Cudillero the picturesque fishing town.
On New Year's eve we watched the fiesta on tv that takes place in the Plaza del Sol, Madrid's main plaza and Spain's equivalent to Times Square. As the bells tolled midnight, we tried to stuff our faces with a grape for each chime. If one succeeds, it's supposed to mean good luck for the new year; I started laughing and failed misserably. After choaking on grapes and washing it down with cider wine (a regional must) Joanna and I headed to my old watering hole the "Asturianu". I don't recall paying for a single drink, but I sure had a January 1st sized hangover the nest day.
We had planned to go to Segovia to visit my other host family, but they had all come down with the flu so we decided to for go that stop and instead broke up the 11 hour drive by spending the night in Toledo. This was my fourth trip there, but I never feel like I get to see everything. It's one of the only cities where you can find evidence of the Christians, Muslims and Jews living in one place. Oh darn, I'm getting kicked off the computer. To be continued...