Carmona

Yesterday I went on a short day trip to Carmona, a picturesque little Pueblo Blanco situated in the hilltops, only 30 minutes away from Sevilla.

As usual food was the most important part of the itinerary. We casually strolled through the winding streets, gazing up at the rows of freshly painted white houses, detailed with colorful Moorish tiles.

We followed the “Ruta de las tapas,” a series of small restaurants and bars that specialize in traditional tapas. We enjoyed a few glasses of white wine and basked in the calmness of this quant town, while gazing out at the vast countryside. Although we spent most of the day waiting on busses, it was a wonderfully relaxing day away from the hustle and bustle of Sevilla.

Entertaining ourselves while waiting on the bus to arrive

Tiles that mark the restaurants on the "ruta de las tapas"

Tasting wine made from oranges

View from "El Parador" a medieval fortress turned into a luxury hotel

Cordoba

Cordoba…more like Gordaba. Last weekend I went to visit my friends Brie and Taylor in Cordoba. I spent the entire weekend indulging in sweets and treats, thus I am deeming it my trip to Gordoba (Gordo means fat in Spanish.) I am already planning to return, since I didn’t have the chance to visit the Mezquita and Juderia in which Cordoba is known for.

My first tostada with tomate

Chocolate and vanilla frozen yogurt with chocolate granola, and peanut butter!

could not possibly be any happier

4am trip to McDonalds, walked through the drive through (I had ice cream)

Had to try the local pastries

Banana Pancakes and eggs for breakfast

After arriving late Thursday night at the Cordoba bus station, I realized that it had never occurred to me to ask for directions, or even a simple address, to Brie and Taylors Apartment. I walked around the bus station for about an hour holding my phone in the air attempting to connect to wifi, as if my extra arm length was really going to make a difference. Finally I was able to get in contact with Taylor, who advised me to navigate my way to their apartment by finding city landmarks, the easiest of which was a “giant Spanish flag on a big building.”

On Friday night we went to the "festival internacional de juegos" (juegos=games.) Unsure of what the “games” entailed I laced up my sneaks and headed there to compete or at the very least watch some type of athletic game native to Spain.

To my surprise, the festival was actually a gathering of hundreds of Spaniards trading, renting and playing board games.

Hundreds of games to rent, most of which were mid-evil themed

The language barrier proved to be challenging when trying to understand the rules of the game

Upon arriving back in Sevilla late Saturday afternoon, I decided to go to the grocery store because they are closed on Sunday and my favorite supermarket is right next to the bus station. What seemed like a good idea at the time was actually a costly mistake.

Picture this, I have my large, bulky backpack on, biking the cobblestone streets, with all my newly purchased precious groceries spilling out of the top of my bike basket into the streets.

As many of you know, after working as a cashier at Wegmans for eight years, my bags are always properly packed with crushables on top. My training could not have prepared me for what would ensure.

My eggs, bread, and fruit fell victim to the cars in the busy intersections that I crossed. At every slight bump, my groceries spilled out everywhere. I was unable to control the bike since the heavy groceries weighed down the handlebars making it impossible to balance or steer.  I guess I will be making some banana bread this weekend since my bananas are entirely mush after having taken a beat down on the streets.

El primer día en Tomares

Without any instructions whatsoever, I arrived at school last Monday, excited to begin my year as an Auxiliar de Conversación, however my first week was definitely not what I had expected.

Maximum security doors

At first glance, the prison like gates in front of the school really threw me off. It took me well over 15 minutes to figure out how to get inside. I frantically buzzed the main office over and over again through the intercom without any answer. After realizing I had the schools phone number, I gave that a try. Again no answer, so I left a very brief message on the answering machine, “Me llamo Raquel, estoy a la puerta ahora” (My name is Rachel, I am at the door now.) After a few minutes of awkwardly pacing back and forth pondering my next move, a woman appeared and I sketchily followed her inside. 

View of my school from across the street

Lovely park I walk through every morning just outside school

I met my bilingual coordinator Carolina, and she sent me off to the auditorium. Carolina gave me a laptop to present the PowerPoint I had prepared about myself, but she failed to mention the password to unlock the computer, or how to connect the laptop to the projector. It took a lot of trial and error, but I eventually got it up and running! I guess I have to take this moment to reluctantly thank my brother Josh for forcing me to fix my technological problems on my own even when he knew how to solve them.

Unfortunately the teachers didn’t understand that they had to bring their kids to the auditorium to meet me. Apparently checking your e-mail over the weekend is a crazy notion and unheard of, so they never saw the instructions. For three days I sat in the auditorium for about four hours, and every hour or so a class would appear. While they didn’t understand much of what I was saying, I received cheers for showing them a picture of my favorite book Harry Potter, and all the pictures that I brought from home.

Fooling around taking pictures while I sat and waited

Auditorium eventually filled with students

This week is running much more smoothly. I am finally out of the auditorium and in the classroom. I teach science history, and PE in various classes from 1^st-6^th grade. 

Right before the mayhem at recess

I come into class and without any preparation I am told what I am supposed to lecture on. So far my topics have been teaching the names and the functions of bones and the history of the reign of the Visigoths in Toledo (I’m still not really sure what I told them on that one, since I’m not familiar with the history of the Middle Ages in Spain.)

The majority of my students talk over me and would rather play with their pencil cases than listen. They keep addressing me in Spanish and I am not allowed to respond to them in anything but English, which is adding to my frustration.

Starting to feel the love

I am not worried, as my roommates who are also teaching in Spain have reassured me that they are having the exact same experience.

As usual I am finding humor is every experience that I have and overall I am enjoying myself. Tomorrow I get to teach PE and nutrition, my two favorite subjects!