A long weekend in Éire (part I)

What a wonderful trip to Ireland I had last weekend! Not only was it great to see Ashton and spend four days with her in her favorite place in the world, but I finally got to see some of the more "traditional" Irish countryside and culture in the west of the country. We spent two days in Dublin, where Ashton lives and studies, and two days out west exploring Galway, Cong and Connemara. It would be impossible for me to pick a place that was my favorite; I enjoyed all the places that we saw. Connemara was especially lovely, but Dublin had a lot of great sites to see and some of the nicest, friendliest people that I've ever met. Another wonderful thing about my trip to Ireland? Much to my surprise and delight (and to Ashton's as well!) we had four days of bright sunshine and moderate temperatures. We didn't have one day of rain the entire time I was there- something that Ashton and I had a hard time believing was possible. I took many, many photos over the course of my trip so I'll divide my entry about Ireland into two: one entry dedicated to the first two days (Friday in Dublin and Saturday in Galway) and another about the last two days (Sunday in Cong and Connemara and Monday back in Dublin).

Day One: Dublin

On Friday, February 25th I was up early (5:30am) to catch a taxi to Granada's bus station where I would catch a 7:00am bus to Málaga's airport. The morning's traveling went without a hitch and I was in Málaga's airport around 9:30am where I waited for my 12:00pm flight to Dublin to board. I had an easy, turbulence-free flight and I landed in Dublin at 2:00pm. At the airport I caught the Dublin Aircoach bus and was in the city center, O'Connell Street, just after 3:00pm where I met Ashton at the bus stop. She had just come from a trial-run for a waitressing position at a restaurant in Dublin and our timing for meeting up was perfect. We walked to her house where we freshened up a bit and had a quick snack before heading back out into the city to do a quick grocery shop. We stopped at the butcher's shop to pick up some chicken for that night's meal and I made my first Irish "boyfriend" of the trip, a friendly 60-year old Irish man named Michael. We spent ten minutes talking before I realized that he had already handed Ashton the bag of chicken and she was just standing there, waiting for our conversation to end. Irish people are just terribly friendly- always smiling and ready to chat with you. I love it- they're a wonderful group of extroverted and outgoing people! After running our errands, we headed back to Ashton's apartment where we made dinner and got ready to go out for the night. Back in December, I traveled to Barcelona for a weekend with some friends who were studying abroad in Granada. Do you all remember how we met three Irish students from Dublin and spent a few nights in Barcelona hanging out with them? Well, I contacted them before heading to Ireland and let them know about my trip to Dublin. To my delight, the three (Eoghan, Joey and Ciara) were all free Friday night and Ashton and I met up with them around 10:00pm at a bar in the city. We stayed for a few pints and afterward we followed them to a club in the city where they were meeting up with some other friends. It was great to see them again and I was very happy to have introduced Ashton to more people in Dublin. I just love how you're always meeting wonderful people while traveling!

Here are some photos from my first day in Dublin:

Ashton's apartment complex; she lives in the building to the left.

Wandering around the area near Ashton's apartment.

The River Liffey by day.

The Irish Parliament House.

The River Liffey by night.

Around 3:30am, the club closed and we all said our goodbyes before walking home. Ashton and I were exhausted after a fun night out but we were excited about the following day- our plans to travel out west to Galway!

Day Two: Galway

Saturday morning Ashton and I slept until until about 10:45am before lazily making a quick breakfast of toast and coffee. We got ready for the day, packed up our backpacks and headed out the door around 12:30pm to catch a bus to Galway. We hadn't purchased bus tickets beforehand (on account of not knowing exactly when we'd be headed out) and luckily, we were a few of the last people waiting in line able to buy tickets for the 1:00pm bus. Just a short while later, at 3:30pm, we arrived in Galway (although Galway is directly across the country from Dublin, Ireland is not that wide and it only takes 2.5 hours to get from Dublin to Galway). Cameras ready, we set out to explore the city before the sun set. First, we stumbled upon Kennedy Park, a small park in Galway's Eyre Square Centre. From there we walked along William Street, Shop Street and High Street, three of the main pedestrian-only shopping streets in Galway. On these streets one finds lots of cute shops, cafés and some of the city's most fun and popular pubs. From there we walked another five minutes or so until we reached the Spanish Arch and the River Corrib. The Spanish Arch is one of four arches, constructed in 1584, in an open quayside area where French and Spanish ships once docked with cargoes of wines, silks and other goods to sell and trade in Ireland. The Spanish Arch overlooks the River Corrib and Ashton and I spent a good half an hour enjoying the lovely scenery near the river. One special site in Galway that I had always wanted to see is also located along the River Corrib. "The Long Walk" is a promenade to the side of the Spanish Arch and it's Galway's most photographed spot. It's a lovely stretch of colorful houses and buildings along the side of the river. A think I took ten photos of the same place; it was just stunning to finally see it- and above all, on a sunny afternoon! From there Ashton and I strolled over to a walkway stretching along Galway Bay, posing to take a few photos with the ocean and Mutton Island Lighthouse in the background. By this point, it was around 5:30pm and we realized that we only had another hour or so of daylight left in the day. So, we headed back into the center of the city and booked our 1) hostel for the night and our 2) day-long tour of Cong and Connemara for the following day. We grabbed a delicious dinner of fish and chips at a small take-away restaurant on Shop Street and ate our delicious dinner on a table in the street as we people-watched and planned our evening. After a quick stop back at the hostel to freshen up and rest for a bit, Ashton and I headed over to the Kings Head for a pint. The Kings Head is one of the most popular pubs in Galway- it not only has a great atmosphere and live-music seven nights a week, but also a history dating back 800 years! We spent a few hours out that night before heading back to our hostel to get a good night's sleep before another busy day!

Here are a few photos from day two in Galway:

Kennedy Park.

St. Nicolas Church.

The Kings Head Pub behind a really neat "street-sign" in both English and Irish!

The River Corrib.

"The Long Walk," Galway's most photographed spot.

Ashton and I walked along Galway Bay for a bit; Mutton Island Lighthouse is behind me to the right.

Ashton and I in front of the Long Walk.

I'm about to devour a delicious dinner of fish and chips... a must-have while in Ireland!

All in all, Ashton and I had a wonderful first two days in Ireland together! I was so happy to have finally gotten to see Galway. Some of my closest friends from Stonehill studied abroad in Galway in the spring of 2009 and after hearing all their stories and seeing all their photos, I'd always hoped to make it there someday! For Ashton's take on our first two days in Dublin and Galway, click this link to an entry in her blog!

Stay tuned for my next entry: Connemara, Cong and more Dublin!

The trouble with "ahora"

"Now." What a short, simple word. According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, in the English language "now" means "at the present time or moment." When we say "now" in English, it's generally understood that we're talking about "in the present moment." For example, if you say "I'm leaving now" it means that you are doing just that... leaving now. If you say "I'm doing it now" it means that whatever it is that you're doing, you're doing now. "Now" translated into Spanish becomes "ahora" and while technically it's definition is also "at the present time or moment," it's everyday use is somewhat different from our English definition of the word. It's all about concepts of time. In the United States, we live by the phrase "time is money." We take our time seriously. If we have a doctor's appointment at 9:00am, we're in the office on time, if not a few minutes earlier, and we expect to have our appointment at 9:00am, give or take a few minutes. If a dinner party invitations states 4:00pm as the start time, guests will arrive at 4:00pm. For us, time is quite fixed. As I've come to learn, this is not the case in Spain- generally speaking, in the Spanish culture, time is much more relaxed. I've spent two and a half hours in a hair salon getting my haircut over here. That's with an appointment, too. I've had classes that are scheduled to begin at 9:15am start anywhere between 9:20 and 9:30. I've showed up to get-togethers a full half-hour later than the stated "start time" and been one of the first to arrive. After five months, I've only just begun to learn when to show up for things and how to gauge how long something will take! It's just one aspect of the never-ending "cultural" learning process and I get a big kick out of it every day!

Since being back in Granada, I've learned that there are a few phrases that use the Spanish word for "now" and they all mean something slightly different regarding time. As you all already know, "ahora" translates to "now" in English. When you use "ahora," you could be talking about any moment in the next five to ten minutes. "Ahora después" translates to "now after" and when you use this phrase, you're talking about sometime in the next fifteen to thirty minutes. Only when you say "¡ahora mismo!" are you saying "right now!" and thus referring to the present time or moment. One of my "tutees" even tried explaining to me that sometimes "ahora" is even used in certain situations to mean "at some point in the future" or "later on" without any real knowledge of just when that moment will be... but I'll leave that explanation for another day :)

One of my favorite incidents involving different cultures' concepts of time happened two year. During my semester abroad in the spring of 2009, I became very good friends with a group of students in the city thanks to my host sister, Anais. Four of the students, two Germans named Simon and Matthias and two Spaniards named Juan Pedro and Miriam, shared an apartment in the center of the city. As the semester carried on, we spent more and more time in their apartment. One particular evening, we were all seated around the living room/dining room, just hanging out and relaxing for a bit before going out for tapas. Matthias looked at his watch and, looking over at Juanpe, asked, "When are we going out tonight?" Juanpe, fiddling around with something on his computer, looked up briefly and said "Well, ahora," and went back to what he was doing online. Hearing the word "now," Matthias stood up and left the room. A minute later he returned, all ready to go after having just put on his coat, gloves, hat and scarf. "Well, aren't we going now?" he asked, looking at the four of us around the room. (After having been in Spain for a few months, Simon, the other German, and I had learned that "now" doesn't necessarily mean "now" and so we, like the two Spaniards, had remained seated, relaxing.) Juanpe looked up at Matthias and just said "well, i said 'now' as in 'in a bit,' not right now!" As Matthias left the room to take off his coat, etc. I remember chuckling and thinking how funny different cultural perceptions of the same thing can be and how the same word can have different implications for different people! I still smile when I think about that night... after having studied different cultures and cultural tendencies in my international business classes and after having been abroad a few times, this moment brought so much of what I had learned to life!

In other news, I have a trip coming up! Tomorrow morning I'll be up bright and early to catch a bus from Granada to the city of Málaga. There, I'll head to the airport and wait to board Aer Lingus flight EI0583 to Dublin, Ireland! One of my best friends from Ellington, the lovely Miss Ashton Porter, has been in Ireland since last September, working on her Masters Degree in Global Health at Trinity College Dublin. If all goes according to schedule, I'll land in Dublin at 2:05pm tomorrow and after catching a shuttle from the airport I'll arrive at O'Connell Street (a main street located near the River Liffey) where I'll meet up with Ashton to begin our weekend together. I couldn't be more excited! Not only am I looking forward to having a nice four-day vacation, but I'm also really looking forward to seeing my friend. Ashton visited me here in Granada back at the beginning of November and it's about time that I flew over (up?) and saw her! Depending on the weather this weekend, we're hoping to enjoy a few days in Dublin and spend at least one day out west, exploring either Kilarney or Galway and Connemara. Whatever we end up doing, I know that we're going to have a wonderful time!

Alright, it's back to work for me... I've got to send some last-minute emails and finish packing up my backpack so that I'm all set to go for tomorrow morning.

¡Hasta ahora! See you soon!

Thoughts on being a "profe"

¡Buenos días, clase!

"Hola, me llamo Katie y tengo 22 años. Soy de los Estados Unidos y soy profesora de inglés." If you had asked me two years ago what I would be doing after graduating from college, I definitely wouldn't have replied "teaching English." Do I love kids? Yes. Am I passionate about education? Absolutely. But me in a classroom, writing on the blackboard as opposed to taking notes from it? No way. A year ago, the prospect of teaching abroad was much more of a way for me to come back to Spain for a year to better my Spanish language skills as opposed to a way for me to gain experience working in the classroom. Much to my surprise (and subsequent delight!) I love working at Alba Longa. I feel very at home in the school and I really enjoy working with my coworkers to come up with new lessons and activities for our students each week. That having been said, being a teacher (no matter the age, no matter the country) is not an easy task. After having accepted the position of "language and culture assistant in Armilla," last May, I distinctly remember spending the better half of the summer fretting over whether or not I would be up to the job. Sure, I had tutored various students in the past and had even volunteered in elementary schools in both the States and in Spain, but never had I been responsible for coming up with an entire lesson, let alone an entire nine months' worth of lessons. I remember watching some of my closest Stonehill friends- those who were education majors- dedicate nearly every waking hour of the day to teaching-related tasks during their "student teaching" semesters. After waking up at 7:00am each morning (an unimaginable hour for any college student anywhere), they would spend eight consecutive hours in the classroom, only to return to campus for a quick dinner followed by a long night of grading, searching through material, writing lesson plans, tweaking activities, etc. I was very impressed by their hard work and dedication and saw them go through the various highs and lows of being a teacher.

After having worked in a classroom for the past four months, I can definitely sympathize more with what my friends experienced as student teachers. I, too, have had a wide range of highs and lows working as a "profe" and have felt an even wider range of emotions- from frustration to elation to pride to annoyance. These past two weeks in particular have been two weeks of notable ups and downs at work.

I started off last week with a wonderful Monday. I worked with my younger group all day, my 1 ESO students, and was really excited with how all the days lessons went. We had physical education first, followed by English and then natural science. I was particularly pleased with how the day's English lesson went. I prepared a presentation on weather, the temperature, etc. and some speaking/writing activities to go along with it. At one point, I had the kids work using concepts that we've been studying in math (multiplying and dividing with fractions) to practice converting between degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius and vice versa. After a few explanations in English and a few more in Spanish, the students finally were able to do the problems on their own, without calculators, explaining to me both the necessary steps and the weather information in English. It was great to see them grasp and link the material from two classes together. I ended up having to make more examples using fractions to talk about the weather because they liked it so much! This Monday's English lesson with my 1 ESO students was another great success. As you all know, Monday was Valentine's Day and I spent the hour talking about Valentine's Day vocabulary, traditions, legends, etc. As the students drew their own Valentine's Day cards, I surprised them with Sponge Bob Squarepants Valentine's Day cards and candy hearts sent over to me by my dad (thanks Dad- they were a hit!). My students were absolutely thrilled and loved the "American" Valentine's Day surprise. It was a great, fun lesson and a nice break from the usual grammar and vocabulary that we usually spend our classes going over and I know that the students really enjoyed it!

Last Wednesday, however, was a completely different story. I didn't have a particularly good day outside of the school on Wednesday (you know, just one of those days when it would have been better had you stayed in bed the whole day- nothing seemed to go right!) but it was even more frustrating in the classroom. I had a math class with my 1 ESO students first and then I was with my 2 ESO students for three back-to-back classes- technology, math and English. When I arrived at the technology classroom, I learned that Javier, the technology teacher, would not be coming in that day. Normally, when a teacher is absent, a "profesor(a) de guardia" fills in for him/her; that is to say, a kind of "substitute teacher" only here in Spain, the substitute is one of the teachers who would normally have a free period during that class instead of a person not normally working at the school. Well, since I would be in the class with them, no substitute teacher came. On a few other occasions in the past, I have been alone with the students in the classroom and they behave fine. This time was a different story. The students had no interest in listening to me, whatsoever. My attempts to go over a worksheet were not received well and eventually I told the students to work on their homework or talk amongst themselves in their seats. I spent the entire class telling the students to "stop shouting," "stop throwing things" and "sit down." I eventually had to separate some of the male students who were particularly rambunctious. That, of course, didn't go over very well and I spent the rest of the class listening to the boys complain about how they had been moved. They just didn't want to pay any attention to me that day and whatever authority and respect I normally have from my students was gone. I felt very frustrated and disrespected and truthfully, I couldn't wait for the class to be over. During the following two classes, math and English, some of the students still continued to act up to the point where I had to talk to my boss about that day's classes and students' behavior. I was upset and frustrated after my classes with 2 ESO, but more than that, I was frustrated with myself. I don't know what it was about that particular day but usually, the students and I get along very well in the classroom and have a mutual respect for each other. I don't know why I wasn't able to command better behavior from them and the experience left me worrying about future classes sans a teacher/substitute teacher. Luckily, very few of my works days are anything like last Wednesday and since then, the students have returned to their usual good behavior in our classes.

Sometimes, I don't have a good day or a bad day... I have no day. What do I mean? Take today for instance. I arrived at work this morning at 9:00am sharp only to discover that I don't have work today at all. Apparently, today my students have a field trip to a science museum in Almería that I was unaware about. (Yesterday, the teacher that I normally work with on Tuesdays was sick so I didn't go to the school and therefore wasn't informed about the trip.) While it would have been nice to know about beforehand, especially in terms of saving some bus fare and getting in a few extra hours of sleep, truthfully, I'm not annoyed. I chuckled when I found out this morning and just thought "Oh well! I'll find something to do!" It has happened a couple of other times over the past four months and it's no one's fault, just miscommunication. You can say that I've definitely learned to accept minor annoyances and roll with the punches, so to speak. So, what will I do now that I'm at the school with four hours free?! I'll take advantage of the teachers' lounge, print some material for next week's classes and plan my tutoring lessons for today and Friday. As they say in Spain, "no hay mal que por bien no venga" which loosely translates to "every cloud has a silver lining." No classes today means that I've got more planning time!

All in all, I really do enjoy teaching. It's frustrating at times, sure, but also exciting, unpredictable and satisfying. There's something so rewarding about teaching students and watching them eventually light up as they exclaim, "ohh, profe, ¡ahora lo entiendo!" and finally begin to grasp the material and use it on their own. Will I be doing this for the rest of my life? I don't think so. Will I take advantage of the months I have left as a "profe" and enjoy every minute? You bet I will!

¿Qué es el amor?

¡Feliz Día de San Valentín!

How fitting that today, on February 14th, I should stumble upon this on the Internet- children's answers to the question "what is love?" The children are no older than eight years old and their answers are at the same time adorable and poignant. I think that we should all take note and realize that many times, the youngest of children are the wisest people on earth :) I've put the quotes that I find particularly true in yellow.

 Children answer the question: What is love?

“When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth.” - Billy, age 4

“Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.” - Karl, age 5

“Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs.” - Chrissy, age 6

“Love is what makes you smile when you’re tired.” - Terri, age 4

“Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK.” - Danny, age 7

“Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more. My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss.” - Emily, age 8

“Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” - Bobby, age 7

“If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate.” - Nikka, age 6

“Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday.” - Noelle, age 7

“Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well.” - Tommy, age 6

“During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn’t scared anymore.” - Cindy, age 8

“My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don’t see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night.” - Clare, age 6

“Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken.” - Elaine, age 5

“Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt.” - Chris, age 7

“Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day.” - Mary Ann, age 4

“I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones.” - Lauren, age 4

“When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.” - Rebecca, age 8

“When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” - Karen, age 7

“You really shouldn’t say ‘I love you’ unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget.” - Jessica, age 8 

Again, happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I love you all!

A weekend spent outdoors

Firstly, I'll start this post by saying that I saw the Super Bowl results this morning on the New York Times web page. What a bummer that the Steelers lost last night! I didn't get to watch the game over here, but I was rooting for our team, and I can only imagine the disappointment felt by the Stein family right now (above all, Pappap, Dad and Joey.) Sorry guys! We'll get 'em next season!

Despite the Steelers' loss in the Super Bowl last night, I'd be lying if I said that today I wasn't in an excellent mood. I didn't have quite as much to prepare for my classes this past weekend and therefore I was able to spend a lot of time relaxing and strolling around the city, enjoying sunny skies and mild temperatures. This past weekend, it seemed to me as if everyone in Granada was doing the same. The streets, plazas and outdoor cafés were all packed with people and for good reason; now that it's February, spring is on finally showing signs of its imminent arrival!

On Friday, I spent the day exploring Pradollano, the ski resort town situated in Granada's Sierra Nevada mountain range. I spent the day there with three friends- Amy and Molly, two American students studying abroad in Granada this year with GRIIS, and Ulrich, a German student that I met through Juanpe who's here until the middle of this month. We all have been in Granada for a while now, but none of us had ever been up to the Sierra Nevada before our day-trip Friday. So, wanting to explore something new and see the snow in the Sierra, we boarded the 10:00am bus from Granada's bus station and made the 50 minute ride to the mountains. Pradollano was quite busy on Friday- it was a gorgeous day, chilly, breezy and sunny- a great day for skiing or snowboarding. Since none of the four of us can do either, we spent the day walking around the area, taking the ski-lift higher up the mountains to enjoy the beautiful views. After walking around for hours, we all agreed that a big lunch was in order and we made our way back down to the main plaza in Pradollano to stuff ourselves with french fries and bocadillos (sandwiches on French bread) while we waited for the 4:00pm bus that would take us back down to Granada. The Sierra Nevada is unlike anything else in terms of Granada's normal landscape; I felt as though I were in a different country all together! The following group of pictures are from our day-trip... it's so beautiful in the mountains that I would love to return again and actually learn to ski! I just need to find someone willing to teach me (or to learn with me) and then I'll be set!

Pradollano, the ski resort town in Granada's Sierra Nevada.

"Teleféricos," the cable cars that take you up and down the mountain.

Another teleférico, this one a little higher up.

(L-R) Molly, Amy, Ulrich

A beautiful view.

Ulrich and me.

On both Saturday and Sunday, I spent my afternoons in the Albaicín, a famous and historic neighborhood located in the hills at the foot of the Alhambra. A few of the streets allow for cars and buses to pass by; however, it's really better to stroll through this part of the city on foot because many of the loveliest, most charming streets are too narrow for any mode of transport besides walking. Even though I've been to the Albaicín many, many times by now, I still manage to "get lost" every time I'm there. Now, when I say "lost" I'm using the term loosely- what I mean to say is that I always end up where I want to be, just never by using the same route twice! Not that I mind, though; I always discover something new each time I wander the hills and stairways of this lovely neighborhood. There are a plethora of beautiful plazas and "miradors" to discover that offer precious views of the Alhambra and the city of Granada. Both days I walked around the Albaicín at sunset and the views were just magnificent. Here, see for yourselves! Since I didn't have my camera with me on Saturday, I took all of the following pictures yesterday afternoon.

Strolling aimlessly...

Narrow, inclined streets. That's the Albaicín!

Spring's coming! Finally!

Another partial view of the Alhambra.

I stumbled upon this little "park." With this view, you can bet that I'll be going back many times in the future!

From the Mirador of San Nicolas, a view of the Alhambra at sunset. Sometimes it's still hard for me to register that I live in such a beautiful place...

This is one of my favorites. A little creepy of me, maybe, to have taken a picture with the intent of capturing people that I don't know, but this older couple was so cute as they walked past that I just couldn't help myself.

Approaching a stairway with an incredible view of the city.

A close-up of that view, with the Cathedral in the center.

Alright, it's back to work for me... I've got a few more lessons to plan for my classes this week (mathematics and English) and I'm tutoring two students this afternoon starting at 6:00pm. I hope that you all have a great Monday wherever you are... stay warm all you east-coasters!

P.S. This week, I'm going to try and remember to bring my camera with me to work each day to snap some pictures of my coworkers, students and school. It's about time you all finally "see" my colleagues and classes!