Life with controlled heating 55/65.

First of all, let me just say how lucky I am to have friends from all over the world. One friend from school lives in Switzerland and went home this past weekend. She came back to campus today and brought with her, this gargantuous bag of chocolate. Now, chocolate in itself is amazing. But chocolate from Switzerland on the other hand? That deserves its own category. So here I am, happily typing away, and snacking on a piece of Swiss chocolate. I promise the next time I go to Switzerland, I will bring back a bag to share with everyone! It's that good. On to more important things....

I just realized that I have been clean for fifty five days. From Starbucks, that is. Shocking. I have yet to walk into a Starbucks here. For those of you who know me well, I have been addicted to Starbucks BEFORE Starbucks became this huge globalized company. I was a mere eleven years old and fell in love with Starbucks (in Seattle, nonetheless) back in 1997. That was a full five years before the first one hit Louisville. And considering the fact that I practically lived at Starbucks with my friend Jessica during the summer, this is quite the feat. Starbucks just doesn't mean the same to me without being able to order drinks like Caramel Apple Spiced Cider (my fall drink) or a non-fat white chocolate mocha (my winter drink). No, I think I'll just save money and wait until I can go on a binge back home!

I received all of my mid-term grades today. Considering the fact that I have been out of school for two years, they're decent. The thing I hate about mid-terms though is that they only reflect one assignment. At least now I know what my professors are expecting. They weren't as good as I would like them to be, but they could have been far worse. The good news is, I did better than I expected on my Spanish test that I was dreading! And here I was thinking I was going to fail it. (I'm pretty sure he was more than generous with a curve as well!) Professors here though really like to use the plus and minus signs when giving out grades. Which can bring down your GPA if you're on the minus end....

In more important news, I'm rich!!!! Tonight, one of my families whom I give private lessons to, told me they wanted to raise my pay by 33%! I told them that was not necessary, but they insisted. (Hey, at least I offered!)

One thing I learned tonight is that the heat in my apartment building only stays on from 3 pm until 9 pm. The entire building has controlled central heat and these are the only hours it stays heated. Apparently, the government of Spain is trying to regulate the use of heat, thus the controlled schedule. My mother would not be able to make it!!!! This really helps me out a lot, considering I leave the house at 8:50 am, come back at 1:15 pm, leave again at 2:00 pm and arrive home at 8:45 pm....Just saying. What about people who work third shift? I'm beginning not to like this whole controlled heating thing. What am I going to do when it gets cold? Oh yes, risk my life by sleeping with an electric blanket. The perfect solution!

More tomorrow.

Quote of the Day: "Choose to live so it will matter that you did."
Spanish Word of the Day: (in honor of my mother) Tiritar - to shiver

Freeze Like a Popsicle 54/66.

The title of today's blog pretty much sums up how I have been feeling. Funny how I used to play this game with my students when it was raining and we couldn't have recess and now here I am using it to desribe myself. I am not going to survive this winter. It has been in the 50's and today I was freezing. A co-worker was making fun of me today because I was walking around the building with my jacket on. I am really turning into my mother! Scary! Just kidding, Mom. Really, I am! Love you! But anyways, he was teasing me, saying it was only October and it wasn't even winter yet. What makes it worse is the windows here do NOT have double panes. So the cold air goes straight in and stays. I've even bought an electric blanket. Which is even more scary considering the fact I almost DIED from a freak accident with an electric blanket. I slept through my own flesh burning. If you don't believe me, ask my mother or ask to see my scar the next time you see me! Anyways, I have decided that the reason why I am so cold is because my lazy behind is accustomed to walking out the door, sliding into a warm, heated car, and driving on my merry way to wherever it was I was going. (Okay, the heated car part is a lie....I never woke up early enough to run out and let me car run. In fact, I was notorious for pulling, I mean, ripping out of the driveway, frosty windows and all. I would then spray the windshield, only to be reminded that liquid sprayed on top of frozen ice does not melt it. It simply makes more ice....But you know what I mean....) I am not used to WALKING in the cool weather. This is going to take some adjusting to....Today, I wore leggings, a skirt, boots, a scarf, and jacket and I was STILL cold. At this rate I'm going to need thermal underwear, a heated bra, and boots with the fur. (Alas, I can guarantee you I will be without the Apple Bottom jeans. Sadly, since I have no sweatpants with me, there will also be no reeboks with the straps....Yes, I'm such a Debbie Downer.) As much complaining as I do, I'd rather be freezing instead of sizzling like a well done steak in the pits of the underworld, also known as the metro.

This morning as I was shivering like a penguin up in the North Pole, (oh wait, do penguins really shiver? I mean, they live in the North Pole for a reason....,) I passed the group of people who think they have all the power, more commonly known as the parking police. These people stay on top of their job! They walk the streets of Madrid, peeking in windshields, checking for parking stubs. I promise they sit in front of cars just to give them a ticket. Every morning, I pass one group of the overachievers club. They congregate every morning at the same spot. I'm sure they pump each other up. Their supervisor gathers them in a circle every morning and I'm sure they all discuss ways to hand out parking tickets. Quite funny if you ask me. And since I don't have a car for them to potentially write me a ticket for, they don't bother me. I wonder though if they will cease their competitiveness once it turns to winter....

Today at school, I read a Halloween-themed book to my students and they really liked it. Afterwards, I let them color a pumpkin. One of the students told me that her mother had told her that Halloween is quite tonta (foolish/stupid) because it's supposed to be a holiday to honor the dead and that basically, we as Americans, make a mockery out of it. I told my student that in the United States, it's a different type of holiday for us. We then ended up having a discussion about cultural differences and why it's a good idea to learn about other cultures. Pretty deep discussion for fourth graders if you ask me.

Quote of the Day: "You must begin to think of yourself as becoming the person you want to be." -David Viscott
Spanish Word of the Day: Truco o Trato - trick or treat

Hello, Fall! 53/67

I have finally given up on summer and the beyond unbearable temperatures. Tonight, I packed away the shorts, bathing suit, capris, flip flops, and other summer necessesities and placed them in an extra laundry bin I had bought and put it on top of the bed. The weather here has dropped down to the 50's at night, a stark contrast from the 100 degree temperatures I was complaining about only a month ago. What a huge change! I guess it's time to start wearing the gloves, hats, scarves, and jackets. The only thing I need to find are some leg warmers since I will be walking everyday.

I can't believe another weekend has come to an end. So sad, really it is. On Saturday, I spent the morning sleeping in and it felt so good. The kids and I ate lunch and then, I hate to admit this, but I took a nap! I then started getting ready for church, something I was looking forward to. I really do love my church! Afterwards, we all traipsed across the street to our usual post-church bar meeting spot. (Hey, don't judge us! This is Europe!!!! They drink alcohol like it's water over here. And no, Mom, this can't be classified as a cafe, sorry. And no, I did not partake either. I happily sipped on my Fanta Limon.) After hanging out for an hour or so, some of us went to the English movie theatre in town. It was an awesome night, hanging out with friends. Amy, who is my foodie guide to Madrid, introduced me to this amazing restaurant in Sol, that sells falafel. You can choose if you want a pita or a salad. And if you get the salad, you get free refills! After our gluttonous fest, we walked over to the theatre and watched Social Network, which was really a good movie. I realized that I am a true facebooker, because I was on Facebook when it was Thefacebook.com! Seems so long ago that you needed a college email to join. And now everyone and their mother (mine included) is on it. But the movie was really funny. Actually, hilarious is a better word. Afterwards, we walked around the center of the town, hopped in and out of a few places, and then headed home.

This morning, I slept in, AGAIN. Ate lunch, and took a nap. Geez, that is such a bad habit to get into and I really need to do something with my life! I read some more and actually finished my book. Now onto the next one! Then we ate dinner, watched a movie, and here I am, sitting in my room.

I am desperately trying to find some vegetable oil over here. My friends at school really want me to fry some chicken for them and I refuse to do it in anything other than the real stuff. Yes, the fattening stuff. Add vegetable oil to the list of things I'm bringing back with me. This list is getting longer and longer. And naturally, I still cannot think of anything to bring back with me :(

Depressing times, indeed....

Quote of the Day: "The more I think of it, the more I realize there are no answers. Life is to be lived." -Marilyn Monroe
Spanish word of the day: Ratoncito Perez: toothfairy

You're an Atheist??!! 51/69.

Oh, how I live for the weekends. It's true. Actually, I live for Thursdays as well. Because you see, Thursday is the last full day of the week for me. It's my last day of classes for the week. Fridays are a half day for me, since I only work until 1:10 pm, so they are a breeze. Usually, I'm so tired come Friday afternoon, all I want to do is crawl in the bed and sleep the day away. Some of you are probably asking why I keep the schedule I do. Truth is, if I don't stay busy, I become a very lazy person. I need to have a strict schedule in order to manage my time. I am a strong Type-A personality who thrives under pressure. So always feeling pressed for time, is actually a good thing for me. It makes me stay on top of things!

Today was the feast of Saint Teresa of Jesus. She is another patron saint of Spain, who was born in Avila, Spain. She was quite the "rebel" and was what we would consider a feminist. Except she lived in the 16th century. To say she took a lot of flak for her beliefs would be quite the understatement. She was also a writer, whose work influenced later saints, including Saint Enrique, who is considered the founder of our school. So that's why we were celebrating Saint Teresa today....The students/teachers at the school consider themselves Teresians. The kids have been selling little keychains all week of Saint Teresa and the girls have been hounding me since Wednesday. I finally gave in and bought one and it made their day! Anyways, we spend the entire morning doing various activities - games out on the patio, singing in the auditorium, and a little celebration assembly in honor of Saint Teresa.

Some of my co-workers were asking me after the assembly what I thought about it. Told them it was great, but that I really didn't know much about Saint Teresa since I'm not Catholic. Ended up having a long discussion with one of my co-workers. I realized that it is near impossible to describe what the word non-denomination means. In Western Europe, you're either Catholic or Protestant. Or Atheist. It's weird, because I have to tell people I'm protestant in order for them to understand that I'm not an atheist. In the states, I would never say I'm Protestant. We would simply say we attend a non-denominational church and it would be understood. Not the scenario here. They don't understand that there are so many different forms of the Protestant religion. It's either one or the other to them. So this conversation I had today was quite interesting. Try explaining a concept to another person that doesn't exist in their culture. In their language. But, conversations like this make me love living here. Because the conversation ends up being a lesson for both parties. I've learned to tell people I'm Protestant (in order to avoid being labeled an Atheist) and my co-worker learned (somewhat) about the different types of churches we have in the states.

The rest of my day was spent in relaxation. I called my doctor to follow-up. Explained to him that my ear still felt clogged, so he told me to go buy some ear drops and use it over the weekend. If it doesn't clear up by Monday, then I have to go back in for another appointment :( I am fervently hoping that the drops will work. On a good note, the drops cost me less than two euros.

Funny thing today, was that I wore my glasses because my eyes were still fatigued from all the studying I've put them through all week. The kids thought this was the surprise of the year. They all kept saying, "Sarah, llevas gafas?!" (Sarah, you wear glasses?!) It was cracking me up. Funny how kids are intrigued by the most simple things. But this was the same last year back home. My students would point out to me when I parted my hair a different way. They are so attentive!

Today, another one of my students gave me another silly band. Here, they are called magic bands and they are taking Spain by storm. And may I add that they get more bang for their buck here. In the states, the silly bands come in packs of twelve, but here you get 24! I swear my students try to have a competition to see who can come to school wearing the most silly bands, err magic bands. I have little first-graders who has a wristful of thirty or so of the bands. Personally, I love silly bands. I bought some back home before I left. Sadly, I gave them away. (Note to mom, don't forget about my replacement ones - the beach themed ones at Walgreens! I miss my sunglasses and palm tree!) I picked up a pack at the store the other day. Mind you, they are princess-themed bands, complete with high heeled shoes and a crown. How fitting for me! But as a teacher, these little plastic things are the work of the devil himself. The kids are always so distracted by them, it drives me insane! I have to consficate those things every class! Or tell the kids to put them away before I add to my collection. They need to ban the things from school to be honest. With an exemption for teachers, of course :)

I hope everyone has a safe, yet relaxing weekend! Will someone take a picture of the leaves changing colors and send it to me please? There aren't many trees in the middle of the city :( I guess I will have to make a trip to the park to go see some....

Spanish word of the day: Fin de, which is short for fin de semana. (weekend)
Quote of the Day: "It is love alone that gives worth to all things." -Saint Teresa of Avila

Sarah and el idiota 50/70.

Well folks, I survived mid-terms of Fall 2010. In the words of Madea, "Hallelujer!" I thought I was going to pass out today of exhaustion. Last night, I finally went to sleep around 3:00 am. I studied the majority of the time, but I also had a live stream going of the Chilean mine rescue. Being the history buff that I am, I forced myself to stay awake until the last miner had been rescued. What an amazing story, that really captivated the entire world. I was ready to go back to sleep as soon as I woke up. I kept yawning during work, wondering how I was ever going to make it until 8:30 pm. But, I made it. And now, here I am, sitting in the bed, before 10 pm.

The worst one of all my mid-terms was the one in Spanish. And I promise that my professor made it hard on purpose, just so he could smile about it. Not lying and no I'm not thinking crazy thoughts. I promise after he handed out our test, there was a smirk coming from his face, that said, "haha, you're all going to fail!" Dead serious. At one point, I looked up, and he was leisurely reading a magazine and stretching his feet (directly in front of me, might I add.) And each time he had that smirk on his face. I knew it was going to be hard when my co-worker from work (who is from Spain) looked at what I was studying and was like, OMG! We had to write two in-class essays as part of the test, in addition to other exercises. He announced there were three minutes remaining and then proceeded to push in his chair and stand up in front of the class. Um, no pressure? I'd rather bury that test in my head. Better yet, can I call in Leonardo Dicaprio and team to come and extract that scene out of my head???? PLEASE? By the last mid-term (following a presentation and the spanish mid-term,) I was physically, mentally, and emotionally drained. It took all I had in me to teach my private English class tonight.

Spanish men are so cocky/stubborn. Okay, so that's a generalization. Not all of them all. Like my co-workers for example. Well, except for one....But the rest of them, are great. I get so mad at them on the streets though, when I'm walking. They expect ME (out of all people,) to move out of their path, even though clearly I was there first. So me being the hard-head, I refuse to move until they do. Like I'm going to move for you. It's different if it's an elderly man, but other than that, no exceptions. Just plain rude. So I've told you this before, but to remind you, but all the teachers move throughout the building. Since I am the conversational teacher, I need my own room. So, I've been using the auditorium in the building. Last week, one of the coordinators put up a reservation sheet and I reserved the room for the entire month. Well today, some idiot decides that he needed to use the room. From the high school. He decided to cross my name off of the schedule and insert his name. I was mad! I knocked on the door and POLITELY told him that I had made the reservation. He then had the nerve to tell me that, yes, he knew, but that I couldn't reserve the room all the time and he needed it. Excuse me?! I then, more sternly, told him that I had the reservation and he clearly marked out my name. Our school doesn't have a binding legal code that says there is a limit on how many times you can reserve the room. A reservation is a reservation. Then, he tries to go and talk to MY coordinator, Griselda. We let him have the room, but I'm getting the last laugh because she's talking to HIS coordinator tomorrow. Or was going to talk to him this afternoon. How rude! Yet another reason why my Grandma has nothing to worry about me finding a Spaniard to fall in love with. We'd butt heads too much. (I'm getting mad even as I type this. Just to think of the nerve he had!!!!)

Well, I'm going to sleep. I'm exhausted. Everyone pray that my ear will decide to "un-pop" itself tomorrow. I really need to hear out of both ears. Imagine how hard it is teaching with one ear! Oh, and by the way, today, two parents told me that they can see a difference with their children and their English comprehension since I've started working with them! Good to know that I'm doing something right! (Take that, Mr. Cocky!)

Quote of the Day: "No person has the right to rain on your dreams." -Marian Wright Edelman

Self-Explanatory 49/71.

Tonight's Blog:

I DESPISE mid-terms. That is all. More tomorrow. Unless I have committed myself to a psychiatric ward before then....

Quote of the Day: "I was with God and the devil. And I reached out for God." -Mario Sepulvda, the 2nd of 33 Chilean miners to be rescued. (Side note, if you have not had a chance to watch any of the live rescue feed, please go to so. It is absolutely too amazing to put into words.)

Do I have to go back to work tomorrow?? 48/72.

This is random, but Kit Kats don't taste the same to me here. Being a HUGE fan of white chocolate, I bought a white kit-kat from the chino store tonight. Something just doesn't taste right. I don't know what it is.

Anyways, I have discovered one things that Spaniards are actually on time for. Well, I guess I should say early for. Spaniards are one of the least punctual people I have ever met. Everything they do is late (compared to our standards, that is.) Starbucks doesn't open until 8 am. (Can you imagine people in the states not getting their coffee until 8 am??!!) We eat lunch no earlier than 2 pm. Dinner is eaten no earlier than 9 pm. When people go out to a disco (club), the party doesn't start until 1 am. I don't know about you all, but the last time I went out back home, I was ready to LEAVE at 1 am. Spaniards have no worries whatsoever about the time. When I received my debit card in the mail and called to activate it, the lady told me it would arrive in three to ten days. Well, I just received it yesterday. And I activated my card a month ago....

However, the only thing I have yet to see Spaniards be prompt for is to see a movie at the theatres. Tonight, the girls and I finally went to see Cartas a Julieta (Letters to Juliet.) I saw the movie when it first came out back home, back in May. But I was excited to see it again, and in Spanish! The movie was at 6:30. We walked from the flat to the theatre, a walk that took about fifteen minutes. We were technically five minutes early for the movie. And don't you know, it was sold out already. Out of all things to be on time for, they are most concerned about the movie theatre??!! Thankfully, I pulled out my handy Blackberry and we discovered there was a movie theatre right around the corner. We walked over and bought our tickets. No joke, the movie was filled with elderly women. I'm beginning to think that we came during the senior citizen discount hour. They were all dolled up, wearing their furs and everything! The concept of the movie theatre is quite different in Spain. You have assigned seats. And they have ushers who direct you to your seat. I guess it prevents the problem we have of always leaving a gap in between people....Watching the movie got me excited though for my trip to Italy in December, especially since I will be going to Verona!

Can't believe tomorrow is Wednesday! Two days of classes, three days of teaching and then I have another weekend! Yipee! (If only we could flash forward to Thursday....)

Quote of the Day: "Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person." -Mother Teresa