Can't think of a catchy title

I'm sorry I haven't written in awhile.  I haven't had anything Earth shattering to say so I decided against posting crap just for the sake of having a blog post.  Though some of you have had another blog to entertain you since my sister is back in South Africa and she is posting again.

Classes have been great, the students have been asking me more stuff about the US that they are interested in which makes for lively discussion.  Also, the February oral exams are coming up and so in my conversation classes I have been reviewing helpful phrases for supporting your opinion and organizing your thoughts.  For a fun way to practice pronunciation I have them doing tongue twisters and it has been a lot of fun.  I told them if everyone in my conversation classes passes the oral exam I will do which ever tongue twisters they want in Spanish so they can laugh at me!  It only seems fair.

Today I started the course at the CPR.  The course is exclusive to teachers in the area, from Tarazona, Borja and other smaller villages.  I was supposed to have 9 students enrolled but 2 more students, one of them being my roommate Pedro joined tonight.  I was very nervous because teaching only a class full of teachers is a bit intimidating especially to me because I don't know the first thing about being a teacher.  I have a lot of material to work with from the language school so that is very helpful and in the end we had good discussion even though it was the first class.  Hopefully at the end I get a certificate that I taught the course and that will help me to find a summer job or a job for next school year here in Spain.

Sicko

So for the last week and a half I've been sick, I think it was the flu but I also think I had a pretty bad sinus infection with an additional ear infection.  I'm much better now that I am taking 3 different prescriptions one of which is an antibiotic.  One thing I will say is that Spanish medicines are much nastier tasting than American ones.

I went to school on Monday even with being sick because I was so completely bored at home and I didn't want to let the students down.  It was fine, no problems other than a couple cough attacks.  Tuesday and Wednesday were the same and it was good to be back in the routine.

Hopefully I will have more interesting stories in the weeks to come.

Bon Nadal from Benilloba & Prospero Año Nuevo from Madrid

That is Merry Christmas in Valenciano for those of you who couldn't figure it out on your own, haha.

I had a wonderful time visiting with my cousins.  I spent time with one cousin in her town that is near Benidorm called Polop de la Marina.  She drove me around and showed me the beautiful waterfront and later we walked around her town which is very nice.  The next day we went to the pueblo Benilloba, and the road there is an adventure that I can't even describe.  All I will say is that I made sure to breathe and concentrate on not getting sick in the car!  The family home in Benilloba is beautiful but it was much colder than I imagined.  They had a fire going for everyone to keep warm and the ambiance was like out of a Christmas movie.  It was great to talk with all of them, and I was surprised that for the most part they understood my sub-par Spanish and I only gave them a few laughs with my pronunciation and bad grammar.  I had a wonderful time in Benilloba and plan to return as soon as I can.

Everyone at Christmas!

 Later in the week I went to Madrid with my friend from Canada and her sister who visited her for the winter break.  I didn't get a chance to see any of Madrid when I was there for orientation since I had that whole problem with my flight being canceled.  Unfortunately the weather was miserable but luckily cleared up for New Year's Eve.  We partied in the Puerta del Sol, which is the place that everyone gathers for the ringing of the bell.  Also, it seems that in Madrid people dress up with wigs, crazy hats and glasses and so we dressed up as well.  The classic Spanish custom on New Year's Eve is to eat a grape with each chime of the bell for good luck.  I didn't participate and I didn't hear the bell, I don't know if it was because people were partying too loud or it didn't happen.  It was a lot of fun, maybe too much fun because now I have a pretty bad cough but it was worth it!  Here is me with my shiny mo-hawk wig and crazy glasses....