Crujiente = Crunchy

View from the Alhambra

I’m glad to have a regular schedule with classes. I have class from 3-7 on Monday and Wednesday, which I really like. I like to get up in the morning, get things done, and run. On Tuesday and Thursday, I have class from 9-3, which I don’t really like as much. By the time 3:00 comes around, I’m pretty sick of sitting in class and am also pretty hungry. All the teachers have chalkboards and never use technology, except for an occasional movie. Listening to 2 hours of lecture on one subject gets to be too long. In a couple of my classes, we have to keep moving classrooms. We all meet in the classroom where we were originally supposed to have class, and then we all follow the professor to a different room. Both days in my history class, we moved to 3 different classrooms. In my flamenco class this week, we watched a movie with different flamenco styles and performances. During parts of the video, they zoomed in on the singer’s mouths. I couldn’t stand it. I don’t think some of them were even using real words, and it was gross seeing their saliva and lip movement. I like flamenco a lot better when they focus on the dancers. Overall, I haven’t been given a lot of homework, which is nice. It’s good to actually be taking classes again.

Teaching has also been really great. I am so thankful that God has provided this incredible opportunity! I’m so blown away by it! Tuesday night was my first time, and I got to meet all the children. Carmen is 2. Cristobal is 5. Lucia is 7. Manuel is 10. Miguel is 12. Fernando is 13. Antonio is 14. I started off teaching Lucia, and Cristobal sat in to listen and repeat words. She already knew how to count to 11 and most of the colors. We did more numbers, days of the week, and months. Cristobal wasn’t really having it though. He preferred to draw on the table and not pay attention, which was distracting for Lucia. Manuel and Miguel said they wanted help with verb tenses and vocabulary. Miguel had a book from school, and I helped him with some exercises. It was hard to explain why the correct answer was “something” not “anything” in a sentence. I don’t know why that’s right; I just know that it is. It’s even harder to try and explain that using Spanish. Also, in the paragraph it said in print, “I learnt how to swim that summer.” Unless my Oostburg education is failing me, that isn’t correct. They are learning Britain style English so hopefully I don’t cause him to have mistakes. I felt like I was in way over my head. Then, they showed me some things from their teacher last year, who was 30. It was nice to have some examples of what they worked on. Then, Antonio and I had conversation time. It was kind of hard thinking of things to talk about. He’s a 14 year-old boy. He probably doesn’t really want to talk to me, but he’s very sweet.

Then, the 6 oldest children, Mom, Dad, and I had dinner together. We sat around their big dining room table and were allowed to speak only English. The mom and dad don’t know much Spanish, only the two oldest boys feel confident enough to speak it, and I don’t talk that much to begin with so it was kind of awkward. All the kids kept breaking into Spanish, and then Mom would tell them, “No, no, solo Ingles.” Their maid served us all our food. She walked around with the food on a platter and served the mom, then the dad, then me, and then all the children. If anybody wanted more food, she would have to come around again with the platter and serve it. It’s very different from what I’m used to, but I like being able to have diverse experiences. For dessert, we all got smaller plates and spoons, and the maid walked around with a platter of different yogurt mousses and fruit. Everyone got the yogurt mousse except the dad and then placed the yogurt container on their smaller plate. Again, it’s different, but I like being exposed to it. I thank God that I am living with Concha and Nacho in a home similar to mine in Oostburg, and that I have this experience too, but that it’s not my permanent home in Sevilla.

Teaching on Thursday was much better and less overwhelming than Tuesday. It was helpful that I knew what to prepare. I spent over two hours preparing before I went. I think part of what took so long is that I don’t know the different verb tenses in English. I know the present, preterite, imperfect, subjunctive, pluscuamperfecto, conditional, etc. in Spanish, but I don’t know them in English. I know what verb should be used in each situation, but I can’t tell you the tense. It will be good for me to learn again. I think I’ll probably learn more from them than they will from me. I’m beginning to realize more what a teaching job all entails and am looking forward to learning more as the weeks go on. Praise God for this opportunity to learn so much!

I had more words and little phrases prepared for Lucia, and Cristobal didn’t have a pencil to draw with. He was still distracting but left part way through because the dad asked if it was better without him, and Lucia answered yes. I prepared a lesson on the simple past tense for Manuel and Miguel that included irregular verb exercises. It was pretty challenging for them but not too hard. It felt really rewarding to have that work out for them. Praise God for giving me the knowledge and ability to plan according to their level. Also pray that God will continue to guide me in my plans. I am given a lot of time with those children during the week and have the potential to impact them. Pray that God would use me in this time I have with them.

For dinner, we had lasagna. My second favorite meal! It was sooo good. The cheese they used was incredible. We had strawberries for dessert. I felt so spoiled. All the children were going to run down the street after dinner. I thought it was just a joke until they all ran to their rooms to change. Carmen said I can bring my shoes next time if I want to join them. I am definitely going to at some point. Picturing the 6 of them running down the street in Sevilla after 10pm is quite comical, and I would love to be part of that experience. It makes me giggle thinking about it.
Encuentro is the program on Wednesday nights with the Trinity program here. Kate, Cole, and I went it after our class was done at 7:00. It was a more liturgical service than normal because of Ash Wednesday. It was good to be reminded of the time of year that we’re entering and what Christ did for us. It was also nice to have fellowship and see familiar faces from the intercambio fiesta. We went to church in Triana this week again, and I liked it a lot again. It was a different service today where they had a skit with people from different countries coming to Spain. Then, people from different countries sang or spoke. I didn’t catch some of the humor throughout the skit and other parts, but overall, it was really neat.

Kelsey moved in on Tuesday night around 10:30pm. It’s been nice getting to know her better throughout this week. She’s really nice and knows a lot about the culture here from last semester. Praise God that things are going well. Kristen hasn’t been feeling well this week. She’s been having sinus pain, aches, and is really tired. Pray for her health.

I went to Granada with my CEA group on Friday. We got dropped off by the buses around 12:00 in Granada. We followed Inma, a CEA staff, down to our hotel. She walked soo slow. Cole and I joked about how we could probably crab walk faster than she walked. It was rainy and cold so her pace just wasn’t cutting it. On the way, she led us to a place where we got a pretty good view of the Alhambra, which is an expansive castle which was constructed over many centuries consisting of gardens and luxurious palaces. According the the CEA handout, it receives 8,000 visitors/day and is now Spain's most visited monument. After checking into the hotel, we got some free time to grab lunch and walk around. Then, we had a tour with CEA of parts of the city. It wasn’t a very good tour but thankfully short. Kate, Cole, Heather, Leah, Kelly, and I walked around and shopped then. I really enjoy walking around a city and taking in all the sites and people. We went to Café Futbol for dessert. Cole and I shared this incredible ice cream sundae and a crepe with whipped cream and chocolate. I highly recommend Café Futbol if you ever travel to Granada. It was SO good! Praise God for new adventures and yummy treats : )

On Saturday, we had a lot of free time before the tour of the Alhambra. We did a lot more walking around and some shopping. I didn’t buy anything either day (Mom, aren’t you proud of me? haha) but enjoyed taking pictures and walking around. It was actually sunny and warmer, so Granada appeared much more beautiful. Cole and I joked about how our photo albums would be something like “Granada- a must miss” because it was so ugly, but it proved itself worthy of a visit on Saturday. The tour of the Alhambra was neat, but I didn’t like it that much. It was talked up a lot so I think my expectations were too high. I’m kind of sick of seeing buildings and want to see more of God’s beauty in nature. The gardens there weren’t that pretty either. Kelsey said they were a lot prettier last semester when the flowers were in bloom. After the tour, we took buses back to Sevilla. Praise God for warmer weather and the sun!

Saturday night, Nacho asked us if we wanted to watch a movie so Kelsey and I went to the movie rental and picked one out. Kristen wasn’t feeling well so she didn’t come. It took us awhile to get there, but we figured it out. We didn’t really understand their system because some DVDs needed another one behind it, but some of them didn’t. I tried to rent Public Enemies, but it needed a case behind it so we couldn’t get it. It worked when we tried for Billy Elliot though. I don’t like not knowing what I’m doing, but it doesn’t bother me that much. I can’t learn if I don’t try it, and now, I’ll know for next time. After dinner, Kelsey, Nacho, and I watched the movie. It didn’t have any Spanish or English subtitles, but the dialogue was basic enough that I understood most of it. I popped the bag of popcorn that my parents sent in my package. Nacho loved it! He said they don’t make popcorn with that much butter on it in Spain. I’m so glad he enjoyed it so much. It’s fun being able to share things like that. Praise God for a relaxing evening at home with the “fam.”

I’m still trying to decide whether or not I should stay longer in July and am in the process of making some travel plans. Pray that God will guide me in this process and give me wisdom and discernment to make decisions.

I’m also still working on boundaries and realize that it will be a long process. This week proved to be challenging. One week, I’m too responsible for another person, and the next week, I’m not responsible enough to the person. I’m really working on finding this balance. Honestly, at times, I just want to throw my hands in the air and give up. Pray that God will guide me in this process as well and help me to be loving and patient.

This past week, I was reminded of how blessed I am to have loving family and friends at home. I’ve received various emails and encouragement from home. Thank you so much! God has blessed me in incredible ways, and I’m so thankful. I’ve really been reminded of the blessing of friendship and want to thank all of you who are so dear to my heart. Thank you for loving me. I love you too!