Teacher talk...

These are some tips that we have for teaching Spanish

El Parque del Buen Retiro

Today...

Los domingos en España…

I love Sundays in Spain. I woke up early this morning and got ready for the day. Fortunately, we got to eat breakfast with Celestino—he just happened to be there. When I saw him, I noticed that he cut his hair and asked, «¿Te cortaste el pelo?» Celestino responded, «¡Me los cortaron todos!» ¡Ja ja! He is so much fun to be around, he has such a huge heart. I’m so glad that we got to spend some time with him this morning. Of course, our breakfast was filled with laughter. I was ready to go out to El Rastro with my purse, but Celestino convinced me to do otherwise so I would not have the chance of getting robbed! El Rastro is a big outdoor flea market near La Plaza Mayor that is open every Sunday from about 9:00am-3:00pm. I enjoyed walking around the market. I felt safe, but you do need to be careful. The little stands were filled with clothes, music, posters, souvenirs, shoes, etc. Check out the video to see for yourself—ignore my crazy face at the start of the video (I have got to work on that)!

I went to church again at La Amistad Cristiana—so good! You can hear some of the songs if you’d like!

Toledo (Spain that is...not Ohio)

¡Ay! I got to go to Toledo today, a walled city on top of a mountain, which was once the capital of Spain. Toledo is about an hour south of Madrid (in a charter bus anyway), and is yet another city in Spain that makes me want to take a pictures on every street. History and art saturate the city. I got to see Sinagoga Santa María la Blanca and Sinagoga del Tránsito. We toured la Catedral de Toledo, San Juan de los Reyes Monastery, and Casa Museo del Greco. Everything dates back so far in history and is just astonishing to see. It is definitely a workout hiking up and down all those streets, but I recommend the trip to anyone who's up for it!

CHECK OUT MIS FOTOS!!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/24668335@N04/sets/72157606453339177/show/

Why I love the movie Volver...

Today I watched the movie Volver for the second time—and it was even better this time around. I don’t want to ruin the film for those of you who haven’t seen it, but it was so much fun to watch it this evening at Universidad Complutense. I love Volver because it deals a lot with the complexity of mother-daughter relationships. I am one of four girls…you can only imagine. I love how they quarrel, yet love each other at the same time. I love the superstition and craziness of the movie because it reminds me of my own Catholic family! ; ) The movie is genuine, well-written, clever, and spontaneous. And seriously, how can you not love a movie with Penélope Cruz in it?

Medinaceli...a once-affluent city in ruins now under renovation

After another day of la corrida de toros, it was time to head back to Madrid…you guessed it, not before an additional stop—this time in Medinaceli, Spain. Medinaceli is a precious town located in the province of Soria. Medinaceli presents a picture of what it must have been like to live in Spain during the 16th & 17th Century, when Spain was Europe’s chief power. Very important people of the aristocracy lived in Medinaceli. Every house (really small castles) had a coat of arms and pertained to people of an aristocratic family. It is obvious that Spain was number one during that day and age. Medinaceli symbolizes what happened to Spain—an incredible empire that fell apart. After the Spanish-American war of 1898—in particular, after the loss of Cuba—it was obvious that Spain was not the empire that it once was. Medinaceli illustrates the beginning and the end—what was once Imperial Spain became an extinct town. Celestino gave us a fantastic, informative tour of the city. I learned a lot and we read a poem by Antonio Machado, one of the writers from the Generation of 98. Machado’s words express his deep grief and love for Spain.

¡Soria fría, Soria pura,

cabeza de Extremadura,

con su castillo guerrero

arruinado, sobre el Duero;

con sus murallas roídas

y sus casas denegridas!

¡Muerta ciudad de señores,

soldados o cazadores;

de portales con escudos

de cien linajes hidalgos,

de galgos flacos y agudos,

y de famélicos galgos,

que pululan

por las sórdidas callejas,

y a la medianoche ululan,

cuando graznan las cornejas!

¡Soria fría! La campana

de la Audiencia da la una.

Soria, ciudad castellana

¡tan bella! bajo la luna.

-Antonio Machado

España y Francia—in just one day!!

Saturday morning, after the running of the bulls, we headed off to San Sebastián, which is located in País Basco (Basque country) on the coast of northern Spain. What an enchanting town—an incredible combination of mountains and sea. We soaked in the view at Playa de la Concha as we watched the sailboats and surfers. We strolled along the main street that is filled with cafés, bars, restaurants, and shops. Of course, I had some tortilla española with a Coca-Cola Light on the side. It was beautiful, I’m just sad that we couldn’t stay longer!

Wow, I didn’t expect to get to see France while I was here, but things just keep getting better! After San Sebastián we were off to Biarritz, Francia. GEORGEOUS!! Unfortunately, I cannot speak French, but that didn’t keep me from enjoying my time there for one minute! Despite the cold weather, the ocean was filled with swimmers and surfers. I took some time to relax and just sit in the sand and look around. I moseyed along the shore with a friend then we grabbed a late lunch and an ice cream cone. All of the chocolate and sweet shops were tempting…everything looked SO DELICIOUS! Today felt like a vacation within a vacation. After France, we got on our way back to Pamplona to do the running of the bulls AGAIN—I can’t believe that this goes on for seven days in a row!!!

So what is the running of the bulls really like in Pamplona?

Once again, words cannot even begin to explain my experience in Pamplona! We arrived at about 6:00pm on Friday night, got dressed in our San Fermín attire—all white except for the red faja (sash) and pañuelo (bandana). We headed downtown and grabbed a bite to eat at one of the bars. There were SO MANY PEOPLE—drinking, singing, talking, screaming, doing crazy competitions, etc. By far the best part of Friday (in my opinion) was the group of older people that we came across who were singing about San Fermín and Pamplona. Love and pride for Pamplona just swelled up out of their voices—it was so beautiful that I got chills and a knot in my throat. I wish that each of you could have been there. We walked to the plaza (bull ring) to buy our tickets for the running of the bulls, which is actually called the encierro (the bulls run to the stadium and get caged). La corrida, even though correr means to run, is the festival when the torero actually kills the bull. La corrida happens at night. The way back to our dorm was INSANE! I wasn’t paying attention to where I was walking and some crazy guy got right up in my face and shouted and spilled some of his wine on me. Of course, I screamed too—and I made some of the people on the street laugh. Hey, that’s what I’m here for. The streets were so crowded, and somehow we kept finding ourselves in the middle of various parades. I can identify with what a fish must feel like when it is caught in a net with masses of other fish and nowhere to go—that is what the streets in Pamplona feel like during San Fermín. The crowds are overwhelming: not only is there way too many people, but most of them are borracho (drunk) beyond belief. Well, we made it safe and sound to our dorm after stopping at a café to warm up—it was FREEZING and it started to rain.

We were met early this morning by the sharp, cold air as we walked to the plaza at 6:15am. It is amazing to me how much colder it is in Pamplona than Madrid. Celestino described this week in Pamplona with the following word: infierno (hell). Now I understand what he was talking about! On the way to the plaza, people were passed out and sleeping everywhere: hunched over on doorsteps, wrapped up in sleeping bags inside entrances to buildings, curled up on the sidewalk, face down in the grass, leaning on a tree, collapsed on a bench. You name it, we saw it. Trash was everywhere. The closer we got to the plaza, the more the air reeked of alcohol and urine. Oh, and on the way to the plaza, some guy tried to pick me up, literally. No worries Jake (and Mom and Dad), I just pushed him away! I guess working out has paid off! ; ) But what was most amazing to me is that the streets were just as crowed with people still partying! We pushed our way through the crowds and finally made it to the plaza a little after 7:00am.

The plaza was amazing! People were screaming and singing along with the band that was playing—it was just like I imagined it would be. At first, I sat next to a teenager who’s cigarette smoke streamed into my eyes. Thankfully, a sweet, older Spanish man sat next to me and blocked the smoke. What’s even better is that he explained to me that a rocket would be set off at 8:00am to initiate the running of the bulls, and he pointed to the entrance that the bulls would run through. This is where the real excitement started. The rocket went off, and the bulls were let loose! We could watch the run on the big screen, and soon after the rocket went off, the first men ran into the plaza. The first bunch of men to enter were met by taunts, name calling, and trash and drinks being thrown at them—I’m assuming because they didn’t actually run with the bulls. The anticipation grew as we watched the bulls getting closer and closer on the screen. Suddenly, the first few bulls came charging in through the gate, and the crowd exploded with excitement. Most of the bulls went straight across to the other side of the plaza to be penned up, but there were a few stragglers that stopped and scared the men. Once all of the bulls had arrived and were penned up, all of the men continued to linger in the plaza. I asked the sweet, old man sitting next to me, and he explained that for the next hour or so, a bull would be let out one at a time into the plaza to run around with the men (and a few ladies). As you can see from the video, they are crazy! I don’t think that anyone could pay me enough to do that! At any rate, a bull would come charging out one at a time and then men would taunt the bull. A fair amount of the men were tossed into the air, trampled on, or rammed. The saying “grab the bull by the horns” has a new meaning for me. The crowd went crazy whenever a man got in front of the bull and tried to wrestle it to the ground—a few men came close, but never succeeded. Personally, the combination of drinking alcohol, staying awake all night, slippery roads, and bulls does not seem like the brightest idea! However, the entire experience was the epitome of Spanish culture—pride, passion, festivities, danger, piropos, and beauty. I can’t believe all of this happened in one day!

CHECK OUT MIS FOTOS!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24668335@N04/show/

Burgos, una ciudad hermosa

Wow, what a day! I woke up at 5:00am to get on the bus that would be taking us on our weekend excursion! Everyone met up bright (well, actually dark) and early then we were on our way to Pamplona…but not before a few stops along the way! Our first stop was in Burgos, a medieval city in Castilla-León (northern Spain), situated on the Río Arlanzón. An important detail in the development of Burgos is that it was (and in fact still is) a main stop for people on El Camino de Santiago de Compostela. We actually ran into some young men from England who were on their way to Santiago de Compostela. There are so many incredible things to see in Burgos: La Catedral de Burgos, La Estatua del Cid Campeador, El Paseo de Epsolón, Las Huelgas Monastery, and many more. The gothic architecture of La Catedral de Burgos is astonishing—it took several hundred years to just build. You can truly feel the history as you walk along the main plaza and El Paseo de Epsolón. To think that the legendary El Cid and his wife are buried in La Catedral de Burgos is somewhat unbelievable to me. We got a guided tour from the remarkable Celestino Ruiz and then we had an hour or so to walk around, and grab a sandwich and a drink. ¡Increíble! My pictures and videos can not do it justice!

Check out my on-the-spot interview of the young men that we met on their way to Santiago de Compostela—they were so much fun to talk to!

CHECK OUT MIS FOTOS!!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/24668335@N04/sets/72157606209961505/show/

¿Cómo se dice “okay” en español?

I just thought this was really funny…thanks for sharing Alex!! For those of you who don’t know, "oh-ka" does not mean okay in Spanish!

¡Te estás estirando la cuerda!

Well, I have been thinking a lot over the weekend about my classes. After my first full day of Metología, Evolución Histórica del Español, Semántica Española, y Variedades Lingüísticas, I started to wonder if it would be better for me to be in the other set of classes that are offered in our program. The other courses focus more on intensive practice of grammar in syntax, idiomatic constructions, readings, discussions, etc. I love the classes that I have been in, but I don’t think that they are as practical for what I teach in the classroom. (Maybe next summer!!) I went to talk to Celestino after I worked out (yes, I made it to the gym when it was actually open today) and got his opinion. He just cracks me up! Celestino compared the courses I am currently in to a Ferrari, great classes with a lot of extra embellishments. After that, he compared the classes that I am not it to a Camry—perhaps without all the bells and whistles, but more practical. I kept going back and forth with him, as I have with everyone else I have talked to about this decision. That’s when Celestino told me, «te estás estirando la cuerda,» which means that I am stretching the cord (thinking too much) and it is about to break! He recommended that I make the decision to switch courses and not look back! I don’t know why it has been so hard for me to make decisions here! I feel like whenever I make a decision to do one thing, I miss out on another—which, overall, is a great place to be! There are just so many great things going on here, I don’t want to miss out!

Okay, about the rest of my day…I went to El Gimnasio Metropolitano today and got a gym membership. The gym is awesome, it has three different floors. I also got my room cleaned and dropped my laundry off to get washed. I went to Corté Inglés (a common and popular mall in Spain) to get a new charger for my camera battery! I am so glad that I can use my camera again! By the way, the dollar so weak here right now! Everything costs almost twice what it does in the U.S. ¡Qué triste! : (

By the way, gyms are not open at 5:00pm on the weekend in Spain!

Well…I enjoyed my weekend! I slept in on Saturday to recover from several nights of little sleep. I grabbed lunch, and then went to the pool to get some sun! After a few hours tomando el sol and reading, I decided to head over to the gym in order to get a membership for the month. Well, it was 6:00pm, and I should have known better…the gym was already closed (yet another difference between our cultures)! Honestly, it is probably better that the gym was closed—we work some ridiculous hours in the U.S. I had brought money with me to pay for the gym membership, so I decided to find a store where I could by some snacks since I need something to munch on between meals! I found a tienda called Fruto Fresco, it was perfect—I got almendras (almonds) and un cóctel tropical de piña (pinapple), coco (coconut), plátanos (bananas), y papaya. The best thing about Fruto Fresco was the sweet old man that worked there. The total for my snacks was a little over 6 euros. I didn’t realize it until I had left the store, but he only charged me 5 euros for everything. That made my day! So, I picked up a Coca-Cola Light on the way home with the extra change! (Those of you who know me well know that I thoroughly enjoyed it—I even got ice!!!) I ate dinner and went to bed!

Sunday was a great day too. I slept in and then met Anna, a friend of mine from Georgia, for church. We went to Amistad Cristiana. ¡Me encantó! I was so fun to hear songs that I already know in English and get to sing them in Spanish. And it was fun to get to see old friends! I’m refreshed and ready for another week! By the way…I stopped by the gym again this afternoon at 5:00pm and they were closed! Maybe I’ll have some luck tomorrow! ; )

http://www.amistadcristianamadrid.org/

At what point does a dialect become a language…and the Fourth of July

Well, today was my first full day of classes, I love them, me encantan! I learned more in depth about how many Spanish words descend from Arabic, Italian, English, etc. In Semantics we learned about how language is comprised of more than just words. So much can be communicated by the intonation of your voice (is it a question, exclamation, declaration), pauses between words, gestures (a lot can be communicated by just pointing at your mouth to indicate that you’re thirsty), interpersonal space (women speak in closer proximity than men), your posture, etc. We had a very interesting discussion in Variedades Lingüísticas about the difference between a dialect and a language—at what point does a dialect become a language? When you think about it, it is very interesting. For instance, Spanish, French, Italian, and Portuguese are all Romance languages, meaning that they all originate from Latin. Pues, at what point in time did they become their own distinct languages? At what point did it become too difficult for people to communicate with one another? Our teacher told us today that one definition of a language is this: a dialect with an army. I understand that definition, it makes sense that if a country has borders to defend, it would have a national language. But I’m not sure that there is a concrete answer to this question! There are so many components that languages have in common with one another. I LOVE THAT!! Lastly, I am taking Cultura Española, where we get to learn all about the history of Spain. There is something about being here in Madrid with a Spanish teacher that makes history just come alive. It’s neat to connect the dots in my own mind with the history that I am familiar with.

Claro, we went on a walk again this afternoon to see more of Madrid! I got to try horchata, a sort of milky, sweet drink that is made of tigernuts. (This picture is from the café where we got horchata.) ¡Muy rico! A bunch of us went out to celebrate the 4th of July (see picture above)…aunque no había fuegos artificiales (no fireworks). I got back to the dorm at 2:30am with Bevin because my allergies were so bad (by the way, there is pollen in Madrid), but the rest of the group stayed out till after 6:00am!! ¡Qué loco! I am going to get some rest on Saturday!

Mi primer día de clases

It turns out that I didn’t have to take a placement exam this morning because I am in graduate level classes…can’t complain. ; ) Everyone in the program met around 9:00am and we heard from the four directors of the program at Universidad Complutense. After our bienvenida (welcome), we met briefly in two classes: Evolución Histórica del Español y Semántica Española. It is so interesting to learn about how language evolves! The highlight of my second class was that our teacher read us a poem—there something about a poem being read in Spanish makes it sound so much more beautiful! Side note, I heard the word cretino several times today, which is another way to say tonto (stupid). After our classes we were given a brief overview about Madrid in the main auditorium. We saw a slideshow about La Plaza Mayor, La Escultura de Felipe IV, La Torre Windsor (which actually burned down in 2005), La Puerta del Sol etc. I am so glad that we took a walk yesterday, because I was already familiar with a lot of what the speaker was talking about. Then there was a reception in the cafetería at the university for all of the students in the program. There was a lot of tasty food and drinks—tortilla española, gazpacho, patatas, queso, jamón serrano—riquísimo. Yes, that’s right…beer, wine, and sangría are all available in the cafetería at the university. You would never see that in America! ; ) Another difference in the culture involving food is the time that we eat…breakfast at 8:00am, lunch at 2:00pm, and dinner at 9:00pm (and that is EARLY). The day is definitely longer here, there is much more sunlight so it doesn’t seem as late. But I was starving, I’ll definitely have to buy some snacks to hold me over! I can’t go six hours without eating! : ) We took a walk again around Madrid. Ay, we have covered some ground the past two days! Enjoy the video from my first day of school in Madrid!

Consejo del día del Dr. Celestino Ruiz, “There are two words that sound the same in Spanish discoteca and biblioteca...make sure that you spend enough time in the latter of the two!”

This video is of mi amiga Nikki at the reception on our first day of school and also on our walk today at Templo de Debod, on Calle Limón. ¡Qué bonito!

How to NOT get robbed in Spain…by Dr. Celestino Ruiz

Okay, this is Dr. Celestino Ruiz, the one in charge of our program. He is HILARIOUS!! I hope you can see that through the video. But watch this to know how to stay safe in Madrid! (I especially like the ketchup part!)

Los consejos de Dr. Celestino Ruiz:

1. Someone might seem to accidentally put ketchup (or foam) on you and then try to clean you off…and take your money while they’re at it.
2. Someone might bump you and take your stuff.
3. Ladies, hold your purse with two hands. Sometimes they cut the straps of your purse and then everything you have is gone.
4. Don’t walk too close to the street, especially on corners.
5. Don’t take a walk on streets where there aren’t any people. OUT!!

Am I actually in Spain??

Wow! I couldn’t have asked for better travels to Spain…other than the fact that I forgot to bring Tylenol PM with me on the plane. I cannot believe that I am actually here in Madrid! I arrived at the Atlanta airport around 1:00pm and said a teary-eyed goodbye to Jake through the security glass. I got to the Newark airport by 5:30pm and was on my way to Madrid by 8:30pm. There was this precious little boy sitting near me on the plane that belly-laughed and screamed when the plane took off and landed—it was like we were on roller coaster. I almost fell out of my seat because I was laughing so hard. I love kids—they enjoy the the smallest things! Carlos was ready to greet everyone in the program at the airport and brought us to Colegio Mayor, our dorm. My room is great. I have a big bathroom with a pretty view (although I don’t think it is possible NOT to have a pretty view in Spain). I love it here! I love the accents and the people. The word exhausted doesn’t even do justice to how tired I felt around lunch time. However, I knew I had to push through it to get over jet lag (thank you Nikki). We ate lunch and then I went for a walk with Nikki and Dana (both Spanish teachers who have lived in Madrid before). They showed me around and pointed out important buildings and monuments. I got to see La Plaza Mayor and even had my first taste of Tortilla Española and Sangria—¡qué rico! What a day! We walked around for several hours. Every street is charming, narrow, and breathtaking. There is so much history here. I am glad that I had some classmates to show me around! In the evening we had a meeting with Dr. Ruiz. I hate to admit it, but I think my head started to bobble towards the end of the meeting—but I think he understood. Dr. Ruiz is HILARIOUS!! I love him!! He encouraged us to constantly have PMA—that is, a positive mental attitude! He reminded us that different is different, not better or worse. We ate dinner at 9:00pm and just got back to our dorm rooms. I am ready for bed! We will have a placement test in the morning and then get started with classes—no puedo esperar! ¡Buenas noches! Check out my video to see first-hand about my day! Sorry the music is too loud! I'll try to work on that! ; )