It's been a week since my last blog post! My only excuse is that I have been SO busy. I'll start from last Wednesday and write up until now. On Wednesday, my class took a little trip to Real Alcázar de Sevilla. It is a palace here that it open for the public to walk through complete with courtyards and a garden maze. When the royal family visits Seville and decides to stay the night, they would sleep in the palace and shut down the visitations. They usually won't stay the night here though, so they don't have to go through the procedures of shutting part of it down. In the pictures that I uploaded from this day, there is one with a long pool and dim lighting. It looks like it could be underground. That shot is from Games of Throne for you fans out there. After going back and reading my journal entry from Wednesday (because I couldn't remember what I did last Wednesday), I was reminded that I felt paranoid that day about not having my "place" amongst my peers. When we were walking around, I felt like I was floating from group to group, and I didn't really have MY place in the groups that have already been formed. I don't think I necessarily believe this to be completely true, but I think these feelings came from a deep part of me that is paranoid that I won't make connections here because I have never had an easy time making lasting friendships. After talking with my parents though, they reminded me that my place is here in Spain not among a group of people. Also, I had people and even friends here, so it doesn't matter if I don't fit perfectly into one certain group.
On Thursday, I started my internship at a school here in Seville. It was an interesting day. I gave the students an oral English exam which was extremely eye opening. When they were frustrated at not understanding what I was saying, I could see it in their faces (I'm sure I have made the same face a thousand times since I arrived here), and I sympathized with their feelings. Part of me wished I could tell them that it's okay to not be perfect. They were still getting the point across well and communicating. It helped me feel a little better too to know that I wasn't the only one trying to learn a new language and feeling kind of "bleh" about it.
The next day, our school took us to Córdoba to see the Mezquita/Catedral. The building was originally a mosque, and after the Christian reconquest, they put a cathedral in the middle of it. When you walk in, the area is large and square with tombs in the floor. There was also an area with clear flooring, so people could see the original Visigothic church structure that the mosque was built on top of. I put pictures of all of this on my Facebook page as well. After that, we went to see a synagogue which was a good variation from the cathedrals we have been seeing. I don't know much about Judaism, so it was neat to have my Jewish teacher explain the building to us. We ran around the town and took a lot of pictures after that. I also got into a fountain which was fun. (: I ended up having a great day.
One thing about that day that DID bother me though was something one of my professors said. My roommate and I were late because we got lost on the way to the train station, and when we walked up, he said, "Of course it was the two blondes." 1). My roommate has black hair, so he would not have made that comment if my hair was dark too. 2). Blonde jokes are SO 2000s. Can we stop already?? After he said that, I said, "lol yeah so funny." He came up to me later and told me to hit his hand for his comment, and I didn't do it. Me hitting his hand wouldn't take away the fact that he had to make a derogatory joke based off of a physical characteristic of mine. ANYWAY..
On Saturday, we went to a winery in Bollullos in the providence of Huelva. They showed us the process the grapes/wine go through then we tested their popular flavors. The winery we went to produces a lemon wine that they claim is the only lemon wine in the world which is pretty cool if that's true. I also have pictures from this one my Facebook. We spent Sunday lazing around and doing homework.
Yesterday, I went back to the school after class. Monday through Thursday until 3 is my schedule there. I help with first graders and junior high students. The first graders are crazyyyyyyyyy. They run around the classroom, talk to other students while the teacher is talking, steal other students' things, crawl under the desk, and don't listen. I am talking complete and total chaos.
Side note: I'm also pretty sure I made one of them cry today because I told her to sit down and made her stop coloring, so she would be on the right page for the lesson.
After that mess, I went to the junior high students for the tutorial class. It's once a week, and they talk about their feelings/emotions during this time. That day they discussed what makes them frustrated, how they react when they're frustrated, and how they calm themselves down. I feel like this class session, even if it's only once a week, is really important. The discussion reminded all the kids that they are all the same. The same things upset them, and they react the same too. I think it brings a level of awareness, and it would be cool to see something like this implemented into American schools, in my opinion. I also had my Sevillanos dance class last night which is ALWAYS fun.
Today was a long day. I was at the school for an extra hour because I get out of class an hour earlier on Tuesday/Thursday. The first graders were a little bit better today because they weren't as excited about having an American in the classroom. They were over the excitement of someone new, ya know. We did arts and crafts which is an easy way to pass time. I gave more oral English tests to the junior high students after that. Since these kids were older, it was an easy time. After going to the gym, I went to the dress store and bought my Féria dress. It's official y'all! I am so excited, and my host mom was SO sweet about it when I came home and tried it on for her.
Speaking of Mamá Carmen, she is the reason I am not longer counting down my days until I go home. I feel an actual pain in my chest at the thought of saying goodbye to her in May. All I wanted from my study abroad experience was a host family and a home to remember for the rest of my life, and Mamá Carmen has given me that by tenfold. I know I haven't lived with her for very long, but now she is very much a part of what I call my family. I was telling my real mom the other day about how it makes me sad to think of leaving Mamá Carmen, and I actually started crying about it. She calls me her "niña" or her "corazon" which lets me know that she probably doesn't want us to leave either. So, I am now committed to not worrying about saying goodbye to her and just enjoying my time with my mom here. It's kind of funny that in real life, when I talk to people, I refer to my moms as "my mom in the US" and "mi mamá de aquí."
Anddddd that's my week in review folks. I hope you enjoy!
xoxo,
Caroline
No comments:
Post a Comment