Dios míos…

Translation: Oh my god…

WOAH. It has been a fat minute, but I’m back! I’ve been fighting a travel bug for the past couple of weeks which has been bleh but I’ve been fighting a travel bug in SPAIN so yay! So cultured. 

Anyways, I am currently back at the Academia (post-siesta) doing some prep work. I spent the first week shadowing Lucy to see what classes I’d be interested in teaching. So far, I’m interested in teaching the little kids (they are SO cute) and the B1 and B2 classes (pre-intermediate/intermediate). I got a taste of teaching 7th grade boys and that… required a lot of patience.

My intern friends and I have also been doing “hometown presentations.” I think this is so funny because all I’ve been really presenting in my slideshows are your regular suburbia activities– strip malls, golf course, pool. I’ve humorously commented that my hometown is basically a place where you can eat and work out. Ha! At the end of the presentations, the students are allowed to ask us questions; we’ve quickly discovered that the question “Do you have a boyfriend?” is a very popular one.

Speaking of food… THERE ARE LIKE NO SALADS HERE. I don’t mean to sound spoiled, it’s just that I have a huge love for green things. People in Villanueva eat a lot of pork, especially jamón. Don’t get me wrong, I like to try new things but the meat to vegetable portions are just a little startling, ya know? I mean, I’ve been eating pork every single day! My body is going through a culture shock of it’s own. That’s all I’ll comment on that subject.

I’ve also tried caracoles; it sounds super fancy but it’s just snails. Well, I guess it’s fancy because French people eat it and they tend to be bougie. I appreciated the opportunity and I am glad that I tried it but I don’t think that’s something that I’ll be introducing to my diet back home hahaha. It just… it had a face. Like the antennas and everything were still… there. Yup, I’m over it.

OH! Across the Academia is a store called “Doner Kebabs” and they sell the most AMAZING falafel. I befriended one of the owners, Elena, and she is the sweetest person. We had a chat about my internship and her hometown, Armenia and wow she is a very nice lady. Today, I saw her cleaning the outside of her shop and I said “¡Hola, Elena!” And she asked me “¿Como tu vayas?” WHICH MEANS “How are you?” but I thought she asked me “Where are you going?” so I responded with “¡El banco!” and then she laughed. Honestly, I thought she was laughing because she thought I was cute but now I know she was laughing at my dumb a**. I gotta stop using GoogleTranslate.

Anyways, now I’m back at the Academia drinking my green juice and taking a break from lesson planning. On Saturday, I’ll be going to Córdoba with my friends for the day (WE ARE GETTING BURGERS I AM SO EXCITED). So stay tuned! I have to ta ta for now but I will catch up with you all in a couple of days. In the meantime, y’all should listen to “Yo No Sé Mañana” by Luis Enrique. Great song.

Ciao,

Jo