Church!

A personal and church-wide prayer request before I even left for Spain was for me to find a Bible-believing church. This was very important to me, and I knew that finding a protestant church might be somewhat difficult. During lunch with Jordi, Laura, and Quim on my first day, I asked about any nearby protestant churches. Laura was shocked to find out that I wasn’t Catholic, but they were quick to help me. There are only a few Catholic churches in Montblanc, and there’s nothing protestant nearby. However, both Jordi and Laura were going to ask around and see if any of the other bigger cities had any.

I was once again amazed at how helpful and well-communicated the teaching network was in the ZER Conca. Jordi, who sells fruit in Valls, talked to some of his clients and was able to get an address for a Seventh-Day Adventist church (not quite what I was looking for, but it was something!). Laura talked to the Religion teacher in the ZER, Josep, and he gave me two addresses for Baptist churches—one in Reus, and one in Tarragona. The news kept spreading, and it wasn’t long before several of the teachers knew about my search for a church. :-) They’re just so eager to help in any way they can. Such a blessing! I know that this isn’t the norm for most auxiliares, and I definitely don’t take it for granted!

Barcelona is about a 2-hour train ride from Montblanc, and I knew there were several protestant churches there. This was always an option if nothing else worked, but I was excited about the possibility of going to closer-and-more-manageable Reus or Tarragona. As I mentioned earlier, I was able to find the Baptist church in Tarragona, and for some reason, I really wanted to try that church. But something came up that I wasn’t expecting: there is very, very, VERY little public transportation from Montblanc on Sunday mornings!

Laura and I searched through various train and bus schedules, and NOTHING went to Reus on Sunday morning. Tarragona had one, but the bus arrived at 11:30, which is exactly when the service started. The bus station is quite a hike from the church, and I would be pretty late if I tried it. Was Barcelona my only option?

With more prayer, train timetable searching, and internet research, I discovered that Lleida, a city about 50 minutes away by train, had a Baptist church as well. And guess what? The train actually went there in the morning! A Sunday morning! On Nov. 7^th, I was finally able to go to church. The train leaves at 9 or so, I arrive in Lleida around 10, Sunday School starts at 11, and the service starts at 12. I had time to find the church, explore the city, AND eat something at a café!

The church is about a 10-15 minute walk from the train station, but it’s really easy to find. I decided not to go to Sunday School on the first day (I could say things like I wanted to see more of the city, make sure I knew my surroundings, etc. But the truth is, I was nervous and afraid that the class would be really small. I had those last-minute awkward visitor-in-a-church feelings. Having gone to the same church for the past 23 years, these feelings are infrequent. But they definitely exist! :-)). So after a snack and a lengthy walk around part of the city, I headed to church. I arrived about 10 or 15 minutes early, so the Sunday School service was still going on. Another woman walked in around the same time as I did, and I guess she was a visitor as well, because she asked ME if she could go in the sanctuary! Uhhh...I just shrugged and said I didn’t know, and then we both saw another woman who looked like she knew what to do. :-) She assured us that we could go in (as the speaker was still talking...awkward...), and I hesitantly walked through the door. For those of you who go to Valley Chapel, it was kind of like walking through the main doors that no one uses. You know, the ones in the sanctuary? The ones where if you open them, everyone turns and stares at you? The ones where the speaker stares right into your soul as you frantically try to find a place to sit and hide? Yep, that was me. :-) I quickly tried to find an unoccupied seat near the back, but there wasn’t any AT ALL. They were all up front. Sigh. I was planning on hanging out in the back until the speaker stopped talking, but that dear, pushy older woman gently shoved me in the back, telling me to sit down near the front. So much for subtle! I gave a weak smile to the curious faces and slid into a pew, trying to look like I planned this all along. Ha! I noticed several things: the speaker was going through a chapter in Daniel, the service was in Spanish (yes! I was a little worried that it would all be in Catalán!), the pews were really hard (just wood. For those who have padded pews in your church, take a moment, right now, and thank the Lord for them. Don’t take it for granted!), the baptistery had a BEAUTIFUL background with John 14:6 written in Catalán, there was a drum set, and the speaker was using PowerPoint.

It wasn’t long until the main service started, and they pretty much jump right into it once Sunday School is over. More people came, including the children who were in other classes, and there were probably around 100-150 people. Musicians included three or four singers, a drummer, a pianist (really, it’s a keyboard. Anyone who plays the piano knows that they’re not QUITE the same!), a saxophone player, a violinist, and 1 or 2 guitar players. Uh oh. Was this going to be loud and rocky?

Really, it wasn’t. They started with a traditional hymn, and like my time in Mexico, I had tears in my eyes as I sang a song in Spanish with fellow believers. It felt sooo good to be in a church again, and I just knew I was in the right place. The music is almost always tastefully done, and even if it gets a little jazzy or crazy sometimes, it pales in comparison to being with brothers and sisters and hearing the Word.

Anyway, after several songs (I found out later that they always start with a hymn, and then they sing more contemporary songs. Most I haven’t heard before, but they’re all pretty good), announcements, prayers, and an offering, the speaker gave a message about Saul/Paul and the road to Damascus. The communion service followed the message, and I felt led to participate. A few things different about their method are 1) if you plan on taking communion, you stand up. 2) When finished with the little cup, the ushers go back and collect them. 3) As I mentioned before, they use real wine (and real bread!) rather than grape juice. It has to be one of the most bitter, acidic, and repulsive things I’ve consumed, but I think it’s important to take communion.

Another thing that’s a bit different than I’m used to is that women make announcements, help collect the offering, and pray publicly. However, they never teach, so I’m okay with it. Actually, the whole service is very much a communal thing; several people share announcements, several people pray, and every time I’ve been there, a different person has given the sermon (I found out later that there’s no official pastor right now. Two men rotate, and another week had a guest speaker). And their love for the Lord and each other just radiates. It was a good reminder for me to avoid making church just a “routine” and “something we should do” instead of worshipping the Lord and growing. Don’t take it for granted!

After the service, a few people talked to me, all very nice, but I still had that I’m-the-new-person-at-church awkward feeling and left fairly quickly. But I left with a happy heart and a knowledge that I would be back!

The next Sunday, I went to Sunday School as well. I peered at the books they have for sale, and I noticed books by Swindol, Stanley, several authors I didn’t recognize, as well as the “Ultimate Questions” pamphlet in Catalán, Pilgrim’s Progress in Spanish, and several Spanish and Catalán Bibles. Anyway, I was there early enough to get a seat towards the back this time (heh heh), and it wasn’t long before a man came up to me and started talking. He was shocked and excited to find out that I was from the States, and quickly brought another man in the conversation to meet me as well. I thought it was nice, but I didn’t think too much about it.

Sunday School was really good, but it’s hard NOT to love the book of Daniel. I also love singing hymns in Spanish. It’s something that I like to do at home in my free time, but I can’t really do it too much with people. So it’s delightful to do it in church! I do miss using hymnals (they use a projector with words), but I can’t help but sing with a silly, happy grin every time. Praising the Lord in Spanish just feels...right. :-)

I noticed that the second man I met was giving announcements, but I still didn’t think too much about it. I then started tuning him out for about a minute. It was then that I heard the words “Estados Unidos”. Uh oh. Was he talking about me? Chances are, yes! I quickly realized that he was looking right at me and introducing me, specifying that I found out about the church through the internet. He called me “Sandra” at first, which he now laments every time I see him, but I just clarified my name and all was well. He still seemed a little flustered for confusing my name, which truly didn’t bother me at all, and then he asked me to stand so everyone could see me. Have you ever had an experience where you just wanted to slide off your seat and hide on the floor? That was me! :-) But I think that would’ve brought even more unwanted attention my way, so I stood up halfway, gave a little wave, and mustered out an “hola” as the entire congregation turned my way. Eep!

Everything went back to normal after that, but apparently that was just what everyone needed to get to know me. After the service, I was surrounded by wonderful people greeting me, kissing me (the common greeting here. More about that later!), jokingly calling me “Sandra Sarah,” asking how I was doing and if I needed anything, telling me that I should consider the church like home, and getting more details about what I do and why I chose the church in Lleida. Ahh! It was so glorious! A mother and daughter talked to me (Isabel and Miriam) and found out that I just hang around Lleida until the train leaves for Montblanc, and they were quick to invite me to lunch for the following week. Actually, Isabel offered to have me come that very day, but I was planning on meeting Laura in Valls to go to a concert that evening. So after exchanging contact information with Miriam, I had plans to get together with a family the following week. Hospitality in action!

I started to head out, but MORE people found me and jokingly told me that I couldn’t escape. :-) Several people came up to me trying to speak English, telling me when they visited or studied in the States, etc. I left with an even happier heart, just praising God for His people.

Lunch with Miriam and her family was wonderful. Pere and Isabel, the parents, live in a flat, and their three children, Elisabeth (35), Miriam (33), and Pere (24) live together in the parents’ old house. Anyway, Pere, Jr. rarely goes to church and didn’t eat with us (soccer game/girlfriend time), but the rest of the family ate together and all go to the church in Lleida. Miriam’s engaged to Dani, and he was there as well. The interesting thing about this family is that the mother speaks Spanish and the father always speaks Catalán. So the children grew up speaking different languages with each parent, and the husband and wife speak different languages to each other! :-) It’s another example of how integrated Spanish and Catalán are in Catalunya. I also tried a famous dessert that means “little ears” in Catalán, and it’s like a pie crust of sorts. We also had lamb, soup, and a type of beef stew. The only downside to the afternoon was when Isabel was trying to get something from the top shelf in the kitchen. She stood on a stool, lost her balance, and fell. Everyone was fairly calm, but concerned, but poor Elisabeth, the oldest, was vocal and NOT happy with mom. :-) Isabel was fine, with just a minor hurt elbow, but she certainly got a reprimand from Elisabeth about being careful! I felt awkward being in the midst of a family confrontation, and poor Isabel was so embarrassed that I witnessed everything. :-) Elisabeth eventually cooled down and quickly apologized, and everyone got a bit of a chuckle out of the whole event. We still tease each other about it even now, and all is fine. :-) But aside from that, the day was great!

There are several Christmas activities in the church, including Operation Christmas Child, a children’s singing event, and a special service on a Sunday evening. I’m hoping to do some of these, but it depends on transportation issues. I also bought a Catalán Bible. :-) And this past Sunday was a special service where people just give testimonies, share Scripture, sing, play a song, or read a poem. By now, all of the 20-something and 30-something girls know about me from talking with Miriam, and I was once again surrounded by people who wanted to keep in touch, meet for lunch sometime, practice English, have Bible studies, etc. Each Sunday, my Christian network keeps expanding, and all I can do is praise the Lord! A true answer to prayer.

Several families in the church are from Mexico and other parts of Latin America, and one girl in particular wanted to meet me. She’s from Mexico and studying here, 21 years old, and living alone like I am. We connected right away, and I hope to meet up with her sometime! I also found out that her mom is from Morelia, which is the city in Mexico where I studied abroad in 2008. :-)

Whoa...long post! I think that about sums up the church situation. :-) God is good!

Fun in the Flat, or Adventures in the Apartment :-)

Living alone definitely has its pros and cons. Generally, I truly am happy with the flat and living by myself. I thought it might be lonely, boring, or unsafe, but really...it’s not. I like the privacy, and I have enough friends and close contacts that I don’t really lack for social opportunities.

But let me elaborate on the negative parts first. :-D While I occasionally miss my family, I honestly don’t really get homesick. I don’t mean that in a “haha-I’m-rid-of-my-family” way though! I love ‘em, but between keeping in touch and having such an amazing time here, I just don’t deal with homesickness. BUT...

But I definitely miss having a dad or brother around to deal with gross and/or scary household issues! For example, if I see a bug or something, I have to deal with it. I can’t run to a family member saying, “EWW! Kill it kill it kill it!”. Nope. Either I deal with it, or it stays there! The most traumatic experience for me was dealing with mice. Yes, mice. Don’t get me wrong, the flat is well-kept. There are stray cats around the neighborhood. The landlady, Rosa, is a great landlady. She was shocked when I told her about the problem and quickly took care of it. But let me elaborate. :-)

I should have suspected long ago, but it took me awhile. I noticed random holes in the trash bags in the kitchen, but I kept dismissing it as sharp objects in the trash. Huh...another can of corn cut a hole? That’s weird. Sometimes, I’d even see pieces of the trash bag on the ground. Huh. That’s weird. But a mouse? Nah. And then shortly before I left for Valencia, I actually thought I saw one under the sink. I charged out of the kitchen making general freaking-out noises, waited a few minutes, came back with a broom, and saw nothing. I dismissed it as my imagination and went on with my life. After Valencia, however, things became more obvious. I was watching TV one evening (which is in the same room as the kitchen, but on the other side) and fell asleep on the couch (something I do back in Norwood as well :-P). I woke up around 1:30am and started to stumble to my room when I heard distinct scratching noises under the kitchen sink. Suddenly, I was wide awake! :-) What did I do? I ran to my room and tried to sleep, praying that the whole mouse issue would somehow disappear. The next morning, I hesitantly went to the kitchen and looked at the bag of trash I had taken out from the “garbage can” (more like a bucket) the night before in order to put it in the trash area outside. The bag that distinctly had NO holes the night before had a perfect mouse-size hole chewed through, with the little bag pieces scattered on the floor. Yuck! That’s when I really wished I had my dad or one of my brothers around. :-D

I wrote a note to Rosa (the landlady) explaining the situation, and that evening when I got back from teaching, we met up and talked about what to do. She went with a guy (her brother? I’m not really sure) to assess the situation (I conveniently went to the library. Haha! To reference yet another British series, there’s one called “From Larkrise to Candleford.” In one episode, two sisters have a mouse in their house or store. One stands on a chair screaming “Mouse! Mouse! Mouse!” while the other whacks the mouse to its demise with a broom. I discovered that I would be the one shouting, “Mouse! Mouse! Mouse!”).

After I came back, Rosa showed me a small box placed under the sink. You couldn’t touch it with your hands, so I’m assuming that it had poison or something in it. Anyway, it wasn’t too long before I thought I heard a quiet “mouse moan” one evening. It could’ve been my imagination, but I don’t think it was. I think it crawled into the box and met its doom. What did I do? One, I DIDN’T go anywhere near the kitchen or sink. Two, I actually got a little teary as I thought about the poor mouse who just picked the wrong place to invade (yeah, I watch too many Disney and Pixar shows!). When I finally had the courage to check under the sink a day later, I saw some fur peaking out of the box thing. Whew. The mouse was dead. But now what? Do I get rid of it? Do I bug Rosa about it? Once again, I wished Dad was there to deal with it. :-P After several days of letting the mouse rot under the sink, I finally grabbed two garbage bags, opened the cupboard door to the sink, prayed, closed my eyes, whimpered like a sissy, picked up the box, shoved it into another trash bag, and then disposed of everything outside in the dumpster. Yay! :-) As far as I can tell, there was just one. Let’s hope there aren’t any others!

But God uses even icky circumstances to build character, and the whole situation became one of those “Well, if I can deal with that, then I can handle this problem!” sort of things. :-)

That was by far the most unpleasant thing to happen in the flat. The second most unpleasant one? Another time I wish I had my Dad or brothers around to deal with everything? The Night of the Battery Charger. OooOooOoo...

European electric chargers are different from the US, so I brought a converter/adaptor with me for an iPod and the battery charger. It works great with the iPod, so I assumed it would be fine with the charger. One night (of course, it would be night. All scary things happen at night), I randomly decided to see if the battery charger worked (note to self: try these things out in the daytime). I plugged it into the converter, stuck it in the outlet, and then...poof! ALL of the lights went out. Just like that. Suddenly, I was surrounded by darkness, convinced I fried the electricity in the entire building...maybe even the neighborhood. I immediately thought of a film where a woman from the States tries to charge her phone in a village in the Scotland/Ireland area. She put it in the outlet, and ZAP! Everything turned dark. As she complained to the owner of the establishment, “You just fried my blackberry!” he retorted back, “You just fried the whole village!” Anyway, so that’s what I thought: I just fried the whole village! But I noticed that the TV, fridge, stove, etc. still worked. It was literally only the lights that wouldn’t work. I grabbed my pocketknife light and went to bed. :-) The next morning, I knocked on Rosa’s door and explained the situation. Well, I didn’t explain what I did. I just said that something happened with the lights. :-D Hee! She just looked at those black handle thingies that control lights and stuff (you know, the stuff that dads and brothers do in the basement with flashlights when the power goes out? Girls just aren’t supposed to deal with it. It’s the law.), flipped a switch, and all was fine. Huh! I thanked her, relieved that it was a minor problem, and proceeded to go about my day. Almost. I decided to try the charger ONE more time, and as you guessed, the lights went out again. But I just flipped the switch again, and everything was fine. I was sure of one thing though: I would NOT use that charger again!

I looked at the voltage things before I left, and everything seemed fine. So in my mind, there are three possibilities why the charger didn’t work: the voltage really was different and I read only a portion of what I should have read, the charger is too strong for the converter (it has a small fan/motor and charges batteries within 15 minutes...pretty intense!), or I need to put the converter on another setting. But personally? It’s not worth the risk. I just told Laura about it, and I rather conveniently was headed to Reus with Javi that evening anyway. So I just bought one there for some 20 euros, and everything’s been fine. Whew!

Anyway, those were the two hardest things to deal with alone. :-) Other than that and the occasional bug, everything’s been going really well in the flat! I cook, but it’s nothing dramatic. It’s just silly cooking elaborate meals for yourself. I was quite proud of myself figuring out the washing machine with Spanish instructions, and I do about a load or two a week. But unlike my patient mother, I just shove everything in and use the same setting for everything. Ha! I haven’t had any problems, and I’m a firm believer that washing instructions are overrated. :-P I’m finally used to using a drying rack as well!

I try to keep everything organized, and the hardest part is definitely the dining room table. I have soooo many papers! School, touristy things, scrap paper, important documents, etc. I clear off the table and sort through everything at least once a week, and it always gets cluttered again. :-) But other than that, I try to live in an organized manner. :-) Mostly.

I did take pictures and a 3-minute video of the flat, which I hope to share sometime. Laura’s lending me her laptop, and I was able to download pictures. They’re slowly being put up on Facebook, but internet access is...well, temperamental. :-) I hope to have something up on the blog eventually!

I think that’s about it for apartment living. I watch TV occasionally, study Spanish and Catalan, listen to my iPod, read, memorize Scripture, prepare lessons, organize my mound of papers, and use the laptop in my spare time. Oh, and I did have a pet fly in my flat for several days. :-) I can’t deal with mice, but I didn’t have the heart to kill my little fly friend. I kept trying to catch him (her?) and let him out on the terrace, but it was almost like he was happy in the flat. Hee hee! So I let him fly around, play in the trash, and sit on my hand and stare at me. Yes, I know I’m weird. I finally managed to get him outside one day, and I have to say that I kind of miss him. :-) Spiders and weird bugs meet their demise right away with me (unless I run away), but the occasional solitary fly? I don’t know. I think they’re fun. :-P

And on that odd note, I shall end this post! Thanks for reading!

"So...what exactly do you eat over there?"

Food. Something that everyone needs and can vary greatly in different countries. When I eat in my flat (apartment), I tend to eat simply and inexpensively. I usually have something from the four most important food groups, which are, as everyone knows, fruit, bread, protein (specifically chicken, ham, or eggs), and chocolate. :-) I don’t really eat anything “weird” or especially out of the ordinary at home. However, I do eat cereal out of a glass cup every morning (I only have salad bowls, which are like deep plates, and these breakable-looking, decorative bowls that I’m afraid to use), and since I never like eating much cereal anyway, it’s actually the perfect size for me. The milk took awhile to get used to; it’s not refrigerated! So it lasts a LOT longer than “normal” milk does. I always refrigerate mine (well, once it’s opened, it needs to be anyway) because non-cold milk is gross, and I actually really like the milk here. Cola Cao is a popular chocolate drink mix here, and I have some that I’ll heat up with milk in my handy-dandy microwave. It’s the closest thing to hot chocolate! The oven and digital stove work well (once I got used to using Celsius instead of Fahrenheit!), and I’m gradually branching out with different foods.

Outside of the flat, I have tried some unusual things. :-) Well, unusual for me at any rate! I’ve gone to several restaurants with different teachers and have eaten meals at their  homes, and I eat the school food occasionally as well (Pira has a cook, but the others order the food). Throughout these experiences, I’ve eaten the following: rabbit, locally grown mushrooms (like hand-picked from a forest!), some sort of weird inside part of a cow (grossness), olives, salad with corn sprinkled on top (really good!), olive oil on salad (a topping I actually like!), olive oil on everything, more olive oil, pastel de Santiago (sort of like coffee cake), flan, chicken (always safe!), various beans, french fries without ketchup and with olive oil, various pasta dishes, some sort of squid disguised as onion rings (grossness as well. Actually, Javi said that his brother, who lived in Michigan for awhile, ate onion rings thinking they were the...squid rings. I had the opposite problem! Haha!), bread and more bread (but NEVER with butter), chestnuts, pan con tomate (bread with tomato rubbed on it—really good!), different kinds of fruits, more olive oil, random chocolate things when I get the chance, and probably more things that I’m forgetting. Elisabeth gave me some pomegranates and figs last Wednesday, and both are really good! I hate Fig Newtons (I showed Laura and Elisabeth what they looked like on the internet), but natural figs? Amazing. Andreu, my current English teacher, recommended a chocolate bar called Suchard, and I tried it this weekend. It’s like the thickest, best-tasting Crunch bar you can imagine. In terms of drinking, I tend to stick with water, juice (unfortunately not as common and amazing as in Mexico), milk, tea, and another chocolate drink called Cacolat. I tend to shock teachers and waiters when I say that I don’t like coffee. :-) Oh, and I did put my tongue in a glass of champagne and a “Sandy,” which is mostly lemon with a small amount of beer. My first evil alcohol experience was in Mexico, when I ate three bites of gelatine doused with wine. It was disgusting. The champagne and Sandy? Even worse! And the most alcohol I’ve consumed, ironically, was in the Baptist church in Lleida (another blog post!). :-) Their communion service used real wine, and I choked down a communion cup full of it. Seriously, I don’t get why people like alcohol AT ALL. Every experience, I kept thinking of a Jeeves and Wooster quote (British series). One guy, after trying alcohol for the first time, sputters out, “What rot! You drink this stuff for PLEASURE??” :-) So between personal conviction and personal preference, I can safely say that I neither like nor drink alcohol. My exception will be for the communion service. :-) Wine, in particular, is just common here. There are vineyards everywhere, and even the little ones at school know the wine-making process. It’s just part of the culture. I won’t embrace it, but I also don’t want to make TOO big a deal about it.

But the number one thing that I haven’t tried yet but am determined to do is to eat...caracoles. What are those? Snails! Like France, they’re common here. I haven’t had the opportunity or the courage yet, but before May, I’m going to try them. Hee hee!

And so ends my random food post. To sum: everyone lives on olive oil. If you live here, get used to it. :-) It doesn’t replace ketchup, but it’s way better than Pam spray and salad dressing!

Tarragona, Barcelona part II, and a bit of Reus

Catalunya is divided in four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona, and Lleida. The capital of each province has the same name. I live in the province of Tarragona, but the actual capital is about 50 minutes away by bus or train. All of the “official business” I need to do will either be in Barcelona or Tarragona. Anyway, part of the long and complicated process to be a temporary resident in Spain is to apply for the NIE—a number assigned to each foreigner. I’ve read forum after forum of past participants in the program (online) lamenting their troubles about the process, so I was expecting to have a not-so-fun experience. Javi, being the incredibly kind and helpful person he is, made the appointment for me (via telephone), drove me to Tarragona, showed me the bus station, the government building where I needed to go, went to the police station to see if it was open (part II of the Tarragona process), walked with me to a tourist information office to get a map and see which “touristy” things I could do before my appointment (the man there was so nice!), and left to go to a meeting with a final “call me if anything goes wrong” farewell.

I had several hours until my appointment, so I first went to a balcony area that overlooked the Mediterranean Sea. What a view! I walked around that area for awhile, just enjoying the view and taking too many pictures. I then went to a park for a few minutes, and then I focused on the cool stuff: Roman architecture! Tarragona used to be a Roman city, and it’s well preserved. I saw the Roman amphitheatre and the Roman Circus (not like a clown circus...like...like where they used to have chariot races!), and both were just incredible. The amphitheatre was used for gladiator games...as well as where they would have public executions, lions devour people, etc. There was even a sign commemorating and acknowledging the deaths that took place there. When I first got there, it was practically empty, giving it a very authentic and thoughtful atmosphere. You could go down far enough to stand where gladiators, lions, and Christian martyrs would have been, and I felt a mixture between awe of how much history was there and soberness as I thought of Christian brothers and sisters who ended their earthly lives where I was standing (or places like where I was standing). Whew. Talk about a powerful and moving experience! It was worth every bit of the 3 euros I had to spend, and I definitely want to go back! The Roman Circus was also really neat, but it was a LOT more crowded there. You could wander around in these sort of tunnel or catacomb-like areas, and the very top had a fantastic view of the city and beyond.

After a sandwich and crepe at a café, I trudged half-heartedly to my appointment, convinced I’d have a miserable and complicated time. I was there pretty early, and the girl waiting by the desk said that she’d give me a number in about 20 minutes or so. She was so sweet and perky! She just radiated “I love to help foreigners!” and as I later went to my assigned table to meet with another woman, I started feeling better about the whole process. Grumpy people and long lines? Nope! The other woman was also nice and quickly processed what she needed to do. Then came the weird part. She told me to go to the police station to turn in the rest of the paperwork (which Javi and I confirmed earlier that it was closed for the day). To be on the safe side, I decided to head over to the station and see if it really was closed. It wasn’t! It was there that I saw what I dreaded: a long line and a grumpy officer. As he barked out orders to these non-native people about who had the next appointment and where they needed to go, I stood there staring at everyone and looking uncertain. Should I wait in line? Walk away? Ask someone in line? Ask the officer? Call Javi? I opted to stare uncertainly at everyone for about another 4 minutes, and then I slowly had enough courage to talk to the officer. I asked if it was the place for the NIE, and he barked out a yes. Okaaay. I then asked if I needed an appointment, and he barked out another yes. Okaaay. I thanked him and started to walk away, inwardly trying to figure out if my previous appointment was for this as well. He saw my hesitation and asked if I had the phone number to call for an appointment. I didn’t, or at least I assumed I didn’t, so he gave me a little paper with a number on it. I thanked him again and started walking away...then walked back...then walked away...and then stared pleadingly at everyone waiting in the line outside. They all gave me a sympathetic “Sorry, kid. We’d love to help, but we have our own troubles” look, and I finally decided to walk away. What next? Was that the appointment or not? So what did I do next? I called Javi. :-) I checked with him about the police station, and he assured me that it had to be done on a different day because it was closed. I didn’t feel like getting into the whole I-don’t-think-it-really-is-closed thing, so I thanked him and decided to call it a day. I still had some time before the bus left to Montblanc, however, so I walked along the Rambla and was able to find the Baptist church of Tarragona. More about the church situation in another post!

The next day at school, I explained the situation to Laura, and she talked to Javi about it. I then explained it all to Javi, and he called the random number. It turns out that I did need a separate appointment, and one was made for Nov. 12^th. Whew!

The appointment on the 12^th went really well! I went there by bus both ways, and I had to go to the OTHER side of the police station (so what I saw was something a bit different), and everyone there was so nice and helpful. They gave me a paper that I had to give a bank, pay a fee, and then go back to the police station to wait for my turn. The woman there was very chatty and gave advice on where to travel in Spain. :-) Anyway, after more documents and fingerprints, she gave me a small piece of paper (basically a receipt) that I can use as a NIE until I get the official card. So now I have to go back AGAIN in December to get the card! Whew. There’s just so much paperwork to do! Getting a contract for the apartment, registering my name in Montblanc (“empadronamiento”), getting a bank account, several Tarragona trips, etc. But is it worth it? Absolutely!

I also had to go back to Barcelona on Nov. 11^th for an auxiliar training session. I only got lost a LITTLE bit on the metro, but the whole train situation was much better this time! :-) I also had more time to find the place than before, so I wasn’t late this time. There were about 20 participants total in the meeting, and we did some “getting to know you” activities, discussed learning intelligences, better ways to modify documents on the computer, typical problems we have to deal with in the classroom and possible solutions, etc. It was okay (a bit overrated to me, especially since I feel so uncomfortable in monstrous Barcelona!), but the best part was getting paid. :-) I met several other auxiliares, exchanged contact information, and also received the official insurance cards. I had time to get some touristic info and a map for a future Barcelona visit as well.

Another nearby city I’ve seen (but still want to see more of) is Reus. It’s basically a city of shops, and Javi and I went there after school one day. Javi had various school things to buy and do, and we went to a HUGE Carrefour store where I bought an iron, microwave, and battery charger (ha! I’ll have to explain about my battery charger from the USA sometime!). I can live without many things, but a microwave is not one of them. :-D We also met Elisabeth, the English teacher who broke her wrist on the first day of teaching, and her young son. Elisabeth is really nice! We also randomly saw the woman in charge of my program within the Tarragona region, and she offered to show me Reus sometime. Everyone is just so...friendly and helpful!

So things are coming together, and I’m becoming more and more accustomed to life in Catalunya. I’ll be really happy to get that NIE card though! :-)

Valencia!

My first “independent” travel was to Valencia on Halloween weekend. My friend from the Mexico study abroad trip I took AND from many classes at NKU, Katie, is an auxiliar in Southern Spain, and she was planning a trip to Valencia and asked if I wanted to go. I did! We booked the same hostel (which is NOT a hotel. It’s like a combination between a hotel and a dorm room), but mine was switched due to some over-booking. Anyway, I casually mentioned to my closest contacts (Javi and Cati, Anna María, and Laura) about my trip, and once again, they went above and beyond the call of duty to help me. Javi printed out the train schedule for me, and Laura and Anna were huddled by the computer at school one day, helping me figure out when I should go, which train stations I’d need, etc. I couldn’t help grinning as I watched these wonderful mother hens help me. :-)

I took the 7am train from Montblanc to Tarragona, and then I took a train from Tarragona to Valencia, which was only about 2.5 hours. I was hoping to sleep on the way to Valencia, but a sweet older woman from Granada talked to me almost the entire time. Haha! She had me write down a list of things from the Andalucía (southern) region I should look up on Youtube, and she even gave me some of her homemade donuts to snack on. :-) Katie met me at the train station, and it was so good to see her again! We spent the weekend sight-seeing and catching up, and I think we were both surprised to realize how different our programs are. We have the same title and job, but since we’re in different regions, the details are quite different. I have a LOT more paperwork, training session, projects, and administrative things to do, but I also have a lot more help in figuring it out. Discipline is also a lot more enforced in my schools, making the obedience and listening level better. Katie’s also travelled around Europe this past summer, so she’s a lot more knowledgeable about how to get around using the public transportation systems than I am! The highlight was definitely the aquarium (Oceanográfic), a HUGE place with all sorts of fun creatures to see. We saw a dolphin show as well (dolphins are the 2^nd best animals in the world, next to cats), and that was great! Katie and I also saw the main historic buildings during our stay in Valencia (like the Cathedral, etc.), an art museum, and a really neat ceramic museum that used to be a palace. We tried the famous oranges in the form of orange juice, but the famous “paella” from Valencia looked…gross. :-P We also ate at McDonald’s one evening (my first “American” restaurant since being here), went to the beach, ate churros dipped in chocolate at a fantastic chocolate place called Valor, looked at souvenir shops, walked around the city, had trouble finding bus stops, ate ice cream, took a picture for a bunch of drunk guys (awkward!), climbed some towers, and saw Gulliver Park, which is a park that has a playground shaped like Gulliver from Gulliver’s Travels!

It was also my first experience in a hostel. Katie was in the Red Nest, and I was in its sister hostel, the Purple Nest, which was about 5 minutes away. True to its name, the main areas were purple, and the staff was VERY helpful and nice! I stayed in a female-only, 6-bed dorm, and everyone had a locker and a bunk bed. I was on the top bunk, which was okay...but obviously not as convenient. :-) My floor had a bathroom area for girls, a bathroom area for guys, and then a single toilet area for either one. My schedule was quite different from most of the other young people in the hostel, so while everyone was getting ready for parties at night, I was in bed. And when I woke up fairly early to get ready, everyone else was asleep, so I had the whole bathroom to myself! :-) The whole experience wasn’t nearly as bad as I pictured, and hostels are a great (as in cheap!) way to travel in Europe. Some are party hostels and some aren’t, and this one was really good about maintaining order. :-) The girls in my room were nice, and there was always one other girl who went to bed earlier like I did. The weirdest thing that happened was one morning at 6:00. There were only 3 of us sleeping in the room that night (a girl from Germany, a girl from Italy, and me), and we were awakened by someone knocking on the door. I assumed it was another girl who locked herself out, so I pretended to be asleep and waited for someone on a bottom bunk to answer the door. No one did. :-) Finally, I climbed down, opened the door, and a random guy asked for a girl in bed #5. I wasn’t sure which bed was number five, nor did I care, so I whispered “Cama cinco!” but was met with silence. I apologized to the guy, and he apologized for waking me, and then he left. Weird. I went back to bed, and later that morning, the girl from Germany and I talked about what happened. Apparently one of the girls went out with that guy the evening before, but she left the next morning. I guess he didn’t know that. :-) He even slid a note under our door for the girl, but he used the wrong name! Haha. I felt kind of bad for the guy, but there wasn’t anything we could do anyway. However, aside from that situation and the occasional night-owl girls coming in the room in the middle of the night, everything was fine. I love the international feel of hostels. People from all over the world were there!

So with a decent time in a hostel, a fun time in a new city, and a GREAT time connecting with Katie, my trip to Valencia was very refreshing. Laura even noted the change in my face and eyes when I told her about my trip. :-) It definitely made me want to travel more (I’m slowly overcoming my fear and confusion about public transportation!), and Katie and I are hoping to travel somewhere together again sometime!

La Castanyada...or...Chestnut Day?

As I mentioned before, castanyas (chestnuts) are a big deal in Catalunya. October 31^st is the official Castanyada celebration, and the typical things to eat are boiled chestnuts and small cakes (about the size of a donut hole) called panellets. I was in Valencia on the 31^st, but I did get to celebrate la Castanyada with ALL four schools in the ZER Conca on the 29^th. The four schools get together during certain times of the year, and this was the first time I was able to see everyone together. There are 190 students total, and if you include about 30 teachers and some parents, you can imagine how big this event was! We met in a village called Vallclara, and most of the teachers and student rode in large buses. However, the “specialists,” meaning the English, Music, Religion, Physical Education, and Special Education teachers, rode separately.

As Laura and I pulled in the parking lot, I was reminded of my fist day at the schools. Students from the two schools I haven’t been to yet (Barberá and Solivella) peered curiously and excitedly at me. I felt like a mixture between a zoo animal and a movie star. :-) Anyway, as we walked over to the kids, the younger ones (1^st and 2^nd graders) from Pira started chanting my name. The whole village echoed with “Sa-rah! Sa-rah! Sa-rah!” Haha! I was a bit relieved when they started chanting Laura’s name as well. That was just a liiitle too much attention for me!

I spent the first part of the day with Ramón (the 5-6^th grade teacher in Pira) and his students (since my main focus is to always be with the older groups). It was a little boring at first because everyone was just waiting around for something to happen. The girls started playing a game and later included me (a counting game of sorts), and I was so happy to see some of the quieter girls try to explain the game to me in English. Yes! Sometimes being outside of the classroom and just being a person really helps the kids want to practice English and open up to me more.

Later, all of the students were broken up into two large groups: the younger ones and the older ones. Both groups sang several songs about the Castanyada, and eventually, the “Castanyera,” an older woman dressed in traditional clothing, came to pass out chestnuts to everyone. You could just FEEL the excitement from the little ones! The older ones spent most of the time guessing who the woman was (she was the grandmother of one of the students). Javi escorted her around as she gave away chestnuts stuffed in newspaper cones, and I ended up with soooo many chestnuts! First, several of the students (ones I know AND ones I don’t know yet!) let me try some of theirs. Then I had my own official cone of chestnuts. Then Sergi, one of the older Pira students, gave me two more cones (apparently he doesn’t like them and wanted me to have them). They’re okay (definitely better cooked than raw!), but there’s just no way I could eat all of those. They later went into the trash with the ones I picked earlier. :-) Panellets, however, are amazing. Little cakes of goodness. Mmmm…

After singing and eating, we broke up into smaller groups (random ages and schools this time) and did some treasure hunting and games in various parts of the village. It was during this time that the whole “pretend-you-don’t-speak-or-understand-Spanish” thing became ridiculous. I’m not sure if I mentioned it before or not, but I’m supposed to tell the students that I ONLY speak English. The concept makes sense, but I find it deceptive and pretty hard to pull through. I mean, 90% of the other teachers don’t speak English, so if I’m with them, we talk in Spanish. Such was the case with Ramón. He explained what we had to do, and it wasn’t long before Sergi (the one who gave me all of his chestnuts) picked up that I understood and was speaking Spanish. :-) I finally told the kids that I knew a LITTLE Spanish and that since today was a special occasion, we could use it. However, in class, it’s English only. :-P That seemed to work, but I’ve had kids ask me ever since if I understand Catalán or Spanish. Heh.

The games were fun, and we all had a good time meandering around the village. A cute cat was up on a terrace, meowing at us and wanting attention, and Ramón actually lifted up one of the students to see if he could get the cat down for us to pet. :-) They couldn’t reach it, but we did pet a dog and look at some bees later on. It was another beautiful day just to go out and enjoy nature. After the event, several of the teachers met for lunch at a restaurant (what we do every Friday), and the rest of the school day in Pira was spent outside playing games organized by the older students. They did a great job! I mostly stood around talking with the other teachers, but I did play a few games later on. :-) It was a good day. Different…but good. :-)

The teachers! (Pira edition)

I’ve talked quite a bit about the students, but I haven’t talked about the teachers as a whole very much. Javi’s the physical education teacher for all for schools, and his wife, Cati, teaches the little ones in Barberá (where Sergio goes as well). Aside from them and the other English teachers, I know the teachers in Pira the best so far. I’ve met the teachers from all four schools and see many of them during our Friday lunches together in different restaurants, but at this point, I’ve spent a lot more time with everyone in Pira. This includes Anna María, who teaches the 4 and 5-year olds, as well as Montse, Juanjo, Carme, Ramón, the director of Pira (María), and the Religion teacher (Josep).

Josep is around Javi’s age (early 40s) and is probably the calmest and quietest teacher. I don’t really talk very much when I’m in a large group of teachers, and he talks even less than I do! :-) But he’s really nice and gave me several addresses and names of protestant churches during my first week here. He has a quiet chuckle, and when he does speak, everyone listens.

María, the director of Pira, has two daughters in their twenties and lives in Montblanc. She’s given me rides to and from Pira several times, and even though I don’t know her too well (she does more administrative things), she’s really nice.

Montse and Juanjo (short for Juan José) are probably the “trendiest” teachers. I don’t think either one is married, and Montse wears a little nose ring, and Juanjo wears earrings. They’re both really nice though! Montse smokes, which is the worst part for me, so I’m usually trying to suppress a cough if she drives us to a restaurant or if the Pira teachers go out for coffee or something. She teaches the 1^st and 2^nd graders. Juanjo teaches the 3^rd and 4^th graders, and he was my “potential roommate” that I firmly (but kindly!) told Laura in an email before I came that having a guy roommate wouldn’t work. He’s friendly and from Valencia (so he had lots of tips for my trip), but I can think of few things more awkward than having a guy roommate!

Ramón teaches the 5^th and 6^th graders, and while Javi and Juanjo are always talking and entertaining people, Ramón tends to be more like Josep: quiet and serious. He talks more than Josep, but I don’t see him very much. I spend the most time with Anna, Laura, Juanjo, and Montse in Pira. There’s also Soco, the cook, and a woman who cleans the classrooms in Pira (but I don’t know her name), and both are mothers of students.

I’ll get to know the other teacher better as I switch schools. Speaking of which, let me talk about the other English teachers!

Laura’s my “tutora,” which means that she’s the official English teacher who makes sure everything’s okay for me, does the most with me, etc. However, Olga and Elisabeth are English teachers in the other schools. Olga’s in England until December, so a young teacher, Cristina, is substituting for her. Elisabeth is new this year and broke her wrist on her first day of teaching, so she’s been unable to drive and teach since then. Andreu, a younger guy, is substituting for her. I’m also the first assistant to the schools, so the whole English department is quite confusing for everyone this year! :-) But my next session will be in Solivella and with the younger ones in Rocafort. This will technically be with Elisabeth, but the first few days/weeks will probably be with Andreu until Elisabeth’s wrist is fully functional. With them, I’ll have Fridays off. With Laura and Olga, I have Mondays off.

Since Andreu and Cristina are both new teachers and not here with us for very long, Laura’s had some problems with them at first. The English teachers meet together every Wednesday, and our first few meetings were a bit awkward. Laura’s in charge of the program and knows what to do, but the other two couldn’t find materials, didn’t know what to do, weren’t very helpful, etc. I also felt like they didn’t talk to me very much, and Laura later talked to Javi about the problems she was having with them. Either Javi talked to them or they just improved a lot on their own because the passed few times with them have gone much better! We’re all getting along now, which helps a lot. :-) Elisabeth came to our last meeting, and I think we’ll work well together. Olga and I have been in contact via email since May, and we’re both excited to meet each other in December or January!

Weekend excursions and sight-seeing!

My weekends have all been quite different so far, and my "core" teachers and friends have been sharing me in October. :-) One Sunday I went to the cave in l'Espluga de Francolí and the monastery in Poblet with Larua and her family (husband Jordi and 3-year-old son Quim). It was a rainy day, so being in a cave was perfect. It's a lot smaller than Mammoth Caves, but it was still neat. The tour was in Catalán, but Jordi was thoughful enough to get me one of those hand-held recorded devices that explained things in different languages. They didn't have one in Spanish (my personal preference), but they had one in English (British English, of course. :-P). I actually found the explanations pretty boring and full of evolutionary concepts, so I just listened to about half of what was available. But the cave itself was really neat! Poblet, the area with the monastery, was also fascinating. There's just so much history in Europe! We managed to catch a tour in Spanish, and the area was really beautiful. We had lunch together in a very Catalán restaurant, and I made a big discovery that day with Laura and her family: Quim is another person when he has a nap. The whiny, frusterated child transformed into a lovable, cute chatterbox after a 20-minute nap. So I finally had some fun with Quim, even though we don't always understand each other. :-)

Another trip with Laura and her family was to Jordi's village, El Pla de Santa María. There was a fair that day, and for the first time, I was able to see the famous "gigantes" (giants) of Catalunya. They're sort of hard to describe, but they're basically different people made out of plaster, decorated, and hollow inside. A real person goes inside the gigante and walks around, dances, etc. Each town has different ones, but they're usually of kings and queens, fishermen, ladies, etc. They're so cool! One thing I DON'T like are the capgrossos--big heads. I have issues with things like bobbleheads, and these distorted plaster heads are disturbing. :-) After the fair, we went to Jordi's parents' house for dinner. WOW. They have a huge, beautiful house! I met both of his parents and his sister, and they're all really nice. Jordi's mom is really into ceramics and pottery, and she's made some lovely things. I had a fun time with the family, and Quim was his happy-had-a-nap self. He's also very...inquisitive. He took our plates away after we ate, and he asked me loudly in front of everyone else why I didn't eat my other olive. While I discovered that I really love olive oil, I don't like olives. They're just too squishy and strong-tasting. Anyway, we were all telling Quim that I was too full. :-)

Another Sunday was with Anna María and her husband, Oscar. They also have a really nice flat, and they love to travel, so there's lots of trinkets from Egypt, Mexico, etc. They've been married for three years, and Anna especially has been so kind to me during my time here. Anna and I walk around the wall of Montblanc on Tuesday and Thursday evenings when we can, and I'm starting converstaion classes/tutoring with her on Monday. She has a pretty good knowledge of English and is always quick to help me with Spanish. Anyway, we had lunch together, and then Anna and I drove up in the mountains and saw two villages: Prádes and Villanova de Prádes. Prádes was beautiful, and the whole village is made from unique red rocks. Villanova was just average, but it was good to compare the two. What Villanova DID have was a spot on some rocks where you can look out and see the beautiful mountains and trees. Ahh! It's just so pretty here! That evening, Oscar, Anna, and I had dinner at their flat (Spanish tortillas...and I helped make them!), and I was able to call home.

Another weekend excursion was with Javi and his family. We met up with about four other families (friends of Javi and Cati) and drove up waaaaay in the mountains to collect, of all things, chestnuts! Chestnuts and mushrooms are a BIG deal in Catalunya. We did a lot of hiking as well, and it was such a glorious day to be outside. One woman from one of the families is from England, and she's been here for about 20 years. She teaches English, and I think her husband might have a dual nationality in France and Spain. They have two boys, and they brought their dog! So I had a whole day to play with a dog as well. :-) Silvia (the woman from England) and I talked for awhile, and she's really nice. I have to say the one of the most unique things I've ever heard was a person talking in Spanish with a British accent. :-) All of the families were nice, and there were quite a few kids running around. My favorite might have been Andres, an eight-year-old chatterbox who told the same corny joke about 200 times throughout the day. There were probably 30 people total, and I think he told everyone the joke (something about cars and Tarragona. I didn't really get the context. But I know that it was corny. :-)). Haha! I collected a HUGE bag of castanyas (chestnuts) that I later threw away. :-) There's just no way I could eat all of them, and I'm not a huge fan of them in general (they taste pretty much like walnuts). I also kept hearing rumors that some have worms in them, and that was enough to make me ditch them. :-) But it was a fun day!

And this past weekend, I went to Valencia to meet up with a friend. That trip deserves its own post though!

So because the teachers are so nice and friendly, I've been able to see and experience things I couldn't have done on my own. I will definitely do more things with them, but one thing I'm aching to do is attend a church. I'm going to try this Sunday! :-) It's really hard finding public transportation on Sundays, and there aren't any Protestant churches in Montblanc. However, I finally found out that a train goes to Lleida from Montblanc on Sunday mornings!

Anyway, that's all for this post. Thanks for reading. :-)