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. :-)

At last! Time for a post!

As you might have noticed, Big Sis added an update. Thanks, Amanda! It has been a busy, crazy, and fantastic week. So much has happened, and I think the best thing will be to start from the beginning and see how far I get. Feel free to skim, skip over parts, etc. At this point, this is more for me than for anyone else.
 :-) Having limited internet access has been...interesting. It certainly makes me realize how much time I spend on the computer!

I flew from Cincinnati to Philadelphia on Saturday, Oct. 2nd. Dad and Mom both went to the airport to see me off (Penny, our dog, came along as well, but she stayed in the car :-)). Everything went pretty smoothly, and I had plenty of time to wander around before the plane took off. I went ahead and bought some Reece's Pieces, a water bottle, and a few Ohio/Cincinnati postcards for the teachers. There was a buy-3-get-one-free deal, so when I say a postcard with buckeyes on it, saying something like, "Ohio, the Buckeye State: We're just a bunch of nuts!" I had to get it. :-)

No one was seated next to me on the plane to PA, which was really nice. It's a fairly short flight, but I realized that I didn't have much time to go from that plane to where I needed to go for the flight to Barcelona. The PA airport was HUGE, and I had to take a shuttle to the terminal I needed. Naturally, where I needed to be was waaaaaay back as far as you can go. I got there just in time for them to call for all zones to board. Whew! Since it was an international and overnight flight, the plane was both the largest and the coolest I've used before. All announcements were in English and Spanish, and once again, no one was seated next to me! It's a little crazy with so many people, but the flight attendants were nice, and tuning out the world with an iPod was great. :-) The plane took off just as the sun started setting, so I took some neat shots of the sunlight shining off of the plane's wings. I love flying!

The food was okay, but it had pretty small portions. That is, the edible stuff had small portions. :-P Airplane green beans are weird. Just...weird. The bathrooms are a little weird as well, but I won't give details about them. :-) There were some movies playing, but you had to pay for special headsets, and the films looked boring (The Last Airbender--blah. A-Team--double blah). So really, I spend most of the time looking out the window, listening to music, and staring at a book I didn't feel like reading. It was amazing how fast it turned dark outside! Once I couldn´t see cool stuff out the window, I started getting restless. I tried sleeping, but it was only for an hour or two. When I finally was able to sleep, the flight attended annouced to everyone (in an annoyingly perky voice) that the plane was soon going to land, and the time in Barcelona was 7:00am. So suddenly I went from 1:00 in the morning to 7:00 in the morning. Time is so subjective! I felt like I got a little glimpse of eternity in that moment. What seems so natural and important is really just...nothing. However, it was still dark outside, so I got an amazing first view of Barcelona: darkness with everything lit up. It was breathtaking. I took a few pictures, but they turned out blurry and would never do justice to what I saw.

Anyway, the flight landed way earlier than I thought it would. This concerned me a little because Laura, my tutora, and the principal were planning on meeting me at the Tarragona train station around 11. But it turned out that I REALLY needed that extra time!

First, I wasn't really sure where to go or what to do next. Do I go through security and show them my passport and that little paper they make you fill out on the plane? Do I get my luggage? But throughout the day, I discovered a rule of thumb for when you're travelling and don't know what to do next: follow the crowd. So like a herd of sheep, we followed each other, first through customs, and then to the baggage claim. Once the luggage hit the belt, everyone turned in to crazy maniacs. It was as if you didn't grab your bag RIGHT AWAY, you'd never see it again and would be punished by unspeakable horrors. My bags were one of the first to come out, but there were just too many people around. So I hung out in the background until I could make my move. :-) With a large rolling suitcase, a duffel bag on my shoulders, a backpack on my back, and a purse in there somewhere, I trudged along to the next destination.

My goal was to find a train station, but there were people and signs everywhere. But nothing about a train! I asked someone from the information desk about it and found out that I had to take an elevator down to a creepy looking place and take a shuttle to another terminal. This was much harder to do with lugging bags around! Not cool. Necessary, but not cool.

When I arrived at the other terminal, my "follow the crowd" thing didn't work. Most went to an area for connecting flights, and only one guy went in a different direction. I should have followed him, but I followed the others instead. I basically walked around the crowded and colossal terminal, dragging my luggage along with me. Finally I found someone to ask, and then I had to go alllll the way back to the front of the terminal to go up some stairs, through a long corridor, and then to a train station. Ugh. Regardless, I purchased a ticket to Sants, which I was hoping would be Barcelona Sants, the stop I needed. All of the information Laura gave me seemed different, so when I realized that I was headed to Sants Celon (or something like that), my inward panic level rose. I just knew I was headed to the wrong place. However, Barcelona Sants was one of the stops (yay!), and I was once again lugging stuff out and in another terminal.

This place was more crowded than the others! I basically just wandered around asking people how and where I should get a ticket to Tarragona. Finally, I purchased one, but once again, the time was different than what Laura sent me. Armed with my ever-present luggage and a purple ticket with "Tarragona" on it, I once again wandered around and asked where I should go. :-) It REALLY helped knowing Spanish!

I went down one escalator and realized I was in the wrong area, so after more up-and-down issues, I finally found out where I should be. Via 9. Okaaay. But there was nothing about Tarragona! I finally saw something that mentioned Reus at the same time as my ticket said, so I just went on that train (I mean, how many trains leave exactly at 10:03? And how many of you are still reading this? Hee hee). I FINALLY saw something for Tarragona and knew I was okay. Yay! But by then, I was exhausted, inwardly stressed, and very, very sweaty. Like every pore was sweating kind of sweaty. I quickly tried to make myself halfway presentable for Laura and the principal, sneaking deodorant on, etc. I will say that the RENFE trains are really nice. They're modern and comfortable.

At the Tarragona train station, which was gloriously smaller than the others, I sat and waited for two people whom I never met and didn't know what they looked like. I'm sure I looked ridiculous, peering at everyone's faces and toting luggage around! :-) I almost called Laura's cell phone from a weird-looking telephone booth I found, but Javi (the principal) and Laura soon came. They knew me right away because I mentioned what I'd be wearing and, well, not too many people had quite as much luggage as I had. :-) As they both gave me the typical Spanish greeting, a kiss on each cheek, I felt like Christian in Pilgrim's Progress when his burden fell off. I made it! To Spain!

Javi doesn't speak very much English (although I later learned that he knows way more than he claims to know), so most of our conversation was in Spanish. I was relieved to find out that I could understand them both pretty well, and they told me that I spoke castellano, or Castillian, or Spanish well.

The next several hours were a flurry of calling home from Javi's flat, buying some basic groceries for me for my first few days, looking at the flat that was ready and waiting for me (such a blessing!), meeting Laura's husband (Jordi) and 3-year-old son (Quim, which sounds like Kim), and processing loads of information. Everyone was so welcoming and sweet, and I will always cherish these amazing people.

I (finally!) ate lunch with Laura and her family at a restaurant in Montblanc, my home for the next several months. It was very Catalán, which is an adjective that means a lot but is hard to describe. :-) It was nice, and I was amused to discover that the bathrooms were labeled "Adán" (Adam) and "Eva" (Eve). :-D So clever!

Quim is a cutie, but he speaks only Catalán with just a few English or Spanish phrases. He speaks very well and clearly, but I couldn't understand most of what he said. Jordi doesn't speak English and actually rarely speaks Spanish, but we had a decent time communicating in Spanish. I couldn't figure out why I could understand the principal, Javi, so well, but I had more trouble with Jordi. It's because Jordi has a very thick Catalán accent, but Javi and his wife use Spanish regurlarly and were born outside of Catalunya.

Anyway, I tried some fishy-like things, like some sort of shellfish and a breaded squid or something. They both tasted okay, but that squishy, rubbery texture was...well, squishy and rubbery. I chickened out and ordered pizza, which was good but HUGE. It could've served 3 or 4 people, and by the time I started eating, I wasn't really hungry. I was just tired and really, really wanting a shower. :-) I saved a good portion of it that made a good 2 or 3 meals later on, so it worked out. We also ate dessert, and I tried crema catalana, which was pretty good. Not chocolate, but good. :-)

Quim started acting up, being the typical 3-year-old he should be, and as he loudly cried over random things, I realized that I felt exactly like Quim. I just wanted to sleep and cry over random things. :-) But it was still a nice welcome lunch. Oh, and everyone kept paying for everything. Jordi paid for the meal, Javi paid for my grocieries, etc. I couldn't get anyone to accept my money! :-) It was such a humbling and happy feeling. I felt truly wanted and welcome.

We then drove around to see all four schools. The scenery is amazing! Rolling hills and fields, views that go on and on, and just a tranquil, peaceful setting. Quim fell asleep in the car, and by the end of our drive, I was close to doing that as well. The plan was to meet up with Javi again for dinner, but I asked if we could postpone it and just have me rest in the flat until the next day. Laura quickly agreed and said that everyone would understand, so by 7 or so, I was in the flat. That was probably the hardest time for me, being alone in a strange place. I couldn't get the shutters to close, and since you can look out on a terrace and pratically see your neighbor's TV or something, I felt exposed and paranoid. I finally got an extra sheet to try to cover the window, but it fell down. So I just huddled by the couch, away from the windows, quietly crying to myself. Talk about a pity party! :-) God was so good and gracious to me the whole way, and all I could do was feel sorry for myself and wish I was back home. But it wasn't too long before I discovered the strip of cloth INSIDE the apartment, sort of like a long suspender, that you pull to open and close the shutters. Whew! I then colapsed on the bed, dozed off for about 30 minutes, took a shower, turned on iPod music, and slept a good 12 hours. Yep, 12 hours. The next day, I was like a new person. :-)

The flat (or apartment) is really, really nice! It had probably 90% of the stuff I needed already there. I go up one flight of stairs (the main door can only be opened by a key or buzzing specific rooms. I have my own phone buzzer! Woo!), and my flat is on the right, while the owner, Rosa (a sweet grandmotherly person) is on the left. Anyway, there's a hallway that leads to a closet of sorts that had a broom, mop, and drying rack. The kitchen and "living room" are in one room, but it's divided accordingly. The living room area has a small table with chairs, a couch, a TV, and several closet/cupboard type things. The kitchen has a refigerator, a dishwasher (that would take me forever to have enough dishes to load! I just wash the few I use by hand), a washing machine (Yaaay!), plenty of counter space and cupboards, a digital stove, and plenty of pots, pans, etc. The bathroom is small but nice, and the bedroom is a spacious area with two twin beds and all sorts of dressers and closets (one with shelves! "Shelves in the closet. Happy thought indeed." Pride and Prejudice reference :-)). The walls vary in color, from orange, to yellow, to pink, to purple, and even though that sounds weird, it actually works. Okay, the pink and purple doesn't quite work, but it gives the bedroom a homey, feminine feel. :-) One of my favorite parts is the glow-in-the-dark star and moon stickers in the bedroom. They're all happy and fun. :-) It adds a nice touch.

So in terms of living arrangements, it works out really well. It's clean (well, the tile floors not so much, but the important things are!), safe, and nice. I actually kind of like living by myself. I'm always right (hee hee!), can come and go as I please, never have to fight over the bathroom, and I always have a quiet sancuary when I need it. I find myself...quite content (another Pride and Prejudice reference!).

Haha. Well, that was day 1. Are you ready for day 2? :-P

Let me just sum up the highlights of the week. Mondays Laura and I have off, but I´ll rotate with different teachers and schools during the coming months, so my schedule will change. For October, however, I´m in Rocafort (the smallest school) and Pira. During the first few days, I had lunch with Laura, met and walked around Montblanc with Javi's wife, Cati, and another teacher, Anna (or Anna María), spent time with Javi and Cati and their two children, Paula (16) and Sergio (8), signed the contract for the flat, went to the schools, and went to Barcelona for my makeup orientation session.

Javi and Cati are two of the nicest people I've ever met, and it reflects on their children as well. In some ways, I feel the most comfortable with that family. They speak Spanish among themselves (rather than the typical Catalán), and they also live in Montblanc. Actually, a LOT of the teachers live in Montblanc. :-) I've had two meals in their home, and I love it there. They're always helping me with all sorts of things, and Javi, being the teacher he is, is really pushing me in my Spanish practice. He gave me some tips on using newspapers, magazines, etc., and I really love the cultural exchange with Javi and his family. They're always curious about how things are done in the States, and at the same time, they love to talk about Spanish and Catalán customs and ideas.

Laura is also really nice, and today, we finally had time to plan some lessons together. I went with her and her family to Poblet, where a famous monestary is, and a nearby cave. Once again, they paid for my tickets to both places AND the lunch. After I thanked Jordi for the 4,000th time, he just laughed and said that I can do the same if they ever travel to the US. :-)

Anna is another sweet person who lives just down the street from me. We've walked around Montblanc several times, and she's married but with no children. She's always ready to lend a helping hand.

And speaking of lend, I guess I should talk about the ATM issues! I found out last week that Wednesday I had to go to Barcelona, so on a walk with Anna, I mentioned that I should get some more money for the train and taxi ride there. We stopped by one of the many banks, and I soon realized that what was so easy in Mexico was NOT so easy here. The card didn't work. I tried using my credit card as an ATM card, and that didn't work. AHHH! Anna was quick to lend me 20 euros for Barcelona, for which I was extremely grateful. However, later in my flat, I got a call from Cati (Laura talked to Anna, found out the problem, called Javi, and his wife in turn called me on my newly purchased Spanish cell phone. Seriously, everything I do eventually gets out to these wonderful, protective people!). Cati and Javi were concerned that I still wouldn't have enough, so Javi literally picked me up the next morning, drove me to the train station, gave me 100 euros, PAID for my train ticket, and stood there with me in the freezing morning air while I waited for the train. He also took out money from his own account to cover the first rent payment. Wow! God's been so good to me. It's just incredible to witness. Anyway, after a crazy process that I don't have time to explain (seriously, you don't want to know!), Mom was able to set up a checking account in the States, and now I can take out money. Whew. I'll have a Spanish bank account soon, but in the meantime, it's nice to have money! Hee hee. It sounds like Dad and Mom were a lot more stressed out about it than I was. For me, it was another "do you really trust God, Miss Sarah??" moment. One night, I just sat on my couch holding my ATM card and credit card, thought about the Bible passage about not worrying what you'll eat and wear, and simply dedicated those silly cards to the Lord. He'll take care of me, and he certainly has this week!

Ah, the library's closing soon. I still have so much to talk about. Barcelona, the amazing children in the schools, life in Montblanc, etc. Tune in next time for more Ramblings with Sarah! :-P

For those of you who have been praying, and I know there are many, thank you!

I LOVE IT HERE!!

Until next time,

Sarah

PS: I don't have time to proofread, so if you see any mistakes, IT DOESN'T COUNT! Ha! :-)