Spring has sprung

The beautiful orange trees are blooming and the smell of the flowers on the trees send a chilling feeling up my spine, its amazing. Its so good! I have seen a lot of rain this year and through all the ickyness, I still love this little town. It consists of going out with friends from Denmark, Sweden, Brazil, Spain, Belgium, France, Chile and of course other Americans. I love it. I am consistently learning about new cultures, geography, new foods and new traditions. It is amazing that I can look for a trip on a plane to another country for a cheap price. I met a small town spanish boy and he has made me see things in another light. The other night we were sitting on my couch listening to Alejandro Sanz and Alicia Keys- Looking for Paradise. I would whisper in his ear translating the english words to spanish and he would do the same in spanish so I could understand. It is hard for me to understand songs for some reason. It was cute and I wished the moment could have lasted longer. It seems too good to be true sometimes but I am enjoying every moment of it.

I was sick for three days straight with the flu-AGAIN! I felt so alone, in my stupid bed for three long days. Tomorrow is the day of the juego...game...where we will be given teams of students of all ages in the school and we will go around to play games and learn about Europe as we go. I have Sweden, a country I dont really know too much about so my friend, Emilie from Sweden is meeting me to tell me more about her country. I plan to bring yellow and blue face paint tomorrow to paint on the childrens faces. There are alot of Suecos or Swedes in this area and I never thought to ask them about their country but with a school project, I will. I found out that they were a pagist country at first before Christianity and Catholism became influent. They can have up to 11 hours of sunlight in the summers and 9 hours of darkness in the winters. It is the third biggest european country after Spain and France. They have the longest life expectancy in Europe of 80 years, teh highest percentage of working females, and highest number of Mc Donalds in Europe which is only half of the number we have in the USA. ABBA, The Cardigans and Ace of Base came from Sweden. They speak Swedish but it will be hard to find someone from Sweden who doesnt speak English. Interesting huh? I thought so! Now, Im off to meet Emilie who we all call Fergie (because of the first time i met her, she looks like Fergie from the Black Eyed Peas...the nickname caught on and everyone calls her that now).

Teaching english in Benalmadena

I was invited to go to a high school in Benalmadena to answer questions that the kids had prepared so that they could hear the American accent. One of my friends from one of my intercambios had invited me and I thought it could be a fun experience. When I got there, I found myself a bit nervous but when I entered the class, it was like teaching back in the States. (Over the summer, I volunteered to teach the highschool kids about Spain and traveling outside of the States to learn about other cultures and learning the language in the culture.)
I found the students were nervous to ask questions so I talked a bit about myself. I told them how I got to Spain and what I discovered while I was here, why I came and how I planned to stay only 6 months....which turned into 2 1/2 years. The students started to ask me about things...What did I think of the Spanish people, what was the worst thing that happened while I was here (my coat and ipod were stolen in Madrid) and one student asked me how i liked the guys here. I couldn't answer this question. Overall, in the Costa del Sol, it seemed that the guys cheated a lot. It happens everywhere but here in the coast, where lots of tourists come in for the summers, it seems oh so easy to have a fling without anybody knowing. It causes a huge trust issue in relationships. I was dating a guy recently and he broke it off we me because he thought I was cheating. I didn't do anything and he was really paranoid that I was cheating so he broke it off.

I couldn't answer the students question because I was still really hurt and the pain from the relationship was so fresh still. I don't think all the guys are like this because two of my really good American friends found really nice trustful Spanish boyfriends. There are good guys out there... We can always find nice people in every culture, we can't generalize, its not fair to. I had a great time talking to the students and thought it would be fun to do it again maybe at the end of the year in May. Afterwards, I set up an intercambio in Benalmadena with a few friends and we spent the day walking around Benalmadena talking in Spanish and English. I always speak both languages these days. Its hard to stay in one. Sometimes, I'll speak in one language and a word will come out in the opposite language in the middle of the conversation. Its kind of funny. All of us do it.

Luciano, Katarina, Nandi, Irene y yo quedamos y pasemos muy bien alli en Benalmadena. Afterwards, I went home to Fuengirola for a short while then back out to Malaga for a night of fun (although it was raining). Karmen and Luciano were trying to hook me up with a friend of theirs and I wasn't going to have it. He was a Spaniard and I was content on being alone with my girls. He took my hand a spun me into his arms. He spun me back out and started to dance salsa with me. I was shocked that he knew how to lead me so well. Little by little the people in the dance club backed away and started watching us in admiration. I felt like I was in Dirty Dancing. My heart jumped when he dipped me at the end of the song and I knew I couldn't avoid him any longer. It is amazing that you always find things when you aren't looking.

A big surprise for the 5th and 6th graders

Hace dos semanas los estudiantes de quinto y sexto recibieron ordenadores. Son portatiles de la Junta de Andalucía. Cada estudiante recibió y tiene que guadarlo durante cuatro años. Despues de los cuatro años, los portatiles son suyos. La Junta los dio a los estudiantes para que ellos sepan como usar ordenadores. Ellos tienen que entregar su tarea por coreo y tambien hay muchos tareas durante la clases que los alumnos tienes que hacer con los ordenadores. Me sorprendí mucho porque la Junta dió un portatil que cuesta 3 o 4 cientos cada alumno. Tambien ellos recibieron mochilas para llevarlos portaliles. Los estudiantes estan aprendiendo cosas con el ordenador muy rapido. Ellos estan cambiando música y fotos con un pen drive. No sabía mucho de estos cosas cuando tenía la misma edad. La tecnología esta mejorando cada día más.


Two weeks ago my students in 5th and 6th grade recieved portable computers along with backpacks to carry them in. The board of directors from Andalucía, the southern providence in Spain gave each child a computer. It costs about 300-400 euros but was given to each child so they could learn how to use a computer. The kids have assignments in class and have to turn their homework in by email. They are learning quite rapidly how to use a pendrive and share music or pictures with each other. It is on loan to them for four years until they reach highschool. At the point of graduation, the computer becomes thier own. Next year, the new 5th graders will get more computers. Every year following, the 5th graders will get new computers as well. It is amazing how technology is improving. By doing this, the children will learn quicker and be more encouraged to use computers.