Nos Vemos

Today is my last day in Manza (until I come back in September). The only possibility of me not coming back is if the Prince of Spain calls me up and wants to get married, but after shaking the 8-ball on that, it said "Outlook not so good", so I will be coming back in Manzanares.
I had to get a lot done today. I am alone in the Piso, Mike already left, and Karlyne is in France for a few days. So it has been lonely and I HAVE heard things in the piso and got up several times last night saying "hello? HELLO?" and did a run through of all the rooms. So silly. Anyways, I don't know where or when I acquired so much stuff. A friend let me keep some stuff (some meaning a LOT of stuff) in their house while I'm gone - things like winter cloths, sheets, blankets, etc. I don't think they knew what they were getting in to when they said I could leave stuff with them...
My suitcase seems to have a lot of room in it. I would say most of it is alcohol and souvenirs for people. Glad I have my priorities in order. I have to finagle things around still, red wine and clothes probably don't mix. This isn't the first time I have taken wine back so I am pretty sure everything will be okay. The weight is what I have to worry about...Taking all my stuff through the metros of Madrid can be tedious, and I usually have to rely on a stranger to take pity on me.

Today I shared a few drinks with a professor, we had a great conversation. My Spanish has really improved from when we first met. Still wondering WHY I didn't have drinks with the other professors sooner - this was a great experience and a good opportunity to meet outside of work and stress! We even met up later to watch the Barcelona vs Manchester game (VISCA BARCA!)

Tomorrow I leave Manza for Madrid and then Monday head off to Germany for quite the extravaganza. I begin in Berlin. I am very excited and anxious and nervous, but everything is falling in to place and I am realizing I don't have too much to stress out. I was planning on packing more things in to the trip, but my mom said to S L O W down. which I should. I remember when I tried to cram everything in on my Italy trip the first time, and I regretted it because by the time I got to Venice I was very tired and didn't see much. So I am will be slowing down and remember I have next year to do more traveling!

I didn't get overly emotional, I will see my students next year. I am hoping my 1st ESO classes will be just as enthusiastic about me coming to their class now that they are 2nd ESO! I really did love the applause, and waving, and cheering I got from them when I came to class. It let me know I was doing my job right. I can't wait, I have so many more ideas for next year that I hope I can put in to action. Next year is going to be great. I am so truly very happy here. I will already go ahead and extend the invitation for you to come visit me :) It is a pueblo, a small town, but it does have some spunk and there are many things I will miss while I am gone.


Off to finish things around the house and hopefully get some sleep.

Nos Vemos Manza

Tori.
Stateside in the middle of June!

Manza Street Etiquette

There are a few things I have noticed my last 8 months here while walking around in Manza.

1. When it is nice out - EVERYONE is out, walking. Walking with friends, walking with an ipod, walking with a dog, walking to walk. It is common to walk to the town over - Membrilla. And it is very common to walk along the 'river' (really it is more of a creek if you ask me). I walk to school almost everyday. Sometimes I don't like to for my early classes because I am carrying my computer the whole way - and at 8am in the morning that just isn't fun. But I have gotten used to it, and the walk seems shorter everyday. All in all, I love just walking and people watching here.
Also note that around Siesta time - EVERYTHING (minus the Grocery store and a few pubs) are CLOSED, and NO ONE is in the street. When I first noticed this, it was like a ghost town. You could look our your window to one of the popular squares and it would be EMPTY. Then around 5:30 to 8pm, crowded and filled with people!

2. With walking on some of the popular streets - we call the main street here Gran Via -  cars can't drive on it. So it is made for walking and shopping. It is relatively thin, and usually crowded on a good day. This can cause problems of people just standing around and little children running all around the street - meaning you have to pay attention to everything to your left, right, in front of you, and behind you. I have almost tripped over small children before, or walked in to someone when they stopped abruptly.

3. I see more people WALKING their bikes here than RIDING them. Still trying to figure that out. I don't think as a child I ever "took my bike for a walk". Sometimes you see 2 people crammed on a 1 person bike. This is most entertaining to see the positions of the two people - usually without a helmet, some without shirts on. It amazes me how they keep balance and go fast at the same time without getting hurt. Cirque du Soleil should really start looking for some new talent here.

4. People walking their pets here let their animals do their business freely (I HATE the P word...) and don't pick it up. It is rampant here in Manza and I can't stand it. It is so rude. That is why it is important to look down while walking - even on the sidewalk here. The ONE time I wasn't paying attention to the sidewalk and BAM - stepped in it. I was livid, I almost cried. I am just fed up with that here. Come on people - clean up after your dogs. This frustration also comes from the fact that sometimes the street just reeks of animal waste. Even more awful when it is hot and you need to leave your window open ( I recently Febreezed my room several times to try and make it less offensive. ). Another note is that we must dry our clothes outside and I want my clothes to smell like air and nothing more...

5. The street behind my flat has been underconstruction since before we even moved in back in March. It is still not complete. I think part of the reason is that they don't block it off for people not to drive on. It is less than gravel, some wet cement, metal boards, glass, etc. People STILL drive on this. I think they could get it knocked out in a few days if they just blocked it off! People drive super slow down this road - if they just let it be closed a few days it would be DONE in a few days. Taking bets on whether it will be done in September when I return or not...


Some last thoughts. I should be asleep right now...

Tori

To be blunt

After my awful day of class (Remembering it was an awful day, but an awful day  in Spain, which makes it somewhat better)

1. I ask that you not raise an jerk kid. If they don't respect you, how will they respect others?
That is all I am going to say about that right now. 


But more importantly:
After reading my Aunt Deb's blog in which she eloquently writes about her ALS adventures (can you put eloquent and ALS in the same sentence?) I just want to say - ALS sucks. I can't think of any eloquent words to say about ALS. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it.
With that being said, May is ALS awareness month.

The ALS homepage is HERE if you want to learn more about this debilitating disease. 

Thanks!

Tori

Eurospeak

It always makes me laugh when I am in other countries and they ask me where I am from. After I say "Texas, the United States" - more than likely the response is "Obama!", and that really concludes the conversation because they don't know any more English after that.
But sometimes, when I respond with "Texas", I just hear "Bush!" and that is all they know.

I usually do answer Texas over just saying The United States out of habit I guess if they hear me speaking English.

A few times in Morocco, where I was just speaking Spanish (they mainly know Arabic, then French and THEN Spanish depending on where you are. So it is easier to speak Spanish while wondering around or trying to bargain with people. Then of course if they asked I tried to just say Castilla- La Mancha. (No one knows where Manzanares is anyway).

Now I am wondering what I will hear after the events of yesterday. (In case you avoid the news and talking to people, Osama Bin Laden has been killed)

Anyways,

I know I need to add my Sahara blog but I have a million things on my plate, it will happen, just might be later in the week/end for me to get it done. It is awesome so I hope you all can't wait to read it and see the pictures.


Tori

What the what?

Today in Manzanares was Divina Pastoras. It is like a mini county fair. And when I say mini- I really do mean mini. They have about 4 carnival rides and several food places and maybe 2 places selling random junk. The main part of the carnival is the beer booths which outnumber the amount of carnival rides and food and random junk places. I did buy popcorn and churros. Got to get my fried food in for the week.

The attraction I found most interesting was a ride where you get on these fake bulls and they move and try and knock you off. They played classic ditties like "Cotten Eyed Joe" - which made me think of Texas. This is a pretty tame ride for children. I did capture some video. Also note the paintings of naked women with big boobs in the background. I don't know where this is supposed to fit in a rodeo game...and I don't understand the relevancy. I just thought it was hilarious and wanted to share the sense that is Spain.

Enjoy!


Tori

More-Occo Please

I know I haven't been so diligent with keeping up. Time is really flying here, I can't believe April is almost over!
I just returned from Morocco - maybe one of the best trips of my life (which is really saying something!) The 6 day trek was perfect, it included a lot of Moroccan cuisine, guided tours, and even a night in the Sahara desert. We had a woman from Fez on the tour that was able to answer questions and tell us some history of each place we visited. I still can't believe I was in Africa.

We took a ferry from Tarifa to Tanger, and immediately headed to Rabat. It is a pretty city on the west coast of Africa.
We first exchanged money - I look totally rich!

The restaurant we stopped at was probably my favorite of the whole trip. We had this pastry dish filled with chicken and topped with cinnamon and sugar. I need to learn how to make it. It was delicious.

After touring the small Medina, we headed to Fez for the night. Then early in the morning headed to the desert!

This is the monument for King Mohammad.

The trip into the desert was interesting. It will be all dead looking and then out of nowhere an Oasis of palm trees will pop up!

The last city with roads that you see on a map is Merzouga. After that it doesn't look like there are any roads...because there aren't. We hopped in to 4x4's and each driver took a separate route across the sand to the hotel we were staying at. A little scary at first because the road just ends. And each driver takes off differently because it is hard to follow someone when the sand is all being kicked up. It is a bumpy ride, and one of the cars even got a flat tire on the way! Such a contrast from the rocky desert to the sand dunes!

The rocky desert. Cattle in the background!

Our 4x4 group.

Picture of the sun...there was a dust storm that day!

I still couldn't believe I was in Africa. Such contrasting landscapes throughout the drive.

Until next time - I will be updating on the Dunes of the Sahara. Probably my favorite part of the trip!

Tori

Ice Cream in a Bag

So last Friday I was able to go to the Chemistry class of 4th eso (students are equivalent to being Sophomore's in High school).
I had been asked to come to the Chemistry class, so after racking my brain from my high school/middle school Chemistry classes, I finally decided that making ice cream in a bag was one of my favorites. It shows chemical changes with salt and it lowers the temperature of the ice when the Na is splitting from the Cl. I remember having to take the temperature of the ice in this process, and the detailed lab write up we had to do for this. Including the Scientific Method - which I hated then but now it makes sense that we had to do that...
The students in this class though - didn't have to do any of that. I basically told them step-by step what they needed to do AND I gave a description of what was happening with the chemical changes and WHY we were doing this experiment. 
We had most of the supplies we needed (finding Vanilla extract here is impossible - so we just had them make chocolate flavor instead) The professor bought the wrong kind of pint-sized bags - I was a little disappointed about that because the zip-lock works SO MUCH BETTER. He bought the ones you tie - which makes the experiment a LITTLE more challenging. Even without, the experiment worked just like I wanted, and the students really liked it.
They were too funny because the ice gets SUPER cold. I warned them of that, and told them to try and put their sleeves over their hands to do it. Some of them whined that the bag was too cold, I had to explain that they needed it be that cold for the liquid in the other bag to turn more solid - just like ice cream. haha. After about 7 minutes of rocking the bag of ice back and forth, I checked all of the students, and most of them did a great job and their liquid was cold and solid like ice cream.
It was really neat to be able to go to a class other than English and do an experiment. Another chemistry professor came in to watch the experiment and decided to do the lab with her class as well - it was a good feeling.
Glad it all worked out, maybe we can do it next year too!

Until Next time

Tori

Italia

I have been away from a computer for awhile.

We (Mike, Karlyn, and I) have moved to a new flat. It is awesome. It is located closer to the main square which gives me easier access to one of our favorite bars - Meson del Toro. It has been especially nice since the weather has been beautiful and it is easy to go and get a drink or some of their delicious food and sit outside in the nice weather with other Spaniards living the Spanish lifestyle. I could also be the demise to my bank account...
The new flat also allows us to all have our own rooms, which is really nice since Karlyn and I had different schedules. We spend more time in the Sala now, there is a huge balcony for us to do laundry, and a nice terrace. I am happy to say I am very happy and very content here. I welcome anyone that wants to come for a visit. :)

I left for Italy on the 18th and got home on the 23rd. It was the annual Italy trip for Sotomayor. There were 58 students and 4 professors (counting me). We hit 8 cities, and no one died. I was exhausted by the time I came home. It was an adventure from the start. We took a bus to Barcelona and then sailed the great Mediterranean sea on a huge boat. I had never been on a huge boat, much like a cruise ship before. So that was all new to me - especially the rocking back and forth, there were a few times I lost my balance and had to grab the wall for support! The boat ride was about 22 hours and we finally disembarked in Genova.
We spent a few hours in Genova. The souffle for dessert was amazing. If I ever see 'souffle' on a menu, I am getting it. We did some scenic walks and then left for Milan. 
I thought Milan was awesome, the Duomo (the cathedral) was so pretty. It was very white and gleaming. It was the day of Italian Unification so there were many flags flying, and choirs singing. Some of the group went to the top of the Duomo, and I thought I was going to die with how many stairs were there. I was at the front of the pack and almost threw up (haha @ my Dad and Brother). The cheered me to the top, it was rather humorous.
In the afternoon we left for Verona - the place of Romeo and Juliet. All I could think of is that scene in the modern version that has them in the opening at the gas station saying:  "Do you bite your thumb at me?". Always a good laugh. We didn't have too much time there so we went to a museum with Juliet's 'tomb' - semi funny since some of the students got in it and pretended to be dead. So silly. Then we went to Juliet's house where they have a statue of her and a balcony replication. There are many love messages written on the walls. I wrote one for my friend Dara and I. I probably should have written one for Prince Charming <3's Tori too...

In the night we left for Venice. Venice of course is beautiful and last time I went there I was exhausted, so it was nice to see it wide awake. We went to many plazas and churches - and even took a gondola ride to cross the grand canal (which turned out to be a bit scary because I thought I was going to fall out of the boat!). The food was good there, I had Risotto and of course some gelato.  I bought a few things including a new purse - it is gorgeous and leather.
In the afternoon we left for Pisa - we got there at night so some of my pictures didn't turn out, but it was neat to go and see. Then we left for Florence.
Florence - I do love Florence. It is a really pretty city and has many plazas. We went into the Accademia to see  the sculpture of David by Michelangelo. Plenty of people snuck pictures of that! I ate a ton of Gelato there, I remember last time I was there and the Gelato was the best out of any city in Italy. We then drove to a panoramic site and took a group picture before leaving. Then we left for Siena.
We weren't in Siena long, so I wasn't too impressed with it. It was also at night so all of the churches were closed. I would have liked to see it during the day to see what it had to offer. I hear it is a beautiful city.
Then we left for Rome! Our last stop on the trip! We got to the hotel after midnight and the students wanted to go to the beach, which was a 5-10 minute walk. Only problem is that the hotel owner would lock the door so if you went to the beach, you had to stay out until 6am. Plenty of them did it, and told me I "slept a lot" meaning I didn't go to the beach to stay out until 6am then walk all around Rome the next day!
I like Rome a lot, I love Roman art history, and the plazas, and the fountains everywhere. So it was nice to be there for 2 days. We went to the Vatican the second day and this time I was able to go and see the tombs of the past Pope's. which was really neat to do - especially seeing Peter's tomb.

All in all it was a great time and I was able to speak a lot of Spanish and get to know my students as well as the other professors more. We all laughed a lot, and one of my students asked me to marry him (which I said "No gracias" to.)

I'll have to post some pictures once I get them organized.

Until Next Time

Tori

Tick Tick

We have finally moved into the new flat. Over the weekend I took numerous trips - WALKING my stuff to the new piso. I took about 6 trips, with a few trips in the rain.
It is a cozy place, and I am loving it. It is an" Espacio sin ingles" - meaning no English. Which is a great idea - I wish we would have implemented something like that in the old place and stuck to it. It is a bit difficult and I sometimes get flustered but we have a dictionary and I should be picking up and adding words to my Spanish vocabulary.

I leave for Italy on Friday! There are 58 students, 3 professors, and me. That is a lot to keep up with! So I don't really know what to expect at this point. I will just go with the flow. I know what I need to buy :)
I hope my camera is up for the trip - it has been acting up so I may need to invest in a new one this summer when I come home.

Last night (and this morning) there was the most annoying tick or click sound in my room. I don't know where it is coming from - but it needs to stop. It is driving me nuts and interrupting my sleep. I feel like the Croc from Peter Pan with an alarm clock in his stomach with a tick-tock and ringing he can't stop. I need to figure it out after school - at least before the day is over if I want any peace and quiet and SLEEP. I slept with earplugs in last night to try and drown it out. So I guess aside from THAT I love my new place :)


Must be off - I have a lot of things to do before I leave on Friday!

Love bite.

I was in class the other day, playing a question game. Where each of the students asked the person next to them a question and the person answered the question, then asked another question and we kept it going in a line. They could as anything they wanted, but I wanted them to practice using question words.

One boy asked the girl next to him about the mark on her neck, accusing her of having a 'love bite'. They asked me the word in English, and so, that is where they all learned 'hickey' and I had to explain it. I am an awesome teacher.

Later tonight when I told the story, Mike's sister told me that they brag about them here. I just laughed because that is the exact opposite reaction at home in which girls try and hide them with make-up, a side pony-tail, a scarf, etc
We all laughed a good while over it. I am really enjoying time with Mike's sister, Lauren, she reminds me of my friends back home.


Until Next Time

Tori

Paper memories

I have many private English lessons here in Spain, ages ranging from 2 to 17 (and sometimes adults). I like working with the older ones because they know more English and it is easier to come up with activities for them. The younger ones, I have learned a lot from and hopefully next year will do an even better job at lessons with them (songs and games). The 9 year old I have is in between - he HATES singing and songs so we don't do things like that but he has a wicked memory and learns vocabulary pretty fast.


The younger ones have filled my drawers with paintings and drawings:

I treasure these so much. I have some sort of understanding as to why my mom has kept all the things I made in preschool, although I am still confused as to why she still has a lock of my brother's hair from his first haircut :P
These mean so much. Irene has made me the most, and even made one with glitter! The main one in the picture is from her painting. She lights up when she gives me these - and she says Victoria with such enthusiasm. It reminds me of my Brother when he was little, and he couldn't say "Tori" so he would follow me around and say "Torti! Torti!", I wish he was still that cute.

You think it's funny but it's snot: (This part is gross)
Yesterday was a bit hard because Irene has a cold. She sneezed and snot went flying. It was sort of comical, but I gagged and ran to get some tissues and told her I couldn't help her because I would be sick, so I just handed her some tissues.Then the little boy was jumping up and down and sneezing at the same time, making snot hit the floor. OMG SICK. Her mom came in and laughed at my reaction and told me it was alright. To my future husband and father of my children - I can't do snot. That will have to be a prerequisite for sure.


My lesson after that is with a 6 and 7 year old, the picture of the girl on the left is from Silvia (the 6 year old). The 7 year old, Paula, has a great memory and seems like she likes to learn English, so she is pretty easy to work with (although she wants to play the color game where I say a color and they have to run and point to it ALL THE TIME!) Silvia, poor Silvia - I don't know what to do with her. We were practicing fruits and vegetables and she was doing fine. Then we read a book, and then we practiced fruits and veggies again and she forgot everything! Even simple things like tomate, naranja. So I asked her what happened and what was going on. She looked at me with her big brown eyes and couldn't tell me and almost cried! I felt so bad! I told her I wasn't mad, I just wanted to help her! She said she was dumb/silly. I said "No, no you aren't!". So I have no idea, I talked to her father about it and we don't know exactly what to do...so that will be a work in progress.


Carnival is this weekend and we have Monday and Tuesday off, so I am thinking about making a trip but who knows. Then the following week, I leave for Italy for 9 days. I find out the full itinerary this week! I know we are driving to Barcelona, then taking a huge ship to Italy! Need to keep saving up to buy things :)


Until Next Time

Tori

Train Vs. Bus: the great debate

I have been doing research for my Morocco trip in which we depart from Sevilla at 4:45am. So I had to book a hostel for a few hours.
After searching online, I found that the train is an AVE train - a high speed train. I would take a train to Ciudad Real (40 minutes, 6 euros) then wait about an hour and get on the high speed train to Seville (1.5 hours, 50 euros, yes, 50 euros - I get a discount of some sort, but am not crazy about the price). Giving a grand total of 50 euros more or less, and about 3 hours of my time (including the wait time)
Today I walked to the sketchy bus station (the street lights has just turned on making it even more eerie that it is in the daylight). There is not a reliable website for the buses, so it is necessary to walk to the station and bug them with questions. When I got to the train station, the main overhead lights weren't on, just the tiny light in the ticket office. The woman behind the counter was about to leave and I am probably annoyed her with all of my questions, which now that I think of it I missed a good one because I later found out that Seville has 2 bus stations, and it matters which one I am dropped off at...oh well. The bus leaves from Manzanares at 4:15am, and gets in at 9am. So we have an early early early morning and I wouldn't be able to check in to my hostel until 12 or later. (That is almost 5 hours on a bus. 15.09 euros, much cheaper) and the return bus is 8:30pm and gets in at 1:45am ( Again, about 5 hours on a bus, 15.09 euros, much cheaper) So we have a grand total of about 31 euros and 10 hours of my time.

No idea which to pick. Maybe I can do the bus one way and the train another. Hostel is booked just need to figure out how to get there...

Opinions welcome!

Soup for the soul

Clearly keeping up with my blog was an ill-fated New Year's resolution. (Have any of you kept yours thus far?)

First and most importantly: My two adult private lesson students passed their B2 English exam! They were so worried! I am so proud of them! This gives them many more opportunities job-wise, and they can make more money! It just reflects well on me - and can give me more lesson opportunities in the future. 

Christmas (wow, I'm still on that) was something I cannot put in to words really. I have so many family traditions that I treasure - so going home was a blast (and it was needed). It gave me a mood boost and gave me some more inspiration. I still have no idea what I am doing with my future, just taking it a day at a time. I've noticed days here where I am happy - plain and simple!

I feel like coming back another year would do me some good. I now have a sense of what I am doing here and what I would like to do - and I would bring more things here and be prepared (I wish I had Candy Corn to share over Halloween, and conversation hearts for Valentine's day!)  I would be more prepared for my job, but also more prepared for my private lessons! I did buy a memory game with words and pictures and that has worked well, so I need to buy more games like that.
Coming back another year to a pueblo also gives me a chance to practice my Spanish (which I am really enjoying). Hopefully that will lead to more job opportunities for me in the future - whatever that may be.

I haven't been feeling well in the past 2 weeks, which is super frustrating. I caught a virus and it is still lingering no matter how much vitamin C, or medicines I am taking. Even more frustrating is the fact that I can't just run down to the store and get some Campbell's Chicken Noodle. In fact, they don't have canned soup at all. Sometimes you can get chicken broth in a box - you still have to add to it to make it taste bearable. Recently Mike's sister had been sick, so he made her homemade chicken noodle soup, so luckily he gave me the recipe and I was able to copy from it. I didn't have chicken - but I had everything else. Although I would have rather opened a can of Campbell's - add a cup of water and heated it up in my sick condition - I was stuck making homemade soup. After g-chatting with a friend and crying because I felt so awful, I sucked it up and went to the kitchen. I had garlic, chicken broth, carrots, celery, seasoning, onion and some other leafy thing I got from the fruteria. I had to peel, chop, saute, and be patient. You have to make sure all of the veggies are cooked - and carrots take awhile. Finally I added noodles and chicken broth and waited some more. I felt like I was going to pass out, or cry again.
Finally after what seemed like eternity, the soup was ready - and it was possibly the best chicken soup I have ever had. I felt accomplished and the soup was good for my soul. I now know how to make delicious soup - just don't ask me to make it because I am tired just thinking about it!

Until Next Time

Tori

Sophie's Choice

I am a bit stuck.

My Best Friend's Wedding is this October and I am a bridesmaid. I am stoked that my best friend is getting married, the groom is a perfect match for her. I was previously cleared to start my contract here in Spain late in November so that I can attend her Oct 29th wedding.
Today they told me the Ministry of Education does have a problem with it because they pay for 8 months of an Auxiliar, and I would only be here 7. (I don't understand the problem, they would be saving one month of pay to me)
Anyways, they have a problem with it, so if I renew I have to start Oct 1st. ONLY option would be to pay for a plane ticket back on the 26th or 27th of October, and then come back. Which sucks considering flights aren't cheap and I would have JUST gotten here and used to jet lag. Not to mention if I go back then I will miss out on a lot of festivities and I would probably have to give up being a bridesmaid since I would need to have my dress fitted and everything. UGH.

I don't know what to do.
Do I miss out on my Best Friend's Wedding and the chance to be a bridesmaid to her?
Do I try and find another job?
Do I not go out at all ever over summer to save money to pay for another plane ticket home?
Do I give up the honor of being a Bridesmaid?

This would be a little simpler if I had a ton of money...

I have no idea on where to begin on the pros and cons of my decision. All I want to do it cry over it.


I promise a better update on my blog this weekend!

Sadly, I am feeling a bit under the weather. So this weekend has been filled with drinking fluids, taking vitamins and not being able to taste my food. I would kill for some Campbell's chicken noodle soup. So it has been a movie watching weekend.

Today is San Antonio (or tomorrow is but we still have school). The big bonfire at the church is tonight so I am hoping to be well enough to go so I can witness this. I have learned so much about the catholic faith since I have been over here.

My trip home was indescribable. I had such a great time and laughed so much. I love spending time with my family! I'm glad I was home for our many Christmas traditions. We always get a real Christmas tree and every year it is always an experience in picking just the right one. I feel that the tree grows on the drive home because every time we get home we have to shorted it a little bit. As always Dad put on the lights on the tree and then we decorated it. I was a little sad that my Brother has seemed to outgrow the tradition and went out with friends. But we had Chocolate Claus and Christmas music so it was still very special. Most of our ornaments have special meaning - I love that.

We went and did out Christmas Trip to the Galleria in Dallas, and I got my traditional chocolate covered strawberry from Godiva. This year it meant even more since we don't have strawberries in Spain yet...not until April. Love that freshness stuff...Oh how I want some strawberries!
It was a great family day, I don't think I will ever grow too old for things like that.

I'll update the next installment soon. Time for some tea...

Tori
XOXO

Chocolate Claus brought everyone joy this holiday!

Jet Lag - again

It has been hard to update since my jet lag is making me all kinds of tired at weird hours. Yesterday I woke up around 8 or 9 and ate a balanced breakfast and then was out walking around town for some exercise and bought some things for the house. I am going to attempt to bake chicken today. I have some delicious lemon pepper from the US of A that I am going to add to it. One of my friends back home found some recipes for me that I can look around and try. It was nice being home and not having to cook that much, now I am back in Manzanares and in charge of buying groceries AND cooking. Honestly I haven’t had much of an appetite, lately I have been skipping out on dinner because I am not hungry – this will probably change when school starts (MONDAY!) and I have all of my private lessons.
I hope I can stay awake for it all!
I am excited about my lesson on Monday because I bought a bunch of books for the 4 year old I have including Little Golden Books, which has brought back many memories. I remember when I was younger my sister and I would go pick out a Little Golden Book for our Dad to read to us before we went to bed, family tradition, and a good one at that. I also bought some Dr. Seuss books – those are all classics. In fact, when I brought the books home, my Dad read The Cat in the Hat to me (yes, I am 23 years old, but I enjoyed it like a 5 year old).
Being home was worth all of the stress it took me to get home and back. Traveling is one of my favorite things – but sometimes the airlines make it so hard on you to enjoy it.

I have a huge process I have to follow when I fly out of Madrid. I have to take a train (2 hours) to Madrid and stay in a hostel overnight so that I have plenty of time to make my flight. The train schedule isn’t always convenient – I think they did that on purpose. I usually take a late train out so that I can still have all of my private lessons. Then it is a pain to take the metro from the train station because it usually involves a large amount of stairs (and more often than not, someone is willing to help me because I try and look extra pathetic). Then getting to the hostel, there is another flight of stairs – I had a suitcase filled with wine – making it a trek.
Then, I stay the night at the hostel, make sure to set my alarm and go to bed early because the metro ride is about 45 minutes from my hostel to the airport (again, switching one metro line without an elevator, leaving some poor soul to help me). I finally got to the ticket counter at the airport – which is another trek to a different terminal from which the metro drops you off. I get to the counter, and the agent gives me a middle seat – um yeah no. I asked her if that was the ONLY seat on the plane – she said it was. I was almost in tears knowing that flying for 9-11 hours on a plane in the middle seat is actually NOT okay with me. The plane was delayed 2 and a half hours – meaning I was going to miss my connecting flight from Atlanta to Dallas – you’ve got to be kidding me. You stick me in a middle seat – AND I’m going to miss my next flight. Two strikes Delta! I decided to go up to the ticket counter and just SEE if there were any other seats (by this time I contemplated paying for a first class seat), and the agent was like, “Oh yeah, here is an aisle”. So the lady at the ticket counter lied to me, but I was super excited to not have to deal with a middle seat (which by the way two larger passengers were sitting in the row I would have been in).
Finally on the plane, some idiot hits me in the head with his suitcase (Really?). I started feeling nauseous and my head was throbbing. The flight attendant came by and offered me some Tylenol and ice. She was so pleasant, it really made the flight not so bad.
Then getting another connecting flight was another story. I had to get in line with a million other passengers that missed their connections as well. The first Delta employee told me I had to wait until the morning to fly out (yep, staying in a hotel for the night), I was almost in tears. I just wanted to go home. The agent at the counter asked me what I needed, and I told her I was trying not to be upset (the tears were about the come out), and she then told me they had ONE seat on the 7pm flight – note it was 6:30 and I had to go through security behind a woman with all the metal jewelry she owned AND take a tram to another terminal. I had to run, I had to weave myself up an escalator, I had to run some more to make my flight – and I was one of the last people on.

Coming home to my family (and Chick-fil-a and Dr. Pepper) made all of that nonsense totally worth it.

Until Next Time

Tori XOXO

I'm back

If you noticed, I took a bit of a hiatus from blogging. I only told a few people the news that I was coming back to the States for Christmas, and I wanted to keep a surprise element for a few people. So I didn’t write about it. When I got home I spent a lot of time with family and friends and neglected to update you on my adventures.

I’ll update you slowly but surely on the highlights of my trip. Today I am just recovering from a long journey back from Texas. The Three Kings parade is today so I want to be good and rested for that. Tomorrow is Three Kings day, which is the bigger holiday (Santa isn’t the main focus here).

Karlyne, my roommate was chosen  to be one of the Kings yesterday so the children could drop off their letters of what they wanted as presents (the Kings bring presents). There are about 5 black people in Manzanares, and they wanted her to play the part, which I think is absolutely stellar. I don’t know if she is going to be in the parade, I passed out at 5pm yesterday so I haven’t talked to her about her experience.

Today I have to get a lot done, tomorrow is a holiday and we all know that means everything is closed. I haven’t eaten since yesterday morning and I only have pasta and rice in the pantry, so I need to go shopping and get some food. Back to healthy eating – fresh fruits and veggies. I am excited to cook with some things I brought back with me – salsa, lemon pepper, and I did splurge and get some mac n cheese.

Now…just have to wait another hour for the stores to open.

Until Next Time

Tori