Stop, Elaboate and Listen

Wow, MASSIVE NEGLECT! I will now accept all jeering the the throwing of fresh produce in my direction in retaliation. To be honest I just could get myself to write... actually put finger to key. And honestly, there is so much to tell. Between an amazing trip to Sevilla, Granada and Cordoba.... the glorious arrival of most of the Russo clan as well as another amazing trip, but this time to Barcelona. Also sprinkled in there are some crazy Spanish festivals and ridiculous things Ive seen Spaniards do. So hang on, this is going to be a lumpy (not bumpy) ride. So now that you have received fair warning... launch in 5, 4 (ok you should be counting down in Spanish), 3, 2, 1.........


Sevilla, Barcelona, Cordoba
So I had like a Monday and Wednesday off from school the second week of December... cause Spain just likes to do that. It makes no sense to take two separated days off like that, but that as I have discovered first hand, is the basis for most Spanish logic (at least governmental logic, although the general public is giving the government a run for its non-existent bankrupt money). So anyways I took of the days in the middle and hopped a plane with four other Americans and hightailed it to Sevilla. We left at like 10:30 at night cause it was the cheapest flight (we we are all pooooor) so we didn't get to our hostel till like 2 a.m.

Just to be clear, when Russos go on vacation, we like to sleep in, take our time... hit the highlights. BUT my American counter parts were up at 9 the next day, ready to go. Yeah, it was painful! So I dragged myself out of bed (which was actually a nice bed... it was my first time staying in a hostel and I was definitely a fan). And holy moley (excuse the strong language) did my travel buddies mean business. In true Emily style I came having prepared nothing. I had not a map, not a print off... heck I didn't even google Sevilla (ps. Google just auto corrected me for not capitalizing it.... wow do I feel chastised) .  Luckily two of the people I was with were prepared... like addresses of good restaurants prepared. (I on the other hand was concerned I didn't have enough clean underwear, hence being impressed with their foresight). Anyways we walked around the entire city in the first day alone! We toured the Cathedral, which was breath taking. We saw the bull fighting arena and we walked along the river that runs through the city. There were tons of people rowing on the river... (like actually rowing, not like in a lilly pond rowing but like, I eat only lean turkey and would drown if I fell overboard because Im so dense with muscle). Plus along the foot path there was tons of AWESOME graffiti. Like no just "Emily was here" or "Boobs" but like actually graffiti art, (which I am totally into).

Me by the river that goes through Sevilla

Amazing Cathedral that was HUGE!!!

View of Cathedral from up in the bell tower

Breakfast with Mary

Bells in giant Cathedral tower

There are orange trees lining the streets of Sevilla but the oranges are really sour like lemons!

Anyways we ate some delicious TAPAS! Like amazing name first child Patas Aioli (garlic potatoes) as to be constantly reminded of the delicious explosion of flavor I experienced. We also saw a Flamenco show and dang the dancer we saw was Fierce... she made Tyra Banks look like she is constantly drooling. It also made me realize Em have no percussive talents what so ever. They are clapping and making these beats that I can hardly follow. So cool, ice cold.....

So we rented a car to drive to Granada and Sevilla cause it was cheaper and faster than taking the bus. So when we went to go pick it up, we wasted an HOUR trying to find the pick up zone because the office said they were "behind" the office (the Spanish on the sign and the English translation didn't match up so we couldn't figure out where the heck we were suppose to go) . So we went on a wild goose chase around this giant store complex thing... we were going down into the garages and asking strangers and getting lots of strange looks. (something i'm generally use to) Finally we figured out the meant ACROSS not behind. So they were just across the street. Then when we get into Granada we were totally lost for a while and couldn't find our hotel. So Granada is hella old and the streets look like a drunk baby mapped them out. CRAZY HOT MESS trying to find our hostel and then trying to find a place to park...not to mention my friend riding shot gun has negative map reading skills (no offense but seriously... he was as helpful as a Miss USA in a missle crisis.) 

We only had two nights there and the first one we go there so late we just went out for tapas, (at like midnight) and then went to bed. BUT the next day we got up early and went to the Arab Bath House. So apparently we went to the "fake" ones cause they were built recently and are actually like a spa BUT dang did they feel good. There are three pools and one is COLD (like Lake Michigan cold), one is warm, and one is hot. So you have an hour and half and you go soak in which ever pools you like. OMG is was so relaxing because we got there for the first appointment at 10 a.m. and it was just four of us and like three German tourists so we had the whole thing almost to our selves. I got a 15 min massage with it and wow, did that Spanish woman have magic hands. It was so nice to just totally relax, you know, go to your happy place... which for me happens to be backstage at a Spice Girls concert.

After we went to this awesome Arabic palace that sits at the top of city. It was mind blowing because all the art in the palace was classic Arabic geometric centered art. The entire place, top to bottom, had intricate geometric carvings that were so delicate I could not even process how long it must have took to design and complete something so massive. I thought about how much time it would take me to complete just one of the rooms and it made my heart hurt (in a good way). So if you don't like art just skip to the next paragraph cause im gonna do some art talking now.... So, what amazed me so much was the obvious difference between European art and Arabic art. I'm a lover of impressionism which is based on nature and needs to be looked at further away because up close it looks like blobs. The Arabic art was the EXACT OPPOSITE in that the beauty of the details of the carvings could only been seen up close. It was also very interesting to see how the carvings were very mathematical looking and abstract in their influence. I'm so used to seeing nature and human form inspired art that the very geometric art was like a whole new view on the possibilities of art.

Ok, sports fans, time to tune back in. Anyways the next day we decided to drive to Cordoba to check out an amazing church there. OF COURSE we got super lost trying to get out of the city and ended up wasting over an hour trying to get to the highway we needed. Part of the problem was that there was SO much construction that every time we thought we had a route figured out, we got to a dead end. We legit had to back up an ENTIRE block because there was construction that wasn't marked till we got to the dead end and then the street was too skinny to turn around in.  I was very thankful I wasn't driving because as most of you know, no one should have given me a license. (To be honest the person that passed me on my driving test could probably be charged with neglect. )

So yeah we finally got to Cordoba and only had like 2 and a half hours in the city cause we had to get the car back to the rental place in Sevilla by 6 p.m. so we just went to the Church. I didn't think it was going to be anything interesting but it turns out this church is interesting because it used to be a Mosque that had been converted into a Church (and then back into a Mosque (and then back into a church)) over like a hundred years. It was amazing to see Arabic and Islamic architecture and art work right beside Catholic artwork. Literally on the same wall there would be traditional Islamic carvings and a Medevil painting of Jesus. It was like the crusades were being carried out in this very church in front of my eyes. MIND BLOWING, seriously. The struggle for control was palpable.


OK MORE TO COME...... Im still working on it!

Its, like Spain

Hear Ye Hear Ye,

So i've just gone through two days worth of anxiety attacks over grad school. Basically I'm a hot hot HOT mess. One day Im like, yeah education (i love coloring and singing songs), and then the next day Im like, Medical Interpreting is awesome (I like sick people). And then this inner battle happens where Medical Interpreting has a throw down with Spanish education and all like 

                         "rwar, I am like way more cool cause like no one knows what I am and I can like save       lives (or kill people)" but Spanish education is like "you smell, I get to act like i'm perpetually 12 and I don't have to worry about killing anyone."

And then Medical Interpreting comes back with "Yeah well interpreting is wayyyyy more interesting singing "head shoulders knees and toes"

And then Spanish Education ends it with "yeah but I get the summer off!"

So yeah, crazy internal monologue. Thoughts? I dont really know who won, cause obviously Im conflicted to start with. Any official mental referees out there are invited to call the match winner. It would be much appreciated. 

I'm not dead yet.

So yeah, I let you down.... sorry. I know that you have been anxiously wait every day, hoping for news from the front. Each day finding agonizing defeat when nothing more has been posted. Im sorry to have so profoundly disappointed my devout fans, but in my defense... I'm lazy. Yep I'm going with the lazy defense. Didn't see that one coming did you? You assumed I would go for the classic, "I've been super busy" or the slightly less classic "I've been drunk for the last month" but my excuse is neither. To be honest I have started about three different posts that I never finished and then forgot about and deleted. So this is my make up to you and promise I will try harder to get my butt in gear and keep you updated cause boy (or girl) I actually have been busy while I wasn't being lazy.

    So honestly it feels weird being in a school but not being IN school. I come home and yes I have lesson plans to do but besides that... I'm free as a jaybird. Super strange cause I keep thinking, isn't there some paper I should have started or some book I'm about 5 chapters behind on? Well turns out yes and no. So as some of you may know I've decided to apply to grad school to get my teaching license.  (So for those of you who don't know, you need a license to teach, at least in public schools and most private schools that is specific to the age group and/or subject that you teach. I have my undergrad degree but not my license so I'm applying for a special program that is a master program in which you get licensed and then after teaching a year you take a few more classes and then have your masters in teaching. Pretty cool huh?????) Anyways I'm applying to the University of Minnesota and Hamline. Right now I'm leaning towards the Hamline program because the classes are at night and then I could have a job and go to school. But I still have to apply and see if they want me... so I'm not making any definitive plans. Anyways, that has been part of the reason for my neglect because I've been busy worrying about grad school. Not like actually doing productive things to get into grad school, just generally worrying about it. I have started my essays for like "Why I want to be a teacher," which reminds me of like fourth grade when you had to write a one page report on what you wanted to be when you grow up and you talk about how you really like criminals and have an interest in video surveillance tapes and thus want to be a cop. Its kinda like that but more grown up, like hey, kids are cool cause they don't notice when you are having a bad hair day. So yeah, I have a hard time writing them without making jokes, so generally I think they come off a little sarcastic or a little drunk. I'm hoping for drunk (because you can sure a drunk but you cant cure a sarcastic person). Of course if the whole teaching thing doenst work out I could alwasy just write blogs, but looking at my record this last month that doesnt seem too promising so lets all just cross our fingers... K? NO seriously, could you just cross them? Thanks

So what I am been up to.... Lets make a list....

1. I went out on a boat in this city on the island called Andrax that has this huge and beautiful harbor. One of the teachers at school, I tutor her two teenage boys and they told me about how they sail competitily (i keep wanting to say they are competitive sailors but that just seems dirty cause of how people reference sailors in old movies). So anyways this teacher and her husband own a boat and we went out and watched as her sons raced in a regala. Super cool, I ate tons of food, and I felt sick so it was a good day. I totally want to go out again. 

2. I went to Vadellmosa, a super cool, very picturesque town on the Island for the second time with Catalina (another teacher from my school that has become my Spanish Mom, and her daughter Maria who is awesome and who is probably reading this). We went to this old monastery and walked about cause there are all these woods and such. There was this stream that comes down the mountain they they built little bridges over and it was super cool. This monastery overlooks the sea so it had some awesome views. After we went out to eat at this Italian restaurant and I had gnocchi, (which is my favorite) and I seriously licked the bowl clean..... yeah, the Spaniards were like, what is wrong with her?

3. I made Thanksgiving dinner at Catalina and Maria's house for 11 people! Catalina made a turkey that turned out like super tasty. Catalina's mom, aka the coolest grandma ever cause she tells dirty jokes, bought the turkey at a local market and this thing was fresh. So it was a girl turkey and it still had some feathers on it! Catalina bought a real syring from a drug store and we injected it with sherry. When it was cooking it started to dry out at first cause it had like no fat on it so she put hard apple cider on it and it turned out better than I could have imagine. So I made stuffing and I was afraid that they wouldnt like it cause its super american as well as the green bean casserole that I made but they loved it. I made a double batch of stuffing and I made it the night before and it took like 2 hours to get it all ready and that was minus the baking part. And in classic Emily style i destroyed the kitchen and had to take like an hour to clean up. Yep Im a messy cook, but a good one, just like Lou-Mae. So yeah, it was a super successful Spanish Thanksgiving. I told them they had to eat a ton, and then take a break and eat more cause thats how the Americans do it. When they got done and said they were ready for dessert I told them they didnt eat enough cause if they did they would be like wayyyy to full to eat dessert right away. They laughed, and then at more!!!!!! 

4. I made my 5th grade students write lines last week! School is going well and I've been planning alot alot alot of classes which is good practice for me. My 1st graders are crazy, like legit can't sit still for longer than 10 seconds and can't not talk for about 5. It is IMPOSSIBLE to get them all quiet AT THE SAME TIME. Believe you me, I have tried. But I have gotten use to it and in the end I can end up teaching a pretty productive class. Usually it entails lots of motions and standing up and sitting down like every two minutes. Anyways, back to 5th grade. I had half the class for and English class and this was the 4th time I'd had this group and they'd been really good in the past so I was thinking oh this will be easy. Well needless to say, they were loud, and disrespectful and totally ignoring me. I think they were basically testing the bounds of how much power I really had. I think they were seeing if I was like a real teacher or not. So basically I was telling them to be quiet (in English cause they dont know I speak Spanish) and they were totally ignoring me. And they when i was giving directions none of them were listening and I ended up going to each group and re-explaining. Finally then they were presenting and on kid pretends to mispronounce and English word and instead says a dirty word in Spanish and I was like OH NO YOU DIDN'T!!!!! So remember how they don't think I speak Spanish, and thus thought I would know what he said.... well I did and I was soooooo angry. So went off on them, in Spanish. They all sat there like OMG what is happening how is she speaking Spanish!?!?!? The were confused and scared cause I was laying the shame on thick and dude, anger makes me super fluent!!!!!!!!! It was flowing outta me like diarrhea outta a sick baby. So then they were just sitting there like, wait, did that just happen, was she speaking English and I understood it all or was she speaking Spanish. So then I made them sit in silence for like 10 min which was so painful for them. I swear I could see the pain manifesting on their faces. Then I assigned 20 lines of "I will pay attention in English class" in English and Spanish and told them their parents had to sign both sides. The next day when I collected the papers, they came up solemly and handed them to me and I gave them the slightest of nods and they sat back down. Oh yeah, I played it cool. Anyways when we had art on friday, they were angels!!!!!!!!! So yeah, we will see how this week goes!

(p.s. these are my 5th graders one week prior to the smack down)

5. Oh yeah, I have a sinus infection, as always. I have the world laziest immune system. I had kept getting sick with like monster colds and then finally I woke up this morning and thought my head might explode so I went to the doctor, which was a strange experience. You go to the nurse first and they do all the temperature, blood pressure, pulse thing.... but never tell you what any of it is. So I'm like, wondering if I have a temperature or not (I took it when I got home and turns out I did) but they just never tell you. Im thinking, is it like a secret or something? Am I dying? Are you doing secret government tests on me???? Well after you go and wait outside a doctors office and they call you in. They ask you some questions and do a short examine but it wasn't really that through. They asked if I am allergic to anything but not if I'm taking other meds or if like I'm a crazy person or something. Then I took my prescription to the pharmacy and I thought he said it was 80 euros and I was like WHAT YOU SAY??? But it turns out he said 1 euro and 80 cents!!! Yeah holy cheapness! The tea I bought was more expensive than that! Oh and then the person at the pharmacy just handed it to me and never told me like, yeah 3 times a day with food or whatever. So I got home and had to webMD it. So hopefully I dont OD on my anitbiotics. 

So yeah, that's about it. I'm sure I have some more stories but Im sure you are bored or antsy by now. So if you made it this far congratulations, you have won 1 million dollars. JK! This isn't Austin Powers!!!!!!! So this is where i bow out and you hang on to my every word. I hope I have dazzled you with my wits and strange stories about mysterious foriegn land. If so tell your friends, if not, keep if to yourself. So yeah, Ill try and keep myself motivated to tell you more, like what brand of toliet paper i buy or whatnot..... 

Teddy bears and Rainbows,

Emily

p.s. you should leave a comment to say you read this, just so I know Im not writing to no one, of if your a stranger I want to know why a stranger would be interested in this travel blog, cause that seems a little strange to me. Not but really, COMMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!