¨Are you enjoying your time at home?¨

It was no surprise this year, I went home for Christmas. After last year´s big surprise visit, I knew I couldn't pull it off again - I´m actually still impressed that last year´s surprise was successful! (Ok, except for surprising my mom. But, I blame my dad for that one!)

I was able to go home for three weeks this Christmas holiday. Three weeks! While the Spaniards thought of it as ¨three weeks in America!!!¨, it was just ¨home¨ to me. I didn't go to any fancy places nor do anything really, really cool. But, it was about the little things for me. You might think I´m crazy for some points of my list, but those who really understand what it´s like living in Spain, or abroad even, will find it more than entertaining - maybe it will hit home for you, too. 

Before I get into the list, my adventure home actually began December 15, when I made a trip back to Salamanca, my second home. Not knowing where I will be next time this year really puts things into perspective - so I want to enjoy every minute. So, with that being said, instead of heading home December 15th, my last day of work for the year (thanks to my school´s gift of one extra week for holiday!) I went to Salamanca to celebrate the new year! That´s right - I celebrated bringing in 2012 about two weeks early. Salamanca is known for throwing the biggest student new year´s party in Spain, and probably the world, since I think it´s one of a kind. Since the students go home over break, they never get to celebrate together. To fix this, they organize ¨Nochevieja Universitaria¨ (Student New Year) to allow everyone to celebrate together.

Just how many students attend? This year, there were 35,000 people inside Salamanca´s Plaza Mayor and 5,000 outside. 42 Buses came from Madrid for the event, 2 buses on the hour every hour came from Valladolid, buses from Portugal and Italy... complete with Santa hats and grape gummies, 40,000 students from all over the world rang in ¨2012¨. Happy December 16th, everyone.

At midnight, the plaza turned red and green!

Friends (from left): Michael (Valladolid), Erica (WC/Theta), Dave (Valladolid), Me, Kate (Salamanca)

On December 31st, instead of counting down from 10, Spain counts down from 12. For good luck, they eat 12 grapes - one with each strike of the 12 bells, 12 seconds to midnight. One of my fellow teachers told me that one year when there was a big grape harvest, the king of Spain decided to give grapes to everybody to eat on New Year's Eve; the tradition lives on today. They also wear red panties and throw a glass of water out the window to symbolize that there will be no tears in the new year. On Nochevieja Universitaria, students don´t eat grapes - they eat gummy bears! This year, a company actually sponsored the event and provided grape shaped and flavored gummies for all attendees: ¨Uvas del fin del año¨. It was fantastic! In true ¨Spain Whitney¨ fashion, I made the most of my night, and returned home at 2pm the next day, after having tapas for breakfast around 10:30am. The end.

Nights like these, spent with friends from Salamanca, Westminster and Valladolid are what make my memories special. It´s not that I was at the big student new year´s party... but, that I was there with friends. This same idea is seen in my list of things about home... getting down to the little things that truly matter.

TOP TEN THINGS I LIKED ABOUT MY HOLIDAY IN MISSOURI

10. High School Basketball 

As a former high school and college basketball player, I have always had a passion for competition. I was able to watch several high school games while I was home.  I'm not sure if it was the feeling of being back in the same gyms I played in when I was younger or not, but I wanted to get out there and play! I kept yelling at the girls, saying "shoot" or "ugh, not that pass!" - but my time has come and gone and high school basketball will have to remain in my memories. But there is something about being in a gym that smells of popcorn... hearing the whistles and squeaky shoes... it brings back the pride, tradition and passion I had for pure competition.

Since it was Christmas break, holiday tournaments were all over town; on any given night, you could watch at least 5 high school games. It's not so easy to watch a high school basketball game in Spain. While I teach at a high school, and you think it would be easy to catch a game... it's literally impossible. Why? Spanish schools don't have sports teams. It's that simple. High school sports that are so important to American high school students (and parents...and the community) have absolutely no relevance here. "Letter jackets" are a novelty you buy for fun/fashion from a popular clothing store, like Blanco, that have a "B" on them because of the store name.

I have had several private lesson students who were basketball players. When I mentioned to them that I would like to come watch a game, they just stared at me. You see, they play on intramural/AAU type teams and you can count on one hand the number of spectators that attend the games. There is no concession stand. There is no entrance fee. How do I know this? I actually went to a game. There were a handful of classmates there to watch their friends, a few parents came to pick their children up at the end of the game... and me. While Marta, my student, was pleased I came, I also felt very out of place - but I was just showing support - something super common in the USA.

Spanish teenagers have no idea what American high school sports are all about. I wish they did; high school could become something more than the place they go from 8:15am - 2:05pm everyday. They could take pride in their school; there are no school colors, no mascot... no sense of tradition or loyalty. To them, high school sports are just another thing they've seen in the movies (like "those cajas (boxes) where you put your books").

I'm happy to say I got to see some really great games while I was back and cheer on my Helias Crusaders. The wins I saw will hold me over until next year's holiday hoops! Thank you, high school holiday basketball tournament for reminding me of heart, competition, and school pride. Go HHS!

High school rivalries pack the gym! Helias vs. Blair Oaks - winner: HELIAS :)

Helias students dressed in Blair Oaks "attire"...
Blair Oaks students dressed in plaid skirts to "make fun" of us.

9. Printers/Scanners
There are so many cool things I find online to use in my classes, but the fact that I don´t have a printer or scanner readily available to use in a moment´s notice is really getting on my nerves. I print some things at school, but feel bad about using up all the paper for my own personal needs. I´d go to an internet cafe like I did last year or in Salamanca, but I´ve yet to see one in Valladolid. So, I tend to stray away from things I can´t copy by hand or do orally with my students.

However, going home was a different story. I was able to scan documents for future jobs and copy cards/books to use in class. It was so easy! I love the feeling of being able to do anything I want - when I want. And. Going home gave me that power.

8. Wal-mart
On a similar note, I love being able to buy everything I need in a one-stop-shop. There is nothing of the sort here in Spain. We have chino shops (similar to a dollar store), candy stores, hardware stores, computer stores, clothing stores, book stores, really big department stores, paper stores, pharmacies, kebabs, fruit stores, bedding, butcher shops, furniture stores.... you name it, there is an individual shop to buy the one item you´re looking for. BUT. There is no Wal-Mart. My dad says, ¨if you can´t find it at Wal-mart, either it doesn't exist or you don´t need it.¨ I´m thinking he´s right... and it takes the hassle out of running all over town, which is what I do in Spain.

Once I went to the big department store here, El Corte Ingles (Literally, The English Court), that even has a grocery section, looking for bedding. And, they told me, ¨No, that is in the other Corte Ingles¨. Seriously? So, across town I went, as it was holiday when I was on the sheet hunt and not a single bedding store was open. Talk about frustration. Wal-mart is open 24-7. You really can´t beat it. Wal-mart, I miss you. 

7. Watching TV
There´s nothing like total relaxation in your favorite chair, kicked back, watching a marathon of House Hunters International. Or, staying up late to watch a movie you've seen 100 times just because it´s on Showtime. (I watched Titanic twice!) And, while I don´t particularly enjoy watching football (American football!) on TV, I was even happy to watch it with my dad, uncle and grandpa on Christmas Eve.

There is comfort in watching your favorite things at the push of a button, and not having to search for it online.

6. Carpet
Ok, so what's the big deal with carpet? Well, every house I've lived in or been in in Spain has either had hardwood floors or tile. While I appreciate the easiness to clean my hard wood floors here in Valladolid (I don't clean it enough!), I don't especially like that it is so cold under my feet. I'm not Spanish - I don't wear house-shoes. 

There is just something about American homes that have carpeting. It's nice in the morning to wake up in your bed, jump out of it (ok, crawl in my case as I am NOT a morning person!) and land on a nice, soft, warm surface. It feels homey to me.

5. Wearing Old Clothes
What do sweatpants, graphic/advertising t-shirts, tennis shoes, sorority/fraternity apparel, and rubber flip-flops have in common? You might think workout gear or comfortably clothes... but the correct answer is "American". All of these clothing items scream "AMERICANOOO". On your next trip to Europe, leave them at home. I can count on one hand the number of times I've worn a graphic t-shirt in public while living abroad... and that's even pushing it. (Irish Rover Beer Pong Championship Winner shirts don't count!)

Spaniards (Europeans in general) wear these types of clothing for working out. Flip-flops would only be seen at the beach or in a city near the beach. Greek life doesn't exist.  Over break, I took full advantage of these Americanizing clothing items - even pulled out old hoodies from high school to root on my old team! I was so happy, but sometimes felt weird when I saw someone I would have liked to look nice for... but, then I realized my clothes was normal to them and only felt strange to me. 

Well, thanks to wonderful sales just days before I left, I stocked up on "European-looking American" items. I even bought some new jeans from one of my favorite Spanish brands - IN COLUMBIA, MO! I was so excited to see MNG by Mango brand clothing in JcPenny's. And the best part? I only paid $35.00!!!! Dollars! What a sale - since my paychecks come in the form of Euros! Thank you, exchange rate!

I love you, Mango!

4. House Parties

While I'm not fond of the cleaning process that happens before and after house parties, I do like the short commute. I also like homemade dips and appetizers... and the company that comes along with all of it. In Spain, people tend to socialize in the streets and bars instead of welcoming people to their houses. I also learned plastic plates and cups are not proper dinnerware when you've cooked a nice meal. The next time you have a Spaniard in your house at a large gathering, slip them a real plate to avoid stares.

Since I miss most holidays while living abroad, we made sure to celebrate them while I was home. Christmas Eve was Christmas themed - prime rib and lots of great tasting salads. Christmas Day was celebrated Easter style - complete with ham, deviled eggs and potato salad! New Year's Eve was the typical New Year's outing - complete with steak and lobster. And, New Year's Day was spent stuffing myself full of turkey and dressing. Thank goodness Christmas and New Year's are just a week apart so we didn't have to do much cleaning in-between house parties! That's right, we had both Easter and Thanksgiving celebrations at our house! It was nice to see friends and family... and not having to drive anywhere to enjoy them! It's almost selfish in a way... but there is so much work that goes into it. Thankfully, my parents and grandparents did most of the preparing - no one would want to eat anything I fixed anyway. ;) 

Thanksgiving leftovers.

3. Spinach & Artichoke Dip
Ok. This is more than just about spinach & artichoke dip. It's about all the foods I was able to enjoy over the break....foods and flavors I haven't been able to find here. And all the lunch dates I went on during my three weeks. Buffalo sauce. Wraps. Sushi. Brickhouse Deli salad. Madison's salad. Thai food. French Toast. Raspberry lemonade. Taco Bell. Hot fudge chocolate shakes. Free Bread and butter. Mexican. Steak. A1 Sauce. Eggs Benedict. Hot chocolate with marshmallow whipped cream. Honey mustard dressing. Ruby Tuesday salad bar. Double stuff Oreos. Free drink refills!

Artichoke Dip at Beks

Endless baskets of bread AND butter

Filet and Lobster

Buffalo chicken wrap!

Crazy Roll!

While Spanish food is good and high quality, it doesn't have any spiciness to it. (Spanish food and Mexican foods are completely different, people. They are two very unique cultures.) I was happy to mix up my flavors a bit. My grandma even took me to the store to buy lots of spice packets to get some new things cooking for me over here this semester!

I made a trip back to Fulton, to Westminster College and to Bek's. I was happy to spend time with two former teammates and good friends, Brittney and Whitney (and baby McKenna due in a few weeks!) We had Bek's famous dip and chipolte chicken sandwiches.... mem.or.ies. YUM. After catching up, in true WestMO fashion, I hit up the WC Men's basketball game with my family.  It was nice to be back at Westminster cheering on the Blue Jays... but it didn't make me miss college basketball...

Brittney, Whitney, Me

Friends and Forgotten Flavors: just another one of my favorites from my break. Looking forward to tearing into the spice packets to help me remember home while I'm at my home away from home.

2. My Car
I have to say, I was a bit disappointed in the radio. I usually love coming home, driving my car and listening to the radio, catching up on all the songs I had no idea existed. But, that wasn't the case this time. Instead, I found myself putting on old CD's I had in my car, reminding me of times gone by.

But, I was SOOOO EXCITED to have my car. (I'm not sure you understand how excited I was!) I had independence again. NO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION!!! No bus schedules to check. No trains. Just me and my car - and we could go anywhere at any time of the day! I was caught driving around parking lots, looking for the closet spot so I "didn't have to walk far" - but then I remembered, it was only a short minute walk vs. the 20 minutes I do on average here.

So, unfortunately I couldn't fit my car in my suitcase - I'm back to using my European car "my legs". Walking in Valladolid is like walking in a cloud, no me gusta. And, it's cold. Burrr
 

1. Family & Friends 

The best part of being home was spending it with my family. Watching a movie, talking, playing board games, eating out, eating leftovers, baking, sitting at home, watching a basketball game... you name it. When my family was involved everything was better. It wasn't all smooth sailing, but it was nice.

Everyone was a phone call or short drive away... no skyping, no expensive calls... and, I had text messaging again! It was just, easy. While I wasn't able to see as many friends as I wanted, due to holiday gatherings, jobs, or miles between us, I was happy to have seen as many as I did! I'm happy people made time to see me and helped me enjoy my favorite things about home. 

Super festive sweater party with Heater!

Christmas Eve Breakfast with high school friends!
Jeremy and Megan, Theresa, JP, Andy, Me

Christmas Eve with my aunt and uncle next to my grandparents' tree.

New Year's Eve with Kasie

Eating our grape gummies at midnight... :)

St. Louis, MO! Baking day with my aunt!

Mrs. Peacock with the candlestick in the billiard room: I won.

Cake pops!!!

My parents and I on my last night in Missouri.

My parents, me and my grandparents saying goodbyes!

Missing my Zoe!

Lunch with Fede, Mary & Jim (not pictured) and Dusty!
What a fun day we had talking about Spain and Jefferson City!

While I was home, I was asked an uncountable number of times, ¨Are you enjoying your time at home?¨ Of course, I gave a blanket answer of, ¨Yes, it's really nice being here,¨ and most people were OK with that. While I wanted to say all of the reasons mentioned above, I also wanted to avoid stares, as I receive enough of those in Spain for being a ¨rubia¨ (blonde!) (Which I am not.) Sometimes it's difficult to talk to people who can't relate to my life/have no interest, especially when it comes to walking on carpet...

However, life style differences aside, I want thank everyone I was able to connect with over my "three weeks in America" - Thank you for welcoming me home!

...No Place Like Home for the Holidays!

At first, I really wanted to spend Christmas traveling around Spain/Europe - really making the most of my time here. However, a friend explained it to me like this: "Whitney, if you were working in Texas, New York, California, etc, you wouldn't travel around the USA for Christmas - you would go home - to Missouri, to your family, to your roots." So I did just that. 

If you're thinking - "Wait! Whitney wasn't going to come home!" - well, you have been tricked (I like to call it a surprise!) by my cleverness! I surprised my family for Christmas - the best gift I could have given them. And boy, were they surprised! Here is the story.

Probably about 3 weeks into my Spanish teaching adventure, my dad and I devised a plan to surprise my mom for Christmas! He was going to intercept my credit card bill and everything was going to go off without a hitch. WRONG. Dad didn't intercept the bill. How did I find out? I got a skype call one day from my mom saying "Whitney, I think the airline has double booked you for your flight - as the bill shows double what you told me it cost. ... I'm going to call and find out what has happened."  Well, me knowing what I knew, and mom oblivious to what was going on, I ended up having to tell her - as she was basically threatening to cancel my flight home! I simply said "Mom. If you call the airline, you won't be seeing me for Christmas." And, instantly, there were tears of happiness on her part and a little anger that dad didn't get the bill in time on my part. BUT it was a good surprise for mom, just several months early. Time went by, my parents and I started making up lies that I was going to Scotland with my roommate Maria...that flights were too expensive to go home....that all these schools around Navalmoral had invited me to speak about Christmas in America...etc. What a web we weaved. :)

The last few days before I left for America were spent gathering Spanish goodies  to take home for Christmas gifts. Yes, this means I went running all over town to find Black Vodka and a paella pan for my aunt Lisa. I brought home all my dirty clothes and clothes that needed to be shrunk by my mom's expert clothes shrinking talents. We weighed my bag with our neighbor's scale and thought it to be just around the maximum.... Were we ever so wrong. My bag was about 10 kilos overweight so I had to pay (an embarrassing amount) a lot. When the worker asked me what weighed so much in my bag, he laughed when I said "Fanta" - little did he know - i wasn't joking. Everyone knows you have to have Fanta Limon with your Vodka Negro. I don't know why he laughed at me. ;)

Vodka Negro and Las Fantas under my tree in USA. :)

I took the last bus to Madrid on Wednesday, the 15th of December. I took a taxi to my hostel for the night.  The taxi driver also asked me what weighed so much in my bag; I got the same response from him as I did the airport worker: laughing. We talked (in Spanish!) the whole time during the 37 euro taxi ride... I think I'll just stop at that. 37 euro: Taken!

The next morning, I took the hostel shuttle to the airport. (The driver told me I spoke good Spanish for an American!) I took it a little earlier than necessary to ensure I would have enough time with security, getting to the gate, etc. I wasn't missing this flight home! Well, the precautions were unnecessary, as my flight was delayed 2 hours. We waited on the runway for 1 hour - I fell asleep before we even took off. The movies didn't work on the flight either, making it the worst international flight yet (maybe worst flight of all time) since I had nothing to do but sleep, eat, or sit there and stare at people (judge but not judge!). Eight and a half hours of this = borinnnggg.

After arriving home, I was greeted in St. Louis by my mom, who had been "riding around St. Louis with her friend Deb". Lie. We arrived at my aunt and uncle's house to surprise them. Here is how it went: My mom went to the door. Aunt Lisa opened it and let her in and LOCKED the door behind her - as I was just walking up to the porch. I had to knock at the door. Aunt Lisa opened the door just a crack to see who it was and didn't recognize me at first! Then she said "Oh my gosh! What are you doing here? We just spoke yesterday and you are in Spain!" Uncle Cliff said he thought, "Wow, that looks like Whitney! Wait, it is Whitney!" So surprise 1 was a success. We went out for dinner - tapas none the less - what a welcome home meal! haha

The next morning, we drove to Jefferson City to surprise my grandparents. We went to their house. Mom went in first and about three minutes later I went in. Grandma was expecting my grandpa but was anxious when she heard the door. When she saw me, she threw her hands in the air and started crying! It was such a cool moment! The surprise was pulled off! Grandpa came in about 15 minutes later and found the three of us (Mom, Grandma, and me) in the living room. I had sat in the chair farthest away from him so he couldn't see me too well. When he came in the room, he didn't see me for a few minutes... then he saw a person and said, "Oh! I'm sorry, I didn't see you there! How are you?" (I think he thought I was Deb - "who went with my mom to St. Louis.")  Then I got out of the chair and said "Hi Grandpa!" and then he simply responded with "Well, what are you doing here?" So, while he was unemotional at first, grandma said it really hit him later that I was home for Christmas!

The next topic at hand was: THE PACKAGE. My grandparents really wanted to mail me "Christmas" so I had a gift to open in Spain on Christmas. However, my mom, knowing that I was going to be in Missouri for Christmas, really tried talking them out of it. However, she was unsuccessful - but not stupid! She told them to get the package together but that she would send it - aka not send it but make them think she had! Well, that's what she did. She even took it to the post office to weigh it since she knew they would ask how much it weighted and how much it cost. Grandma asked me, "Oh my gosh, did you get your package before you came home?" And I said, "What!? A Package!" haha Then I told her I had already eaten some of the cookies in the car and the rest of it was under the tree nice and wrapped: In Missouri! She later confessed that this was the last test to see if I was really staying in Spain for Christmas. When mom told her the weight and cost of the package she said she and grandpa lost hope that I was coming home. Surprise!!!!

Opening the package on Christmas Eve in USA!

I really enjoyed my time at home, with the warmth of my family, friends, and my house. It has never been nicer to be home. There really is no place like home for the holidays. Some say I really enjoyed my time because I was "just visiting" - which could be, but, it was just really nice to be there with my family. I was able to eat all my favorite foods, go to my favorite restaurants, play games with my family, watch DVDs - not online movies!, drive my car and listen to the radio, go somewhere whenever I wanted, no walking in the cold, sitting in my house in a t-shirt and not being cold, dinner with friends, catch up with friends from high school, visit Helias (my old high school!), road trip to St. Louis to spend time with my aunt and uncle and to visit friends, and spend New Years (out in Jefferson City!) with a good friend, Heather. It was a wonderful three weeks.

Recap of Christmas Events:

On December 24^th, we went to my grandparent’s house to celebrate Christmas Eve. We had a big dinner with prime rib, potatoes, deviled eggs, jello, and salad. After dinner, we opened presents.  I got lots of nice gifts...to name a few: socks, sweaters, a “snuggie”, Eat Pray Love, Letters to Juliet, an awesome collage that my mom made me (that only took three years to finish!), money for traveling, and other nice fantastic things. The theme of this year's Christmas was: keep Whitney warm and fed. With that being said, I also brought back wonderful homemade treats (cookies, cake, bread) for an extended Christmas here in Navalmoral. After we opened presents, we watched a movie and played games. It was a wonderful evening with my family!

A collage with all my favorite things! Thanks mom!

A wonderful Christmas dinner!

Decemeber 25^th, we went to church and then had brunch at my house with my mom's family. After, we headed to my Aunt Lesa and Uncle Chris's house for lunch. We had yummy appetizers - including hot wings that I had been CRAVING! I went driving with my (little - jr in high school) cousin MaKayla for the first time and was "invited" to hang with her friends. I knew my English had taken a hit when I responded to the following sentence "Sarah and Mark are going out...." with "Oh, where are they going?" Well, MaKayla told me straight and I felt like an idiota! Later that night, we went back to my grandparent’s house and we baked cookies and cake-pops. It was very fun cooking with my aunt, mom, and grandma! I've been enjoying my homebaked goodies all week - and with the rest of the freezer, I'm sure to enjoy them for weeks (months!) to come!

"Baker" Whitney? Not so much.

Cake Pops! If you've tried them, you know how delicious they are!

December 26^th, mom and I woke up very early and went shopping. I was happy to buy goodies for all my friends back in Spain! Thank goodness for sales... well, it wasn't much of a sale since I paid overweight baggage fees... but completely worth it with the feeling I got when sharing the gifts with them! Seriously, if I didn't love my amigos so much, I could have brought a few more bags of EasyMac, Raspberry Vinaigrette Dressing, and American Mayo.

Feliz Navidad.

A peek into one of my three bags!

One thing to mention about New Years Eve... I had a fun time at Bones, out on the town in wonderful Jefferson City with my friend Heather.  On the ride home, we took a taxi - my first taxi EVER in Jefferson City (actually, the first time I'd ever taken a taxi in a town that I knew well). Of course, he totally took us on the "scenic" route throughout Jeff City - aka, taking our money.  Be proud: I yelled at him and said "Excuse me, I think you just missed your turn... I'm from here - so you better take us directly there. Oh, and I refuse to pay the total cost of the ride." So, note to self, NO taxi driver, however "nice" he or she may seem to be, is NOT to be trusted. I just wonder how many circles they drive me in when they find out Spanish isn't my native language. hmmmm

Ok, back to the trip: The return to Spain.
I left on January 8th from St. Louis and arrived in Spain on January 9th at 9:00am. I brought back three suitcases of new warm clothes, shrunken jeans, American gifts for my friends, and lots of American food for myself. I don't know how I managed to keep track of all these things myself - but I did. My luggages came back to back on the luggage carousel and I loaded them onto a cart along with my carry-on and my backpack. I made it to my shuttle: AeroCity (really good if you ever come to Madrid and need to get to the city center for cheap!) and then to Mendez Alvaro where I got the bus at 11:30am to go to Navalmoral. At Mendez Alvaro I got another cart, this time, it had a super tall thing on the side so you wouldn't steal it - so I know everyone saw me coming and probably laughed. Oh well, I made it finally to my bus and then to Navalmoral. I thought I would take one of the taxis (that are always waiting outside the bus/train station) but there were none when I arrived. So, I started out on foot with my bags (approx 140pounds total) to go the 15 minute walk. On the first street alone I stopped 5 times. I couldn't go very far without stopping. Oh, and the best part, it was raining. What a welcome back! So, I continued, in the rain to go to my house - I think it must have taken me at least an hour to lug my bags all the way home. I stopped another 5 times on my street which isn't very long. I now have come to hate upward sloping sidewalks and stairs (which I have three flights of in my apartment building.) Once I finally got everything in the house, I went to sleep and didn't wake up until the next morning. I unpacked a bit and started to get things back into place, as the high school had given me the day off to rest up.

This semester I have taken on more hours of classes at night. Which is good for the money but bad for my free time. I now have little to no free time; the free time I do have, all I want to do is sleep.  This semester my schedule is as follows: Everyday, work in Jarandilla until 2:30pm. Return home and start work at Liverpool English Academy at 4:20 every day. Monday and Wednesday I finish at 6:30pm and Tuesday and Thursday at 7:45. Monday I have a private conversation class at 7:00pm and Tuesday i have a private class at 8:00pm. It is long hours for Spain - but only a total of 26 hours a week - so nothing in comparison to the USA. However, with the Spanish hours of siesta and nothing open on Sunday - finding time to do things for myself (like doing laundry, going to the post office, and grocery shopping) is really hard! This first week back has been very stressful and tiring. I hope the next 5 months aren't so rough. I blame jet lag.

Whitney "the profe!" - in a 4th grade class!

When I came to Spain in September, I knew I was back to Europe as I sat by three large, bad smelling, non-English speaking, Greek men on the plane. This time, I knew I was on a European bound flight when breakfast was served. There were no Americans around me, only Spaniards. When breakfast was given out (an egg McMuffin that you would find a McDonald's, served on an English muffin and a banana) they all opened the English muffin bag and turned it in circles (probably) thinking, "Is this breakfast? What is this?" They set it back down and ate the banana. I ate the McMuffin and then the banana. Cultural tastes are very different. I got a good laugh out of it anyway. First song I heard this time around in the shuttle? My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion (I know you were wondering!)

I have been busy settling back in and feeling "at home" here in Navalmoral. I am still without heat, but surviving thanks to all my new warm clothes I received at Christmas. We have been talking about Christmas in USA vs. Spain in the high school. When they ask what my best gift was that I received, I say socks - the look on their faces is priceless. Because some say that was their worst gift. I beg to differ - when you don't have heat, socks are a wonderful (and necessary) gift. I will be talking about American sports this week in the primary school, high school stereotypes with a class at the private academy (showing them pictures of Helias cheerleaders, football games, passing around a baseball, etc.) It should be a fun week! I have all my materials prepared so hopefully this means some down time during the week at night.

We had an "invisible friend" gift exchange. (Secret Santa for my American friends.) Well, it was interesting. My gift came from Dioni and it was a Micky Mouse notebook! Not sure what I will do with it, maybe use it to keep myself organized. Time will tell. All the gifts were very unique, as some included a microphone, a slinky, fingernail polish, a sheriff hat, a fake mustache, a headband, a photo frame (with picture), panties, and a purse hanger! If you can see, there was a gift price limit of 2 EURO! Yes, this means we all made trips to the Chino store to buy our wonderful gifts! It was a fun night, back with our friends in Navalmoral; a wonderful welcome back to Spain.

Secret Santa gifts in La Tinaja!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, time to enjoy the warmth of family...ok, and the fireplace! There really is no place like home for the holidays. Thanks to all my friends and family who welcomed me home and continue to support me and my adventures!

PS! I've just found out that the primary school has invited me to go to Greece with them April 5 - 11! They want to thank me for my hard work with the Comenius a few months back and my continued efforts this semester! I am very excited to have this opportunity! When I learn more, I will let you know!

Pictures from Christmas in the USA! 

Reunited for Christmas! <3

Black tongues only mean one thing: Black Vodka!
(grandpa) didn't want people to know he'd been drinking....

Out with old friends! Kasie, Me, Theresa, Kristi

Happy 2011!!!!!

It's only been a week and I miss driving my car and listening to the radio.
(Amongst all the other American commodities!)

Una Semana.

Today my family and I celebrated Thanksgiving!  Come Thursday, November 25, I probably won't realize it is Thanksgiving -- as it will be an ordinary Thursday in Spain.  I took pictures of our meal today, I'll have to look at them to "celebrate"!

Pre-departure, I have only been blogging when it comes to official countdown dates -- today's count: 1 WEEK!  This time next Sunday, I will have already flown from St. Louis to Dallas, had my 45 minute layover (hardly to be called a "lay-over"!), and be en route to Madrid.  I hope they have good movies on my flight!

This past week I learned a few more details about my job: I heard from my tutors!  Antonio will be my tutor at IES Jaranda, the high school I will teach at this year, and Divina will be my tutora at CIEP Conquistador Loaysa, the elementary school.  Both schools are in Jarandilla de la Vera, Extremadura, Caceres, Spain! (explanation: Jefferson City, Cole County, Missouri, USA) I will be teaching students anywhere from 3 - 12 years old in the elementary, and older students aged 13 - ? in the high school. I will teach 6 hours a week in each school for a total of 12 hours a week.  I will teach 3 classes per day, 4 days a week - 2 days in each school. We are still working out transportation details to get me from Navalmoral de la Mata (where I want to live) to Jarandilla (where the schools are).  They have even mentioned me living in Plasencia, a town about 45 minutes away from Jarandilla, because I could commute with Antonio each day.  Hopefully, we can work things out and I can live in Navalmoral because the cost of living is cheaper and it is closer to Madrid for traveling purposes on the weekends. 

Sorry, that was a lot of information, but Spain hasn't been in a hurry to update me on my situation, so I learn lots of information all at once. I learned most of that this past week, just two weeks before departure. Thank you, Spain. 

This last week is full of dinner dates, appointments, packing, and goodbyes.  I can already tell it will be hectic and too exciting to actually enjoy.  One last trip to Fulton is in the making for tomorrow night, Monday, to say goodbye to fellow Thetas and WestMO-ans (?) - which I am very looking forward to - my very own "alumni weekend" haha! 

I'm unsure when I will write again.  Blogging will be the last thing on my mind, as I gear up for the big move.  I guess my next installment will be FROM Spain! Que guay! ("how cool!")

...And The Countdown Begins!

I officially leave in ONE MONTH FROM TODAY! While I haven't yet begun to pack, I have started getting necessary items together which will help cut down on things to do during the week before.  I am still waiting on my visa - scheduled to be completed September 9 - which will require another trip to Chicago to pick it up! (One trip to drop off, one trip to pick up!) Because I found a flight that was too good to pass up (only 11 hours 45 min of total travel time/good price) I hope the visa is travel-ready!

As a first time blogger, I will do my best to keep you up to date on my vida española!  Thank you for your support as I embark on my third journey to Spain!