Carnival

To continue where I left off...

When I came back from my short trip to Madrid, it was time to prepare for the carneval. Usually you won't find me lining up to put on a costume, but here you kind of have to do it. So I thought of the old saying, you know the one that says When in Rome... But putting on a costume for Carnival isn't just something the kids do, oh no. It seams that Spanish people love to dress up. There are literally dozens of stores specializing in party costumes. And they organize costume parties for no particular reason at all (aka not just for halloween and carnival). Every weekend I see people in costumes walking down the streets who are either coming from or going to a party. Back home this isn't common, at least not as far as I know. Just the other day I was talking to my colleage from work, and she said that when she was organizing her housewarming party, she decided to turn it into a costume party. Naturally, I had to ask why, and she said it's because dressing up makes parties even better! :D

OK, I went a bit of track, but some extra information never hurt anyone :D
What I was trying to say was that each year our school organizes a Carnival and decides on it's general theme. The class theachers then decide on what their class is going to dress up as. This year the theme was Fairytales. So, we had classes dress up like characters from Cinderella, Snow White, Aladdin, Peter Pan, etc. Those who do not have a class of their own, yours truely being among them, decided to present themselves as Alice in Wonderland. Naturally, I was Alice. I thought, wrongly, that all you have to do is pull out some old clothes, put on some make-up, and that's it. WRONG!!! I was one of the few who hadn't gone out shopping for a carnival costume. But well, it happens. If I'll ever be in Murcia at Carnival time again, I'll do better. Though it really wasn't all that bad, my costume that is. It just didn't look like I was in fact wearing a costume at all :D
I went of track again... To continue, all of us (teachers and students), dressed up in our costumes, went for a walk down the streets of San Jose de la Vega, dancing and having fun. The only thing that spoiled things a bit was the rain. But then again, you can't have everything. :)

The last few weeks

So, now I’m here…

I’m in Spain, more specifically in Murcia, going on my 3rd week here. What can I say about it? It’s not as bad as it seemed those first few hours at Palma de Mallorca’s airport. When I was there in the terminal, waiting to board my plane, I was literally going through hell. I had a plethora of emotions caving in on me, and for a few hours I thought that I wouldn’t be able to breathe. Luckily, I was smart enough to text one of my closest friends, whom I know I can always count on, Ian. He called me the instant he received my text and talked me through the worst minutes of that day, reminding me why I was on my way to Spain… and most importantly getting me to laugh.

Thanks Ian!!!!!

Well, luckily, things became a lot better when I landed in Murcia and met Isabel, my mentor, Rosa (English teacher), and Jose Enrique (headmaster) and his wife. They were so sweet, so kind… I totally forgot about being homesick. :)

Let me just say how weird it is that I became homesick the minute I said my goodbyes in Graz. The realization that it would be __weeks before I’d be back made homesickness kick in almost instantly. The thought that life would go on without me was what scared me the most.

The first few nights were also a bit difficult, mostly because it was really, extremely, inexplicably cold. The houses here have no central heating because whoever built them figured that in such a warm climate as we have here central heating would be redundant. THEY WERE WRONG!!!!! There may be 24C outside, but inside the cold bites you to the bone. This type of cold is very different from the cold we have back home. It’s a humid type of cold, and no matter how many clothes you put on, you can’t get yourself to feel warm. And for someone who hates being cold, this was… I don’t think I know a word which would describe my exact feelings, excruciating pain would probably be the closest to it ;)

Well, it is a good thing I have my sis’s (very warm) blanket, and that Isabel lent me a very thick and warm blanket. I still use both of them because at night it still gets very, very cold. And I'm not exagerating when I say these two blankets SAVED MY LIFE or at least my sanity. ;) 
I must admit that those first few days I was somewhat depressed. This was mostly due to the cold, and also because I couldn’t talk to my family and my B.

But, things began to improve quite fast. After only 4 days here, Isabel and I found an apartment for me, which I share with a British and a Chinese girl. They are both great. Alicia is incredible. I’ve heard that optimists exist but I now know I’ve never met one until I met A. She manages to be in a good mood and be optimistic no matter what happens. I’m one of those people who can get quite sad if the weather is bad, or if I wake up on the wrong foot... not her. She finds something positive in everything, and has a very good way of resolving problem, desires, etc. She thinks long and hard about something she wants. Deliberates on whether or not it can ever be in her power to realise this desire, and if it cannot be done, she totally dismisses it from her mind. How she manages to do that is just beyond me, but I would like to learn. B.usually works quite late every day so, unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to talk to her all that much, however, she did get me totally enthused about diving in the few chit-chats we’d had.

Except for chatting with my roommates, and feeling incredibly cold, I’ve also been working. I work as a Comenius assistant in a primary school in a village near Murcia. Primary school in Spain means kids from age 3 to 12. So you have the Infantil (3-5 years old), and the Primaria (6-12 years old). The plan is for me to spend the majority of time with the older students who would benefit the most from my being there. However, I do occasionally roam into the world of the Infantil, which is a completely different world. Or as Jose Enrique said, 

"they’re an Independent territory. It’s all about games and activities to keep them interested there… "

...and it’s a nice change from the rustle and bustle of older kids.

A couple of weeks ago I spent a whole week with the Infantil (3-6), and it was a challenge. With kids this young, you have to have a lot of activities to keep them focused and motivated. Basicaly, that means that you teach through playing, singing and drawing. This was challenging because, although I understand Spanish, I can’t really speak that much. And talking in English to them is like talking gibberish, so it really was challenging. However, I must say that it was a lot of fun, and believe it or not, I’ve learned a lot. I used all the Spanish I know, and I memorised all the words they said in Spanish, so we all ended up learning from each other. :D

I’ve also had a chance to do a bit of travelling. In the middle of February I had to go to Madrid in order to participate in a Comenius Assistants meeting. This was organized to give all of us assistants some information about our rights and duties, and most importantly to give us a chance to mingle, and, if possible, make some new friends. I guess I could say the meeting was quite successful in this respect :D

Considering I had to be there I figured it would be best to go a day earlier and use this opportunity to do a bit of sightseeing. I wasn’t about to spend my time in Madrid just sitting in a conference room. This was the very first time I'd gone anywhere totally alone, and you know what, it wasn’t all that bad. I went sightseeing, admiring the architecture of buildings, basking in the sun... It was really nice, I did miss talking to someone while walking around, but I wouldn’t change anything. It was just the way it was suppose to be.