Zurich

Sorry for the delay! It's so easy to get distracted and keep putting it off.
Ok, so Zurich:
There is so much to say, I don't even know where to begin! We left for Zurich on Dec 26th. Normally when you board a plane, you walk through the gate and it takes you through a walk way directly onto the plane, but not this time! We went through the gate and ended up on a bus! We then had to take a bus to the middle of the airplane parking-lot-area. For whatever reason, I felt very important getting off the bus and climbing up the stairs to the plane. It was pretty cool. We landed in Zurich and our Couch Surfing host met us at the train station. He was an older (50 somegthin), super nice, Swiss man named Werner. He had warned us before that he was a bit worn out from the holidays, and probably wouldn't be very sociable. But of course, Joseph and I are just so cool, we all stayed up until about 2 in the morning just talking and drinking organic beer. Werner was way into the organic life style, but not in an I'm-just-doing-it-because-its-cool way, but in a this-is-just-how-I-live way. Which was really cool. The next day Werner took us and showed us all around Zurich. It is a BEAUTIFUL city. It was super cold though. It even started snow flurry-ing a bit while we were out wandering around.

That night we were changing hosts to go spend the rest of our stay with Pascal a younger (mid 30s) Swiss guy who just got back from a year backpacking across Asia. So Werner thought it would be a good idea to invite Pascal over to his place, and we could all have a traditional Swiss dinner together before we followed Pascal home. Apparently super traditional Swiss food is cheese fondue. It was EXCELLENT. We also shared it with another couch surfer, Jason, who is an American kid from CA who is currently completing his basic training in the Swiss Army (yes THE Swiss Army, apparently he has duel citizenship or something). Anyways, it was a great night, but I was stuffed by the end!

We had a great time staying with Pascal. He showed us around Zurich some more, took us to an awesome Natural History Museum, and even took us to his favorite bar. I thought it was great how many random American songs the bar played- everything from Aerosmith to Blink 182. Zurich, on top of being beautiful, is also a very expensive city. Luckily Pascal showed us this awesome little sausage stand. 6.50 for a big sausage and a huge dinner roll, which is a good price for Zurich. Apparently this place has such amazing sausages, that Tina Turner (who has a home in Zurich) frequents there!

I wanted to actually go to the Alps, but it turns out it's super expensive to just get to the Alps, even if you don't want to ski. Instead, we decided to take the train out to Luzern, which is a small town close to the Alps. It was a beautiful quaint little city. We had a great time exploring the old churches and throwing things at the ice covered ponds. On the way back to Zurich, we decided to stop in Zug, which is an even smaller, more quaint little Swiss town! It was adorable! The highlight of that stop (and maybe even all of Switzerland) was sitting on a park bench, looking out over lake Zug, watching the sun set behind the distant, snowy Alps. It was beautiful!

Pascal was super helpful while we were there. He made us breakfast every morning, and often times dinner as well. When we were having trouble finding a place to stay in Paris, he e-mailed some people until we had a place to stay. And we went to the train station with us to help us buy our tickets to Paris. We originally wanted to head to Paris on the 30th, but train tickets were super expensive that day, so we ended up buying tickets for the 31st. On a side note - when we left on the 31st, Werner suprised us by showing up at our train (at 7am!) to give us 2 awesome organic tea strainers that we had used at his place and commented on how cool they were. It's that really nice?

I never realized how much Spanish I knew until I realized how much German I DON'T know! I had to use my phrase book to figure out basic things like "bathroom" and "water." Switzerland has 4 official languages, German, French, Italian, and Rumantsch (which is spoken in the little villages of the Alps). Zurich is in the German part, but the dialect of German they speak is SO completely different than standard German. Luckily most people speak English as well. Still, I would always intent to greet people (waiters, bus drivers) or ask for directions to the bathroom in my phrase-book German, but for whatever reason, it always came out in Spanish! Even if a shopkeeper would greet me in English, I would still respond in Spanish! It was strange, but I guess it's a good sign that the Spanish is coming to ingrained in my brain. But it was a little frustrating always having to say things in 3 different languages before I got to the one I actually wanted to use! However I do feel better about my Spanish skills now. At least I can carry on a basic conversation (and don't have to rely on my phrase book) in Spanish, which is much more than I can say for my German!

In summary - Switzerland is awesome. Zurich is beautiful (but expensive). The people are super nice and the food is delicious. Especially the CHOCOLATE! I bought some everyday we were there and it was totally worth it! My favorite part? The sunset over Lake Zug.... and the Chocolate :)

Now let's see if I can get Joe to post about Paris :)

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to all!!
We made it back to Palma safe and sound last night. We had an excellent time in Zurich and Paris, and met a ton of great new people! Unfortunately I got sick the last few days in Paris, and am still feeling a bit sub-par, so an in depth blog will have to wait until later. But I just wanted to let everyone know that we had a great trip and made it home safe!

Love to all!

Christmas and Vacation

I am the world's biggest slacker. Sorry I've taken such a hiatus from writing. Yeah, a "hiatus", that's it! Anyway, we've just celebrated our first Christmas away from home, and though it was different, it was good nonetheless. I'll start with my schools' pageants. For weeks, each school prepared songs, acts, and other goodies to be performed by each grade. There were some days were I didn't even teach because the whole class period was devoted to the preparations. Anyway, they did well. Little kids singing is always cute (even if it's in Catalan and you can't understand what they're saying!) and older kids singing is always funny. Here, they don't really have Santa Claus, or "Papa Noel." Instead they are given gifts by The Three Kings (wise men). So, instead of leaving cookies and milk out, they leave carrots (for the camels) and shots of whiskey (for the Kings)! Another thing I found interesting is that during the pageant, the kids would dress us as the Three Kings, but one would always be in Blackface. It was a bit shocking at first, but I guess it's just a different culture and history. On the last day of classes I celebrated with the teachers at each of my schools. I went to Corpus Cristi first. We all gathered together and exchanged a Secret Santa. Here, they call it "Amigo Invisible" which literally means "invisible friend." I got a really nice scarf, and gave a bag of "Luz de Luna" tea and a nice mug. As soon as we were done exchanging gifts I hurried over to where the other school was having their party (of course they scheduled them for the same day, around the same time). I got to the restaurant a half hour late, but they had only just begun eating their salads (sometimes the long meals can work in your favor I guess). We had traditional paella with shrimp and mussels, and then paella negro, which is made with squid. It is cooked with some of the ink from the squid, thus "black paella" and it is DELICIOUS. I loved it. Dessert was equally delicious. And, oh! so much wine and champagne. We also traded Secret Santa gifts. I gave a 4 gig flashdrive to the technology teacher (he like it a lot, his other one is only 1 gig). I received a bottle of really nice Mallorcan white wine with a bag of roasted almonds to eat with it. It was really pleasant, and the teachers are opening up a bit (I imagine that I am too). They were all impressed when I wished them a "merry Christmas and a happy new year" in Catalan. 

Christmas was nice as well. We all wish we could have been home, but know we were thinking about y'all! It was really nice talking to some of you. Anyway, we woke up and exchanged gifts. Nikki bought me a really nice sweater and I got her a coat. The rest of the day was rather relaxing. That evening we ate a big dinner. For appetizers we had deviled eggs and homemade spinach and cheese dip. For the main courses we had a roast, veggie lasagna, glazed carrots, mashed potatoes (with garlic, green onions, and a local cheese), and gravy. For dessert we had homemade banana nut bread. It was amazing. We miss y'all! Nikki and I are off to Zurich this evening. We'll be there for a few days, then on the 30th we'll take a train over to Paris and stay there until the 4th. We'll fly from Paris to Frankfurt where we'll have an afternoon, and then return to Palma that evening. So, visiting 3 countries in 10 days seems pretty sweet! We'll take lots of pictures and (try to) update the blog as we go! 

No Longer a Tourist

Hooooola!
Long time, no write, I know. I keep trying to get Joseph to write a blog, but he refuses. Men! :)
I haven't written mainly because I've been busy and distracted, but also because all the day to day things don't seem so worthy of telling anymore. Every little thing is no longer new and exciting. I no longer feel like a tourist, I feel like I actually live here. We are regulars at cafes where the waitress knows our orders without even asking. We know which days to go to the market for cheap mushrooms, and which grocery store has a better cereal selection. It's kind of nice.
All recent events seem somewhat of a blur now, but here are some of the highlights.
- Jessica had a friend from home come visit. It was nice. We drank a lot and pushed her in a shopping card down Calle Olms.
- We got a new roommate! Stephen (another teaching assistant from LA) moved into our small office sized room. This now means that of the 40 Americans doing this program in the Balearic Islands, 6 of them live in this apartment.
- Stephen, Andy, Jess and I all took a day trip to Valdamossa. Another small beautiful town on the out-skirts of Palma. We found our dream house. Apparently Michael Douglas (a famous actor) apparently has a house there, maybe it was his?
- One of my second graders broke out a surprising level of English and serenaded me with an adorable rendition of "Killing Me Softly."
- It is freezing here. Ok, not really, but a lot colder and rainier than I expected/wanted it to be (avg high 55-60). And apparently a lot colder/rainier than Mallorcians are used to. Oh, and our apartment has no heat. Not that that's anything new in my life, but it doesn't make me like it any better.
- In fact, in a recent storm, Jessica was struck by lightening! Ok, not full-blown lightening. Just one of the little "feeler" lightening. Enough to make her umbrella spark. No worries, she is ok!
- I have at least one more tutoring gig lined up for next semester. And a possible four more in the works! Yay extra money!!
- Joseph finally bought a new pair of shoes! But then the "perfect storm" occurred. Which included a) new rubbery soled shoes b) lots of rain c) a bit of alcohol. The result? Joseph falling on his butt 8 times on the way home. It was somewhere between amusing and painful to watch.
- We currently have 3 Couch Surfers (ie random college-aged kids) from Iowa staying with us for a few days. So far they seem really great! After that we have Dan (a friend from UGA) coming to visit for a few days, and THEN....
- We are off to Zurich!! We will spend a few days there, then take the train to Paris, where we will spend New Years. I am super excited!!

Well everyone just came home, so now I am too distracted to write. I think we are going to make a giant Chicken/Rabbit Paella for our guests! What is Paella? Read about it here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paella

Hope everyone is having a good winter! Miss and love you all!!!
Luego!!

PS: If you want a postcard, make sure we have your address!!!!

A Good Weekend

We had a great weekend! Our friend April, who is from GA but currently study abroad in Salamanca, Spain, flew in for the weekend. It was nice to get to show someone around OUR town. On Saturday we took the half hour bus ride out to Soller, a small town in the mountains north of Palma. Joe and I had never been there before, and it was BEAUTIFUL! A charming little old town (pictures to come soon!) We found a secondhand shop run by an older man from CA, he has been living here 16 years! After looking around the market (because, of course, every town has a Saturday market) we decided to make the about 2.5 mile walk to Fornalutx, an even smaller and MORE beautiful town than Soller! And the walk was amazingly scenic. Mountains, valleys, farms, sheep, tons of orange trees. It was a wonderful adventure!

Oh yeah, and I Friday I went on a field trip with my 6th graders. They called it a farm, but it was more like a farm/dude ranch/adventure camp/park. There was a pool (but of course it was far too cold) horses (but the children didn't get to ride them, though I'm not sure why) animals (pigs, goats, chickens, the usual), a petting zoo, a garden, a ropes course with a zip line, a rock climbing wall, an obstacle course, and a "paddle" court (which, from what I can tell, is kind of like a mix between tennis and racquetball). The kids had a great time playing and exploring while the teachers got to do pretty much whatever we wanted. We sat around and watched TV, played Parcheesi, ate free snacks, and went for a nice bike ride through the scenic country side! It was a nice, relaxing day.

We also found a used bookstore in town, with all of the books in ENGLISH! It's great! It's kind of book-nook-esque. The prices are what I would normally consider high for used books, but after looking at the prices of trying to buy new English books here, or the shopping costs of ordering books on line, it seems a lot more reasonable.

In other news, here are some interesting observations/tid-bits about Spain:
- All cars stop for pedestrians. It's amazing. You hardly need to pause at cross walks because you know the cars are going to stop for you.
- They don't have coffee like we have coffee. The closest thing you can get is a shot of espresso with a lot of milk.
- They are great about recycling here. There are recycling bins right next to all of the dumpsters. So as long as you separate your trash at home, it's just as easy to recycle as it is to throw it in the trash.
- They are also very energy efficient. Most lights, like in bathrooms at restaurants, or stairwells in the apartment buildings are on timers. So they automatically turn themselves off a set time after the button is pressed.
- Dogs are allowed pretty much everywhere. Stores, restaurants, you name it.
- The cider here is nothing like British cider.
- They don't have sweet potatoes here.
- The things that look like giant shutters on the front of buildings are actually doors. Once you open the shutter type doors, then there is a small foyer, then the actual front door. This is so that during the hot summers, they can close the shutters and open the front door to keep the house cool.

I always think of tons of things while I'm out and about, but by the time I get back to my computer, I have forgotten! Maybe I will start writing them down....

Luego!

New Photos

Well, this weekend we were kind of bored and felt that although we have been living here for more than a month, we had not done our duty of snapping as many photos of our new city as possible. So, we spent Sunday walking around unknown streets in Old Town, the historic district of Palma, and photographing to our hearts content. It was so touristy and great!
Check them out here, under "Tourist Day" http://photobucket.com/ourspainadventure

Paychecks, the French and Other Updates

After a lot of confusion and round-about conversations, we finally got paid!! Apparently our program was created by the old government, and the new government here doesn't like it so much. So getting the money out of them has been difficult. Luckily our schools agreed to pay us out of pocket while the government figured it out. Having money is definitely nice, but I'm having trouble accessing mine. There is something wrong with my bank card, so I have to go to the bank tomorrow and figure that out! Luckily I have two tutoring gigs right now (and another one starting next week!) so that keeps me in pocket money.
For those of you who haven't heard, my grandmother, Maw Maw, was diagnosed with advanced lung cancer last week. They've given her two weeks to live. I struggled with what to do, but have decided not to fly home. It is too expensive to be practical and I think I'd prefer to keep my pleasant memories rather than seeing her in this state.

Josh (another UGA student doing the program here) had some friends from France come visit last week. I'm not sure how exactly he knows them, but they were really nice. We had a great "botellon" which is where you buy bottles and go sit in a park and drink until your heart is content (there are no open container laws here!) It is much cheaper than going to a bar! Being from France, they spoke very little English and so we conversed in Spanish the whole time. I found it easier to converse with them since they were not native speakers. They spoke more slowly and clearly, and I wasn't as nervous about messing up. My Spanish is slowly getting better. Tomorrow I am meeting with one of the parents from my schools, I didn't understand her exactly, but I think she wants a conversations partner. This way I could help her improve her English and she could help me improve my Spanish. So hopefully that works out well!
The weather here has gotten a little colder. With a high of mid to low 60 during the day. Lots of people here are wearing huge coats, but I am fine with my light jacket during the day. Plus I walk everywhere, so that helps me keep warm!

For Thanksgiving, the American style diner is having a big turkey dinner, so I think we are going to try to join in on that!
I think we've decided on Christmas plans as well. We will spend Christmas eve/day here with the roomies. Then we will fly to Zurich (Switzerland) and spend a few days there. After that we will take a train to France in time to celebrate New Years in Paris! I'm very excited, I can't wait!

School is going well. In some classes I'm just there to pronounce words and help with work sheets, in some classes I deliver the teacher's lesson plans, and in others I get to do whatever activities I can create. So it's a nice range. I think the students here are more or less the same than at home (and definitely better behaved than in England). Some of my roommates say the students here are worse behaved than American students. I don't know if their students are that much different than mine, or if my time actually teaching and working in classrooms at home has given me a different perspective. None of my teachers here have very strong management strategies (most rely on sheer voice volume) so it is difficult to compare. Plus there is just a more relaxed air to the classrooms here that is hard to find (but not unheard of) in the states.

Shipping here is definitely much cheaper than shipping to England! Joseph's family sent him a rather large package (9lbs I think) and it cost about $50. A similar sized package to England cost almost $150!! Also mail appears to take just over a week to arrive.
Also Jessica discovered that shopping on Amazon.co.uk (the British website) ends up being a lot cheaper than the American one. International shipping from the American one is outrageous, so even with the conversion rate, shopping in Pounds is a better deal!

Well I guess that will have to do for now! We are getting ready to head out to a Cider Bar! From the little I've had, Spanish cider is nothing compared to British cider (which I fell in love with while I was there) but I am looking forward to it none the less! Luego!