..and to all a good night.. :)

1. Me with my first graders at the Museum in Cabra for a field trip.
2. Students I tutor and their Christmas tree.
3. Students playing instruments for the Christmas show at my school.
4. Students singing for the Christmas show at my school.
5. Nativity Scene (described below).
6. more nativity scene
Christmas in Spain is unlike anything I've ever seen before. I will try to explain as best I can...
First of all there is a HUGE nativity scene, called a Belén (Bethlehem) in the center of town with fountain type things and real
live plants, (some towns have live animals, too) and many different buildings with other characters that I don't remember reading about in the Bible. If you were wondering what else was happening outside the manger area while Jesus was being born, look no further. :)

In one of the other towns close to me there is a huge Belén made of chocolate.


Every street has lights hanging from above and during the day, all doors are open, welcoming shoppers. Here is a picture of one of the streets in my town on a Monday night. There are people on the street selling lottery tickets and passing out little candies and gifts. I'm specifically thinking of this one girl who stands outside the perfume store in a female version of a Santa suit, but in blue and white. I now have a fake rose from her.

There is a Christmas train for little kids. They ride all around the town clanking the bells of the train and waving at the the people passing. There is also a group of people who march around banging drums. My roommates and I ran out on our balcony to see what the commotion was and they were dressed up as different characters, like Shrek, Minnie Mouse and Bart Simpson. I guess Santa wasn't invited...











Speaking of Santa, he is trying to climb over everyone's balconies here. What happened to the chimney? Can you see him in the picture on the left? :)














In Spain, they also celebrate Reyes Magos in January. This is when the three kings come and give presents to the kids as well. So, some people have 3 little stuffed kings hanging from their balconies so it looks like they are trying to get inside also!

My favorite part is the music. There are speakers in the streets so everywhere you walk, there is Christmas music playing (in Spanish and in English!) and you feel like you're in a movie.
And speaking of movies, I did get to see one Christmas movie this year- It's a Wonderful Life. It was in English but of course I read the Spanish subtitles the whole time to see how different the translation was.

I'm spending my Christmas this year with my friend Tess and her family in Madrid. The day after Christmas, my Dad is coming to visit for a week! We're doing Madrid, Barcelona and hopefully some surrounding towns. When he leaves, I'm flying to Ireland to meet up with my roommate Michelle for 5 days. Then we are meeting my other roommate, Claire, in Scotland for another 5 days.
I will be back on January 10th.

Sorry this post is so rushed and that I have no idea what I'm doing when it comes to the layout of these pictures. I really wanted you to see some pictures and I promise I will try harder on my next post to make them look more organized. :)

I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

to give light

"Dar a luz," in Spanish, means "to give birth." Literally, the word "luz" means "light" in English.

I love this because it makes me think that mothers everywhere are giving birth to little lights. :)

It also brings me back to the Bible, where Jesus said, "I am the light of the world." I wonder if the origin of the phrase "dar a luz" came from the idea of mothers giving birth to light; Jesus as light in each child entering the world. I've found this in other Spanish words, too. For example, the word "adios" means "goodbye," but literally, "to God.")

I write this tonight because my sister had another baby today! I have Amira, my niece, who is 21 months old, and I now have Emeka, who is about 7 hours old. Emeka is pronounced "uh-meh-kuh" and is Nigerian for "great deeds."

Ironically, the other Bible verse my mind had gravitated towards, when thinking about the Spanish translation for "dar a luz," was this:
Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

Interesting.

One more thing-
Today, I taught my 1st graders about Christmas caroling in the United States and we learned the song "We Wish You A Merry Christmas." Then I took all 25 of them to the other 1st grade classroom to knock on the door and sing the song for the children in that class. I think it was the first time any of them had ever been Christmas caroling and it made me really happy. :)

When in Rome... I mean, Spain...

Tonight we went to an “authentic” flamenco show with our friend, Josecarlos. Apparently the shows in Sevilla are not as real as the ones in the little towns because there aren’t tourists in the smaller places. This makes sense… :)
It was so awesome. I think, for me, it was especially wonderful because I was a flamenco dancer for Halloween when I was little; the polka dotted dress with frills and all. I have looked forward to coming to Spain and seeing the flamenco shows for so many years now and even though I’ve been here for two months, I still can’t believe that I’m actually here. Sometimes things feel routine and other times I feel like I have to pinch myself.


Okay so it was cool because of what I was feeling but also because I was blown away by the breath support it takes to sing in the style of flamenco. The men held phrases longer than any singer I have ever heard. Seriously. It was so intense and impressive, not to mention the guitar playing. The rhythms are so unique and hard to catch because they change so much and their fingers move so quickly. There are distinct types of rhythms in flamenco and they announce which one they will be playing before they start.
I love that not only is it a style of music that so very much represents the culture and heritage of Spain, but it is a challenging style to conquer technically, as well. I do think it makes a larger impact if seen in person.
I've been wondering about where the castanets were, though. This is the third flamenco show I've seen now, 2 in Sevilla and now this (real) one. I thought the dancers always used castanets while they danced but it seems like the clapping noises that the castanets made is found in the rhythm that is clapped with the shoes and the hands instead. I need to learn the Spanish word for castanets so I can ask someone about this… :)

Uno, Dos, Tres, Catorce

Remember that time everyone told me that the best way to learn Spanish is to live in a Spanish speaking country?

When I studied Spanish with my tutor last year, it was so helpful. Those sessions taught me so many new things, reminded me of things I had learned in high school and brought back to memory many important categories of vocabulary and phrases. Apart from these sessions, I used to watch Spanish television while Amira (my niece) was asleep. I plowed through a basic Spanish workbook I had bought for myself from Barnes & Noble. I memorized conjugations from my book of 200 verbs. This summer I attended a Hispanic/Latino church where I had the opportunity to practice my Spanish with people from Mexico, Brazil (yes, Brazil) and the Dominican Republic. Everything I did fed my knowledge and challenged me. However, after each experience, I could always escape back to my English-speaking world. I could always look up the answer in the back of the book. I could always say, “¿Como se dice en inglés?”

The best way to learn Spanish is to live in a Spanish speaking country. I can’t escape here in Spain. Nothing is comfortable. Each morning I wake up, I forget to brace myself for the cold water into which I’m about to jump. When I leave my apartment each day and walk two flights down the cold, marble stairs to the exit of my building, my mind is consumed with thoughts (in English) of how I will best teach my students that day, which classes are learning which topics, if I remembered to bring things from home as teaching aids, etc. I open the door and I am instantly reminded that I am in Spain. My tiny street meets me with its cobblestones and stares from elderly (very well dressed) women, probably on their way to meet their friends for a typical Spanish breakfast- a piece of bread or a hard roll with olive oil, accompanied by a cup of café con leche. At school I am greeted in Spanish with many questions about how I am doing that day or where I may have traveled that weekend. (The day after the US Presidential Election I was greeted with cheers, handshakes, hugs and congratulations as if I was the one who had won the election or something...) I enter my classrooms and I am swarmed with children showing me little toys, drawings or anything else that may make them proud to show off. I wish I could accurately express, in Spanish, my excitement about the things they are showing me and how much I appreciate their enthusiasm about my entrance. As the hours of the day proceed, my Spanish speaking skills pick up more and more momentum. I remind myself that it is okay to ask what a certain word means or to ask people to speak more slowly.

Last Sunday, I spent the day in Sevilla basking in the sun on a blanket by the Río Guadalquivir with only my ipod and my journal. I watched little Spanish children chase each other around the grass under the trees. I watched many people ride by on bikes, ringing their bells to alert people of their presence. (In Sevilla, you can rent bikes to ride around the city! Half of the sidewalk is marked out for bikes only.) I watched people glide by in kayaks and I watched big boats filled with tourists drift past under the bridges. I saw a large group of Spanish men and women, all dressed up, gather for a picture, making sure the river and the bridges were behind them, creating the perfect backdrop to capture whatever memory they were making on this beautiful day. There were many runners. It was such a beautiful day and reminded me of the musical, “Sunday in the Park with George.” (Go see it!) The weather was so much warmer in Sevilla than it has been in Cabra. I was loving the chance to be alone and give my mind a break from translating every thought.
While I was writing about the wonderful day I was enjoying, one of the runners stopped running and asked me (in Spanish) if I was studying for something and I explained (as I need to do often…) that I am here in Spain to teach English to little niños, not for school. Somehow we started talking about music and he told me of several American bands and songs that he likes. They were all groups from the 80s. I translated some lyrics for him and we wound up talking about music for about an hour, the whole time in Spanish.
Later, I caught a ride back to Cabra (2 hours or so) with my friend Jesús. Jesús is from Sevilla but works in Cabra. We meet during the week to speak in English and in Spanish both of us can practice. He goes home to Sevilla every weekend and offered to take me back to Cabra on Sunday afternoon. We listened to the radio and talked about many things (in both Spanish and English) on the ride back, teaching each other new words and phrases the whole time. The radio stations play music in English and in Spanish but all of the English songs played were from the 80s. Spain really likes American 80s music… I can’t tell if they are behind or if they just really think it is better than everything that has been created since.
When we lost the radio signal, Jesús put in a U2 CD. He loves U2 and said that he is so jealous of me because I can understand all of the lyrics. The things we take for granted…yes? You should listen to lyrics more carefully and embrace the fact that you can understand not only what they mean literally, but also what they may represent or allude to.
I’ve started going to dance class, too. The type of dance is called Bachata and I love it. Not only do I love to dance Bachata, but I love to pick up more words in Spanish simply by associating the movements with the words that are spoken. It’s kind of like how we teach babies to begin to speak. They don’t know how to match a word in one language with its significance in another. They learn more words each day simply by watching, listening and associating the sounds they hear with objects and movements. It’s so much more effective, in my opinion. You learn faster when you are pushed into the water. My days here are filled with speaking and listening to Spanish. Sometimes you can’t think about how cold the water might be. Sometimes you just have to jump in. Sometimes you don’t even realize have already jumped in. I think, for me, it's just that the water’s getting a little warmer.

Clothes Pins & Dentures

The rain in spain doesn't stay mainly in the plain. It actually rained once when I was in Madrid and it has also rained a few times in Cabra (where I live in Southern Spain). I’ve had to run upstairs to the roof to grab my clothes off the clothes lines because it had started to rain. There are no dryers in Spain. Only washing machines. Everyone hangs their clothes on lines with clothes pins. :) Sometimes I feel like I’m in a movie… or dreaming.

This is the end of my 4th week in Spain and my 3rd week teaching in Cabra. I teach 4 days a week from in a primary school (ages 3-12). I teach some English classes and some classes of Math, Science and Arts & Crafts, but in English. Most of the children are eager to learn and get very excited when I walk in the door. The younger classes are more difficult than the older classes. I have to change activities constantly to keep their attention. They love singing. I’ve taught each of my classes 2-3 different songs in English and we practice them each time I go into the room.

This week I sat in on a few rehearsals for a chorus at the centro filharmonico in Cabra. The group has been rehearsing a traditional zarzuela (Spanish opera) and it was so much fun to watch. They even gave me music to sing along. I’m glad reading music is the same in Spain. Yes, it’s all in Spanish but at least the notes are the same (except they use fixed “do” here).

Tonight I went to watch a different choir perform. This choir had only 9 voices. The choir director works at my school and asked me to come so that I can possibly sing with them in the future. I hope I get to because it was outstanding. The entire night was dedicated to teaching the audience about the history of music, and showcased the wide range of repertoire from each time period that the choir performs. The choir members spoke about the different time periods and how one influenced the next through the new developments of the composers from their respective time periods. Each piece represented the evolution of music from Medieval times all the way to the 20th century. I would have loved to have been a part of the preparation for this concert. The only piece I had sung that they performed tonight was the Rachmoninoff “Ave Maria,” except it was sung in Latin and I’ve only sung it in English. Still, it took me back to significant times I had sung it with different groups, first with the Lee Singers at Memorial Auditorium in Chattanooga during my Freshman year of college, then to Israel with the Glenn Draper singers at the Sea of Galilee. It was amazing to be sitting there in Spain, hearing the beauty of this piece once again.

Spain really is beautiful. Everything is so old and history and tradition is so special to the people here. Enjoying life and relaxing is also of much importance. That was the second thing that was hard for me to adjust to in the beginning- slowing down and taking in the world around me every single day, enjoying my meals, enjoying the company of others, reading, walking, etc. The first thing that was hard to get used to was not having my cell phone always ready and available to call or text people. I’ve been alerted to the fact that my cell phone gets in the way of the moments in which I’m living, but I never grasped that fact so fully until I got here and wasn’t able to use it. Honestly, it’s like a breath of fresh air and life is a little bit sweeter when I walk down the street and can hear my thoughts instead of someone else’s voice on the other line. (No offense.)

I do get homesick. I miss the luxury of knowing that my shower will always be hot and being able to contact someone without having to subtract six hours (or 12 if you’re Emma and live in Hawaii). I miss throwing clothes in the dryer real fast to get the wrinkles out. I miss going to the library and knowing I will be able to understand the text of the book I want to take out, or not having to worry about shutting the lights behind me when I leave a room (as I sit here and write this in the dark…), or being able to say quickly what is on my mind instead of making a person wait 10 minutes for me to spit out one sentence. At least my Spanish is getting better because of the pressure to speak and learn quickly.

I must tell you about my landlord. First of all, he reminds me of the guy from “Life is Beautiful.” He’s so happy and jolly all the time. He and his wife said they will be our parents away from home, which is so comforting to know. They are both so sweet. Claire (one of my roommates) and I go to his work occasionally (he makes dentures for people) and sit in this room while he and his oldest son and his brother work on making fake teeth. We just sit there and practice speaking to them in Spanish. It’s so humorous to me to watch them take the molds of people’s (missing) teeth and scrape and polish and do whatever people do to make new teeth. We talk to them about where they’ve been and sports and things we are interested in doing while we are in Spain, places we want to visit, things we studied at school, places we’ve been in the states, etc. It’s a great time. The office is the bottom floor of this huge house (owned by the parents of my landlord, who is the oldest of 7 males) and the house has rooms with lots of beds for when all the brothers come home to Cabra to visit and bring their wives and children. (Again, so humorous to me.) He showed us this one room that looked like it was the bedroom of the seven dwarfs. That is exactly how the beds were lined up. Yes, just like in the movie. One of the rooms has a piano in it because one of his brothers is a piano teacher and a professional player. He performs all over Spain. I am welcome to play there to practice whenever I want, and I have!

Almost every day I get lost and almost every day I find a new street. Don’t worry, I always find my way home and this always happens in daylight. The streets are so tiny here. Most of them are one way and cobble stoned. I live in a piso with one of those terraces with the wrought iron railings. I remember seeing these in Italy and thinking that I would want to live in a place like that some day. It’s so quaint to me and yes, I do spend time out on my terrace, reading or eating or watching the events of a car accident unfold, sadly.

Things feel right. I’ve been wanting to live in Spain ever since I dressed up as a flamenco dancer for Halloween one year, when I was little, and heard of my mom’s experiences traveling in Spain. I sort of always knew I would get here some day but didn’t know when. Sometimes when I walk down the streets of my town, I feel like I’m dreaming. Other days, it feels so normal and I feel like I’m exactly where I belong at this point in my life. Even though my emotions go up and down with being sad from missing people and not being here for singing purposes, or being on highs from seeing tons of new places and learning Spanish, over all, estoy feliz. :)