Friends and Family

Mom and Dad - still the best parents ever

Although he can be a bit of a terror,

Indy is still the cutest dog I know!

Happy Hour with the Crawford girls

Emily and Liz helped to make a

Tuesday night out quite fantastic!

At Home in Two Places

It's been so great to be back in Denver! Although the adjustment hasn't been as difficult as it was over the summer, it's still a little strange. Emily and I had a conversation the other day, as did my mom and I, about being back. Thinking about only location, it's so great to be in Denver. I LOVE this place - the mountains, the sunshine, the familiarity, the casualness, everything! Without a doubt, if I was in the US, this is where I would want to be. Yet, even though I love it so much, I know that right now, it's not where I'm meant to be. I definitely feel more at home in Spain at the moment, which is a little crazy!

Of course, even though I feel that Barcelona is where I'm supposed to be, nothing in Spain compares to the people I miss in Denver. It's so great to see friends and family and just relax. Being back in a place where I know where everything is, where I can communicate with everyone without having to think about what I want to say, and can easily talk to friends and family has made me realize how many challenges living abroad presents!

I definitely plan to enjoy every moment of my time in Denver (especially all of the snow we're supposed to get today!) and know that I'll be sad to leave next week, yet will also be so happy to return "home."

Back in the USA

It's so good to be home! Although it was a rough trip back this time, I finally arrived in Denver around 5:30pm on Christmas evening. It was SO great to see my mom and dad at the airport, then be greeted by dogs, Mike, and Sarah at home. After drinks, present opening, Christmas carols, and a wonderful dinner, it truly felt like Christmas.

It's definitely been an easier transition coming back this time. Although I do have to remember to bring ID to bars, I'm not speaking Spanish first to everyone I see - a definite improvement from this summer! Going to Gov's Park yesterday with friends and family to enjoy football (Go Colts!), buffalo chicken wraps, and tall Coors Lights is definitely something I have missed. And the Rocky Mountains, snow-covered and beautiful in the distance are something that Spain just can't compete with . . .

I can't wait to spend more time with friends, co-workers, Indy, Mike, and my BFs in the upcoming week - it's so wonderful to be reminded of what amazing people I have in my life! I'm off to buy a new camera today, so photos will follow!

How I Had Forgotten

It's hard to believe that it's been almost three years since Ryan and I broke up. Where has the time gone?! Although I've dated a few guys, had an Italian romance, and kissed many boys since, it has been almost three years since I've been in a "relationship."

I was just having a conversation with my friend Anne about how I feel like I've completely forgotten what it's like to really like someone and even to be with someone. It seems like such a foreign concept now! That's the difficult part - just waiting to feel that way, and ideally more, again. However, I think the exciting part is having no idea who that someone will be! It could be one of hundreds of men! Where will I meet him? What will his story be? Where will he be from? What will he look like? And how will it happen that the two of us will find one another and feel the same way? It seems like such a mystery!

Well, coincidentally enough, the night after this conversation with Anne, I happened to meet a guy who I really like! I met him in a bar while out with Tessa. His story is one of the most interesting I've heard so far. He's from Argentina and he might have one of the best smiles I've ever seen. And I don't know how it happened, it just did - we found each other (in a bar called "Sugar" of all places!) and seem to be feeling just the same way . . .

Although there have been two guys in the past year that I've really liked, the timing and the location, among other things, stopped things from really developing. And although disappointing, I was okay with it. Yet this feels different. Knowing someone for such a short amount of time, but liking volumes about them and being able to spend time together and learn about one another - wow. It's so fun!

And along with the amazing feeling of liking someone comes the terrifying aspect as well - it's so scary! It might not work out, I might be disappointed, I might get hurt. Yet, as I know Liz would tell me, now is the time to just enjoy the moment. If it's meant to work, it will. And if it's not, it won't, and that will be okay. So, I plan to enjoy the feeling of really liking someone again and knowing that I hadn't forgotten how to - it's something that comes right back. :)

The Fascination of Language

Learning how to teach English last year while trying to learn Spanish really increased my interest in languages and linguistics. And now that I am surrounded by people who are completely bilingual and trilingual (my students, as well as people I meet), my fascination with language learning is bordering on the obsessive!

Tessa and I were just discussing how amazing it is to hear people go in and out of two languages so effortlessly and with perfect accents in both. We constantly ask ourselves how it's possible! For kids who are brought up bilingually, it makes more sense. But when meeting adults who picked up a second or third language later in life, it's even more amazing.

I'm happy to say that my Spanish is getting a lot better. However, I can have days where I don't have to speak any Spanish unless I choose to! It's amazing how living abroad doesn't make language learning that much easier unless you are immersed in it everyday.

In my determination to speak Spanish fluently, I am constantly making observations about language and the way people speak. I've noticed a few things:

*The first language you start speaking with someone ultimately determines the language you will continue to use the most with this person. Puja had said this to me last year in Sevilla and it's so true! This is the reason I always try to use Spanish when introducing myself and starting conversations with someone who may be a native Spanish speaker.

*When someone has learned a second language, even if they are fluent in it, I think they are forced to be more honest when speaking. I struggle to even get my point across in Spanish these days; I can't begin to imagine how I would stretch the truth or talk around a subject in a believable way! If someone is an honest person, they're honest - and if they are speaking in their second language, I think it makes them even more so.

*Since moving to Spain, part of me has wanted to meet a guy whose English is worse than my Spanish in order for me to learn more. However, I've been thinking that with my level of Spanish, it would make for some really tricky conversations! There is something so important about being able to communicate, especially feelings and stories and emotions, that are much more easily portrayed in a language both people can speak and understand. So, although my idea of meeting a Spanish man and only speaking in Spanish is quite romantic, I don't know if it would lead to the best reality!

And so, I am determined to not leave this country until I can speak fluently. I'm not so sure how that will happen, but in the meantime, my love affair with language, particularly Spanish, will continue . . .

Christmas at ASB

Since the school year began, I've been comparing a lot of what happens at ASB to the only other school I've known - Crawford. As I've mentioned, there have been a lot more similarities than I expected, especially with the students and learning. However, today I was reminded of just how different teaching in an international private school is than a high-poverty public school!

Our gift from the school was a lote - a fairly typical holiday present in Spain. It's a box filled with red wine, cava, and turron - pretty much a perfect gift for me! We also had an amazing lunch at school, complete with wine and cava as well. Instead of well-loved toys or statues of Mary, I received tons of chocolate, handmade cards, really nice jewelry, and knit scarves from my students. I love everything I received, but I definitely miss some of those Crawford gifts . . .

An absolutely hilarious white elephant gift exchange in my class (I will forever remember Pablo being a great sport about getting a stuffed bunny in a basket!), followed by breakfast and "Diary of a Wimpy Kid," made for a pretty fantastic last school day of 2010. I can't wait to see what 2011 will have in store!

It's official!

Although I've been talking about it with my director and principal for the past few months, I can now officially say that I will be staying in Barcelona a bit longer! As of today, I have signed a two-year contract to continue working at ASB. I can hardly believe it!

When we originally talked about my staying, I hadn't expected signing on for anything more than a year. However, when Mark made the offer, I couldn't say no! I think two years was offered to guarantee me a position in case we don't keep three 5th grade classrooms after next year. (He also mentioned wanting to get a coaching model going in the next few years as well - thank goodness!)

In some ways, this is definitely a bittersweet thing. The "bitter" part is knowing that this is news some friends and family might not want to hear. I hate knowing that a decision I have made might make others sad. :( Yet, I'm so lucky that they continue to support me regardless of this! I know a few co-workers who aren't so lucky . . .

But this is a wonderfully "sweet" thing, too! I don't feel nearly ready to leave Spain yet - I feel like I have only just begun to travel and see what Europe has to offer. In addition, I finally feel like I'm getting somewhere with Spanish - taking classes for the last three months (and continuing them for at least three more!) has made a HUGE difference for me. I have also fallen even more in love with the Spanish lifestyle and culture - I'm so glad I get to continue enjoying it. Finally, knowing that I'm here for at least two more years gives me a sense of feeling like I can really start to "settle in." I can make decisions about apartments, purchases, savings, travel, and life that would be very different if I didn't know where I was going to be in the near future.

And so, this holiday season I am even more grateful than usual for where life has taken me, as well as the people I'm surrounded by, both literally and figuratively, who support me in it no matter what. I can't wait to discover what my continuing adventures in Spain will hold!

What makes a night in Barcelona?

Tessa and I had decided we needed to have one more big night out in Barcelona before heading home for the holidays - and did we ever! Early in the night we didn't think we would make it until midnight, but we ended up closing down dance clubs at 6:30am!

Nights like last night make me wonder what it is that makes them so great. Part of it is always the unexpected - just when you've decided that the night is going to be low-key, something dramatically changes to make it just the opposite. It's also being in good company - Tessa and I always have a great time together, which makes it easy.

Part of it is also Barcelona - there is just such a variety of people here! We went to about 5 different places last night and the number of languages we heard being spoken was amazing. People look so different, have such different styles, and such interesting stories, which I always love to hear.

And finally, at this time in life, I think it's the guapos that make the night! Our night took a turn when we met a bachelor party of German guys - they were so big, and handsome, and hilarious to talk to. However, we decided to separate from them once they decided to go to a strip club . . . Then, we ended up spending the majority of our night talking to these guys from Argentina. They spoke perfect English, which is always incredible to me. In addition, they were just so interesting - Italian, Irish, Spanish parents, the ability to understand multiple languages, etc. And they were just so guapo!

It's nights like last night that remind me it really is okay to be 30 and single - when you have great friends and live in a city like Barcelona - Saturday nights always seem to include a bit of the unexpected!

The Holidays in Barcelona

It's hard to believe that Christmas will be here (and I'll be in Denver!) in just a week! As always, I absolutely love the holidays. The lights, the music, gifts everywhere - it's fantastic!

The holiday season in Barcelona seems to be quite similar to Seville, just on a grander scale. El Corte Ingles is lit up, their street vendors selling anything and everything, Santa is climbing up many balconies and the streets are jam-packed with shoppers.

One of my favorite things here is how each major street has it's own type of Christmas lights. They are hung one after another down the street for many blocks. When lit up, they're beautiful! Another Catalonian tradition is the caganet. It's a little man who is placed in all nativity scenes, whether in a home or in the church. Here's the weird thing - he's a little man who's pooping! Apparently he's fertilizing the earth . . . definitely not what I usually associate with Christmas!

A caganet!

Last night, ASB had a "Cookies and Cocktails" holiday party, which was super-fun. I'm now off to finish Christmas shopping and hopefully find something for my kiddos as well. Who knows - one of you might be lucky enough to receive a caganet this year! :)

Istanbul, not Constantinople

Last weekend I went to Istanbul - what an amazing city! Tessa and I stayed with her best friend Greta, who is teaching at an international school there. This made for a completely different experience than I think we would have had if we had gone our own.

Istanbul had been high on my list of places to see and it didn't disappoint! The history, the fact the city is in both Asia and Europe, the religions, the architecture, the hammams, the amazing food - wow, what a place!

Greta, Tessa, and I

you can see one of many mosques, as well as the Bosphorus (splits the European and Asian sides of Istanbul) in the background

Turkish Breakfast

(notice all the cheese!)

Before our Hammam experience - it was amazing! Body scrub, bath, and massage - all while wearing absolutely nothing! It definitely made me more comfortable being naked . . .

Inside the Blue Mosque

Inside Aya Sophia