More Birthday Fun

My 31st birthday celebrations continued last week - and what an amazing birthday it was! After opening fabulous gifts from family, Tessa and I went out for an incredible lunch at "Cheese Me" - a place I've been dying to go to for awhile. Then, Matias joined us and a few afternoon drinks turned into many Irish bars, laughs, and attempting to get as many people as possible to say "Happy Birthday" in their native language. Matias put together the clips and made this video - it's quite entertaining. I think it's pretty clear how much I was enjoying my birthday. Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1241Sq6kyc

A 5C Birthday Surprise

5C

Wow - I've enjoyed my class since the beginning of this year, but my heart is filling up with more and more love for them by the day! Without a doubt, they are one of the most thoughtful and kindest group of kids I have ever worked with.

My birthday is next week and ever since my class realized that we would be on spring break when it happened, they've been in the midst of planning a surprise for me. For the past month or so, there has been a particular group of girls taking pictures of kids and teachers, hiding things from me when I walk by, and giving me that "What? I'm not doing anything suspicious" look constantly. They have made up elaborate stories to cover up their plans - it's been so cute to watch!

Well, yesterday the birthday surprise was revealed! They planned a party for me and proceeded to go all out. Decorations, a birthday song and dance, a power point presentation, a poster, food, and a beautiful cake complete with a "31" candle. It was amazing!

However, the best part was their gifts. I got a fabulous scarf that is exactly my style and a beautiful journal. Inside, each student made a page with their picture and wrote a birthday message to me. It's so thoughtful! I've included some of my favorite pages below. :)

Needless to say, this has already been one of my most memorable birthdays . . . and it hasn't even happened yet!

Such a beautiful journal!

pages by two of my kiddos

"Ms. Jenny"

I have to share a poem that two girls in my class wrote on "Poem in our Pockets" day. It cracks me up! :)

Ms. Jenny

by Sofia and Maxime

I have a teacher who's called Ms. Jenny,

she's as valuable as a golden penny.

Her eyes are blue and green,

and if you concentrate,

they look like little beans.

Her smile looks like the golden sun,

she is loved by everyone.

She is covered with little freckles,

and when we're funny she fills up with chuckles.

She orders us the best books,

and we can count on her for her looks.

Jejeje! I'm not completely sure how to interpret all of these lines, but I kind of love them!

Poems in our Pockets

At ASB this week, elementary students are preparing for St. Jordi - a Catalan holiday celebrated on April 23rd. Although I don´t know all the details of this day yet, but dragons, roses, books, and a knight are involved in the legend.

Our students are celebrating with a HUGE focus on literacy this week, which I love! Everyday, students do something a little different. Today, students have to carry a "poem in their pocket" and be prepared to read it for anyone who asks. We had a lot of fun choosing poems yesterday. As usual, Shel Silverstein was the favorite of many kids.

As students were choosing poems, I decided to do the same. Although there are so many poems that I love, the first one I thought of is this one below. It´s a classic that seems to be very fitting at this moment in my life . . .

The Road Not Taken
by Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;


Then took the other, just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that, the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,


And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.


I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I --
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

Spring has Sprung!

In the past two weeks, it's clear that spring (if not summer!) has arrived in Barcelona. The time change, 70+ degree weather, and the abundance of tourists have changed the entire feel of the city. It seems like Barcelona is literally pulsing with energy - I love it! Plazas and cafes are full of people enjoying tapas and drinks and everyone is out and about all the time. In this sense, Barcelona reminds me a lot of Sevilla - life happens "on the streets."

Seeing everyone out enjoying the sunshine is making it harder and harder to want to go to work as well. (Because of this, spring break can't come soon enough - one week to go!) As I've been walking around in the evenings this past week, I've realized that I haven't really experienced springtime nights in Spain. In Sevilla, I was working from 1-9 and not arriving home until around 10pm. It's so amazing to be out in the evening, whether going for a run, getting a drink, or watching old Catalan men play boccie ball. I have definitely been reminded that spring is my most favorite season, especially in a city like Barcelona. I'm looking forward to enjoying a bit more of it in the upcoming weeks!

Sunset in Sitges

Enjoying cañas at a chiringuito on the beach

Wildflowers in Montserrat

Bursting!

In the past few weeks, and particularly in the past few days, it has literally felt like my heart is bursting with love. It's such a crazy, and wonderful, feeling! As you may have guessed, Matias has a lot to do with this :) It's amazing to me that everyday I seem to love even more about him. What a fantastic feeling - everyday just gets better, even when it seemed like the day before was as good as it could get! Love is grand . . .

It's been interesting to me that as my heart seems to be filling up with more and more love, I'm also missing friends and family more than ever. It's so hard to be feeling this way about someone and not really be able to share it with the people closest to me. I know this is part of the reality of living abroad, but it's definitely a part I don't like. No matter what, my friends and family won't know Matias the way they would if we were living in the same place, and that's a really hard thing for me.

It was so nice that Meaghan and Jessica were able to visit - just having friends that knew me before Spain catch a glimpse of my life in Barcelona helped. I so want to share it with the people I care most about! So, needless to say, visitors are welcome anytime - the sooner, the better! :)