Lifelong Learning

Sometimes I wish that "student" could truly be a profession. I sometimes wish that I could be paid to go to school. Of course, what would be the purpose of that education then?

When I started High School, I wanted to be an author. I wanted to write children's books. Then I discovered journalism. By my junior year, I was writing for my school newspaper. When I graduated, I chose a school based on my desired major: journalism. I even received a journalism scholarship my first year there.

It had its ups and downs. I loved (and still do) writing. I started out as hard news and wrote a variety of articles including features, opinions and even sports on occasion. I interned at the Army News Service in Washington, D.C. at the end of my junior year. By that point, I was losing confidence in my own abilities. Is it just a thing that writers have where they hate their own work even when others say it is great? I definitely wasn't sure I wanted to follow through with journalism. But what choice did I have? I was almost through with college. If I switched my major then, I would be there for another year or two without scholarships to help me make it through.

I stuck with Journalism, knowing that the communication background could come in handy even in another field. More and more, I wanted to make a difference. I thought maybe I could do in depth stories with the homeless and try to bring light to their stories. But I didn't even know how to get started. My senior year of college, I found a way to make a difference.

My professor and newspaper adviser forwarded the class an email advertising a communications internship at an organization I had learned about a few years prior. It was an organization that, although I didn't know a lot about, I knew enough that I supported their mission. I even hoped I might be able to work there one day. Little did I know that two days after I graduated, I would begin a communications internship at Heifer International.

Before graduating I had also added a second major, Spanish. I had a few opportunities during the internship to speak Spanish with some of the international staff from Latin America. I never took any classes in video production or editing, but quickly learned some on the job and was able to help teach some other coworkers. I continued learning.

Later, I went to Spain for almost a year. Once again, that was an experience full of lessons and learning. Some lessons were a little tougher than others. Not only did I learn my Spanish was no where nearly as good as I thought it was, I learned a little more about Embassies and consulates after losing my passport on a trip to England. I also learned how big a difference just having someone to talk to can make in a person's life after spending countless hours alone in my apartment  Then there were the cultural lessons. Perhaps the most important lesson I learned was in perseverance  After three months, it was hard to leave for Christmas. And then in June it was hard to come home, knowing that I was leaving many new friends behind and didn't even have a job to go back to.

Less than a month after arriving home in the United States, I was offered a temporary position working in Human Resources at Heifer. I had no experience in that field. My task was working with company polices, reviewing and updating them. I learned. It has been a continuing learning experience all together as I researched what types of things should be policies, what policy manuals should contain etc. I have even helped with other tasks and have already learned a ton about Excel. What has surprised me the most is what I have learned about myself.

In tracking information, I have found that I actually enjoy some of the tedious work. I enjoy looking at the statistics, making charts and graphs. Even if I wasn't a math major and never had an interest in it. Applied to the real world it is interesting. I have been working in the Human Resources department for a little over three months now and am still learning. Of course, learning continues for a lifetime.

Su propio idioma / Your own Language

Me parece interesante tantas cosas la gente puede tener en común, solo por hablar el mismo idioma. Yo soy un persona bastante tímido. Es difícil para mi, hablar con la gente a quien yo no conozco. Pero no he tenido problemas de hablar con gente en el aeropuerto de Madrid-Barajas. Durante la navidad y también hoy, hable con gente.

Durante la navidad la empezó cuando un hombre en la cola de facturar vio mi maleta. He escrito mi nombre y dirección en letras grandes. Yo puedo reconocer mi maleta fácilmente y si la compañía de avión la pierdan tal vez ellos pueden leer fácilmente también.  El me dijo que era una idea buena y que debería copiarla. Y después hablábamos durante el tiempo en la cola y después de llegar a los Estados Unidos.

Y hoy, conocí a algunos otros auxiliares de conversación en el autobús. Luego en el aeropuerto, conocí  a un hombre quien estaba viajando (senderismo con mochila) dentro de Europa. Desayunamos juntos y hablamos mientras esperábamos entrar la zona de embarcar.

Ambas las conversaciones empezaban solo a causa de el idioma.

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It seems interesting to me how much people can have in common, only because they speak the same language. I am a fairly shy person. It is difficult for me to talk to people who I don't know. But I haven't had a problem speaking with people in the Madrid-Barajas airport. During Christmas and today I was able to speak with people.

At Christmas it began when a man in the check-in line saw my suitcase. I have written my name and address in large letters. I can easily recognize my bag and if an airline company loses it, maybe they can easily read it also. The man told me that it was a good idea and he should copy it. And later we talked while standing in the line and after arriving back to the United States.

And today, I met some other language assistants on the bus. Later at the airport I met a man who had been backpacking in Europe. We ate breakfast together and talked while waiting in line to enter the secured boarding zone.

Both of those conversations began just because we both spoke the same language.

Hunger Games

I am a little behind on some popular reading, but decided to catch up the other day after continually seeing and hearing about Hunger Games. I found the book online and began reading around 2 p.m. on Wednesday. I read for twelve hours straight, stopping only for a bite to eat. I read about two hours the following day and was finished with the book. After all, I only had about 30 pages left to read.

I didn’t really know what to expect going into the book, just that it was very popular. I approached with an open mind. It captured my attention from the beginning, something fairly difficult to do for me. I will say that some of the ending is predictable, but the events in between were unknown. What would happen next? I had to know. The writing style was almost journal-like as it was in first person. It often annoyed me. It was definitely not Harry Potter. But it was a great read. And throughout the entire read I kept trying to analyze it as if I were back in my high school literature class days. What was being said about our society? Was this an allegory?

I began to think that maybe the Capitol was meant to represent the United States. The districts which were more well off, at least with plenty of food, might be considered Western Europe and possibly other industrialized nations such as Australia and Japan. And further districts were representative of places where, although some people may be surviving without much problem, there are many people starving. Many people were needlessly dying from malnutrition and a lack of money to buy food, medicine and shelter.

I previously interned with an organization, Heifer International, whose mission was to end world hunger and poverty while caring for the earth. I couldn’t help but think about that in this context either. They work to teach communities invaluable skills. Later the community may receive plants or animals to help them become self-sustainable. These gifts begin to change their lives as they are not allowed to eat the gift itself. They can, however, eat the produce from the gifts and sell the rest for extra income. Take a cow for example. They can drink the milk. Or a nanny, which can provide milk for drinking or cheese. Keeping this in mind, I continued reading and then I came across this on page 144.

Owning a nanny goat can change your life in District 12. The animals can live off almost anything, the Meadow’s a perfect feeding place, and they can give four quarts of milk a day. To drink, to make into cheese, to sell.

That brings me to my conclusion. Whether or not this book is meant to be allegorical or not, it has some truth to it. It is no game at all. People around the world fight for their lives every day. Maybe they aren’t set up by the government against each other, with only one person allowed to live, but they have to fight their environment. They have to fight empty stomachs. They have to fight disease. They have to fight for their lives.

But, you and I, we can do something about this. Unlike the sponsors in the book it does not cost us a fortune to send gifts to these people. In fact, through Heifer International we can buy an entire flock of baby chickens for $20. Or, if we don’t want to spend that much, we could pay for a share of a goat for $10. Every little bit counts. Even a Heifer is relatively inexpensive, $500, when compared with the benefits. And these donations aren’t helping just one person, they’re helping many. The first female offspring will be given to another person in need. The gift keeps giving. You can view Heifer’s entire gift catalog online. With Mother’s Day just around the corner this is a great opportunity to help a family in need in her honor.

Feria de Sevilla

Learn some Spanish and dress like the Spaniards do were two of the biggest pieces of advice I found on the internet before going to the fair in Sevilla this weekend. I knew there would be tents set up and in another area there would be rides and games. But other than that little bit of information, I really didn't know what to expect. [Aprender a hablar un poquito de español y vestir como los Españoles eran los dos partes de consejo mas grande que encontré en Internet antes de asistir a la Feria de Sevilla ayer. Sabia que habría casetas y en otra parte las atracciones. Otro que esas cosas, no sabia que encontraría.]

A Ferris Wheel and other rides
 at the Grant County Fair, 2011

These are some of the prizes visitors can
win while playing games at the Grant
County Fair, 2011.

Another common ride at fairs in the United States.

In the United States the fair consists of concerts, junk food, rides, games and livestock shows. So, overall, a lot was actually the same. In the photo to the left, people are riding horses down the main street in Sheridan, Arkansas in 2011. Even in Sevilla there were people on horse back, all over the city. There were really only about two main differences: the livestock shows are replaced by family and friends getting together. It is like a big party. [En los Estados Unidos, las ferias son construidos de conciertos, comida frita, atracciones y animales. De todos modos, muchas cosas eran el mismo. En la foto a la izquierda, la gente monta en caballos en la calle principal de Sheridan, Arkansas en 2011. También, en Sevilla había gente quien monta los caballos en toda la ciudad. Solo había como dos cosas de diferencia: la enseñanza de animales no existe; en su lugar hay familias y amigos reuniendo juntos. Era como una gran fiesta.]

It was around 8 p.m. when we finally arrived and found my friend who is from Sevilla. He invited us to join him, his family and some of his friends. There was music, live at times, dancing (mostly traditional Spanish), and an overall good time. It was about 3:45 in the morning when we left from that part and went to see the "attractions" and eat Churros with Chocolate. And finally we arrived at the hotel around 5 a.m. [Era 20 h, mas o menos, cuando por fin lleguemos y nos encontramos con mi amigo de Sevilla. Nos invito con su familia y amigos. Había música, aveces en viva, bailando (bailes típicas de España por lo general) y sobre todo un buen tiempo. Era 3:45 cuando salíamos para ver las atracciones y para comer churros con chocolate. Por fin lleguemos al hostal a las 5.]

Spanish Doctor Visit

I had heard that getting medicine in Spain was much easier. In the fifty-something page booklet of information Auxiliars read before even being accepted to the Auxiliares de Conversacion program, healthcare is mentioned. We are provided insurance through our work which means we do not have to pay anything to see the doctor. However, medicine is not included. According to the book, medicine in Spain is cheap and it is like buying it in the United States with insurance.

So it may be free to see the doctor and cheap to get medicine, but that didn't make me want to need that service any more. It is mid-April 2012. I have been in Huelva since mid-September 2011. I only have a month and a half left of this grant. So I thought I was home free. Spring is here so I shouldn't be catching the cold or flu. So I shouldn't need to visit the doctor. That was great. I don't like to go to the doctor even in the United States where I can easily speak the language.

But last Friday (which just happened to be the 13th) after taking a nap, I woke up with lower back pain. I dealt with it for several hours and then finally went to bed just to sleep it off. Unfortunately, the next morning I woke up with the same pain. That was odd, I can usually sleep stuff away. Later Saturday I noticed that I would scratch an area on my side and it would feel better, or other times if I added some pressure it felt better. On Sunday I began noticing a few spots and so I started researching what it could be and determined it was shingles. I had the back pain, the itchy feeling, I had experienced a few headaches, and some of the other symptoms.

Of course, I am no doctor so I mentioned it to some family and friends. Their first impressions was also shingles. But my case was minor. There was no rash, just a few bumps here and there and the pain. My pain was only minor so there was no need to get the doctor involved, I would just let it run its course. Then Monday a small rash began to form; it still didn't concern me. Until Tuesday night when it began to hurt me to breathe and I finally decided to go to the doctor the following day after work.

I was nervous. I had heard several people complain about having to go to go to several doctors until one would finally admit they had a sinus infection and give them a prescription. But I prepared for the doctor by writing out some words such as "rash," "shingles," and "chicken pox." The work paid off. The receptionist asked what I wanted to see the doctor for and I told her I thought I had Herpes Zoster. I was soon called into a small office.

Inside the office the doctor sat at his computer. When I entered the room he asked me what the problem was. I hesitated a little, not knowing whether to tell him the whole story from Friday to Wednesday or what. I decided to give the brief story: My back hurts and itches on my left side. There are also some outbreaks on my stomach and left side. He asked me to show him my back and I did so. Then he wrote a prescription. He never touched me. He never took my temperature or blood pressure. I never had to tell anyone my height or weight. I was in and out in less than 30 minutes and it was completely free.

Unfortunately free didn't last for long. I went to the pharmacy and expected to get maybe two medicines based on the report he gave me. But it turns out its four. But even at four I don't expect to pay more than 30 euros. A pain medicine that dissolves in water, a herpes antiviral pill, a cream to put on the rash and a rusty-colored liquid ended up setting me back about 150 euros. That isn't what I expected.

On the bright side, it doesn't seem to be anything serious. And I am able to go about life normally with the exception of having to medicate every eight hours. Luckily, although it is the same virus as chicken pox, shingles is not contagious. Life shall be fairly normal.

Multi-lingual

Somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea--Traveling is great. I have never been a huge fan of reading history books, but to walk where history is happens makes it come alive. Soon, I will be walking where many historical figures walked in the Roman Empire. I don't know a lot about the culture and even less about the language.

Language is another very interesting aspect to me. English is the universal language for traveling it seems. But not everyone speaks English. Not everyone speaks the local language. I only speak English and Spanish.

In Barcelona I never knew what language to speak. When I tried to speak in Spanish, people always ask if I speak English. But it is Spain... In Italy it will be a little more difficult. I think people who don't speak English may understand my Spanish but when they respond to me in Italian, I am a little nervous. I don't think I will understand a whole lot. I may be saying, "Io no compicho," a lot. I brought a Spanish-Italian dictionary along so hopefully that will help. Let the walk through the Roman Empire begin.

Not in the Scenarios

I found myself in a situation today that caused me to reflect back on my time spent studying Spanish at Arkansas State University. There have been a lot of times where I am in a situation and I think, "I know I learned that word in class at some point. Why don't I remember it now?"

I am a clumsy and forgetful person. It took me three trips to the market today to finally come up with all the ingredients and groceries I wanted for the next two weeks. The second trip is what caused the reflection. After shopping for about half an hour I made it to the check-out counter only to find I had left my money in the apartment. I had been shopping online for hotels before going to the market.

So the reflection was about the times in Spanish class when we had to act out a scene or come up with a skit and act it out in Spanish. Never did this scenario cross my mind: forgetting your money while shopping. The good news is although I figured out on the walk home how to say it, I was able to communicate my thoughts in a sufficient manner that we both understood. About 15 minutes later I was standing in the line again with the groceries waiting for me.

Thats one big Rock!

For a relatively unplanned trip, the weekend trip to Gibraltar was probably one of the easiest trips since being in Spain. After an early start Saturday morning, I walked across the border around 9:30 a.m. They looked at my passport and then I safely put it back in its case, with two rubber bands securing the top so it could not slide out. Futhermore, I tightened the strap around my neck and tucked the holder inside the waste of my pants -- a rather uncomfortable location for the 12 hours of hiking.

I knew there was some history in Gibraltar to see, but after researching a little bit I feared that the monkeys would be the highlight of the trip.

Damian Corrigan writes on about.com, "Considering the acres of press coverage the battle between the UK and Spain over Gibraltar gets, you'd think there would be something worth fighting over. I'm still trying to discover what that is - maybe the Spanish like monkeys?"

He goes on to mention the monkeys about four or five times in the article. Lucky for me, I had looked up places on waymarking.com and added some geocaches also. The geocaching lead me up the rock before I ever made it to the cable car which I had planned on taking. So my adventure began. I didn't find the geocache I was looking for but I did end up finding the "Siege Tunnels," which were carved into the rock.

My first experience was buying postcards. That experience was in English. My second experience was buying a ticket to enter the tunnels (which turned out to include the other attractions also). That experience was in Spanish. The tunnels offered some interesting glimpses into history and some cool views of the land.

I later visited a Moorish castle, the Mediterranean Stairs Trail (N 36° 07.499 W 005° 20.612), St. Michael's Cave and a lighthouse. I only missed two locations that I would have liked to seen: The Pillar of Hercules and the American War Memorial.

Some personal notes:

* The highest point is about 1,400 feet. I reached that point and then hiked down and back up. That is in addition to many other ups and downs I did on the roads and some of the stairs.

* I lost count somewhere around 200 stairs that I climbed after the apes decided to jump on me for a THIRD time. The first time was when I sat down at the picnic tables. The second time was also there. (The second time, after one pulled my hair, I got up and started up the stairs. Soon after they chased after and jumped on me again.)

* The third encounter was the scariest. I am afraid of heights and these monkeys were on me in a very high places.

* Somehow I think if monkeys were human's ancestors that some of the traits we have developed are definitely better. But we lost a lot in that evolution too. There is no way I would be anywhere near some of the places these apes were -- hanging off the guard rails!

* I think I spoke more Spanish in Gibraltar than English. Not that I am complaining!

* The next day (today) muscles I didn't even know existed are sore. I walked for about 20 miles up and down the hills. I spent 12 hours in Gibraltar.

* I think Gibraltar has one of the coolest airports I have ever seen. Pedestrians and vehicles drive across the runway. Pedestrians can walk to the airport.

Better Late than Never

The title has two meanings. First, I understand this blog is a few days late. Second, the travel plans didn't work exactly how I had hoped but at least I got there and back safely. Now here is the story.

I waited to long to start planning the trip to Segovia, Salamanca and Santiago. I was hoping to have someone to travel with but that did not work out. It was Thursday before I finally made my way to the train station after work to buy three tickets, Huelva - Sevilla - Madrid - Salamanca. If it had worked out, I would have arrived to Salamanca about 8 p.m. on Friday. However, the agent informed me there were no available trains for Madrid at the times allowing me to connect to Salamanca. They were all full. Thats where the headache began.

I decided to go to the bus station again to try and find an alternate route. I printed out a sheet with the timetable of a bus that would go directly from Sevilla to Salamanca and take about seven hours. I brought the sheet home with me so I could buy the ticket online since the company is in Sevilla and not Huelva. Upon closer look at the timetable, I found that I probably could not catch the bus, expecting to arrive at Huelva close to 1 p.m. and the bus leaving Sevilla at 2 p.m. So I had to find a different option.

I found where if I went to Madrid from Huelva, I could connect on another bus there to Salamanca. So, lessons learned from Ryanair for this same trip, I tried to book Socibus before the bus from Madrid. I could not get my card to go through. It was routing me to Verify by Visa which is really a horrible system. It almost never works for me. This time was no different. So, I called my bank and complained. They told me they couldn't see any attempted transactions. Knowing that it wouldn't work for the bus company in Madrid either I began thinking about canceling the trip all together. But that would mean a 50 euro ticket, and a 5 euro hostal deposit would be wasted.

The charge from Ryanair did not show up on my bank account so I decided to talk to the company and maybe they could cancel my reservation and not make the charge. (I know, I must have been dreaming.) I tried about five different phone numbers listed on the airport websites, their website and my ticket. None of those numbers would work. So I decided to call my bank and ask if it would be legal for them to block the transaction. They said it had been verified and therefore they could not do anything. After several more attempts at contacting the airline, I filled out a complaint form. A little while later, I finally got a Spanish number (in the United Kingdom) to work. Of course, they didn't tell me what I wanted to hear. There would be no cancelling. "As it clearly states in our policies and during the booking procedure..." blah blah blah. My point was that it hadn't shown up on the bank yet so what if we just don't go through with it. But anyway, this blog isn't to complain about Ryanair, otherwise it would be much longer than I want to write tonight.

I finally realized Paypal was an option for the bus in Madrid so I bought the ticket and then raced to the local bus station to buy my seat for Madrid. I arrived to Salamanca about five hours later than intended, but better late than never.

I have learned a few things from this experience. The most important lesson was to always book the departing trip before the returning  trip. And the second was that I really am learning to understand and speak Spanish better. After the four to five hours talking to all of these different companies, I realized I was complaining and speaking in Spanish better under the stress than on a good day. I can't imagine what I would have done in that scenario if it were my first week in Spain.

Over the next day or two I intend to write a little about each of the cities I was in during the holiday weekend: Salamanca, Santiago and Sevilla.

Practica Makes Perfecto

Practice may make perfect but some things take more practice than others. Learning a new language is something that takes a lot of time, patience, practice and immersion. I think every university student should be required to live abroad for at least four to five months, whether they are learning a new language or not.

Living opens up a new way of looking at the world and the people living in it. For four years I sat in a classroom, listening to teachers talk about history and culture. In September 2011, I began living it. In the classroom it was apparent there were some differences but more or less everything was the same with a different name. When I arrived I couldn't even find milk because it was boxed in a different way and sold off a non-refrigerated shelf. It was a lot more different than I had ever realized. I was dealing with culture shock and almost left the country after only four days.

Three months later the culture shock wore off. It just became "natural," or as natural as it could be for a foreigner. It was time to really focus on the practicing part. In October I began attending a weekly "Intercambio," or language exchange. It helped a lot and I began to be able to understand people a lot better. And then came Christmas break when I went back to the United States for two weeks. I expected to lose a lot during that time.

When I arrived back in Spain I was surprised that I still could speak and listen about as well as when I left Spain. I continued going to the language tandems. Of course, the teachers at the schools where I work are all very helpful and supportive as well. Several times the other assistant and I have talked to the bilingual coordinator about her experiences when she moved to Spain as a child. Both of us have noticed we will have a hard time coming up with words even in English sometimes.

A friend I made from the Intercambio who is from Whales and I went to Cadiz on Saturday. We generally speak Spanish together, with a few words in English if we don't know how to say something. Both of us feel awkward speaking a lot of English in the streets of Spain. On Saturday we began our journey at 6:30 in the morning. We checked in to a hostel in Sevilla at about 11 that night after missing the bus back to Huelva. During that time we spoke Spanish. Even by 3 p.m. when we met some Americans at the top of Torre Tavira I had a hard time speaking English to them. By the time we were in for the night I was pretty much thinking in Spanish.

My Spanish is far from perfect. That will require years and years of more practice. But it is definitely improving, even if I have a serious problem with prices. Nevertheless, I at least have something specific I know I need to work on. I need to go places just to ask the prices of items. Hopefully I can solve this problem soon. Yes, it is a problem. I am quite sure no one be so unreasonable as to say a soda costs 1,000 euros.

Living in Spain provides me the opportunity to experience a different culture and improve my language skills.

The Evolution of Language

If I ever write a serious research paper or book, I think it would most definately be about language. I find it interesting in how different accents and dialects can be. During my time in Spain, I am not only learning Spanish, but also learning more about my own language and it's history.

Most English tourism in Spain is probably from the United Kingdom. It is a whole lot cheaper to fly to Spain from there than the United States. Many of the auxiliares here in Huelva are also from the United Kingdom. Within the Kingdom there are several key accents, for example: British, Scottish and Irish. Some are easier to understand than others. However the accents from the UK are easier for Spanish people to understand than the american accent. Of course, we have at least three distinct accents ourselves with northern, southern and western.

In one of the classes yesterday the teacher began talking about some of the different Spanish dialects. That of course got the students onto slang from Latin America which was completely innocent in Spain. "Goma" literaly translates to rubber in English but in Spanish it can also mean eraser. Maybe in UK english as well. But if you go to the USA and ask for a rubber, you won't be getting an eraser. If you go to Australia or the UK and ask for chips you will be getting what we call French Fries.  And of course, these are only a few examples.

How do the meanings of words change over time? How do they change from country to country? How do accents change and/or develop? All of these questions would be very interesting to find an answer to.
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In other news, I had my first solo class today. It was with 3rd ESO in English. I used the pamphlets about Little Rock which I prepared last week (and have updated some since then). (I mixed classes up and went to class unprepared last Friday.) The second half of the class I had them writing a letter about a city they have visited and a city they would visit. That was to use both past and future tenses. The class went well, much better than I expected. I was very nervous entering the class but the students really surprised me. Usually with a substitute they try to get away with more, but today, I am not sure what the "guardia" told them before I arrived but I think they were more well-behaved today with the teacher absent than when she is there.

Hotel Continental Barcelona

Barcelona has been great. I definately want to come back one day. I spent most of my time walking around just looking. But I also paid to see a few sights such as an IMAX film and La Sagrada Familia. I opted not to pay for one of the attractions such as the "Spanish Village." Why see that when I am living in one.

I managed to pay only about 50 dollars in food and drinks while being here. It really helped with the hotel I am staying at, Hotel Continental Barcelona on La Rambla, 138. It is a three-star hotel. I am not a hotel connoisseur who knows a lot about different hotels, but this one I have to recommend.

La Rambla is one of the post popular streets in the city and located in the city center. The hotel is just around the corner from three "Corte Ingles" stores and the Hard Rock Cafe. It is easily accessible from both the airport and the city center. The airport bus drops off about three blocks from the hotel. And the metro green line comes up about half a block from the hotel entrance. The red line is across the streets about three to four blocks away. It can also be accessed through the underground tunnels. 

The room is small. There are cracks in parts of the ceilings. The decorations are not very attractive. My room is almost completely pink and the lobby is decorated in floured wallpaper, including light fixtures, siding and the ceiling. But the size, decor and a little wear and tear shouldn't be of a concern. The room is comfortable, it provides a bed to sleep, heating and cooling, a refrigerator, microwave, shower/bath, and a safe. I have had no problems with the room.

Like all of the other European Hotels I have been in, this one has energy efficiency keys. There is a plastic card separated to the room key to insert to have electricity. The only complaint I have is that the "Do not Disturb," signs that are built into the door seem to be ignored. Maybe if the deadbolt were locked and the sign were up they would pay more attention. But my plan was to leave it up for the entire weekend so that they did not replace any of the towels with new ones, helping to save energy, water, and pollution. But this is a minor concern. Four tourists, sleeping late is a waste of precious sight-seeing time so it doesn't really matter.

To further add to the convenience of the hotel, there is free food and drinks 24/7. Drinks include water, tea, white wine, rose wine, orange juice, milk, soft drinks and coffee. There are two meals, breakfast and lunch/dinner. Breakfast was usually quiche, another egg custard, ham and bacon, boiled eggs and cereals. Lunch and dinner were usually a type of pasta, rice and potatoes. Foods such as bread, olives and fruits were available at all meals. There may not be a huge selection of food but it is available and it does taste good. And more than just the food and drink was free: the entire hotel has wirelss internet which allowed me to do necessary banking, contact friends and family, write these blogs, research tourist sites and listen to the Arkansas State Red Wolves football game online.

The hotel was cheap, at 78 euros per night. Everything is about equal in the USA when it comes to price (a coke that is one dollar usually equals one euro, etc.) and this hotel was also. Most hotels in the USA cost around 80 dollars for a cheap one and include a continental breakfast from 6 a.m. to 9 or 10 a.m. They usually include WiFi in the rooms. But they don't include 24/7 free food and drinks (especially alcohol).

And if you don't speak Spanish, you are sure to find someone anywhere you go in Barcelona that can speak English. I practiced speaking Spanish, but because I don't speak perfect Spanish and I look like a foreigner, most people just automatically spoke to me in English, even when I responded in Spanish.

Hopefully I can come back to Barcelona before I leave Spain. And when I do, I will definitely be looking to book a room here at Hotel Continental again.

Do you speak English

Mucha gente aquí en Barcelona me han preguntado, "Do you Speak English?" Si. Hablo ingles pero estoy aprendiendo Español y quiero practicar. Es el razón que vine a España. Y la verdad, he podrido entender el español aquí en Barcelona mucho mejor que en Andalucia, pero tal vez es porque hablan Catalán y español y no pueden hablar tan rápido.

Hoy, fui a la Familia Sagrada, la basílica mas famosa aquí en Barcelona. Compre billetes, escucho las direcciones y leí los señales en español. Aunque por alguna gente, tenían que repetir en ingles. También he oído mucho ingles por las calles. En el hotel hablan casi todo en ingles, aunque a veces cambio a español. También pide a alguien a sacar mi foto. El no hablaba español pero nunca hablé en ingles.

Es el razón elige Huelva, porque pensaba nadie hablaría ingles allí y podría aprender español mucho mejor. Es verdad.

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Many people here in Barcelona have asked me if I spoke English. Yes I speak English, but I am learning Spanish and I want to practice. That is the reason I came to Spain. And honestly, I have been able to understand the Spanish here in Barcelona a lot better than in Andalucia, but that could be because they speak Catalán and Spanish and they don't Speak as fast.

Today, I went to La Familia Sagrada, the most famous basilica here in Barcelona. I bought tickets, listened to dirrections and read signs in Spanish, although for some people they had to repeat them in English. I also asked someone to take my photo in Spanish and although they spoke English back to me I continued to Speak in Spanish, not realizing what had just happened and never said a word to them in English.

The reason I chose Huelva is because I thought no one would speak English and I could learn spanish a lot better there. Some do speak English but its not like here; I can definately learn Spanish better there.

Communicating

Communicating can be difficult in whatever language. Sometimes, there is even miscommunication between two speakers of a language. I can definitely communicate much better in Spanish now than when I first arrived in Spain. I remember when I first got off the airplane and had to enter Spanish mode in Madrid. Trying to find where to buy a bus ticket was my first complication. I spent an hour in the Madrid airport trying to find my way to get to Huelva. Now I can laugh about the experience, and all of the misfortunes upon first arriving.

Two months later, sometimes I feel like my Spanish itself is getting worse, even if I can communicate better. Sometime I just cannot get my tongue to let go of the words. They aren’t hard words to pronounce. They just won’t come out. It has happened more than once. It will happen again. (O.K. sorry for the slight movie referencing line there.)

I still have some problems when it comes to important tasks, but general, everyday tasks such as going to a restaurant or a store are fairly simple. But it just seems a little odd I can communicate better when I feel my Spanish is getting worse. I don’t know, maybe I am just becoming more aware of my mistakes? Especially considering a lot of what I notice is my pronunciation of words.

With every adventure I grow to enjoy Spain even more. Now that I am able to talk to some of the locals during the week, be it at church or at the bar during language exchange, things have greatly improved. I am much happier in Spain. The weekends are still hard because I haven’t made any real close friends to do things with. And I probably won’t have what I am so used to from college—a group of five or six to spend time with. My Spanish isn’t quite that good—by that I mean when there are more than three people in a group speaking Spanish, my comprehension drops drastically.  

I don’t expect to improve my Spanish much in the next couple of days. Where I am traveling, I will hear much more Catalan than Castellano. Barcelona is in the autonomous region of Cataluña. But I will be speaking mostly if not only Spanish…Or at least my version of Spanish where I make up words hoping they are cognates (words that are very similar in English and Spanish, such as Aventura).

The Art of Learning a Language

During all of my time in secondary school I questioned, "When will I ever need to sit down and diagram a sentence?" I wanted to know why on earth I would need to label a verb or adverb. Then I found out how helpful it would have been to pay more attention and retain that knowledge when I studied Spanish.

I studied Spanish for three years in high school. My senior year of high school and freshman year of college I had no Spanish. I picked it back up in my sophomore year and then finally in my senior year declared it as a second major. Remembering how to diagram a sentence would be very helpful.

Now I am in Spain. I had my first private class on Thursday evening. It went well with only a few problems. One of those problems began with pronounciation. I went through the vowels and the sounds that each made. The problem was I couldn't really explain WHY they made the sounds they did. I learned in first grade when I was only six or seven years old. So now I have to research "phonics" again. Indeed I have a lot to relearn myself about my own language. I wonder if Spanish has similar problems?

Tertulia

Recuerdo mis días como un estudiante de Español. Un semestre tenía 15 horas de español con solo una clase en inglés. Aquel semestre aprendí más español que nunca antes. Siempre digo que cuando viajé a España por 10 días en 2006, siento que aprendí más español en estos 10 días que los dos y media años de clase. Fue el mismo con tantas clases.

Además, tuve que asistir a 30 horas de actividades españoles fuera de la clase. Podría ver la tele en español, películas españolas, y mi favorita: Tertulia. En Tertulia los reunimos en “The Edge,” un día cada semana para hablar en español por una hora. Dos profesores cambiaban cada semana.

Me ayudaba mucha las conversaciones. Y ahora que estoy en España no puedo elegir hablar en inglés, solo en español. Pero ayer, asistí a Tertulia otra vez. Pero esta vez, fue en España. Hablábamos por una hora en español y una hora en inglés para que ambos grupos puedan aprender. Alguien puede aprender cualquier idioma: Alemania, italiano, francés, inglés y por supuesto, español. Reunimos en un bar. Y por dos horas solo gasté 5.50 euros (una cerveza y albóndigas de bacalao).

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I remember my days as a Spanish student. One semester I had 15 hours of Spanish one only one class in English (for a total of 18 hours). That semester I learned more Spanish than any before. I always say that I learned more Spanish during the 10-day trip to Spain in 2006, than the two and a half years of Spanish class. It was the same with so many Spanish classes.

In addition, I had to attend 30 hours of Spanish activities outside of class. I could watch T.V. in Spanish, movies in Spanish, and my favorite: Tertulia (conversation table). At Tertulia we met at the Edge one day each week to speak in Spanish for an hour. Two professors changed each week.

The conversations helped me a lot. And now that I am in Spain I cannot choose to speak in English, only in Spanish. But yesterday I attended Tertulia again. Only this time it was in Spain. We talked for an hour in Spanish and an hour in English so that both groups could learn. Someone can learn whatever language they desire: German, Italian, French, English and of course Spanish. We meet at a bar. I was able to spend two and a half hours and only spent 5.50 euros (a beer and a fish meatball).

I don't understand

First off, I would like to retract my words of being ready for winter. It isn't even that cold here in Huelva yet but it sure seems like it is. Walking in the sun feels nice, but inside or in the shade is cold. I used to laugh at one of my Spanish friends who ordered warm milk at a restaurant; now I am warming my milk to have a nice warm drink. And it seems colder inside than out.

But that isn't really what this post is about. This post is about the communication between me and an official this afternoon. After returning from Sevilla and applying for a new passport I took advantage of the hour I had before the police station would be closing. I knew that there was a high chance they would send me to a different office, which is what has been fairly typical when dealing with the police. One office sends you to another who sends you to another who sends you back to the start. At least this time I knew where I would end up.

I went into the station and began slowly explaining that I had lost my passport the previous week while traveling in England. While explaining I shuffled through a stack of papers I had prepared and took out a note I had written in Spanish and told him I didn't speak very good Spanish so I had written down what I needed to convey. He read the note.

A few things I mentioned within that note: I lost my passport. I have applied for a new passport which will be here in the next month and a half. I have already applied for my NIE. (For those who don't know what that it is the Numero de Identidad de Extranjero, or Foreigner ID Number. In order to apply for that number I had to go to the office and show the officials the original documents and also give them a copy of them which included my passport, visa, etc.)

After a minute the officer told me a lot of information, very little of which I could understand. He was speaking very rapidly in Andaluz. I already mentioned I didn't speak very good Spanish. One of the few parts I did get out of this was that I needed to go to the foreigner's office and show them these documents (or something along that lines). And then he proceeded to ask me if I knew where the building was. I think there was a little lack in communication here.

I've gotten the Penguins of Madagascar response down, "Just smile and wave boys. Smile and wave." What I mean by that is I nod and pretend to understand while saying "si," and "vale," meaning yes or O.K. Unfortunately, what I haven't gotten down is forgetting that move and staring blankly while asking if they could repeat that one word at a time for me.

Hours of Spanish Conversation

Today has been a long day. But it has been one of those good, long days. I left the appartment about 7:50 a.m. I arrived at the office to apply for my N.I.E about 8:10 and stood in line (if you call having one person in front of you a line). A huge wave of relief hit me when I made it past the front desk this time. They gave me a number instead of an appointment. While waiting for my number, I talked to two other auxiliares-- one from Massachusetts and another from England. When my number came up I was able to get everything done, including having to copy another page of my passport and have photos taken.

The entire process, including waiting, lasted about four hours. I stopped by the market on my way back to my room and grabed a few things, including sugar, which I have been searching for during the last three or four visits. When I got back to my room I worked on some math that I will be helping with tomorrow. I honestly work more than required, trying to prepare lessons, etc. I will soon start science.

After about an hour half of math, skype and youtube, the pastor and his wife invited me to their house for lunch. We talked over lunch for a while and then he showed me where the church will be starting in November. It will be much larger and will be able to serve better in the community. He told me about some of the plans for classrooms, a place for missionarys to stay, a gameroom, the kitchen, and the temple. We also discussed the possibility of me doing english classes or an english small-group at the church as another way to reach out. I look forward to seeing what God does in this.

After leaving from the church, I began walking back to the piso. I passed by a pharmacy and decided to stop by real fast to see what they carried. I asked if they had "jabón antibacterial" which is how I thought to say "antibacterial soap." Unfortunately they didn't understand me. The man showed me what they had, a shower gel. I told him that wasn't what I was looking for and tried to say I was looking for bar soap. After stumbling through, he asked, in Spanish if I spoke English. I said yes and he went and got another employ. I tried explaining the same thing in Spanish before trying English. Eventually I said hard (in Spanish) and they still didn't really understand me. Finally they grabbed a bar of soap off a shelf and I said yes. But it wasn't what I was looking for. Eventually I told them I had been searching for it here in Spain but only have been able to find it in the USA. They told me I could get them the name/brand and they could order it-- although it may be a different brand. The biggest thing out of this was laughing at my inability. For once, rather than freaking out and being discouraged (wow, that took an entire minute to think of the word in English!), I laughed. I hope the three or four employees found it as amusing as I did.

A few other notes... Electronic dictionaries are no help. I carried one with me in hopes of being able to better communicate. FAIL! The hard words weren't in there. Oh, and could someone remind me of the word for the fruit that is purple, commonly eaten around Thanksgiving and comes in a can? (Its not beats, its not yams...Its...)

Una Cuenta - A Bank Account

Me sorpresa la facilidad para abrir una cuenta aquí en España. Porque tuve mucho miedo de hacer las tareas importantes, después de fallar la solicitud de mi N.I.E en septiembre, la decidí que yo pueda esperar por unas semanas para solicitar una cuenta en un banco.

Los trabajadores en UniCaja, el banco más cercano del piso donde vivo, fueron muy amables. Parece que tenían paciencia. Todavía no tengo mi N.I.E (Numero de Identidad de Extranjeros) y tuve que abrirla con mi pasaporte. La verdad es que fue más fácil que comprar un móvil.

Mañana por la mañana tengo que solicitar mi N.I.E. Solo puedo esperar que es mejor que el primer tiempo.

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It surprised me how easily I was able to open a bank account here in Spain. Because I was so afraid of doing important tasks, after failing my first attempt to get my NIE in September, I decided that opening a bank account could wait for a few weeks.

The workers a UniCaja, the bank nearest the piso where I live, were very friendly. It seems they had a lot of patience. I still do not have my N.I.E. (Foreign Identification Number) and I had to open it with my passport. The turth is that it was easier than buying my cell phone.

Tomorrow morning I have to go and try again, applying for my N.I.E. I can only hope that it is goes better than the first time.

Empezando - Getting Started

Hoy fue el primer día que ayudé en una clase. Por la semana anterior estudié los matemáticas y ciencias para ayudar en las clases esta semana. Hoy fue el clase de matemáticas, nivel cuatro. Los raíces fueron el tema. También hablamos de exponentes y animales.

Mañana tengo una presentación de diapositivas para la clase de biología y después,  más matemática. Cuando me da la oportunidad a enseñar un deporte en educación física, creo que voy a enseñar el juego, Ultimate Frisbee. No se que vamos a hacer en las clases de ingles ahora que ha regresado la maestra. Jueves será mi primer día en esta clase. 

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Today was my first day helping in a class. For the past week I studied math and science in order to help in the classes this week. Today was the first class, level four math. Roots and powers were the subject. We also covered a few animals.

Tomorrow I have a slideshow for the Biology class and later, more math. When I am given the opportunity to teach a sport in PE I will probably teach Ultimate Frisbee. I don't know what we will do in the English classes now that the teacher has retuned. Thursday will be my first day in that class.