Bethlehem

Hello! I have been feeling the Christmas spirit here in Spain...finally, Ciudad Real has turned on its Christmas lights (no doubt a money-saving method with the cree-sees (crisis)) and the city is beautiful, especially at night. In the Plaza Mayor or Main Square there is a huge carousel and a huge christmas tree made of lights and all the streets have lights having from one side to the other. The only downfall--today is a nasty, blustery winter day and the fence around the three wise men on camelback (made out of lights) has fallen over, taking down two of the three wise men with it! What a shame!
I have also felt the Christmas spirit in a lot of my private classes. We have been talking about Christmas and how they celebrate it. Here are some of the differences: They put up a Belén (a Bethlehem scene) and a small Christmas tree. On Christmas they eat ham and cheese and a big meal. They celebrate nearly everything on the 24th. They also believe New Years Eve is a part of Christmas. What else? Kids don't really buy their parents or family members presents.
Anyway, so the Belén. This is a phenomenon that I just love here. You know how we sometimes put up the nativity scene? Well, this is a nativity scene on steroids! Its huge (may take up half the living room, some people even rent out spaces to put theirs up) and it is the entire town of Bethlehem as it would have been at the time of the birth of Jesus. Of course, in the middle, is our typical little nativity scene with the angel, the three wise men, and the donkey. They have lights, water, moving parts, and even real dirt and leaves. They always have a castle and the inn (posada) that of course was full when Santa Maria and San José (mary and joseph) arrived. I will leave you with some pictures of my co-worker Luis' Belén (taken by him) Its the best one I've seen yet. The city also has their own municipal Belen.
Stats: One day to complete.
148 figures (or more, people and animals)
a baker putting bread in the oven
the matanza (scene of them killing the pig and hanging it to dry, then preparing it over the fire)
Moving river and water wheel with real water.
1/2 the living room


Keep in mind only Spaniards with storage space can enjoy the Christmas tradition of making a Belen!

Pilar's Belen
Clara and Inés.


Here we have pictures of my other co-worker Pilar's Belen and our school Belen, which is made with eggs for people. Its really cute and really detailed as well. Finally, theres a picture of some of my favorite students Clara and Inés, Teresa's twin daughters. We made Christmas cards during our private lesson this week. Oh, and a wreath made out of the typical Maria cookies that everyone eats for breakfast here!

Turkey Day!

Last night, Friday the 25th, all the Americans in Ciudad Real that are doing the same program as I am got together for a Thanksgiving dinner! There was lots of good food, and lots of good company, and lots of English! There were also three Spanish people there and one ex-pat who has lived in Spain for 8 years ever since he fell in love and married a girl from Malaga. There were about 15 of us total!
Here are some pictures. We actually found a turkey (special ordered from a butcher shop) and I made stuffing.

Counting Sheep

Funny thing happened to me today! I went running at 2:00pm when I got out of school today, trying to get it over with quickly because I hadn't eaten lunch yet (which in the end I didnt eat til 4!) But as I was running on my favorite trail which is so beautiful, dusty and rocky--today you could see all the mountains in the distance perfectly--all of the sudden I saw something blocking the whole trail in front of me. Well, as I got closer and close I realized it was a flock of sheep and its shepherd! This is a pretty common occurrence here, simply because the country starts at the very edge of the city. It was really cool. The shepherd walked away into a field where all the sheep were to eat, I suppose, and I continued running and the sheep just made way for me...only downside: I had to run through lots of poop!
This is not my picture, but it looked a lot like this!

Bryn in the Kitchen

Hi there all! I've recently become quite the baker at my house here in Spain. Be it because I'm missing the delicious baked goods of my grandma or simply because I'm bored on the weekends, things are turning out pretty well. Two weekends ago a made a chocolate chip banana bread and it turned out spectacular! Here they don't measure in cups or teaspoons so all my measurements are more or less estimations. In the end, to have something turn out well is such a delight. And...fun fact: I DONT HAVE AN OVEN!
How's it possible, you ask? A little toaster oven, (actually big enough to cook a pizza) and a lot of time! This little oven is really coming in handy for me, even if I have to leave it on a few more minutes than the recipe says. This morning I made an apple cobbler and its pretty good! Its a little gummy, I think i left it in there too long and could have used a little more sugar. Oh well, experimenting makes it better for next time.


In other news, I basically have my schedule all figured out finally and I have a bunch of hours of private lessons and I'm taking French which takes up some of my time. Yesterday I talked to Leigh and we were able to say a few things back and forth. My class is 2 hours long twice a week, so we learn a LOT at a time.

Last night was a surprise party at my house for my roommate Noemi's boyfriend, Mario. He was turning 26. We had everyone come over at 10:00 (i know, late huh?) and then Mario was supposedly coming at 10:30 because Noemi was "going to prepare him a birthday dinner." Suprise! Not true. We had fun and after we ate and had cake at home, we went out.

Later I might try to make applesauce (i have a TON of leftover, old apples) and then this weekend Fernando is coming from Burgos and I'm going to make banana nut bread. We have a puente (or bank holiday) and I have Mon and Tues off! Spectacular!

Miss everybody! Go Cards! Never been so proud to be from St. Louis! Happy happy birthday to Leigh and Uncle Joe!

Back to being a foreigner!

This is something I recently wrote to a friend who wanted to know "all the details" of what I'm doing here in Spain. I will paste it here so it can prove as an explanation for anyone who reads the blog.

I live in Ciudad Real, Spain, south of Madrid in the province of Castilla-La Mancha. Same latitude as St Louis, Missouri. 38 degrees. Yep!
I'm teaching English here at a middle/high school called Hernan Perez del Pulgar (a famous conquistador) and my kids are between the ages of 12-16. They are difficult some days but some days I love them, like today, when I walked into my favorite class from last year, who are now a year older than when I met them, and they gave me a strong round of applause because they were excited to see me. Yes, I still very much like living here. Its so comfortable, I can walk everywhere, I live a ten min. walk from my school. Its not beautiful or particularly historic, but its a great residential area.
What did I do today? Today, I woke up at 7:00 and showered, ate breakfast (cereal and unrefrigerated milk) and made myself a decaf coffee in my spanish cafetera. I went to school at 8:30 and I arrived before all the teachers and most of the students (something that happens more often than not) and then I had 5 hours of class (English and Math) with a recess in the middle. During recess I took a walk with some other teachers and ate an apple and a granola bar. Then at 2 I left and came home, ate lunch (omelette with tuna, cheese, and tomato, broccoli and a yogurt) and then since I've been preparing for my private tutoring by listing out possible conversation topics for kids. Later I will have two private lessons, English of course, one with a 33 year old teacher from my school and her 2 kids, and another with a 10 and 14 year old. Then ill come home and eat dinner. Maybe go out because tomorrow I dont work...Fiesta Nacional de Trabajo in Spain!

I wanted to show her what my life was like here on a day-to-day basis. Its starting to get pretty hectic between classes at school and private lessons. I have about 16 hours at my school and 11 hours of private lessons--I even have a class on Saturday!

Luckily, we just got internet in my flat. I should post some pictures but the truth it, I haven't taken many! Since none of what I am seeing is "new," I am more or less just getting accustomed to living in Spain once again. A new flat, but the same roommates. Ah! I have French class now. Je m'appelle Bryn! I'm learning at a very fast pace so I hope I can keep up with it. I have 4 hours a week of French, another thing to fit into my schedule between work, classes, and the gym! I've been running a lot around Ciudad Real.. I have a few places that I particularly like to go depending on the time of day. If its during the morning or afternoon I like to go on the trail. Ciudad Real is full of them, considering you exit the city and there is nothing but countryside. If its nearing nightfall I will go on the Ronda, which is the major road that circles the whole city, and has a huge wide sidewalk. Fun fact: Its against the law to run on the sidewalk of the small city streets here, they can give you a ticket up to 150 euro! I guess its because all the little old ladies are out walking around and they dont want you to bowl them over or to run out in front of a car. Interesting!
I'll write again soon when something happens. I'm going to Madrid this weekend, so hopefully after that I can write another update. Pictures of my new flat:

Back in Spain!

Hello there! Its been months since I have written/blogged, so FINALLY since I'm back in Spain I guess I can write. I've only been here for a couple of days but they have been great! Right now I am in San José, the little pueblo (town) where Fernando's family has a beach house. I can see the beach from where I'm sitting and above it, hundreds of square white houses stacked one on top of another. This morning we went to a beach not too far away (there are tons of beaches very close) but it was too windy and the sand got in our eyes so we left. Later after lunch we'll probably see if we can go to another.
Yesterday we went out in the boat with Fer's sister, friend, and his girlfriend. It was a lot of fun and such a pretty day but the waves and the boats and beaches are so affected by the wind, we couldn't go too far so we went to a little bay with a little beach. Here the sand is volcanic rock so its very dark. Here are some photos. Its hard to describe how beautiful the views/houses/beaches/town are without pictures. Missing my family already...



Fun facts of things I've realized are better in each country (US and Spain)
In the US, we have better:
Beds
Napkins
Air conditioning
non-smokers
wheat bread

In Spain, they have better:
seafood
beaches
ham
climate
pharmaceuticals

Holy Week and Easter

This last week I was lucky to have a week off (Spanish version of Spring Break) during Holy Week before Easter and I went to Almeria in the south of Spain with my friend Fernando and his flatmate and her boyfriend. We stayed at Fernando´s family´s house in San Jose, a small, beautiful beach town about 25 min away from the city of Almeria.check it out on the map in the south east corner of Spain. It is a desert that suddendly converts into coast.
We stayed in the loft, which is an old garage that the family converted into a great 1 bedroom apartment (think IKEA) and its really modern and new. It has a kitchen, bathroom, etc. We went to the beach a lot (various beaches), but the weather was not very good. I met Fernando´s mom and dad, Toñi and Fernando, and his little sister who is 10, Marian. I had already met his other sister, Elia, who is 22. I had a lot of fun with Marian, playing with her on the beach and at home. She and Fernando (young Fernando) are always messing with each other and tickling and fighting and its funny to watch. The beaches were marvelous, like nothing I had ever seen, but to go out on them in just a swimsuit was impossible! it was too windy, and I wore a sweatshirt the whole time (boy, did I bring the wrong clothes with me to the beach!).
On Easter Sunday, in Spain they dont do much but go to mass, and Fernando and I were headed back to Ciudad Real, so the day was really unspecial. I really missed the celebration at home. Here it was such a normal day, and in the States, its one of my favorite days of the year. I´ll add some pictures and let them tell the story even better. I think to understand something very well its important to see it.



We also ate typical Spanish Easter foods, which are Potaje (a stew with potatoes, garbanzos, spinach, garlic, and cod) and Torrijas (like french toast with more sugar and cinnamon.

Marian and I doing monkey faces.
The town of San Jose.
Marian and Fernando and San Jose.

10k

Pictures from 10K race this morning. I finished in 52:09. Yayyy!!! A new way to see my city.

Hello all! Last weekend, I went to Cuenca with my friend Jaclyn Sat and Sunday. Its a town in the same region Castilla la Mancha, but abotu 3 hours away. We went by bus. We saw the most famous things to see in Cuenca, including the cathedral and the hanging houses. Cuenca is a very beautiful city because the whole thing is created in a canyon of a river and the whole city is full of cliffs and hills, but also very low land around the river. It reminded me of Arizona with all the cliffs (save the river..)
Here are some pics.


In other news, today I had the privilege to go with my 3rd level students to the Tablas de Daimiel which are some natural lakes made my the Guadiana River when it overflows. The river is really interesting because it begins a couple hundred kilometers away and then goes underground and you cant see it. They began to use all that groundwater for irrigation, and the tablas (the lakes) dried up.. Finally they realized it was all one big river but it just had a huge underground deposit. So the river starts, goes underground, then comes back up as the sea level rises and the land level lowers in Daimiel (a town about 30 min away).
Here are some pictures. One is with some of my third level students: Estrella, Ana, Laura, Juan Carlos, Alarcos, Rainy, and Raquel.


Next Sunday I am running in my first race!!!! The Ciudad Real Carrera Urbana is Sun at 11:00 AM. Luckily I have some good friends who will come cheer me on although you dont know what I'd give to have my family there :(
On the sign up page online, you had to enter a FIRST LAST NAME and a SECOND LAST NAME, because people here have two last names and no middle name. Their first last name is the last name of their father (edmonston) and their second last name is the last name of their mother (chalcraft) sounds like a pretty good system to me however on no official paper in the world does it say that my name contains Chalcraft, so I wasn't going to write Bryn Edmonston Chalcraft. SO, I wrote Katherine as my first last name and Edmonston as my second....WELL, on the list of people running (and the way it will be seen on RACE DAY on my number) is Katherine Edmonston, Bryn...so after I had a pretty good laugh I emailed them and explained that I was American and only have one last name but that it wouldnt let me finish the registration without entering a SECOND LAST NAME....OH SPAIN! Here's the funny list of runners..