Thanksgiving!

For me, this year Thanksgiving started on Monday…when I had to go to the carnicería (butcher’s shop) to ask if they had any turkeys. The man sent me to his friend who told me the smallest turkey he could get us would be 5kg (12lbs I think). He said he would go to his friend’s farm on Thursday, look for the smallest turkey, and kill it for us. I left worried not sure if he understood that I would need the turkey ready to be cooked…not a freshly killed turkey, feathers, innards and all.

On Thursday when I went to pick it up thankfully all the feathers were off, the innards were nicely contained in a plastic bag, and when I asked him to cut off the head for me (Emily and I didn’t think we would need the turkey head) he gladly did it. Also on Thursday at the market I searched the booths for pumpkin, found some sort of squash/pumpkin thing, and brought it home for Super Pumpkin Bars and Pumpkin Pie.


Friday Emily and I got picked up at 2:00pm and were taken to our friend’s house to cook the desserts. I am not sure if I have ever included that our kitchen does not have an oven, so all baking must be done somewhere else. Unfortunately, the 15 minute drive from our house to the oven resulted in a 15 minute drive back because we forgot the pumpkin. Friday was also when we prepped the turkey- plucked the remaining feathers and put garlic cloves and butter and rosemary under its skin. We also slathered it in olive oil.

Saturday we had to get up early to start cooking the turkey for our 3pm meal. We made the stuffing and popped it in the oven. In the end it was about 5.4kg, so it literally took up the entire oven (Spanish ovens are smaller than ones in the US). We also made mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and jello shots with mandarin oranges. The best part was relaxing in between the cooking, watching the movie Love Actually, and drinking good Rioja wine.

Right at 3:00pm, okay, maybe it was more like 3:30, we finished everything up, put the turkey on the table, and made our friends all say something they were thankful for. Haha, it was great. We told them they couldn’t eat until they each said something sincere; they were so embarrassed. I had the honor of cutting the turkey, for the first time, and although I may not have cut perfect breast slices I got the turkey on the plates and that is all that mattered.

Being in Spain and celebrating Thanksgiving was really interesting. It didn’t feel real, especially because it wasn’t cold, there was no snow, I had to work on Thanksgiving Day, and I wasn’t with my family. It was fun and enjoyable and a great experience, but I missed home and friends and family.


The Crisis

If you come to Spain, even for a day, there is no doubt you will hear about what they call the ‘crisis’. Everyday on the news and in the newspaper there is information about the failing economy, the staggering numbers of jobs being lost, and the number of people turning to the government for help. The situation is incredibly sad, getting worse everyday, and does not have an easy solution. It is very sobering and eye-opening.

An aside: One of my friends is a civil engineer and has never had trouble finding work (one of the reasons he graduated in this field was because it had always had job security, even during economic downturns). Their system is a little different than ours in that people get contracted for a certain period of time and when the job/project is completed they look for another person with whom to contract. In one week, he will finish his current job but has nothing to replace it. He has been looking for work and submitting resumes for 4 months, but there are literally no jobs available.

I cannot imagine having an education, wanting to work, actively looking for work, but in the end not being able to. This has shown me, more than I realized before, that people who are unemployed are not lazy, unwilling to work, hoping to live off of government aid. Most people in this situation want to work. They actively look for work. But there is just nothing available.

Is it this bad at home? People ask me what the crisis is like in the US, but I came here at the end of September, before things started to get really really bad.

Vacation

On a happier note, I have less than 1 week left until vacation starts. Next Tuesday I leave for Granada to go skiing/snowboarding in the Sierra Nevada. I get to miss a few days of school, and hopefully the crowds at the ski hill, and extend my vacation from the 18th to the 8th of January. : ) This weekend I will also be going to some zambombas. These holiday parties are unique to Jerez and consist of singing, dancing, playing instruments, flamenco, drinking, and eating.

I hope you all at home are enjoying the holidays! Sending everybody love and besos!!!!

Friends and motorcycles

Last weekend I went, by motorcycle, to some of the pueblos blancos along the Atlantic coast. This picture of the sunset is from one of these pueblos, Puerto Sherry, outside of a crepería (where I enjoyed a crepe filled with nutella, banana, kiwi, walnut, and whipped cream) about 20 minutes from Jerez. We also went to the Spanish National Championship Moto Race on moto to see the action, which was pretty interesting and entertaining for a few hours.



In addition to horses, flamenco, and sherry wine, Jerez is known for motorcycles and their circuíto where very important races are held. All of our friends have motorcycles, crotch rockets, and like to take them out at least once a weekend for a ride either to the beach or the mountains. Emily and I have been fortunate enough to be invited to these excursions a few times, and seeing the coast of southern Spain by motorcycle is incredible. They are all very good ‘pilots’, and they provide us will all the moto gear…which includes helmets, gloves, and motorcycle jackets. When we go next time I will try to get a photo.

Yesterday we again enjoyed the sunset and wonderful weather at a little beach town after eating lunch at the restaurant of our friends’ Italian friend. Spending time with Spanish people and observing how they interact with their friends says a lot about their culture and makes obvious the differences between Spanish and US cultures. On Saturday, we enjoyed lunch with friends from 1-4pm, which was then followed by 4 hours at another bar where we drank coffee and relaxed until the sun went down. It seems like every moment is enjoyed, rather than hurried, and life isn’t about doing or getting more, but about loving and taking pleasure in the current moment.
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This week I was also invited by my school’s biology teachers to Parque Nacional de Doñana. To get to Doñana you must cross the Guadalquivir river by boat right where it meets the Atlantic ocean. Doñana is interesting because it is a main stopping point for migratory birds moving between Africa and Europe. It also has 3 different ecosystems due to the salt water/fresh water meeting point and the sand dunes that are found in the interior of the park. The trip was super fun because we toured the park in bus/trucks through the sandy ground, holding onto our seats the whole time. This picture is of one of my students and me in a well at on of the old homesteads in the park.



In other news, the week that brother was here we had a cat. To make a long story short, we cared for the cat for a week and then found it a new home after discovering it had bugs (we are pretty sure they were not fleas…in any case, our home was/is not infested). The kitty was so adorable and looked like a little bat, so we named her Murciélago. She how lives on a farm in the country and we miss her lots, but we are happy to no longer be cleaning up kitty poop from the shower.



I miss you all! Especially now that I am thinking about Thanksgiving and the upcoming holidays, it makes me think of home and friends and family. I hope that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend and please eat an extra plate for me! Emily and I have plans for cooking a Thanksgiving dinner which will include turkey, stuffing, sweet and mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie, and super pumpkin bars, so that our friends can experience it. We are even going to go around the table and make them say something they are thankful for. Haha, I can’t wait. Wish us luck, neither of us have done this before!

In other news...

yesterday on our day off Emily and I went to the tattoo/piercing parlor that we walk by everyday on our way to school. I decided that it was time for me to stop talking about getting my nose pierced and actually do it. We asked the piercing man how it works, if it would hurt, how it is cleaned, and made him go through the whole process with us before I decided for sure to go through with it. Everything went well up until the time when he had to push the stud through the plastic tube that was in the piercing hole. Something happened to the plastic tube and it slipped through so that he could not get the piercing into the hole (although he tried very hard and it was very painful). I left the place with a teeny tiny hole in my nose and a few tears, but no piercing (to the relief of my dad, I'm sure) to my dismay. Perhaps in a few weeks when this hole heals I will try again : )

Un invitado

This past week my brother came to visit…and with him came bad weather. I had so many plans for us, but most of them were foiled by the rain, rain, rain that would not stop falling. So, instead of leaving the house and exploring we stayed in and explored the wonderful world of Spanish cooking. The first thing we made were Spanish meatballs, similar to meatballs I have had at home, but fried in olive oil. Next, being adventurous, we opted for Rabo/Cola de Toro, Bull Tail. However, instead of making the recipe with the tail we went to the meat market in the center of town and asked for a different kind of meat to make in the same recipe. Unfortunately, when adding a pinch of salt for the finishing touch the cover came off the salt shaker and we added about ¾ cup of salt. Even after our best effort to get out as much salt as we could, the dish was pretty much ruined and burned my mouth when I tried it. So what we did was add a ton of water, made it into a soup (more or less) then actually ended up eating only the veggies and meat that we drained.

Over the weekend we were invited by my friends, on Saturday, and my teachers, on Sunday, to eat at a venta, an old house in the country that has been converted into a restaurant that serves traditional country food. The first day we tried many different things, most interesting of which was called ajo de la vina. It is a mushy poridgy mix of garlic, tomato, bread, onion, water, salt, and olive oil that tastes like pure garlic. The second day we actually went back to the same exact place so Ar and I knew what to get- I got carrilladas (pig cheeks) and he got a bloody piece of veal. Yum. We also ate the garlic mush again.

On Monday the rain finally stopped so we ventured out to the alcazar, the fortress that was built at the highest point of the city. In the highest point of the alcazar there is a cámera oscura, a dark camera, which uses a mirror to project a live image of the city through a lens onto a white screen below in a darkened room. The screen is in the shape of a circle, slightly concave, parallel to the horizon, and set at about waist level. The woman working the mechanism could focus the image of the city on the screen and then point out all the monuments in Jerez. We went around 360 degrees and saw the whole city, it was very incredible and I can’t wait for more visitors so that I can go back.

Tuesday, brother’s last day in Jerez, we went to a sherry bodega for a tour. It was very interesting learning how the sherry wine is made and seeing the mini-world that makes up the bodega. After the tour I asked our guide if she knew anything about them wanting to hire a native English speaking tour guide. She directed me to the ticket office and the woman there told me to drop off a resume, in Spanish, and that she thought they were looking for an English speaking tour guide. I was very excited to hear this (as most of you know, when I first looked at Jerez in my Spain guidebook I saw that bodegas sometimes hire English speaking tourguides, and it has been my dream ever since to work in one) so this weekend I will work on translating my resume to turn in on Monday.

Also new and exciting is that (1) I joined a gym, (2) I had my first private tutoring lesson with two girls from my class, and I will continue to meet with both of them twice a week, and (3) I volunteered for the first time at an Oxfam store. I am finding myself increasingly busy, yet still able to fit in a siesta everyday.

Elections
The experience of witnessing the presidential election abroad has been very interesting, to say the least. You would be amazed how much news was and is dedicated to our presidential election process, our candidates, and the nominee. Every newspaper, every TV station, and every radio station had/has news about what is going on. Today I bought a national newspaper which has a whole section dedicated to the history of the civil rights movement in the US from the times of slavery. It is amazing how much interest there is in our politics.

On Tuesday I wore my Barack Obama shirt to school, and even my 12 year old students knew who he is. I can’t even count how many times people asked me who I though would win and how many people told me they were hoping for Obama. Also, on Wednesday I got a congratulations from every teacher, it felt like I had been elected president, in celebration of Obama’s nomination. It was strange being away from home and friends during this time, but I am grateful to have had this experience as it has again shown me just how much of an impact the US has on other countries and their citizens.

I also got a hair cut about a week and a half ago, and it only served to reinforce what I already thought, that you need to get a haircut to truly experience another culture. However, you should not do this if you feel very attached to your hair as you will most likely end up sorely disappointed. Everything was going fine with my cut, I told her exactly what I wanted, which was a trim, and I thought we were on the same page. Well, turns out that she thought a trim meant she should cut some side bangs that are about half the length of my other hair. So yes, just like the last time I got my hair cut in Spain, I have what could loosely be categorized as a mullet. Needless to say I am hoping that it grows out quickly.

The Spanish Kitchen (and much more...)

Things that are always present in a Spanish kitchen (fyi: our kitchen can be categorized as a Spanish kitchen): olive oil (times 100), salt, fresh bread, eggs, fresh fruits and veggies, vinegar, olives, tuna, yogurt and cheese. Also common in the kitchen is a fridge full of half eaten/used food. For example half of an apple, part of a tomato, a quarter onion, and a plate full of cooked meat, all just sitting on the fridge shelves.

Not present in a Spanish kitchen: Tupperware or other storage containers, plastic bags, an abundance of cooking utensils, plastic wrap, foil, or a pantry for dry goods. In your average Spanish kitchens there may be a small cupboard or a few drawers where pasta, lentils, and rice are stored, but pre-made meals, canned goods, and packaged foods are very rare.

Getting used to these differences has been very interesting, but we are getting along just fine without the things I used to consider necessities. When I have left over food I put it on a plate, cover it with another plate and put it in the fridge. Right now I have a plate of pasta and sauce, half an apple, an uncovered glass full of homemade salad dressing, a cup of coffee, and ½ of a wheel of cheese. Also, on our counter is a cake, that our neighbor made for us, covered up with a plastic grocery bag. In Spanish culture it is normal for people to go to the grocery store or market every day or every other day to get the necessities: a few tomatoes, bread, and fresh meat for the day’s meal. Emily and I have been doing this to the extreme, often going to the grocery store and market in the same day and 5 days a week.

My classes- The classes that I have had so far are English conversation, math, and history with students in 1 ESO (like 6th grade). My time at the school is concentrated on giving classes to the students who were chosen to be in the Bilingual Program, as well as meeting with the professors who teach these classes in English. Because this is the first year that these students have been a part of this program, their level of English is very basic…they have trouble saying, “Hello, my name is _____.” So, you can only imagine how much they understand when I read them a paragraph in English about the 4 layers of the Earth and the effects of volcanism and the magnetosphere. They are all so sweet and listen intently the whole time, they really want to know what I am saying, but when I am done reading they just look at me with a blank face and when I ask them if they understand they just keep staring at me as if I never even asked a question. The most difficult part of this is having to explain certain words (like ‘also’) that are in the paragraph using English. The professor who gave me the paragraph to read does not want me to translate the word into Spanish, he would rather have me describe an example in English to explain the word. It is just too funny, I can’t help but laugh when I am trying to explain an English word to them with 20 other words that they don’t understand.

Travels- Last Saturday I was invited by one of the teachers at my school to go to Gibraltar with her and her family. Many Spaniards go to Gibraltar to buy things that are cheaper there: alcohol, tobacco, chocolate, perfumes, and gas, so that was the main purpose of our visit. It took us about an hour to drive there and I was entertained the whole time by her 4 and 8 year old daughters, Julia and Bea, who were telling me jokes and stories. After entering Gibraltar we went to the top of the rock on a cable car. The view was amazing, we could see Morocco, and the monkeys were very cute and entertaining. Other than that, the city of Gibraltar didn’t have much to offer me and it proved to be more expensive for me than Spain because everything is valued in Libras ($ times 2).

The best part of the trip was spending time with Spanish families (the teacher’s sister’s family also came). Everything was so relaxed, very tranquil, no rush to do anything. The first thing we did after entering Gibraltar was sit down at a café for an hour to eat breakfast and have a coffee. Then, after seeing the rock and the monkeys, we went right to lunch where we stayed and chatted for about two and a half hours. After lunch we walked down the main shopping street, for about 45 minutes, at the end of which we sat down again and rejuvenated for another hour with coffee and dessert. It was incredibly relaxing and stress free, even with 3 young children.

To complete the weekend, on Sunday Emily and I went to a barbecue in the country with our new friends. Again, true to Spanish style, we first met at a café at noon where everyone had either a coffee or a beer. It was at the café where plans were made, and two hours later it was finally decided where we were going to go, what food we were going to buy, who was going to ride with who, etc. Once we got to the country, a public picnic area in forest about 30 minutes from Jerez, we ate, talked, and kicked the soccer ball until 7pm. On our way home we stopped at a café for a coffee and treat, then headed to a different bar to watch a soccer game, and were dropped at home at 10pm. I think one of the most valuable lessons I am learning and will continue to learn here is to relax and enjoy my free time and really value my time with friends. Emily would say I have a long way to go, but its not for lack of effort!

Pictures!

Never a dull moment...

Last week was my first week of ‘work’ at my school. It consisted of meeting wonderful professors, drinking café con leche and fresh orange juice in the school cafeteria, and using the computers and free internet in the teacher’s lounge. I also attended one class, 2nd year English with students aged 15-17, which was quite fun although I am pretty sure they had no idea what I was saying. My direct supervisor, Pepe, the Bilingual Program Coordinator at the school, seems very laid back about the hours I will be working and wants to make sure we can both be flexible about what classes I attend each week. I am interested to see how this works out as he seems to think that we can just meet every Monday morning to decide my schedule for the week.

This weekend, which stretched from Thursday through Monday thanks to what the Spanish call a “puente” (bridge) which links multiple días de fiesta together, allowed us to participate in many interesting events throughout the city. Thursday Emily and I went to the city of Cádiz, the sister city of Havana, Cuba to sit at the beach and relax in the 80 degree weather. It was great. Not having a beach towel, I brought the extra pillow case that came with my sheets (actually, the ‘sheets’ that I bought in a 2x1 deal turned out to be comforter covers…currently my mattress is inside of one and the other I use as a double sheet) which proved to work just fine.

That night Emily and I decided to venture out to start Operation Make Spanish Friends, and we started at a bar called La Moderna where we had seen university aged, hippie-types the week before. Arriving at 10:00pm, early for Spanish night-life, we were surprised that the bar was closing soon after our arrival and that there was no one in the bar even as young as double our age. (Although we did not make any friends, we did meet a 60 year old man whose father was born in Wisconsin which was pretty coincidental.)

We continued our night at a bar called Cuatro Gatos where we went to see live music by a duo called Nacho and Gunnar. Venturing out on our own to make friends was a very interesting experience. I am pretty shy in English, so you can only imagine how I feel making friends in Spanish. I really have to put myself out there, mix with the people, and forget about the being shy or making mistakes when speaking. The first friend we made was a woman from Israel, who is here in Jerez to learn flamenco and who was so excited to hear us speaking English…it was a good start, but we still needed Spanish friends who could force us to speak Spanish.

After the concert we were continuing our operation when we saw someone in the bar wearing a Vermont shirt. Although clearly American, we thought it might be good to talk to him, find out what he was doing in Jerez, and see if he could introduce us to some Spanish friends. Vermont (Carlos’s new nickname) turned out to be Spanish, a Jerezano who had bought the shirt here in Spain, and we deemed him (how lucky is he?!?) our first Spanish friend! We were very excited.

In addition to making a friend, this weekend we went to see an Argentinian man give a monologue at a center for creative arts (Emily made me go), as well as a horse jumping competition. Jerez is known for its School of Equestrian Arts so it was exciting to happen upon this important part of the city’s culture.

On a different note, coming to Spain has been incredibly eye opening. Being immersed in another culture, even one with which I am already familiar, is teaching me so much about myself, my country, and my own culture. I am seeing first hand how much of an impact US politics and the economy have on Spain and Europe. Everyone that we have talked to has brought up the upcoming election and the presidential candidates, the faltering economy, and their fears for the future and hopes for change. The feelings of guilt and sorrow are always present during these conversations, when I watch the nightly news, and when I read the newspapers. How can it be that one, solo uno, country can have such an impact on others?

Fortunately, I have already met a few social workers and some professors at my school that are going to help me find some volunteer work to do while I am here. Spain, like the US, is experiencing a large influx of immigrants from both African and South American countries. This is a relatively new phenomenon here and Spain is not yet sure how to react or how to respond. I think working in the social services here will prove very rewarding and gaining knowledge about the social systems of other countries will be very powerful. I plan on starting as soon as I get a schedule at school (...I am starting to doubt that this will ever happen) and I am looking forward to experiencing this lesser-known aspect of Spain.

Moving Day

We have a house! Friday morning Emily and I arrived in Jerez, went to a hostel and dropped off our bags, and then went out to find ourselves a place to call home. The first person that Emily convinced me to call was actually selling a whole apartment building, including 3 floors and an elevator…not exactly what we were looking for. At the tourist information office we asked where to look for apartments and they told us to buy the Cambalache, a newspaper that lists apartments that are for rent. After our siesta, we went right to work circling apartments and calling the places that looked promising. Of all the people we called and all the places that we would have liked to visit, we were only able to see one place.

Turns out we are now living here. We only had to stay one night at the hostel and moved in at 2:00pm to our wonderful new home that is actually a converted garden house/patio. It is a very cute, 3 bedroom apartment with a tiny kitchen and living room. It also has ‘interesting’ art from the baroque time period, including a huge painting of what appears to be Columbus’s ship sailing to America. We will be taking those down this week.

My bedroom, the first of the three, looks like it is for a little boy…the headboard, night table and desk chair are all painted bright green and blue. The curtains are of the same palate, as well as the bedspread, and I had a shelf that also matched, however I accidentally bumped it about an hour after we moved in and it shattered into a thousand pieces. The bathroom is very cute and quite large, yet it has no shelving or cabinet space. So, as all creative people would do, we had to place most of our shower and bath stuff in the bowl of the bidet. It looks fantastic.

The best part of our place is the patio, which our apartment surrounds in an L shape, that is covered with bright tiles and tons of plants. We are away from the street behind two other apartments on the first floor, so it is secluded from everyone and very quite. Today we moved the table from the extra bedroom to our patio and ate our lunch out there in the shade.

Originally we were looking to share an apartment with one or more Spaniards to force ourselves to speak in Spanish daily. We could not find even one shared apartment, so we opted instead for this one that is right downtown, the cheapest we saw, and what turned out to be pretty much our one, and only option. Today we have spoken only a handful of English words to one another and we are forcing ourselves to converse in Spanish, which is actually easier than I thought it would be.

Tomorrow both Emily and I start school. We have different placements, but they are only 2 or 3 blocks from one another so we will probably walk together in the morning. We will both be supervised by a bilingual coordinator, who we were told may or may not know we are coming, and expected to work 12 hours a week. This work may consist of teaching an English class, teaching subject classes in English, or taking our English department teachers out to coffee so that they may practice their conversation skills.

I cannot believe I have been in Spain only a week and a half, but I am super content here and ready to start a regular schedule. What I have seen from walking around these past two days in my new city is that I will grow to love it very quickly, it is incredibly beautiful, and the people here like to be outside and share good company. I think I will fit right in.

Here is my new address:
C/ Higueras 12, Bajo B
Jerez de la Frontera, 11403
Espana

Phone: 34-667-011-030

The First Week

Emily and I arrived last Thursday in Madrid where my friend Chema picked us up at the airport and brought us to Alcalá. When we arrived we were greeted by his wonderful mother who fed us fresh pastries and then allowed us to sleep the rest of the afternoon…5 hours. We spent Thursday, Friday, and Saturday in Alcalá doing the usual activities which consisted of going to sleep at 2am and waking around noon or 1:30 everyday. We ate some wonderful Spanish food, drank wine and calimocho, and filled our brains with the Spanish language of our distant study abroad experiences.

Sunday we were given a ride to the bus station in Madrid where we loaded our 8 combined bags on the bus and prepared for the 6 hour ride to Sevilla. We arrived at our hotel around 5:00pm and went directly to the home where Emily lived when she studied here. Later in the evening we went out to dinner where the waitress told us the night’s special, and then informed us that we would be ordering it. It turned out to be a delicious marinated skewer of meat and fresh vegetables with potatoes and a small salad, which was supplemented by two glasses of fine red Rioja wine.

Orientation has been short of interesting, but I am learning of lot about the Spanish education system and I now have a more concrete idea of what I will be expected to do. This afternoon a secondary school teacher described the ages/grades we might be working with and the characteristics that each might display. He explained that 12-13 year olds, the youngest students in the school, are usually wonderful to work with, innocent and interested. After that, “they become disasters”. He described 13-14 year olds as “naughty and badly behaved”, and 14-15 year olds as “cheeky and rebellious”. We were informed that unlike classrooms in the US, students do not raise their hands and wait to be called on or take turns speaking. Instead, Spanish students shout (literally) answers and responses whenever they please, and that we should not be surprised when they start shouting at us or each other if they disagree. One tip we were given was not to shout over the shouting…speaking from experience, he didn’t think this was the best tactic to use. In his words, “Don’t shout, our vocal chords must live forever!”

Despite these interesting cultural differences, I am getting more and more excited to start teaching and working with the students and other English teachers. Previous language assistants that have returned to Spain to teach a second year have told us that our Spanish colleagues will take us on vacations, out to bars, to breakfast, and to the city fiestas. Our students will treat us like mini celebrities, greet us in the halls with excitement and pleasure, and there undoubtedly be students very interested in what we have to share.

Thursday is the last day of orientation here in Sevilla, after which we will head to Jerez de la Frontera, our final destination. We still have not lined up an apartment, but the prospects seem pretty decent and living in the historic city center will not be as expensive as we originally thought. I am incredibly excited to finally have a place to unpack our suitcases and start immersing ourselves in the wonderful culture of Spain.

Bienvenidos!

My dear friends and family,

Thank you for your interest in following my adventures in Spain! I leave in less than a week for my 10-month position as a Language and Culture Assistant at a Spanish middle school called IES Santa Isabel de Hungria. My duties will include working with the school's English Department to plan and teach English lessons for students ages 12-18...yikes! At least it is only for 12 hours a week, so I will still have lots of time to travel, volunteer, get a job at a vineyard (!) and partake in all of the other wonderful cultural experiences that Spain has to offer.

My city, Jerez de la Frontera, is at the very southwestern tip of the Iberian Peninsula and rests only 30 miles from the coast. It is known for its sherry wine, Andalucian horses, and flamenco dancing. The climate is mild (excessively so if you are used to Wisconsin winters), hovering around 85 degrees in the summer and dropping to a chilling 40 degrees in winter. : )

Just like my last journey to Spain, I will use this journal to post my experiences, travels, and thoughts with the hopes that they will help us stay close even over a long distance. Please keep in touch by posting comments on this journal or by e-mailing me at kaela.glass@gmail.com. I hope to hear from you soon.

Love,
Kaela