The next day I was able to sleep in and feel a little less disgusting and grumpy. I went down to check into the program and get my new room. I got my packet of papers and got settled in. They had two twins pushed together for me and the other girl, Sarah, who would be going to Barbate as well. Kinda weird since I would be sharing a bed with a total stranger.
I found out that my friend Janelle wouldn’t be arriving until 1ish and my roomie wouldn’t be in until that night. So I met a few people from the program and we went out for tapas. We then took a siesta and went out later for drinks with some other people from Minnesota, Arizona, Texas and Illinois.
That night I met my roommate Sarah when I got back to the hotel. Sarah had lost her computer when she had gone through security in England and when she called the next day they still had it! Unbelievable!
The Orientation was pretty good although somewhat boring. The sessions included the Spanish Education System, Banking, info about the Junta de Andalucia (the government program we work for) and teaching tips.
I also met another CIEE participant that is vegan (as I attempt to be) and who also bears a striking resemblance to Garth from Waynes World. I learned that telling people about my dietary choices is a big mistake since after he found out he began asking me everything I was eating every time I ate. It’s very difficult to find vegan meals here but I began to feel like I an anorexic daughter whose father kept checking up on her.
What I'm doing
So I was hired through the government of Andalusia, Spain to work as a Language and Culture Assistant for bilingual schools in Andalusia. They have a policy in Spain that all children are required to go to school until 16 and they have begun some bilingual schools and want native speakers to assist in teaching the students about my English speaking country and also to assist in teaching English. I work 12 hours a week and am expected to assist in lesson planning and also teaching the students cultural differences, for example we will be helping plan fun Halloween activities!
They also have free health care for everyone...which I really like.
Sevilla
The Sevillanos seem to be much more attractive than the people from Madrid which was a nice surprise. The mullet movement seemed to have moved on...but I found that was only in Sevilla and it is still alive and well in Barbate. Yea for me. Sevillanos are much more patient and helpful when it come to Spanish. The skinny jeans on men is still pretty popular and once again I was blessed with an older lecturer wearing jeans so tight I can able to view his entire crotch area and also learned his preferred underwear style.
Downtown Sevilla was even more beautiful than I remembered. There was an amazing display of photos near the Cathedral, and the weather was perfect. I also went to a Flamenco show that was the best I’ve ever seen.
Our last night there we went out for a tapas dinner with everyone in the program at a really nice restaurant and then out to a club called Buddha Bar with new friends which was amazing and lot of fun.
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