Skipping over July 4th to Joan's Birthday

July 4th came and went like any other American holiday would in Spain. The most patriotic I got was in the car on the way to Spanish class when I sang the National Anthem to Joan, when Cataluña Radio played the Beach Boys and when my teacher read us the Declaration of Independence in Spanish. Next year, (if we are in the states) I will show Joan the real deal, especially since he will be an "American".

Today is Joan's birthday. This afternoon we went to Xevi's for a BBQ. I made Mashed Potatoes and Corn and Grilled Chicken. It was a fun afternoon except Joan was a bit sick. He made it through the barbecue all right but tonight at Castell Medevil he was sick again. Poor guy. It was still a lot of fun and after the show we went to the "Medevil Bar" opened his presents and we left. Three years ago he was sick on his Saint Day too. I don't know what happens to him on these days but he just has bad luck I suppose.

Anyway, tomorrow I am going to La Roca with Maribel and Arianna. It should be a lot of fun and I hope to get a lot of things for a good price! Sales!

Hope all is well where you are.

Thoughts

At the library again waiting for Joan to get off work. Yesterday, at 6 we went car shopping. We looked at smarts and honda civics and dreamt a little. It's nice to have reminders of why work is a necessity. The only way we would get a car here is if we didn't move to the states. This is a question we ask ourselves (almost) every day. The Economy is so bad right now, is it smart to leave everything and go without knowing if there are jobs for us? Not really.

As usual, there is a tremendous amount of research to be done between us. All we have decided is that no matter I'm finishing school (somewhere) and Joan is going to Pilot School (somewhere).

Day two of class went well, much better than yesterday (Mucho mejor que ayer). Courtney, Kindra and I talked more and I spoke with one of the men from Africa, he turned out to be pretty nice too. The more I get to know the people in class the less afraid I am to speak up. In fact, I had a debate (in spanish) with the guy from Africa, Ajheed. He spoke about women in the kitchen and men in the workplace and I countered with equal rights and the need for more money in today's economy. One income doesn't cut it unless that income is extreme. Even then, there is only so much cooking and cleaning I will do until I get bored. It was muy intresante. Pilar, la professora, told me that my pronunciation was very good. Bonus! I should study now too but I'm un poco enferma hoy y yo no quiero estudio.

First Day of School

I am not embarrassed to say that I was truly nervous this morning thinking of all the things that could happen in my Spanish class. What if everyone was mean? What if I didn't catch on quickly? What if I humiliated myself? Well, almost all those questions were answered.

Joan walked me to the school this morning at 9 a.m. Inside there is a nice cafeteria where we had breakfast and waited until he had to go to work. At 10 a.m. my class started. I was the first one in the room so la profesora talked to me. Her name is Pilar and my guess is that she is in her late 40s or early 50s. She doesn't speak English so I tried my broken spanish and she told me I did very well and that my comprehension was very good. Hmm...we'll see I thought.

When everyone arrived there were 16 of us. Three people from Africa, four from the United States, two from Australia,one from Holland, three from China, one from Turkey and two from Poland Martin and Paulina spoke with me first and were very nice. They are actually azafatas for Ryanair. Kindra is from Utah and is here with a family from the states for their cycling competition. Courtney is married and is here because her husband is a professional cyclist. I'm not sure where Elizabeth is from but she is in her 70s and works with the stock market.
I sat between Sal from Africa and Roderick from Australia. Rod's girlfriend is Catalan, that is why he is here. (Already something in common) he is very nice and catches on quickly.

One man from Africa (who is a professor of English in Gambia) spoke about the sub-standard English in America and how English in England and Africa was Standard and better and well-spoken. Blah Blah Blah. No me gusta British English.

The class was going well but the first time Pilar called on me I had no idea what she said so I gave her my best "no se" and she skipped over me. The second time I was confused and babbled on about the wrong thing. Although later when she asked me about the United States I did speak well and showed off what little I know.

During the second 15 minute break, Courtney and I decided to head out and find the book we need for class. About everyone else had it but us. Kindra said it was close and had given directions before so off we went. 15 minutes later we were no where near the bookstore. We asked a local for directions (we understood mas o menos) and tried again. Needless to say, we didn't find the store and were ten minutes late to class. Elizabeth told us she went during the break and it is right around the corner. joder!

The rest of the class went well, I felt more comfortable and am looking forward to the rest of the month. I really think I could make friends with Kindra, Courtney is leaving soon but often comes back to Spain. I'm not sure of her age but she could easily be 25.

At least I'm not like the chinese girl, Xintong who absolutley knows nothing of Spanish. I feel bad when Pilar stands in front of her, constantly repeating herself as if Xintong will automatically "get it".

Joan was outside the door when class was dismissed and we went to lunch at Fresco. It was definetly needed after four hours of Spanish.

Tonight I will buy the book, study up for tomorrow and face another day. I now know to bring a snack, take ibuprofen in the morning to prepare for the headache I get when I hear straight Spanish for over an hour and not be afraid to make a fool out of myself.

Adios.