TravelingLindsey

Normally I write these things in chronological order, but we’ll try something different today. Yesterday was my last day teaching English to the little 8-year-olds at the Colegio Claret, and it was bittersweet. I was given a Christmas CD that they made last year, which included two original tunes and two songs in charmingly accented English. I shall cherish it forever. I had a presentation prepared about Nebraska, but halfway through I realized I didn’t have the completely saved version and therefore had to resort to plan B: Christmas card making! This of course meant that before I was even finishing the instructions there were a thousand little hands in the air and a thousand little voices shouting “Cómo se dice…” How do you say… And of course, anything I write on the board goes on ... read more

I haven’t talked much about my school, but I think it’s time to dedicate a blog entry to the sometimes ridiculous things that go on. I cannot, of course, generalize about all Spanish universities; I’m just telling you about this one: La Universidad de Pablo de Olavide, fondly referred to as “La UPO.” According to Wikipedia, it was founded in 1997, making it the newest public university in Spain. I seem to remember hearing more about the history of it in the whirlwind of my first week here, but that’s all gone now. The only thing I could possibly tell you would be that I’m fairly certain it was actually built earlier than 1997 and used for some other purpose, something about Franco was thrown in there (still a very recent part of Spanish history), and ... read more

I think the Spanish translation of Thanksgiving is hilarious. It's just so wordy and so ridiculously descriptive. It’s not a Spanish holiday though, so I guess it’s just that no one cared enough to put anymore thought into it. Since no mythical pilgrims landed in Spain and had a life-saving meal with the natives on the third Thursday of whatever November it was, the Spanish really don't care about Thanksgiving. I know this, but I still tried to make jokes to a few Spanish friends… “So what did YOU do for Thanksgiving? Heh…” “We don’t celebrate Thanksgiving. It’s an American holiday.” Sigh. So there’s no November turkey rush in Spain, but ISA understands that we Americans would still enjoy celebrating our holiday, so they put on a dinner for us at the Hotel Becquer. Though it ... read more

Today was a really good day. I didn’t go on the last ISA trip to Ronda, because I had already gone with my parents and I have a lot of work to do this weekend, and initially I was worried that I would regret it, but with all that happened, how could I possibly? I guess I’ll start with last night, because that’s when the fantastic-ness began. After dinner with Mishri and Kate in a neighborhood far from my own, I waved down a taxi to transport me back home. I got in, announced my destination, and then heard the car’s speakers announce, “Where are you from? What kind of music do you like? What kind of movies do you like?” He was learning English from a CD, and it was playing. I burst out laughing, ... read more

I was watching TV last Tuesday, and a commercial popped up about “The Greatest Show on Earth,” Barnum and Bailey’s circus. Málaga, November 14-15. WHAT!? “How great would it be,” I thought, “if I could get some people together to go the circus.” And I did! Raquel and Kate answered my request for fellow circus-goers, and we met at the train station Saturday morning. I realized it was the first time this entire semester that I’ve gone on a trip not organized by ISA. It was fantastic. When we arrived in Málaga, we checked in at our hostel and did a few obligatory tourist stops, you know, tour of Moorish castles and forts and the like, hiking up giant hills to get a view of the city, visit to the cathedral, stop at the roman ruins ... read more