Monday again

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August 25, 2008

Hi everyone, training continues to be good and productive. I like the other people in my class and I like our teacher; it seems a little frustrating because I still have a lot to learn before they throw me in a classroom by myself, but at least the other students feel that way too. I’m sure that it will be easier once I do get in the classroom. You can learn theory and practice all you want, but I won’t get it down until I actually do it. The good news is I don’t want to go home, I miss everyone and my cats, but I still feel like this is the right thing to do. I think what I am having the hardest time with is not having a “home.” Don’t get me wrong, I really like where I’m staying, and my roommate has been incredible to me, but it doesn’t quite feel “home,” I miss the sense of belonging. I didn’t pack enough clothes, they do not have dryers here, so it takes a day or two for clothes to dry and then you have to iron them, it’s a pain (for my spoiled American self anyway).
I think Berlitz (my job) is going to help me get a cell phone soon and Spanish classes - those are my top 2 priorities. I also wish I had internet access here at home, I find that more isolating than not having a phone.
My weekend was good; Sabrina and I went to the spa. The package we got would probably cost $250 at home, but it was only about $55. It was 2 and half hours including a full body massage with hot stones, a facial and an intense foot massage. It was as good as you would get in America, except she was a little rough with the knots on my legs, they hurt the next day. But it was great! (Especially for that price!) I didn’t really do too much else, Sabrina and I took the dogs for a walk around the neighborhood so I would get to know the streets where my bus stop is a little better. There is a nice little park up the street from where we live. But it’s not really a park the way I think of a park. There is no path; it’s just a big area with trees and grass. It rained 90% of the weekend, so there wasn’t much we wanted to do. Saturday was the worst, it usually doesn’t start to rain until around 2 in the afternoon, but it started in the morning on Saturday. Today it wasn’t so bad, just a light sprinkle when I left work around 4, and now it’s raining but it’s still not hard.
I seem to have a funny bus story every time I ride it, so today when I was riding it (I’m still having a little trouble recognizing my stop, but I feel more confident about it), the bus driver started to talk to me, and I looked around and saw that I was the only one on it, I told him I don’t speak Spanish (one of the few things I know how to say in Spanish!!) A lady got on the next stop and she spoke English, but it was no use, I was trying to explain the name of the school I live by, but I must have it wrong because she didn’t understand, but it was okay, pretty soon after that we passed the tennis courts and park that I know are at the end of the street. So now here I am back at home. I can’t find the remote for the TV, which sucks because I want to see if I can find some sort of international news so I can see what is going on with the convention.
Hugs for everyone! Don’t forget that you can subscribe to my blog and you will get an email every time I post. Also please feel free to leave me comments or email me, it makes me feel connected! I may not respond right away, but I will do my best! Tomorrow I get to observe a class at 6, so I will have 3 hours to burn after training ends, so I will definitely check my email and do all of that connecting. Hope everyone is doing well! Miss you!

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