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Published: December 2nd 2009
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Sarah and I along the harbor in MarbellaSo, I never did get to write about Marbella. Marga and her family invited Sarah and I to spend the weekend with them in Marbella. One of Marga's nephews lives there. We camped out in their apartment, did lots of sight seeing, and had some great tapas. The harbor there was lined with so many yachts that it would put Key West's harbor to shame. Seriously, some of these boats were mansions. For those Pennsylvanians out there....they even had their own "spillway". In some areas along the dock the tourists are constantly feeding the fish. The ducks weren't quite walking on the fish...but the fish were definitely huge! It was a great weekend. Marga is so generous; I don't know what I'd do without her here. It was just great to leave Adra for the weekend.
I love my life here in Adra. It's very simplistic. We have a "farmer's market" 5 days a week! I can find any meat, fruit, or veggie that my heart desires and I can buy the quantity I want! 3 cheers for no supermarket, over-sized packages! After all, I only am one person. Speaking of packages, this is nothing new to me, but I
don't believe that I have ever mentioned this before in any of my other blogs...Did you know that milk here comes in boxes...and that it doesn't need to be refrigerated? I have boxes of milk in my cupboard right now that are good until February!
Sometimes I prefer the big supermarkets like Mercadona because their produce etc. seems to be more fresh. However, there are just some things that they won't ever be able to provide like the little guys can. Across the street from my apartment there is a very small food store that is owned by the parents of one of my students. The father was hit by a car earlier this year. And although health care here is free, for a long time the father was unable to work normal hours and open his store. Just until recently were they finally able to open the store all day long. The family has been under a lot financial strain. It's stories like these that make me compromise the supermarket products that are a few days newer and make me want to support the local guys. Besides, what huge grocery store would ever give you a free chocolate
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Old city walls in Marbella bar just because it will go well with the milk that you are buying?
In the evenings, when I'm not giving classes or planning lessons for the next day, I like to go out for coffee and tapas with friends. Spain's not helping my coffee addiction very much 😊 Adra is such a small city. I can't go to the supermarket or go out for a coffee without running into one of my students. There's usually much pointing and whispering. I sometimes feel like a small-town celebrity, lol. I'm so glad that I'm here. My Spanish is improving a lot. My comprehension has improved more than anything. I've never had a problem expressing my thoughts and feelings in Spanish. However, when I'm the audience of a conversation (for example sitting at a table with a large group, watching a talk show or a play, or spying on a conversation) I've had a hard time understanding. Just after two months I've seen a lot of improvement in my comprehension. No me estoy tirando las flores, but...this is something to be extra proud of being here in Adra. Everyone is constantly telling me that the people in Adra have one of
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I absolutely adore the streets in Spain! the worst accents in Spain...that they speak terribly (as in grammar, etc). I'm so excited for these next 6 months. There's so much to learn!
I still adore my apartment. I'm so grateful to have my own sacred space here in Spain. Sometimes it is a bit lonely. I'm still looking for a roommate. It seems almost impossible. Financially it would be great...I would have a couple hundred more bucks a month. Winter is around the corner here in Adra, which means more rain. Up until last week it had NEVER rained here since the very first day I arrived. Almost every day here is super sunny. The only difference is that the temperatures have dropped. We're sometimes now in the lower 50s during the day. To me, after living in Florida all summer, this temperature feels very cold. I have yet to get a space heater. There isn't a heater in my flat. Instead, I sleep in sweats and socks at night, and in the evening I wrap myself in a huge terry cotton robe over my clothes. I look twice my size, hehe. Maybe it's a good thing after all that no one lives with me 😊
I've always known that I love to teach. I first went to college with the intentions of becoming an elementary teacher. What I found out that I didn't like doing was the constant lesson planning, and I didn't like being responsible for an entire class of loud, noisy kids. What I do know now is that I absolutely LOVE teaching. However, I really prefer teaching individuals or small groups. I think that in the future I will look for opportunities to give private classes or to tutor foreign languages (probably English and Spanish depending on the person/place). I love showing people how fun and easy (or not as difficult as they think) learning a foreign language can be. I get so proud when my students learn something and understand it well! It's such a rewarding process of sharing languages and culture.
The other weekend I went on my first "touristy" trip with Sarah. We went to Granada for a couple of days. We stayed in this precious hostel right in the center of the city. As the Spanish say, Granada es un encanto. It's an enchanting city. The beauty of it is that it's a small city. It
has everything you could ever want: old Cathedrals, windy, long streets lit up by lanterns, shopping malls, theaters, ethnic restaurants, huge Moroccan and gypsy neighborhoods etc etc. And because it's so small, you can get to almost anything by walking! I didn't want to leave! While we were there we raided el corte ingles of their foreign (American) food products, we ate Indian and Thai food, and we frequented several Moroccan tea houses called teterias.
I've finally found a church that I really like. Our pastor's name is Anderson. He's a missionary from Brazil. Anderson, his wife, and their son were sponsored by their congregation (I think it's the Evangelical Church of God, but not entirely sure) to come here to Spain and establish a church. I believe that this was the first protestant church here in Adra. It's not that there aren't many protestant churches in Spain, because there definitely are. It's just that they're usually much smaller. Spain was originally very much a nation founded by the Catholic church (and still is very influenced by it). The Spanish have a saying here that even the atheists here are Catholic. My church is very small, which makes
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La teteria it feel all the more like a family. I was originally "cautioned," by a lot of my coworkers at school, that mostly gypsies go to the evangelical, or protestant, churches...which to them is not necessarily a good thing. I've never been one to care too much about social norms, and I was definitely in need of a church. So about a month ago I went to check out this church and I fell in love 😊 This is one of the most nationality-diverse churches I've ever been too. Of course nothing can compare to the mega church, BICF, that I attended in China. In our little church there is an Irish family, an older English gentleman, there are a few Spanish, Romanians, Brazilians, an American teacher 😊, and tons of Argentinians!!!! Of all Spanish accents, the Argentinian accent from Buenos Aires is my absolute favorite. There is one married couple here that is extra special to me. Carlos and Natalia are from Buenos Aires and are both around my age. I think Natalia and I are going to become good friends. Not only do I adore her accent, hahaha, but she is a sister here to me. She is the
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Can you say heaven? first person that I have met here in Spain that shares not only my beliefs but is also someone with whom I can pray. She is such a treasure. Natalia is one of the most animated and joyful people I have ever met. I'm really excited to get to know her better. Yey for God being AWESOME!!!
There are lots of positive and neat things to share with you all. I'm so grateful to have had this opportunity to spend a year in Spain improving my Spanish. Sometimes it's really difficult being away. It's especially difficult being so far away from Roberto and for such a long time. The holidays are just around the corner. I'm listening to Christmas carols as I'm writing this letter to you. Keep the letters coming; they make time pass by better!!! I, myself, have a load of letters to mail out today myself. Oh, to those who want to come visit...Spain calls you! You have private bedroom/bath and plenty of beach waiting for you! I have a really big break around Easter, hint, hint :D
Muchos besos de Espana,
Your Katie Rae
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