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Published: January 10th 2010
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Nephew Nolan
My new nephew and I in Florida for Christmas! It is hard to believe that the 2000s have already come and gone; it seems like just a little while ago I was in Idaho City watching the ball drop and waiting for Y2K to start the decade with a technological meltdown (and erase my Oregon Trail high scores). Most of my Spanish students were too young to even remember the Y2K hype…yikes! Looking back, it has been quite a time from then until now and, it seems, almost as long since my last blog post! So, we’ve got some catching up to do. Enjoy!
I flew back to Florida for Christmas with the Schafers, which was a lot of fun. Although it was still a bit cold for a lot of beach time, it was perfect for golfing and Dad and I took every chance we got. Also, I visited some of the old haunts like the Sarasota Classic Car Museum (where I used to work) and reconnected with the burgeoning Sarasota Fencing Academy, even managing to fence a little bit. One of the highlights was meeting the newest addition to the family, Nolan Reed Johnston, who we are calling my nephew even though as my cousin’s son, he is technically my cousin once removed. “Nephew Nolan” has such a better ring, don’t you think? Besides meeting the new little man, Christmas was the usual Schafer gathering complete with a massive meal, Tripoley gambling and football. It was refreshingly American. I say that without jest because, although Spain is wonderful, big holidays in foreign countries can be quite lonesome. I had originally intended to stay in Madrid but after polling several friends, found myself virtually the only one who would be staying! As it turns out, it was a good trip and an even better reminder that, despite the gifts (thanks for them all!), the best present is being with family.
I made a quick turnaround in Madrid and then was off again to ring in the New Year in Marrakesh, Morocco. After spending eight days traveling from south to north, I think I pretty well “did” Morocco, got the carpet and had some fun in the process, even though near constant traveling took its toll and I was ready to get back to Spain. For more about Morocco, stay tuned because I’m going to post individual blog entries about the stages of the trip. And, since one of my New Year’s resolutions is to actually update this blog with some regularity, hopefully you won’t have to wait too long!
In mid-December, I moved out of my first apartment due to a deteriorating roommate situation. As I’m told by the Fulbright Commission and confirmed by several other friends who did the same, this is fairly common. The new place is still close to my school and nice, but it doesn’t have the old charm of the first; the only thing spared in the renovation was the door backed with red leather (no joke, it’s awesome!). Since I’ve been on vacation, I am only now starting to get to know the pleasant but quiet roommates, two of who are vacating by the end of the month! As they say here, vamos a ver.
I also start the New Year a single guy, an empty feeling to which I’m still unaccustomed. In that sense, the ad agencies’ ad nauseam lovey-dovey holiday season was lost on me. As a result, I’ve been listening to a lot of the Be Good Tanyas and telling myself that it is for the best, but only time will tell.
As a quick aside about music, I am ecstatic that Josh Ritter, The Frames and Mark Knopfler are ALL coming to Madrid for concerts!
Anyways, I am resolved to stay busy in 2010 by trying to make the most out of my Fulbright Grant and my last six months in Spain. I was chosen to organize and lead a training session on Model United Nations for the other Fulbrighters in preparation for our students’ “Global Classrooms” conference to be held in Madrid in early March. I start regular classes tomorrow (Monday, 11th) and will be sure to keep “feeding the monster” (it’s eerie how much English teaching is like the newspaper business). I also plan on sticking to a regular fencing schedule with my club here in Madrid to keep me active and hopefully meet some more Spaniards by stabbing them… 😊
If the money allows (another link with the newspaper industry—lower pay), I’d like to do some more traveling this semester as well. A group of us have our sights set on the southern Spanish city of Cádiz for its legendary Carnival celebrations in mid-February and maybe a ski trip to Andorra or the Spanish Pyrenees. It's snowing in Madrid as I write this! I’d also like to see the Canary Islands, southern France and bite-sized Malta. My friend Jesse says he’s coming to visit beginning sometime in March, so we’ll see what his plans are. Also, my Mom and aunt are close to finalizing plans for a vacation here around that time. Much gente! But, as always, you’re more than welcome to come and visit!
As for my post-Fulbright plans, I am increasingly leaning towards an English teaching gig abroad, but not in Spain. My current ideas revolve around South America (keeping up with my Spanish), southeast Asia (the money is good with numerous trips just begging to be taken) and *drumroll* Libya! Now THAT could be fun. I’m going to start applying for jobs to begin in September of ’10, which leaves me with part of the summer (July and August) back home. The economy being what it is, I think it’s smart to continue living abroad where my abilities as a native speaker of English and my experience as a teacher can be put to good use. Unfortunately, as this Fulbright year has shown, the work is not very academically stimulating, and so English teaching will probably not be the “career choice.” Graduate school is definitely in the picture, though I’m not prepared to apply and rather unsure as to where I’d want to study yet. Since my goal is still college-level history, the list is long on the Ivys and other big name, big tuition schools. However, I see graduate school as me settling down into a career of climbing the long ladder of academia, so that can wait for now. Though I’m on my way as a published author: [url=http://www.amazon.com/Soldiers-Paper-Ink-Intellectual-Interpretations/dp/3639209680/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1263157869&sr=8-10
*end of shameless self-promotion*
Anyways, I hope you all had excellent holidays and I wish everyone the absolute best in 2010! I’ll leave you with the Counting Crows:
“It’s been a long December and there’s reason to believe / maybe this year will be better than the last…”
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Tanya
non-member comment
Don't go to Libya!