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Published: April 26th 2006
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Horse
She was trying to eat my jacket after she ate the apple Hey guys!
This week has been going TONS better than last week and this weekend. It makes a beautiful day that has a lot of positives and uplifting things happen in it seem so much more when you've had some really bad days in a row. I thank God that I am finally out of my rut. It wasn't a fun place to be, but I grew and learned from it.
Laura, the director of the Cultural Immersions Project (the Overseas Program at IU), is here visiting us this week. She came to observe me and meet my teacher yesterday. It was SUCH a good day and very very encouraging and uplifting. It was so nice to see Reyes get so excited when Laura said that she wants to send more students to this school that I'm at. Reyes's eyes lit up and she was like, "Oh yes! Please! Lots of them! I've loved having Amy!" It was just something I needed to see and hear. Laura was impressed with how well behaved the students were (she hasn't been to the high school yet...) and how well they were able to read, write, speak and understand Spanish. She was also
Santo Tomas
This is in the church that is connected to my Residencia. It's a very well known church. impressed by the students' handwriting, which I am too, and basically just the whole school. She was so excited to see how excited the students were to see me in the hallway. I just kept telling her how much I love the way that teachers and students interact here. It'd be very looked down upon in the US, but I love it. The little kids give me hugs all the time, or grab my hand. And the teacher's give the students kisses on the heads, or hold their head in their hands (okay, that might sound a little weird, haha), but the teachers and students, and really all of Spain is just very loving and affectionate. I love it.
So after Laura saw me teach and met Reyes and the principal, I gave her a tour of the school. We were just about done when we ran into one of the 5th grade teachers who is quite a character. He is always telling me how amazing Spain is and that it's the best country in the world (it is a great country). He told me that the Spanish language is the best language because its the best language to talk to God in. Haha. I repeated that to him yesterday and he started cracking up because I had remembered it. I think that he thinks that I don't know any Spanish cause he pulled me aside in the hallway the other day and said (in Spanish), "I drink water. You drink water. They drink water." And he was using this huge motions with his hands. Haha. I told him that I know a bit more Spanish than this. He insisted on giving Laura and me a tour of the school, even though I had already just done this, but we went along with him anyways. He showed us the elevator and the emergency exits and a nest that you can see from one of the windows in the school. Haha. I love this guy. I always know its going to be interesting when I talk to him.
I felt amazing after my afternoon with Laura. It was really good to just be able to talk with her about my experience and be genuinely excited and interested. It was so nice to speak a ton of English to another native English speaker face to face and talk for the length of time that we did. It was refreshing and was just a sigh of relief. We met up with her today to talk more together about our experiences and sat in the main plaza at a cafe table and sipped on some coffee. It was fun to talk with her more and just laugh at different stories we all have from our time here. After dinner tonight, Rachel and I took some old apples over to the horse. She started to run at us when she saw us. I think she's really lonely. I was a little scared to feed her the apple cause she's big, but she loved them and then chased us along the fence when we were walking back to the residencia. Yes, I have made friends with a horse and I like it. It's like coming home to a dog who is so excited to see you. It's just a good feeling...especially cause its a horse and it takes me by surprise!
Rachel and I are planning on a trip or two this weekend. Unfortunately the train people are going on strike, so if we go anywhere it'll be by bus. Segovia is for sure in the picture. It has a huge castle and a roman aqueduct there. And we might go to a pueblo (little town) with a teacher from my school and hike around in the mountains for a little while. The weather's been just so beautiful here and it'd be nice to get away from doing the normal sightseeing things and get out into the country. I only have 2 more weekends left here and then I'm off to travel for 3 weeks and then home! Time has flown by!
Hasta luego!
(This blog is for you, Blatty! Miss you!)
NEW PICTURES: http://community.webshots.com/album/549858979RyYQAo
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Katie Myers
non-member comment
Lucky you!
Hey Amy- That is so cool that Laura came and visited and you got to spend all that time with her. I feel like Laura is the cultural immersions queen (well I guess she is) and it's really rare to get that experience with her! Hope everything else is going great, keep writing and showing pictures...oh and keep me updated with your Chicago plans (if you're still going there?) love, katie