Adios Vera!

Wednesday and Thursday were my last days this week to say goodbye to all of my students and the teachers that I have had the pleasure of working with this past academic year. It was sad but it truly has been a joyful year together. I made sure to bring my camera so I could get many snapshots to share with you all.

 I brought fun summer activity worksheets for all of my classes during the last week. Above you can see my wonderful third graders at work.

 Here is a group shot with my third graders and my bilingual coordinator with whom I worked with in Science.

 Elisabet has been such a wonderful help this year and is just a great individual in which to share a classroom. I plan to return next year and definitely keep in touch as well.

 Before the class was over the presented me with a wonderful gift. Each student had drawn me a picture and written a message in English. Elisabet had them binded and made me a wonderful book to remember them by. They all ran up to hug me and I almost blend in with this group of nine year olds!!

Cristina was the English teacher I worked with for both of the fourth grade classes. We had done so many fun and exciting activities throughout the year. Singing Disney songs was probably one of my favourites. At the end of our last class she presented me with a silver bracelet with the symbol of luck for the province of Almería, the indalo. I never expected so much love and support from everyone.

 This is one of my fourth grade classes that I worked with in Science. They have been one of the most difficult groups to work with this year but their progress is really something to be proud of too.

 During recess we took many group shots and practiced my Spanish!

 After recess I had my last class with my sixth grade Science class. This class is very advanced in their English even if they would not like to admit it. They have been a wonderful group to work with and I am always baking them up treats to reward them for their hard work.

 This group of girls presented me with several gifts. They were so cute. I received four pairs of earrings, two bracelets, and a pair of sunglasses. I put on all of the gifts so I could take a picture with the girls.

 If you haven´t seen a trend already... for some reason people in Spain do not like to always smile in pictures. I think it looks so silly. I told my students this and they all laughed.

 Here is a group shot of this sixth grade class.

 Here are all the beautiful young ladies...

 and the handsome young men.

 I am hiding some where in the middle of this picture with one of my fifth grade classes. Can you find me?

 Here is my other fourth grade class, again very difficult but very rewarding.

 And lastly, my second fifth grade class! It truly has been an interesting and fun year with CEIP Ángel de Haro!

 Here is just a few of the goodbye letters that I received! Look at all of their English and artistry!

 ¨Goodbye teacher Sarah. You have been good a very good teacher. I´ll miss you¨ This was from a fifth grade boy that did not speak up much throughout the year but ran up and gave me this and a hug on my last day! So sweet.

 This was from a group of students and I think they were translating some poetry. Translating is very difficult, especially if you don´t know all of the structural differences but regardless this is some impressive English and makes me really proud!

 Everyday at school was an ego boost. Students are always telling me I am beautiful... even the days that I looked like I just woke up. haha

Not only did they impress me with their English but with their drawing work as well!

After school we had a little goodbye lunch with friends. We went to this little Italian restaurant the day we found our apartment. It was the first place we had eaten in Vera... and it was also to be the last. This place has phenomenal Italian and it was great company as well. Now of to the next journey. I recently found out that I will be teaching in Baeza, Jaen. This is a different province in Andalucia, the southern region in Spain. I was hoping to be placed in Sevilla with my boyfriend but this location is much closer, a three hour train ride, than I was this past year. It is a gorgeous little pueblo and a national historic site. But, for now I am enjoying my last two weeks in Sevilla before a three month trip back to the Pacific Northwest!

The final weekend!!

This weekend marked my final weekend here in the province of Almería. This has been a wonderful home the past year! My roommate and myself decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather and spend some time in Mojácar. Mojácar is a beautiful beach town about five miles away and is a very large tourist destination.

 We headed to a beach club that we have heard about from some friends. The beaches had much more people than what we are used to at our house but there was still plenty of space. We brought some little speakers and relaxed.

 After a few hours we decided if we were going to head out for the evening than we would be needing coffee!

 We had a long chat about how we have had a wonderful year and sad to leave each other. I will definitely be planning a future trip to Nashville Tennessee to visit my Jade!

 Later that evening we headed next door to one of our favourite restaurants for some seafood! Jade is a big fan of Paella.

I cannot believe this part of my adventure is coming to an end. Next week for my last week at school I will be taking plenty of pictures to share! Cleaning the house has been crazy but I am so excited to be arriving home the 19th of June. After this week at school I will be traveling a bit before my return to Seattle. 

Beach Weekend

This weekend was full of beautiful warm summer days and so what better way to spend it than go to the beach! 

 Also for the last time this year Santi came to visit!! We woke up early on Friday and after picking up some treats from the farmer's market we headed straight out to our beach.

 At first it seemed pretty empty but after an hour we were surrounded by friends and many other vacationers and locals.

 Unlike my companions I did not get the courage to go for a swim in the Mediterranean... brrrrrr still toooo cold! I did dip my feet in :) 

This was a completely successful beach weekend!! I made sure to use plenty of sunscreen and even spent some time around the pool as well. I know that may seem silly to spend some time at the pool when I have a beach so close but there is shade near the pool and I didn't want to burn! Not sure what next weekend will bring but there is sure to be plenty of sunshine! Hope you all are enjoying the sun on your side of the world as well!

FERIA

This past weekend was my last long weekend before I return back to Seattle. I had six nights to spare and decided to head to Sevilla for the annual Feria de Abril celebration. During this week the children are out of school and the dance, drink,and enjoy the company of others for seven days. 

 Half of the Feria is like a fair with rides, games, and greasy food. I could not believe how many people were here. This pictures makes it seem like the weather was not very nice but overall it was quite warm the whole weekend.

 The other half is full of both private and public "tents" called casetas. This is where people spend most of their time. In this picture of the boys you can see a pitcher of rebujito. This is the drink of Feria which consists of a fortified wine and sprite mixture. The cups that they we drank this in were the size of shot glasses. In the tents there is seating, a small bar/restaurant area, and a dance floor that always seems to be full. 

 I saw this family on the horse and couldn't resist from taking a picture. The streets are filled with horses and buggies. I have been told that the people that use this method of travel usually have quite a bit of money. I saw several groups of men just parked on their horses drinking. The sight of this bothered me some and I hope is not a sign of how these horses are treated regularly.

 In this picture you can see the line up of all the tents on one of the many long streets. During this week the men typically wear a tie and the women a flamenco dress. The woman spend over one thousand dollars just for one of these dresses and most of them own more than one!! That just seems crazy to me but they are very colorful and pretty.

 This is the door to Feria which is very large and lit up every night. On the first day they have a lighting ceremony and on the last night at midnight there is a fireworks show.

 This is a picture of the inside of Santi's families tent. The private tents are co-owned by several families. This is the tent we spend the majority of our time at during Feria.

I do not own nor did I purchase one of the dresses but I did try a friend's dress on just so I could take a picture :) Overall it was a successful weekend but I look forward to this weekend on the beach relaxing as well!!

Spring is finally in full swing!

The past couple of weekends I have spent the time just enjoying the sunshine and relaxing at home. The sun has been strong, along with the wind. Sadly, I haven't taken many pictures and so I uploaded this one from last year! I have been running everyday now for three weeks which makes me really proud and just feeling good again. I am hoping to only continue this and I am so excited to start hot yoga again when I return to Seattle for the summer. I am starting to get a real bitter sweet feeling about leaving Spain/returning to the States. The next few months are going to be busy and quite the adventure. But before I get too far ahead of myself...  this coming weekend I am going to Sevilla for feria and I am so excited for all the amazing memories and pictures that are to come from this celebration!! I will also be adventuring out of Sevilla but I am not sure where to quite yet. Until then, I hope all is well with everyone else!

Asturias

Asturias is a northern coastal region just east of Galicia. We stayed in the cutest little town with wonderfully welcoming people. This is a picture of our little bungalow and my travel mates. The bungalow was so cute inside with a little kitchen so we could continue our family style dinners. Since it is so green up here the meat is of such better quality than where I live in the south.

 We stayed in a little beach town called Cadavedo. La Regalina is the name of the camping place where we rented the cabin. 

 When we got into town it was lunch time so we asked for some recommendations. There was a small bar called El Casino around the corner. We decided to try out the menu of the day which came with a drink and three courses followed by dessert for ten euros. Oh myyyyyy!!!!! This food was soooo good. We started with a seafood soup, next was a stew of meat and potatoes, following that I had lamb, and lastly some turron cake. Turron is a spanish treat similar to a brittle made with almonds but you can find this flavor for many desserts. This was such a great find. The people were so kind and the food I will never forget. The atmosphere in the bars up north are much different from the south. In Andalucia it is very loud and everyone is drinking no matter what time of the day. When they talk it almost seems like they are angry and yelling. Everyone was much more friendly and calm in the north.

 It was a little cloudy our first day but we still got plenty of exploring in for the day.

 We walked around the little town and spotted lots of livestock and these little houses for their firewood to keep dry.

 Later we hiked to a little lighthouse which was not anything special but the views were still quite nice!

 After that we found a beautiful little port town called Luarca. I loved all the colorful little boats. We enjoyed a coffee and walked around a bit.

 The following day we spent in Oviedo. Oviedo is the capital of Asturias. Sadly, I only took this one picture below because I seemed to be suffering from a kidney stone and was in an unbelievable amount of pain. Luckily I was only feeling ill for just under two days and finished up the trip healthy.