Barcelona

Barcelona was my last little vacation before returning stateside... sadly, as I write this I am sitting in the Miami airport. Not so sadly, thanks to my father I am enjoying free wine and treats in the Admirals Club. Although I do have to say I miss Spanish wine already. Enough about this bittersweet departure and more on my wonderful Barcelona adventure!

 Santi took some time off so we could enjoy Barcelona. This was not his first visit here of course but because it was mine I wrote a ridiculously long list of things I felt I must see and experience. Once we safely arrived to the Pension, I got out the map and started some more planning. After much compromising we decided to nap before exploring a bit. We had a late night before and and early flight so the Spanish siesta was necessary.

 We stayed at a little place that was perfect walking distance to everything and still very reasonable. It ran parallel with the Rambla. This is a shot of the Rambla, which is a pretty walkway down one of the main roads in Barcelona. The architecture in this city alone is breathtaking. We spent a lot of our four days walking up and down this street.

 After checking of my stroll down the Rambla... next came the Boquería or fresh market. It was huge and had soooo much to offer. We enjoyed some fresh fruit for a euro and came back on other occasions for some fresh juices as well.

 Due to the  location I resided in Spain I had such a great variety of produce but nothing in comparison to what this market had to offer. There was so many strange fruits and vegetables!

 Here is a picture of some of the fresh juices that were offered. There were all kinds of combinations and several stands offering juice like this! What a treat!! We tried coconut banana and strawberry mango... I was surprised when I preferred the first one over my usual favourite flavour combination.

 Since we arrived later in the day, many of the meat stands and others were closed.

 I loved the way these peppers looked. It reminds me of a house warming gift my mother once purchased for me from Pike´s Place Market in Seattle.

 Let the architecture pictures begin!

 The Cathedral

Another Gaudi piece of art, La Pedrera.

 I saw this owl and just had to take a picture.

 My first sighting of the overwhelming La Sagrada Família.

 I am going to have to return in year 2026 or whenever it is finally finished!

 Afterwards we made quite the hike to park Guell. This is of course more work my Gaudi.

Casa Batllo

This was next door and I thought it was pretty so I took a photograph.

The Barcelona Ballet

Although Christopher Columbus... as we know him, was Italian he sailed for Spain. He left from el Puerto de Santa Maria, which is Santi's home town, but he returned in Barcelona. Therefore this is a monument dedicated to him and his work.

The port of Barcelona.

This just might be mine some day...

The next stop of course was the Barcelona Aquarium!! I was very excited!

I am proud to say that most of the animals I was able to identify on my own :)

They have this crazy tank with a moving walkway that goes through it! It was sooo long and really cool. 

Santi was pretty impressed with the sharks... that is when I had to brag a little and say, "oh these things... I swim with them all the time."

This is an ocean sunfish. I have been reading about this fish for years and hoping to see one. This was my first time and I was really excited! This was not the same as in the wild but still pretty exciting. This particular one was quite small. They can reach over 2,500lbs!!

Sea dragons

They had this really cool tank with different rays and guitar fish. I have yet to see a manta ray but that is also high on my list.

All my little Nemos!!!

This frog fish actually sounds like a frog underwater!!

We saw this awesome boat outside of the Aquarium. The top was all solar panels. The boat was so big I had to take two pictures.

To celebrate my graduation and Santi's start of a new internship we went to a little place that was recommended to us. Each glass of champagne was under a euro and we had some amazing sausages to accompany our champagne. There is only standing room but I highly recommend this place!

This picture I took for dad, the post office!

That sums up our wonderful trip to Barcelona! I am sad to be leaving Spain and Santi but excited to come back to Washington for the summer.

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!!