More things, more things!

¿Más cosas?
Well, my first month of Spain life round two is already coming to an end, time really does fly.. I´ve gone to work out in Cartaya quite a few times already and I officially start working in the classrooms next week! My co-workers are great so far and working at Rafael Reyes is definitely going to be an adventure.
Huelva Capital is a place that kind of has to grow on you because in comparison to other Spanish cities, it´s not that beautiful. It seems like the more time I spend here though, the more cool things I discover and I can´t wait to have more free time so I can get up to the mountains in the northern part of the province for some hiking and explore more of the coastal towns around here. Starting tomorrow, I officially have a 3 day weekend with zero obligations and I can´t wait. Actually starting now I´m free, but since I´ve been sick with some sort of cold on steriods, I´m being tranquila at home for the afternoon (of course I can´t resist going out for tapas tonight..).
I could write on and on about all the things that have gone on this month, but since I´m writing a blog and not a book, how about a list of highlights? Ok.

• My plane not going down.
• Rosa, Noro, Sara, and Katya waiting for me at Plaza de Armas when I arrived in Sevilla. I felt warm and welcome as soon as I got back to Spain.
  
• Discovering the people of Huelva not only have a clearer, easier to understand accent than Sevilla, but are also very nice, helpful, and hilarious in general.
• Rosa´s surprise 50th bday party en el campo.
• Nights out in Sevilla. So much fun.
• Passing my online classes. However, it is not so cool being chained to my computer 3-4 days a week.
• Speaking more Spanish than English.
  
• Rafael Reyes and Cartaya. And a 3 day a week work schedule!!
  
• Chillin by the Guadalquivir. With Simon. And amigos.
  
• Beaching it up. Love love love living near the coast and two rivers. Water is wonderful.
• Free internet from Universidad de Huelva
  
• Yelling in Spanish while I sleep.
• Meeting so many random new people I can´t keep track of names anymore. I´m sorry, I´m a number person, can I have yours?
• Cruzcampo and tapas.
  
• Walking 1-4 hours a day. Everyday.
  
• Being offered more jobs than I have time or energy to take
• I might just stay here forever... or at least a few years.
• Please visit me

I´ll leave you with a photo of the USA booth at the festival of the nations in Sevilla. Our stereotypes are hilarity.

Suerte

Suerte.. there´s your word of the day. Spanish for luck. My life sometimes feels like nothing but a mix of incredibly amazing luck followed by the most horrible luck someone can find. The past 24 hours of my life have been a perfect example of Murphy´s Law: Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.

Yesterday started out oh so beyond perfect that I had to hold myself back from dancing through the streets of Huelva as I walked home from the Oficina de Extranjeros (immigration office). I had gone into the center expecting a horrible waste of a morning waiting in lines and being stressed out in an attempt to finish my immigration documentations so I could get my national ID number and residency card, but that did not happen.

I walk into the center and find Calle Fernando el Catolico, which brings me straight to the extranjería, which cannot be missed: outside there are tons of immigrants sitting in somewhat of a line and inside there are another 50 or so awaiting their turn to process paperwork. I talk to the guards and tell them I´m from the States and they let me right into the building without going thru security. I go straight to the lady at the front desk and explain (in Spanish of course) that I need to see someone ASAP to process my NIE and TIE because I was only given 30 days from my entrance in Spain to do so. She smiles brightly, goes off to the back, then gives me the hand sign to come right on back and talk to an officer. I cannot freaking believe what is happening. I sit down, he gives me my applications, I give him my paperwork, he smiles, tells me stories, there may have been high fives, and once we´ve finished he tells me to come back Monday morning at 8:30 when the employees are arriving and to meet them at their entrance to finalize the process and do my fingerprints. ¿WTF? Being blonde and speaking Spanish definitely paid off to say the least.

Oh, but don´t worry. My entire day was completely down hill from there.

I arrive home, turn on my ancient Dell, and start on my homework and making a plan to somehow get everything done before my big due dates on Sunday and Tuesday. I get an hour or two of work done before I decide I´m hungry and need to cook some croquetas. Of course the oil is super hot and as I try to move the pan over to another burner it splashes my right hand with boiling grease, and I feel a pain I can only describe as horrific. My roomie wasn´t home and I didnt even know what to do, so I stick my hand in a glass of cold water and try to google up some remedies with my left hand. Meanwhile I´m on gchat and get horrible news about a family emergency with a friend and I´m freaking out about that. I try to take my hand out of the water, scream, put it back in, ahhh, then get on skype to make some phone calls while wondering if I should just go to a doctor and wishing my roomie was home. After no straight answer on what to do, I decide to walk to the farmacia because that is always the solution here in Spain. I get some cream, the lady and I giggle a bit, then I return home, realize I have got no homework done and say screw it and just chat with my roomie til I go to bed at 11 and watch some Craig Ferguson on youtube (aka my sleeping pill). I pass out while the computer is still on, then wake up to find my computer battery has died even though it was plugged in, and now my adapter no longer works. putavidademiera. I get ready to go to work and to stop by the electronics store to see if they have Dell adapters/how much a new laptop would actually cost. As I´m packing my purse I grab my ipod touch to put it in its protective case and of course drop it on the floor and the screen halfway shatters. Tears. At mediamarkt, computers are way over priced, they dont have adaptors, and I´m sorely dissapointed. I catch the city bus towards the bus station, the bus breaks down, I walk to the station from there, almost miss my bus to Cartaya, and here I am, sitting on my boss´s computer waiting to go to the staff bbq in the countryside and forget all my troubles for awhile.

Tomorrow I am headed to Sevilla because Julia IS coming and I want to throw WSU online out the window. We´ll see what happens. Until then, gracias for reading. Adios.

Contenta.

Contenta. That basically explains how I feel after my first week in Spain. Contentísima may be a better word. I got to spend quality time in Sevilla with the amigas and familia, found a beautiful apartment in Huelva and already settled in, have a great roomie and a dog, have spoken zero English, hit the beautiful beaches, gone shopping (ultimate Spain fashion makeover, jejeje gracias a Sara and Katya), laughed at the randomness of society, and all the while kept up with the ridiculous homework load of WSU online.




Punta Umbria, that is where I spent all day yesterday sleeping in the sunshine (with spf 50, of course) and swimming in the warm waters of the Atlantic. Without seeing any sharks. Thank you Shark Week for forever changing my view of swimming in the ocean.

Buenoo, I cannot believe how smoothly things have gone here already. From the moment I stepped through customs without being asked a single question, I haven't had any major problems. It seems like this time in Spain is so much easier because I knew what to expect coming in and I can actually speak their crazy language now. It is so valuable to be able to communicate because here in Huelva, I haven't come across a single person speaking English, which is actually pretty awesome because that means I'll be able to find a lot of work with private lessons, translating, etc.-- plus I already have my real job at the high school.

Well, I better get going on my mountain of homework I left for today. Being Sunday, the true day of rest in Spain, I get to stay at home all day learning the arts of Statistics, Geology, and Communication, then I´ll go for a long walk when it cools down tonight. I'm excited to see what kind of adventures this week brings with my visit with the police to do my residency paper work, my trip to Cartaya to meet co-workers, and Sevilla on Friday for some weekend fun, and a very special someone's birthday.

¡Hasta la próxima!

Sevilla

Well, there's photographic proof. I have made it. 3 flights, many bus rides, and a lot of sad goodbyes and happy holas later, I'm in Sevilla. I really hate the fact that I cannot sleep on airplanes and that for some reason, I am now very afraid of flying. I was sweating some painful bullets during every take-off, landing, and strange sound I heard the airplanes make. Teleportation really needs to hurry up and be invented.
Anywho, I am a very busy chica here trying to get my whole new life setup while trying to keep up with the online courses I'm taking through WSU, but things are fantastic. After finally sleeping last night and having a few cafe con leches on ice, I'm not even jet lagged. Despite not sleeping my entire 24-hour trip here, I arrived to Sevilla at 7pm and was full of raging Spanish energy til 1am.. only to wake up at 6 am way too hot to go back to sleep. Its about 100 degrees here everyday. Without air condicioner. Yum.
Tomorrow I'm going to Huelva to check out a few apartments, though I am pretty much set on a 2-bedrom with one other 21-year old girl who is Spanish. She has a dog, and a clean, beautiful place which almost makes it a done deal for me. I really only want to live with Spanish speakers so I can speak take as much advantage of my time here to be completely fluent.
Buenoo, I don't start work for another few weeks, so I'm sure things will slow down after a bit. Until then.. Adioooo