Tragedy

All you see are blue skies in the background, so, why is it raining you ask?

It's because I did my laundry, and everytime I do so, a black cloud rolls in over Ayamonte.

Sigh. I will be back in the land of dryers and bounce static control in no time. 

Complaint over. Back to enjoying life in Spain.

Things to look forward to

In less than 2 months, I'll be getting on a plane in Faro, Portugal bound for the other side of the pond and I've finally realized there is a lot to look forward to over there in the US of A:

1. Seeing family and friends, some that I haven't seen in 9 months, others that I haven't seen in 5+ years. This is definitely what I'm looking to most.
2. Modern world conviences like hot water, heating/air conditioning, internet that works, an oven, dryers, customer service, banks, etc. that are open after 2pm
3. My first summer in Alaska since I was a toddler: outdoor activities galore, 20 hours of daylight, catching up with my hometown that I left nearly 6 years ago.

Home sweet Sitka, Alaska

 4. A decent paying job, saving money for future endeavors.
5. Not being the token foreigner in social situations.
6. Driving.. if I can remember how.
7. Gearing up to move to Bellingham and finally finish my degree by next June.
8. Starting a brand new post-Spain chapter of my life, for better for worse.

Das Leben ist zu kurz, um Deutsch zu lernen

 

Beautiful Prague, Czech Republic

 
 This spring has been a busy one with travels and well, the occasional four day work week. A definite highlight  has been my 8 day road trip with friends through Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic. It was a cold, beautiful, cultural experience, and so much more. I've officially been to 11 countries now, but at the end of every trip I take I always end up with the same feeling: there's no place like home. Or at least my home for only two more months, eSpain.

When road trips go wrong

An atypical day

Or, a typical Monday-Thursday in eSpain for this Alaskeña

7:00 Alarm goes off (then again at 7:05,7:10, 7:19)
7:20 Really get up, make coffee, shower, eat toast, grab bag, run out the door.
8:02 Meet with Manolo/Raquel for ride to work
8:26:30 Get to Cartaya, grab photocopies, etc. Go to class.
8:30 Shout good morning at 25ish half asleep Spanish faces, attempt to teach them math or science in Engrish.
9:30 Repeat with another class/ free hour to prepare class / study / wander the pueblo
10:30 Meeting to revise materials/ more class
11:30 Jaywalk highway to the bakery bar with other teachers, drink a manchado, talk about the universe.
11:52 Run back across the highway, try not to get hit by old men on tractors or young men on motos
12:00-2:00/3:00 More meetings/ class/ messing around/ chit-chatting
2:30-3:30 Get back to Ayamonte, cook, eat some lunch
4:00-6:30 Celebrate siesta, sunbathe on the terrace, go to the beach, read, watch tv, do cleaning, meet with friends, grocery shop, merendar.
6:30-9:00 Weight lifting classes/swimming at gym, biking, or Portuguese class
9:15 or later, Get home, make dinner, prepare stuff for next day, answer emails, bond with the roomies
between 11pm and 1am: sleep again, dream in Spanglish





I'm going to be sad to say goodbye to this glorious time in my life, Father Time, please don't tick away too quickly, there's so much more Spain and I have got to do.
To start off, in the past three weeks I've taken two big trips: one roadtrip through Eastern Andalucía (La Alpujarra, Almería, Mini-Hollywood, Guadix, and Graná again) and a whirlwhind weekend in Madrid.
Next weekend is looking like a goodbye party for our German roomate, a quick trip to Sevilla, then off to Germany on the 31st for 8 days!!

'Taking' decisions

Over the past month I've been comtemplating a decision I really didn't want to make: to stay in Spain another year or go back to the US (and when, June, July, September?). 

After much careful thought and weighing out of the options, I see myself getting on a plane bound for the other side of the pond much sooner than I had expected.

It's looking like June 19th is the day I'll be taking off from Portugal in route for New York to visit friends for a few days, then to Seattle to see the family, and a few days later, my hometown, Sitka, Alaska. My heart wants to be in both Spain and Alaska, but seeing that by staying here I'd be breaking even every month and in Alaska I could possibly save a few thousand dollars to go back to school, logic has made the decision for me.

So, suddenly I only have 100-some days left here and well, all I can say is that they are going to be taken advantage of. I want to see and do as much as I possibly can on my little 700€ monthly budget and more importantly, spend as much time as possible with all the wonderful people I've come to know in my two years here. This time I'm getting a one-way ticket out of here and sadly, I don't know when I'll be back.

au se eu te pego do inferno

Pego do Inferno

Who knew that in the middle of these orange and lemon farms in the Portuguese algarve, you could find this:

 

The water was cold.. but that didnt hold this Alaskeña back

dos mil doce

Soooo, in case you didn't already know, 2011 is gone and 2012 is here!

To sum up 2011, I'd say it was an interesting year, full of adventures, mis-adventures, my first time being 'deported', new friends, new languages, falling in and out of love with America and Spain over and over again. It was the year that brought me to Ayamonte, and for that I am a very happy chiquilla. 

2012 is off to a beautiful start. I rang it in with some of my best friends from Sevilla here at my house in Ayamonte and the weather has been ridiculously beautiful. I'm on vacation until the 9th and want nothing more than to be here enjoying the sunshine and vida ayamontina with friends, though tomorrow I am taking a biking day-trip to Tavira, Portugal (hooray for living next-door to the Algarve!!) 

I am so excited to see what this year brings, even though coming along with it is the looming decision of what to do when the summer and fall come around: return to Washington State to finish getting edumacated and make myself a 'real' teacher or stay in Spain and keep living the good life as long as I have work. It hurts everytime I think about it. After two years here, Spain has come to be home for me.

So, I'm not making any decisions yet, just doing paperwork to keep options open on both sides of that big Atlantic pond.

Wishing my friends and random readers a happy 2012 full of good health, happiness, and adventure.