A Day in the Life

Nothing too exciting has been happening lately, just daily life. I thought I'd tell you what a normal day is like for me here in Spain.

Mondays and Wednesdays -

7:00am I wake up and have breakfast. I usually have toast with tomato and olive oil and a cafe au lait.

8:10am I catch the bus to Murcia to go to my French class

9:00am My French class starts and I am there until 11:15am. After class I usually go to the library and read a bit until the bus arrives at 12:15 to take me back to Roberto's house.

1:00pm I get to Roberto's house and study a bit or write in my blog.

2:00pm We have lunch and then have a siesta

4:00pm I go to the Academy and teach until 8:30pm

9:00pm I have dinner, read or crochet a bit and then hit the sack!

Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays -
I start work at the elementary school at 9am and I work until 2:00pm . After work I go home for lunch and then I go straight to the Academy until 8:00 or 9pm. On Fridays I don't have to go to the academy but I have private classes in Murcia.

Saturday and Sundays are my fun days!!! Today we have been lounging on the couch all morning. I have been doing practice exams for the DELE (Spanish as a foreign language exam) which I plan to take in May and Roberto has been watching "The Dog Whisperer". The exam seems a bit difficult! We are going to get ready for lunch now. Un beso!

Feastin' on Fabada

I had a nice short week due to the "puente" last weekend. Yesterday I didn't have to work because we had a meeting in Murcia. All of the other Americans and Brits who are doing the same program as me were there as well. I only talked to a few girls and they seemed nice.

Last night Roberto and I went to my favorite Italian restaurant in Murcia. I love their food! We had a salad with pineapple, apple, mint, yogurt, lettuce and carrots. For our main course we split the pasta sampler plate. There were three different kinds of pasta: ravioli stuffed with salmon with a shrimp tomato sauce, four cheese and spinach tortellini and ravioli stuffed with roquefort cheese with a creamy blueberry sauce. Scrumptious!

Today we woke up and went to Roberto's friend's house for a big family lunch. His mom made "fabada", a dish typical in Asturias (northern Spain). I tried "fabada" last year so this was my second time having it and I'm still not a fan. They also had made "queimada" which is typical in Galicia (northern Spain). "Queimada" is an alcoholic concoction that is lit on fire and then stirred for a certain amount of time to ward off witches and evil spirits. Crazy Spaniards. Here is what wikipedia has to say about the "queimada"...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queimada_(drink)

I think I am going to study a bit of French and work on my scarf I'm crocheting. Until next time friends and family!

Un weekend á Bruxelles!!

Our last night in Brussels! We had hoegaarden, a Belgian beer, and meatballs in the Grand-Place.

French candy shop. La Cure Gourmande is French for the sweet tooth's cure!

Jacques Brel is probably one of the most famous singers from Belgium. There is a plaza dedicated to him in Brussels close to mannekin pis (a famous peeing statue that I regrettably don't have a picture of). My French professor at USI introduced me to Brel's songs and I am a big fan. I recommend "Ne me quitte pas" and "Madeleine".

Chocolate. I like this place.



Here I am with my coconut and chocolate crêpe and my café au lait. Bliss!




Belgium is also known for its comics. There is a comic strip museum in Brussels and there are illustrations like this one all over the city painted on the sides of buildings. Tin Tin and the Smurfs(Les Schtroumpfs in French), for example, are Belgian comics.

Cool street art and graffiti on every corner

We stumbled upon an open air flea market


More street art!




There is only one official cathedral in Brussels but all of the churches are giant and cathedral-esque.








Typical shops

There are two official languages in Belgium, French and Dutch. Dutch is sometimes surprisingly similar to English, which shouldn't be so surprising as they are both Germanic languages and have the same roots. As you can see in this picture, Bricolage, French for do it yourself, and then the Dutch Doe-het-zelf.

Belgium, famous for chocolate and beer. Mom, don't worry about me! I'll be just fine!

Ah yes, and French fries, which should technically be called Belgian fries since they have their origin in Belgium!


My friend Ilaria from Milan

Grand-Place, the center square of Brussels

Update!

Hello, friends and family. I just got home from my French class in Murcia and this afternoon I have to work at the English academy. I had a bad cold all weekend and I spent the entire weekend in bed blowing my nose and sleeping. The weather is starting to cool down so I guess my body has had some trouble adjusting. As most people do, I hate being sick and I am SO happy to be feeling a bit better today because I have a hectic week ahead of me. Tomorrow I start in Guadalupe at the elementary school. I still haven't found an apartment so I will be staying at Roberto's and he is going to leave early in the morning to drop me off. Getting back to his house is the tough part. I have to take two buses, which means I will be spending two hours of my day in transit. Joy. That's the bad news. The good news is that Thursday is the Joaquin Sabina concert! Fun! On Saturday morning I leave for Brussels and I will be there until Monday! More fun! I'll write again soon.