HAPPY (belated) HALLOWEEN!

Though today is officially Thanksgiving Day and I am missing one of the most deliscious meals of the year (turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes with gravy!! I MISS YOU!! :-) ), I thought today would be a perfect day to share this video.

Since it is my responsibility to represent United States and its culture during my stay here in Spain, I decided to teach one of our most important festivals- Halloween! And I didn´t expect to be recorded. This is the result!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BwbW0aMUTM

PS: Sorry guys! I had to remove the video because of Children Protective Rights (oopppss!) If you want a detail description of the video, let me know! :-)

In Love... Part 2!

As some of you may remember from a previous blog, I had a very young and silent admirer. I was informed sometime in the beginning of the school year that he “loves Melissa!” Then after that, he wasn’t even able to make eye contact with me. However, after working with his class for a month or so, I’d watched him in the corner of my eye, and he acted normally. No signs of blushing or hesitations or looking away when I asked him questions during class. It seemed his crush was over, until…

I was working with the English teacher when she suddenly had to step out. I was left alone to supervise the class when Salvador stood up and started talking to his friend, interrupting the rest of the class. (He’s the type that can’t sit still.) I looked at him and said firmly, in English, “Salvador, please sit down.”

He quickly sat down. But instead of looking upset, I noticed a small little smile on his face. Then, when I looked away, he turned quickly to his friend and with a big happy smile, whispered, “She knows my name!”

Oh boy. Guess the crush is still there!

And guess I’ll have to start memorizing the other kid’s names. :-/

C’est l’amour!

You know you are in a little town when... #4

You know you are in a little town when…

Sheep are walked through town. That’s right! SHEEP! When I first saw them, I couldn’t believe my eyes. There are actual sheep on the streets! And not just a few, but a bunch of them! One of them has a bell around its neck so wherever they walk, I can hear them coming (like a bad horror movie. ;-) ). And that´s when it him me... I am definitely living in a rural town!

By the way, this also solved a mystery I was pondering: where in the world did all this dung on the street come from? Now I know what sheep dung looks like! (A fact I could probably have lived my life without knowing. ;-) )

Kids Say the Darnest Things

At school, I have to pretend I don’t understand Spanish so the children are forced to speak English to me. But I do understand them, and boy, kids DO say the darnest things! Here’s an example:

In the 1^st grade Science class, the kids were practicing the phrase, “How do you say…” For example, the children would say, “How do you say ‘manzana’ in English, please?” And I would reply, “Apple.” And then they’d get excited and say, “OOOHHHH!! APPLE! WOW!” (So cute! :-) )

While practicing this exercise, one of the students (who really struggles with English) suddenly stopped, looked at the teacher, and asked in Spanish, “Profe. Does she only speak English?”

The teacher said, “Yes.”

“All the time?”

“Yes.”

“Even at home??”

“Of course.”

“Oooooffff!!” he said, smacking his head with his hand. “That’s a LOT of work!”

He couldn’t believe someone could speak ONLY English all day! He was struggling with the language so much that it HAS to be a lot of work for me too!

Isn’t that CUTE?!?!? Kids say the darnest (or cutest) things! :-)