No! Mute!

A story from my Spanish high school.

I was in one of the English classes when the students, the teacher and I started talking about how someone can't hear and being deaf. Then one of the students mentioned that when you are deaf, you are also usually 'mudo.' You can't speak. (This conversation was in Spanish.)

Another student asked the English teacher, "Teacher, how do you say 'mudo' in English?'

He went to the board and wrote it down, and then asked me, "This is how you spell it, right?"

When I looked at the board and saw what was written, I practically fell off my seat. On the board the word written was: Dumb!

I started laughing, thinking it was a joke, but the teacher looked at me confused. "Deaf and dumb, no?" he asked, confused.

"No!" I said, horrified. "It's deaf and MUTE! Dumb means stupid."

The teacher was mortified. He couldn't believe it. Someone had taught him the saying, "Deaf and dumb" and that dumb meant mute. He was even more horrified when he remembered he taught the word mute as dumb to last years students.

Glad I'm here to clarify proper English!

Friends in High Places

Another story from Almorox at the elementary school where I worked at my first year in Spain.

One of the teachers came into school slightly shaken up. Apparently, he couldn't believe what had just happened to him. He was late for work and, since he didn't want his young students to wait for him, he started to speed. He looked at his rear-view window and what did he see? You guessed it! A cop. So he pulled over.

The cop came over and started asking him questions, carefully looking at him. Then, the officer, seeming to recognize him (though the teacher had never seen him in his life) pulled out a piece of paper. He scrutinized the piece of paper and then looked at him again. Then, he briskly folded up the paper, said, "Have a nice day, teacher", turned around and left.

He couldn't believe it. What exactly just happened?

Well, turns out that my elementary school has connections. And that connection is our Principal. Her father was the head of something or other of the police force and, though he's retired, he is still respected. And since he's respected, his daughter is respected as well. So, every school year, the Principal gives the police a list of all teachers' names and photos of that year so that if they are pulled over, they should not ticket them and let them go.

Do you believe it? Pays off knowing people in high places! Or at least family members in high places. Also, I wonder if this would works after school? It makes sense that the cops wouldn't ticket you when you are speeding TO work. But away? I doubt it!

And, since I'm writing about cops and teachers: One of the teachers told me that if I ever got pulled over, somehow slip in that I am a teachers. The police respect teachers and she said I am guaranteed not to get any type of ticket. Good to know!

Weddings

This is a blog that I wrote for my school. However, I really DID find this interesting so I posted it in my blog.

By the way, this explains a previous post "Useless Fact?? #3"
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Yesterday, I learned something new. Something that shocked and surprised me. How can something that is so similar be so different? This surprise came when the teachers and I were talking about weddings.

Spain and the USA celebrate weddings in the same way. The bride and groom go to church, dressed in a suit and a beautiful white dress, exchange vows in front of a priest, give each other rings and finish with a kiss. Then, afterwards, there is a wedding reception where everyone eats good food, dances, and has fun till late at night.

You are probably wondering: where is the difference? And the difference is in how you PAY for the wedding!

I just learned that in Spain, guests give 'envelopes' to the bride and groom with money in it. Inside, there should be enough money to not only pay for your meal, but also some extra money for the new husband and wife. This means that the guests are the ones who pay for the wedding and, if there is enough extra, the honeymoon as well!

In the USA, we don't do that at all. Originally, the father of the bride pays for the wedding. Now, either the bride and groom pay for the wedding or the parents of BOTH the couple pay. And they pay for the whole wedding. That's right. The whole thing. Guests don't pay for anything. Instead, they give gifts (and the gifts are usually for the house). Some people may give money as a gift, but it's usually not enough to cover a meal and definitely not enough to pay for the wedding.

Thinking about it, now I understand why Spanish weddings are so big. People would tell me how there were 300 or more people in a wedding. I thought that was really big since the average size of an American wedding is about 100 people. I always wondered how someone could afford to pay for all those people, and the answer is that they don't! The guests pay for themselves. Incredible!

Now my Spanish friends are joking, saying how I should get married in Spain because it would be cheaper for me. I might even get extra money! I told them that wasn't the case. If I married a Spanish man, my husband's family and friends would definitely pay for themselves. However, following American/Colombian custom, I'm definitely paying for my friends and family. Looking at the good side, at least my wedding will be 50% cheaper. ;-)

BRAzil

One of my students loves the Brazilian football team. So much he bought a sweater to show his support. And it looked like THIS!













As you can imagine, the moment I saw what was written on his shirt, I almost fell over. I went up to him and asked, "Do you know what your shirt says?"

And he confidently and proudly responded, "Brazil. It's my favorite football team."

"Well, your shirt literally says 'Bra'. Do you know what that means?"

He looked at me with confused eyes. What is this crazy English teacher talking about?

"Bra means 'sujetador' in English."

His eyes bulged wide open with surprise and then he blushed, looking embarrassingly down. However, soon after, a little small smile started to grow...

And ever since then, he wears this shirt with a lot more pride.

Viva BRAzil! :-)

P.S. I put a smiley face on his face to protect confidentiality, but the smile fits perfectly with his actual face expression.

The Grand Dragon?

I was sitting at the teacher's desk, writing notes, as I waited for my students to get their materials ready. One girl, sitting in front of me, opened her agenda and I saw this drawing:

First reaction: "OH MY GOD! She's part of the KKK! What should I do?"

One second later, second reaction: "Oooppss! I'm not in the States. I'm in Spain! And this isn't the Grand Dragon, the leader of the KKK. No. It's a Penitente and it's probably a drawing of her father."

I breathed a sigh of relief. I made the common mistake that the usual American would make in Spain, though the mistake would usually occur during Semana Santa, or Easter Week, and not during the middle of January. Because, during Semana Santa, los Andaluces, or the people from the south of Spain, hold Processions. Groups, usually from a specific church, get together, wear those KKK looking outfits, and march through the city. Some play instruments in the band, some carry super heavy statues on their shoulders or on the back of their neck, and some just march. They usually march for approximately 6 hours, though some march up to 24 hours! They are Penitentes and they are sinners. They cover their faces because of the shame of their sins, and they do all that marching for penitence and for forgiveness of their sins.

So, if you are in Spain and you see a KKK figure running around, DON'T PANIC! It's not the KKK looking to lynch someone. It's probably some Spanish guy looking for his Procession. And anyway, the Spanish people only know the KKK from American movies. They wonder why the KKK copied their outfits...


Pictures of Semana Santa, 2009





The closest group of Penitentes that had the colors of a nomal KKK outfit. Most groups have different colors, like blue or purple.











These are the statues the Penitentes carry. They are under the statues and they carry them on the back of their necks.

My Busy Summer Vacation

So it seems I'm not the best at updating my blog, but once in a while is OK, no? Here is a blog entry I wrote for the children of my school. Thought it was a good summary of my summer. :-)

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This summer, I did quite a bit of traveling. So much that I don't want to see a plane for a very long time! But what exactly did I do? Here's a basic summary of my international summer vacation. (If you'd like to follow the places I've been, scroll down to the bottom of the page and see the maps.)

First, I left Spain and flew into West Palm Beach, FL. That's where my parents live. I enjoyed swimming in the pool, taking boat trips into the ocean, and eating good American food with the great company of my parents. I was lucky because my aunt from Colombia was also visiting so I had a chance to see her too.

Since I hadn't seen my twin sister in months, I decided to visit her in San Francisco! I've never been there so I was very excited. I did quite a lot of tourism including seeing the Golden Gate Bridge, the impenetrable prison Alcatraz, and visiting Muir Woods with its gorgeous ancient old trees. Also, my sister's boyfriend works for Pixar so I was able to go on an exclusive tour through the studio. How lucky! It was a great trip.

I returned to Florida but soon after, I flew into Washington D.C. to visit my very close friends. Have you ever heard of the saying, 'The more things change, the more they stay the same'? Well, this was definitely the case for me. I hadn't seen my friends in about two years, and though they had changed (new jobs, marriage, some with babies!), they had also stayed the same. When I visited them, it was as if I had never left. What great fun!

Then I flew back to Florida to spend some more time with my parents. However, at one point, I had to return to Europe so I said my good-byes and flew into Milan, Italy (with a quick stop at Madrid). My older sister, who lives in Milan, had two big things happening in her life: She was moving into a new apartment and she was getting married! So I flew over to help her move and organize her wedding. It was a lot of work. However, her apartment looks great and the wedding was AMAZING! The ceremony was held in Stresa, a cute medieval town north of Milan. She also got married in a castle overlooking the lakes. It was a Colombian-Italian-American wedding. We ate great food, Italian style, and at night we danced Colombian style! It was a lot of fun and I'm happy for the new member of my family, my brother-in-law Claudio.

But my sister's wedding was not the only wedding that summer. My cousin from Colombia was getting married... in Germany! This time, however, I didn't fly. Instead, the whole Colombian side of the family rented a van and we drove through Switzerland to a town north of Frankfurt, Germany. It took about 8 hours. My cousin from Colombia was getting married to a German. It was a civil ceremony. They were married inside a tower in a German town filled with old colorful buildings. It was a very memoriable marriage and trip.

However, at one point I had to return to Spain and get back to work. So my family and I drove back to Milan, and then I flew into Madrid. PHEW!!! That's a lot of flying!

So I'm back in Spain, living in Linares and working in Bailén. In general, I had a wonderful summer with a lot of trips and exciting adventures. Though I love traveling, I am glad to be back in Spain where I can rest and take a break from all those plane rides. Till the next trip!


Below are some maps that show the places I've visted this summer:

Why I Love Spain

I wrote this blog for my school. I received positive remarks from my students, so I thought I'd share.

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This is my second year living in Spain and I'm considering staying another year. When people hear this, both Spaniards and others ask me the same question: 'Why?'

Why do I love Spain? I have given many answers. I've said how I love Spanish food, including paella, croquetas and salmorejo. I really like eating tapas. Going out with friends and eating different foods, sitting out on a terrace and people watching... there's something very relaxing about it, especially in the warming days of Andalusia.

Perhaps it's its history. From Moors conquering Spain, to Napoleon and Franco, to the present Spain, this country has a complex past. Traveling through the Iberian Peninsula also reflects this complicated history, from Cadiz to Merida to the region of Asturias (to only name a few). All of them are beautiful cities with a lot of ancient stories to tell.

Or maybe it's as simple as the vacations. In Spain, you get minimally 1 month of vacation. In the United States, in average, you start with 0 hours of vacation and you build 1.5 hours every 2 weeks. It takes a long time to build up a good vacation. But perhaps their attitudes towards their vacation reflects something more. Something that is found deep withing the Spanish culture. It's an attitude. A belief. It is hard to pin down but the closest I've come to describe it is: 'They work to live, not live to work.'

All of the above are good reasons and definitely play a factor in my liking of Spain. But the real and ultimate reason why I love Spain is its people. I can't really describe why they are so great. I can say they are fun, friendly, open, caring, fiery people. They seem to really appreciate life. I think that's why I keep staying here. Because I love the Spanish way of life, the people, and its culture. I learn from them and I feel that in Spain, I truly enjoy my life to the fullest.