If you are curious about what I did this summer abroad, please visit my Web Album and you'll get to see all my adventures!From Milan to Rome, Prague to Key West! It's been a GREAT summer. Enjoy! (I know I did! ;-) )
http://picasaweb.google.com/melissacappiello
Monday, October 8, 2007
Thursday, October 4, 2007
In Love...
I work as a Conversational English Assistant at the elementary school of Almorox. I teach children from 1st to 6th grade. Today, we went on a field trip to Madrid where we were quite busy! We saw "Notre Dame" on theater, the "Deep Sea" on IMax, and walked through an interactive zoo. It was very cool!
However, a very interesting development happened during the trip. While standing around waiting to get into the theater, one little and very hyperactive girl came running up to me, looked me right in the eyes and said (in broken but very good English), "Salvador loves Melissa!"
I just stared at her in shock. I definitely wasn't expecting that one! And the first thing that popped into my mind was : "Who's Salvador?"
She pointed, giggled and ran off. "Uhhhh... Thanks??"
I looked at where she pointed and saw this 9 year old skinny kid. I never really noticed him before though that's not a surprise since this was my first time working with this 6th grade class. He looked at me and quickly looked away embarrassed. After that, I started noticing how he sort of was always looking at me. And any time I happened to look his way, he would quickly dart his eyes away. (Guess he's shy!)
Also, you could tell he really wanted to talk to me. However, he couldn't because: "I don't speak Spanish. No Español." All the teachers had agreed that I should only speak English to the children. That way, if they wanted to talk to me, they would have to use their English skills. (This actually works because kids really want to talk to me!) However, the girls seem to be more willing to try English than the boys, so I always have a group of girls around me.
When a group of girls were talking to me, I saw Salvador just outside the group. He was kinda trying to act like he wasn't listening yet you could see him leaning towards the group, listening, with a deep look of concentration on his face. And sometimes you could tell that he wanted and may have even tried to join in. But he just... couldn't. Then he would stare at me with this helpless and hopeless look (thank goodness for peripheral vision!) because he really wanted to talk to me. When I looked his way to try to bring him into the conversation, he quickly looked away and ran off. This kept happening over and over during the whole trip! Isn't that cute??
C'est l'amour! ;-)
However, a very interesting development happened during the trip. While standing around waiting to get into the theater, one little and very hyperactive girl came running up to me, looked me right in the eyes and said (in broken but very good English), "Salvador loves Melissa!"
I just stared at her in shock. I definitely wasn't expecting that one! And the first thing that popped into my mind was : "Who's Salvador?"
She pointed, giggled and ran off. "Uhhhh... Thanks??"
I looked at where she pointed and saw this 9 year old skinny kid. I never really noticed him before though that's not a surprise since this was my first time working with this 6th grade class. He looked at me and quickly looked away embarrassed. After that, I started noticing how he sort of was always looking at me. And any time I happened to look his way, he would quickly dart his eyes away. (Guess he's shy!)
Also, you could tell he really wanted to talk to me. However, he couldn't because: "I don't speak Spanish. No Español." All the teachers had agreed that I should only speak English to the children. That way, if they wanted to talk to me, they would have to use their English skills. (This actually works because kids really want to talk to me!) However, the girls seem to be more willing to try English than the boys, so I always have a group of girls around me.
When a group of girls were talking to me, I saw Salvador just outside the group. He was kinda trying to act like he wasn't listening yet you could see him leaning towards the group, listening, with a deep look of concentration on his face. And sometimes you could tell that he wanted and may have even tried to join in. But he just... couldn't. Then he would stare at me with this helpless and hopeless look (thank goodness for peripheral vision!) because he really wanted to talk to me. When I looked his way to try to bring him into the conversation, he quickly looked away and ran off. This kept happening over and over during the whole trip! Isn't that cute??
C'est l'amour! ;-)
Sunday, September 30, 2007
You know you are in a little town when... #2
You know you are in a little town when...
If you want to buy clothes, there is only one store to do your shopping... and it's the size of a walk-in closet!
Yes. My town is that small.
I hope I don't have to go shopping any time soon because I may not find my size! ;-)
If you want to buy clothes, there is only one store to do your shopping... and it's the size of a walk-in closet!
Yes. My town is that small.
I hope I don't have to go shopping any time soon because I may not find my size! ;-)
Friday, September 28, 2007
Useless Fact?? #3
DID YOU KNOW...
That, in average, a wedding in Spain costs approximately $30,000? This is due mostly because everyone invites their family, their friends, their family's friends, their friend's friends, and their family's friend's friend's friends. That is a lot of mouths to feed!
But wait! There's more!
DID YOU ALSO KNOW...
That Spain has a divorce rate of approximately 75%? And, not only that, the average marriage lasts approximately 2 years?
That means that if you get married in Spain, you will spend approximately $30,000 in a wedding and there's a 75% change that you'll divorce in 2 years. That's $15,000 a year! That's someone's salary!!
Honestly, I wouldn't take those odds.
Now, I am going to end this blog with the same ending as the other Useless Facts posts. However, you can't help bur wonder... Is this fact really useless? (aka: Avoid marrying Spaniards?) I'll let you decide. ;-)
Another!... Uuuuuseless fact. :-)
That, in average, a wedding in Spain costs approximately $30,000? This is due mostly because everyone invites their family, their friends, their family's friends, their friend's friends, and their family's friend's friend's friends. That is a lot of mouths to feed!
But wait! There's more!
DID YOU ALSO KNOW...
That Spain has a divorce rate of approximately 75%? And, not only that, the average marriage lasts approximately 2 years?
That means that if you get married in Spain, you will spend approximately $30,000 in a wedding and there's a 75% change that you'll divorce in 2 years. That's $15,000 a year! That's someone's salary!!
Honestly, I wouldn't take those odds.
Now, I am going to end this blog with the same ending as the other Useless Facts posts. However, you can't help bur wonder... Is this fact really useless? (aka: Avoid marrying Spaniards?) I'll let you decide. ;-)
Another!... Uuuuuseless fact. :-)
Monday, September 24, 2007
You know you are in a little town when... #1
I am officially in Spain now! I flew into Madrid about two days ago and was fortunate to be picked up by the family I am staying with now. We drove for a little more than an hour and arrived at my home-away-from-home (for the next 8 months): Almorox.
What should I tell you about this town? I am really not sure. After all, I've only been here for two days. But I will tell you what everyone has told me (which I agree with 100%): Almorox is a VERY small town. It is a pueblo. Or how I like to call it, a pueblito.
Now, when I heard I would be living in Almorox, I found out quickly how small it would be. I looked it up in maps.google.com and it was like 10 streets big. I also looked up town information and all I could find was "Max Population: 2,000 people" (my high school was bigger than that!). Furthermore, the fact that I couldn't find any more information also spoke plenty of its size.
But how small is it really? Well, I think it is best explained with examples. After all, it is the small details that the average person doesn't know that speaks volumes of the situation. So, for everyone to get a grasp on how small my pueblito is, I've decided to use the same tactic of "Did you know..." random facts and apply it to Almorox. It's called: "You know you are in a little town when..." So here we go!
You know you are in a little town when...
The dentist comes into town once a week.
...
That's pretty small!
I hope I never get a tooth ache while the dentist is gone! ;-)
What should I tell you about this town? I am really not sure. After all, I've only been here for two days. But I will tell you what everyone has told me (which I agree with 100%): Almorox is a VERY small town. It is a pueblo. Or how I like to call it, a pueblito.
Now, when I heard I would be living in Almorox, I found out quickly how small it would be. I looked it up in maps.google.com and it was like 10 streets big. I also looked up town information and all I could find was "Max Population: 2,000 people" (my high school was bigger than that!). Furthermore, the fact that I couldn't find any more information also spoke plenty of its size.
But how small is it really? Well, I think it is best explained with examples. After all, it is the small details that the average person doesn't know that speaks volumes of the situation. So, for everyone to get a grasp on how small my pueblito is, I've decided to use the same tactic of "Did you know..." random facts and apply it to Almorox. It's called: "You know you are in a little town when..." So here we go!
You know you are in a little town when...
The dentist comes into town once a week.
...
That's pretty small!
I hope I never get a tooth ache while the dentist is gone! ;-)
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Photo Album #2: WINE WARS!
As most of you know, one of the planned adventures for this summer is a special festival held in Haro, the capital of Rioja, one of the "counties" of Spain. This region is known for its amazing wine and it is an intricate part of their culture and lives. To the point where they have a week long festival which ends with La Batalla del Vino - WINE WARS!!! It is the best water fight I've ever been in! Check out the photos! :-)
http://picasaweb.google.com/melissacappiello/WINEWARS
http://picasaweb.google.com/melissacappiello/WINEWARS
Friday, August 3, 2007
Only In Italy
Only in Italy will you find, in the nicest section of shops in Milan, the Prada store:
and McDonald's right next door!
I do admit that it was the nicest McDonald's I've ever seen! I walked around inside and I was VERY impressed. Though don't worry. I didn't buy a Big Mac! ;-)
Only in Italy!
and McDonald's right next door!
I do admit that it was the nicest McDonald's I've ever seen! I walked around inside and I was VERY impressed. Though don't worry. I didn't buy a Big Mac! ;-)
Only in Italy!
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