Locura

This week has been very interesting CRAZY, to say the least. Lots of ups, some downs, and a few "Are you kidding me?!'s". I'll try not to make this post super long, so I figured I'd break it down into days:


Monday: In my set school schedule I have every Monday off. Given that fact, my tutor (a teacher at the school assigned to help me make sure I live to see the end of the school year) decided she would go to the bank to help me open a bank account. Have you ever tried to open a bank account in another country? Word to the wise, be prepared. 


First we decided to go to BBVA that was close to my tutor's house. After waiting in line for 30 minutes, alas, in true Spanish style, we were told they couldn't help us and we had to go to the main branch. After making it there, we got a number and waited. And waited some more. Then waited longer. FINALLY my turn came up, so we ran over to the tiny little desk #7 so as to not miss our turn. After explaining to the not-so-nice (read rude) woman that we were sent over from the other branch, she said not so quietly under her breath, "Oh, how smart of them." Then she tried to tell me I couldn't open a bank account with the documents I had. After some arguing and lots of attitude from this woman, she finally stated I could open a bank account, but that it would cost me 45 euros. Are you kidding me?! At that point, I said thanks but no thanks, and left the bank. I wanted to cry. It's just a bank account. I'm 22 years old. I'm poor. Why on earth would you charge me almost $60 JUST to open a bank account?! 

(BBVA crushing my dreams of opening an account)

Tuesday: Tuesday was supposed to be my very first day of school, but here in Spain, you can never really be too sure. I went to the school, all dressed up in my teacher outfit and ready to go, only to get there and have my tutor tell me that she knew of a bank I could go to and set up my account. Okay, here we go again. I set off to this bank, and surprisingly, it was easy as pie. The guy was extremely nice and helpful, and alas, I have my very own Spanish bank account! After setting this up, I called my tutor and asked what time to be back at the school. Her response was as follows: You've had a pretty rough couple of days, why don't you just take today off and relax. You don't need to tell me that twice. I love Spain, especially the tranquila attitude.


Wednesday: Okay, now we're being serious. Today was the day I would start class. Well, not quite. I went to school, met with one class for 5 minutes -- they were completely silent. This should be an interesting year. 


Thursday: Turns out the students in Spain like to go on strike. I walked to school on two separate occasions, only to have the teachers tell me that not one student showed up for class. Are you kidding me?! Well, I guess I didn't really mind, because that meant I had a free day to do whatever I wanted, which turned into me buying a new pair of high heels. Que sera, sera. Thursday night turned out even better, as Patrick and I, and a few of our friends, decided to check out a dance class. It was slightly less than a disaster, but so much fun. We'll be salsa-ing and cha-cha-ing in our sleep by the time next June comes around. (Maybe just in our dreams...) 


Friday: I thought that maybe by today I would have started in the classroom, but no. One of my classes does an exchange with some students in Germany, and the German students arrived today. I was invited by my tutor to come to school early to enjoy some churros con chocolate, and once that was done, my tutor basically said told me to take the day off and explore the city with the students. This was certainly my lucky week! Walking around with the students was actually quite fun. when we stopped to take a picture, I told the students to say "Cheese", and it was the cutest thing hearing them shout out "Wisconsin Cheese!" in their Spanish and German accents. 


Overall, I'd say it was a pretty great week. We ended it with a potluck with some of our friends here, and a trip to the beach in Huelva (blog post & pictures to come soon!)

Hosting our first potluck!

**Some interesting things I noticed this week**

• Spanish people will sweep AND mop the sidewalk in front of their house, but refuse to pick up their dog's poop. Pick up the poop people, please!
• Many people here wear shirts with English sayings on them, but I don't think they know what they say. At least I hope my 12-year-old student wearing the "I'm a sex machine" t-shirt didn't know what it meant...
• The tooth fairy here is rich. Well, at least it is for Carmen and Dolores, the 5 & 6-year-old little girls I give private English lessons to. Carmen lost just ONE tooth, and got 60 euros for it (that's about $80). Madre mia!