Staff Day = Fun Day

Today was hands down one of the best days/nights I have had since being here in Spain :) I headed into Almeria in the morning to get my "tarjeta de extranjero" which is my temporary identification card to let me come back to Spain in January. So the day started off well - nothing ever works out so easily at that office in Almeria! Then I headed to school and showed up to semi-chaos... the mothers had come in earlier and dressed up as Santa to give all the kids presents. Then they made tons of hot chocolate so the kids were wired. No classes were happening so it was a fun time just getting to see the kids having fun.
After school, we had our staff lunch. At 3:30 we all got together at a restaurant called "Bodega de Jamón" and began a 4 hour meal! It was TONS of fun :) We ate some good Spanish food like chipirones (small little fried squid), anchoas (anchovies - first time trying them, last time consciously eating them), and then bacalao (an awesome white fish). It was delicious! Then after eating presents from amigo invisible (aka Secret Santa) got handed out. Stephen and I got surprise presents and then had to make speeches haha It was really cool. And everyone loved their gifts and was so happy - ah the joys of Christmastime!
At 8:00 we ended the meal and headed out to a dance club! This is about 4 hours earlier than most Spaniards go to dance clubs haha We got there and it was packed with other teachers from around the area! It was so much fun. And it didn't last until 3 in the morning so I was actually still feeling some energy when we left haha They played some English diddies for a little bit including Bon Jovi (yes!) and I learned some Spanish dances. One teacher, his name is Amador, can dance the fool out of his shoes! It was tons of fun getting to dance correctly to Spanish songs haha Then we ended up leaving around 11:15 and headed back to Roquetas! Tomorrow is the Christmas play at the school and then I'll be heading to Almeria waiting for my flights on Saturday to THE UNITED STATES :) Random - one of the teachers will be on my first flight to Madrid haha
¡Buenas noches!

Football Madness

Well we are in the Christmas season in Spain! This weekend Sarah, Sofie and I went to Mini-Hollywood in Tabernas, just outside of Almeria. It's one of the 3 western towns where tons of movies have been shot (Indiana Jones, The Good Bad & Ugly, Charro, etc.). It was like a ghost town but super cool! There was a can-can show in a saloon and an outlaw/sheriff drama thing in the "town square." There's also a huge zoo there that we had to run through so we could see everything before the park closed! It was fun! Then Sarah and I went to Handel's Messiah at the Roquetas Theatre - a free event thankfully! - and it was great! There was a choir and an orchestra and it was really good. It put me even more into the Christmas spirit! When we left the theatre, there was a torrential downpour outside so we essentially had to ford a river to get to a taxi haha
This week is pure craziness at the schools as kids do not want to concentrate one bit and teachers are more than willing to oblige! Today at 12:00 we all went outside to the courts and had a teacher vs student soccer game. It ROCKED! Our director came outside decked out in this bright red soccer uniform with knee-high socks and it was hilarious! So we ran around and played against the 6th graders for about an hour. The younger kids had all made signs and were cheering for the teachers, clearly the right choice, and it was so much fun! Tomorrow we have our staff lunch which will probably last at least 4 hours and then Friday is the theater day - every grade performs a song or a small skit. One class is performing a scene from Beauty and the Beast I think. Definitely excited to head back to the States (even though it was about 65-70 here today!) and can't wait to see everyone! ¡Feliz Navidad!

Los perros

I don't remember if I have mentioned "the dogs" before. Every morning we drive into La Mojonera for work. Just about every morning there is a group of dogs hanging out on this one street corner. We believe them to be a gang. A viscious yet cuddly looking gang. They never bark at us, they never follow us, they just hang out at their street corner. Across the street from their street corner is a construction zone and a building is being remodeled I think. There are steps leading up to the building. For the past week, the gang of dogs has been sitting on those stairs staring straight into the sunrise. It is seriously one of the most precious things I have ever seen. I am hoping to get a picture of it next week. What a great way to start the day though right? Just sitting calmly, patiently, watching the sun rise up and warm everything it touches! Sort of reminds me of the angels in "City of Angels" when they head to the beach every morning because they can hear other angels sing when the sun rises. Maybe dogs can hear something we cannot.