This weekend has been a blast, and it's still Saturday. It all started with a tiring but adventure filled Friday.
Friday I started my volunteer shifts at La Asunción, and it was such a wonderful experience. I walked to the school and got there right about 1000, not too far from where I live, like a 15 minute walk. Then I waited in the lounge for about 15 minutes, another girl, Nicole, from a different school had come for volunteering too. So we chatted about what we were studying and where we lived while waiting. Then two girls about 13 years old came to take us to their class. We got to the class, and another girl, Karen, was already there. So Nicole and I introduced ourselves and the students had to ask us questions about our lives and pretty much anything they could think of, but all in English, because it's a bilingual school and we have to help them in English. Then the teacher, Angela, split the kids into three groups and each of us girls took lead. My group was so cute and so fun. Their English was pretty fantastic, most of them have been learning since they were babies, some had been learning since they were 6 or 7 years old, and they're all 13. I had about 10 girls and 1 boy in my group. One thing that really excited me was that there was a girl who listened to classic American rock groups like AC/DC and Metallica, it was fantastic. All the kids knew about a lot of famous American groups and singers like Maroon 5 and Britney Spears (well who doesn't know Britney?). Then I asked them what American songs they knew, and I got them to sing Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat and Marry You by Bruno Mars, they were so cute and so excited and the other two groups got quiet and listened to us. Then at the end I had to sing for the whole class because I had promised my group that I would. I sang Just the Way You Are because they had gotten Bruno Mars stuck in my head.
After that, the kids had recess/lunch so Karen, Nicole, and I went outside to the commons quad of the school and just relaxed there. We happened to be sitting by a classroom for infantiles about 3-4 years old and they had come out to play and kept surrounding us. They were all so cute. One little girl, Paula, had gotten pushed off the bench by another little girl when she wasn't ready and started to cry and I told her to come to me and she did and I gave her a hug and consoled her. It was the cutest thing. It made me think that I could become a teacher or work at a daycare. A multilingual one for sure. After that we chatted with Adela, the professor that set this all up, and set up our schedules. I'll be volunteering every Friday from 0900-1100 except for two Fridays that I have class. Then we all walked to La Cueva and for coffee and more chatting. We exchanged numbers, and I found that Karen lives down the block from me and Nicole lives not even another five minutes from me. I'm excited to be making more friends.
When I got home, Mateo and Gloria were here, so while eating lunch, Gloria was pretty much attached to me, and Kyla and I pretty much babysat them for three hours till we had to leave for the Alhambra. We didn't get a chance to siesta, so I was a bit tired during the Alhambra excursion but I still enjoyed it.
The Alhambra was amazing. Words and pictures just cannot capture the beauty of it, the rich history, and just how marvelous it was in general. I would definitely pay the 8 euro to go back again and explore it myself. Here are some pictures of the architecture and the view of the city I saw when I went to the highest point of the Alhambra.
Friday I started my volunteer shifts at La Asunción, and it was such a wonderful experience. I walked to the school and got there right about 1000, not too far from where I live, like a 15 minute walk. Then I waited in the lounge for about 15 minutes, another girl, Nicole, from a different school had come for volunteering too. So we chatted about what we were studying and where we lived while waiting. Then two girls about 13 years old came to take us to their class. We got to the class, and another girl, Karen, was already there. So Nicole and I introduced ourselves and the students had to ask us questions about our lives and pretty much anything they could think of, but all in English, because it's a bilingual school and we have to help them in English. Then the teacher, Angela, split the kids into three groups and each of us girls took lead. My group was so cute and so fun. Their English was pretty fantastic, most of them have been learning since they were babies, some had been learning since they were 6 or 7 years old, and they're all 13. I had about 10 girls and 1 boy in my group. One thing that really excited me was that there was a girl who listened to classic American rock groups like AC/DC and Metallica, it was fantastic. All the kids knew about a lot of famous American groups and singers like Maroon 5 and Britney Spears (well who doesn't know Britney?). Then I asked them what American songs they knew, and I got them to sing Lucky by Jason Mraz and Colbie Calliat and Marry You by Bruno Mars, they were so cute and so excited and the other two groups got quiet and listened to us. Then at the end I had to sing for the whole class because I had promised my group that I would. I sang Just the Way You Are because they had gotten Bruno Mars stuck in my head.
After that, the kids had recess/lunch so Karen, Nicole, and I went outside to the commons quad of the school and just relaxed there. We happened to be sitting by a classroom for infantiles about 3-4 years old and they had come out to play and kept surrounding us. They were all so cute. One little girl, Paula, had gotten pushed off the bench by another little girl when she wasn't ready and started to cry and I told her to come to me and she did and I gave her a hug and consoled her. It was the cutest thing. It made me think that I could become a teacher or work at a daycare. A multilingual one for sure. After that we chatted with Adela, the professor that set this all up, and set up our schedules. I'll be volunteering every Friday from 0900-1100 except for two Fridays that I have class. Then we all walked to La Cueva and for coffee and more chatting. We exchanged numbers, and I found that Karen lives down the block from me and Nicole lives not even another five minutes from me. I'm excited to be making more friends.
When I got home, Mateo and Gloria were here, so while eating lunch, Gloria was pretty much attached to me, and Kyla and I pretty much babysat them for three hours till we had to leave for the Alhambra. We didn't get a chance to siesta, so I was a bit tired during the Alhambra excursion but I still enjoyed it.
The Alhambra was amazing. Words and pictures just cannot capture the beauty of it, the rich history, and just how marvelous it was in general. I would definitely pay the 8 euro to go back again and explore it myself. Here are some pictures of the architecture and the view of the city I saw when I went to the highest point of the Alhambra.
After the Alhambra, I came home to rest for a couple of hours before meeting up with Danielle, Sarah, and Kaitlyn for tapas at El Aguador. Danielle, Sarah and I ordered mosto blanco, white wine without alcohol, and Kaitlyn ordered a red wine I think. It was funny because Danielle was very excited about the alcohol free wine. To me it taste like apple juice that gives a tangy burning feeling as it goes down your throat. Cassie and Stephanie came when we were close to being done, and after that Sarah and I walked home and the other four went to get gelato at Los Italianos. I came home, showered, and went to bed to prep for a long day at the beach.
Now comes yesterday, Saturday. Woke up around 0830 to get ready and meet with half of the group at 0930 at the Neptuno to get on the bus for the beach. Then we drove to the other side of town to get the other half of the group that had to meet at the Palacio de Congresos. The drive through the Sierra Nevadas to get to Nerja was once again gorgeous.
Once at the beach, the bus parked and we left our stuff on the bus to walk around Nerja and shop a bit because they gave us thirty minutes of free time. I bought a peach to munch on and I also bought a really cute summer hat, finally. I didn't take too many pictures because I already had before and wanted to save batteries for anything new. We met up with the group and walked to the beach where the bus had parked close by so we could get our things. We set up campamiento base (base camp) on the beach and chilled for about thirty minutes before it was lunchtime. We left our towels and umbrellas on the beach and brought our valuables with us to the restaurant. We had paella, which was well worth the wait, it was unbelievably delicious, people weren't lying, beach paella is the best paella.
After lunch, we went back to campamiento base and had four more hours of free time. All I did was lay under an umbrella and tan my legs, catnap, and get up every thirty minutes or so to take pictures with people and soak my legs in the water. Best way to spend beach time.
After the beach we came home, showered, and had a nice relaxing night after an exhausting day. Today in comparison has been a relaxing Sunday. Went out for lunch with a friend from class and met new people. It's amazing to meet so many people with similar interests as me and wanting to do the same thing as me. Study abroad is a great experience, I don't regret it at all. ¡Ojalá vosotros estéis disfrutando vuestro octubre!