Dear Medina de Pomar,
I just finished my final teaching week here in Medina de Pomar. I am simultaneously sad to be leaving and happy to have had such a life changing experience. It's a bit confusing, but I am optimistic that I will return to Medina sometime in the hopefully near future.
Here is a list of some of the new things that I have been able to experience while living here in Spain:
-Food: My host mom has been absolutely excellent about preparing traditional Spanish cuisine for me to try. The family has even be gracious enough to pescatarianize everything for me. I've been able to try delicious paellas, black rice, octopus, tortilla, gazpacho, and some of the best green olives that I have ever tried in my life! I have also enjoyed learning how to eat fruit with a knife.
- Language: I've heard many people say that the best way to learn a language is through travel, and I have certainly benefited from experiencing this first hand. I loved the moments when I was out on the playground with the children from my host family and I could just listen to the speech patterns of the locals then try to mimic them. It has also been amazing to witnests how much the students have developed in their understanding of the English language. The students can often understand the gist of what I am communicating, and that is completely awesome! It is also adorable to hear the students randomly use an English word in the middle of a completely Spanish conversation. I've been amazed to see the vocabulary that the students have naturally picked up from me ("one second" and "broken"). I have also become much more aware of the English language in general and the many expressions that I use in daily speech.
-Culture: When I first stepped off the plane and was greeted by Maria and my host family with a kiss to each cheek, I felt a bit rattled. I knew about this custom and had expected it to come, but it didn't stop my cheeks from flushing with a bit of embarrassment. Was I supposed to actually kiss each cheek with my lips or not? What did I need to do? This particular custom is still a bit awkward for me as I am still not entirely sure what to do, but I now feel much more comfortable with this form of greeting. There are many other aspects of the culture that have been very different that I have enjoyed learning about and trying to adapt to. For instance, the daily schedule is very different than the schedule in the USA. Here in Spain, we often don't eat dinner until 10:00 at night or later. I'm curious to see how quickly my body will readapt to the timetable.
-Teaching: I have worked at a daycare in the USA that has in many ways paralleled my experience here in Spain, but there have certainly been some major differences. I learned through my own trial and error, and through observing the other teachers in the school. I have become much more aware of how my nonverbal communication can affect students and of strategies that I can use to better help CLD students. I have also seen some pretty gaping holes in my classroom management that I will certainly be working to patch up. I've made huge leaps in communicating in a more simple and direct manner with the students and in making the communication more accessible through gestures, tonality, and pictures. My teaching has certainly improved, and for that I feel proud.
-Travel: I have also been fortunate enough to travel to other cities during many of the weekends that I have been here in Spain. I have learned a textbook's worth amount of information about the Spanish history through my travel. I've gone to monasteries, cathedrals, museums, parks, castles, and have driven through many pueblos with my host family. I have seen Barcelona, Madrid, Santander (the beach), Bilbao, Burgos, Arroyo, and now I will be traveling to the Asturias for one last trip before I leave. Spain is beautiful and I have really enjoyed interacting with the culture and people.
After a week spent in Outterspace in the guarderia, I finally had to touch back down to Earth and come back to the reality that I would soon be leaving these students and places that I loved. As I opened up the door to send each student home with the telescope and drawings of aliens that we made in class, I tried to suppress my tears and the emotion that was building in my chest. However, things have been good, and now it is time for me, and for the students to move on to something new and awesome...
I'll see you again one day Medina.
Love always,
-Lindsey
Here is a list of some of the new things that I have been able to experience while living here in Spain:
-Food: My host mom has been absolutely excellent about preparing traditional Spanish cuisine for me to try. The family has even be gracious enough to pescatarianize everything for me. I've been able to try delicious paellas, black rice, octopus, tortilla, gazpacho, and some of the best green olives that I have ever tried in my life! I have also enjoyed learning how to eat fruit with a knife.
- Language: I've heard many people say that the best way to learn a language is through travel, and I have certainly benefited from experiencing this first hand. I loved the moments when I was out on the playground with the children from my host family and I could just listen to the speech patterns of the locals then try to mimic them. It has also been amazing to witnests how much the students have developed in their understanding of the English language. The students can often understand the gist of what I am communicating, and that is completely awesome! It is also adorable to hear the students randomly use an English word in the middle of a completely Spanish conversation. I've been amazed to see the vocabulary that the students have naturally picked up from me ("one second" and "broken"). I have also become much more aware of the English language in general and the many expressions that I use in daily speech.
-Culture: When I first stepped off the plane and was greeted by Maria and my host family with a kiss to each cheek, I felt a bit rattled. I knew about this custom and had expected it to come, but it didn't stop my cheeks from flushing with a bit of embarrassment. Was I supposed to actually kiss each cheek with my lips or not? What did I need to do? This particular custom is still a bit awkward for me as I am still not entirely sure what to do, but I now feel much more comfortable with this form of greeting. There are many other aspects of the culture that have been very different that I have enjoyed learning about and trying to adapt to. For instance, the daily schedule is very different than the schedule in the USA. Here in Spain, we often don't eat dinner until 10:00 at night or later. I'm curious to see how quickly my body will readapt to the timetable.
-Teaching: I have worked at a daycare in the USA that has in many ways paralleled my experience here in Spain, but there have certainly been some major differences. I learned through my own trial and error, and through observing the other teachers in the school. I have become much more aware of how my nonverbal communication can affect students and of strategies that I can use to better help CLD students. I have also seen some pretty gaping holes in my classroom management that I will certainly be working to patch up. I've made huge leaps in communicating in a more simple and direct manner with the students and in making the communication more accessible through gestures, tonality, and pictures. My teaching has certainly improved, and for that I feel proud.
-Travel: I have also been fortunate enough to travel to other cities during many of the weekends that I have been here in Spain. I have learned a textbook's worth amount of information about the Spanish history through my travel. I've gone to monasteries, cathedrals, museums, parks, castles, and have driven through many pueblos with my host family. I have seen Barcelona, Madrid, Santander (the beach), Bilbao, Burgos, Arroyo, and now I will be traveling to the Asturias for one last trip before I leave. Spain is beautiful and I have really enjoyed interacting with the culture and people.
After a week spent in Outterspace in the guarderia, I finally had to touch back down to Earth and come back to the reality that I would soon be leaving these students and places that I loved. As I opened up the door to send each student home with the telescope and drawings of aliens that we made in class, I tried to suppress my tears and the emotion that was building in my chest. However, things have been good, and now it is time for me, and for the students to move on to something new and awesome...
I'll see you again one day Medina.
Love always,
-Lindsey
Spanish food:
Last days in la guarderia:
Trip through the Austrias:
Travel home:
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