I told you I was bad at this...

Turns out that I was right. I do suck at updating this thing! I was never one to keep a diary and write down my feelings or relive the memories of what I ate for lunch and who said what to whom. In high school that always seemed like a great way for friends to get mad at each other and kids to get grounded. None for me thanks!

Here are some interesting realizations I have had or had pointed out to me recently:

• When someone says "hello" or "hi" in the halls at school, it is most certainly directed at me even if I have never seen the person before in my life.
• I have grown accustomed to not trying to do anything between the hours of 2:00 and 5:00 p.m or on Sundays under the assumption that "everything is closed, so why bother?"
• Shopping for the proper groceries for a given meal may very likely involve going to more than one mercado.
• Most of the music played in Spain is in English and most of the people listening to it have no idea what each song is about. Take Katy Perry's "I Kissed a Girl"...yeah, no idea what they're singing. 
• Picking your nose in public may actually be socially acceptable in Spain. I haven't quite figured out the rules on that yet.
• Public places seem to be doing very well with the no smoking laws that went into effect at the new year. It's very pleasant to be able to eat out for lunch and not develop lung cancer!
• Spanish people as a whole tend not to leave Spain. They love their country very much and most of their vacations take place within it. 
• The best tacos in Madrid are actually pretty darn good tacos. 
• I have no right to complain about my job because I am actually quite fortunate and lucky. This doesn't, however, mean that I am actually able to resist the temptation to complain every time it arises. I am getting paid a full salary to work 4 days per week as basically an assistant, I have easy access to the whole of Europe and Northern Africa, and I have enough time to do my job, a second Masters and still watch TV many hours per day, read all the books I want and have a very small social life.

Well, in other news, I have decided to stay in Madrid another year. I will be home for Spring break, which has been extended by a week because I was feeling very homesick around the time I was purchasing a ticket and the Director gave me permission. It looks like I might be home for most or all of the summer as well. My summer  class will be in Trinidad at the beginning of July and I may just stay around Seattle after that.

Right before coming home in April, I will be chaperoning a trip to England with about 35 students from my school. The trip is open to all grade levels so I only know a handful of the kids going. I have a feeling that the language barrier is going to be an issue with some of the kids, but I'll just leave those ones to the teachers who are native Spanish speakers.

As the final project for my degree at Miami University, OH, I am hoping to take some of my kids on an ecology and conservation based trip to the Peruvian Amazon next Spring or Summer. I have been in contact with a company about working with them and they are currently preparing a possible itinerary! I am going to try to do a large fundraiser in Seattle this summer to obtain scholarship money for kids who can't go simply based on money. It's pretty expensive and these kids are from a small town in a country with crazy high unemployment rates. The science teacher I work with is already thinking of funding possibilities around Madrid. I'm not very connected here so if fundraising in Madrid was left to me, the kids would be doomed! Now all I need is approval from the school and interest from the kids...perhaps I shouldn't get excited just yet?