The one about the Hospital...

This post will be dedicated to my hospital stay, since everyone has been asking me about it and wants to know what happened. I met my friend Maureen in Valencia, then we went to Granada, where she is living. I had some sort of stomach bug, but thought that if I ignored it, it would go away, apparently not... I went to get ready for bed one night when I began to feel a lot of pressure in my chest and didn't have much feeling in my left arm. Again, I tried to ignore it, but it was too uncomfortable, and we decided I should go to the ER. When I got there I had to convince the woman in admissions that I did have insurance, even though I have still not received my insurance card and didn't have any other information about my insurance company. She finally just told me to fax her the information the next day...

When I went to talk to the doctor all of my tests came out normal, and they told me to wait for the results of my blood test. I already had started to feel better and thought it was just a fluke and would be able to go back to Maureen's apartment that night. But when my results came back they told me I needed to stay for a few tests because the results were similar to those of a heart attack (Ah!). Everything is a blur from there, I had people poking me from all angles with an IV, another blood test and some other injections, while they were asking me questions about my health history and my activities of the night. Then they took me to the ICU, but Maureen couldn't come with me, and that's when I started to freak out and cry. They put all of my belongings in a bag and handed them to Maureen, telling her she could come visit for 30 minutes the next day. When I got to the ICU the doctor immediately did an ultrasound of my heart and concluded that it was working perfectly, so I still thought it wasn't serious and would be able to leave the next day.

But that wasn't the case. I spent 2 days in the ICU hooked up to machines to monitor my heart and an IV. I could only get up to go to the bathroom accompanied by a nurse. The ICU was dark and lonely, and I felt really out of place being 22 years old and surrounded by people who were seriously ill. I felt completely fine by the next morning, and the nurses kept the curtain closed around me because they said it was too sad for me to be seeing the other older and sicker people there. I also became well know as la nina americana, and one of the nurses called me la reina (queen).

Then I started to hear rumors about "the planta" which seemed like a magical place that I never would actually get to go to. The planta was the normal cardiac wing of the hospital, where the patients can get up, walk around, have visitors, eat real food and not be attached to an IV. I learned that the doctors really enjoying saying, "just one more day". For six days everyone told me "just one more day, then you can go to the planta", or "just one more test tomorrow and you can leave". 

My bed was the only place big enough for the puzzle...

I eventually got to the planta and Maureen came to visit as much as she could. We did a 1000 piece puzzle, played alot of rummy and went for walks around the hospital and courtyard. I really can't express how grateful I am to her for keeping me company, but more importantly dealing with all of my insurance issues between the hospital and the insurance company.  She did absolutely everything for me.

Finally Free

It was certainly an experience talking with doctors and nurses only in Spanish. I found myself paying more attention to understanding the words they were saying than actually being able to internalize and analyze what they were telling me. It didn't help that I don't know anything about medicine or the heart. I also had some medical students do some of my tests. For an ECO two students worked together to figure out how to do it correctly, and it was actually amusing to observe. I met most of my roomate's family, who was a women in her 40's. Her nephews helped Maureen and I finish our puzzle, and I taught them the English words for the things in the puzzle. I also met another 22 year old boy who was there for the same condition as me. He came into my room one morning, handed me a piece of paper and said, "I drew you a picture. I'm in the room down the hall if you want to talk." It was pretty funny at the time and we ended up hanging out in the courtyard for a while. Many of the teachers from school also called me to check in and see how I was feeling. It was really nice to know that so many people were thinking of me.


This entry is getting quite long, so I will just conclude with my diagnosis. I had mioperiocarditis. I'm not exactly sure of the English translation, but it was an inflammation of a small part of the heart called the pericardium, caused by a virus, and is apparently fairly common in people my age. I am completely fine now, and just need to rest for a couple weeks. I am SO excited to go home and relax with my family after such a stressful and strange week.

Improptu Ice Skating

Last weekend I was on my way to the Feria Hispano-Portuguesa, a fair that celebrates the relation ship between Spain and Portugal, when some friends and I were distracted by an ice skating rink that popped up over the weekend. The rink and some other kids rides were there to celebrate winter and the Christmas season and will be up for a few weeks. 

I haven't been ice skating in years, and I'm definitely not a very talented skater. However, the Spanish proved to be worse. There were quite a few people who would stand up, and immediately fall again, over and over. It was entertaining to watch, but looked pretty painful! Morgan and I were the only two who actualy went skating, and we had fun...for a short time. The skates were super uncomfortable, so we had to stop after only about 15 minutes. It felt so good to have normal shoes on after that though!!

Happy Turkey Day!

As you all know, last Thursday was Thanksgiving. This was my first year that I wasn't at home for Thanksgiving. Though I missed my family, we managed to have a really nice celebration here. All of the Americans organized a feast for us and some Spanish friends. It was complete with a 14 lb. turkey, stuffing, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, baked brie and pumpkin souffle. For dessert we had pumpkin and applie pie, apple and blueberry crumble, apples with a caramel dip, and of course yummy bars.

What is a yummy bar you ask? Well, if you have ever been to a gathering of my family for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any other holiday, you will sure have eaten them before. If not, you are definitely missing out. Yummy bars are a chocolaty combination of cake, brownies and caramel and lots of butter. I knew that they were delicious, but I had no idea just how popular they would be in Spain. First I will say that it wasn't easy to find all of the ingredients here. There was only one brand of cake mix in Carrefour (similar to Walmart), and I could only find caramels in El Corte Ingles, and both were wildly expensive! Everyone at the dinner was blown away and begged me to give them the recipe. The Spanish guests told me that nothing like yummy bars exists in Spain, which is probably why they seemed so delicious!

In fact, none of the food at the dinner is easily found here. While us Americans/Canadians/English were so excited to have our traditional food, the Spaniards looked intimidated and nervous to try our strange recipes. By the end though, they were all happy to say that they had experienced their first Thanksgiving dinner. All in all, Thanksgiving was a success.

A Quick Trip to Sevilla

So, it's been a long time since I last wrote, sorry for the delay! My time here is flying by. I am so busy with school, private lessons, tennis and flamenco during the week that before I know it it's Friday, and then the weekends fly by as well.

View of Plaza de Toros from the Giralda

Two weeks ago a bunch of us English Assistants spent the weekend in Sevilla. It's such a beautiful city, and it was nice to get out of Badajoz for a little while. Over the course of the weekend we saw the tourist sites and ate some delicious tapas. We went to the cathedral and climbed the Giralda, the bell tour of the cathedral. It was a beautiful day and there was a great view of the city in all directions.




        
We also visited the Real Alcazar. I had been there before with the Bucknell en Espana program when I studied abroad, but I had forgotten how amazing the Moorish architecture is. It's almost impossible to believe that people were able to create such intricate and detailed designs hundreds of years ago. There are extensive gardens full of fountains, flowers and ponds. Can you imagine living in a place like that?




We also found some delicious food in Sevilla. We ate at an amazing tapas bar that one of my friends knew of from previous trips there. It's not very often that you have to wait for a table in Spain (at least not that I have experienced) and this restaurant had a 40 minute wait list. Everyone put their name on a list, then waited in the street with drinks until there was space. The food was certainly worth the wait!

Then, one night our hostel served Moroccan food, which was also delicious. As much as I love Spanish food, it was nice to have some international flavors for a change. There are much more opportunities to find international food in Sevilla than in Badajoz, but still most places serve tradition Spanish tapas. The one thing that I am finding hard to get used to is that all of the restaurants in Badajoz have almost the same menu, with some variation of ham, cheese, croquettas, tortilla and bocadillos. There isn't much variety from place to place, except for the handful of international restaurants.  I recently tried the sushi in Badajoz, which I was a little nervous about, but turned out to be quite good. There is also a couple Italian/pizza, Chinese and Portugese restaurants around to be tried. Good thing I've got seven six more months to figure out all of the food options!

Happy Halloween!

1st ESO

Friday we had our Halloween Party at school. We have been talking about Halloween all week in classes and finally it was time to celebrate and have some fun! All of the students in the Bilingual section went to the audiovisual room, and we started the party by watching two Halloween episodes of the Simpsons. The Simpsons is a very popular show here, and is on TV every day, dubbed in Spanish of course. We watched the episodes in English, so the students had a hard time understanding what was being said. That's probably for the best because there were quite a few inappropriate topics!

Then it was time for the costume contest, the pumpkin cake contest and the jack-o-lantern contest. Only a couple of the younger students dressed up, because the Spanish don't actually celebrate Halloween. I asked a lot of students why they didn't dress up and they said because it wasn't really worth it to make or buy a costume just for school.

More students participated in the jack-o-lantern contest, and there were some really interesting submissions, and even some made from gourds and melons!


And then there was the pumpkin cake contest. I decided to make a pumpkin pie to give everyone a real taste of an American treat. It sounded like a great idea until I realized that it is impossible to find canned pumpkin here. I managed to find pumpkin that was already cleaned out in the grocery store, but had to boil, peel and mash it myself. It was quite the project!

The final product...

I was able to use the kitchen at school because I don't have my own at home, and the woman who runs the kitchen thought I was crazy for making such a strange food! It was a bit ambitious, seeing that the kitchen lacked a measuring cup and I was using ingredients that were slightly different than the ones I would find in an American grocery store. After 2 hours of baking I ended up with a pretty decent pie. The crust was questionable, but the rest was yummy!

5 Minutes in Portugal

Badajoz is located just 4 km from Portugal, and last weekend we decided to walk to the border. As you can see in the picture, there wasn't much to show the distinction between Spain and Portugal.  There was only an E for España and a P for Portugal. No fences, no tolls, just a some paint on a bridge.

Siestas, Fiestas and Three Day Weekends

Happy Thursday!

I've just gotten from school, ate lunch and am now settling in my room to make some lesson plans during siesta. I am already taking full advantage of siesta since I get up for work at 6:15 and the kids in the dorm are up running around and yelling late into the night. Everything closes between 2:00 and 5:00, so I generally take some time to rest and catch up on some American tv. Today I have to make my first lesson plans for the students that live in the residence. I'm making some Halloween themed activities so it should be fun.

Also, since it's Thursday, my weekend has begun. This week was my first full week of work, and it flew by. I am starting to really enjoy my time at school, and the days go by quickly. There are a lot of weekends that are even longer though. Two weeks ago we had Friday-Tuesday off, for Dia de la Hispanidad, during which the Spaniards celebrate Colombus finding the Americas. It was the day after our Columbus Day, and even better because we got 2 days off instead of one! Next weekend we also have en extra day to celebrate Dia de Todos los Santos. We also have a whole week off in December right before Christmas, so I will travel for a week, come back to work for a week and then head home for Christmas. Not bad at all...

And becuase it's Thursday there's all sorts of parties. Here, Thursday is the biggest night to go out because so many students leave over the weekend. Everyone goes out till 4 or 5 am, and then goes to class in the morning. Luckily, I don't have to worry about work on Fridays!

IES Sierra la Calera

Hello all, I'm back to write some more about my teaching experiences so far. Today starts my first full week of work at school, and I am also beginning private lessons this week. It took me a little while to get used to my role in the school, but now I am getting to know the students and am very impressed with them so far. My schedule varies every day, and I am working primarily with student in the Bilingual Section. Many schools in Spain now have a Bilingual Section where the students have regular English classes, as well as Math, Science and P.E. in English. The students and their parents decide to enroll in the bilingual courses, so the students really want to be there.

Spain's educational system is different than ours, having primary school (6-11 years old), secondary school (12-15) and then an optional baccalaureate (16-18). I am working mostly with students ranging from 12-15 years old in the ESO level (Educacion secundaria obligatoria) in the bilingual section, and I see each level two or three times every week.

Information about the Bilingual Program at IES Sierra la Calera

My first week of classes were dedicated to question and answer sessions so that the students and I could get to know each other. I am language assistant, so I am always in class with another teacher. I am able to make lessons plans or suggest topics for the classes, but am always following the plans that the teacher has prepared. Because the students in the bilingual section have Math, Science and P.E. in English I go to each class once a week to help with the vocabulary of each subject. This means that I have to re-learn middle school Math and Science! Now the students are learning about fractions and powers in Math and Energy and the Universe in Science. It is interesting because I don't know all the official terms for these subjects, and I have to do some research so I am prepared for the student's questions. I also meet with each teacher once a week to go over lesson plans so I know what we will be learning about the following week. I am the third language assistant that has been at my school, so they have established a good system for our collaboration.

This week I am starting to give private classes to people I have met. Almost everyone I meet asks me if I would be able to give them lessons. It seems strange to me that people are willing to pay me just because I speak English! Most people just want conversation classes, so I will just go to their house and talk to them in English for an hour. There are other people who are just beginning to speak English so I have to make lesson plans and activities to practice grammatical points. I will be teaching a college age son of one of the teachers at school and my Flamenco teacher, so the classes are also an opportunity for me to make friends in the community.

Lastly, I am also starting to give classes in my residence hall. There are 40+ students interested in the classes, so I will break them into two groups that each meet once a week. There is a variety of English levels so I have to create activities that everyone can participate in and enjoy. I think these classes will be fun because the students are already friends, and they aren't mandatory so I hope they will be enthusiastic about the classes.

When I found out that I would only be teaching in school 12 hours per week I was afraid that I would have too much free time and not enough to keep me busy. However, that is turning out to be completely untrue. I seem to be filling up all of my time with private classes and other activities, like Flamenco and soon Tennis. Turns out that tennis is quite popular here and I'm signing up to take lessons, which will be good exercise and a way to meet more people.

Overall, everything is going very well and I am getting used to my life here in Badajoz. Everyone that I meet suggests new places that I must see while I am here, so I plan to explore Extremadura a lot over the next few months. Until next time!

Getting settled in Badajoz

Hello everyone, welcome to my blog that will document my year living and working in Badajoz, Spain. Here I am working as a language assistant in a school in a small town called Santa Marta de los Barros, a town that I have been told has some of the best churros con chocolate in the world. I have yet to try them, but I'm sure they will be delicious.