Dancing Guiris

My sincerest apologies for not updating the blog in about three weeks… but oh has it been a very busy, productive, fun-filled, and wild three weeks. Aside from my now super jam packed work schedule, there was no shortage of fun and fiesta between the long Halloween weekend and the despedida of our dear friend Gillie, who went back to Chicago this morning.

Finally, I’m back and with a special treat that I hope is well worth the lack in blogging.  But first, the silliness you are about to see deserves an explanation of how it came to be...  

 

I’m sure you’ve seen some version of the viral music video that has taken over the world, PSY from Korea’s infamous GANGNAM STYLE. In case you have been completely absent from recent pop culture, I advise you to view this video before continuing:

PSY - GANGNAM STYLE

Anyways, the gente esta muy loca for this video every time we go out, so Gillie, Emily, and I decided one rainy afternoon to watch the video and learn how to do the gangnam style dance so we could join in and bust a move when it comes on next night out. Our boredom from the rainy, depressing weather prompted us to put on some fun clothes and makeup and record ourselves in Emily’s living room so we could see how ridiculous we looked dancing. This soon inspired us to film ourselves gangnam styling out and about in Cadiz… which quickly escalated to basically remaking the entire video… first by ourselves, then with the help of Leah as our camera girl, and then with a whole crew of friends getting into it. We took our tonterías to the streets, a parking garage, the boardwalk, a dance club at 9pm on a Sunday, the Cathedral steps, the port, the train, the town hall plaza… Over the course of two late afternoons of filming, a few beers, 5 pizzas, and 6 straight hours of editing, we have a final product. For us, it is epic.

The process has made some of my greatest memories in Spain yet… running around my favorite little city, dressed like a fool, dancing and laughing with great friends (one girl actually peed her pants a little) and causing a scene everywhere we go. Some people may think we have poca verguenza (little shame)… but most people we encountered in our adventure absolutely loved it. They stopped to watch and laugh and ask questions and take pictures... at one point we even got a random group of Spaniards at the Cathedral to jump in as extras! (See 4:14 of our video.)

We love Cadiz. We love everything gaditano. But sometimes, it’s just good to be a guiri. (Guiri is what Spaniards call us foreigners.) There’s a common saying in gaditano slang that goes, “lo siento, pisha, pero no to er mundo pué ser de cai” which basically means, “sorry, dick, not everyone can be from Cadiz” …hence the quote at the end of the video which reads, “lo siento, pisha, pero no to er mundo pué ser guiri.”

Well, that’s all I have to say about that. I leave you with the final product for your viewing pleasure.... no judgment please.

PS Viewer discretion advised for the little ones’ eyes.

PPS  Sorry mom and dad.

Click here for fun! --> GUIRI GANGNAM STYLE

International House of Roomies

IHOR: International House of Roomies.

That’s what I’ve got. My home-sweet-piso in Cadiz is now fully equipped with the most perfectly unconventional little family. It consists of: a drum playing, music loving, hilarious, traveling, Spanish hippie; a friendly and fun Spanish man that steps in as best friend/mother/world class chef in times of need (aka all day every day); a very lovely, funny, kind, interesting and full-of-surprises English girl; and a sunshiny, silly, Spanish-loving, sometimes-clumsy-but-knows-how-to-laugh-at-herself American girl (that’s me).

It could also be called the International House of Learning, since Eleanor is learning Spanish with us and the boys are forced to practice their English. So much learning. So much fun. All day, errday. The teacher in me just LOVES it.

Convivencia (living together) is not always easy. I know, having lived with many different characters the past 5 years of my life. But the vibe in this house is so relaxed and easy that I’m sure this year is going to be one for the books. Also, our piso is the center of fun and friends. That’s to say, in addition to my 3 awesome compis (roomies) there is a gang of usual suspects that pops in and out on a regular basis and make us laugh and entertain us. One thing’s for sure, I will never be bored or lonely in this house.

Furthermore…. I also have a pretty solid guiri family. This is essential to a good experience abroad. Every foreigner needs other foreign people to relate to and talk to and laugh with when they feel left out or confused. My guiris make me laugh a LOT and we do lots of fun things together. Home base for this year’s guiri marcha seems to be the piso of three: Emma, Leah and Emily’s cozy little place on the beach. It's fabulous. Like us.

So basically, I am surrounded by sunshine and smiles and laughter… with and a dash of crazy and occasional inappropriateness. Are you at all surprised?

Hump Day Slump

Yes, even in the happiest place on earth, there exist not-so-great days. You know the kind…. Where you can’t put your finger on the reason you’re pissed off at the world, but you still can’t tame the desire to roundhouse-kick-to-the-face every human and car and pigeon that crosses your path without your permission. Instead of going to bed like a crankypants, I’ve taken a moment to reflect and I’ve decided that my inexplicable irritability can be attributed to the following two things:

First: After what felt like an endless, sunny vacation, I am suddenly very busy again. End of vacation sucks as it is. Furthermore, it’s “that” time of the school year – well after the easy first weeks of “getting to know you” and before easing into the routine – where any and every teacher feels overwhelmed. Now, I shouldn’t complain. I’m not a full time teacher. I’m just an assistant that actually spends only 12 mere hours a week with the kids. However, in addition to learning the names of students and teachers and staff at TWO different schools, adapting to the needs and wants of all my cooperating teachers, and trying to understand the Spanish education system without driving myself crazy, I have also started to give a TON of private English lessons to small groups and individual students of literally EVERY level. I’m like a one man traveling English Academy. I get home from school at 2, eat lunch (aka devour a sandwich while I hurry to plan the lessons I had previously put off) and then hop on my bici and fly all over town teaching English until the sun goes down. I need the money, and I do enjoy it, but between the classes themselves, the travel time, and the hours slaving over various lesson plans… I am seriously exhausted.

Secondly: The weather is starting to change. Days are still sunny and warm, but the wind is nippy, the nights are cool, and I’m pretty sure it’s no longer socially acceptable to be on the beach in a bikini, though I’d probably do it anyway if I wasn’t so damn busy. Know what’s worse than the cold, though? GERMS. I feel like they are everywhere. Did you know that even the cutest kids are also GROSS? I am surrounded by sneezing, sniffling, booger eating, wedgie picking, insect poking little buggers. Germs, cold weather, lack of sleep, brain overload… sounds like the perfect recipe for illness. I can already feel myself getting rundown so I’ve started pounding Emergen-C twice a day like a champ.

So, I’m still adapting, but amidst this chaos, I’ve been enjoying myself, too… kickin it with my awesome roomies, laughing like a loca with girlfriends, and spending the little time leftover with myself. The roommates also keep me in line and make me lighten up when I’m too serious. Seriously. They are hilarious and thoughtful and wonderful in every way.

Here’s an example.

As I’m pouring over lesson plans this evening, with books, papers, flashcards and markers scattered all over the salon, having not spoken a word to anyone in a long time, Diego silently brings me picos and delicious queso from Ubrique and a cold Shandy to top it off. He gives me an air-cheers from the sofa and says “This is the life.” It was just what I needed to keep me going.

An hour or so later, he asks me to come into the kitchen for a minute because he and Ale need to talk to me about something. I stand up for the first time in hours and stumble into the kitchen, seemingly having forgotten how to walk. The conversation goes something like this (except in Spanish, obvs.)

Me: what’s up guys?!
Diego: We just need to talk about something, ya know, things about living together… go ahead, Ale.
Ale: No man, this is your thing.
Diego: No dude, I can’t do it, it’s all you
Ale: No, no … etc etc..

    **At this point in my thought process I am wondering what on Earth I could possibly do that could disrupt the convivencia that much.**

Diego: Uhh okay, look. That girl came to see the piso today…

    **Now thinking AND…? SO..? What, did she suck? is she cooler than me?? What’s the problem?**

D: Well there were actually 2 girls…

    **Uhh, ok, what means this? You want someone to share a room??**

D: And, well, we think you should move out.

    **uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh….**

D: JUST KIDDING We don’t actually have anything to tell you at all. We just wanted you to come in here and try this delicious food we made.
Ale: HAHAHA your face.

….W. T. F. After throwing a few friendly punches and laughing it off, I tried the food. It was effing delicious. Sometimes Diego likes to invent dishes out of the limited supply of random things found in our pantry. Today’s creation began with artichokes covered in creamy, cheesy greatness and bits of cured ham. Yup.

It was soon followed by an enormous, pizza-style, open faced sandwich that was bigger than my head and included pork fillet, jamon, fried egg, tomatoes, artichokes, cheeses and other things I would never think to throw together. I swear, everything that boy touches turns to delicious.

After a good laugh I let myself divulge in the tasty treats and watch a little bit of La Voz with the boys before turning back to my work for a couple more hours. It is now way past my bedtime. Tomorrow is not going to be any easier, but I keep trucking along. Every once in awhile I just need a reminder that “this is the life.”

Spanglish Style Fiesta

Last Friday night I indulged in my first of I’m sure to be many late night fiestas in Cadiz. Now that I’ve decided to stay in the piso with the guys and everyone is situated, my roommate thought it would be an excellent idea to have a little dinner and botellon (bring your own bottle) at our place. The typical gang of Ubriqueño and Gaditano boys showed up for a delicious improvised dinner by my very own cocinero roomie. I was told to invite whoever I wanted so I threw the idea out there to a few of the other teacher assistants as I’m sure they are all aching to meet people and practice their Spanish  - not everyone can be as lucky as me to live with the coolest dudes and get to speak Spanish all day long!  Bueno, before I knew it our piso was filled with representatives from Spain, the US, England, Scotland, Ireland….. and it was excellent. (*Sidenote: I was about to say it was awesome however, as one of the only Americans, I get made fun of quite frequently for overusing that word so I’m trying to cut back.)There was a solid mix of Spanish and English and Espanglish going on and I was proud of everyone for stepping out of their comfort zones and practicing their language skills. Furthermore, it was a great kickoff to the school year and new beginnings.

Anyway, the night progressed from the botellon to the bar and then to the beach and then to the streets again and then to the discoteca until we all stumbled home around the time the sun was coming up. The boys even went for breakfast and coffee around 7am before staggering in. Needless to say I didn’t make it to breakfast. Also, my bed was my very best friend the next day. First fiesta was a success, but it’s going to take me awhile to readjust to Spanish nightlife….. la gente esta muy loca.

OTHER RECENT HAPPENINGS......

Our fridge broke 4 days ago and we had to throw out a lot of stinky comida but we just got a brand spankin’ new one today! Now to fill it up again…

My new bicycle is really sweet and I can’t wait to ride it all over Cadiz but it took a lot of time and sweat and grease and dedication from my boys to help figure out how to fit the maldita thing in the elevator. It’s enormous and heavy and I live on the 3^rd floor, which of course in Europe is actually the 4^th floor. Also, my culo hurts after just one day, but I will totally adjust.

Luca, the parrot that lives downstairs, is super intelligent and funny as hell.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed watching a reality singing competition (La Voz), a hilarious sitcom (La que se avecina), an emotional talk show (Hay algo que te quiero decir) and a terrible, pathetic, MTV- post-music-era, totally fake reality show (Quien quiere casarse con mi hijo?). And, of course Spanish game shows and football matches are also viewed on a regular basis.

It is, in fact, still hot and sunny. Today is October 10. It’s 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Yesterday it reached 91. I have a better tan now than I did all summer.

Sunsets are incredible every night, but today I realized how beautiful the sunrise is here too. Cadiz is literally surrounded by ocean and every view is a good view.

I’ve been reminded of how many holidays there are in this country where I don’t have to go into school. Exhibit A: Monday and Friday free = 3 day work week AKA two consecutive long weekends. Score.


That's all for now! I'm having fun in the sun but missing my beautiful WNY autumn and of course my gente back home. Xx

Living with Spanish Tios

After a long and grueling process trying to get settled here, I’ve somehow ended up living in Cádiz with 2 (sometimes 3, sometimes more) fun, wonderful, crazy Spanish dudes this year. Some people judge, some might think I’m crazy to subject myself to this chaos, but this is the second time I’ll have had male roommates and I’ve gotta say for me, es la caña. Here’s a list of reasons why:

·         First and foremost, they are boatloads of fun.

·         No drama. Period.

·         Yeah, they are a bit messier than girls (although I’ve known some pretty messy girls in my time) but when there’s a lady in the house they tend to pick up after themselves more.

·         They kill scary bugs and do the really dirty chores and lift heavy things so I don’t have to.

·         They actually cook better than I do and/or share homecooked treats with me from their Spanish madres.

·         There is a seemingly endless supply of cerveza in the house.

·         They randomly bust out into song and/or dance and/or choruses of “Esa Sarah como mola se merece una olaa!...” and sometimes throw me in the air.

·         They take care of me like the big brothers I never had, constantly making sure that todo esta bien and I have everything I need and am comfortable.

·         As the only lady of the house I’ve managed to score a bedroom with a big old sofa bed, a closet fit for a queen and my own bathroom to hide all of my girly things in.

·         They make me feel really pretty when I actually change out of my cozy pajamas to leave the house.

·         Our piso is the center of fun and everyone and anyone is always welcome.

·         Did I mention they are boatloads of fun?

So I didn’t get my cozy little apartment on the beach with an ocean view terrace – though I am just 2 blocks away and therefore go to the beach on a daily basis. However, I can guarantee that I will be safe and comfortable and in good company here and there will surely never be a dull moment! Eso se llama vivir bien…

 

Year 2: A New Adventure

It has been 3 weeks already since I packed up my life’s belongings, which I have recently condensed to fit into one large suitcase and a travel backpack, and hopped on a plane across the Atlantic Ocean for the third time in my 23 years. After a jam-packed summer that kept me busy, then seemed to drag on, then ended too abruptly, I was more than ready to get back to the life I began in Spain one year previously, but the goodbyes – or I should say “see you laters” – were harder than ever this time around.

After a grueling 2 day long journey by nearly every mode of transportation imaginable – planes, trains, buses, taxis, foot – I made it to my home base: the endless strip of sandy beaches, bustling ports, busy Avenues, beautiful architecture and a labyrinth of cobblestone streets and hidden plazas that make up the city of Cádiz on the Atlantic coast of Spain.  It’s impossible not to love this city and I couldn’t have been luckier to be placed in two primary schools here this year.

Although the weather is fantastic (80 degrees and sunny in October?!) and the city is amazing, the first few weeks were surprisingly not so easy this year. In the first 2 weeks alone, I hadn’t even unpacked when I took off to Ubrique for the feria, then visited a friend in the cozy, quiet, hippie beach town of los Caños de Meca, then began the stressful hunt for a piso to get settled before the first day of school, all the while feeling strangely homesick – or rather, feeling like I was missing something consistent in my life. It was, to say the least, an extremely chaotic, emotional, and overwhelming start to the year. I think the hardest part was that coming back to Spain, I was yearning for all that I had left behind back in June. But I’ve since realized that although Ubrique, and the people and my experiences there will be forever engraved in my heart, this year I am forced to start over, from square one, living somewhere different, working somewhere else and meeting new people all over again. That can be exciting, yes, but it is also incredibly exhausting. Some things have carried over from last year – I have contacts here if I ever need something, I somehow wound up living with Ubriqueños in Cádiz, my Spanish is a million times better than last year (not to mention I’ve caught on to the local accent and slang) and I already know how to deal with being a foreigner in this place. On the other hand, many things are different – I don’t (yet) have the camaraderie of my coworkers, I’m working with children much younger this year, I don’t have the companionship of my closest girlfriends nor the Spanish friends and families that had embraced me as one of their own. I should have known this, but it was like a slap in the face when I arrived here and realized I was all alone in a bigger city where people don’t even look twice at a guiri, contrary to my previous small town experience. It took me awhile to get over that, to realize that I hadn’t come back to all the goodness I had left behind, and that to find peace and happiness and comfort here I would have to work hard and be patient. It took me awhile, but now the inner optimist in me is returning and I feel ready to take on this year and to take on Cádiz with full force.

I’m slowly getting settled, poquito a poco. Ironically, I’ve decided to remain in the piso I’ve been staying in while looking for other pisos. I’m living with two guys, Ale and Diego, who are from Ubrique but have lived in Cádiz for awhile. The flat is pretty big, as clean as can be for a house full of boys, and in a pretty good location for me. Big perk: I ended up with the biggest room in the house with a great closet and my own bathroom. Even bigger perk: The guys are wonderful, they take care of me like a little sister… or sometimes like a pet guiri, or a shiny new toy but the point is I feel comfortable here and they are so helpful and kind to me. Like every Ubriqueño I’ve ever met, I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to show my appreciation.  I had seen many other tempting, cozy pisos with views on the beach but why go looking for something better when you already have something good? So for now, this is home.

School has also started. Yesterday I went into both of my schools to meet the teachers and learn my way around. I will be working with kid as young as 4 and 5 years old which will be a challenge but they are so precious and I can’t wait to get started! I love kids. Adorable Spanish speaking kids are even better. Adorable Spanish speaking kids that give me hugs on day one and already think I’m super cool, well I’m just in heaven. I have also already been bombarded by teachers asking for private English lessons for themselves or their children or someone that they know. Even amidst the terrible economic crisis in this country, people are aching to learn English now more than ever, so being a native speaker, I’m fortunate that I can always find enough work to survive off of. I don’t have much, but all I need is all I’ve got. And what I’ve got is surely a blessing.

I’ve also started to meet people. My roommates are busy dudes so they’re in and out of the piso a lot but when we’re home together it’s a blast. I’ve met some of the other American assistants and a Scottish girl as well. We’re all still getting to know each other but at least I know I have some fellow guiris to turn to, especially those that have also repeated the program or been here for awhile. Although our experiences are all unique, we share a lot of the same worries and troubles so it’s good to have someone to relate to in tough times. Many of the teachers seem very friendly as well, so I’m comforted to be surrounded by good people.

SO… here’s to a new beginning in a place I’ve already come to love. I’ve got new goals and high hopes for this year, including fully immersing myself in this fascinating culture, hopefully learning to cook, maybe continuing to dance, and perhaps even taking on the challenge of learning to drive automatic and park like a badass the way Europeans do. For now, I’m just living my life here, teaching and learning and sharing something new every day. Welcome back to the buena vida.

Story Time: Dublin

It's been a very busy summer, but it's time to sit down and crank out one of the many missing chapters from this past year's adventures: the time two lovely ladies and I took on Dublin, Ireland. First, I must go back and introduce the protagonists of this trip...

Once upon a time there were three very different young women who happened to cross paths on the greatest adventure of their lives in the little mountain town of Ubrique, Spain. They each had very different personalities:

Kendra was tall, beautiful and had magical eyes that enchanted all the Spaniards. She was hardworking and dedicated to everything she did and was always friendly and thoughtful... really, she thought a lot, about a lot of things! She kicked ass at futbol (and futbolin!) and she really liked glitter.

Seana was equally as tall and beautiful and a little bit mala, in the best way possible. There was never a dull moment with her and you could always count on her to tell it like it is. She was full of surprises and random knowlege, like how she remembered the birthday of every person she's ever met, memorised all the trees on her university campus just for fun and finds giraffes to be the most interesting animal because there's none like them.

And then there's me, Sarah, who is admittedly indecisive but often optimistic. I was dubbed the "fairy cupcake princess of friendship" or something like that.

What these three girls had in common was there sense of adventure and their love of new people, places and things. Despite our differences, when the three of us came together, we balanced each other out perfectly. The result? Pure awesomeness and fun. Thus was born "The Guiri Marcha." I think when you meet someone who can share what you're going through, feeling out of place in such new and different surroundings, you form a special bond that goes beyond friendship. I can honestly say these girls became my family while in Ubrique and my experience wouldn't have been the same without them.

But enough of the mushy stuff and back to awesomeness and fun: The Guiri Marcha made a lot of friends and had many great times in Ubrique, but one day Seana suggested that we get away for awhile, just the 3 of us... so we made plans to have Seana's birthday celebration in DUBLIN over February break! It would turn out to be one of the best trips ever.

We're all pretty easy going and carefree, and we all have experience with traveling, so we arrived and got settled in sin problema. We stayed in a quaint little hostel right on the River Liffey that had a delicious free breakfast every morning. The location and ambience were great and there happened to be a rugby match versus Italy that weekend, so we met lots of rugby fans - Irish and Italians and foreigners alike! Our roomates were a bunch of girls traveling from Scotland... they were so crazy and fun! They had discovered some sweet Irish flag capes that we would later purchase to scandalize the St. Patty's Day celebrations back in Ubrique.

The River Liffey

I can't remember the details of what happened on which days, but here are some of the highlights of the trip: meeting Seana's friend Ben who was so great and an excellent tour guide; walking around the beautiful Trinity College Campus; touring the Guiness factory and then spending a large amount of time enjoying our free guinness in the glass room with the 360 view of the city; discovering some interesting Irish artists at the gallery; enjoying brown bread and soup; more guiness and "foam on your shrone"; meeting the friendliest people everywhere we go (no language barrier, here! though the accent can throw ya off); making a "birthday buddy" for Seana only to ditch them one bar later with the infamous "Plan C" (pretending to see our friend Clint, acting surprised and "running after him" out the back door and out of sight); hanging out with Oscar Wilde in the park; admiring how GREEN the grass is and watching adorable children play in it; accidentally getting drunk in the early evening and proceeding to eat about 17 plates of sushi and attempt to speak Spanish with our Mexican waiter; Seana scoring an interesting date to the zoo; attempting to speak Gaelic and failing; screaming the word "doirty" (which is actually dirty with a terrible Irish accent);  searching high and low for a real Irish Pub called Morgan's and being disappointed to only come across The Morgan cocktail bar; the real Temple Bar; meeting some guy named Daz, and receiving the nicknames Saz, Shaz and Kaz; screaming every Irish actor's name we could think of in the hopes that we'd stumble across them.....

The Perfect Pint

Trinity

Georgian Doors

Oscar

Kids at heart

Birthday Phil



Foam on our shrones

I don't know why

Sushi... did we do that??

AND... surprise highlight of the night: celebrity spotting Mark Wahlberg on our way to Dicey Riley's nightclub. Kendra walked up to him and gave him dos besos without even saying a word. It actually worked, despite the bodyguard. Seana told him he was so handsome in person, and also got a kiss on the cheek. I laughed and attempted to get photo evidence. It was one day later when we were recounting the story to some dude at Temple Bar and he mentioned that he saw some paparazzi photos in the paper... when we got back to the room, I did a little internet browsing on my phone just out of curiosity. I made the mistake of saying "OMG Don't freak out" and both girls literally scaled my bunk bed to see what I was talking about: We had been paparazzi-ed with Marky Mark. I don't think I'd ever seen girls climb so fast or scream so loud.



Paparazzi with Marky Mark

Seana is star struck

The aftermath

We had such a great time in Dublin, we didn't want to leave. We had planned on taking a trip to the Irish countryside one day, but decided just to relax and explore and enjoy our time in the capital. It was a perfect trip. Should the Guiri Marcha reunite someday, I think we'll go back for round two.