collinste1

A year of experience, memories that will last a life time, and a wealth of knowledge that has both humbled and empowered me to become a better teacher, role model and person.

One long year.

I failed a lot. A LOT. Not only professionally, but personally as well. I succeeded a lot. A LOT. Professionally more so than in my personal life. I survived. I embraced. I changed the lives of my students, I hope for the better.

I joined Teach for America on a whim. It really was a process that was not well thought out and even though I never thought I would get in, I for some reason did. At some point through out the process I was excited, nervous and really wanted to be accepted into the program. For a good portion of the year I thought that I would end this year thinking, what was I thinking? And, well, I am! But in a different way than I originally thought.

It is no secret that I had a very difficult time at institution in Atlanta. It is also not surprising or unknown that this year was faced with an extremely overabundant amount of challenges. From overbearing grandmothers, to little administration support, planning given and taken at the pleasure of others and all the in between, daily circumstances played heavily on my role as a teacher throughout the year. But guess what? I fought, I accomplished and I achieved gains I once not only thought were very unlikely, but nearly impossible.

So to throw a little TFA lingo at you, I will give you some of my immediate take aways from a year full of hope, disappointment and smiles:

- It is a bad idea to get romantically involved with some one your first month of teaching. Just don't do it. Especially when insecurities are what got both of you into the fast paced relationship in the first place. Though it was joyous at times, it was more heartbreaking, distracting and an overall failure in the end. Also, it will lead to heart attacks every time you step foot into The Pub, Oz, or Good Friends.

- Centers! Focus your teaching on routine and get centers into place early. Explain the importance of centers and have high expectations when conducting these centers. Centers will make or break you. If you get the students on board, routinely run them and are able to systematically make it work, they will be the difference between a year of learning and a year of wondering how you differentiate with a room full of kids on different levels.

- Be humbled by the differences you will encounter. Don't take offense, don't jump to conclusions or fight back. Hold your head up high and know even though others may not yet see your true genuine self, you have to win peoples trust. Do this by taking a humble approach and always working for the reason you are here, the students.

- You are going to be asked if every white person that passes, is in a tv show or movie, or that is seen in pictures or books are your brother, mother, father or friend. Just say yes.

- Bite your tongue when a student shrugs his or her shoulders and mutters the dreaded words, "I don't care". It is not worth the fight (in my classroom I move you down 2x when you do it, but that needs to be the end of it. No snide comments back, they aren't listening or caring, they are doing it because they know it will get a reaction).

- Get to know your coworkers, even if they don't seem too interested in getting to know you. Again be humble on your own opinions or feelings, it is a different culture and people may not even think you deserve the same rights as them, but you have to work with them. So get to know the parts you do like about them and treasure the knowledge you can get from people who have grown up in the community you are teaching in and who have done the job a lot longer than you have. They have a lot of things you may not care to hear, but one word of wisdom may be all it takes to save you. You will also meet some pretty terrific people who have fought more difficult hardships and came up on top.

- Though I was weary, living with another TFA corps member may have been what really got me through this year. It is a good idea to live with some one who is going to not only know what you are going through, but have a lot of similar struggles. Just make sure you aren't always consistently talking about school and all will be worthy.

- In the end, you will love your kids. And you will be proud of yourself.

I had a conversation with a high school friend (aka my ex-girlfriend) at my going away party almost exactly a year ago now. She told me that her students reading level had grown exponentially, though she didn't feel like it was her that caused it. I thought to myself, how do you get your students reading level to grow so much (the goal in my class in reading was 2 years growth, something I am sure all of my students can tell you)? Teach for America set a goal of 1.6 years reading growth for our classrooms. Well, my class grew around 1.62 years growth. I have some students who grew over 2.5 years. I have only 1 student who is under a years growth, at .75. So just like my old friend, I too am amazed and not sure I am able to take full credit for this much growth in my classroom. But, I know it was me working relentlessly (that's right, I said it...another TFA term) and not many else saw these children the way that I did. So who else could be to blame? For that alone I consider my year a success, even though a lot of other stuff went wrong. I know I did something incredible and that is my biggest take away from a year I often consider to be hell.

I will go into next year with more focus and I have a fairly decent idea of my target areas that I want to hit from day 1. This knowledge is what makes your 2nd year a lot better and more worthwhile than the first, or so I have been told.

I want to thank all the people who have fully supported and stuck by me throughout this year. You are the reason I survived. You are the reason for my success.

Center Time:














Reading Buddies with 3rd grade:










Field Day:













Guest Author reads to our class!



Aquarium trip:




Former New Orleans Saints player Michael Lewis comes in to read:

There is something to be said for those who can have the courage to face a challenge, just to be rejected. There is even more to be said for those who take that rejection gracefully.


I don't think one moment defines you. I don't think that being unable to build the confidence to attempt to be courageous for one event in your life means that you will never rise to an occasion. I don't think that having the confidence for one occasion and failing, means you will always fail. If you take the failure hard, it doesn't mean you cannot learn from the experience. Maybe next time you will be more graceful in your demise. Maybe you won't. Just know that when the moment happens, that you reach out and try for something and it doesn't pan out, but you are able to land on your feet, you will have had a success story for the books. And on top of it, maybe an even better learning experience than had you come out on top.

Being a teacher means making spontaneous and random decisions. Multiple ones. It is exhausting. Teaching in general is exhausting, but that is a whole other post. As a teacher, you are often faced with having to quickly decide to have this courageous confidence, or to let the opportunity slip by. For example, I have been faced with hearing students use the word "faggot" on more than one occasion. Do I step in and explain why this is a cruel and inappropriate thing to say? I'd say I most definitely make this decision. Do I go a step further and explain how it hurts me individually, making a more personal and clear message? Probably not in 2nd grade. I have a friend here who had to have this conversation with his high school students recently and it has lead to a lot of trouble for him. But he had the courage to take the step. Was it graceful? I think only he could say for sure.

When I came to New Orleans I knew I would be faced with many difficult experiences where I would have to make courageous decisions. In fact, coming to New Orleans was a courageous decision within itself. I knew that I would be rejected by students and parents from the start. I took this rejection gracefully because I knew I had to. I had no choice but to be graceful or I would never change the minds of these students and their parents. I had to win them over, rather than accept their rejection and cower for the school year. A success that has, I believe, paid off. What if I didn't fight? I would have never survived. All of my closest supporters would agree, fighting this rejection was a brave and smart decision.

I survived thus far in New Orleans. It has been exhausting. When I say the word survive, I truly feel that I was put in survival mode. Courageous and building confidence, a rejection I took gracefully and overcame. But as I said, you can take one and win, just to take another and lose. Being rejected by some one you feel closest to is no easy feat. To say I have been ungraceful, would be possibly the biggest understatement of the year. I have been downright pathetic.

People believed fighting in one cause, the rejection of my students and parents was smart, brave and necessary. I guess when it came to my most recent rejection, I was the one who felt it was necessary, even when not many others did. I fell flat on my face, over and over and over. The art of rejection was something I had just mastered, why couldn't I this time? Or maybe the fall is what I needed, to understand exactly where I am and what I do and do not need. Regardless, it is a learning experience. And like I said, one that will be different every time. Most importantly, one that will constantly be changing and leaving everlasting impressions, molding my life experiences.

To be graceful, even in the face of your darkest and deepest rejection is ideal. But unlikely. But remember, no matter how silly you look, it was all done in fight for what you feel in your heart is right. It just might not mean it was meant to be. As bad or hard the fall, the climb up is really what determines how you handled the rejection. It is ok to fail, just don't let it define you. I won't let it define me. I have too many more successes to accomplish for that to happen.


On Spring Break, sitting in the sun, reading the hunger games on my balcony.

Clearly teaching, New Orleans and life has taken me away for some time now. It is Spring Break already and so many incredibly enlightening and depressing things have taken place since last writing, I am not really sure where or what to focus on. Probably the story of my existence at the moment. Where do I put my energy and focus?

I bet if I asked people for their opinion on this, I would hear a lot of different answers. Some would go the teaching route. You are in New Orleans to make a difference, focus on your class. Some would focus on my health. You need to stay healthy, mentally and physically.

I think what it all boils down to is the underlining disappointment that this experience has proven to be. And please don't interpret that as me saying I am miserable and disappointed in the direction my life has taken, because that isn't what I am trying to say. I haven't taken on an emoesque persona. So what exactly am I talking about?

I undoubtedly took incorrect actions when making important decisions on what to focus on right from the start. When in Atlanta, an overabundant amount of work was surged onto me, making me drowned with second thoughts of choosing to be a part of this program. In response, I enjoyed my weekends and survived the summer. When it came time to set up for my classroom, I tried hard to come up with a good space, though didn't understand the importance of systems and a culture of achievement, rather than a culture of comfortability and acceptance. My thought was, once I have them on my side they will be willing to listen and I can then teach them. A month of failure after failure and the first run in/turn down by administration and I was feeling unstable and alone. So it is no surprise that when my personal life presented something that could make me feel stable and valued, I embraced it and cared for it deeply.

Eventually I was able to make the changes that helped change my classroom. I spent countless hours working on systems, especially when it came to centers. All of my energy school wise was put into making the students care about their behavior, want their education and reading levels to improve and for them to understand they would grow the most during center time (where I would eventually be able to focus on individual attention). It worked, things improved and my students centers were something to be awed at. By this time of the year, a routine is so well down that teachers are coming in to look at how they are run. Which is a small success I have taken humbly.

All of the time I sacrificed was at the expense of others. Something I understand. I was and still am always tired. I had no energy to be appreciative or romantic or fun. It is something I didn't expect at the beginning of the year. Something I hadn't been warned about when deciding to become a teacher. However, things were still stable, at least in my head. I had support and stability from the people I needed it from. Until I didn't.

I think when something that keeps you grounded is taken away, you have a lot of emotions. People ask me, why are you torturing yourself now that things have changed? Why keep trying so hard? Why not move on? I think the first thing I have to ask myself is, was it what was keeping me stable that I valued so much? Was it just the fact that I felt valued? Or was it that I just wanted to be stable and have control because I had no control over anything else. I am not sure I could give you an honest answer because the truth lies some where meshed in the middle of all of it.

What I do know is with the end of the year coming, students are feeling restless. Classroom culture is decreasing and my patience has diminished. The one thing that was keeping me stable is gone and I feel strong disappointment in all of it. Disappointment that though I may have made some difference, I feel way further behind now than when I started. Disappointment that feeling so close and loved and supported by some one wasn't enough for me to make it stay stable.

Spring break has made me appreciate the hard work I have put in to make it this far. I know I have survived the first year...no matter how bad the next 6 weeks, I know I can get through them. I also believe that in the long run, no matter how disappointed I feel now, I will be way further ahead when all is said and done. But at the moment, even with all of the joys, I still feel disappointed.





2nd & 3rd graders about to hunt for Easter Eggs the day before break!

I swear I had them when I woke up.

I may not wake up feeling the most refreshed, but I feel more inspired to be a better teacher, friend, family member, and boyfriend on a daily basis when that alarm goes off.

Well, I do worry about having to go to work for about an hour before that alarm goes off, but once it does I am all about the people in my life. 5:57 am and I am ready to conquer the world.

Then about 3 meltdowns later, 4 unexpected changes in a schedule and a few mandatory items due yesterday take place. And if you were to ask me to look at my clock, it would still only be about 9:00am. However, that is getting ahead of things. I still have 3 hours before that to make things happen.

For the first 3 months of work I drove to school playing "Today is your Day", by the one and only Shania Twain. My superstitious kick was in full effect and if I did not hear this song on the way to work, it was going to be a terrible, horrible, no good kinda day. I could probably stop writing anything else. I could safely assume one would already see the downfall of what I once called a normal life.

Now that the phase has passed (though Shania will always be in my heart), I am still getting to work for 6:45. The moment I arrive to work until the moment I leave is frantic, chaotic, tiring and a fairly big blur. Though each day is different, some go faster than others. Teachers are constantly on their feet, which isn't actually the most exhausting part of the day. What is the most tiring thing about teaching is the talking. If you do not like to talk, teaching is not the profession for you. Between the crazy things you hear yourself say, to the desperate pleading to get a child to sit quietly and do their work while being observed by the 100th person, the big dreams of this morning become just that, dreams.

If I do not answer a text right after I get it, I am going to forget I got it in the first place. This is where I start to become a not so great friend. When I say I am going to call you back, I have had a million thoughts in the 10 seconds following the hang up, which means I am not calling back, making me a bad son. The moment I hit the bed, I am asleep and I am constantly wishing it happened before 10pm. This includes Friday's, which makes me feel extra pathetic. When we do talk on that rare occasion, it is to inform you how hard things are, how tired I am and every so often I have a crazy student story to share with you. I'd probably tell them more if I wasn't so tired, or maybe if I didn't have double the amount of frustration moments through out the day. I'm not really that old and I am not really that mean. I just am in over my head on a daily basis. Who would of thought doing something that could be considered selfless has made me come off as so selfish?

By the time the students leave, I tend to find myself pacing in circles around my classroom, trying to decide what I should do. However, things only tend to get worse and the best and possibly most wise decision of the day is to choose to leave and sit in traffic trying to cross the Mississippi. By the time I get home and have dinner, any type of transformational change is going to have to wait for tomorrow...

where at 4:47am I begin the dream all over again.

When I was in second grade, I probably learned that money doesn't grow on trees. Now I know paper doesn't, either.

Paper has always been accessible and available. Something as a small student to a college grad that I never had to think twice about. But after just 6 months of teaching, it has turned into an endangered supply that I am willing to jump through hoops for.

When making my classes supply list for the first time of my teaching career, I wasn't really sure where to start. Now the very first item on that list could possibly be a ream of paper. I am not sure I could tell you exactly how much a gallon of milk costs, but I do know a 500 page ream of paper costs $3.72. I think they are around the same price and I know that I'd run out of paper before I ran out of milk.

Making copies on a daily basis has taught me a few things. For example, never rely on a copy machine. They do not make good friends and they are not very trustworthy. They always tend to jam in your most desperate moment.

Pressing the start button and realizing you are making the copies wrong and thus wasting paper is a heart breaking moment....every time. As if you just lost your dog and he's never coming back.

Finding paper in the copy machine that some sucker (aka other poor teacher) left behind is like finding a life changing, winning lottery ticket.

Nightmares come in the form of the loud, annoying, beeping noises a copy machine makes when you need to replenish paper or a paper jam occurs.

You just found what you think is the last lost boy (aka hidden paper in the jammed copy machine), when you shut all doors in a fit of joy and it beeps again, telling you there are unfound papers still deep within the abyss.

Though paper has been a big issue, there has been a lot of support from generous people. It is hard making a teachers salary and then having to spend a good amount of that salary on your classroom. Though paper is a big expense that has been taken for granted, it is only one of the many things I have to get for class. For the first few months of teaching (and often at times still), Walmart felt more like home than my apartment.

After 6 months of teaching, I still feel unprepared on a daily basis. But I do now know the true value of paper.

a day that I imagine will not leave my mind for a very long time.

I had faced many challenges educationally and even professionally up to this point. From writing a 35-page thesis that included pieces of art that took a year to develop. Graduating with my Bachelors from Emmanuel College. To having been a Resident Assistant for 2 years where I dealt with many odd and at times funny incidents. Followed by an out of the ordinary job as a service coordinator for individuals with mental illnesses. Then moving to a country where I didn't speak the language as a teacher in a school where not many did share my language. I have faced many fears (though I still have odd ones, like calling for delivery or going through drive thru's), but nothing could of really prepared me for this day. My first day as a 2nd grade teacher.

I had tried to do all I could in the very short amount of time that I had been given to get ready for my students. So as the days got closer and closer and the time I had left became smaller and smaller...I....well, I don't really know. Time blurs when you are so frantically reaching out and fixing anything you possibly can that is within arms length. You forget to stop and think about what you are doing, you just do whatever pops up into your head, whatever is bright enough for you to notice, calling out your name and saying, "you need to get me done before you have actual little people in here". What were the most noticeable things being done, you ask? Well, I bet it was straightening out desks when they didn't seem quite straight enough. Hanging up paper that would allude as water, paper to appear as surfboards and trying to come up with some system that would hopefully entice my students in some way so that they would behave while sitting in my classroom. In my head, there was so much to be done and it was so overwhelming that though it didn't seem important, it mattered that these little tasks get done. It kept me grounded. Looking back I wonder if had I known what was going to progress over the next several months, would of I spent more time on much more important tasks? I am positive I would of been just as overwhelmed, just as lost and confused and pacing in circles just like I do on a daily basis when I am alone in my classroom, wondering "what next"?

When I walked out to the yard to wait for my students to come line up in my line, I was nervous about a few things. I was nervous about what my students would think of me. How they would feel about having me as their teacher. I am not sure I was worried because I felt incompetent and unprepared. Or if I worried because I knew I was about to be in an unfamiliar situation in what was suppose to be my own classroom. I had been the only American in a room before. The only one who couldn't speak the language of that school in the classroom. But when that were the case, it didn't matter what the kids said about me. I couldn't understand, so I quickly learned to not really worry about it. Why be paranoid about things I didn't need to know. I think I was also more prepared for the differences. I stepped off the plane in Spain and found myself in a new world. I found myself in a completely different situation here, though. I stepped out of my own car thinking I am in the same country, surrounded by people who speak the same language as me and almost all of my most prized possessions are with me (if only I had my snowboard :-)). I wasn't prepared. It didn't take long, not even a half hour to get my first dose of culture shock. Right before picking up my students I found out I had what they call a grandma in my class with me. No warning or explanation of what exactly it meant, I just knew some one was going to be in my room.

Though I did not know it then, this new development was going to be another one of those unforeseen challenges. Though not unlike ones I had experienced in the past, it even seemed eerily similar to an experience I had while student teaching, it was one that would give me my first real break down here in New Orleans.

I nervously walked my students to what would be their classroom for the 2011-2012 school year. A class that was decked out in a "surf's up" theme, with a vision that I wanted to instill in my classroom . The students turned the corner to enter my room and the first of my classroom experience, one I hoped to be positive and exciting was a student saying, "well at least we have her".

Sitting in my rocking chair, in my room, grandma.

The drive from Boston to New Orleans was a long one, though it was enjoyable. I wish I had gotten the chance to see more people while home. I wish I had more time with the people I did see while at home. But I had to be in New Orleans so that I could search for an apartment and begin all of the professional development that was to be endured before teaching started.

On the way to New Orleans, I told Meg and B, who were soon to be leaving Virginia Beach for their new adventure in Alaska that I would make a final visit. So with my parents and all the things I could stuff into my car, I made my journey south. We first stopped at Ocean City because I always had a desire to see what it was like there. And like I thought it might be, it was a pretty cool place. Typical beach with a touristy boardwalk, but the feeling was good. It could be that I spent a summer away from the beach in extremely hard circumstances. Or it could be that I just really love the beach atmosphere. Either way, it was a nice quick dinner visit.



By the time we left Ocean City and arrived at Virginia Beach it was pretty late. I stayed with Meg and B for the night, while my parents stayed at the Sheraton. A friend I met in Atlanta hooked us up with a nice deal in V.b. and we were extremely grateful for it. The view was pretty spectacular. And the breeze on the balcony...I really could of sat there for days.



It was real nice to see Meg and B. It was also nice to spend the time with my parents. After leaving them we headed to Atlanta. This was a last minute switch because we were originally going to Nashville. But we were able to get a great deal on a hotel in Atlanta, where as if we had gone to Nashville we wouldn't of gotten any deal. I loved Atlanta as a city and I wanted to show my parents where I spent my summer, so it made sense to make this switch. It also gave me some time to see some friends I had met. It also allowed me to do one thing I never got the chance to do over the summer....go to the aquarium:



We had a short stay in ATL and then headed for New Orleans. It was fun to get to see New Orleans with my parents. They enjoyed some signature drinks at popular tourist destinations, such as Pat O'Briens:





The only real bad part about the experience was that the whole time they were here it a) rained tons and b) I was frantically searching for a new home. I did eventually find one (the same day they left) and that following week started a lot of professional development for school. Though most of it was tediously long and seemed all to familiar/reminiscent of the long summer days I had just experienced, it went by and I was able to clean/organize my room. It started off looking like a bomb had gone off, with so many things and very little space. On top of it all, I had little to no knowledge at all of what I needed to keep or get rid of or where to put the things I needed out of the room. Part of the process looked like this:



Eventually I had it looking a little better:







I chose to do a "surfs up" theme, hence the surf boards and palm tree. This was the original set up of my class. And really, as the saying goes, "had I known then what I know now", I would of done things much, much, much, much differently. Though details will not be spilled quite yet, it was a rough start to a new school year.

I had my first experience with students at open house, where students and parents came to visit and do a meet and greet. Though not many showed, a few did and we were all entertained by Mardi Gras Indians. It was a cool experience and made me excited for the year.







The cleaning and organizing and getting to know the staff was all a preview to what was in store for the year, but I still had no idea what I had truly gotten myself into. Up to this point, all I could do was ponder upon what might happen and who exactly was going to walk into my classroom. I had a semi-set vision and a door that told students what my theme/goal for the year was....to get through second grade:



The first day of school was about to come about and if I had to describe my feelings, I'd read you the book...."First Day Jitters".

where a teacher gets a nice, relaxing, long and wonderful vacation.....

WRONG.

Where a new Teach for America corps member goes to have a crash course introduction to the city they will be living in for the next 2 years, followed by an EXTREMELY difficult summer of teaching random students in a random school who are performing very low academically in a brand new city (probably not the same one you will be teaching in for the next 2 years).

I did mine in Atlanta.



It was indeed hard. It felt fairly long. The students were challenging and we only had 5 weeks with them. Trying to develop a meaningful relationship with these students in 5 weeks, while trying to teach them all these new objectives daily (some that normally take a week or so to teach in itself), seemed and at times (most times, really) proved to be impossible. It broke many down and made lots question what they had gotten themselves into, including me.



That's right, we all looked like that guy. Cept this was no Dawson's Creek...in a nice seaside town of Massachusetts. We were on the campus of Georgia Tech, bused off every morning to be observed by people who made you want to wet yourself and by kids who some times did wet themselves. I am not sure I was successful in teaching through out the summer. By the 5th week with them we had just started making connections with each individual student (I only had 9) and it was already time to say goodbye.

It was a huge reality check after just finishing my Masters in Education degree. I was being told that I was being ineffective in the classroom and that my planning/management was poor. I put in more and more and more hours, so that the little free time I had to go to the gym and hang out dissipated, as did my sleeping time.

By the end I was told by those observing me that I had made a huge growth and that they saw a gap closed (I don't actually remember what gap that was), but it was time to go fly home for 24 hours, if that, before getting in a car with my mom and dad and driving across country to New Orleans.

I used to be energized.
I used to be in control.
I used to be comfortable.
I used to be at home.

But now I'm not.

I know it has been awhile and I know I didn't even get the chance to finish my writing about Spain, but it is time I try and get back into writing and reflecting on things going on around me. It feels odd to me that my last post was in June of 2009. It was a week before I left Spain. Thinking about that date, it doesn't seem so long ago. However, it feels like a decade since I was living a different life in Spain. A very, very different life.

I don't really even know how to update my doings since June 25th, 2009. The day I returned from Spain. I spent a year in school and working at a school specifically meant for special education. I met great people and since then have not been very close to them, just like a lot of the great people I had the privilege of meeting while in Spain. Isn't it strange how people come and go? They all have a place in my heart, but time goes by and our lives send us in different directions. I student taught at the Center School in my hometown and really enjoyed the experience. Here is the school I student taught at:



After graduating with my Masters in Elementary Education. Oh yea...I graduated! I thought, as I did with my bachelors, that I was golden. I was going to be able to find a job and make money that I could actually live on. Well...fast forward a month after graduation and I am looking for random jobs that have nothing to do with my masters. I actually got hired at Best Buddies, one of the life long goals I had made, but in the end got offered a job at the Center School. After a lot of thinking and doubting, I decided to take the job related to education worked at the school I student taught at for the rest of the year as a 1:1 aide with a little guy who I really loved.

I guess I will devote a little time before moving on to mention that after Spain and before now I had my first boyfriend. A long distance relationship where he was in Chicago. It was a roller coaster of a road and in the end, it wasn't a very fun ending. It led me to randomly do things...such as....

I randomly applied to Teach for America, a program I knew I wouldn't get into. Not in a million years. Or so I thought. I think I got use to my doings being not as important, which made me think I wasn't really worth or capable of things. But I thought, if I could just get into this program, I would really prove (I don't really know who to) that I am worth it and I am special. And low and behold, I got in. Through a little bit more thinking and a whole lot of doubt, I uplifted my entire life and moved to a city I never thought in a million years I would be moving to, New Orleans.

So here I am. In New Orleans teaching a second grade class. A lot has happened from when I heard I got into Teach for America to now, but for now I will just show some of the new things I have going for me.

The Dome:


My new apartment:


Balcony on St. Charles (the Mardi Gras parades will pass through here!)


My bedroom:




The tree outside my window, full of beads:

After a lot of ups and a few downs, we left Cadiz by train to get to Sevilla. Known for being the capital city of Andalusia, as well as a once important trade city, it is located on the Guadalquivir River. It is a city full of architecture, art, culture and a Roman and Moorish past.

We were going to be in Sevilla for Easter, which is suppose to be a great time, as well as one of the most busiest times in Sevilla. We were told my numerous of people that locals leave Sevilla during this time to avoid the massive crowds that flood in from around Spain. This is because Sevilla has a rich history of religion, so why not be in the most religious place during such a religious time of the year.



When we had problems with our hostel in Cadiz, we decided to try and confirm our reservations at the hostel in Sevilla before leaving for the city. After numerous failed attempts, we decided we had to just hope for the best. Some how our failed attempts not only kept us in the dark about our reservation, but in the end it screwed us over because the hostel got a call from the booking company to say we had cancelled our reservations, which was clearly not the case. The lady working the desk was extremely helpful though, which was a relief seeing that
we were all so tired and could not believe our hostel reservations once again went wrong. Though we had to split up, some of us in one hostel while others stayed in a different hostel, it turned out to be fine and everything worked out.

Not only did I look forward to seeing Sevilla because of all the great things I had heard, but a friend from Emmanuel was studying a semester here and it meant I would get to see her. This would be the first person I saw from home since arriving here, which made me quite happy. We went out one night and I was able to experience mini mojitos (mini in Spain means huge huge cups, oddly enough) and agua - which is a lot of different alcohols all in a jarra (pitcher). You are then given 2 shot cups and you take shots. Or for some of them you are given straws and you drink out of the pitcher. We met some interesting people and had a great time.

( Sevilla )

I am really glad I decided to do this Semana Santa trip with the girls. I almost backed out at one point in fear of spending too much money and not really enjoying so much traveling. I was ready for a relaxing vacation, which though this trip was not all that relaxing cuz we had so much to see, the work was definitely worth it.

When I first arrived to Spain/Europe I thought off all the different countries I wanted to see. And now that I have done this trip as well as seen some other towns/cities in Spain, I am happy to have taken the time to explore Spain. There is still so much to see, but if you move to a country I think it is important to get to know it well and see it's culture. This is some thing that I have figured out while here, especially on this trip. I will have other opportunities to come back to Europe and explore other countries, it will be nice to go back to the states feeling like I saw a good amount of the country I was living in.