Vacaciones y La Primera Dia con el Segundo

Well...since it's been over a week since I've updated, its going to be a long post. Ready? Here we go.
Last week was La Semana Santa (Easter Week), which meant no school! So, Leslie and I jetted off on a European adventure. We started off by going to Rome. Let me just say that Rome is absolutely AMAZING. I would go back in a heartbeat. It was beautiful. We stayed in a bed and breakfast run by a lady named Silvia.

Our room at the B&B

She barely spoke English and we didn't speak any Italian, but we managed to communicate using a little Spanish, a bit of English, and lots of hand gestures. She was extremely nice; she drove us to the train station each morning and picked us up whenever we returned. Figuring out the public transportation in Rome was a struggle at first, but I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly we got the hang of it. Our first day was Saturday, and we walked around the city (in the rain, unfortunately) to see some of the architecture. Despite the rain, it was a really good day. I was extremely proud of our ability to just wander around and find our way back at the end of the day! Sure, we got lost several times, and we found ourselves walking in circles at times too, but we also found a lot of stunning buildings and statues that we probably wouldn't have visited if we had been strictly following a map. Saturday was also day that we had our first taste of true Italian spaghetti. Putting this experience into words is nearly impossible. I was sitting on cloud nine for hours afterwards, that's for sure! Sunday was one of the most memorable days of the trip. We visited the Vatican and witnessed a sermon by THE POPE on his FIRST EASTER AS THE POPE.

El Padre!

 

Even though we were totally lost in the sea of people and too far to see much, we could hear him, and it was breathtaking. Despite not being Catholic, it was a powerful experience. The band played the Hallelujah Chorus before he spoke, and I was excited that I recognized something from the service! He spoke in Italian, so I didn't understand all of it, but he ended his speech with his wishes for the world. It was touching; he spoke about peace in war-torn countries, such as the Iraq/Iran/etc., those caught in religious battles, and those being torn apart by deadly diseases, such as Africa. The crowd broke out into cheers several times, and it gave me goosebumps. This may sound silly, but I felt like the city felt a little more magical since it was Easter.

Spanish Steps

For our remaining time in Rome, we ate lots of pasta, visited all the main tourist sites, ate lots of gellato, and did I mention we ate lots of pasta? Yum.

On Tuesday, we flew to Bremen, Germany. You may ask, "Why Bremen? That isn't a very popular tourist spot." You would be right. My answer? It was significantly cheaper than flying to Berlin or Munich. ha! Even though it isn't a super touristy spot, it was still a very pretty city. For the two days we were there, there was plenty to do, and it wasn't bad that we had a bit of down time to relax and recuperate from our Italian adventures. There is a statue in Bremen that has something to do with the Grimm Brothers (I never quite understood exactly what it was for) and it is EVERYWHERE.

You can't go into a store without seeing endless statues, tshirts, stuffed animals, key chains, magnets, etc., with this statue! The hostel we stayed in was actually really comfortable and the staff spoke nearly perfect English, which was a huge relief, considering neither Leslie nor I spoke a lick of German. 

At 4:30 am on Thursday morning, we hopped in a cab and headed for the airport, where we boarded a plane that took us to Amsterdam. We had a 5 1/2 hour layover in Amsterdam before getting on another plane headed to Paris. I want to go back to Paris so badly! Unfortunately, we did not have enough time to explore the city like we had hoped, due to several complications with our flight back to Madrid and our really crappy hotel we were staying in. haha But we managed to get on a tour bus that drove around to all of the main sights. I am hoping to get back to Paris before June, though, so I can actually get off the bus and explore some more! The Eiffel Tower was stunning. I can't even describe the excitement I felt as we drove up to it; seeing this gigantic monument has been on my bucket list since I was in like 5th grade. I was dying to get off the bus and go up to the third floor, but alas, we had no time.

One day, Tower, one day.

Saturday seemed endless as we hopped on a plan back to Madrid, then onto a train to Chamartin, then on a train to Avila, where we finally took a cab back to the Residencia. It was so good to be "home." Leslie and I promptly showered and relaxed until dinner, and after dinner? We crashed, hard. It was glorious. haha

Today was my first day with the 2nd grade classes at Santo Tomas. They are such sweethearts! I am amazed by the dramatic jump in maturity from 1st to 2nd grade here. I saw that in the States, too, but it seems like it is more dramatic here. The students are clearly eager to learn (most of them, anyway), and they were excited to learn about me. I am really looking forward to this week with them! Tomorrow I will be teaching them about the United States and Indiana. Hopefully it will be a smoother lesson with them than it was with the first graders. There is one boy in the class that is absolutely brilliant--reminded me a lot of one of my students back in the States. Unfortunately, he has a really terrible home life, and as a result, he has pretty severe behavior problems. The principal and headmistress have decided that it is best for him to sit isolated from the rest of the class, which makes me sad, but I understand that those measures are necessary sometimes. He seemed to take to me pretty quickly, and I think we'll get along just fine. He just needs a little extra attention, and hopefully I'll be able to make a very small impact on his life. 

One other thing that I have noticed, that doesn't really have much to do with my school. Europe in general is very accepting. On Facebook lately, there has been a lot of heated discussions and posts about the gay marriage debate. While I know that there are definitely opinions and debates that go on here, overall, people in Europe are so much more accepting of pretty much everything. It just makes me happy. I have seen so much hate in the States, and it is a breath of fresh air to see people who genuinely support one another, despite their differences. That is one thing that I will miss when I return in June.