Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Miss and no miss...

...this is what my English has come to after months of teaching eight year old Spanish children and stubborn adults how to speak English. Hahaha....hopefully this summer, someone will be willing to engage in a conversation where I can use words from my university English compositions or better yet, just audible, logical sentences where I don't have to concept check every few minutes.

On that note, I was thinking of a few things that will pull at my heart upon departure and things that I'd have gladly waved off a long time ago.

Things I will NOT miss when I leave Spain:

* The god-forsaken cigarette SMOKE! Along with the bull, the cigarette should be a symbol of Spain. I'm tired of walking into clouds of hovering smoke on the streets of Valladolid and not being able to find anyone smoking. I'd rather walk the streets of America and inhale Krispy Kreme doughnuts and fried hamburger. At least my hair will smell tasty and not reek of the bar when I go outside.

* Distinguishing between the preterito perfecto and the indefinido past tenses. There's a point when too much becomes too much and I just can't be a part of the interchangeable Spanish past tense world.

* Uh, the messes my roommates leave in the kitchen whenever they make food. Oh, did I mention the sour milk drip on my food?

* Old Spanish women elbowing me out of the way when I happen to walk in their designated path.

* People staring at me when I speak English.

* People looking at me as if I'm a three headed mythical beast when I try to ask for something in Spanish.

* The never-ending RAIN. When will it STOP? This is supposed to be SPAIN!

Things I will miss when I leave Spain:

* The friends I've made here. They know who they are.

* The following phrases: VALE, claro, creo que si, todavia no, entonces, pues, estas seguro?, tu tranquila...

* The extremely cheap price of medication at pharmacies.

* Hikes in the mountains.

* Zapatillo cookies and sweet wine at Penicilino

* The fact that even though I get up late in the morning on the weekend, or even during the week, the shops are still not open until later. Because everyone's relaxing, I feel more relaxed. This can also prove to be a pain in the ass sometimes.

* Cafe teas, coffees, Cokes, sangrias.

* Spanish classes with Kathrin.

* Chats with Maggie.

* Segovia, Sevilla, Puerto de Santa Maria, Madrid, Barcelona.

* Tortilla

* The Sunday evening paseo

* My students

* The peacocks and white geese in Campo Grande

* Discovering expositions or random parades and festivities occuring around the city. It's almost as if there's always something going on. (Today's sandcastle competition with artists from around the world- for example.)

I'm sure there are things I've left out, but this is what I've come up with for now...

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