A future weatherman? I think not but here's some fun weather stuff anyway

We're off to the Circus!

Friday (the 23rd) was an excursion to the circus. I had no idea I was going until the day before which is usual for most of the field trips I've gone on. No complaints from me thought because I love going on these trips and getting out of the classroom. The circus wasn't too far away so the drive only took about a half hour and the weather was quite nice when we arrived. We were greeted by a clown and for some reason I could only think about how creepy clowns can be. I never had any traumatic experiences with clowns, well except for when  I watched "It" and saw a sewer dwelling child eating clown in action, but I don't really have any negative feelings toward them. Clowns are people too! Still kinda creepy.

After we arrived it was time for breakfast so we walked down to the meeting area in a clearing down a ways from the parking lot. The circus is in the mountains so there was a forested area where we stopped to eat. The announcer clown was pretty funny. He tried and failed to pronounce my name but he kept telling people I was an English teacher from L.A. As the others schools arrived he would use the loudspeaker and say hey there's a teacher from L.A over there. Good times. After the snacking was done, it was time for dancing. Yes there is always time for dancing here in Spain. The kids got to shake out some energy and I got to hop up on the truck where the Clown/MC was leading things to take some pictures.

View from the DJ car

After the dancing was over we packed up and continued up the hill to the actual circus tent area. The sky was beautiful this day and I took a considerable amount of pictures just of the sky. I think I'll have to replace my lens one of these days, or clean it somehow, because I think there's something causing a dark spot to appear on my shots. It's really small luckily but I don't know how I can clean inside the lens. Oh well, a minor problem for another day.

Sky was super blue that day

Playing with the GoPro

So today was a pretty crazy day from a weather standpoint. I left for work this morning and thought to myself, "hey it's pretty nice out and not cold at all." Although, about halfway to work I noticed that I was starting to sweat and I didn't think I was walking all that fast. Then it hit me. It was probably the most humid day of the year so far and the sky was a weird jungle floor like mist. I had never seen weather like that anywhere really but luckily by the time night rolled around the air finally decided to fully saturate and it rained itself out. I'd rather get rained on and be wet than feel like I'm walking through suspended animation invisible raindrops. 

That wasn't the most important part of the week however as there was no school on Thursday due to a celebration. Well there were no classes to be exact. The kids still reported to school for a day of cultural activities.

The "Festa de Sta. Joaquima" is a celebration of the life and times of the St. who founded the Vedruna family of schools. The schools I work at are relatively new but there are Vedruna schools all over Catalonia, and the roots reach far back into history. As is the tradition, all the kids bring a flower to school and each class assembles the flowers in a bouquet. I thought this was kinda cool and one thing I do like about these schools is even though the kids miss some instructional days due to days like this, they do learn an appreciation for their culture.

A modeling of the class bouquets

After all the flowers were assembled we headed out to the playground for the ceremony. It started to rain and all the kids freaked out so we had to take the ceremony inside the gym. The rain stopped about a minute later too. 

Once inside, all the children got situated and the ceremony could begin. To my understanding it demonstrated some of the kind acts and radical boldness shown by St. Joaquima over her lifetime. After each reading of a text or a song a different class would add their bouquet to the collection.

Before

After

It took about an hour to complete the ceremony part of the morning and afterward we all went to the cafeteria for some hot chocolate and a special bread that all the kids seem to go crazy over. I forget the name and also how to spell the name of this bread but it was pretty good actually. You were supposed to dip it in the chocolate and have yourself a nice little morning snack.

I'll never say no to some chocolate

It was a good day overall and I' glad I got to learn a little more about the history and culture of this area. The amount of time that the schools here put into remembering their roots is definitely respectable. I do think that at times there could be more time for instructional days but I know that this is important as well.

Figuratively deadly people, but pretty close to it in terms of soccer.

It was perfect timing in light of recent USMNT events to spur a post about soccer and my related footwear. My soccer cleats from HS/College, the old Lime Green CTR 360s, were definitely starting to show signs of fatigue. They were my go to shoes for games, practice, and everything in between so it was getting near time to replace them. I hadn't put too much thought into it but I had definitely been considering it because I know I want to play soccer when I get back to the states. After Nike announced to discontinuation of the CTR line with the Lights Out version I knew I had to get another pair before they were gone for good. They have been by far the most comfortable shoes for me and my favorite of all the soccer cleats I've worn.

The thought process was already in motion by the time Landon Donovan was cut from the men's world cup quad but that really got my mind set on getting a new pair of shoes. I know those events are not really related...ok they're not at all but I'm a fan of his playing style and any talk of soccer really reminds me how much I love the game. If you love the game you want to play the game, and if you want to play the game you need shoes. Thus is why I had to make the jump.

They served me well.

Time for a new start 

Almost time to go home

Yes it is true. Despite my recent ramblings detaling the things in America I miss, I do have much love for Spain and there will surely be things I will long for after I return home.  This list will apply to Spain in general but also to my little town that is probably of the lesser known variety. There are more ¨Things I'll Miss¨ posts on the interwebs so I´ll try to stave off the repetition with humor and awesome visuals.


Number 1: Being surrounded by cool new languages 

I'll be honest, I think I knew Catalan was a primary language in Spain but didn't think I'd be immersed in it. Boy was I in for a surprise. I was rusty on my Spanish after learning in America and also not speaking it for about two years but I'm proud of what I've learned so far and some of the best moments came from when I was trying to navigate a conversation using language I'm not fully fluent in yet. Practice makes perfect though. Gotta stick with it despite the funny/embarrassing moments.

I throw my Spanish in air sometimes sayin ayo, no comprendo

Number 2: The Relaxed lifestyle 

You definitely don't have to be in a rush around these parts. At least not all the time. It's not often in life when you can set the cruise control to "chill" and not worry about missing deadlines or getting chewed out for being late. On top of that it's definitely a plus having the beach being so close as well. 

Number 3: The Beach 

Speaking of the beach, for me it's literally a few feet from my domicile and that is just fine with me. I hail from Long Beach but the water here has a certain magic to it that makes it so you don't ever want to leave. I'll miss the days when the sun awoke from days of slumber and many an hour was spent basking in the glory of the Mediterranean. 

Number 4: The Food 

Couldn't have said it better myself

There had better be bravas in heaven. Ok maybe that's not a prerequisite, but I do find that I am a very happy person after eating this little dish no matter where I'm dining. Aside from this standout the list of great foods is pretty much endless. The canneloni, botifarra, tortilla, and many many others are simply to die for and because they are so cheap you can't not try them wherever you go.

Number 5: These little germ factories 

Pretty much sums up children. Cute but your face and your palm will become besties

Yes I did get deathly ill the first few weeks I was in Spain, no doubt thanks to the foreign germs that these undeniably cute little humans carry. Luckily I only got sick twice so I can live with that. I'm lucky that I got to work at two different schools and alternate each week because I was able to have more intellectually stimulating lessons at secondary and then let off some steam by playing with cute children. I think that the love and adoration you get from a bunch of children offsets the risk of insanity that comes with teaching them. It's a package deal folks. (I'll wait till I'm home to put a picture up, Spain has some laws about pictures of the kids online)

Number 6: The teachers 

Along with all of those little munchkins were some pretty awesome teachers. They never hesitated to complement me on my shorts and t shirt on the cold winter days. My only excuse is that I have above average blood temperature and am prone to bouts of sweating but that's a little difficult to convey in Spanish. The teachers at both the secondary and primary schools were super cool and were really helpful. I can only hope the other people in my program had a staff as great as mine. 

Number 7: Barbershop adventures 

To say I didn't know what to expect would be an understatement. As I sat in the barber shop, my first one in Spain, I was brushing up on any relevant vocabulary and hoping for the best. The guy about to cut my hair must have been friends with honest Abe at one point and then he whips out a straight razor. In my head I was thinking "I don't have a beard, what's going on here?" Then it clicked and I realized he was going to use it on my head. A true adventure was about to begin and it was too late to escape. I just accepted what was happening and hoped for the best.

I almost did.

All the barbers I visited in Spain used some pretty old school techniques, as I didn't see much of anything powered by electricity. A pretty clear indication that my kind of hair is seen only once in a blue moon around these parts. I gotta give them props though for not making me look too bad.

Number 8: Ma and Pa Mentality

I do like how this town feels like a true community in the sense that many of the shops are family owned and the population is mostly the relatives and children of these families. You always hear people saying hello to each other and most of the time it's family just catching up. It's easy to feel disconnected in a sprawling city but here it feels like the common thread is family.

Number 9: Being the ultra token

The struggle is real

This probably isn't as common as it used to be, I mean just look at the show New Girl, but I always find it funny because of the times it was true. In this town I'm by no means the only black guy because there are plenty of Moroccans that have immigrated to Spain, however I believe I was the only 22 year old, American, black guy for miles and miles around. Also when I would tell my coworkers about things like MLK day (who's that) or show them a product I used for my hair they just looked in bewilderment. Being able to inform them about these things makes you feel kinda special I guess.

Number 10: Tryna

[Picture]

Any That 70s Show fans out there will probably remember the Tang references. Here they pronounce this drink "treena" but in my head it was definitely not treena and I thought it was pretty funny. Childish but funny.

Number 11:  I’ll miss cheap prices.

To say I'll miss the fact that I can buy most all of my favorite foods for mere pennies may be the understatement of the year. I eat a considerable amount and 1 euro bocadillos go a long way to helping me accomplish that. Also after going to France and paying the equivalent of 30 bucks for a burger, fries, and some wine it makes you appreciate places like Spain even more.

Number 12: I'll miss the easy travel and broadening my horizons

This one is a bit less on the humorous side but it's still super important. The simple fact of the matter is that it's no so easy to take a weekend and fly to Venice from (insert any airport in the U.S). Now that I've been abroad for a meaningful amount of time, don't worry Japan our week together was meaningful too, I can see how important it is to travel when you get the chance if nothing else just to get a grip on how frickin huge the world is. Where you live is just one tiny grain of sand on the beach that is our planet. I'm really glad I made the decision to come to Spain in part because once you're here you can go to a ton of other places you maybe didn't think you'd ever see. (Thank you skyscanner) Did I imagine going to places like San Sebastian, Longrono, or Lloret? No, but I'm amazingly thankful that I did. Now, even if I never get to travel abroad again (a terrifying thought), I can say that I've experienced new things and other cultures and gotten out of my comfort zone. It's what life's really about eh?