Why Do I Teach?

I have wanted to be a teacher for as long as I can remember. Before I even started Kindergarten, it was a common sight to see me and my best friend taking turns playing the teacher in our pretend games of "school." Over the years, though, teaching has evolved from being a childish dream to serious ambition of mine. 

The biggest reason I want to teach is to help students figure out the world in the same way my teachers helped me. I had a great educational experience from elementary age on through my college years. I have had plenty of teachers who have pushed me to be my best self and learn as much as I can to be successful in the world. I want to do the same thing for my students. It takes only one invested teacher to convince a student to look at college, explore a new field, or follow a passion. I want to be in a position to do that. 

I also want to teach because I'm passionate about my content area and know how crucial it is for students in the real world. Many people seem to think English class is just a place to waste time reading old books. I want to invert that kind of thinking and help student understand the value of the critical thinking that takes place during reading. Mostly, I want them to explore the value of writing. Too often, students think that writing for English is pointless. I am determined to make my students prepared to be successful writers in whatever path they choose in life. 

Ultimately, I love the learning environment that comes from schools and want my students to get as much out of it as I do. The classroom can be a hot-bed of great ideas, inspiration, connection, and creativity. I want to teach to open up that world for my students. 

Random Background Information

I probably should have mentioned this at the beginning of my blogging adventures, but I somehow managed to forget about it until now. This song is the inspiration for my blog title. The artist, Ingrid Michaelson, just happens to be my favorite. If you haven't been introduced to Indie Pop yet, I suggest looking her up. 

Simply JUMBLIES!

There is a cute little market two minutes away from my piso here in Logroño named Simply. It is one of many in the city, but, unlike grocery stores back home, this little store never has Saturday traffic jams, Nile-long checkout lines, and hordes of well-known brands. It’s simply....Simply.

One of my favorite parts about having this little store so close by is that it has lots of new kinds of foods to try. My new favorite? Jumblies Cereal.

Sitting beside the Choco Crack and the Choco Pillows, Jumblies appears at first to be like all of the other chocolate cereals on display. However, a closer look and a little taste will prove that Jumblies contains more chocolate flavor than all of its competitors. I would even venture to suggest that these wonderful cereal bites stay fresher and softer longer, but I somehow manage to eat them much to quickly to tell for sure. The only potential drawback about these little chocolate stuffed cereal bits is that the chocolate clings to your teeth. The sweet taste stays with you until you manage to find a toothbrush. Like I said though, it’s only a potential drawback. Most of the time it just feels like a continuous infusion of delightful chocolate. I consider it a good thing.

That being said, I know that my sales pitch is a bit tone deaf, but I can’t help but proclaim my adoration for my favorite, unhealthy, cereal snack. I promise to bring some home for all to enjoy.

Brooke happily displaying some Jumblies

God Smiled When He Made San Sebastian

On Saturday I traveled to San Sebastian to spend the day on the beach. The entire week leading up to our trip, all of the students struggled deciding on whether or not they truly wanted to go. The weather called for rain and cool temperatures, and we were unconvinced if the 2-hour trip was worth it. We decided to brave the rain and hopped on a bus early Saturday morning.

Welcome to San Sebastian!!!

When we arrived in San Sebastian we quickly made our way over towards the beach. Though it wasn’t raining on us, the air was quite brisk, and thick clouds covered up the sun. We hesitantly changed into our swimsuits and decided to spend a little bit a time just sitting on the beach. Within a few minutes we were all dipping our toes in the ice-cold water and making comparisons to Bear Lake in June. The shock of the cold wore off quickly though, and we decided to wade in up to our calves. 

...then our knees.....

...then our waists .....

One large wave later we were released from all bonds of common sense and happily trumped (USU slang...) through the water with the other devoted swimmers.

Arriving at the beach in San Sebastian

Brooke and I are happy campers

San Sebastian=perfect beach

Me and Nichelle a minute or two before we got soaked

Like good tourists we shrieked and squealed in joy with every wave that rolled in, and the time passed much too quickly. At 1 in the afternoon we decided to get out of the water and explore the massive fort on the hillside. We went to go change in the bathroom but were yelled at by a worker telling us that bathrooms were not changing rooms. (You could have fooled me.) We then discovered that we had to pay one entire euro to get changed back into normal clothes. Of course we found that utterly ridiculous, so we held up towels in the corner right next to the changing room and took turns wriggling into our sandy clothes. ....for free. We probably deserve to have “cheap Americans” tattooed across our foreheads, but I don’t think any of us minded the strange stares we got from everyone else. (Correction---the lifeguard was a fffffffiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnneeeeeeee specimen, and any girl who said they didn’t care what he thought would be a complete liar.)

Finishing up at the beach

We ate lunch and split our group into two. My group hiked up to the fort on the hill and took a million pictures. I soon discovered that not only was this massive fort was not only the military stronghold, but it was also a castle. Hurray for finally checking that off of my list! I was a bit disappointed that it wasn’t larger....and cleaner....and more fairytalistic. To be honest, they probably should have stuck with the "fort" label so as not to ruin every girl's hopes and dreams. I guess I’m going to have to keep visiting castles until I find one that lives up to my expectations. Oh shucky darn.

Hiking up to the fort/castle

Playing around on a wall

Sitting in a window

View from the fort

Terrifying tunnel of homelessness and doom

Spending time at the top of the castle

On our way back to the beach we found the most delicious chocolate shop and partook of its scrumptiousness. A half a block later, we found ourselves ordering the most amazing ice cream cones. After another twenty minutes we were off playing on the beach once more.

The rest of the day passed way too quickly, and we were all reluctant to board the bus at 8 in the evening.

Dear San Sebastian:
Thank you for being perfect. Boardwalks with carousels, castles overlooking white beaches, fine looking French tourists and lifeguards: I doubt you need me to tell you that you are ravishingly exquisite. When I return to Spain one day, I will visit you.

Love,

Me

Mosto...Taking Grape Juice to the Next Level

Last Wednesday we took a trip to the museum at the Bodegas Dinastía Vivanco in Briones. The 45-minute bus ride through the Riojan scenery wonderful. It also helped that the bus driver found us an English radio station filled with more than enough Shakira, Call Me Maybes, and Justin Beiber to last us a lifetime. (I did find it slightly amusing that the driver temporarily changed stations during every other Adele song. I guess we can’t all be fans. ;) )

The vineyard was beyond beautiful. Age-old vineyards sprinkled with old monasteries and cobblestone pathways: I’m convinced that you can’t find a more European town in all of La Rioja.

The first half of the tour consisted of a visit to the vineyard’s museum. Making wine is a delicate science, and the “cultured and refined” part of me wanted to seriously study every detail of the process. However, the kid in me won out, and I spent more time gawking at the glass blowing movie and dying of intense boredom than I did trying to decipher the detailed Spanish descriptions by all of the farm tools.  I was half tempted to lie on the floor and play dead at one point but was quickly saved by a smelling game meant for kids in the corner of one of the last rooms. The sliding door in the bathroom also proved mildly entertaining.  That’s about it.

After we were finally freed from the museum, we got a tour of the underground holding facilities for the wine. There were endless rows of perfectly formed barrels stacked in perfect triangles. The lighting dimly showcased barrel sets of nine. It was deathly quiet and our classy mouse-of-a-guide fit the magical dugout perfectly. (I’m convinced that it would have been the perfect place for a Harry Potter duel.)

At the end of our tours we had the opportunity to try some of the wine. There were about seven of us who don’t drink alcohol, so the tour guide kindly presented us with glasses of mosto. To keep it simple, mosto is fancy grape juice. I can honestly say that I like the grape juice from the tiny vine in my backyard better than the world’s best mosto. Oh well. It’s all about the experience, right?

After we awkwardly drank our mosto from fancy wine glass, they released us to play on the playground shaped like a bunch of grapes. Childhood will always be fun. After taking a few pictures, we called it a day and headed back to Logroño. It wasn’t the most exciting afternoon of my life, but I think I survived it well enough. 

Like I said...we enjoy playing around a bit. ;)

Feast Your Eyes on This.......

Week two of Paco’s cooking was just as fabulous as the first. What was on the menu for this last week? We started with Pachoas de la Rivera con Hortalizas, then moved onto Lomo de Cerdo con Pimientos Riojanos and ended with Melocotones con chocolate. Yes. You did read that right. World class chef + favorite fruit+ European chocolate = a new favorite dessert for Jassy. Just imagine a happy little peach jumping off a Riojan tree into a warm pool of peach applesauce only to be soaked by torrential downpour of dark chocolate containing massive amounts of sugary creams. Welcome to paradise.  Feast your eyes upon these pictures, and be very jealous. 

Three happy girls excited to cook

The most delicious dessert of all time

Our happy meal

Eating with the GUAPA table :)

Watching...Always Watching

           Coming to Spain has really opened my eyes to how different cultures can be. Besides the most obvious differences between the pace of life, food, and transportation, I have found one particular aspect of Spanish culture that I can’t quite get over: their eyes. The people are unscrupulous when it comes to staring at one another.  At first I thought they just rubbernecked foreigners. After taking a lesson from their book and staring at them though, I have found that they do it to each other as well. The people here take our American hobby of people watching and make it into an Olympic sport.

            I figure that there are both advantages and disadvantages to being to blunt in watching others so unashamedly. The biggest disadvantage I can see is the people come across as being incredibly judgmental. If people would smile when you stared back at them, then maybe things would improve a bit. I don’t blame them for not smiling much though; I’d feel self conscious of my teeth if I smoked 6 million packs of cigarettes a day, too.

            Having people stare is not all bad. I’ll be the first to admit that my ego is going to take a blow when I come home. Being the sole redhead in the city, I feel like I’m in a supermodel every time I walk down the street. Heads turn, conversations stop and I hear fading whispers of “la peliroja guapa” as I bounce down the cobblestone streets. Tell me what girl wouldn’t like that.

            I may not be a fan of seemingly gauche customs, but I think I can survive being a head-turner for a few more weeks. 

Little parks like this one are absolutely fabulous for people watching :)