When I finally made it to Prague, I met my friend Heather in a hostel located in a very old stereotypical European building. I shared a large, high ceilinged, ornate room with 9 other people and shared two bathrooms with 19 other people. That’s what you get for paying 5 € a night for accommodations. The guy on the bunk below me just so happened to be a Political Science, PhD student at UC Berkeley that decided to take off six months to travel. It's funny how close you can suddenly feel to home by just talking with a stranger.... Continue reading

As so much traveling has occurred since I last wrote, I will give a relatively short review on my destinations. In March, I was lucky enough to have Bryan come visit me one more time in Spain during his Spring Break. We decided to rent an apartment for the week in Barcelona thinking that it would be nice to be by the sea and enjoy what we thought would be Barcelona’s good weather. Unfortunately, the weather has been rather abnormal in Spain this year (as everyone feels a need to tell me every time it rains) and it decided to... Continue reading

BBC News - "Ash fears close Spanish and Moroccan airports" click here to see full article A cloud of volcanic ash from Iceland has forced airports in North Africa to shut for the first time, as well as hitting air travel in southern Spain. Morocco halted flights from Rabat, Casablanca and at least three other airports while, at one point, seven airports in Spain were closed . . . . Continue reading

Continue reading

Continue reading

Continue reading

I just realized that it has been a while since I have updated you on my goings on. Truth be told, apart from my travels, life in the Head of the Ox (name of my town translated: Cabeza del Buey) has been pretty tranquilo. After Groundhog Day, my students carried on as normal; crying when they didn't win prizes at bingo, refusing to play games after they lost, whining when we were doing actual schoolwork, hitting each other, staring at me blankly when I asked them questions, 3rd grade boys plugging their ears in mock disgust when I played a... Continue reading

Click here to read the full article: "Spanish Chefs' Room and Board" AT Mas Les Cols, a hotel and restaurant in the Spanish town of Olot in Catalonia, chickens roam free, surrounded by a 13th-century mas, or farmhouse, and a cluster of one-bedroom glass modules. The birds make for a pleasantly rustic element, but their winged brethren don’t fare quite as well in the kitchen nearby. There, the chef Fina Puigdevall has earned two Michelin stars for the artfully reinterpreted Catalan cuisine she creates for her guests. Continue reading

Continue reading

The New York Times: Economy of Spain on the Edge MADRID — The idea that Spain could become a target of the world’s markets, an economic basket case weighing down the euro, is a preposterous notion, but not an unthinkable one. The New York Times: Spain Says It Arrested Basque Militant Leader PARIS — The ranking leader of the armed Basque separatist group ETA was arrested in northern France early Sunday, officials said, with Spain's interior minister saying that the group had been preparing an attack inside Spain. Continue reading

Click here to see my photos from Carnival weekend in Palma de Mallorca, Spain Continue reading

Recently, I have picked up five extra hours of private English lessons, which will allow me to travel more often. My teaching skillz are improving very slowly, but surely. There is still so much one could learn and I am appreciating the difficulty of the teaching profession. As some people have already told me, it seems like teaching would get easier with time as you build lesson plans, reuse them, and find new ones that work better. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of time while I am here, but I am doing what I can. Luckily there is always... Continue reading

During Bryan's trip to Spain in December, we hiked up to an Ermita, which overlooks the village of Mijas and the Mediterranean Sea. This is a clip of our mini-adventure. Continue reading

My students continue to surprise me at how impressionable they are. I started carrying my water bottle to class, originally because I had a sore throat, but now because it's nice to have when you are talking all day. I have a very distinct green Nalgene bottle covered in stickers that the elementary students find very entertaining. First they asked me what it was. Then they asked why I have a water bottle. Trying to be helpful, I said it is because it's healthy and good for your body. When I came to class the next week, I found that... Continue reading

Continue reading