Less talk, more rock.

Well after much talking and no action I have finally started the moving process. I found an apartment that is on the boarder of the new part and the old part of town. I gave up on trying to find a place in the old part- I realized no one rents those out. But from the new apartment, walk two blocks up and and you are surrounded by historic buildings. I told my roommates today that I was moving. I was so scared but I think they seemed relieved. Perhaps we all just realized that we just don't live well together.

The apartment is the same one I told you about before- the one with the teeny tiny room. I didn't jump on it before, but I suddenly decided to text the girl who I meet with before to see if the room was still available. She told me that it was not, but that she just got a job offer in Monaco so here room was open now. A shame because she was very nice and spoke some English so if things got a little too complicated we could speak in Spanglish. However yesterday I went and meet with all the roommates (old and new) and the landlord. I just got a really good feeling when I was there. They were so talkative and friendly and kept telling me, don't worry you will learn a lot of Spanish here and also want to practice their English with me. I never understood that about Victoria. She studied abroad in England and told me that she wants to move to Ireland but never utter one word in English or showed any interest in learning. The one time we went out together as an apartment the only thing they talked to me about was American TV shows. They just wanted me to list all of the American TV shows that I could and they would tell me if they had heard of them. Funny how our entire time together has been built around tv. Anyway the people in the new apartment are so sweet. They were patient and kept making sure that I was following and corrected me when I spoke. Like I told Danny, I feel like my Spanish improved more in the four hours I was with them than in the entire seven weeks that I've been here. I just overall feel like this will be a good move for me. I hope. Like I said the room is literally the size of a twin bed with a bedside table next to it. But in the beginning of February one of the girls is moving to live with her boyfriend, so I will take her room. Also the apartment has free heat! Oh thank god! I am moving from a place with no heat to free heat! And you don't have to light a bombona every time you want hot water- furthermore we don't even have to pay for hot water, only for the amount of water we use. Man, living in luxury! Another plus- I just found out that I am living in the second worst neighborhood in Jaén, so you know, moving somewhere less dangerous will be nice- haha.

Since I last wrote I have done two day trips. One weekend to Cordoba, and another to Baeza (a small old town in Jaén provence). Lise wrote on my facebook wall that for someone who finally has internet I sure haven't been using it. And she's right- I've had internet for almost a week and no updates. The truth is, I've been spending as little time as possible in my apartment. No excuse for not keeping up, but a reason.

I have all next week off for Patron Saint of Jaén day. I'm going to liverpool with some Americans, and a British girl who is from that area, then traveling around Northern Spain. As you've probably guessed that also means another week without updates. There is no way I'm taking my computer out of my apartment- haha.

Also, during one of my classes one of my students said to the teacher "Vas a la Mierda!". She said, "what did you say to me?" and he said again louder "VAS A LA MIERDA!". So she went with him to the principles office and I had to conduct class. The students were trying to explain what would happen to the kid to me but didn't have the vocabulary to ask me in English. So instead they would turn to the 'best English speaker' in class and say "tell her blah blah blah". I let this go on for about five minutes when I finally said, "Sabía que hablo Español?" (You guys do know that I know Spanish). Their faces dropped and they all got super embarrassed while some fell down laughing cause they felt so stupid. Apparently they had no idea that I could understand them this whole time and then they wanted me to speak to them in Spanish so they could hear me. All in all I feel like I got closer to the students. They also told me how some student got suspended for posting pictures on facebook of a teacher. Apparently there were bad/crude comments. That explained why there were signs up everywhere saying that no pictures taken of people who work in the school or any pictures inside the school are allowed to be posted on the internet. At least that mystery is solved.

Day 46

Joy of joys- due to, or what I believe is due to, cloud coverage I am able to get a weak wifi signal coming from my school. That should tell you how close I live to school.

Halloween in Jaén was, well, kinda what I expected. Oh Jaén- of all the beautiful, historic cities in Andalucía how did I end up with you?

My friend Sarah and I went searching for pumpkins last thursday, we walked far but finally we found some pumpkins that came with a carrying case. People gave us strange looks as we walked down the Gran Eje with our pumpkins in hand. We carved the pumpkins, roasted the seeds, and then cut out some of the pumpkin pulp. It was very strange to be carving pumpkins, while explaining what we were doing in Spanish, and with the illuminated castle in the background. We roasted the pumpkin seeds that night and when offering some for my roommates to try they sad, no (typical). This is how I feel like most of my interactions with my roommates go. I say, "hey i'm going to this bar tonight, do you want to come?". There is no politeness in their response just "no tengo ganas" (translation: No, I don't want to) and they continue watching tv. I was excited though because they said that on Halloween they would come out with us. I thought it would be nice to see them out of the apartment and a chance to hangout WITHOUT the tv. However, come Halloween, I ask them if they are going to come with me. The response: No. Even though one of them was painting her and her boyfriends faces. I also have to call if I'm not going to be home for lunch or if I'm going to be late- the same for dinner. And when I'm gone for the whole day they look at me and say where were you. Not in a friendly tell me about your day where were you, but very why weren't you home. Anyway, enough of childish complaining about roommates. While I really like one of the girls, I'm seriously considering moving. I've looked at an apartment already that is farther up the hill (closer to the old part) and tonight I am going over there to meet the other two roommates. The one girl I met was so sweet, if they are all that way it'll be a no brainer. However one downside to this apartment. The room is as big as a twin bed with just enough room for the door to open. I'm not even kidding. The desk is attached to the wall and can fold down, because there isn't space to have a desk. So tonight I think i'm going to sit in the room with the door closed and see if i feel horribly claustrophobic or if I'm fine. If I feel fine, then I'll change. I would rather have nice and compatible roommates than a big room.

Anyway- back to Halloween. Sarah and I found costumes for under a euro at "bazar china". I was a pirate. It wasn't a bad costume for throwing it together in ten minutes. Sarah and I walked up the hill to this restaurant called "Casa de Cordoba". The American apartment lives right around the corner from casa de cordoba and have risen above a regular and practically integrated into the family. They go to soccer games, they went to a birthday party, etc. However this does come with its advantages for me. For example, it's traditional in Jaén that when you order a drink you get a free snack with your drink, called a tapa. However at Casa de Cordoba you practically get an entree. After we went to the Irish Pub, because that just felt like the place to be on halloween and drink cider- strongbow.

So here I am- not super emotional like the last two weeks, but not content either. I'm just in a 'meh' stage if you know what I'm saying. I just gotta ride this out and hope that I come back with a new sense of confidence and strength (and also complete Spanish proficency).