So it’s day three in Jumilla and I am loving it here. Everyone is so friendly! I’ve already gotten invites to stay at people’s houses or to hang out. I already feel like I’m losing a little bit of my English and I’ve started thinking in Spanish. Que beuno. Ok so let’s talk about finding a piso (apartment). I am living in a town with 25,000 people. It’s not huge, but it’s not extremely small either. Many of the people here are pretty established and they aren’t looking for roommates. So I’ve seen two pisos so far. One is really nice and spacious and I would have my own bathroom, but I would have to live with a guy. And the other was smaller, I would have to share a bathroom with two girls and my room is next to the living room. So I had pretty much decided that I was just going to live with the guy. It’s a small town and I already know a lot of people that I could call if I needed help or anything like that. He works at one of the schools that I’m teaching at so I asked him today if I could see the apartment one more time before making my decision. He didn’t understand what else I needed to look at. Lol I just want to make sure it’s where I want to LIVE for the next EIGHT MONTHS. Sorry, but it’s kind of a big decision. So we came to an understanding that it was an American thing (although everyone else seemed to understand) and he said we could meet up tonight. Later I was buying my cell phone for local use and the girl who sold it to me asked if I needed a place to live. Oh my gosh, yes I do! So she told me she would talk to her roommates and see if they could show me the apartment soon. So I canceled with the guy and it seemed like he was mad (this is what I heard from Toni, the teacher who I’m living with and who has been helping me with everything. More on her later). So now I’m feeling pressure from him to make a decision, but it’s kind of a big deal and I want to see all of my options. Granted, Toni didn’t tell him the real reason why we canceled (I wanted to, but she thought he might get mad…lol that didn’t work out too well) so I kind of understand his frustration. But still, I just got here on Saturday, it’s now Monday. So I’m just praying about everything and if you are reading this, I would appreciate your prayers as well.

Ok on to more fun things! So on Saturday Toni and her husband, Pepe, picked me up from the bus station in Murcia. On the way to Murcia we passed a lot of small towns and we passed one that we though was Jumilla. It was literally about 20 buildings on the side of the highway. I was a little nervous at that point. But Jumilla is much farther back from the main highway, in between the mountains. It’s a beautiful little city and the perfect size for me. I can walk everywhere and feel safe and I already know a lot of people in the town. So Toni and Pepe picked me up and we went to the main street to see Toni’s mom and also to see the first apartment which was close by. When we got there, the road was blocked off because a few marching bands were about to start a parade. Everyone was joking saying that the parade was for me and welcome to Jumilla, haha. So we picked up Toni and Pepe’s kids, Clara and Jaime. Clara is eight and Jaime is four and they are the most adorable kids I’ve ever seen in my life. Jaime is a little troublemaker at times but all he has to do is smile and your heart starts to melt. THEY ARE BOTH SO CUTE!!

So after we looked at the apartment we went back to Toni and Pepe’s house and they gave me a room to stay in and a beautiful bathroom all to myself. I feel like they’ve adopted me. They feed me all of my meals and take me wherever I need to go. I have been truly blessed because a lot of the other cultural ambassadors are fending for themselves. I had a ready-made Spanish family! So things have been great. I tried octopus on Saturday. I will never eat it again; I gagged. Otherwise the food is pretty good. One of the teachers told me that a main dish here is rice mixed with rabbit and…wait for it….snail. Yes, I thought I could escape escargot but Spain is apparently the only other country that eats snail. Awesome. We’ll see if I try it. We’ll see….

Ok last thing. Today I started working at the schools. I only had two classes today. One of them was amazing. The teacher was really interactive with her kids, they sang songs and did a coloring sheet. It  was a lot of fun. In the other class, it was mass chaos. The whole time the teacher was trying to shush the kids and I think she spent more time doing that than teaching. In Spain, the kids talk the ENTIRE class period whether the teacher is talking or not. I’m not exaggerating, I don’t know how they learn anything because it doesn’t seem like they’re listening during the lessons. Anyways the teacher was shushing the kids and I was waiting for instructions when she says to me, “Can you go?” as in, can you start talking now? There were some pictures on the board with words underneath so I just repeated the words and said what I used each thing for. They are learning British English so it was funny using words like “school bag” and “rubber” (for an eraser). But I only have that class once a week so I’m hoping that the others are going to be more fun. Ok sorry for such a long post.

Thanks for reading!

~Arisha~

A few things I forgot to mention about the first night:

1. We added one more girl to our group on Wednesday night named Julie. So when we went to dinner we were like the Model Un or something. Together we represented Ireland, Liverpool, Chicago, Canada, and Atlanta. Yeah, we’re pretty awesome.

2. When we went out to dinner it was almost 10:00 pm and we didn’t start eating until probably 11:00 at night. And that was completely normal. When we left, it didn’t seem like the restaurant was even thinking about closing. Being the person who hates going to bed, I love that about Spain.

So the past two days have been spent at orientation here in Madrid. There are people from so many different countries here. There are representatives from China, Ireland, England, France, Austria, Australia, Canada and the States of course. It’s so cool to have conversations where there are so many different languages being used. I might have to start working on a new language after Spanish. We’ll see…

Tomorrow (I’m writing this on the 30th but I don’t have internet) we head for our regions, which means Murcia here I come! I’m so excited to get to my city and start working with the niños.  I’m going to be split between two schools so it’s going to be interesting. But heading for Murcia also means another dreaded trip in the Metro with all of my bags, third time since Tuesday. It’s definitely more fun when you have a group of people in the same situation as you; plus we got a lot of help the second time around. Hopefully we’ll find some more gentlemen to give us a hand. Next time, adventures in Murcia!

Thanks for reading!

~Arisha~

Whoo! After a long trip, I have finally made it to Madrid. I’m in Spain and honestly, I don’t think it’s kicked in yet. I feel like I’m at a really big theme park and that I’m going home in a few days. Granted, that may just be the feeling of Madrid, Murcia will probably be a lot different. So here is how my first day went in España:

We landed at 7:10ish on Wednesday morning. I met up with a few auxiliaries that were on the plane with me and we walked to baggage claim (p.s. the guy checking my passport didn’t even look at me, let alone question why I was coming into the country, so no worries there). My luggage came pretty quickly, I changed a few dollars into Euros for the train and then one of the girls, Brittney, and I started the long trek to the Metro. It wasn’t that long, but at least a good five minute walk. With two huge suitcases and a backpack, I was pretty tired when we got there. We hopped on Line 8 and after a few stops were forced to part ways to go to our respective hostels. I don’t know how Brittney fared, but it was rough changing Metro lines with my luggage. I had to go up and down stairs in a few places where there weren’t any elevators or escalators, and though I was clearly struggling with my luggage, people simply walked right past me or stared me down. I got to my stop and was preparing to exit the Metro when I see it; a huge group of stairs leading back up onto the street. No elevator or escalator in sight. I took a deep breath and started to drag my bags up the stairs. A girl about the same age as me was on her way down to the train when she looked at me and said the most beautiful words I’ve ever heard, “¿Necesitas ayuda?”  I couldn’t even get any words out I just said something to the effect of yes and she grabbed one of my bags and helped me drag them up onto the street. So from there I had to walk a few minutes to reach the hostel. I got to the place that the hostel was supposed to be and I see all these 20 somethings outside smoking and blocking the entrance (I still have no idea why they were standing there). So I ask them if this is the place and none of them have ever heard of this place and tell me that I should just keep walking.  And I almost did, except I was sure that this was where I was supposed to be, so I peeked inside and sure enough there is a sign saying the hostel is inside. One of the guys in the group helped me pull my bags to the elevator and I finally reached the hostel. By this time it was 9:30. The woman behind the desk was very nice and accommodating and even let me eat breakfast even though check-in wasn’t until 12. I found the other auxiliaries that were staying in the hostel, (Katie, Laura, and Rebecca) and we left to go do some sight-seeing. We saw Palacio Real, a few churches, and Plaza Mayor before we stopped for lunch. Afterwards I came back home, took a nap and went back out with the girls to eat some paella (first time and it was pretty good). So the first day was adventurous to say the least. My Spanish is definitely not where I want it to be right now, but I know it will start to come back to me over the next few days. One thing about Madrid is that it is expensive! I spent about 35 Euros today and that was only on lunch, dinner and the Metro. But I’m happy to be here J

More adventures to come!

~Arisha~

So as promised, I’m posting my packing list. Of course I packed clothes, but that’s more specific to you and the region that you are going to be living in. Just check to see what the weather is like there. If I have any advice about packing clothing, it’s to ask yourself if you really need it. I was packing things that I don’t even where at home! You will have to put some things back in your drawers and you might have to sacrifice a few things. For instance, I was only able to pack one pair of boots. Insanity, you say? Maybe, but what can you do; I’ll just have to muddle through I guess.

Anyways, here are the other types of things that I packed:

1. Kraft Mac n’ Cheese. I don’t know if Spain has this, but I made sure to bring some just in case. It’s the only food item that I bought for those nights when I’m craving a little bit of home.

2. Converter /Adapter. If you forget to pack this, you will not be able to plug anything in. Don’t forget that not only are the sockets different here in Europe, they also use different voltage, hence the converter. Check your laptop battery pack. If it says 100-200V and 50-60Hz, you should be ok with just the adapter. But still bring a converter for other appliances.

3. Chargers. I know this seems like an obvious one but I definitely almost left my camera charger at home. That would have been devastating! Don’t forget your chargers!

4. Towel. You may be staying in a hostel for a few nights and they may provide towels, but they also might not. A towel will be useful at some point I’m sure.

5. MagicJack. For those who don’t know what a MagicJack is, it’s a device that you plug into your computer’s USB dock that can be used to make calls. You can make all the calls you want for a flat rate of $19.95 PER YEAR!! That means I can call home whenever I want and anyone in the states can call me at no extra charge. The device itself cost me $40 at Wal-Mart and they have yet to ask for my $19.95. Maybe they’ll forget…

6. Books. Because reading is FUNdamental. Come on, you know you want to laugh.

7. Materials for the kids. I’m teaching 5 and 6 year olds so I just got a lot of books to read. I made sure the coloring books had something on each page like, Bugs Bunny is eating a carrot, so that they are still reading while doing something enjoyable.

8. Acceptance letter. I brought this in my carry-on along with any other documentation I used throughout the application process. Some people had trouble leaving their home airports and they said that they just showed their acceptance letter. Plus, once you get to Spain, you are going to need some of those same documents to apply for your NIE.

9. Cash Passport. I heard about this from fellow auxiliaries (btw how in the world do you say that word? Go ahead, try to say it out loud). It’s basically a prepaid debit card and you can put Euros onto it whenever you want. You can check out the website to buy a card or find a place near you where you can buy one. They will convert your dollars into Euros for you and after you’ve bought it, you can always load more onto the card. So I put most of my money on the card and brought a little bit of cash, just in case a place didn’t accept cards.

That’s all I can think of right now. I’ll just add more if I think of anything else important. Hope this helps!

I got my visa in the mail today. I will be leaving for Spain on Tuesday.

Whoa.

Oh my gosh it's actually happening. I've already bought the plane ticket, I can't turn back now. I switch back and forth from feelings of excitement to feelings of fear.

But I'll just push the fear aside and let excitement take over. I'M GOING TO SPAIN!!!!

Stole this from another person's blog. It's so good!

“Date a girl who reads. Date a girl who spends her money on books instead of clothes. She has problems with closet space because she has too many books. Date a girl who has a list of books she wants to read, who has had a library card since she was twelve.

  Find a girl who reads. You’ll know that she does because she will always have an unread book in her bag. She’s the one lovingly looking over the shelves in the bookstore, the one who quietly cries out when she finds the book she wants. You see the weird chick sniffing the pages of an old book in a second hand book shop? That’s the reader. They can never resist smelling the pages, especially when they are yellow.

    She’s the girl reading while waiting in that coffee shop down the street. If you take a peek at her mug, the non-dairy creamer is floating on top because she’s kind of engrossed already. Lost in a world of the author’s making. Sit down. She might give you a glare, as most girls who read do not like to be interrupted. Ask her if she likes the book.

Buy her another cup of coffee.

    Let her know what you really think of Murakami. See if she got through the first chapter of Fellowship. Understand that if she says she understood James Joyce’s Ulysses she’s just saying that to sound intelligent. Ask her if she loves Alice or she would like to be Alice.

   It’s easy to date a girl who reads. Give her books for her birthday, for Christmas and for anniversaries. Give her the gift of words, in poetry, in song. Give her Neruda, Pound, Sexton, Cummings. Let her know that you understand that words are love. Understand that she knows the difference between books and reality but by God, she’s going to try to make her life a little like her favorite book. It will never be your fault if she does.

   She has to give it a shot somehow.

   Fail her. Because a girl who reads knows that failure always leads up to the climax. Because girls who understand that all things will come to end. That you can always write a sequel. That you can begin again and again and still be the hero. That life is meant to have a villain or two.

    Why be frightened of everything that you are not? Girls who read understand that people, like characters, develop. Except in the Twilight series.

    If you find a girl who reads, keep her close. When you find her up at 2 AM clutching a book to her chest and weeping, make her a cup of tea and hold her. You may lose her for a couple of hours but she will always come back to you. She’ll talk as if the characters in the book are real, because for a while, they always are.

You will propose on a hot air balloon. Or during a rock concert. Or very casually next time she’s sick. Over Skype.

    You will smile so hard you will wonder why your heart hasn’t burst and bled out all over your chest yet. You will write the story of your lives, have kids with strange names and even stranger tastes. She will introduce your children to the Cat in the Hat and Aslan, maybe in the same day. You will walk the winters of your old age together and she will recite Keats under her breath while you shake the snow off your boots.

    Date a girl who reads because you deserve it. You deserve a girl who can give you the most colorful life imaginable. If you can only give her monotony, and stale hours and half-baked proposals, then you’re better off alone. If you want the world and the worlds beyond it, date a girl who reads.

Or better yet, date a girl who writes.”

So I'm starting to get pretty nervous about Spain. Here are a few reasons why:

1. For one thing, orientation is on the 29th of this month in Madrid and I have yet to receive my visa. No visa means no plane ticket which means I have no set departure date. However, I recently was told about Statravel.com which gives discounts to students, people under 26 and teachers. They still have tickets under $600 going to Madrid this month so I might be ok.

2. I haven't started packing yet. I don't even know where to start! I mean of course I know I need to pack clothes, but I still haven't gotten adapters for the plugs or an international cell phone or things for the plane (i.e. travel pillow and blanket). I feel really overwhelmed and I wish someone would just give me a magic list with everything I am going to need PLUS tell me how to pack it all so that I don't go over weight limits at the airport. Alas, I'm am not a Disney princess and there are no such things as packing genies.

3. I have no money. I never have any money which is starting to concern me. I never feel that this is a fault of mine. I don't know where the money goes, it just disappears. Oh wait, I know where it went most recently; to my visa application. $140 for the application itself plus $45 for the translation of the Apostille plus $38 to overnight the application to Miami including the fee to have them overnight it back to me....this sentence is starting to run on. I'm hoping that I can do a better job handling my money in Spain but I know all those excursions are going to get me.

4. EVERYONE seems to be so much more prepared than me! We have a group on Facebook for all the Cultural Ambassadors and everyone is talking about bank accounts and planning excursions. Some people are already in Spain, living it up. I don't even have a plane ticket. Maybe this is all just some terrible joke that the world is playing on me. Maybe I'm not really going to Spain at all.

That's most likely not true considering I've received my placement. I'm going to be in the region of Murcia at a school in Jumilla. I've already been in contact with a teacher from the school who has offered to help me in any way possible. She's already started looking for apartments for me (which is not the case for everyone, I know)!  Plus, I've been in contact with a guy who was in Jumilla last year and who has put me in contact with a girl who lives across the street from my school!

So not everything is bad. It does appear that I will have a place to sleep when I get there, or at least some people to talk to. All in all, I'm really excited. I'm freaking out, but I'm excited. Once I've packed everything, I'll write a post about it, just in case any future ambassadors stumble across my blog. Please post any comments that you have!

Thanks for reading!
~Arisha~

Wow I am not doing too well at keeping up with this blog. I think I'm still trying to find my voice and I don't want to write mundane details about my day. That second part really holds true considering that my days are currently extremely mundane. This is supposed to be the dream, to have your days completely to yourself, no job to report to or assignments to turn in. Everyone tells me to enjoy this time because it's probably the last summer I'll ever have to myself. I am honestly attempting to enjoy myself,but it's difficult having no job because no job means no money which means no having fun. If I've learned anything this summer, it's that you can't do anything without a little bit of money. Even dancing requires a cover charge. So yes, the first two weeks of doing nothing were fun, but now I feel almost like a prisoner in my own home. And I feel so lazy! But I am trying to do some "self development" as my mother calls it. I'm working on learning a new song on the piano, so that's good...
There does seem to be something developing with my music. I keep receiving encouragement about my songs and my voice and there are people who truly believe I could sing professionally. One friend, the same one who is in Japan, seems to have made it his personal mission to spread the word about the song we wrote together (If you're interested in hearing it, you can click on the video link above). Somehow he got a bar in Tokyo to play our song and "everyone at the bar loved it" he said. These people give me inspiration and help me to believe in myself and I wonder if this is how the greats got started; with simple encouragement from those who were close to them. Hey, if that's the path God has chosen for me, I don't think I would mind :)
Spain information is slow going. I received my placement and got an email from the people I'll be working with in Spain, but haven't heard anything since then. I still haven't gotten the forms I need from the embassy for my visa, which is ironic since they were the ones rushing me to get it done as soon as possible. I was told by a friend who went through this program that it is completely worth it, but dealing with these people is going to make me want to bang my head against a wall. Awesome. Hopefully everything will come through soon.
Cool, so I hope this wasn't too boring. Thanks for reading!
~Arisha~

I love the adventurous spirits of my friends. It's something that we share in common. One friend is on his way to Tokyo for the summer, another to Bolivia for two years, and I'll be going to Spain in October. Plus I have friends all over Florida and New York, and dancing has helped me to make new friends in places like South Carolina and Philadelphia. It amazes me that people can stay in one place for their entire lives and be perfectly content. There is so much to see and do and so many cool people to meet. When people find out I'm going to Spain for eight months some of them say, "Wow, I couldn't do that," and all I can think in response is, "How can you not want to do it?" But then I realize that it's an unknown. Who knows what will happen in my travels? The unknown is a scary place and it's what holds people back from doing crazy things like moving to a completely different state or living in a foreign country. Why leave the comfort of your current life when there is no guarantee that you will have that comfort again in a new place?

Yes, I am freaked out about living in Spain for eight months. What if I don't like the city I'm living in? What if my Spanish isn't as good as I thought it was? What if I get homesick? All of these doubts run through my mind but there is one thought that keeps me going, "This is going to be an amazing adventure." Despite all of the fears in my mind, I'm still so excited to go and live in a new environment. I know that I will have some great experiences and that I will make a great life for myself while I am there. I can't allow the fears to control my life; I can't get too comfortable.

It helps to have those adventurous friends. Even if we aren't going to the same countries, I know that they are experiencing some of the same feelings I am, and that they can support me along the way. We're living our lives to the fullest, together even when we are apart.

The ending is a bit sappy but you know you love it :)

So it's 1:00pm on Friday, April 29th, 2011. I just finished my last final...ever. Things have been pretty surreal the past few days, saying lots of goodbyes and finishing up all my school stuff. But I felt pretty much ok. I've done this before. I'm the queen of change. I've moved almost every four years of my life so this is just another transition. But this one feels different. As I walked to my last final I passed all the parents packing up their kids' stuff for the summer. Those kids are coming back next year, they know where they're going to be in the fall. I started to realize that I don't have the slightest idea what the fall will be like for me. The difference between this transition and all the others is the fact that this is a transition with no guarantees; the world is simply open to me. I could be in another country in a few months, or living at home, or dancing around the country. What I'm trying to say is that this time is really cool and really scary all at the same time. I have possibilities and now is the time to truly reach for my dreams. I have no money and no prospective jobs and even though I'm afraid of this "real world", I'm also really excited to be apart of it. So I guess this is a blog about these times. Hopefully I'll have something to write about...
Until next time,
~Arisha~