After hassling the internet company for a solid month, we finally have wireless in our apartment! So as long as things are interesting over here, and hopefully they won't cease to be, I will try to write here more often.

Last weekend I visited Baeza for the second time. It is a town of about 15,000 a quick 30 minute bus ride from here. I have made a few friends who live there teaching English. Wonderful, welcoming people - and seems you couldn't be any other way in this city - being in Baeza really makes you feel like all is right in the world. It is one of the most peaceful, tranquil places I have ever been. Baeza flourished in the Middle Ages as a Moorish city. It's famous for it's Renaissance architecture and the entire city has been incredibly preserved. There are few modern buildings and you really feel like you are in a different era as you wander the streets. One of my friends doing the same job as me was fortunate enough to be placed in a high school that was originally the university - absolutely beautiful. The poet Antonio Machado taught there in the early 1900s and his classroom is perfectly preserved. He moved to Baeza from northern Spain after the death of his wife, to escape the memory of her everywhere he went. We walked along a path named for him overlooking mountains and olive trees, and watched some old men play bocce ball and chew sugarcane.

Here is the link to my photo album of Baeza... it may be small and not well known but wow... love it.

I am liking my job more and more all the time as I get more comfortable and get to know the kids. They are little esponjas (sponges) and learning so quickly. No longer do they look at each other, shrug, and smile shyly when asked such things as "How are you?" Whoo! Although there's a handful of them who still say "My name is..." in response to "How are you?" ... but we're working on it. The five year olds are adorable ("Como se dice 'Harry Potter' en ingles???"), the first graders are monsters who nearly kill each other daily but I love them anyway, the second graders are great kids but it's the third graders who really make it worth my while. They are my oldest class, and so intelligent and enthusiastic. I think that in the last few weeks we've really made some breakthroughs when it comes to making inferences. Before, if they didn't understand a word in a phrase they would shut down and assume it was impossible for them to make sense of it, but now they are using contextual clues and can usually get pretty close to the meaning! I can tell they are excited about speaking English and that makes me feel like I am where I am supposed to be.

I was sad to miss Halloween in the US, but I whipped up a zombie face and went to a fun party thrown by some fellow English teachers. Only about a third were in costume, but hey - five years ago apparently no one in Spain had even heard of Halloween, so I'm happy! I also gave a lesson on Halloween to my kids. I brought candy and tried to make them to say "trick or treat" to get it, but they just didn't get it, and thought it was one or the other so I had to settle for 20 ten year olds yelling "treat!! treat!!"

We have befriended some Italian Erasmus students who invited us over for dinner last Friday. It was great, they had a big spread of appetizers - Spanish and Italian style - and for the main course they cooked a pasta typical of Rome, don't remember the name but do remember it was delicious. We're thinking of cooking an American brunch soon for all of our friends.. mmmmm

A fancy indoor pool just opened a five minute walk from my house... pretty excited about that, I'm going to go check it out tonight!

This weekend I'm going to Barcelona, the next I might go see a friend of mine in Alora for a Thanksgiving feast in the countryside, and the next weekend my cousin Shannon comes to visit!

A few of you have asked me for my address, so in case anybody wants it:

Calle Hermanos Álamo Berzosa
Bloque 2 Portal 2 3ºA
Jaén, España 23003

Sorry I've been such a bum about keeping this thing active, but I'll do better I promise!

Love and miss everybody un monton.

smooches,
kathryn

It's Friday night and the city is buzzing with anticipation of the FERIA! Not 100% sure about what that will entail, however I do know that it is a ten day long celebration of San Lucas and all of my local friends are very very excited. They have been setting up tents and an enormous faux cathedral and decorating the streets with lights. I was most pleased to learn about the 24 hour churro and chocolate tent that will be open right around the corner from my house... mmm.

Work is going well, I am getting more comfortable in my role there and learning a little more about what exactly is expected of me. The kids are enthusiastic, and since it's not my responsibility to play the role of disciplinarian they seem to like me! Walking around school I hear about 100 times a day "Hello! Hello Kathryn! Hello!" It's cute. So... they've got the English greetings down, and also they are all experts in asking "May I go to the toilet, please?" They are smart, like sponges about what they learn in class... Next I just need to work on the names... I teach about 90 different kids and it will probably take me the entire nine months to distinguish the Juan Antonios from the Jose Luises, but I'm working on it..!

In the meantime, I've been hanging out with friends, eating tapas and drinking tintos de verano (red wine with fanta... sounds like an abomination but it's actually delicious), playing tennis at the polideportivo around the corner from my house (there is a gorgeous view of the mountains and the castle from the court), and just generally getting to know Jaen.

I just booked trips to Barcelona and Granada. I feel pretty settled and comfortable in Jaen, and honestly like it so much that I haven't felt much of an urge to leave, but I am definitely excited to start getting to know the rest of Spain!

Love you everybody!

It´s Saturday and I am enjoying my first day of having basically nothing to do. Until now my roommates and I have been taking care of business... apartment hunting, setting up telephones, internet, visiting our schools, meeting our fellow English teachers, figuring out where to buy groceries, best place for a beer, coffee, etc. I am finally starting to feel settled, and though I have a fairly rotten sense of direction and the streets all look the same I am actually learning how to get around this place pretty well.

The other day I took the bus through miles of hills and olive trees to my little pueblo where I will be teaching. I just wanted to introduce myself, but I think they thought I was there to teach... I had to give an impromptu English lesson to a bunch of fifth graders, though I was terrified it surprisingly went pretty well! I will mostly be with younger kids, pretty excited about it though I´m still not sure how I´m going to get to work on time without a car... it´s a good half hour outside the city.

Some observations about this place... Jaén is full of hills, I will definitely have some killer calves when I return. Everyone has a dog, mostly yorkies. There is poop everywhere but since this is my only complaint thus far about this city, I can absolutely deal with it. Watching the Simpsons dubbed is definitely not the same. There is a show called "Sin tetas no hay paraiso"... without breasts there is no paradise. The coffee is amazing everywhere you go. The food is great, the drinks are cheap. At a lot of bars they will bring you a huge plate of food every time you order a round of beers. And it still costs next to nothing! Lots of scooters, motorcycles, and smart cars. Almost everywhere the lights turn off automatically, and instead of AC everyone just leaves their windows open. You can walk pretty much anywhere in 15 minutes, and there are lots of cute little winding alleyways to explore. We also have a bullfighting ring but not sure if I can bring myself to go to a fight.

The attitude of the people and the atmosphere remind me a little of Athens, just with cooler scenery... a castle on the hill, some Arab baths... an ancient cathedral. No big deal...

Tonight I am meeting my fellow Auxiliares for tapas and drinks, and tomorrow I may go see Jaén´s futbol team play with a couple of my Spanish friends. Tuesday I start class, I am nervous! I feel horrendously underqualified but I´m sure I´ll be fine.

My Spanish is improving but sometimes it just sucks. Some days are great and I can say whatever I want, other days I can barely get out a sentence. And after about 2AM it´s a complete disaster. For example yesterday I told my friend I was going to "montar la montaña..." ride the mountain. Instead of "subir".. to climb. I´m sure he got the point... at least I hope, oh well.

All is well but I miss everyone muchísimo! Send me emails and let me know what´s going on in your lives... kathrynkipling@gmail.com Also my phone number here is 011 34 669939490. It´s probably expensive but just in case you need to call, there it is!

love,
kathryn

Quick update!

Hello wonderful friends and family...

I´m sorry I have not had a chance to write until now, my internet access has been limited to a few frantic minutes in a cybercafe here and there. I will be getting internet set up in my apartment in the next few days, and can post more often.

I hope everybody is doing well, I miss you all terribly!

So, here we go with a very quick and dirty update.

I spent about a week in Madrid, saw a bunch of art including the most amazing digital media exhibit, I can´t even describe it and do it justice, but I will dig up the names of the artists out of my notebook and post them sometime, you all must investigate because it was incredible. In Madrid I met a lot of cool people at my hostel from all over the place, a few of us went to a Real Madrid game which was lots of fun, I actually learned most of the rules and think I can finally appreciate a good game of futbol.

Madrid was great, I mostly wandered around on my own and got lost, which I enjoyed immensely. Now I am in Jaen, my final destination, and am convinced that this town is just my style. People describe it as a "ciudad pequeño, pueblo grande," small city, big town. Everyone here is so friendly and helpful. It is welcoming and laid back, and everything is closed between 2 and 5 so the whole city can just chill. It´s cheap and you can walk everywhere, and we found a great apartment in one day! Actually, Jaen reminds me a little of Athens... Which hopefully will make the transition a bit easier for me.

OK, I have much more to tell but no time at all. There are tons of little details I want to share, but it will have to wait until next time... In the meantime les extraño muchisimo, and take care of yourselves! Email me and let me know what´s going on. Also, come visit.

besos
kathryn