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