We made it to España!!!

So, I’m in Spain! I am teaching English at an enormous preschool called E.I. San Fernando in a little town called Martos in the province of Jaén in the south of Spain. So far, I’ve mainly been working with the four and five year olds, but soon I will be making my rounds with the three year olds as well. Working at the school is by far the best part of being here. The kids are adorable! And I get to sing and dance and do the hokey pokey for twelve hours a week. Yes, teaching preschool is way more exciting than I realized. Even with the slimy noses.

In fact, sometimes I feel like it's just not enough time. I'm the only auxilar de conversación in my entire school, and I only work 12 hours a week. I get about an hour a week with each class, but time flies when you're singing about 5 little monkeys sitting in a tree teasing Mr. Alligator...

In other news, I've joined a women's gym with my new friend, Becky. Becky is from Yuma, AZ and is also working as an auxiliar de conversación. As much as I love Ian, Dietrich, and Danial, I have to say Becky is a God-send. 2 words: CHICK FLICKS. SWEEEEEEET!

But, back to the gym, I am absolutely loving it! First of all, it feels great to have somewhere to go and something to do. Having absurd amounts of free time can be a little intimidating... and oddly stressful. Especially when you're in unfamiliar territory, speaking in a foreign language, with limited phone and internet access. Yeah, the first few weeks were pretty rough, to say the least. I didn't adjust as well as I had hoped I would have, but joining the gym was a great idea! The classes are fun, the women are nice, and I'm getting into shape! I - uh, sort of binged on ice cream while I was homesick and ballooned a little bit. Just a little. Don't tell my mom.

What else? Yikes, so much has happened... Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, right, so let me shut up a bit and show you some pictures.

Here's us in Jaén:

Dietrich is consulting his handy-dandy Andalucia guide.





Ian is snapping photos as always.



Danial looks like he is having a political discussion... or maybe he's talking about wine... It's the same intensity each time.



Why don't men ever stop to ask direcions? ;)


Sometimes at night Martos looks more like a movie set than a city. It's very cool and a little creepy at the same time.









More pics and posts coming up soon! Miss everyone at home so much. Muah!