I woke up and cleaned house a little. I headed off to school but stopped at the panaderia. They didn’t have the chocolate croissants I was looking for but I did try another pastry that reminded me of rosettes (Norwegian cookie that my grandma makes). I had my 4th grade English class and they were obnoxious and loud. It was also difficult because I didn’t know what pages in the book they were suppose to be working on (because Sebas wasn’t there). We managed to get through but I was more than relieved when the hour was up. I headed off to the 3rd grade science class which was more relaxing. All we were doing was taking the pictures they kids drew and pasting them on the kingdom classification poster I made last week. They had pictures of plants, animals and ongos (fungus) and had to paste their pictures in the correct group. There was some blank space on the poster so Maria del Mar and I decided that next week we would put some vocabulary on the poster with the kids.
After class I sat in the teacher’s room to decompress a little. I talked to Inés a little bit about what we were doing in her class next week and about my appointment to Jaén next week. I really need to talk to Ben and Ava and see if we can get something figured out for transportation. Inés really doesn’t want to drive again. We could take the bus but it is very risky. There is only one bus that goes to Jaén in the morning, and one bus that comes back in the afternoon. The way that the schedule is laid out we would only have 2 hours to get from the bus stop to the extranjeria, have all three of our appointments and get back to the bus stop in time. All three of us have to work the next morning so if we missed the bus we’d basically be screwed. Inés also mentioned that a notice had gone out to the parents that I was going to start private lessons on the 8th. Oh. Ok?? That’s news to me, but I guess I can start them next week. I’m glad that I will be able to make a little extra money teaching these lessons, but at the same time I don’t want to be totally inundated by requests. I still want to have some free time to enjoy life here without teaching *all* the time.
After classes I headed towards the bank. On the way I found another panaderia so I peaked in. They had the croissants I wanted and they were sooo good. I went to the bank and opened up an account. Initially it didn’t look like I was going to be able to open the account because I don’t have my actual, physical residency card yet. The lady ended up opening a non-residential bank account for me so I could get paid, and I’ll just have to go back to the bank in December when I get my residency card to change the type of account I have. Success! From there I went to the photographer and got some passport photos taken for my appointment in Jaén. After that I headed over to Gerardo Mercado, where Edu, Steffi’s husband works. Steffi had told me that his market was better and cheaper than Dia and I agree. It definitely isn’t as big but I like the atmosphere. I gave Edu my phone number so we could all get together again. As I was leaving I ran into Almudena, Almudena’s 2 year old daughter and Maria. We chatted briefly and then I headed home. The street market was going on, and I had forgotten about it, but since I already had so much in my hands I went home.
I had lunch and chatted with Maria online. She decided to come over for coffee. We chatted a bit, watched Spanish television and made coffee. Maria really liked my apartment and she mentioned that she was jealous of my long hair. After awhile we headed down to the glorieta (park) to meet Almudena where she was working. Almudena works with the senior citizens here. She keeps them company, helps them with errands and makes sure they are taken care of. The woman she was supposed to be working with was playing botchi ball with some friends so we just stayed and kept her company. All three of us, Almudena, Maria and me, are dealing with colds. The weather is shifting here pretty quickly, and it’s taking its toll on us. We left the glorieta and then Almudena drove us around a little to give me a tour of the town. I saw the football field (where the botellónes…parties… take place), the public pool, the guarderia civil and the Plaza de Toros (which is really small compared to most).
Almudena also pointed out where her house is. We got coffee at Mezquita, where we met up with a bunch of other people our age and then Almudena had to go back to work. She dropped Maria and I off back at my apartment, then Maria’s boyfriend picked her up from there. I got into bed and laid there for awhile. My sore throat was very rapidly turning into a full blown cold…chills, body aches…yuck. I wanted to get my blog updated before I went to bed but it just didn’t happen. I went to bed and stayed there for another 12 hours.
Today, Friday, the 5th:
After being in bed for 12 hours two nights in a row you’d think you’d feel better. Not the case. I may have been in bed for 12 hours but it was far from restful. I kept having weird dreams that woke me up, and I was really uncomfortable. Between an uncomfortable bed and the body aches I just couldn’t sleep all that well. I woke up this morning still feeling sick. I’m suppose to go out tonight with Fernando but we’ll see. I bet a hot shower would help, but at the same time the getting *out* of the shower part and having a wet head sounds agonizing. I’m planning on taking it easy the rest of the day in hopes that I feel better by tonight. I’ve already been sitting in bed for a few hours. I probably need to get up. I usually feel a little better if I get up and moving. Anyways, that’s the last few days of my life. Overall pretty good…I just hope this cold gets out of my system quickly and that it isn’t a sign of things to come for the next 8 months dealing with all the little kids.
Oh, and a random side note...I did eventually get the screen open on my window so I can dry clothes outside like a normal espanola.
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