¡Sorpresa!

¡Sorpresa!

Surprise!

This has been my last week upholding the lofty title of auxiliar de conversación. As of today I am officially unemployed once again, my final sueldo tucked away in my account. 

I left the secondary school hugging my favorite teacher and hearing why the Year 7s liked my speaking classes (I was like a friend not an examiner, I have an clear accent, I talked about my self not just asking questions and I taught them a lot about culture). In contrast, the teacher with whose classes I spent 70% of my time didn't know I was leaving as my tutor 'probably forgot' to tell him. 

I spent my last days at the primary school being hugged by numerous pupils and being gifted numerous items. I was particularly in favour with 6A where I received a card with a bracelet and bunch of flowers all from one students, chocolates from another and an amazing slice of homemade flan in a leaky box from one more. A year one gave me an intricate card picturing me and Sofía herself, 6B signed their names around mine and 5B gave me a notebook with their messages and autographs. I continued my holiday themed classes, but in my Year 2 class I watched them perform their dance rehearsal in the hall. Today was the annual Year 2 Flower Power party, where families come and everyone dresses up as if it were the 70s, and both groups were performing dances (to Sugar Sugar and She's Like a Rainbow). So I watched them rehearse, and then more primary school pupils started filtering in, and teachers; one asked me if we were going to watch them perform and I presumed so.Then my tutor called me to the front of the whole primary school while a selected student read a paragraph of thanks on behalf of everyone and then everyone sang a goodbye song in Spanish and she gave me one of the school hoodies to remember my time by. 

The best surprise ever!!! 

As with almost everything, you don't realise how valued or wonderful something is until it's gone, or you leave it. The appreciation and messages from the students and staff were overwhelming in their kindness and honesty. I have been assured the door is open for me there if I return and that I will be missed. I will sorely miss the fantastic community the school has allowed me to be part of with the creative and engaging staff and all the eager students (even the naughty ones).

I didn't cry, I held it together, but por Dios, ehsend me back!!

Cojín.

Cojín.

Cushion. 

So... turns out that basket design I've spent 11 Mondays slaving over (and continually, albit accidentally, needling my own fingers for) has become a quilted cushion cover. 

One of my proudest achievements this year.

I'll miss the Monday patchwork club (one woman is making a particularly impressive personalised towel with patchwork girls on for her granddaughters and another has completed 4 projects including 2 t-shirts, a quilted glasses case and now a clasp pouch in the time it has taken me to stab myself repeatedly and do some sewing). 

Peregrinos.

Peregrinos.

Pilgrims.

In the middle ages, Santiago de Compostela was the 3rd biggest route of pilgrimage in the Christian world! And judging by the amount of scallop shell adorned backpacks we saw, the tradition hasn't waned. Santiago de Compostela in Galcia is a site of pilgramage as St James' body is in the cathedral. He was responsible for spreading Christianity to Spain, but when he died his body was transported by a boat led by angels to Galicia. Years later a hermit discovered the tomb as stars fell upon it; people then began to visit the site of this miracle. Santiago meaning San Diego, meaning Saint James and Compostela, meaning campo de estrellas, meaning field of stars. It seemed appropriate that Katherine and I visited Santiago as our last trip as auxiliares, it being a miracle in itself that we'd survived the year thus far. Not even the rain (we had a lucky break on Saturday, but Friday, oh the cloudbursts)or scaffolding on one of the cathedral towers could put us off. 

Can hardly tell the difference...

We entered the catherdral from one of the side entrances, known as Praza Das Praterías(praza is the word in Gallego for pLaza) with a fountain in the centre. Inside the cathedral is a giant gold alter, with giant cherubs, where we hugged the jeweled statue of St James, after queuing to do so, naturally. We stood for the evening mass and watched one of the biggest botafumerios (incense burners) in the world swing up to the ceiling and back across the cathedral. We weren't supposed to film, even though nearly everyone except ourselves did, so peep the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtxuvtZqOog

We braved the cathedral roof tour, which even in UK areas with low rainfall would probably not be permitted, as we literally walked along the sloping stone roof with our tour guide.

People included for scale.

We managed to spend a lot of time going round in circles despite our map and ended up at a fair, instead of a a viewing point, which when we found it faced the wrong way anyway. We returned to the fair on the Saturday night, as after seeing the ferris wheel in nearly all of our photos (it was that tall) we felt we should go on it. I'm not good with  heights, or rides. I was so excited and panicked before we even got on it, I had spent all my adrenalin already. We were put in a carriage with a 60 year old woman, whose 60 year old friend had wisely chosen to stay on the ground. I held Katherine's hand the whole way round and breathed deeply, while the woman in our carriage pointed at sights and waved to her friend. When the ordeal was over (just as it was becoming enjoyable), we had to assist the woman down the ride steps as she couldn't walk them alone and her friend laughed at her and pretended to smack her bum while laughing with us.  

We visited two lovely galleries with fantastic interactive, well they were for us, exhibitions. El Centro Gallego de Arte Contemporánea had an exhibition by Chelo Matesanz which involved furry walls, inappropriate, or appropriate depending on your view, placed flowers upon bear suits and cut up comics. While the rather hidden away gem of the Fundación Museo Eugenio Granell had a room of fake grass and some very atmospheric sound pieces being played and, as Katherine pointed out, a quote missing a verb. 

We ate well, having a cocktail each night; once just because we needed to ask for the bill again... We stopped at one restaurant purely on the basis that they served nachos, which were pretty amazing as was the decor. We also dined at a vegan restaurant that also served meat. We had a churro break where we played draughts using chess pieces while forgetting the rules. I tried pulpo (octopus, which Galcia is famous for), suffice to say never again. We returned home on the Saturday night during the Champions League final (Real Madrid vs Athlético Madrid) to find the common room taken over by lad pilgrims with The tv moved closer and table covered with pizza, beer and olives and nuts. 30 minutes extra time, no penalties, and as Katherine put it, Athlético were robbed.

Good pilgrimage all in all. 

Sunday sun rise.

Carrera.

Carrera.

Race. 

Imagine a virtual race against everyone in your year, and specifically on your course, that begins at midday precisely, the outcome of which defines your happiness (and possibly grade) for an entire year. 

Welcome to online module enrolment. 

This week was module enrolment week; a process that's touted as being stressful and nerve-wracking. I've been lucky and never had any major problems with the system but I felt like I was about to run a marathon for the whole of Tuesday morning. I was an adrenalin fueled, anxious biscuit eater as I waited until 1 pm to log in and frantically click my module tick boxes. Some people lost their modules as the system failed to submit choices, the module guide for the English department could not be viewed on anything but a computer and then you couldn't copy and paste any of the reading lists because it's not a PDF and there's no timetables available for the modules, timetables which the university highly recommends you view to avoid any clashes...

Suffice to say the stress energy from whole process could have powered the majority of the national grid for a few hours. 

And that, readers, was, sadly, the highlight of my week; proof if ever that we are nearing the end of the course. 

Ahorcado.

Ahorcado.

Hangman. 

The awkward moment when you nearly get owned by a year 3 class during a game of hangman on your turn, because YOU rubbed out the utensils section of the baking words list to make it more difficult for THEM and the teacher has to help you but the class insists you shouldn't get a clue. 

It was _ _ ASS. 

Silly glass....

Pelo

Pelo.

Hair. 

I had a haircut. I don't have a mullet.

Mission accomplished.

Although I fear my hair may fall out overnight, she was particularly merciless with the hairbrush.

Arenisca.

Arenisca.

Sandstone.  
Last weekend was puente, and after desperately searching for cheap hostels for a week I booked things last minute and jet-setted (bus-ed) off to Salamanca! 

Salamanca is home to the oldest university in Europe, a Jesuit founded university, 2 cathedrals next to each, a very impressive Plaza Mayor and a horde of international students and tourists. It was also delightfully hot and sunny! I went into both cathedrals (the vieja and the nueva), both universities (Universidad de Salamanca and Universidad Pontificia) and their respective towers, people watched and ate ice cream from Cafe Novelty (the oldest cafe in Salamanca) in the Plaza Mayor, visited the art museum and the impressive art deco museum and crossed the Roman bridge. 
I also took morning jaunt to Ciudad Rodrigo, which also has an impressive cathedral, roman bridge (and is surrounded by 2km of defensive stone walling), a post office in an historical building and a chamber pot museum. 

As per, pictures can better explain the lure of this city than my prose... 

Cloister, Conventa de las Duenas

Casa de las Conchas (covered in conchas, shells!)

Puente Romano (and the cathedrals in the background)

Plaza Mayor; around the edge of which there are circles with busts of kings, great thinkers and artists, and also Franco.

Football match among the sandstone.

Plaza Mayor by night!

The fachada of the Universidad de Salamanca; there is a hidden frog somewhere and if you find it, it's good luck!

The towers of the 2 cathedrals, from the Huerta de Calixto y Melibea (gardens)

The Chamber Pot Museum in Ciudad Rodrigo...

Voluntario.

Voluntario. 

Volunteer. 

A Simpsons parody of asking Year 4 for a volunteer: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF_Pa6o601I