bringing family together through paella.

About two weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to Churriana, a small village in Malaga, to learn how to cook paella. I have been wanting to learn how to cook traditional Spanish dishes for awhile now and this was my chance. I was invited by one of my adopted families here in Malaga. Both the husband and wife grew up in Churriana and the now reside in Torremolinos where their two children attend my school.










I have spent a lot of time with their family over the last year and each time I am with them I feel like I get a strong sense of family and togetherness. These get togethers may be through huge events where the entire village comes together or it may be something as small as a weekly meal. In this particular family they reserve one day out of the weekend where they go to their childhood homes and spend time with the extended family. Each weekend someone takes a turn in cooking the large amount of delicious paella. With a different chef comes a different take on how paella should be made with the end result always involving the family sitting together and sharing a meal.







What is most striking to me is how common this practice is here in Spain. Majority, if not all, of the people I have gotten to know here have always mentioned how they have meals with their families on a certain day of the week or they go on walks with their parents. These simple acts constanatly allow the family to come together without ever needing a reason besides the fact they are family. This is all so refreshing in comparison to the rushed pace in America where so many families rarely sit down and have a meal together. It's not unheard of to have a family where the children are with their friends or in the room while the parents have dinner together, or on some occassions, separately due to work or other commitments. Here in Andalucía, the family is priority.






The paella lesson itself was extremely informative and a little overwhelming. I had my notebook and I wrote down as many ingredients and steps that I could observe. Rosa, the culinary wizard for the day's paella explained to me the reasoning behind the tweaks and personal preferences when creating her version of paella. She told me about how she preferred beer over white wine and natural flavors over salt. While she was telling me this her mother came into the sardine-can kitchen and forced Rosa to add in more salt and other flavors. This was a perfect example of how Spanish families interact with each other through yelling and the constant berating of their personal opinions. One of these days I will try my hand at making this traditional dish and we shall see how it turns out.









The meal ended with delicious ice cream served over pranks played on the little ones. After the tables were cleaned and the dishes were done Eva, my third grader, performed a song on her violin for the first time. Although it was 30-second song, it was a moment where every family member was extremely attentive and they hung on to every note. The performance was followed by a song  performed on the guitar by another family member. All in all an amazing experience and a great example of the family dynamic.

halloween in spain.

 This year I have definitely joined in with the Spaniards and all the hype surrounding Halloween. Last year I was just finding my footing in the school so I took more o fan outsider’s perspective on the holiday was celebrated. Immediately I learned that everyone in my school embraced Halloween and all the blood and gore attached to it so I couldn’t wait to take part in the festivities this year.

Costume: I knew I needed a great costume so I decided to be, drum roll please, a witch. I spent a little less than 10 euros at a chino (discount store) and left with a witch hat, toy flies, and a toy prey mantis. I even put in extra effort to make my hat stranger by sewing the toy flies all around the hat. My students ended up being most fascinated with the fake prey mantis that I used as a ring. They kept touching it and asking me where I bought it. Hecho.

Activities: There were so many activities at school that they cancelled classes! Did I mention that I love Spain?! I had two different activities:

          1.     Creepy Sensory Boxes: students put their hands into boxes of what they believed were witches’ teeth (popcorn kernels), zombie brain (sponge), dead bugs (overcooked rice in olive oil), Worms (cold spaghetti), and eyeballs (over ripen grapes).

          2.     Cookies vs. Zombies: students attempt toe at a cookie placed on their forehead without using their hands (because they’re zombies with missing limbs!)

Outcomes: sheer madness. Imagine various groups of 50 children on a sugar high constantly running to you while trying to absorb even more sugar into their Systems. Now imagine that over a span of 4 hours.

Students and faculty were dressed as your usual bloody or possessed characters. I saw zombies, exorcist brides, vampires, and mummies. 





To my pleasant surprise one of my second graders dressed up as Mike Wazowski and the head master was fabulously dressed as Cruella de Vil.  One of my favorite costumes of the year was from a 6^th grade teacher who didn’t deviate from his normal outfit of jeans, tight t-shirt, and jean jacket. When I asked him what he was he said “Clarisse, I’m from Twilight”. Fantastic.

Apart from the crazy the students really enjoyed both of my activities. I wasn’t sure if they were going to buy into the sensory boxes but some students would scream when they would feel the objects and some even started to gag! Success! Many of them tried really hard to figure out what everything was and that was also a big part of the fun.

The cookie challenge was also so entertaining. Of course many kids still ate their cookies after it fell to the ground. Many kids were actually able to complete the challenge first time around. There was even one boy who was so focused on not dropping the cookie that he never moved and the chocolate ended up melting on his forehead.

All in all this was a fun way to get involved with the school and bond with the students and staff outside of the classroom. After everyone got their sugar fix the day ended with a roller skating performance and a big reveal of which students won the baking contest.

week twenty-six-thirty-eight: wanderlusting around europe photo diary.

looking at the last four months of traveling around europe.

Carnaval de Cadiz:
-Solo bus ride with University of Malaga students
-Meeting up with my girls
-Drummer girl, cats, matadors, and bees
-Waiters putting breadsticks in the mouths of sleeping customers
-Huddling in apartment lobbies for warmth
-Out in the cold till the wee hours
-Sitting on the beach at 5am




Mijas:
-Going around Malaga with my Spanish family
-Learning all about culture and the mystery of women walking in heels on cobblestone
-Following donkeys through the pueblo
-Struggling to get on the donkey
-Getting spoiled
-Rowing boats and constantly crashing





Galway/County Clare:

-Sample solo trip

-One of the best hostels ever

-Getting to play the piano

-(Finally) going to mass

-Market shopping

-English books 

-Dancing dog

-The land of the fairies

-Peering over the Cliffs of Moher

-"Get ready for me." -M. Wiener

Dublin:
-Meeting with the group
-Annoying sibiling status over student teacher love
-The Books of Kells
-"Is that a fox?!"
-The Buggy Boys
-Live music and cider
-"Galway Girl" and "Ho-Hey"
-Bus tour to the Guinness Factory
-"Agua gratis"
-Temple Bar entertaiment
-Watching MTV (English channels!)

Killarney:
-Train rides and junk food
-Our home and attempting to interact with the neighbors
-Family-style everything
-Not having internet (unplug)
-Touring the Ring of Kerry
-Picturesque places at every turn
-No rain!?
-Buying JT tickets at a pub
-"You're only buying 2 drinks?!"
-Muckross House and Gardens
-Friendly Irish dogs


Cork:
-A little more city than the rest
-Walking up to a non-existent farmer's market
-Blarney castle
-"Running into" friends
-"OH MY GOODNESS!"
-Screams while kissing the Blarney Stone
-Unfortunate hostel situations
-Delicious Mexican food
-Not one drop of rain ("we're having a draught")
-Amazing trip



Bollullos del Condado and Niebla:
-A true pueblo
-Changing bus stops for the heck of it
-Having pizza delivered
-Meeting majority of the town's characters
-Argo and Django
-The best tomate con aceite y jamon york from Candy
-"Who's Ella?!"
-A castle to ourselves in Niebla
-The torture exhibition

El Chorro:
-Being properly dressed in one of the most well-known rock climbing areas in Europe
-"What are we doing here?!"
-Having 6 hours free till the train arrives
-Lunch overlooking the canyon
-Relaxing by the hotel pool
-Getting awesome sunglass tans
-Sushi mishaps
-Judgy waitresses: "THESE are yours." 



Marbella:
-Rainy day
-Interesting bus station
-Meeting family
-Challenging seating arrangements
-Catching up on all our weird happenings in Spain
-Stories about crazy girls and strange men
-Visiting the elephant on the beach
-Skipping stones along the coast
-Watching JT's SNL episode
-Celebrating St. Patty's Day


Disneyland Paris:
-Starting of my solo trip at the Happiest Place on Earth
-

week twenty-five: adventures of flat jacob (part three).

swiss travels through the eyes of a paper boy.

----------
February 1, 2013
Bonjour Travelers,

I know that it’s been awhile since I’ve last written to you but now I have found myself in the home of cheese and chocolate—Switzerland! Here in Geneva people primarily speak French so I’m going to use the little French that I know to get as much chocolate and cheese that I can get my very thin hands on. This time I’m not only traveling with my Ate Clarisse but I’m also traveling with her two friends from Minnesota and New York. Not only am I meeting people from other countries, I’m meeting people from other states! The first thing we did was walk around Geneva’s old town. In the old town I got to sit on the longest wooden bench in the whole entire world and possibly the universe! The bench is called La Treille and it has been the longest wooden bench since the 19^th century. Next we went to St. Pierre’s Cathedral, which became the home church of the Protestant Reformation leader, John Calvin. We climbed the towers in the cathedral to get a really good view of the entire city of Geneva. I just didn’t realize how many steps there were but lucky for me I am as light as a feather so Ate Clarisse just carried me up the steps while I rested in my little bag. After all that walking we treated ourselves to some chocolate and I even met the lady who made the delicious and pretty chocolate! After exploring the old town we went to the United Nations Office, which was first built for the League of Nations towards the end of World War I. It was just really cool to see all the different colors and flags waving around at the entrance. Later on I got to watch Ate Clarisse and her friend play a game of chess in La Parc des Bastions. I wanted to play chess too but it was too difficult because the chess pieces were bigger than me! La Parc des Bastions also had the Reformation Wall, which celebrates the people and events of the Protestant Reformation. A very informative way to end our first day here in Switzerland!

Au demain,

Flat Jacob

geneva, switzerland

----------

February 2. 2013

Salut Travelers,

Since there wasn’t too much more to see in Geneva we hopped onto a train to Gruyere. I think I can say Gruyere was made just for me because it has both a cheese and chocolate factory! Even the train ride was amazing as we passed by the country and the snow-covered mountains of Switzerland. Our first stop in Gruyere was the chocolate factory of Maison Cailler. The factory our included a funny story about how chocolate became popular. We even got to see how the chocolate was made and packaged with the help of a lot of machines. My most favorite part of the tour was the end because we got to try as much chocolate as wanted! I think I had a little too much because my shirt began to rip. This was a little embarrassing for me so I didn’t want to get into any of the pictures. After the chocolate factory we went straight to the next factory—La Maison Du Gruyere. Have you ever heard of Gruyere cheese? Well, if you haven’t guessed it yet, Gruyere is the home of this delicious cheese. La Maison Du Gruyere is the cheese factory that produces and sells the cheese in big, heavy wheels. We were arrived at the factory just in time to see the cheese men pour the liquid cheese into molds so it can become the cheese we eat. Even though I had too much chocolate in Maison Cailler I allowed myself to nibble on some 8-month old cheese. I’m so full!

A tout a l’heure,

Flat Jacob

la maison cailler et la maison du gruyere

----------
February 3, 2013

Bonjour Travelers,

I had so much to write about the chocolate and cheese factories that I had to just give it it’s own letter. Now I want to tell you a little bit about the actual village of Gruyere. First, if you like at the pictures you’ll notice that it is absolutely white from the snow. You’ll also notice the snow isn’t dirty and that is because Gruyere is completely a pedestrian village with no cars allowed on the premises. Having no cars made everything so much prettier than it already was and I was able to breathe in freshest air! There was some snow falling too and I got to see my very first snowflakes. Some snowflakes we’re as big as my eye! Granted, my eyes are not that big, but still, I saw real snowflakes! We explored the grounds of the Chateau de Gruyere, a medieval castle built between 1270 and 1282. While we walked around we were tempted to yodel as loud as we could and we did yodel until our throats started to hurt. After our visit to Gruyere we went back to Geneva and had dinner in a restaurant that served everyone ½ a chicken with salad and fries. It was so much food but it was so good. Once we finished dinner we spent our last night at the Central Perk, a coffee shop named after my Ate Clarisse’s favorite television show, Friends. I ordered a Swiss hot chocolate and it warmed my belly so much that I was ready to sleep. Talk to you soon than later my fellow travelers!

A bientot,

Flat Jacob

gruyere village, switzerland

----------

Part 4 Coming Soon!

week twenty-one-twenty-four: when i'm not traveling i...(teaching edition).

with my 1A class.

Because for some reason I just cannot be boarding a plane every week. I have to be doing other things with my time here, right? Just a little summary of my teaching experience here in Spain. "When I'm not traveling I..."

The topics I've covered include flower reproduction, the different vertebrates, systems of the body, light, and the Spanish governement. Before I teach the content in English the classroom teacher teaches everything in Spanish.

I see majority of my classes twice a week but there are a few I only see once a week. Each class session runs about thirty minutes.

I see grades 1-6 every week and on special occassions I also see infantil (3-5 years old). Spain doesn't have a kindergarten grade so grades 1-6 is the equivalent to America's K-5.

Apart from teaching the science curriculum, I've also talked to the students about American traditions in celebrating Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. This also includes reading a novel related to the topic in order to capture their interest.

Each of the teachers that I work with all have a different take on their presence when I'm in the class. Some teachers take more of a hands-off approach and observe while some co-teach with me. All the teachers I work with are bilingual in Spanish and English (lucky me!).

Like the blog title, I am not only teaching but learning all about the Spanish culture and history (not so much on the language!). I've been able to see how Spain celebrates certain holidays like Constitution Day, Halloween, and Peace Day.

Lastly...

I create and present Prezis for all my science and culture lessons. Here's one example that I used with my 2nd graders. They loved it!

This is mainly what I've been doing with my school so far. If you want to see more of my school here's their site: www.ceipatenea.org/ .Challenge #1: it's in spanish. Challenge #2: there's a video of me teaching floating around on the site...see if you can find it!