Ice Skating!

On my birthday (well, actually November 30th) a bunch of us went ice skating.  That's me holding Jaime's hand as he tries his balance on the ice for the very first time in his 8 years of life.  The roster of skaters also included: my roommates, friends, and a bunch of English teachers from work.  Everyone came for 3 hours of ankle-wobbling enjoyment.  Cristina brought Clara (age 6), who acted as an alternate weight on my arm while Jaime wasn't serving as said weight.  I'm thrilled the kids tried ice skating for the first time, but I should have rotated arms because the next day I could barely move my right shoulder.   

La Kittycat

The Kittycat began to take an interest in Chris' gerbil, Josefina, a few weeks ago.  Josefina is safely staying with a friend while Chris is in Peru for Christmas.  

Burrolandía

As some of you already know, Montse recently adopted a donkey.  Everyone I've told usually laughs at the comment, but Montse has suggested that I present the information differently.  While the truth is that Montse is a sucker for all animals, I've been telling people that she is of noble class and adopting donkeys is a trendy thing to do for people of high society.  In fact, the queen of Spain, Reina Sofía, has a few donkeys herself.  To get on with my story, I decided to meet Lucero (Montse's donkey) who now lives at a donkey refugee farm called Burrolandía (Donkey Land).

Montse and I drove to the country to visit Lucero last Sunday.  Seeing all of the donkeys made me think of Pinocchio-- you know, the part where the little boys go to Pleasure Island and start turning into donkeys (click here to watch it).  If I ever adopt a donkey, I think I'd name him Pinocchio.  

oh, and I met a deer there.  And I got a chance to pet the deer before it tried to attack me.  cool, huh?

the deer (it looked pretty fat compared to the ones I've seen in Pennsylvania):

Some donkeys:

Segovia

Happy Thanksgiving!  Well, I'm sure you all know that Spain doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving.  I went to work on Thursday and during a long lunch break some other teachers and I ate at TGI Friday's.  

Johanne (the French teacher from Belgium) suggested that we take a day trip to Segovia.  It's only an hour and 15 minutes outside of Madrid.  Here are some pictures of our excursion:

My feet standing on the castle's (possibly) Roman foundation.  

Halloween

Halloween 2008!  I was a princess, Chris a witch (with a cat), and Estefania was a perfect Minnie Mouse.  

Colegio San Agustín

one of my first days with the kids... 

I asked them why they want to learn English.

(note: one student answered that "the best" countries speak English.  That is why I wrote "some economically wealthy countries speak English" on the board.)

velvet suit

I just went grocery shopping and saw a man in a black velvet suit.  At first, I thought I had something in my contacts.  I was even tempted to reach out and touch the velvet!  Fortunately, I restrained myself.  Getting a closer look while waiting for the pedestrian light to change, I knew for sure that my contacts had not fooled me; the man wore brown leather shoes, a white shirt with blue stripes, a tie (I forget what color), and yes, a black velvet suit.  He looked like he was on his way home from work.  Wow.

In other news, I am completely mute.  I lost my voice!  I'm told this sometimes happens to new teachers.  Others at my school say my vocals will eventually develop calluses like worn feet.   For now, each day is a like a non-stop game of charades.