Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Last day in Spain!

Today was my last day in Spain as a student teacher. I can't believe the time has already come to an end. It doesn't feel like I have just spent the last three and a half weeks of my life here. Being here has been more than an amazing experience it has been a life changing journey. I honestly believe being able to go abroad and see another culture and what else is out in the world has made me feel like a stronger person. 
I allowed myself to adapt to a lifestyle that was completely different from the one I have lived my whole life. Being here as been an experience of a lifetime. Working with the students, staff, and mentoring teacher has been great. 

My mentoring teacher: 
This is Richard Mitchell. He was the third grade teacher that I worked side by side with. He is an author of children's books and he is also an artist. He takes pride in what he does and I have learned so much from him. He is going to be the art teacher next year and I know that he is more than excited! That is his passion and it is exciting to see him start that journey. Today he gave me one of his books that he has published and it is one of the three copies he has with this particular cover. I can't wait to read it and share it with my future classes.

My students:
I had the opportunity to work with 54 brilliant, polite, and amazing children. Both of the classes were great. It is axing to see the difference between cultures just in the classroom itself. These students were nothing but sweet and made my day. It was sad knowing I am going leave them. One of the little girls asked me why I had to go, I said I needed to get back to my family and she said they were my family. It was one of the sweetest things a student could say. I am going to miss seeing their smiling faces and the hugs I constantly got.
Here are both of my classes and the cards I recieved today. 
3b

3a 
The cards were so sweet and thoughtful of them. I gave them my red towel so they would have something of mine from the school I was from to put in the classroom. Six of the girls in the class also did a little song and dance for me which is just adorable! 

I could not have asked for a better way to end my time as a college student. I am forever thankful I was able to experience Spain and I hope one day I will be able to come back and visit. It truly is one of the prettiest places you will ever see and the atmosphere is so calm and welcoming. How can you not miss a place where you can look out your window and see this: 

I am going to miss being here and the people that I have met. I hope you have enjoyed following my adventure as much as I have enjoyed having it. 




Monday, May 12, 2014

Last Monday!

I can't believe today was already my last Monday in Barcelona! The time has gone by so quickly! Today made me realize how much I am gonna miss the kiddos here. They are so sweet and funny and the little girls love you. They kept telling me they didn't want me to go all day and hugged me all day! It makes me sad! I am for sure going to miss the atmosphere this place has to offer. 


Sunday, May 11, 2014

Weekend Festivities!

This weekend I stayed in Spain and I am so happy I did! It was such a nice and relaxing weekend to be here. We went to a beach and layed out in the sand and it was very peaceful! The beach was a little different from American beaches but I won't say why. But I got a nice little tan and it was so pretty! After that we came home and went to La Rambla which I the city center and bought sovineers and went out to eat. It is sad that it is my last weekend here but also exciting! 


Thursday, May 8, 2014

One week!

Today marks one week until I come home! It is almost here! I am excited to get back! I do love it here though and it is going to be weird leaving. Today was such a great day. I taught about half of the time teaching the students about butterflies (life cycle and anatomy). I also have all the names now of both classes! I had the first class already but I haven't been with the second class that much so it was hard to learn them That is exciting for me because I always try to get their names! Stayed in today to just relax and do some laundry so I don't have any exciting pictures to show. 

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Futbol. The only word needed for this title.

Today was such a great day! School was a lot lf fun and I was able to teach with the students a lot. I also was able to go to the Futbol field here! Words cannot describe the beauty of this place. I may not be a soccer player or even a sports player at that but when you are in Camp Nou and see all the trophies, pictures, videos, jerseys, memorabilia, and the field you can't help but feel the passion of this sport. I felt so excited to be in there because it was such a big deal and it was one of the coolest things ever. I am glad I was able to experience something that is so passionate in this city. Here are a few pictures! 






Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Decorating is no joke here!

Today myself along with the other student teachers helped decorate the bulletin boards in a hallway for Roald Dahl book week. My teacher was in charge of it and he is brilliant! He is so creative and it is exciting to know he gets to be the art teacher next year. I wanted to share the work we did! 

It was a lot of work but it is all worth it! It makes decorating doors in America look so much easier! 










Saturday, May 3, 2014

Classrooms in Barcelona!

This is what my classroom looks like in Baecelona! Panoramic style! It is so neat because most of the walls in the classroom are cork! So you can put paper up to decorate the classroom! It isn't like in America where it is all cinder blocks! 

Paris has been a journey!

All I can say is, Paris is very confusing to me and I have never walked so much in my life! Being abroad really gets you in shape because you walk everywhere. 
For the long weekend we had in Paris we got a bus pass for two days where it takes you to all the places in Paris. We have literally seen everything there is to see, including the sites, a rally, and a rollerblade-a-thon (or so we think it was),  and been everywhere there is to be by the metros, the buses, the taxis, a bike cart ride. I can't explain to you the adventures we have had here. We were able to see the Eiffle Tower and walk up to the second floor, 600 stairs later and it was beautiful. It really was a dream come true! 

Paris is such a busy place and the cars here are crazy! They drive everywhere and I think they may not have traffic laws haha 

Thursday, May 1, 2014

Oh the Adventures

Haven't posted in a couple days! But I am in Paris this week for a long weekend!  We arrived yesterday finally and ended up paying 200 euros for the can ride from the airport to our hotel! We were not prepared for that, for sure taking public transportation on the way back! But we made it and used a map all day to walk around and it was so pretty! It rained off and on but it was so nice still! We went to Notre Dame and it was so beautiful inside! It is amazing to see the architecture of these buildings! Tomorrow we are going to get a bus tour of Paris and I am so excited! 
Being abroad is one of the and probably the best things I have ever decided to do in my life. I never really understood the world outside of the US. In America when asked about traveling we talk about the different states we travel to throughout our own country. Abroad when you talk about traveling they talk about other countries and places around the world they visit. The horizon is so much broader! It is amazing to experience. I do miss America though, being able to just know where I am and exactly what I was doing is nice! 

Notre Dame