Yesterday was my first day at my volunteer position. I am going to be working with autistic kids once a week for three hours. It is kind of difficult because I´ve barely worked with children in English, I like the viejos personally, but I don´t have the language skills here to work with senior citizens. Also, I have no special education experience. However, the words are simple enough, direct, concrete actions, and there is also a sign language component. I just worry about making a mistake and messing up someone´s shakra you know? Pablo is my favorite. He´s two years old and so cute, like a little monkey, and ironically the word for monkey and cute in Spanish is the same - mono.
I´m really loving the Conchster. She´s got all of the answers to life´s problems. We danced the baile sevillano last night and rocked out to some Kelly Clarkson while Danielle was packing for Milan. I have no one to harrass in the room now that she is gone until Monday morning. Eeks. Last night also involved one of the most bizarre adventures in Sevilla yet involving Janelle´s missing (but now found) cell phone, a man on a bike, an Internet café, and some questionable websites. When I see you in person next, remind me to tell you. I cannot convey the insantiy of the event here.
Today we had the day off, joy no classes - they are starting to become a real downer. This morning Juan, my intercambio and I went to the Catedral and the Giralda with the most awesome views of Sevilla (there is an unspoken agreement not to build anything in the center of the city higher than the Giralda - so everything was clear). Pictures soon to follow. Juan and I were also talking about the situation here with ETA, which is a nationalist group in the Basque Country that started out under Franco as an independence movement but has morphed into a terrorist operation. Tomorrow in Madird there is going to be a huge protest over the release of De Juana, an ETA leader who killed 25. He was released after a supposed four month hunger strike and allowed to go home, which has caused outrage all across the country. The right wing party here, Partido Popular, has organized a massive demonstration. Zapatero, the president and the leader of the Partido Socialista Obrera de España (PSOE) has had to defend his decision. Also Sunday is the three year anniversary of 11-March, the train bombings in Madrid, which PP (Partido Popular), the party that was in power at the time, blamed on ETA. This mistake cost them the election. Anyway, point is that he´s going tomorrow to the protests, as are a lot of people. Conchi almost went herself. ETA and De Juana have been dominating the headlines lately.
We were talking in my class about the parlimentary election system here in Spain and I can´t imagine having to accept the entire party ticket, meaning when you vote, you vote for a party, and not an individual. I just think it lacks a sense of personal responsibility, although if one were to look at the U.S. and the current jockeying for the presidential race over a year in advance, one could see the merits of the system here. And speaking of U.S. politics, I really resent sometimes having to represent my country all the time. Whatever I do, wherever I go, I´m an ambassador. And it´s tiring because sometimes I hate asking for things in a restaurant, even if I´m getting crappy service, because then I´ll just be that American.
Juan and I were also talking about what we do on the weekends in the U.S. This was a question that stumped me. Outside of going out at night, most weekends we do homework, someone has to film a project, Newswatch, radio committments, etc etc. Here, the university doesn´t even offer many classes on Friday so people can go home for the weekend and enjoy themselves. In this spirit, I´m yanking myself off the computer and taking leave of you until Monday. Hasta luego.
