whee stuff

Fact of the day: Spaniards have mullets. Yes, mullets. The mullet apparently never went out of style, here, and it's a bit weird whenever I see one. I think they think it's cool, in fact, to have a mullet and spike the hair on top.

I totally woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning and probably hit snooze a dozen times. I hit it without checking the time and had to haul booty to get out the door on time, which I didn't because I have a problem with punctuality.
When I left my apartment, I was all crestfallen because it was cold and rainy and miserable. Then, joy of joys, my bike pedals would NOT move. At all. Something was wrong with the chain, so I just walked it back to my apartment and left it in the lobby since I didn't have enough time to bring it up to my apartment, again. I was all agitated since I knew I was going to be even LATER because walking takes a good 10 minutes more. BAH. Also, I really need to figure out this !#%$(* shortcut, because the way I take is way too long, but it's the easiest route. I'm in a bit of a bind, though, because I have no sense of direction and I'll probably just get lost unless I really plan it out ahead of time. Oy.

When I got to school 15 minutes late, I apologized to my bilingual coordinator guy, forgetting that Spaniards aren't really sticklers about things like time. It didn't matter that much. I started conversation groups when I got there, and I felt much more organized this week with my powerpoint presentation and whatnot. I think the visuals really help the kids learn the vocabulary, too. I, for one, am a visual learner, so it would help me out a ton. It's also easier and faster to make a powerpoint than something concrete like a poster or flashcards. I showed Carlos (my bilingual coordinator) the powerpoint presentation, and he loved it. Yay.

Tomorrow the agenda includes art class and conversation time with one of the English teachers. I really wish I were utilized by the English teacher I'm speaking with, tomorrow, because she teaches the upper levels. I'm a bit of a grammar dork, so I want to get past this easy crap and delve into this like the conditional tense and passive voice. I'm pretty content with what I'm doing, though, especially because I'm not in any left-brained classes like math. I can't do math - I always hit up my dad for help with that, growing up. Also, I'm pretty sure the only reason I passed my freshman year math classes (in college) is because one of my friends helped me. This friend was a Pre-vet major and valedictorian of his high school class, so I was in good hands.

What else...oh yeah, I finally got a key to a garage, so I can lock my bike up in a secluded area instead of carrying it up 3 flights of winding stairs, every day. The landlord walked up to my apartment this afternoon, and I answered the door wearing girl boxers, an Ithaca shirt, and knee-high socks rolled all the way up, because I'm awesome. So that was awkward, but he seemed completely unfazed. He told me in his thick Andaluz accent that he'd take me to the parking garage to lock up my bike. Yay! He also fixed my bike and I have no clue how he did it. Something to do with the chain being off the little wheel thing that it needs to be on in order to switch gears. Freakin' bike. Luckily, my bike has a year warranty, so if is ever unfixable, I'll just return that bad boy and get a new (pink) bike. Mental note: must get a bell for my bike. It would be absolutely crucial in a big city, here, but it's still pretty necessary here, too.

More things I have to do: sign up at the gym for yogalates, possibly sign up for dance classes, find a way to ride horses and potentially make money exercising somebody's horses, join the local choir...I think that's it. I need to join stuff here since I still don't really know many Spaniards other than my townmates' boyfriends and my coworkers. Lame. Boo, Meg.

OK I'm going to finish this rambling entry and work on stuff. Hasta mañana.