It's July.

Actually, it's already July 6th! Man! I have been seriously slacking on the blogging front lately. I think the main reason for my lack of contact is that life seems so normal now. My day to day routine is just that, routine. I don't really think that me writing about my bus ride to work or dinner with the family is particularly note worthy since I have been doing both for so long now. Life has settled into a comfortable, predictable, relaxed pace. I love it. But I suppose there are some note worthy occurrences to mention.

Mutiny is afoot.
I understand that it is their summer vacation. I understand that they don't want to do 1-2 hours of lessons (math, English, and Spanish) each day. I understand that playing computer games, swimming with friends, or vegging in front of the computer is so much more interesting than anything I could have them do. But it's my job. It's why I'm here. I'm supposed to wake the children up each morning, have them have breakfast, then make them do lessons until their (mother-assigned) work is done. This past week was the first week of these summer lessons. It did not go over well, let me tell you. Assignments were left undone, sentences were left unwritten, and by Friday the oldest son flat out refused to leave his post in front of the TV (though it had been turned off). The family is at their beach house this weekend. When they return I am going to have to have a chit chat with Carlos and Consuelo about what we want to do here. I don't want to spend the next month (my last month) fighting with them every morning to do their lessons. Something has to be done before I go crazy.

And then there were three.
Back in May I was hired to teach four adult classes in a nearby city. I've been going to the company and teaching the employees four days per week for over two months now. Three of the classes are C level classes, which means they are intermediate English speakers. One of my classes is a D level class, which means they are lower level English speakers. I got a call from my supervisor last week. He called to tell me that my D class students had requested a new teacher and that I would be replaced for the remaining five classes in the session. OUCH! Talk about a blow to the ego. I thought things were going well. Apparently, I was wrong. I mentioned that I was leaving to my students and they were surprised. I told the HR people that I was no longer teaching that class when they asked me questions about it and they were surprised. So who wanted me out of that class? I don't know and at this point it doesn't matter too much. In two weeks I will be done teaching English for the company. Obviously, I wasn't an effective enough teacher for the lower level students. I know now what I would do differently. I guess learning from it is all I can do.

The clock is ticking.
I have less than a month left here in Spain. Let me say it again. I have less than a month left here in Spain! This is a double edged sword sort of situation. I am really happy here (the vast majority of the time) and I feel that my time here has been well spent. I have learned a lot since I've been here (and am planning to go into further detail on that in a later post) and had many grand adventures. But my next adventures are going to be grand as well. I miss my family and friends. I am ready to start my new life. When people ask me how long I have left in Spain I can tell them to the day, "I have 29 days left." They usually respond with, "Wow! Someone is eager to go home." Well, yes, of course I'm eager to go home, but that doesn't mean that I'm saying good riddance to Spain. That doesn't mean that I am eager to get the heck out of here. It just means that I'm looking forward to the next step in my life. To me that's a good thing. I think each step in life should be more exciting, more fun, more of an adventure than the last. I don't just mean that I should jump out of more planes or travel more with each and every step in life. Each step will be different. Each will have it's own source of adventure and fun and as long as I'm ready for that step and looking forward to it life will be good. Am I rambling. I think I am. Ok, so in a nutshell, I love my life. Past, present, and future.

Upcoming events.
Next weekend I will be traveling with the Hash to Asturias in Northern Spain. I also want to go to El Escorial and Avila for day trips before I leave Spain. I still haven't made it to Valencia, Granada, or Sevilla, but I'm not sure I will have the time to make those trips. I could possibly make it to Granada and Sevilla the last weekend in July... but we'll have to see what the family has planned. If they go to their beach house near Valencia that weekend, I will go with them. Other than that I have a few little odds and ends I would like to do here in Madrid, before I go. Mostly, I just want to relax, spend time with my new friends/family, and enjoy my last days here. And by last days here, I mean for this trip. I'll be back to Spain again (and hopefully again and again).