Friday, November 21, 2003
Much of the same here. Teaching, teaching, metro, metro, Spanish, Spanish. I haven´t gotten any new classes for a while, which is probably a good thing. I´m at an okay level. I´m poor as fuck, but what are you going to do.
Living situation much the same. Roommate still as stinky as ever. We´ve been having plumbing problems. First of all, the toilet in my bathroom runs and runs and runs and won´t stop. Also, somehow, the water from the kitchen sink sometimes drains into my bathtub, don´t ask me how. BUT, worst of all, water from the TOILET is somehow miraculously draining into the OTHER tub. Okay, this is gross. Really, really gross. It hasn´t done it for a while though, so I hope it´s better. Also, last Friday, the water in my flat just randomly completely shut off. I was in the middle of making spaghetti and I had meat all over my hands. I was like, what the fuck?? But then, luckily, and inexplicably, the water turned back on in about 45 minutes. Don´t ask me what the hell was going on there. I have no idea. I just hope it doesn´t happen again. I actually think the building´s plumbing might have been ¨serviced,¨ so hopefully it won´t happen again. Now we´re like, required to hang these signs up in our flat saying, ¨please use the little drain cover thingy when using the shower¨and ¨don´t throw anything into the toilet¨and stupid stuff like that. And then it says that any service needed to be done to the apartment will be taken out of the tenants´ deposit. That´s such bullshit! The plumbing probably hasn´t been mended in the past 50 years, but we´re going to have to pay for it if there´s a problem. Well, hopefully there just won´t be a problem.
This country is just so backwards sometimes. One, there was that whole plumbing situation. And also, last weekend, on Saturday it was raining pretty hard. I went to the neighborhood Champion to buy groceries. While I´m in there, water starts pouring from the ceiling. I don´t mean like on one place. In many, many places. Water was accumulating above the sheetrock on the ceiling, and then when there was too much water, the sheetrock was coming crashing down onto the floor. There were puddles of water everywhere. I was standing in line, waiting to buy my groceries, and I couldn´t help but laugh. It was just too much. It was just too Spain. All the cashiers were running around like chickens with their heads´ cut off, trying to put up barriers around the wet spots, but it was only getting worse. They actually closed the store. Tengan cuidado!
My friends and I are planning a Thanksgiving fiesta next Saturday. I´m looking forward to it. Today I went to the American grocery store (called, ¨A Taste of America¨...how precious) and bought pumpkin pie mix and stuffing. It´s going to be a real Thanksgiving for sure! I really want to make this pie we always have at my house at Thanksgiving, but it requires molasses, and I don´t know if I can find that. They didn´t have any at the America store. I haven´t given up looking yet though...
Two of my students are going to come to Thanksgiving too, which will be fun. Juan, the one I´ve told you about, the one who came to class in his towel that one time, and also Gonzalo, my new crush. Oh God, he is too adorable. He is so my type, it´s not even funny. Listen: 1. computer programmer. 2. geeky. 3. tall. 4. kind of thin. 5. GLASSES. 6. he loves Seattle. 7. he plays DRUMS in a BAND (*swoon*). 8. his English is really bad. Well, not so bad..I can usually understand him, but bad enough so that his mistakes just make him all the more adorable. For example, check out the text message he sent me on my phone when he couldn´t come to class beause he was sick:
Hello Chloe. I´m Gonzalo. I´m still cold so I don´t think I come to class again today but I see you next Monday your place 7:45. It´s OK?
Isn´t that just PRECIOUS??
No seriously, so cute. But what is a girl to do? He´s my STUDENT for God´s sake. How do we make the transition from the student/teacher relationship, to that of mad hot passionate lovers? I don`t know the protocol. Where is Goffman when I need him?? I wonder if he´s into me. I don´t see why he wouldn´t be. I´m a young, not entirely unattractive female..I have something he wants, knowing how to speak English..I´m *exotic*, being American, and most importantly, I have POWER over him, since I´m his teacher, and that´s always attractive. So I don´t know. We will see. He did wink at me last class when he was leaving. It might´ve just been a facial spasm though. But we´ll see. At Thanksgiving, the alcohol will flow..
Anyway. Besides this imaginary lover that will probably never happen, I´ve sort of been dating a dude from the school where I´m working. Well, ¨dating¨ is probably too strong a word. He´s okay, not really boyfriend potential. Kind of too much of a dude, know what I mean? And besides, he´s American, how boring! But eh, it´ll tide me over for a little while at least until Gonzalo discovers he´s madly in love with me. It´s always good to be in the game. I think, somehow, the boys can tell. When it rains, it pours. Well, that´s my theory anyway. We´ll see if it pans out.
Living situation much the same. Roommate still as stinky as ever. We´ve been having plumbing problems. First of all, the toilet in my bathroom runs and runs and runs and won´t stop. Also, somehow, the water from the kitchen sink sometimes drains into my bathtub, don´t ask me how. BUT, worst of all, water from the TOILET is somehow miraculously draining into the OTHER tub. Okay, this is gross. Really, really gross. It hasn´t done it for a while though, so I hope it´s better. Also, last Friday, the water in my flat just randomly completely shut off. I was in the middle of making spaghetti and I had meat all over my hands. I was like, what the fuck?? But then, luckily, and inexplicably, the water turned back on in about 45 minutes. Don´t ask me what the hell was going on there. I have no idea. I just hope it doesn´t happen again. I actually think the building´s plumbing might have been ¨serviced,¨ so hopefully it won´t happen again. Now we´re like, required to hang these signs up in our flat saying, ¨please use the little drain cover thingy when using the shower¨and ¨don´t throw anything into the toilet¨and stupid stuff like that. And then it says that any service needed to be done to the apartment will be taken out of the tenants´ deposit. That´s such bullshit! The plumbing probably hasn´t been mended in the past 50 years, but we´re going to have to pay for it if there´s a problem. Well, hopefully there just won´t be a problem.
This country is just so backwards sometimes. One, there was that whole plumbing situation. And also, last weekend, on Saturday it was raining pretty hard. I went to the neighborhood Champion to buy groceries. While I´m in there, water starts pouring from the ceiling. I don´t mean like on one place. In many, many places. Water was accumulating above the sheetrock on the ceiling, and then when there was too much water, the sheetrock was coming crashing down onto the floor. There were puddles of water everywhere. I was standing in line, waiting to buy my groceries, and I couldn´t help but laugh. It was just too much. It was just too Spain. All the cashiers were running around like chickens with their heads´ cut off, trying to put up barriers around the wet spots, but it was only getting worse. They actually closed the store. Tengan cuidado!
My friends and I are planning a Thanksgiving fiesta next Saturday. I´m looking forward to it. Today I went to the American grocery store (called, ¨A Taste of America¨...how precious) and bought pumpkin pie mix and stuffing. It´s going to be a real Thanksgiving for sure! I really want to make this pie we always have at my house at Thanksgiving, but it requires molasses, and I don´t know if I can find that. They didn´t have any at the America store. I haven´t given up looking yet though...
Two of my students are going to come to Thanksgiving too, which will be fun. Juan, the one I´ve told you about, the one who came to class in his towel that one time, and also Gonzalo, my new crush. Oh God, he is too adorable. He is so my type, it´s not even funny. Listen: 1. computer programmer. 2. geeky. 3. tall. 4. kind of thin. 5. GLASSES. 6. he loves Seattle. 7. he plays DRUMS in a BAND (*swoon*). 8. his English is really bad. Well, not so bad..I can usually understand him, but bad enough so that his mistakes just make him all the more adorable. For example, check out the text message he sent me on my phone when he couldn´t come to class beause he was sick:
Hello Chloe. I´m Gonzalo. I´m still cold so I don´t think I come to class again today but I see you next Monday your place 7:45. It´s OK?
Isn´t that just PRECIOUS??
No seriously, so cute. But what is a girl to do? He´s my STUDENT for God´s sake. How do we make the transition from the student/teacher relationship, to that of mad hot passionate lovers? I don`t know the protocol. Where is Goffman when I need him?? I wonder if he´s into me. I don´t see why he wouldn´t be. I´m a young, not entirely unattractive female..I have something he wants, knowing how to speak English..I´m *exotic*, being American, and most importantly, I have POWER over him, since I´m his teacher, and that´s always attractive. So I don´t know. We will see. He did wink at me last class when he was leaving. It might´ve just been a facial spasm though. But we´ll see. At Thanksgiving, the alcohol will flow..
Anyway. Besides this imaginary lover that will probably never happen, I´ve sort of been dating a dude from the school where I´m working. Well, ¨dating¨ is probably too strong a word. He´s okay, not really boyfriend potential. Kind of too much of a dude, know what I mean? And besides, he´s American, how boring! But eh, it´ll tide me over for a little while at least until Gonzalo discovers he´s madly in love with me. It´s always good to be in the game. I think, somehow, the boys can tell. When it rains, it pours. Well, that´s my theory anyway. We´ll see if it pans out.
Friday, November 07, 2003
I have found a way to get the internet for free! You remember Juan mi alumno muy guapo? Well, he gave me his username and password so I can go to his university, which is pretty close to my house, and log onto a computer in one of their computer labs and use the internet fo´free. Right on! Isn´t that just so sweet of him? I didn´t ask or anything, he just offered. I would think that he was flirting with me, but elas, he has a girlfriend. (The good ones always do.) He´s just a naturally nice guy I think is all. Ooo..and this computer is so nice...no problems with the keys sticking..ahhh..how refreshing!
But anyway, so I´m sitting here in this lab, surrounded by unsuspecting Spaniards. Ha ha! They all think I´m a fellow student! But no, I am just pretending. It is kind of fun to imagine I´m back in college again, oh so long ago... I am a little paranoid though that I have accidentally stumbled into a class in session and a teacher is going to get up to the front any moment now and start giving a lecture or something. Just in case, I am sitting at the computer closest to the door, lest I have to make a hasty, nonchalant exit.
But anyway, life is plugging along. I have a few more students now...I am up to a survivable income, but money is VERY tight. It also doesn´t help that yesterday my wallet got stolen. Mother fucker!! I´m so pissed. I´m not sure how much money I had in it, but I think about 40 euros. And I had my driver´s license. Shit shit shit fuck fuckity fuck fuck! There are SO MANY pick pockets around here. About half the people I know have had something stolen at some point, maybe even more than half. They are EVERYWHERE. It fucking blows. I really liked that wallet, too. Mother fucking asshole mother fucker!
But anyway, my new students. Silvia. Silvia is a businesswoman of about 27 I´d say who I have twice a week at 8 o´clock (gulp!) in the morning. Although our meeting means i have to get up at the buttcrack of dawn twice a week, I thoroughly enjoy our time together. She is kick-ass. She´s young, single, independent, smart, goes out all the time, she´s awesome. I hope we will become friends. We´re already on our way I think. Wednesday, we talked about clothes, chocolate, and Enrique Iglesias, whom we both agree is exceptionally guapissimo, especially in the pectoral department. She speaks English really well, but she has no confidence, so even these seemingly silly conversations are very helpful for her, and she is learning. And all the more fun for me!
I also have this guy Antonio once a week. He basically told me that he doesn´t want to do any work. I quote: ¨I don´t want to do any of those exercises where you have to fill in the blank...I don´t really want to do any grammar or reading..¨ Well, that´s not a direct quote. What he actually said had a bunch of grammar mistakes. But anyway, I´m like, well, okay then. Less work for me. He just wants to talk, basically. To maintain his level. Not a problem. I´ll get paid to talk to him for an hour a week, and he´ll be a better English speaker. Fine with me.
I also had another new class with another businessman today named Carlos. Before starting teaching I was really kind of afraid of teaching businessmen, but as far as I can tell, they are all super nice and pretty relaxed and not at all intimidating like I thought they would be.
And next week I should be starting a class with the brother of a guy in Andrea´s capoeira class...I was supposed to start with him this week, but he was ¨sick¨ which was rather irritating. BUT..the good thing about this class is that he´s going to come to MY HOUSE. YEEEEEES. No riding the metro for this one. Also, I´m kind of hoping he´s going to be hott, because his brother Alboro in Andrea´s class is totally cute.
I have a few more students, but you are all probably getting tired of reading about them. So I will move on.
My birthday was last Sunday. Ugh, I hate holidays. I really don´t like my birthday. Because if you have just an okay day it´s not good enough because hey! It´s your BIRTHDAY! and everything is suppoed to be wonderful and great and happy, and it usually isn´t. I had an okay day. Went out to dinner with some friends on Saturday night. Lesson-planned with Andrea most of Sunday. Woo hoo. Bla bla. Another year passes.
But at least with the coming of November came the coming of the calefaccion, or heat, if you will. So my apartment is no longer butt-fuck cold. In fact, it´s quite nice and toasty now. And so far my roommates have refrained from opening the windows to counteract the heat, which is good.
Speaking of roommates. It seems for me that my roommate situation is an everfluctuating mathematical function. One leaves, another comes, one leaves, another comes. This month Pierre, the Belgian communist, is living upstairs with his girlfriend to save money, since he is broke. So for a month we have this random gay Venezuelan guy named Neil living with us. Neil is nice. He lives in Switzerland, but he´s taking a class in Madrid for learning how to teach Spanish. How convenient for me! I ask him grammar questions sometimes. His accent is really different when he speaks English and when he speaks Spanish. But..well, I can´t tell how much of it is because he´s Venezuelan, and how much of it is because he´s totally flaming gay. Sometimes, it´s not that easy to differentiate.
My Spanish class is plugging along as well. On Wednesday I have a test that I need to pass in order to move from Español 1 to Español 1,5. SWEET. I´m moving up in the world. Actually, I feel like I´ve learned more this month than I learned in like six months or maybe even a year of French in highschool. But that´s probably because my French teacher in highschool was a completely stupid airhead and never taught us jack shit. Can I get an amen, Jeff?
So I´ve been here in this lab for like let me see, about an hour and a half. I´ve saved about a euro and a half. Sweet! Gracias, Juanito. But I think I´m going to go now. I think see a teacher coming in...
Oh, but one more thing. Yesterday, Andy´s BO funk was finally discussed openly between the rest of us roommates. I realized that I was not alone in noticing his oppressive stench. It made me feel a lot better. I think Simon was nominated to be the ambassador for the rest of us and broach the topic of deodorant with him. Hopefully, he would be diplomatic about it, but I don´t know, it is Simon...
But anyway, so I´m sitting here in this lab, surrounded by unsuspecting Spaniards. Ha ha! They all think I´m a fellow student! But no, I am just pretending. It is kind of fun to imagine I´m back in college again, oh so long ago... I am a little paranoid though that I have accidentally stumbled into a class in session and a teacher is going to get up to the front any moment now and start giving a lecture or something. Just in case, I am sitting at the computer closest to the door, lest I have to make a hasty, nonchalant exit.
But anyway, life is plugging along. I have a few more students now...I am up to a survivable income, but money is VERY tight. It also doesn´t help that yesterday my wallet got stolen. Mother fucker!! I´m so pissed. I´m not sure how much money I had in it, but I think about 40 euros. And I had my driver´s license. Shit shit shit fuck fuckity fuck fuck! There are SO MANY pick pockets around here. About half the people I know have had something stolen at some point, maybe even more than half. They are EVERYWHERE. It fucking blows. I really liked that wallet, too. Mother fucking asshole mother fucker!
But anyway, my new students. Silvia. Silvia is a businesswoman of about 27 I´d say who I have twice a week at 8 o´clock (gulp!) in the morning. Although our meeting means i have to get up at the buttcrack of dawn twice a week, I thoroughly enjoy our time together. She is kick-ass. She´s young, single, independent, smart, goes out all the time, she´s awesome. I hope we will become friends. We´re already on our way I think. Wednesday, we talked about clothes, chocolate, and Enrique Iglesias, whom we both agree is exceptionally guapissimo, especially in the pectoral department. She speaks English really well, but she has no confidence, so even these seemingly silly conversations are very helpful for her, and she is learning. And all the more fun for me!
I also have this guy Antonio once a week. He basically told me that he doesn´t want to do any work. I quote: ¨I don´t want to do any of those exercises where you have to fill in the blank...I don´t really want to do any grammar or reading..¨ Well, that´s not a direct quote. What he actually said had a bunch of grammar mistakes. But anyway, I´m like, well, okay then. Less work for me. He just wants to talk, basically. To maintain his level. Not a problem. I´ll get paid to talk to him for an hour a week, and he´ll be a better English speaker. Fine with me.
I also had another new class with another businessman today named Carlos. Before starting teaching I was really kind of afraid of teaching businessmen, but as far as I can tell, they are all super nice and pretty relaxed and not at all intimidating like I thought they would be.
And next week I should be starting a class with the brother of a guy in Andrea´s capoeira class...I was supposed to start with him this week, but he was ¨sick¨ which was rather irritating. BUT..the good thing about this class is that he´s going to come to MY HOUSE. YEEEEEES. No riding the metro for this one. Also, I´m kind of hoping he´s going to be hott, because his brother Alboro in Andrea´s class is totally cute.
I have a few more students, but you are all probably getting tired of reading about them. So I will move on.
My birthday was last Sunday. Ugh, I hate holidays. I really don´t like my birthday. Because if you have just an okay day it´s not good enough because hey! It´s your BIRTHDAY! and everything is suppoed to be wonderful and great and happy, and it usually isn´t. I had an okay day. Went out to dinner with some friends on Saturday night. Lesson-planned with Andrea most of Sunday. Woo hoo. Bla bla. Another year passes.
But at least with the coming of November came the coming of the calefaccion, or heat, if you will. So my apartment is no longer butt-fuck cold. In fact, it´s quite nice and toasty now. And so far my roommates have refrained from opening the windows to counteract the heat, which is good.
Speaking of roommates. It seems for me that my roommate situation is an everfluctuating mathematical function. One leaves, another comes, one leaves, another comes. This month Pierre, the Belgian communist, is living upstairs with his girlfriend to save money, since he is broke. So for a month we have this random gay Venezuelan guy named Neil living with us. Neil is nice. He lives in Switzerland, but he´s taking a class in Madrid for learning how to teach Spanish. How convenient for me! I ask him grammar questions sometimes. His accent is really different when he speaks English and when he speaks Spanish. But..well, I can´t tell how much of it is because he´s Venezuelan, and how much of it is because he´s totally flaming gay. Sometimes, it´s not that easy to differentiate.
My Spanish class is plugging along as well. On Wednesday I have a test that I need to pass in order to move from Español 1 to Español 1,5. SWEET. I´m moving up in the world. Actually, I feel like I´ve learned more this month than I learned in like six months or maybe even a year of French in highschool. But that´s probably because my French teacher in highschool was a completely stupid airhead and never taught us jack shit. Can I get an amen, Jeff?
So I´ve been here in this lab for like let me see, about an hour and a half. I´ve saved about a euro and a half. Sweet! Gracias, Juanito. But I think I´m going to go now. I think see a teacher coming in...
Oh, but one more thing. Yesterday, Andy´s BO funk was finally discussed openly between the rest of us roommates. I realized that I was not alone in noticing his oppressive stench. It made me feel a lot better. I think Simon was nominated to be the ambassador for the rest of us and broach the topic of deodorant with him. Hopefully, he would be diplomatic about it, but I don´t know, it is Simon...
