New faces

I haven't been able to access Blogger for the last couple of days, so I will try to sum things up as best as I can.

School

I ended up missing the whole day of school on Monday because I was hangin out in customs, so my first day was Tuesday.  Almost all of the employees there are British.  The one American staff person, of course, talks the loudest, quickest, and is the most outgoing (she's also very very Michigan).  It's definitely comforting to be surrounded by adults that have all made the expat leap and are [I can totally hear someone boning right now!] leading happy, productive lives.  

Most of the students in my class are American women in their twenties who recently got out of college.  Sometimes I feel a little funny reconnecting with mainstream America.  Then again, if you're going to move abroad just because you feel like it, you can't be too mainstream.  I'm definitely the only obviously queer one, but I'm not sure if my 'dar works internationally.  I keep wanting to make gay jokes all the time and then realize that it is probably totally foreign to them.

I taught my first class yesterday afternoon and it went alright.  I worked with a seasoned teacher, Luke, on a lesson plan and then he sat in the back and observed me during my first lesson.  It was definitely one of those black out/out-of-body moments where I came to afterwards and wasn't quite sure what happened.  Apparently I did ok and the students seemed to enjoy the lesson.  There is one student in particular that I really enjoy.  Her name is Marta and she looks like she came out of a John Waters movie - very Divine.  Who doesn't love a natural-born drag queen?  She's a terrible flirt and probably the most advanced student in the group.  There was also another person in my class...her name is Lilith...and she has short, spiky, bleached hair.  My 'dar can't be that broken right?  

I have a half day of class tomorrow.  Afterwards, a bunch of my classmates will be going to Sitges.  It sounds really lovely, but I feel self-conscious going with a bunch of gender normies.  My teacher, Lisa, said it pretty damn gay though...I haven't decided yet.

Roommies

Duke and I share the flat with Ruben, Marina, Miriam, Yola, Otto (French bulldog), and Zoe (cat).  All of the humans are in their twenties and recent college graduates.  I really like all of them.  

The funny thing is that Spanish is not the first language for any of us.  Ruben is from Santiago in Gallicia and speaks Galician.  He is also fluent in Spanish and knows a bit of French and English.  Marina, Miriam, and Yola are all from Girona and are very Catalan.  All the Catalonians here are also fluent in Spanish and my roommates speak a tiny bit of English.  It's fun to talk with them because the conversation becomes a hodge podge of FrenchSpanishCatalanEnglish.  Catalan is like speaking French with a Spanish pronunciation.  I can somewhat understand written text, but hearing it totally throws me off.

BTW - Spanish olives are the best and there are bottles of wine for 0.99 Euros.