What I learned about while living in Spain

       

 So if you read my article that I released earlier in the month, Breaking into a Dream Career, you are aware that I've been living in Spain for three months now. When I was writing that article, I thought it would be a great idea to release an article discussing the things I've learned from living in Barcelona, Spain. And in this article, that is exactly what I'm going to do.

•  Barcelona is part of Catalunya, Spain. The official language is Catalan. This is one of the reasons why I haven't been able to really master the Spanish language. I have become more confident in trying to communicate in Spanish more since being here in Spain. While members of this community's native language is Catalan, they also are fluent in Spanish because of various reasons. When watching shows and many forms of entertainment, it is usually in Spanish when there isn't a Catalan version. Children are taught the Spanish language starting around their primary years. And books are read in both Catalan and Spanish. The Spanish and Catalan languages are very similar to one another as well.

Map of the country Spain

• Most of the meals are European inspired. I have had so many forms of potatoes, it's insane. If you know me, I don't really care for them. I have eaten a lot of bread as well. I won't be surprised when I learned that I've gained at least ten pounds since being in Spain when I hop on a scale in America. There was one meal where I had to give a hard pass too and that was for Pumpkin Cream soup. I almost became sick the first time I ate it. I just don't like pumpkin. Doesn't matter in any form nor the smell. I even had cheese sprinkled on it. Still didn't help. But, one dish that is a Catalan style dish that I found interesting was grilled calcot dipped in chili sauce. Calcot is a type of onion. The typical way of eating them is interesting in itself. You literally hold the grilled vegetable from the top with one hand. With the other hand, you peel some of the leaves down. Once you have majority of the leaves down, you use that same hand and squeeze the bottom of the onion and pull down the sleeve. With the hand holding the top of the onion, place the onion into the chili sauce. You then tip your head up like you're trying to catch a shrimp at a Japanese restaurant and bite the onion until you get close to the leaves. And there you have it, "you mastered eating calcot," the Catalan way.

Grilling Calcots

After you peel, you dip it in the chili sause

Now it's time to eat

And now it's complete. On to the next on please

•  People here is Spain only identifies people by their nationality. Not just for paperwork. But, also as a proper introduction. Not once was I asked what was my race. This  is very different from the United States where you are asked both your nationality and what your race or races are. So when people introduced me they would say, "This is Chyna. She only speaks English and she is American." Nothing more and nothing less. It was important to let new people know that I did not know Catalan and was not fluent enough in Spanish before they would have tried to have a complete conversation with me.

•  When it comes to children and unmarried individual's names, They have both their father and mother's surnames. When my host family was helping me file out paperwork so I could an SSI (social security identification) number, there was only one section part when filing out my name and that was my first name. For the section for my parents, I had to put both their first and last names in the sections provided. I was then told by my host mom that most people in Spain have both parents' surnames.

A form to get a NIE ( Numero de Identidad de Extranjero)

•  Women get seven months of paid maternity leave that is paid through taxes. This might look different now since the outbreak of the Coronavirus-19 and the shutting down of businesses to participate in quarantine ( a state, period, or place of isolation to stop the spreading and exposure of an infectious and contagious disease). When I learned this, I was kind of jealous because the United States has nothing close to this. We are luck to get three months of maternity leave if the company is large enough to give it, but we won't get paid during that time off. If the company is big enough, we can be granted our jobs back and that's it. See if I was granted seven month of paid maternity leave, I would work all the way until the doctor says I can't work no more while pregnant or when it was time to deliver. Once delivered, I would spend that seven months with the child until it was time for me to return. I mean, wouldn't that be sweet?

•  While Spain celebrates some of the same holidays as we do in the United States, they either celebrate the holiday differently or on different days of the year. For Spain, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the Saturday after the Thursday, that American's celebrate theirs. Spaniards celebrate the holiday as a way to celebrate and give thanks to their family and friends. It is the same way, we celebrate the holiday now. In America, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Thursday of the month of November. In America, Father's day is celebrated on the third Sunday of June. Whereas, in Spain, it's celebrated on March 19th. For Mother's day, Spain celebrates the holiday on the first Sunday on May. In the United States, we celebrate the holiday on the third Sunday of May. And when it comes to Valentine's day, Spain has their own version called, "Sant Jordi" or "Dia de San Jorge." It is celebrated in April 23rd every year. On this day, Ladies get a rose and guys get a book. Isn't that sweet. I might celebrate the American version on February 14th like that next year. I guess this would only work if you know your guy like to read. In America, usually the ladies gets majority of the gifts such as jewelry, flowers, chocolate, etc. but the guys in a lot of cases gets nothing in return unless it's relating to some physical action taking place later in the night.

•  Spain has a King. The current King is Felipe VI. Apparently, he is nothing like Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. He does no charity work or do any thing for the benefit of Spain. Majority of Spaniards don't like him at all mainly because he doesn't really do anything for the country. I only learned that Spain had an active King when the pandemic of the coronavirus started to take place in the country. Every time he came on the news, people stopped listening and watching the screen. The news even showed people standing outside usually on their balconies with instruments or anything that could create sound and would start playing music or creating random sounds until the King stopped talking and got off the screen. At the least that was interesting to see. Looks the same way people act when President Trump talks on the news. So Spaniards, I know the feeling.

King Felipe VI

•  To own a Pitbull, you first must be licensed to have one. I thought this was interesting to learn when a teacher told me that she had to get the paperwork before owning her dog. It is a known fact that Pitbulls can be very aggressive and can even eventually turn on their owners. But, I feel as though, it's all about how you treat and train the dog. If you train a dog or a person to be aggressive, well there you go, you get an aggressive dog or person. If you treat someone or a pet badly then there should be no surprise that the pet or person will start acting out towards you. It's simple psychology that people should be able to understand. The only thing I find concerning is when it's learned that a Pitbull turned on their owner(s) after the dog was always treated kindly and with respect over the years of their life. I believe those dog's are prone to getting Alzheimer's disease ( A slowly progressive disease of the brain that is characterized by symptoms like impairment of memory and eventually by disturbances in reasoning, planning, language, and perception) when they get older. I hope some researchers do more research on the brains of Pitbulls to gain more understanding on their turn around and a list of early signs with possible creation of medicine for them. America hasn't gone that far for Pit owners, but Pits are also known for their aggressive ways in the U.S.A. and usually are trained as such.

•  Spain's education system looks very different from majority of the United State's education system after the preschool years. From the United States, primary years starts at the age of five years old. The first grade year for five year old's is called Kindergarten. Whereas in Spain, it starts at the age of six. The first year of primary is called, first year. Nothing fancy. American children stay in their primary school years from the age of five to eleven or twelve years old. After kindergarten, the names are the same as Spain, but we say it differently like, "first grade and second grade." Spain's primary program is from the age of six to twelve years of age like America. After graduating from primary education in the United States, students go to middle school from eleven or twelve years old until the age of fourteen. After middle school, the students then goes to secondary school from the age of fourteen and graduate with a high school diploma at the age of seventeen or eighteen years old. Spain doesn't have a middle school education so after the students finish their primary education, they start secondary. Students in Spain are in secondary from the age of twelve until the age of sixteen. From there, the students enroll in University preparation from the age of sixteen to the age of eighteen. Around the age of sixteen and eighteen, both Americans and Spaniards study and prepare for college entry exams. From college, the education systems in both countries goes from a Bachelor's degree, Master's degree, and then a Doctor's degree. The difference between the college systems is another educational degree level Americans can choose to get and the education structure of courses within the degree of study . The other degree choice American's can choose from is an Associate's degree. You have to get an Associate's before going for your Bachelor's in University. To get an Associate's you would have to take classes at a junior college also known as community college or be apart of a scholarly program while in high school. There is no Community College option for Spaniards. When it comes to the structure of courses for a Bachelor's degree, people studying in America has more freedom when it comes to changing their degree choice for free in most cases unless they are enrolled in an Art or Trade school. You can even attend college without knowing what you want a degree in for the first two years before having to declare a major. In Spain, after the first semester, you have to declare your degree choice and stick with it or else that is an additional fee for changing the degree of study. If Spaniards decide to change their major while in the middle of completing a different program, they have to pay additional fees and have to start everything over after the first semester of classes.

From reading this article, I hope you all learned something new about Spain and Barcelona that you didn't know before. I also hoped that these facts opened your eyes that you can't learn everything from reading a book or viewing countries through another person's eyes. You have to travel for yourself and visit places the locals are going and gain a real sense of how people are living.

Breaking into a Dream Career

          During the month of March, we celebrate many things such as St. Patrick's Day and Easter when it appears during the month of March, but another thing we celebrate is, "International Women's Day and Month. International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8th, while the celebration continues all month long. Before writing this article, I came across a post on Instagram stating that more women are traveling solo around the world these days and I felt as though this was the perfect time to talk about my experience traveling, living, and working overseas for the first time. Traveling has always been a dream of mine when I was very young so to actually see that dream become my reality; it's breath taking. I still can't believe it's happening as I'm writing this post. In this article, I will talk about my experience living overseas and becoming an international English Teacher thus far. From this article, I hope to inspire others to find their passion and make that jump to their dream career even though it may seem scary at first.

          If you've been keeping up with my articles, my December 2019 article, "Starting the New Year's Resolutions a Month Early," I stated how I ended up getting my big break into the international teaching business seven months after graduating with my Bachelor degrees and concentration. If you haven't read that article yet before reading this article, then definitely check that article first so you can become well informed.

         After receiving the notice that I had a spot into the internship, everything afterwards took place very fast. I was mentally packing my bags, I didn't physically pack until my visa arrived to my house by mail. I only had two weeks before my flight. Within those two weeks, me and my family were moving items from the house to a storage unit; while I was packing my two suitcases and bookbag. At the same time, I was still working as an assistant director at an afterschool program and studying to get my driver's license. By January 5th, it was the night before my flight and I was 95% packed and I officially had my driver's license.

After the first flight, I landed in Turkey for an overnight stay

          It took two days before finally arriving in Barcelona, Spain. I had to get on two flights which equaled to twelve hours on a plane. This was the longest I've been on a plane in my entire life. When I arrived in Barcelona, I was greeted by my host mom, who was waiting for me at the front entry gates. I am currently still living with her and her family. I will soon receive information about my next family once they are chosen.

          I was able to rest for the rest of the day and started working at the school  the very next day. Once I arrived at the school through walking, I met the preschool teachers, my mentor, the principal, the secretaries, and the other two English assistants. I was then given a small tour of the school. I then learned that I would be helping the teachers in the preschool section. I received my schedule the same day.

Sitting at a local café with the other English Assistants during the lunch break

          From living in Spain for about a week, I felt as though I would fit right in with the community and get comfortable living in Barcelona very quickly. And I did just that. In just one week of living in the Sant Celoni community, I got to see the kids I live with play Street Hockey, go to a cook out, and meet the grandparents on both sides of the family. It also became a regular activity to hang out at a local café during the lunch break with the other English assistants after eating lunch.

          I work from Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm. I wake up around 7am to get freshen up, dressed, and eat breakfast before leaving the house around 8:20 and 8:30am. After walking to the school with the kids a couple of times, I was able to walk to the school by myself with no problem. It's a sixteen minute walk from the house to the school. I usually arrive at the school around 8:45am depending on how early I leave the house. From 9am to 1pm, I am helping teachers with different types of activities they planned for those hours while I interact with the students in mostly English so they can learn the English words relating to the activities they are doing. At 1pm, the students either leave with a family member or go to the school's cafeteria to eat lunch. The lunch break is from 1pm to 3pm for both the students and the teachers. During the break, I go to the room where teachers eat lunch. About forty minutes later, the other English assistants and I walk to one of the local cafes to have a soda and I always get tea. During these moments at the cafes, I have since had to get use to a lot of smokers smoking very close to me. I'm currently, still not use to it.

         Once it becomes 3pm, the teachers and students return back to the classrooms. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays; I either help the teachers with art activities they are doing with the kids or help a teacher in one of the preschool classrooms until 4pm. On Tuesdays, we and the teachers walk to the local senior activity center and the kids do different type of art activities with them for an hour.  At 4pm, it is free hour for me and I only work during that hour if I'm needed or working on a project. From 4pm to 5pm, the students in the preschool program play outside on the playground. At 5pm, classes in the whole school is finished and it's time to go home. Usually at 5pm, one of the parents I live with picks me and the kids up to take us back to the house. On the days they don't, I walk home. For the first couple of times, it was a struggle finding my way back because I never walked back to the house before and I couldn't really follow the way we went by car because of the many one way streets that is allowed to drive on. One time, my mentor tried to help me with a ride back to the house during an early dismissal; I ended up walking outside of the community and had to turn on my international mobile data on in order for me to find my way back to the house. That was a couple weeks after moving to Spain. My grandfather panicked about a $1000 plus phone bill waiting for him in February when I told him that I had to turn on the international mobile data. He even got nervous every time he saw that I was on Skype with my grandmother because he didn't really understand how wi-fi worked.

The cat that is attached to me. He really acts like he's my child

Touring the Cathedral in Barcelona 

On top of the Cathedral

         Since living with my current host family. They've been very kind towards me. I had hoped this would be the case when I first learned about them being my host family and I'm so glad that has been my reality. They're treating me as if I am part of their family. On the first weekend, I got to see the kids I live with complete in a Street Hockey event and attend a cookout with the Street Hockey members and their families. After a week of living here, I learned that the parents and the grandparents pulls out the wine for dinner every night and during lunch time on weekends and on days off from work. So now every night and on days off, I'm drinking wine with my meals. I can get use to this, but I'm sure my next host family probably won't be living a similar lifestyle; so I guess we will see what takes place during my remaining time in Spain. During most nights, the grandmother on the paternal side would join us for dinner, but this has recently ended now that the maternal grandmother now lives with the family. Every weekend the kids has a match to go to for Street Hockey. On Sundays, the grandparents on both sides of the family would come over for a fancy lunch. The lunches would include different types of side dishes, fancy wine and champagne that we normally don't drink on the weekdays, and have sweet treats after dinner has been eaten. This too has recently changed which was because of a recent death in the family. The family also had four pets when I first arrived. two dogs and two cats. Both dogs and one of the cats has become very attached to me. They're really going to miss me when I leave in April. Another cat has been added since the maternal grandmother has moved in with the family. While living with my current family, I have done some tourism in Barcelona and attended the town's carnival events. I hope to do some more touring of the city before I leave to go back to the states (USA).

The second day of Carnival Week at the school

The last day of Carnival Week at the school. This is the dress 

the teachers made for me .We were caught fish.

I guess you can say I've been caught overseas?

Human Tower Competitors. A popular competition in Spain

One of the group of  performers at the event

Members of the community doing a set of traditional dances with their traditional clothing

         At the school, I've gotten to experience the ways the staff and students celebrate big events. During Carnival Week, they dressed up in items that represented water and creatures under the sea. This was the school's carnival theme this year. They had face painted faces, hair sprayed with different colors, and wore costumes. The town Sant Celoni, celebrates Carnival week similarly to how the U.S. celebrates Halloween without the candy. Sant Celoni's Carnival week was from February 17 to February 23, 2020.  A couple of times that week, teachers made hair accessories and a dress for me to wear. And on that Friday, everyone at the school came to the big playground to participate in the two hour long dance party with their friends and family members who came to join them. And just a week ago, we celebrated English Day on March 3rd. On English Day, the whole school participates in activities relating to the theme for the entire school day. The teachers also decorate the whole school according to that theme as well. This year's theme was Harry Potter. This event has been the biggest and busiest project I have done so far and is the reason why I skipped the first Wednesday of March to release an article. I literally binged watched all eight Harry Potter movies; created puppets to go along with the video I created then put it on YouTube as an easy access for the teachers; helped with the creation of a lot of the activities the students were going to do for the day; and much more. While February was the busiest month thus far, my efforts did not go unnoticed. In fact, all the teachers in the preschool section  and one of the secretaries, told me that I did a great job and were impressed with the things I've done.

English Day at the school. A popular annual event

The invitation letter we placed on the doors of the classreooms

The badges we made for the kids to wear once they've been

 selected to their house

The kids doing magic tricks with the secondary students for House Points

Magical writing activity

The whole school learned that with the addition of all the points,

 the  Ravenclaw house won first place

The smile you give when you know English Day was an success

                  So, as you can see. I entered Barcelona, Spain head first and doing my best to create a positive impact among the younger generation of future leaders. Since being here, many people at the school has not met and gotten to know many Americans and most like an African American in particular. I believe that it's important that all races, nationalities, and cultures should travel more out of their comfort zone and learn about the natives of different places in order to create a better world with less hate among each other. I hope I've inspired you to make that jump and find your passion in life.

If you are interested in checking out the YouTube video I made for English Day, you can check it out here: Story Time With Chyna on Harry Potter