Week 3, August 29th- September 4th

School has started! Thursday students arrived for the first day of school. It was a little odd at 8:30 walking through the halls and not having my own classroom to stand in front of; to start my policies and procedures, trying to memorize 30 new faces. Or maybe it was not having the specific schedule to follow. For the last 4 years, my routine has been written in dry erase marker on the board, from bell to bell, in 45 minute blocks. I have to admit it has been a nice change of pace. I can go top off my coffee when I need to. I don't have to wait for that 5 minute, 10 AM break to run to the restroom. I have however taken on other responsibilities, the chaos that is our student drop off "procedure"; not a lot of "procedure" involved. Part of my job is to create some order in what seems like a non existent morning procedure...I have google mapped the area, and can see a solution, but have been told by more than one person, that "...this is Spain..." so not a whole lot of optimism when it comes to changing the driving/parking situation.

Week in Review:

The week really kind of flew by, looked at a few more places to live. We are now set on a place in Gracia, unless we find something better in the next few days. I feel like I shouldn't update anymore on the housing until I have actually signed a contract and gotten some keys.

True highlight of the week was waking up early on Sunday, and taking the train out to Sitges. A smaller coastal town south of Barcelona. I hopped off the train, and could smell the ocean. Even in Barca, the smell of the ocean isn't that strong, or even pleasant. Narrow roadways lead strait down to the ocean, where the beaches at 9 AM were empty. Not a lot of people up and moving that early on a Sunday...I rode from one end to the other in about an hour at a pretty leisurely pace. (Roger Clyne on my ipod)  I stopped often to take pictures, but more than anything just enjoyed riding somewhere completely new. Around noon, as people started to arrive at the beaches, I parked and sat at a beach side bar and enjoyed a can of Sangria, and a bacadillo. I soon headed up into to the city, stopped in a few shops and then eventually made my way back to the train station.  I posted the better photos @ http://observations.zaplife.com .

Until next time...