WALK: Are you Smarter than a Spanish Teenager prt. 2

As I discussed in prt. 1, I am the go to girl for all things relating to America and English. However, as the year has progressed my classroom questions have shifted from “where does Justin Bieber live” to "what is the Past Participle of ... ?" UHHH, WHAT? I’m not even sure that I ever learned what a Past Participle form of a verb is, but even if I did learn it at some point and time- I definitely don’t know what it is now. So I thought it was time for another pop quiz, so you can test your skills as well.

1)    List the Infinitive-Past simple-Past Participle of: DRIVE
2)    Provide an example of the Affirmative-Negative-Interrogative of:  
        TO BE
3)     List the Infinitive-Past simple-Past Participle of: DREAM
4)    Give an example of LIKE+Gerund
5)    Give an example of LIKE+noun

Answers:

1)    Drive-Drive-Driven
2)    I am at school. 
      She isn’t in my class. 
      Are they at the football game?
3)    Dream-Dreamt/Dreamed-Dreamt/Dream 
      * This one is hard because it has two options for the Past Simple and 
       Past Participle
4)    I like watching old movies.
5)    I like jazz music.

How did you do?? I’ll admit that I couldn’t answer (yet alone explain) most of these questions when I received them in class, but I'm proud to say that I can now. I knew that I would learn Spanish when I came to Spain, but I never thought I would lean a little English as well.

RUN: Glad I Came

Have you ever seen the movie Midnight in Paris? It's about Gil, an American writer, who visits Paris with his fiancé and her parents. One night Gil decides to walk home alone and happens upon a totally different world; he is transported to Paris in the 1920's. As the movie develops we watch as Gil becomes entranced with his new world and begrudgingly returns to present day and his real life.

This movie really struck me; not because it was particularly spectacular, but because I often feel like I'm acting out this plot in my own life. I have often felt as though I'm in a totally different era --sometimes life in Spain feels sooo very different that it's almost as if it couldn't possibly be 2012. I’ll admit that I definitely romanticized my time in Granada, but it’s hard not to romanticize places like Paris or Spain when we know we have to go back to our normal lives in the U.S. However, I think we romanticize places and times because we can look back at them and remember the good things; all the surprises, changes, and disappointments have already taken place-the fear factor is gone. And while I am sad to be leaving Spain, I am thankful that over the last year I have been able to see Spain for what it truly is, and not just my romanticized version. Now I see its faults, shortcomings, and true character, and honestly... I still love it.

Last week I went to see a movie (in Spanish of course) with a Spanish friend, and during my walk home something clicked for me. It was around 9:15pm so it wasn’t quite dinner time and I decided to take the long way home. As I walked by the park, the museum, and through the plaza I ran into a different friend at each place. With each stop I hugged, kissed, and tried to catch up a friend that I knew I could possibly never see again. For the first time in a long time, I felt as though I really belonged; like I was actually living out a real life here in Spain, rather than the fantasy I so often play out in my head.
However, there is one big difference between Gil and myself. Although I am sad that I am leaving my new home, amazing new friends, and a great job-I know that it is my time to move on. I have a little more than a month before I return home but I won’t be doing it reluctantly. This has been an amazing experience, but I’m ready for the next chapter of my life; the next round of surprises, changes, and even some disappointments.
There is a song that I constantly play on repeat and a line from the chorus perfectly describes how I felt as I walked around Zaragoza that night: The sun goes down. The stars come out. And all that counts. Is here and now. My universe will never be the same. I’m glad [I] came I’m glad [I] came!

RUN: Time Warp prt. 2

"Loosely" translated (my translation):

In Spain, returning before 3 isn't going out. It's going to dinner.

Although I’m not in the U.S. right now, I still like to watch the news and keep up with what's going on. Unfortunately, the issues that seem to be making the news lately are issues I thought were already resolved in our country. For example, contraception. It seems like this issue has made a recent, discernible, (and very divided) resurgence, and this baffles me. I thought we had settled this issue. Have we not? It seems like all of a sudden we are talking about (and fighting about) the same issues that we did 60 years ago. Which is kind of fitting because sometimes it feels as though Spain 2012 is like living in the United States during the 1950's or 60's. In prt.1 I mentioned how Christmas and Halloween seem to be following the American trend to popularity, but here are a few other examples that seem to be similar to the changes we experienced as a country not too long ago. 


Smoking isn’t as socially acceptable:
When I was in Granada it seemed like I was walking around in a constant cloud of smoke; people smoked in the movies, bars, restaurants, and even schools. Which makes sense because smoking indoors and in public places wasn’t actually banned nationally until last year! I swear some of my students would probably forget they can't smoke in class if there wasn’t a NO-Smoking sign in every classroom and hallway. 


Women dress like Women and Men (used to) dress like Men: 
I told you that I magically feel more stylish in Spain, but I think it’s actually because I’m just trying to keep up everyone else. People in Spain (maybe Europe in general) seem to dress nicer. Just need to run to the corner store to pick up a baguette? Well, you won’t see anyone stepping out in their Juicy Couture sweatsuites or pajamas to do it. Overall, it feels like people dress more formally than we do in the U.S. However, I’ve started to notice that the younger generation is starting to buck the norm, and are dressing down rather than up. I’ve even seen a few boys in school trying to sag! It seems as though Spanish guys have gone from 50's business man to 90's rapper in a matter of a few years. I don't think we need to go back to Leave it Beaver days, but I personally would like to see Americans class it up a bit. Especially college students-short shorts and pajamas should not be appropriate school attire. Is it too much to ask for a pair of khakis or collared shirt?


People are starting to get fat!:
I swear I hadn’t seen more than a handful of large, obese, big-boned (or whatever you want to call it) Spaniards until I moved to Zaragoza. The unprecedented access to packaged and processed food is reeking havoc on the Spanish waistline, especial for young adults and children. In fact, the child obesity rates have doubled in the last 15 years. Now granted, it did take me 6months to find the McDonald’s and Burger King in Zaragoza, but when I did I was in shock. The two “restaurants” were next door to each other and they were PACKED with eager customers waiting to indulged themselves, especially at McDonald’s. 
     However you look at it, change has definitely arrived here in Spain and they are ordering a SUPER-SIZED portion of it. Why? Because they’re 
Lovin’ it!

WALK: Is that a point in your hood, or are you just happy it's Easter?

HOLY MOLY it’s Semana Santa! 
Semana Santa (Holy Week) is the last week of lent that leads up to Easter, and it also happens to be my spring break! And while spring break in the states usually consist of lounging around, drinking an adult beverage or two, and generally preparing yourself for the last push before finals, here in Spain it has a very different feel. Semana Santa is very interesting to me for many reasons. Obviously the atmosphere is very different, but it intrigues me because it's such a time consuming, over the top, and uber-religious ceremony in a country that doesn’t have many “religious” people. While 70% of Spaniards identify themselves as Catholic, only 13.6% say they practice their faith and attend services on Sunday and holy days, and almost 10% of the 70% say they are indifferent to Catholicism! So why the big push and hoopla during Semana Santa? Your guess is a good as mine, but as a very spiritual person and practicing Baptist, I must say that I do enjoy all of the fanfare. I love pomp and circumstance especially when it comes to religious ceremonies, so I am soaking it all in. I live in an awesome location right in the heart of the city so I get a front row seat to a lot of the events. Every night there are processions that make their way through the city. You can see men, women, and even children taking part in these events and processions. 

There are groups called “Hermandad”(brotherhoods) that have individual members “Nazarenos” that walk in the processions and usually carry the floats, flowers, or incense. There are also bands that play music - la marcha procesiónal - which essentially dictate the pace of the processions. Some processions, such as El Silencio, march in silence and without music. Almost every procession includes an image of Jesus, depending on what scene in the bible it depicts, as well as an image of the Virgin Mary, always in mourning for the death of Christ. But don’t just take my word for it, look at this video that the city of Zaragoza produced that highlights our Semana Santa.

(Sources: Exploreseville.com and catholicnewsagency.com)