Life during the week... homework, grammar, and Hannah Montana

Hola queridos (dear ones :)!

I usually don't have much exciting, funny, or remotely witty to say during the week, but I'm going to give it a try!

The school weeks fly by here! It's a combination of of the fact that I'm in class during the day (but only 4 days a week), take siestas every day, and have English lessons (I'm a private tutor twice a week for a delightful 15 year old, and I am a teacher's aid in an "English" class in an after school program). Every Tuesday I help in this classroom of a handful of 8 or 9 year olds... they are precious, hilarious, and very helpful in practicing my español! They are very encouraging but not also afraid to tease and correct me. This class (its a class for me at the university, paired with volunteering at the school) has helped me learn so much about the Spanish education system, and I think I was expecting it to be very close to the American system (it's not). I'm pretty sure I speak better Spanish than their teacher does English!

Plus, they learn British English, so that's fun! Does anyone know what a pullover is?
Exactly, neither did I. I guess it's a sweatshirt type thing.

So the kids are hugely curious about the United States and asked me where I was from. I told them a state called Ohio, it's sort of near Chicago., and it snows all the time there. Raul goes, "Ohhhh, so you live near Hannah Montana??"

Not knowing what state Ms. Montana was from, I asked!

"Californíaaa!" He said!

I had to explain that California takes days to drive to, which is something that these kids can't even imagine. The whole country of Spain is only slightly bigger than Texas! Needless to say, I love these kids a lot.

I've also learned that I don't understand English grammar at all... like, seriously. And these kids ask hard questions!! I had to explain what a lever was (like, the physics thing!), what "yuck" means, why "Joy" is a girl's name, why the past tense of "go" is "went," what a UFO is, how a piano is different from a keyboard, and how very few people in the US say "hiya" instead of "hi" or "hello." I had to explain this all in Spanish. This is what I mean by good practice.

Well... I'm procrastinating and need to finish homework. Friday we're heading to Segovia for the day with our program!

Don't get lost in all the snow in the Midwest! As my host moms would tell me... "¡Abrigase!" (bundle up, dress warmly)

¡Besitos de España!
Anita