Oración para niños

Yesterday was my second day working with the students at Sagrado Corazón and I loved it even more than the first day. The kids are more accustomed to me now, but they still stare at me wherever I go. I think the idea of a real American working in their classroom is very different and they are very curious about where I came from. I'm starting to learn their names little by little and they are starting to speak to me a bit more about their lives.

 One of the little girls, Ana, came up to me and serenaded me with an English song she had learned in class. It was the cutest thing, I could barely hear her because she was a little shy, but it was still adorable. The lesson yesterday was weather and daily activity vocabulary. The kids used puppets and stickers to act out their daily routines such as getting out of bed, taking a shower and getting dressed. It was my job to ask them which vocabulary word they were acting out and they could all tell me in perfect Spanish. I constantly had to remind them to tell me in English, after which they would just stare at me. It's definitely a difficult task working with 5-year-olds but you can never really be disappointed with them. Then I would show them cards with a picture of a weather situation (sunny, rainy, windy) and they would all simultaneously scream the vocabulary word at me. "Ok, what type of weather is this, class?" "SUNNYYYYYY!" "Ok, what about this?" "RAIIIIIIIIIIIN!" They were very excited about the weather cards.

It's funny working in a kindergarten classroom because I haven't seen puppets or stickers in a class since I was in kindergarten myself. It makes me want to be their age again, with the colorful posters and all the toys and games they get to play with. I laugh at the thought of one of my college professors performing a puppet show in order to demonstrate the concept of interpersonal communication and psychological concepts. I only wish this was a reality. Instead of toys and games, we have textbooks and Powerpoints. I suppose this is just a consequence of growing up and progressing our education, and these toddlers don't realize just how lucky they are.




Some friends and I went to Barcelona for the weekend, and we had a great time exploring the city and its architecture. We visited a lot of Antoni Gaudí sites, one of Spain's most infamous architects. He died in the early 1920's, but he constructed several monuments and impressive buildings such as La Sagrada Familia and La Casa Batlló. La Sagrada Familia is one of the most well-known cathedrals in the entire world and was Gaudí's masterpiece. He never lived to
see it completed, but several architects are still working on the cathedral today to complete Gaudí's work. It is already a triumphant building and I can't wait to see it when it's complete. Gaudí was a brilliant architect and if he was still alive today I would hire him to build my future house and ask him to let me have my wedding in La Sagrada Familia. Weddings are not allowed in this cathedral since it's a pubic tourist site, but I'm sure Gaudí would make a special exception for me. It is truly a breathtaking construction and I feel like I could go back ten more times and still be amazed by Gaudí's work.

There were also several protests going on in the city's plazas while we were there. I did some research on this and found out that the city of Barcelona and the entire northeastern part of Spain (Cataluña) is fighting for their independence from Spain. People were in the streets wrapped in their Cataluña flags, proclaiming their desire to be an independent country. This will probably never happen, of course, but the fact that so many people of Barcelona are involved in this protest was amazing. They are very patriotic people, I'll give them that.

It was a very educational trip and I am very lucky to have spent the weekend in one of Spain's most beautiful cities with some of my good friends. I hope one day I can go back with my family or friends and be able to see even more of the city. The only problem with Barcelona is the language they speak. Catalan is the prominent language in Barcelona; a strong French base with a few Spanish influences. This makes sense, however, since the city of Barcelona is located right underneath France. It is an incredibly complicated and beautiful language but I would love to learn it someday.

I also got a care package from home yesterday which came just at the right time. It has books, movies, candy, shoes and Halloween supplies. I'm so happy I have people back in America who are thinking of me and were thoughtful enough to send me a box full of things that remind me of home. Thank you, America :)