Spain!!

Spain!!

It is finally real J I am here in southern Spain, installed as a member of the Pringle family, residing in Alhaurin dela Torre and working at The Ark Christian School in Fuengirola.

After leaving Canada on the 26^th of December I had 10 lovely days in Switzerland visiting with my grandma and lots of other family.  Some highlights were New Year’s Eve with cousins outside under the stars, skiing in the Swiss Alps for the first time and an 84^th birthday, which was basically a family reunion! J It was wonderful to speak Schwiitzer Dütsch, and connect with so many special people again.

The ski hill in Savognin, Switzerland where I was able to spend a day with my Aunt Cornelia, Uncle Martin and cousin Leo

On January 7th I took the train to Basel, and flew to Malaga where Tara Pringle and Coleman (age 12) picked me up from the airport. It was like seeing family again! I love having people all over the world that I know so well from growing up! No wonder we are called the "family of God".  I have known the Pringles since living in Kabul during highschool. Dan and Tara were my youth-group leaders and I was their baby-sitter. The four kids have grown up so much since I saw them last. Jeannine (16), Moriah (14), Coleman (12) and Kyle (10) will be my  substitute siblings for the next little while. So fun!

My lovely bedroom (graciously vacated by Jeannine while I'm here)

Way to make me feel at home!! (and I love the idea of painting a desk with blackboard paint!)

Tuesday after breakfast at 7:15, we headed for school which is about a 20 minute drive from home along the Costa del Sol. In a couple weeks when the days are longer we will see the sun rising out of the Mediterranean Sea on our way J Yes, I think I’m going to love this adventure!

The view of the Mediterranean from the highway, driving home from school in the afternoon

Early Years, and my year 1-2 class doing devotions in the morning before lessons start.

The Ark Christian School is small, about 90 students in total, from ages 4-17. I have been pretty much assigned to the year 1-2 split class. There are 13 students, 6 boys and 7 girls, and a very wide range of language abilities and learning levels. Several of them are British and the loveliest accents J The others are Scandinavian, and Spanish. Elena the teacher is Ukranian, and seems to have a  relaxed and fun, but also no-nonsense personality. To the students I am now "Miss Romaine".

My job is to assist where ever I can, reading with individuals, doing work in small groups, being the "policeman" while Elena teaches, washing paint brushes, supervising lunch play time etc. Elena has graciously said that once I’m comfortable I will be able to teach a lesson once in a while, which will be a great experience.  I’m also doing odd jobs around school. Tara (who teaches highschool English) got me to put bindings on class notes for her year 8-9s today, and I started the job of re-shelving and organizing the library books.  I enjoyed myself thoroughly today, and think it will be a rich and valuable experience as long as I am able to keep a cheerful, humble and serving attitude.

Orange trees!! The entrance to the park which also is the school playground.

Evening stroll along the main street in Alhaurin de la Torres with the Pringle ladies

Although Spain is a Western, and even European country, here are a few quirks I’ve noticed or been shown this week:

-       If you don’t give exact change, the cashier will ask you for it, they consider it very important.

-       In greeting, Spaniards give just two kisses, one on each cheek, instead of the 3 that I’m used to from Switzerland.

-       Drivers (on the highway!!) will sit indecisively on the line between two lanes…exceedingly frustrating to other drivers!

-       One of the specialty foods is “Jamon”, cured ham that smells awful!!

That is all for this week! A little taste of what I am experiencing J Thanks for reading, thinking and praying. With love and hugs,

Romaine

Andalusian hills and Malaga in the distance