Busy with Rotary

The past few days here in Granada have been absolutely crazy with Rotary events. Yesterday, we went to the foundation just like we will be doing every Monday and Wednesday. Our time there yesterday was a little different, though, because instead of tutoring we gave a presentation about ourselves and our hometowns to the entire foundation. It was nice because they were sincerely interested in our presentations. When we were there last Wednesday, I had gum in my mouth and they all wanted some so I made sure to bring some with me yesterday. The very first thing they asked me was whether or not I remembered to bring it. It was funny how badly they wanted gum from me, but I'm glad I could make their day with something so simple. Once we left the foundation, we went to the Hotel Macia Condor where the Granada Rotary Club has their weekly meetings. The club had invited us to dinner to celebrate Rotary in Spain. The entire club was present with their spouses and there were even some people there from outside of the country. One of the couples was from Norway and the lady is the president of the Innerwheel Club in Norway. This was the first time I had ever heard of Innerwheel, which is the female version of Rotary. It is still a part of Rotary International, but geared towards women. Spain is the only country that lacks a club like this so she came trying to promote it. It made me wonder if there are any in the Downriver. It would be cool to start one if one doesn't exist. Besides the great people at the dinner, the food was great too. We had an awesome 4 course meal. The first course was a crab/apple salad that was a great opener for what was to come. The next course was a fillet of fish in this cream sauce with mandarins. The sauce was to die for! Then, they brought out a roast beef dish with vegetables and carmelized onions. The onions were my favorite part of this dish. The fourth and final course was dessert. I'm not even really sure what it was, but I think someone said it may have been flan. Anyways, whatever it was, it was delicious. I'm really glad that we were invited to the dinner and could take part in such a special event for the Rotary Club of Granada.
Today, I gave another presentation at the same school I presented at before, but this time it was for the parents of the students who are really considering participating in the Rotary Youth Exchange Program. Jessica and I both had a part of the presentation and she was sick so I was missing her part. My part comes after hers so it wouldn't make much sense for me to do mine without hers before it. Instead, I just introduced myself and explained a little about my high school and then the parents asked me any questions they had about the United States high school education system. This really turned out to be a great way to go about presenting the info. I was really proud of myself, too, because I understood every question the parents asked me and was able to respond appropriately. I think we're going to do one again in the near future at Laura's high school. Laura is the girl that participated in Rotary Youth Exchange last year in the United States and absolutely loved it. Also, she's going to take us to her favorite cafe in town this weekend and get us tickets to see her sister's flamenco show. I'm super excited!

Lending a Hand

The Granada Rotary Club donates to a foundation called La Fundacion Escuela de Solidarid located about 20 minutes from the city. As a Rotary scholar, it is my responsibility to volunteer here, but it doesn't feel like a requirement. It feels like a great opportunity to spend some time with those who could use it. The foundation is a center for people in need to come and stay until they can find work or get back on their feet. It was started by a local lawyer named Ignacio about 15 years ago. Currently, there are about 40 people who live there ranging in age from a few months old to 60 years old. Each person or family has their own apartment, so to speak, but they all work together to maintain the foundation. The mission of the foundation is to create a "universal family." Many of the people who live there don't have families or are away from them so they become each other's family and you can really see that when you're there. They all work together to cook, clean, and look out for one another. In order to make sure everyone does their part, there is a schedule of events. Everyday from 4:30 to 6 pm is homework time for the kids and they know that they can't leave until all of their work is done. As Rotary scholars studying to improve our Spanish, we help tutor the kids with their homework. Also, we are going to try to incorporate in some English lessons and other activities on the days that the kids don't have a lot of homework. Monday, we are giving a presentation to the entire foundation about ourselves and where we are from. So far, we have been to the foundation twice to tutor the kids. I really enjoy it! There is a group of younger kids (3 to 10) and older kids (15 to 19). I have only really worked with the younger kids. They don't have too much homework because some of them are not in school, but we read books and color. It's a lot of fun. I think they really enjoy us being there, too. The other day when I stopped reading a book to Yanira, a 3-year old girl, she wouldn't let go of my hand until I came back into the room and continued. It was so cute. Today, I had a piece of gum in my mouth when I came and they all wanted a piece so I have to make sure to bring some with me on Monday. I think they would really like that. From here on out, we will be going to the foundation every Monday and Wednesday for a few hours and whenever else we can to do any other work they need.

Weekend in Sevilla

I'm so behind on my blog! A few weekends ago Jess, Lisamarie, and I went to Sevilla. Our new friend, Sophie, from Holland also came too. I had my first experience ever with the train and the hostel and they both went very well, especially the hostel. The owners were very accomodating and wanted to make sure we had fun in Sevilla. It was so weird, though, because I noticed this guy as soon as we walked into the hostel. I knew I knew him from somewhere! Then it hit me...I met him at my Rotary Conference in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania last April. I was dying to know if it was really him or not so when we got to the flamenco show that the owner of the hostel was taking us to, I asked him. To my surprise, it was him! Peter had been studying in Jordan for 6 months and was on his way home now. One of his stops on the way home was Sevilla and we just happened to run into him there. It was so crazy! We ended up talking to him all night about his trip and other such things. It was really great to run into another Rotary Scholar that I had already met. Then, he came to Granada a few days later and we all went out for dinner at a great restaurant called Totes y Amigos to continue our conversation. Aside from meeting Peter, all of us had a great time in Sevilla. We saw so many things in just a few days like the Cathedral, Plaza de Toros, Alcazar, Tower of Gold, and Giralda. It was nice to take a little trip, but also great to be home in Granada on Sunday night.

Spreading the Word

Last week, Juan Pablo, my Granada Rotary host counselor, asked Jess and I to give a presentation to about 100 high school students regarding the American high school system. We created a presentation and had our teachers correct it for us. We took a taxi to the school, but even after the taxi driver dropped us off we had a hard time finding it. He dropped us off in front of a high school, but it was the wrong one. After waiting outside for a while, we finally decided to go in and find the office. A man that spoke English, as well as Spanish, directed us to the right school about a mile down the road. Once again, we had trouble. We couldn't find the room that we were supposed to be giving the presentation in. When we found it, Juan Pablo was talking to the students about the Rotary Youth Exchange program and five minutes later, it was our turn to present. The kids gave us a big round of applause as we made our way to the front of the room. Jess talked first and then I gave mine. Everything went well except for when I said "quiero ser una medicina," which means I want to be a medicine/pill. I meant to say "medica." All the kids were roaring with laughter, but it was a good way to break the ice. I felt a lot more comfortable after that. After our presentation, a girl named Laura, a Rotary Youth Exchange alumni, gave a presentation about her trip to the U.S. last year. It was really good to hear that she had a great time in the U.S. and can't wait to return. Giving this presentation was a really good experience for us and we definitely hope to do it again. Hopefully, from our presentations we can influence the Spanish youth to take part in the Rotary Youth Exchange and Ambassadorial programs. They are both great programs!