Hola! I know I’m missing the upside-down exclamation mark (what is that called?), but I don’t know how to type one with my bluetooth keyboard. There are definitely a few quirks involved with not having a laptop here. Not enough quirks, however, to justify buying a new one (I don’t feel comfortable carrying my school laptop to another country).

Anyway, you don’t need my whole internal monologue about tech, although you should be aware that I am having technical difficulties with my phone and iPad. For some reason, iMessage dropped my phone number from its allowable methods of reaching me, so if you have an iPhone and have texted me to my phone number (I’m sure you all have many times), I’m not receiving your texts. If the desperation to talk to me gets to be too much to bear, message me on Facebook and I’ll give you the secret email address to text to. Or you can Whatsapp me if you use that- Whatsapp is still connected to my phone number. Or you can just leave me alone already because I’m in Spain! I kid, I kid. I love feeling connected to home. While I’m still having a great time, I’ll admit that I kind of miss Jersey a bit.

Ok, now that that’s out of the way, back to my actual post! Things haven’t been too eventful, so hopefully this won’t get to be too long (yeah right).

My group project on Sunday went well; I enjoyed working with my group, and we were super productive, which meant more time for the pool and a barbecue! One of my classmates teaches and lives in Mallorca year round, so we went to her house. Everything from the house itself to the scenery to her kids was beautiful! I didn’t take pics of the kids in the hopes of not appearing creepy, but I did get a few of the vistas. If you’re sick of the beach pics, now you can enjoy some of the mountains:

I did not watch the World Cup because I got home so late. Also because I do not care about the World Cup. However, it was fun to hear everyone out at the bars screaming and hollering as I sat comfortably in my apartment. It was also the night of supermoon, which was pretty cool to see over the water. I know you want to see a picture. Your wish is my command!

Monday was a fun yet low key day, which was pretty perfect in my mind. I had school, of course (we have school every weekday while we’re here), and Erin flew in from New Jersey in the morning. She is graduating from this program this summer, so now (literally right this second- she’s next to me), she is studying for her comprehensive exam and getting ready to take her last class next session. I’m excited to see her graduate! I feel lucky that I can cheer her on here in Mallorca.

At 6:00, a few friends and I went to our neighbor’s for dinner. Our neighbor Kevin was in our Intro to Admin class but then ditched us for School Law (meanie!). However, we’ve still been hanging out with him and his family here and there, and it was really nice of them to invite us over for a home-cooked meal. We had bean soup, this amazing bread with goat cheese and garlic, and fresh guac (Molly’s mom made the guac again…she’s the best!). Everything was delicious, and their apartment was awesome! I love our place for sure, but theirs is all modern and sleek, and their porch is pretty amazing; it spans the whole side of the building.

After dinner, I came home and read an article by Paul Gorski, with whom I fell madly in love as I read his work. He’s definitely a new favorite, as far as my educational friends are concerned.

Tuesday was a busy day, mostly with school stuff. Class in the morning as usual, followed by a quick trip home to prepare for a presentation that I was giving. Somehow or other, I ended up volunteering to do a talk about using Twitter for professional development. The school was having an event called TED CNJ (trademark violated) to encourage people to share an idea they had. After some prodding from my friends, I figured why not. Of course, I ended up wondering how I get myself into these things, since it took a nice chunk of time away from my homework. But still, it was fun, and people seemed to like it. Plus, it was an excuse to use HaikuDeck, an app that I love but never really use. Here I am with my slides, feeling all professional and whatnot:

And here I am with the rest of the presenters. I learned a lot from these great folks! It’s so cool to hear educators from around the world share ideas. It really makes me think about the bad press teachers get and how many excellent teachers I know. Personally, I know way more amazing teachers than crappy ones, and regardless of the stereotype, my faith in humanity remains intact.

Erin and I went for tapas after TED CNJ, but after that, it was time to put my nose to the grindstone. It was another late night as I finished up my textbook analysis. I didn’t end up with time to reread and edit it, which is extremely unlike me, but hey, sometimes you’ve just gotta let it go. I’m sure when I finally look back at it, I’ll be amazed at my literary genius!

Today was another school day, but it involved a siesta! I came home and passed out after class, due to the fact that I was up until 3am last night. After my lovely nap, Erin and I met up with our friends Ligia, Julia, and Nikolai for a kebab. We went to a different kebab place this time because our usual place was closed (each restaurant closes for one day each week – I think they have a schedule because it’s pretty evenly dispersed). The food was ok, but honestly I liked the other place better. Once we finished eating, we headed to the beach for a swim and some relaxation. We swam out and touched the buoy again and then lounged around chatting. It was a good day indeed.

And now, dear readers, I must do my homework and go to bed. Buenas noches!

Oh wait! Here’s the class photo of my curriculum class! They’re good people.