scary

oh one more thing: ambulances get stuck in traffic here in spain. think about that for a minute....yes, its terrifying.

when THE MOOD hits...

you know how in most fairytales something really exciting happens at midnight? well...lately ive been experiencing something very strange... the night will go normally and I will start getting tired at 10 (naturally, being the square i am) and i start thinking that i´m going to go to bed very soon and have a nice long night of sleeping. then i´ll end up staying up until midnight and suddenly i magically turn into an Obsessive Compulsive Professional House Cleaner...i´m not kidding. i start cleaning like theres no tomorrow. i SHINED my floors last night!!!!!!!! who AM i?? its strange. i´ll stay up until 3 am cleaning!! CLEANING MY 8´x10´room...for 3 hours...its not even that messy!!! aaah so strange. ok i have a million more things i want to write about but i am at an internet cafe and its going to cut out soon. also, my house is changing internets so i dont have internet at my house and wont be super responsive. but i have internet at school so i will check hopefully once a day. i know once a day is more than the average spaniards email checking, but for me that's like 5% of what i normally do. some people are addicted to cigarettes, i´m addicted to the internet.
love and miss you all so much.
xoxo

dark and cold

just woke up, and it's still dark outside, even at 8 am!! i am physically unable to get out of bed unless there is light outside my window in the morning. When do we change the time again? Also, under my blankets its soo warm, but outside of that bubble its pretty cold. the heat doesn't get turned on until November i think. The morning are SO COLD here!! but the sun is very powerful in Spain and the day warms up drastically by noon. Its nice, but it just makes dressing in the mornings harder.

ok time to get dressed. theres light outside! have a good night/day depending on where in the world you are reading this from!
love and miss you all

Matryoshka Dolls :: Russian Dolls

i love these. they are such simple toys, with such intricate beauty. I had some when I was little, and i can still remember the smell of the wood. Whenever I see some, i feel instantly happy, and i have flashbacks of when I used to play with mine. Maybe I can find some when I'm traveling around Europe?? crossing my fingers...

record setter...

This is the newest, and most exciting (and creative) way i have ever seen my name misspelled...GET READY FOR THIS::

XHAYANNE

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

OH...

MY...

GOD...

XH! I DIDNT EVEN KNOW THAT LETTER COMBINATION  EXISTED!

i wonder if i should just change my name spelling here to xayan...? maybe they would get it THEN??

Apparently, the 4th graders' behavior yesterday was unprecedented in the school's history. The 4th grade class was yelled at by: 3 teachers, and the principal, and the vice principal today. And they were forced to write me apology letters (which is where xhayanne came from),  apology letters to 2 teachers, an explanation to their parents, AND they dont have play time tomorrow... 

i dont think they will behave like that again. or lets hope not. i shouldnt get too excited. but heres to having faith and giving them the benefit of the doubt.

useless?

i highly question the efficiency of the program i am on. Due to the lack of control that the teachers have over the students, i feel it is very difficult for me to help with anything.the teachnig system here seems so inefficient. the students do not get penalized for ANYTHING. the only thing that determines their grades are tests. so homework doesnt matter, behavior, participation, or homework dont count. if they dont do their homework the teacher just yells at them, or puts them on time out. very minimal punishments that the kids could care less about. I think that having homework count towards their grade is very imporant to keep them trying and learning throughout the term.

the 1st graders were a total disaster today. i´m feeling very frustrated because i really want to help, i want to teach them, but i dont know how to under these circumstances. but dad, i aquired 2 more childrens paintings. i will scan the 4 that i have now and send them to you, it´ll be great for rembrandt in the attic!

love and miss you all and i really wish i were with ANYONE from back home right now cuz i´m feeling very flustered. also, its definitely that hormonal-emotional time of the month.

love and miss you all
xoxo

ART NOUVEAU

I am experiencing an art nouveau renaissance. Even though i'm in Madrid, this recent peak of interest is most likely coming from all the Gaudi vibes from Barcelona. I love GUSTAV KLIMT. I have a poster of one of his paintings in my room. its called "the kiss". its not my favorite piece by him, but i get a really great feeling everytime i see it. {side note: I also have this poster in my room which is also art nouveau. }

image from http://ollosdemarzal.blogspot.com/

Before Spain was a democracy like it is today, it was a dictatorship by Franco, before Franco it was called the Republic of Spain and the flag was red yellow and purple!so pretty! this image was the national image for the Republica Española.
back to art nouveau, i'm going to be a freak and just put some images of my favorite Klimt paintings

this is the detail zoom (and my favorite part) of "three ages of women"

this is the full image of "three ages of women" it disturbs me, doesnt have the same peacefulness as just the clip. haha.

I think this is my favorite one: Water Snakes II

look at how gorgeous the detail is on this zoom from "water snakes II"

adele bloch bauer

Friederike-Maria Beer

Lady with fan

i LOVE this one! Its called Stoclet Frieze. just look at the contrast of emotions from the couple to the right and the lady on the left

Danaë

judith with the head of holofernes. i love how regal she looks

 I also love the way he portrays nature, he captures the essence of the place so well, i feel like i can almost smell it!

all klimt photos found from http://www.iklimt.com/

I really want to explore Eastern Europe. Eastern Europe/the Balkans have always been very  attractive to me, it seems so dark and mysterious and so THICK with history and secrets and culture. also, i love accordions. haha. which i associate with Eastern Europe. (the band Beirut is one of my favorites and it sounds very Eastern European to me) i took a Folk Music of the Balkans class in college once, and really found it fascinating. (i was the only non music major student in the class, and it was very hard because it was so different than any other class i had taken, i dont know how to take academic music classes). I plan on going to this museum in the upcoming weekends when i can make a trip to Salamanca. and i'm DEFINITELY going here. Mucha was another art nouveau artist, its just SO romantic and rich and ethereal. i adore it.

ok...so there is my random rant about art nouveau. if you read all of it. well done! and if you enjoyed it, thats even cooler.

love and miss you all!
xoxo

Never Again

I vow to never mix spanish school children and tempera paint again. Today I had my first art class in which I was totally in charge of the lesson (with a teacher present always). I naturally planned to do the color wheel. something that is very simple and a good way to start off an art class...Well, it ended up being a good way for me to gauge how much these kids are  capable of doing (or not doing).  here is what happened:

1... i made and printed out a blank color wheel

2... i also (ambitiously) made and printed out a work sheet for working with tints and shades (adding white or black to a color in a scale)

3... THEN i even thought that the kids would finish with THOSE 2 early (we have 2 hours!!) and so i made an assignment for them to do a "creative" color wheel where they incorporate a colorwheel, and comlimentary colors in a drawing of their own. i feel like an idiot for thinking that this would even work.

...i get to class and realize that we dont have news papers for covering the tables, cans to fill with water for brush cleaning, or palates for mixing colors. (this is definitely my fault, but the school also has INCREDIBLY limited resources) they had an art teacher who retired, i wonder what happened to all those materials she used? did she have any??

...so its slow to get class started, i'm running around distributing papers, running to the bathroom 2 floors down to get paper towels for brush cleaning. and i used my water bottle to fill with water as the communal  brush washing station.

OK FIRST OF ALL THESE KIDS DO NOT SHUT UP! THEY TALK AND THEY SCREAM and they ask the same question over and over and over ...AND THEN there's the language barrier.

{i REMEMBER being their age, and NONE of my classes were ever this unruly, and its not just because i'm an assistant, its EVERY class}

then we realize the paints are in the other room. so we go get them. then we realize they are totally TOTALLY dry. i try putting water in it. and nothing. ofcourse. its tempera, not water color. i was desperate. so LUCKILY we had other paints in bottles that i poured out into the caps of the dried paints. got each little pod set up. and started explaining the assingment...

*these kids dont know how to color in the lines STILL!! they're in 4th grade...

*they spilled the one water bottle full of painty water on this poor kid Guillermo, (who i sometimes think is kind of weird. he doesnt have common sense) um, so we had a giant puddle of painty water on the desk (his crappy color wheel was destroyed when water was spilled all over it) his back pack got wet. the floor was soaking wet. i dont know how to say MOP in spanish. so me and the teacher are cleaning up with TOILET PAPER...then he finally sent someone to get a mop. then they were spilling paint all over the desks and the floor. only a few kids actually finished their color wheels...in 2 HOURS! the vast majority did not. forget about the "tints and shades" project and F the "creative colorwheel project"... god finally intervened when i somehow managed to get the class room cleaned up.

it wasnt THAT BAD...i didnt DIE. it was a nightmare project that was just a huge headache, and  that i dont know how educational it was for the kids (but i sure learned alot). so it was kind of a waste of time. but not really because i learned a lot and will be TOTALLY re-adjusting the projects that I thought I was going to do with the kids for the year, and really (and i'm sorry to say this) DUMB IT DOWN. 

I talked with a teacher-friend of mine and she said when she went to america for 4 years she was horrified to come back to spanish classrooms. she said american kids dont yell and scream in class. spanish kids are very unruly. and i dont know what the teacher training system is in spain, maybe my school is not a very good school, maybe its not reflective of the rest of spain, but i dont think the kids are really learning THAT MUCH. class time is not used efficiently. I remember doing a lot more in class when i was their age. i remember a lot more order and control and respect for the teacher. anyway, i'm glad i did this project because NOW I KNOW.

i'm supposed to do this color wheel project with the 6th graders. but i refuse to use paint. that was a nightmare. maybe i can do it with color pencils? i know thats lame, but it still works, and ATLEAST it wont be such a HUGE headache and basically just a giant shit show.

I wote up a really great lesson plan for the first graders and gave it to my 2 teachers, my coordinator and the head mistress. the headmistress and the coordinator were very impressed. but i'm waiting to hear back from the teachers because i think they have a more realistic idea of what the kids are capable of. I already know that I have to eliminate some projects just based off of what happened today. 

i'm so tired now.

beautiful day

I had a really nice long walk this morning from my house to the center and back. its SO bright and sunny outside and the weather is really crisp. its cold in the shade but really nice in the sun (with a jacket and scarf). Since I got my metro pass I have been only taking the metro so i dont get to walk around as much as i did before. i miss it because 1) i LOVE walking it just makes me feel GOOD 2) its excersize 3) i get to see the beautiful city i live in and discover more about it!

today i am finally cooking the persian food, i will let you know how it goes.

trauma

Grocery shopping in spain proved to be much harder than i anticipated.
0.5) no decent super markets close to me the nearest one is 1 metro stop away. not too bad.
1) finding a decent grocery store that would have all the ingredients i need is difficult because there arent MANY super markets
2) some super markets were closed at 3 on a saturday when i went searching for one.
3) i cant pick my own f***ing produce!
4) they have small lemons
5) and onions that can only be bought in pre-bagged large quantities, unless you want to buy a sweet onion, then you can buy them individually. what i want to know is: wtf is a sweet onion?
6) they didnt have the small skinny eggplants, just the big fat black ones, (so i hope that will still work with my khoreshte bademjoon mom...if not then i need a recipe for something that calls for the big black eggplants)
7) im pretty sure they dont have basmati rice here. so i just bought long white rice...
8) the grocery store isles dont have the giant sign that says what is in each isle, so you either have to just go up and down everyone or peer down and isle and decide if it looks like it has what youre looking for.

i'm questioning the wisdom behind my decision to begin developing my cooking skills in a country that i am still not THAT familiar with, and that has a difficult grocery shopping culture.

so, tonight i'm going to to go a potluck and then do cooking tomorrow...with non basmati rice, small lemons, sweet onions, and black eggplants... on the bright side, i did manage to find tomato paste and turmeric.

lovely

i'm falling in love with my room...

also, my on-repeat artist-addiction currently is Lisa Mitchell be sure to definitely listen to Neopolitan Dreams.

grocery shopping

these are the ingredients translated (from farsi to english to spanish)
•especias-cúrcuma y canela y sal
•berenjenas 
•pechugas de pollo
•pasta de tomate 
•limón
•cebolla
•agua
•tomate grande cortado en 4 pedazos
•aceite vegetal
•arroz

 

tattoo

i need a change. to reflect my mood i changed my blog background {because its not like i'm going to get a tattoo or go cut my hair or get another piercing during this (probably) fleeting moment of questioning...well, EVERYTHING} i'm SO COOL right now, that i changed my background to beige! SUPER EXCITING! its because i JUST.DONT.KNOW. and i think the blankness reflects that. also its simple. and thats something i DO know i want. simplicity. right now. which is not to be confused with boring. i think ive already gotten into a schedule here and that is boring me. I'm sick of going to montaditos. then sol. then dubliner's. i want to explore more, i cant wait to get paid so i can travel (ALONE!) I'm needing a lot of alone time these days, just to be me and neutralize, its so easy to get distracted here. but dont worry mom and dad, i'm not being a social loser and not making friends. actually quite the opposite, which is why i think the pendulum might be swinging back the other direction right now.

so FOR TODAY, i'm just going to open my window. let in some light and air. get dressed. and go grocery shopping. then i'm going to make khoreshte bademjoon and invite friends over for dinner tonight. and it will be beautiful.that is all.
xo

plans

everyone is getting married and getting their lives together...and i'm in spain.

-i am going to start cooking more at home 1) its healthier 2) its cheaper 3) its about time i learn how to cook, i'm sick of burning grilled cheese and hard boiled eggs.

- i am going to sign up for a bikrams yoga here in madrid. its kind of expensive but i really want it. I think its absolutely worth it. especially since it gets SO COLD here. {its already starting to get cold} it chills me to the bones. so i think its good to go to really sweat and give the body some much-needed warmth.

my room

*had some hideous drapes covering the door that goes into another girl's room. I took them off because they were hideous, also because they made the room look smaller. I discovered a really pretty door nob.

*has a space heater
*has 2 outlets a phone/internet connection and a tv and radio (?) plug.
*we have wifi and thats what i'm using now
*comes with a light switch and a over head light on the ceiling. but its not working...
*i get my own bathroom. its tiny, there is no mirror above the sink, nearly no storage, and the shower has no curtain (should i buy one?)
* I have a lot of closet space, though its not in my room its in the hallway.
* I have a window that looks into a interior courtyard/light well its a pretty ugly view.
*the window has this exterior shading device that is like blinds and i control it from the inside. I opened them, but have no idea how to close them...

over all i really like the house. its very big (even though my room is not, but its enough room to sleep in) frank lloyd wright used to make bedrooms very small and almost uncomfortable so as to encourage more time together as a family in the spaceous, comfortable, light filled common rooms (dining room, living room etc). mines the only small room though. so hopefully the girls wont all be in their rooms all the time. I dont think they will be. they seem very sociable and friends and friendly.

i will be posting images soon

The Rain in Spain...does not Drain

Well i'm sitting in my little 10' x 8' foot room on the floor with my suitcases still packed. Yesterday was SUCH a long day. packed my things and by noon Silvio came in his Jaguar to pick me up. but first I had to take my purse, messenger bag, giant back pack and 2 big suitcases down 5 flight of stairs. Silvio actually ended up bringing the 2 suitcases down. then we loaded up the jag and went to my house! if you want my address let me know I'll send it to you so you can write me letters and send me things ;)
Parking was difficult to find. After a few rounds around the "block" we found a spot. it wasnt extremely close but it wasnt impossible. we brought everything to the apartment and dropped them off in my room. I met one of the other girls Eva, she is VERY nice, and she has an 8 month old Yellow lab named Pililo (which apparently means "wiener"). then Silvio kindly drove me (pretty far) to IKEA...I hadnt been there in SO LONG and i was getting so excited and wanted to buy a million things. but managed to only buy the necessities: a mattress (90cm x 200 cm) which cost 90 euros, a full length mirror for 15 euros, and a side table (50% off for 10 euros). (oh and i bought a little blanket for 2 euros.) then we loaded up the car. and drove back to the city. Found a much closer parking space, and took everthing up to the flat. dropped everything off. then went to get some lunch! then I went to elena's house to watch a movie. and I ended up spending the night there because it was late and I was exhausted and my room in my flat was not set up and the cleaning lady was going to come in the morning anyway.

It rained ALL NIGHT! and its still raining. Madrileños HATE rain! everyone gets so upset about it and it only rains here for like 1 month out of the whole year, the rest of the time its sunny. i was enjoying it because 1) i think its really cleaning the city 2) its refreshing 3) it reminds me of Eugene and my college days
I went to a grocery store on my way to the metro from elenas house and this tiny 4' 95 yr old man comes in and hes "yelling" because he is SO UPSET that its raining,  he was shaking and turning red and I thought he was going to have a heat attack. when the lady at the counter saw him in the door way  she exclaimed "DON PEDRO!" (don is a formal way of addressing someone) and she helped him down the 3" step. and set his umbrella in the corner for him and was saying "well, is fall Don Pedro, its going to rain..."  then she explained to me what he was so upset about. she also told me he is 95 and lives alone! i cant beleive after 95 years he still gets so upset about the rain! haha! I think I might know why Don Pedro, and other Madrileños are so upset about the rain though, it does not drain. at all. the streets are paved, the side walks are all uneven and dented and cracked and the water just POOLS and it does not drain! the Principe Pio metro stop across from my house was leaking! it is an old glass building, but You need an umbrella in it! then as i exited the building, i walked onto a plaza that was just filled with water. and the stairs were also pooling with water. I'm surprised they dont know how to properly shed water and drain it here. Looks like I will be using my Golashes (wellies) a lot here when it does rain! ok my computer is about to die so i should go. LOVE YOU ALL AND MISS YOU TONS!
xo

Don Pedro walked in as I was checking out. Before the check out I wanted to buy some fruit and vegetables, i was groping some kiwis, and smelling some apples, and squeezing some persimmons when a man came up to me and said "yes? can i help you?" and i said "um, no, i dont think so, i'm just going to buy some fruit and vegetables" and then he said "yes, tell me what you want and I will give it to you". i was so shocked that I was not allowed to pick out my own produce that i just said i wanted 2 persimmons. he asked if i wanted something else and I said no, because, well i hadnt looked all the way down the aisle, and i wasnt sure what else i would want. Then I watched a spanish lady come up to him and asked him to give her some tomatos and spinach and...and... and... etc. I couldn't beleive how inefficient it was...people had to wait in a LINE so the man would pick out their produce, weigh it, and then print out a receipt for it. I dont know if its like this everywhere in spain or just in this one super market. I'm going to ask elena today when i see her for lunch. I think we are going to Oishii, this japanese sushi/RAMEN place. i've been really craving ramen lately, i hope its good there.

moving day

i am about to pack up all my things in Elena's house because her/my friend Silvio is coming to take me to IKEA to buy a mattress and maybe a side table (if i find a cheap one today) and take it to my new flat which is across the street from the principe pio metro stop. its a great area. close to the center by just a quick metro ride. is apparently by the river that goes through madrid, and by a really great park. i can see the royal palace (not from my apartment) but if i stand just outside the building door. it is a very big apartment (but my room is only 10x10) the total i think per month with bills and everything will be 360. the girls seem very nice, they are luis's friends so its good that they are not random strangers. i dont exactly remember which building i am in but i have looked it up on google maps and you can see where i will live . my building is on the right. and i think the entrance to it is hidden by those restaurant awnings. i remember it was just next to one of the hotels. oh and its close to food too! anyway, you can see the palace in the distance and the metro on your left.

OK i really have to go now and pack up!
love you/miss you all
xo

Improvements at school

I'll update this later today but
i talked to my coordinator about the evil art teacher and they were very understanding and even empathized because they have had problems working with her in the past too! and the other conversation assistants have TOO! so, i dont know WHY they put me in 10 classes with her. They are changing my schedule a bit so I can work with some other teachers too. Natalia (the evil art teacher) isnt good at incorporating the assistants so I have to try extra hard to help out and be useful. I also have to be extra prepared with a bunch of different ideas at all times so that when she randomely does something (whcih she often does because she has NO plan for any class she just wings it and she is SO INEFFICIENT WITH TIME SHE JUST SCREAMS AT THE STUDENTS THE ENTIRE TIME) I can be prepared with a list of things and see which one i can contribute at that time.

i'm VERY excited for the art classes that I teach with the good teachers who are letting me teach the whole thing since they KNOW they dont knwo how to.
starting with the color wheel next week and shading/gradations

then doing a halloween crafts project

then doing a picasso head project that will be accompanied by a little picasso lesson (and i might do some of the following too: Velazquez,  gaudi,  el greco, miro, dali) with a little bio and also a relevant project.

they will do a logo project with their innitials

a dream home projects

and a project pertaining to some sort of clothing design.

my main goal is to show them the different ways art can go. and have them work in 3d, as well as design things, and also painting, coloring etc.

anyway i have to go to school now. will update in a bit.
xo

OOOOLLLLLEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!

I GOT THE APARTMENT AND I MOVE ON FRIDAY!!!

Rat Tails...

Apparently something Spaniards DO believe in.

Ventilation...

Not something Spaniards believe in.

sweet jesus of nazareth...

GOOD LORD!!!!!! today (first day of official class for me) went fine UNTIL art class with  the 4th graders and the terrorist teacher from hell Natalia. she screamed at them repeatedly. didnt let them talk. didnt let them WHISPER. even if they were asking someone to hand them a colored pencil. they were not allowed to get up and sharpen their pencils. they had to raise their hands and ask for permission first. and if they didnt she would scream at them and force them to go back and sit down and raise their hands and ask for permission. she screamed "SHSHSHSHSHSHHHHHHSSSSSSHHHHHH!!!!!" at a boy who was trying to scoot his chair closer to his desk. She told them if they didnt have a color they wanted they just werent allowed to use it, they couldnt borrow anyone elses pencils. the only thing they did in class was copy/trace out of a book. Natalia said that the art curriculum is just straight out of the book and its the only thing they do all year, and she and the other 4th grade teacher do the same exact thing.  the book was all just copying and tracing and coloring by numbers!!!  she just had me sit there for 2 hours basically because it had to be silent and the kids were copying. she turned on a radio to a volume level that i dont even think a bat could hear if it were 1 millimeter away from the speaker, and she said that the kids had to be quiet enough so the music could be heard. after they were done copying the drawing she told them to draw themselves (mind you this was on an 8.5x11 piece of computer paper) one little boy started drawing something else (a creature of some sort) and she screamed at him, snatched it off his table crumpled it up and threw it away and told him to draw himself. thats when i almost CRIED because i watched that little boys soul die in front of my eyes. then when they were done drawing themselves she forced them to read books in english silently, and look things up in a dictionary...she didnt even let them have creative drawing time, or tell the little boy, ok draw your creature later but first draw yourself.  she had absolutely NO art background, (shes a fine english/science teacher but) a HORRIBLE HORRIBLE art teacher.
art is not about copying, its about expression and innovation and creativity and interpretation and sharing ideas. not about sitting silently in fear copying things out of a book, it would be much better if these kids just didnt even HAVE an art class. because the "art class" they are getting is going to scar them all for life and i will bet you NONE of those students will go on to do art after this traumatizing and nearly abusive experience. and this is not a matter of different teaching styles from culture to culture. this was HORRIBLE. i'm going to talk to my coordinator (also named Natalia but this ones very angelic) and tell her that i'm wasting my time just sitting in this class, and something needs to be done.

rest of the week

its a good thing i found this place that has really good salads here because spaniards seriously dont eat that many vegetables.

the rest of last week was really mellow i went to bed early every night, just trying to get as much rest as possible to adjust smoothly and not be exhausted. my eating pattern has changed a lot since i got here i generally sleep in too late for breakfast, so i'll have lunch and then a few small snacks for the rest of the day. i think that will change one i start going to school, it will be more like breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, snack (dinner).

I went out with Elena and Silvio and Kati last night. I had BASQUE FOOD!!! wow soo good!!! i had a really great late night donner kebab last night.

I met some more REALLY great spanish girls through my friend Kati on wednesday ( i think). Everyone is getting settled down in their apartments so its fun that we will all be able to visit each other in our "homes" soon.

I'm definitely starting to have a good idea about the layout of madrid. its fun getting to know a city.

yesterday was the "first" day of school. since i dont teach on fridays, i didnt attend any of my actually classes. i just shadowed  Natalia (the coordinator and a teacher) to all her classes. the kids are GREAT! i dont know if the spanish 6th graders are like this, or if its just kids at my school, but they are SO SWEET and not little punky brats like i was expecting 6th graders to be. because they kind of are in america. Its fun working with them because now I'm reflecting back on my time in school, and remembering Hillbrook and how great it was, and trying to incorporate what I learned there into what I will be doing with the kids. I was assigned to 1st graders, 4th graders, and 6th graders!!! i'm excited to be working with a variety of "age groups". I teach english, science, and MOSTLY ART CLASSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! they had a full time art teacher but she retired, then the other teachers had to take over that, so the art program hasnt been that good. when they found out i was an architecture student, and i told them that I loved art class, they jumped on it (and so did I) and we decided i would help with the art classes mostly!!! i dont remember too much from hillbrook (not wood shop or ceramics), i just remember a self portrait and a still life, and this sock tracing thing... does anyone have any advice? im really excited, i'll be doing some research this weekend to figure out some plans!

today i am just staying at home and relaxing. my feet hurt from last night and i dont want to spend money. thats all for now, i'll write again with more updates as they come!
LOVE AND MISS YOU ALL LOADS!
XO