Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Camino de Fisterra Part 1: Santiago to Negreira
One of the perks of living in Santiago is that the various routes of the Camino de Santiago can be broken down into day hikes. I started the Camino de Fisterra a few weeks ago by walking the first 20 km leg from Santiago to Negreira.
A map of the route for the Camino de Fisterra and additional
camino to Muxía. Muros is further south along the coast.
The Finisterre way or Camino de Fisterra is the lesser known encore to the Camino de Santiago. It connects the Camino de Santiago from the cathedral of Santiago to a town called Fisterra, which translated from Galician literally means land's end. Even though now it is typically an addition to the Way of St. James, the Camino de Fisterra is believed to predate Christianity. It was first traveled because, as the end of the earth, Fisterra was believed to be where the sun died and the worlds of the living and the dead met. It was a place for prayers and offerings to the gods. Fisterra, and Muros for that matter, are located on the Costa da Morte (coast of death), which is named for the large number of shipwrecks and deaths that have occurred along the treacherous coast.
The coast of death. Looks inviting, right?
The Camino de Fisterra is 88 km long and is typically traveled in 3-4 days. I completed the first part which is 20 km from Santiago to Negreira. I set out in the late morning from Santiago at 10:30 AM, stopped for lunch around 2:00 at a 13th century bridge that crosses the Rio Tambre, and arrived in Negreira at about 3:45. Negreira is a town of about 7,000 people, but because it was Sunday, almost everything was closed. After a coffee break, I caught the bus to Santiago and was home at the tail end of siesta.
Along the way were beautiful woods, open fields, farmland, and cute rural towns. The sunny weather forecast fortunately proved accurate and it was a perfect day for a walk. The path was well marked and easy to follow. Although a time-consuming activity for a tourist, the day trip was an excellent way to see the beauty of the Gailician countryside. I may even walk the same route another time. I also plan to continue to walk parts of the Camino de Fisterra until I reach the end. I know the professional pilgrims and purists will judge me for it, but nothing beats being able to sleep in your own bed after a long day of walking.
camino to Muxía. Muros is further south along the coast.
The Finisterre way or Camino de Fisterra is the lesser known encore to the Camino de Santiago. It connects the Camino de Santiago from the cathedral of Santiago to a town called Fisterra, which translated from Galician literally means land's end. Even though now it is typically an addition to the Way of St. James, the Camino de Fisterra is believed to predate Christianity. It was first traveled because, as the end of the earth, Fisterra was believed to be where the sun died and the worlds of the living and the dead met. It was a place for prayers and offerings to the gods. Fisterra, and Muros for that matter, are located on the Costa da Morte (coast of death), which is named for the large number of shipwrecks and deaths that have occurred along the treacherous coast.
The Camino de Fisterra is 88 km long and is typically traveled in 3-4 days. I completed the first part which is 20 km from Santiago to Negreira. I set out in the late morning from Santiago at 10:30 AM, stopped for lunch around 2:00 at a 13th century bridge that crosses the Rio Tambre, and arrived in Negreira at about 3:45. Negreira is a town of about 7,000 people, but because it was Sunday, almost everything was closed. After a coffee break, I caught the bus to Santiago and was home at the tail end of siesta.
One of the markers pointing the way out
of Santiago.
My picnic spot in Ponte Maceira
Along the way were beautiful woods, open fields, farmland, and cute rural towns. The sunny weather forecast fortunately proved accurate and it was a perfect day for a walk. The path was well marked and easy to follow. Although a time-consuming activity for a tourist, the day trip was an excellent way to see the beauty of the Gailician countryside. I may even walk the same route another time. I also plan to continue to walk parts of the Camino de Fisterra until I reach the end. I know the professional pilgrims and purists will judge me for it, but nothing beats being able to sleep in your own bed after a long day of walking.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Teaching Update
How is it November already? I can't believe how fast the time is going. I've been teaching for over a month now. My classes are great. For the most part the students are fun to work with but I do notice a significant gap in maturity between my younger and older students. As I mentioned before, the students here are between 12 and 16. The 12 year olds are adorable and young and innocent. The 16 year olds are funny and engaged and passionate. But my 13-15 year old students, well, they can be a bit of a nightmare.
It's like a cesspool of puberty and awkwardness combined excess energy that lacks any sort of direction. I feel like I'm being forced to view the instant replay of how awkward middle school was the first time. Spoiler alert, it's worse in slow motion. Oh and the icing on the cake, I have no real power because I'm an assistant not the actual teacher, which is both a blessing and a curse. So I've been working on my "I'm angry" and "I'm disappointed" with you stares. For the most part though, classes are fun and even the challenging groups have good moments. And the teachers here have continued to be incredibly kind and supportive.
My teaching responsibilities vary depending on the class. Sometimes I assist with dictation and listening exercises by reading aloud, sometimes I guide the class through textbook exercises or group discussions. I organize activities and games related to the current class vocabulary or topics. I make and present talks about topics related to the unit and american culture. With my older students I work in smaller groups on discussion practice and speaking games. It is a good variety and enough to keep me interested and engaged with my classes.
Because I only teach 3 days a week, the hour commute each way to school isn't that bad. It actually has been a great opportunity to practice speaking Spanish since most of the teachers don't speak English. However, you don't really appreciate that feeling of fearing for your life until you're riding shotgun with a person driving a manual transmission along a windy coastal road who also talks with their hands.
As for Santiago, the more I discover about the city, the more I love it. In the last few weeks I've also been able to travel to Lugo and walk part of the Camino to Finisterre so I'll share more about those experiences in posts coming soon.
It's like a cesspool of puberty and awkwardness combined excess energy that lacks any sort of direction. I feel like I'm being forced to view the instant replay of how awkward middle school was the first time. Spoiler alert, it's worse in slow motion. Oh and the icing on the cake, I have no real power because I'm an assistant not the actual teacher, which is both a blessing and a curse. So I've been working on my "I'm angry" and "I'm disappointed" with you stares. For the most part though, classes are fun and even the challenging groups have good moments. And the teachers here have continued to be incredibly kind and supportive.
My teaching responsibilities vary depending on the class. Sometimes I assist with dictation and listening exercises by reading aloud, sometimes I guide the class through textbook exercises or group discussions. I organize activities and games related to the current class vocabulary or topics. I make and present talks about topics related to the unit and american culture. With my older students I work in smaller groups on discussion practice and speaking games. It is a good variety and enough to keep me interested and engaged with my classes.
Because I only teach 3 days a week, the hour commute each way to school isn't that bad. It actually has been a great opportunity to practice speaking Spanish since most of the teachers don't speak English. However, you don't really appreciate that feeling of fearing for your life until you're riding shotgun with a person driving a manual transmission along a windy coastal road who also talks with their hands.
As for Santiago, the more I discover about the city, the more I love it. In the last few weeks I've also been able to travel to Lugo and walk part of the Camino to Finisterre so I'll share more about those experiences in posts coming soon.
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