Just out of the University of Texas (Austin), my first job was in Amarillo, Texas, teaching Spanish at Tascosa High School. The Russians had had their success with Sputnik in the recent past--1957--and the educators were recruiting teachers with emphasis on math and science, as well as foreign language. The foreign language instructors given priority were native speakers. So I was hired as the Spanish teacher, and a native French woman was the new French teacher. The Latin teacher was a very senior lady about ready to retire.
My first year of teaching was primarily a learning experience for me. Not only did I learn grammar rules, but I learned interesting little cultural bits. One of the stories in my Spanish II class was about the architect Antoni Gaudí. At least a couple of my students were particularly interested in architecture and had heard of him. I had not. But that was one of my learning experiences.
Hubby and I toured Europe for nine weeks shortly after we were married, and Barcelona was one of our stops. I was especially looking forward to the Gaudi works, and was not disappointed. We were particularly impressed with the church La Sagrada Familia.
Then thirty years later my daughter and I went to Europe, and met up with a friend of Hubby who had taught with him in the US. It was great to have her as our guide, and we covered just about every spot in Barcelona. The picture above was taken just before we took in Gaudí's Casa Mila.
If I make it back to Europe, Barcelona is still one of my favorite stops.
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