Hi, Irene!

I enjoyed reading your blogs on the aragonapspanish website and this one. I truly think it’s great that you’re so actively involved in kids’ lives; I mean, while being a teacher is a huge job in itself, the fact that you teach these children while entrusting them with loud, noise-making instruments shows a lot of patience and tolerance on your part (admittedly, I wasn’t such a good flute student when I started out with my elementary school music teacher). I admire that. Also, I appreciate the pictures you have sent a few times to this website. One of these days I’ll have to send you a picture- of what, I have no idea at the moment. Haha

Anyway, with you being a music teacher and a member of a large and supportive family, I hope I’m not assuming too much by saying that you seem to be interested in music and in interacting with kids. (I would love to hear more about your nephew, Ruben, by the way.) And it’s in this case that I think we are similar. I have been playing the flute for about eight years and piano for about nine years, and though I never used to enjoy playing either all that much (I would often participate in music competitions for the flute and piano, and would subsequently become really stressed out during practices) after stopping private lessons earlier this year, only now do I truly appreciate the creativity and beauty that music brings. In addition, one of my biggest and most long-term hobbies has been interviewing and communicating with people (an odd hobby, I know). According to my mom, when I was four years-old I used to carry around this little cassette tape player with the microphone in one hand and the machine in the other. Apparently thinking that I was a reporter, I used to randomly approach people, asking them various questions and letting them speak into the microphone; lucky for both my “interviewees” and myself, I never recorded any of their responses. Nowadays the only interviews I make are for the school newspaper, The Aristocrat, which I am an editor of.

Still, being a teenage girl, it’s not surprising that my other hobbies include going shopping, spending time with friends, and watching movies- I particularly love romantic movies or romantic comedies (much to the dismay of some of my guy friends, who often dub these movies as “chick flicks”). Have you ever watched The Notebook or A Walk to Remember? They may be among the biggest “chick flicks” of all time (which one particular guy friend may attest to), but gosh they’re good!

So much to say, so little time! I look forward to hearing back from you! Take care, Irene.

-Ashleigh