Rapid Update

If anyone actually reads this blog, I am very sorry that I have gone weeks without an update. I was in a bit of a funk for a few weeks because I had a very bad cold that would not leave me, and I just did not have the energy to do anything. I was completely bummed that I was here in Madrid but virtually doing nothing because I was so fatigued all of the time. I was also feeling a bit lonely, but that is a natural feeling that comes time to time with travel. Well, I am back on my feet and feeling great! The weather has been amazing (generally around 80 degrees and sunny each day – of course we go by Celsius here though, which I can´t quite wrap my head around. To reach F, I think you double the C and then add 30)… It stays light outside until around 11pm. 6, 7, and 8pm feel like the early afternoon here because it is so bright... and the children stay up later than I do (during the week, at least) ! There have been several instances during the week when I have been returning home around 1030pm to head to bed, and families with toddlers are just leaving to head to the playground. There are literally people outside sitting on benches, eating, hanging out, playing on the playground at every single hour of the day and night. Last night, the outdoor tables at the family restaurants were swarming with families at children at 11pm. After two months, I am still only getting used to the late nights here…. But it is so completely natural for the Spaniards.

I am absolutely loving school right now. I switched from being full-time with the Year 2 (6 and 7 year olds) to the Upper School. I definetely miss the Year 2 class, but I have enjoyed bouncing around and getting to know a variety of students. The Upper School changes classes depending on the subject, so I am working with Year 5, Year 6, Year 7, and Year 8. This equates to about ages 9-12. Also, I have been filling in as a substitute whenever a teacher is gone. Two days ago, I was a substitute for a Year 4 class and I had a really great time with that. I absolutely love teaching when it is my own class and my own responsibility. I went by their regular schedule as the substitute and I taught them Math, Punctuation, and even PE. Here, every teacher teaches PE to their class. They played Rounders, which is kind of like American baseball.

Upon switching to the Upper School, I didn´t want to completely give up my 6 and 7 year old class because they are the cutest kids in the world and I adore them. So, I go in for one hour each day to teach them Math. The teacher gives me the standards for the week, and I set up lessons for each day depending on the standards. Sometimes, I totally blow the lessons and nobody understands and I can´t find a proper way to explain the topic. Other days, everything goes amazing and they walk out excited about the topic and with full understanding. That is something I absolutely love about teaching – it requires a lot of thinking on my toes, and there is literally never a dull moment. I developed a system to entice the class to behave extremely well while I teach them Math. I arranged them in tables and I told them to think of their tables as teams. They were instructed to come up with a team name that relates to Math. Some of their names are “Mathy Maths!¨”, “Kung Fu Maths!” and “Red Maths”. I don´t quite understand the last one… by the way, in Britain, they call it Maths rather than Math. So, each table has a small bowl and I give them little cubes when they are on task and quiet and I can take them out if they are not. We talked about what it means to be on a team and that they must think about their team-mates when they are making their decisions. At the end of the week, whichever table has the most cubes gets a sticker. And let me tell you, this system has worked wonders! Those kids will do ANYTHING for a sticker. Recently, they had writing assessment tests. One of the questions asked them to write about their favourite things in school. Their teacher showed me one of their papers because it said “I love Maths time because we get cubes and whoever has the most is the champion!” Believe it or not, admist all of the cube hoopla, they have also managed to learn Math as well.

Today, the Year 1´´s (equivalent to Kindergarten) performed a big show for the parents and students. It was absolutely amazing, elaborate, and almost like a Broadway show! The theme was “Song and Dance Around the World.” There were about 40 students, and they wore incredible costumes to represent countries around the world. Groups of students performed a song and dance to represent a given country. For example, they performed a ti-chi dance for China, a beautiful meditation dance while wearing Saris for India, Adel-veizz for Austria with Sound of Music costumes, and for the USA…. The girls wore poodle skirts and the boys wore sideburns and tight jeans, and they performed a rendition of “Rock Around the Clock Tonight” that could have come straight out of Happy Days! Never had I been more proud to be an American….

Yesterday, I went for a haircut. Even though I have been needing one for quite some time I had been avoiding it because I was afraid of communicating within a "peliquera." Finally, I took a deep breath, held my shoulders high, and walked in to a shop... because my split ends were starting to get the best of me. The woman that cut my hair spoke absolutely not a word of English, yet everything turned out just fine... as I walked out, I was feeling quite proud of myself and my Spanish, until I realized that at one point, I asked her to please cut just a little off of my chest. She was bright enough not to actually do that, and maybe she knew I meant "the ends" (puntas) rather than "my chest" (pecho), and hopefully she just figured I was not a Native Spanish speaker rather than a strange creep.

Last weekend I rode on a motorbike! (yes Mom, I wore a helmet)... Many people here in the city center drive motor bikes to work, and I know someone who gave me a quick ride on the back - so normal for them, such a thrill for me.

I have a mountain of pictures to post from Portugal and also from Segovia and Toledo (two spots near Madrid).... I am hoping to get around to it soon.

I bought a book called "Hidden Madrid" that is about very historically interesting places in Madrid that many people don´t know about. I just read about a tea and pastry shop/restaurant that is in a very Posh area near my home. It is called embassy (originally called that because it was kitty-corner from the British and German embassies). During WWII, it was a spot where many Nazi´s conducted business, whilst the owner was hiding refugees under the floor below. Embassy still stands and I plan to go in for a drink this week.

Last night, I went out for drinks with my friend/roomate Katie. For 8 euros total, we shared a nice bottle of wine, and were given tapas of sausage and cheese.... amazing! To top things off, a table of two men sent the waiter over to let us know that they were paying for our wine. They must have spotted that we had ordered the cheapest wine on the menu and figured that was an easy in! So, they came to chat for a few minutes (very goofy, older men... we certainly rather would have paid our 8 euro and not had to talk to them... but they had the good sense not to stay too long, so all things considered, it was worthwhile). Katie is fluent in Spanish and I am not, so I got away with casually sipping my wine while all of the conversation was left to her...I followed for a while until they started talking about politics, and then the older word I recognized was "Obama." I am very eager to learn Spanish and to immerse myself with the Spanish speakers... but in that particular instance, I was quite content to be left out...

The pools open this weekend, so that is where I´ll be found!
Look for more postings soon --- hopefully I´ll have some pictures up within the week.