As the school year winds down everyone starts running around like chicken with their heads cut off. The 2nd grade teachers are all too consumed by the Trinity exam, Infantil teachers are putting together graduation events for the 5 year olds, and everyone else seems to be months behind on regular coursework. While I am deeply concerned for their well-being, none of this really plays into my schedule and I continue to read the paper every morning and finish my Sudoku all before lunch.
The Trinity exam took place over two days and was awful. The children have to sit in a room with a creepy British man and speak in English about anything we covered in the course of the year. Obviously I'm biased, but the man was terrible and I'm proud of the kids for their effort.
In mid-May there is the festival of San Isidro...the Patron Saint of Madrid. For this event the kids (and teachers) dress in traditional Madrileno attire. They open the blacktop to music, food, and games; Everyone celebrates, dances around, and has a good time.
Ridiculousness:At lunch one day while all kids were on the patio and the teachers were eating the loudspeaker came on playing the Barcelona Futbol Club's chant/song. It was after a pretty important game, one in which had very few Barcelona supporters and more Madrid supporters at my school, and the school went nuts. The kids started banging on the windows and the teachers stood up in outcry. Only in Spain.
Swine flu has hit Spain like a ton of bricks. Its all over the newspapers and there are signs up everywhere teaching people how to be germaphobic. However, since the Spanish eat a lot of pig products, and by that I mean ham, the official name has been changed from "Gripe Porcina" (Swine flu) to "Gripe A". I'm pretty sure they did this so people wouldn't get scared.
A certain teacher that I work with (unless I can avoid it) managed to substitue my everyday class with me. After hearing specific instructions to let me run class seeing as it is my class, we were learning about the environment, and I FREAKING SPEAK ENGLISH!!, this teacher took it upon herself to disrupt my class. She got it to the point that not only were the students not listening to her, but they weren't listening to me either. I walked out. (ok, that sounds more hardcore then it was...really I just waited till it was time to go to recess and I split. But the intent was there!)
I, Melanie D. Lawton, taught Math class, and I rocked it! (Granted it was a second grade level, but still...) One of the substitutes didn't show and I was free so they asked me to just sit in while the class did homework. One kid started crying because he didn't get it and I went over to help. After that all the kids wanted my help so I just stood in the front of the class speaking Spanish about Math problems.
Finally, the heat. Enough said.
School's End:
As for the official end of school it was pretty anti-climactic. Worked on a mural for the sixth graders' play, went to a few parties in classrooms, and played basketball on the blacktop with the students. The kids were so dramatic as if they were never going to see each other again. Uhhhh...you live in Rivas, what else are you going to do?
Saying bye to the teachers for the summer was an event. It was Lisa's last year at the school and she was an emotional wreck (and I'm being nice). All the teachers looked at me and said this is how I'll be next year...clearly they haven't figured me out yet.
But for now I say goodbye to the desert that is Rivas and to the craziness that is Hans Christian Andersen. See ya in October!
Negative: Neighbors who have alarm clocks that don't shut off for hours.
Positive: Mystery Theatre at lunch break.
No comments:
Post a Comment