Cafe Mocha Blanco para Bet...

First full week of classes in Rivas went wonderfully! The week seemed to fly by because everything was already part of my routine. I get up around seven, get ready, and then I'm usually out the door by eight. I'm still not sure how I'm doing this exactly because I didn't have to get up that early for the last year or so of my life. I think I am just really excited to start the day and the sooner I leave the sooner I get there, in theory. I have my commute down to a science, Goya metro stop to start, go one stop on the 2/red line to Manuel Bercera, jump on the 6/circular/grey line for three stops, come above ground at Conde de Casal and wait in line for the 331 bus to take me to Rivas. Now that its something I do all week I'm becoming a regular everywhere. I get in the same metro cars and see the same people, as well as the people on the bus. Apparently "Greasers" are making a huge comeback, who knew? Getting above ground at Conde de Casal is the first highlight of my day, solely for the abundance of newspapers I have to choose from. The "metro" newspapers are like the Valley Breeze (for all you Rhode Islanders reading) but on a large scale. That means I read stories ranging from Zapatero's (prime minister) speeches to how American Rugby player and California model Tom Brady has a lot of free time to now marry Giselle. Yea, football not so big here and not so understood. Censorship is not that important here so the papers also cover a lot of interesting articles or advice columns. The US election is usually covered in about five sentences below a 300 word spread on National Lactation Day in the park.
Speaking of the election I would like to point out that my picture is that of none other than my absentee ballot, Que Interesante! I have to admit that it was a pretty great moment to get home late one night this week and discover it waiting for me in the mailbox. I officially voted yesterday and will be sending it in the mail on Monday. It was pretty awesome to open the large envelope and see everything up close. Since I know that Rhode Island is one of those important swing states I wanted to make sure my vote was counted...
School:
Obviously still great. I met with the rest of my classes on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I have a few repeats, like 3A and the glorious 1B. I've officially decided that I don't dislike 1B I just find them extremely difficult. As far as punks goes 1C takes that award easily. Prime example: I was left alone for the first 10 minutes or so of class so Maria could deal with an issue. I held their attention for about 2 min. and 18 seconds going over things that you need for a party. Then all hell broke loose, eventually leading to me taking away one girls erasers. I made the cardinal error of kneeling down to talk to one little girl because the boy sitting next to her smacked her. Then they swarmed. It was probably like watching one of those African Serengeti shows where you have the view from the helicopter. One lion weakens the elephant and then the rest just swarm and go in for the kill, until finally you can't see the elephant anymore because there is just a dogpile of lions. In this case the elephant was definitely me. Eraser girl joins this group going in for the jugular. Me: Sit down, Girl: Give me back my eraser (in Castellano), Me: Not until you sit down and behave, Girl: (with the look of the devil) I will not sit down until you give me back my erasers, Me: I will not give them back until you sit down and stop talking, Girl: Give it to me now or I won't sit down! ...we go about three rounds like this with me obviously winning out in the end. Maria comes back and she is now in possession of two very nice erasers.
Important side note, the English that Spanish people are used to is British English. This means that common school words like erasers, goma in Casetellano, become rubbers. The 12 year old boy in me giggles every time one of my kids talks about their 'rubbers'.
Phys. Ed was amazing once again, at least one class a day. The kids let me play along with them now so I'm learning some new games. For the 3rd year classes Elena has me do a lot with English words. The kids are actually quite good at taking direction in English, for PE at least.
I have some distinct favorites and non-favorites now that I've had a full week of classes. I have nothing nice to say about the non-favorites and if I did say something it would be a rash of bad words, so I'll hold back. My favorites on the other hand are just wonderful. Not all of them understand English but they have great personalities. One girl likes to give me things, I usually end the day with about 2 hearts drawn on my hand and a ring made of paper or some other piece of paper jewelry.

In other news, I've started a second job! The school where the American University kids take their classes, and also where we pay our rent, was looking for English teachers. I did a mock lesson plan on the spot and they called me before I even got home. I teach from 7-9 every night, and 6-9 on Fridays. It works out well because I leave Rivas around 5 and I can be at school by 6 to plan my lessons. I usually just need a coffee to keep me awake (title spoiler alert). Monday's classes was dramatic. One woman flipped out because the other two people in the class were not at her level. I'm supposed to be teaching intermediate level classes, so people that have working knowledge of English. She was more advanced than they were and she left everyone know it. I agree with her that she was in the wrong level and that it was a waste of her time, however, she was obnoxious and flipped out on the directors. Tuesday's class had the same issue only this time the guy waited until the end of class and had a very good conversation with me about it. Monday and Wednesday are the same three people, and Tuesday and Thursday are the same three people. I really enjoy both classes because the adults are wicked fun. They range from 20 year olds to 50 year olds, and students to civil engineers. I try to gear my lessons towards what they are looking for, mostly travel conversation. Friday's class yesterday was a little awkward. Everyone was at completely different levels and one couple was annoying. They didn't take notes and expected me to have visual aides. Well, first of all its the first class, I don't know their level other than what they did on the exam and I don't know what they are looking for in a class. I can't know them before I meet them. So they told Maricarmen arrogantly that the class wasn't for them because I didn't have visual aides (at beginner level I would understand, colors and numbers and vocabulary, but when you're teaching verb construction and 'if clauses' I wouldn't even know where to begin), so she told them basically not to let the door hit them on the way out. When it came time for the second part of class, where it was just conversation, we separated the rest of the class because of the different levels. I took a guy named Carlos, who was at an advanced level, to another room and we had a great conversation. It was basically like a first date which was a little awkward. It was the 'getting to know the other person' phase so there were a lot of questions on both sides. He's pretty awesome though; he coaches futbol (soccer) in Guadalajara about 30 km outside of Madrid and trained to play with Real Madrid for 6 years before becoming a coach. Exciting stuff. This job is an awesome opportunity for me though because with the money I'll make for these 11 hours a week I can pay for my rent and my abono (bus/metro pass) and still have money left over. This way I can save all the money I make for teaching in Rivas. Wicked amazing!
Finally, Spanish people can not pronounce my name. I don't know if its the three syllables or if it is because there is an 'L' right in the middle, but for whatever reason they struggle. Against my better judgment (or 22 years of my parents brainwashing me into believing 'Mel' is evil) I have started to use it at coffee shops. I don't use it at school or anywhere else, just when I get a coffee at Starbucks. No judgment please, Starbucks is the only place you can get a coffee to go. Everywhere else you have to sit down and its about the size of an espresso. So this week I told them every time that my name was Mel to make it easier on them. I still received curious stares and constant mispronunciation. However, the deciding factor that this was still not a good name to use came when I heard "Cafe Mocha Blanco for Bet." Yes, they understood Mel to be Bet. Spain has won, I will now be referring to myself as Maria.

Negatives: Thinking I had salmonella poisoning after a ridiculous lunch of fried egg pouches at school.
Going to bed before knowing the score of the Red Sox games (and Patriots).

Positives: The brisk Autumn air in Rivas in the morning.
Carlos offering to help me practice my Castellano...

Six year olds and Pointy Scissors???

So the first week of school has come to a close for me. My school, CEIP Hans Christian Andersen, is a primary school (basically 3 years olds to 12 year olds) located in Rivas-Vaciamadrid. The commute is a little long but, for this week atleast, I liked the flow of it. There are two other Auxilares at my school, Lisa (who was at this school last year) and Steven (who is new like me). Lisa has helped a lot with getting to know the teachers and remembering their names, as well as filling us in on the school and how it works. Steve and I seem to commute around the same time so we always meet up on the metro/bus. We spend most of the time talking about the kids and what they did that day.

I only worked Wednesday and Thursday this week because orientation was Monday and Tuesday (which was a waste of two whole days) and I have Fridays off. I'm actually quite disappointed that I don't get to go in tomorrow because I LOVE IT! This is a probably a huge shock, because it is for me as well, but I really like everything about the school and even the kids. I mostly have the 8 years olds or 3° and the six year olds or 1°. They each have about three different sections and the profes (professors) teach them Castellano and Math and then they rotate within their grade and teach English and Science in English. My role is to assist them with whatever they want. Basically, this is the layout of my days:

English class:
For the younger kids there are a lot of songs and seeing as though I have such a great voice I always chime in. The songs are about certain characters that are in their books or about expressions of greeting. It's a little creepy to ask the children how they are and in robotic tone they will always reply "I'm fine thank you, how are you?" But you get around it. Its interesting to be the new person in the class because you get a lot of looks and a lot of tugs on your shirt, "who are you?" I am supposed to talk to them in only English so I tell them that I do not understand Castellano. However, they are too young to realize that when they ask me a question in Castellano and I respond in English that I really do understand their language, and that I'm only pretending not to. In my first 1° English the teacher walked out for the first two minutes and I was left alone. One little boy asked if I was going to speak to them in Castellano or English and when I said only English he groaned and nearly fell out of his chair. He made this big dramatic scene about it and how he couldn’t take it. Pretty hysterical. He tests me now, he'll say "Profe Melanie…" and then start rambling in Castellano. He waits for my reaction and then goes " Entiendes" really slyly. ("You understand") Denial is key with him. In the 3° classes I'll help them with their reading and help them learn important nouns through pictures. Most of them are pretty excited but that could be just because I'm a new interest, I'll wear off my "newness" soon enough.

Science:
These classes don't cover exactly what the US does but some things overlap. Today was my first Science class so I just observed but went around to ask them questions about what living things were. Hand signals are very key so it’s a pretty good thing I generally talk with my hands. Try explaining a stone with hand gestures and while in a classroom, not so easy. I'm going to have to think of some creative games about the date, weather, and season because that will be my task at the beginning of every class. I have more of these classes next week so I'll get into it soon enough.

In general, kids in Spain are quite different. They don't raise their hands and just walk around the classroom a lot. They play with anything and everything and just talk talk talk. It is probably really frustrating to a teacher but for right now I think it is hysterical. The teachers use a lot of clapping and snapping games to get their attention. I'm wicked surprised that I can tolerate their behavior but its just so interesting to observe their commotion. One interesting thing is that they segregate the bad child very obviously. He (I say he because obviously its always a boy, and also because the classes have very few girls) has a desk or table to himself and is either in the front of the class or the very middle. I knew within seconds why those kids were where they were. They just talk more and instigate the others. Also, kids ask to use the toilet every two seconds. I know its been a long time since I was this age but wow, talk about tiny bladders. Once I start learning their names (rather then just writing notes down about what they look like and what their backpacks have on them) I'll be able to single them out. For now I have one little boy who was a little terror for the teacher. I walked over and smiled at him while I demonstrated her game in front of him to make sure he was always paying attention. This turned into a game for him and he'd always wink and blush. Pretty great because when I saw him after class in the hall he got all red and had a huge smile on his face when he waved.

Arts and Crafts:
So far I've only had the 1° but they make flags of other countries or trace their hands and color them. However, now the reason for my title, six year olds use scissors. I'm not talking the plastic dull ones that I remember using, but sharp pointed scissors, all by themselves. I can not get over this, since when do six years olds know not to run with them or stab each other? I already had an incident with some hair being cut (I just told her that it looked beautiful and made him apologize). Funny though, I'll tell them "cut cut cut" using my fingers to demonstrate and they always look mischievous and then say "cortar". Clearly they are correct but its so funny how they try to get me to admit I understand.

P.E.
Well first I have to keep myself from saying Gym because that's what I am used to, but they call it Physical Education that they have in the gym. I pretty much love it. Yesterday was my first time with the P.E. teacher Elena and they showed me how to play a few games. One 3° girl would always ask me to sit next to her in the circle and I finally figured out why: She was to my left and finally goes (in great English, also remember she's only 8) "You have a PIERCING!!" She was referring to the one in the middle of my ear. She loved it and showed her two friends. From then on, game over, she was attached to my hip. I can't get over why an 8 year old would know the world for piercing in English, but I assume I'm in for a lot of surprises. Today I was supposed to have three P.E. classes but the first two were cancelled because the teacher was out. In the last one I was with Elena again and she let me run things, amazing! I just repeated the games they taught me yesterday but hopefully later I'll be able to teach them some others. Really, I spent the whole time in hysterics because the kids are great, they build up such a sweat and take it so seriously.

1°B
This class needs special recognition for being the WORST children I have ever seen in my life. At this point I've had them twice and they are known throughout the school for being notoriously bad. They don't listen and don't care. The teacher even told me yesterday that it was hopeless. She spent the whole time telling them that they were acting like little kids and belong with the 3 year olds in Infantil. She didn't do it in a mean way but as a way of explaining to them that they need to act their age, or try at least. This class has taught me that bribery does not work on Spanish kids, you have their attention for about five seconds and then they realize that they'd rather just do their own thing. I spend most of the class wrangling them up and making sure that no one is punctured from the scissors. I leave there having built up a sweat running after them. Lisa and Steve know when I've had them because I come back to the office and plop down with a ridiculous look on my face. There really is no explaining just how bad they are, it has to be experienced. However, they all have angelic little faces that you can't help but smile at (while behind you four kids are gluing their hands together). I'll master dealing with them yet.

On a different note, I absolutely love what I am doing. I enjoy the people at my school and I love the kids. Today all the kids who I had yesterday ran up to me and hugged me (shocking, I know) and remembered my name. The little girls love my jewelry, usually about half the girls during class will turn and point to my earrings and say that they want them when they are older. The boys are a little nervous around me but in P.E. I think they like my enthusiasm so they'll get used to me. One boy asked if I was 32 today and for the record I'm going to say that it is because he only knew that number in English and couldn't think of anything in the twenties.
The other teachers are great as well. Everyone is really nice and want to get to know us. However the scenario will usually go like this: "Where are you from?" Me: "Rhode Island" (blank stare) , Steve "California" (ten billion questions about LA and San Francisco and how they want to go there). I even tried saying that I was near Boston, or the I went to school in DC and still CA wins out. This is how the conversation went with two of the Profes today, Raul and Juanma. They are great and I'll probably feel the most comfortable around them. Raul is about my age and teaches the Infantil classes, and Juanma is probably about thirty and teaches all different levels. He's going to help me with my Spanish through what's called an Intercambio. Basically, some time is allocated to just English speaking and the rest to Castellano, that way we both get practice. I'm really excited about it because maybe I'll finally stop being so shy. They laugh because they know I understand what they're saying but they think I try to hide so I don't have to contribute.

Since my hours are a little crazy the school provides free lunch. We're only supposed to work 16 hours as an Auxilar, however I'm at school from 9:30 to 4:30. They don't count the TWO HOUR lunch break we get and the 'free time' allocated for meetings. I can't complain because I really like it there. I'm not used to such long lunches but the second hour we all eat in the cafeteria and talk about the day. The food is great, I just have to pick around the meat. Yesterday they had breaded fish wrapped in cheese and ham, I passed. The first dish is usually a really great soup and then I pick out the meat in the next course. It’s a great environment to converse in Castellano with people I haven't met yet. I can't wait for next week because I'll have a full week of classes and meet some new kids and teachers.
In summation, I'm on cloud nine and in a little bit of shock of just how much I love it there. I don't mind waking up before the sun rises because I just can't wait to start. Actually, I'm starting to scare myself…

Negative: Being left-handed and writing on the chalkboard. (ie: erasing everything)

Positive: Loving my work.

Mi piso

So I finally took pictures of my little apartment. It is really nice; came furnished and with the internet. Still working on getting the wireless code but no serious problems.


The kitchen is probably the smallest anyone has ever seen. It is a squeeze to have two people in there so dinner time becomes a little bit of a waiting game. You can't see the refrigerator but its narrow and in the corner. Next to it is the washing machine. We haven't attempted to use it yet, I think because we're all a little scared. There is a clothes line going from my room to another for drying purposes. Oddly enough (seeing as it rained most of my first weekend here) Madrid is in a pretty serious drought right now so running into problems with the weather and hanging clean clothes won't matter. There are shelves and cupboards above the washer and sink where we keep the plates and glasses. More shelves under the window where we keep utensils and pots and pans. There is a oven and microwave on the other wall (and coffee maker that sometimes finds its way into the living room). Since there is only one outlet on that side of the wall we have to take turns plugging the appliances in. It is perfect for what we need, as long as we don't start having big meals here.


The bathroom is tiny as well; we can't have everyone's shampoos and conditioners in the shower at the same time because we would not fit. I had to get used to taking short showers again rather quickly. The first time I was in Madrid it was out of respect because of the water issue. Most Madrileños take short showers because they are technically in a crisis. Now I do it for that reason, but also because our water heater dictates everything. It gets really hot fast and then dies quickly, just something I'm going to have to adjust to here.


The living room has a tv, small chair, couch, dining table, and a little balcony. The bookshelf came stocked with some English books so I've taken the liberty of reading a few. The internet router is also there and since we don't have the wireless key code we all have to work from the couch. We watch the news sometimes to catch what's going on in the city. We haven't been lucky enough to get one of the free 20 Minutos Madrid so the news is our first source of what the city has planned. Last night (technically this morning) at four we tried watching the debate because they had it live but dubbed in Castellano (sidenote: Madrid speaks Castellano, Catalonia speaks Catalán, Galica speaks Gallego, and the Basque region speaks Basque).

Finally, my room (the other two are exactly the same) comes with a bed, dresser, closest, desk and a few sets of shelves. As of now my clothes fit nicely away, however, after nine months I'm not sure what is going to happen. I haven't had much use for my desk except when I work at my computer. I like it though because I can't possibly get it messy, it is so small that if I leave anything out I trip over it.

Negative: Hearing my deaf neighbor snore through my wall.

Positive: Finding an open air Mercado three blocks away.

First days in Madrid

As expected, Madrid is amazing. It feels surreal to finally be here but at the same time everything came back to me instantly. Clearly my people-watching has become more intense, who would want to miss the mullets? And the general return to the 80's that Madrid is suffering from? Its ok that I missed it the first time because now I can live through it at an opportune time in my life.
The first day here was great, found the apartment to be quite cute actually (pictures to come) and the neighborhood in a great location. Unpacked and did a quick observation of the local block. Interesting stores and clubs all over the place. Next door to the complex is a traditional Spanish bar which I'll wander in to eventually.
Set off in search of groceries, seeing as the fridge was empty, on the second day. Chose the obvious El Corte Ingles for all my shopping needs. ECI is like a department store but has so much more you could possibly need. After asking for the closest grocery store, my roommates and I were met with bad directions to a small shut down store. However, upon wandering across the street to the other ECI we found the ECI Supermercado. More expensive but perfect for the first shopping trip. Clearly telling the cashier that we had no food and needed any market that sold any type of food was not enough. Oh well, No pasa nada.
Met up with Meagan and Theresa that night at a Cuban restaurant in Bilbao area. Although it was not a traditional Spanish place it still had the best Sangria imaginable. We'd been there before during my semester abroad so we wanted some familiarity. The waiter loved us and showered us with free tapas (appetizers) and shots. After dinner my roommates and I headed to Alonso Martinez area to find some bars. Pretty successful bar hopping night. Ended up in Dolce where I'd been before. On special nights they set up beer pong tables for all the American students. Had a great long walk home without a map, but were successful non the less.
Tried to watch the Pats game Sunday, however, I was clear out of luck considering both Real Madrid was playing at 7 my time (1pm at home) and Barcelona was playing after that. I didn't stand a chance. To be honest, I'm not sure if I would have wanted to see Cassel lose it to the Dolphins.
This morning I did my traditional long walk through the city. Wound up near the Plaza de Toros and took some pictures. Then I took a serious of side streets and found the cheapest little store for all things necessary (ie shampoo, facewash). Also found an outdoor/indoor food market which will be great for cheaper and fresher groceries. Its only four blocks away and was definitely my most accomplished find.

Negative: The smoking that takes place everywhere: bars, streets, and restaurants.

Positive: Waking up to the sounds of Madrid.

Boston-Madrid via Dublin

Well, I officially left for Madrid out of Logan in Boston on September 18th at 630pm flying Aer Lingus.

Talk about your cliché flights. Stuck in front of a woman who talked loudly about everything from her sciatica to her nephews who travel in a camper, to her husband who still can’t understand her accent after all these years. The woman next to me was crying, for whatever reason. And two, yes that’s right not one, but two crying babies in front of me…fantastic. Nothing a little music couldn’t fix. Wrong. Dinner comes and the selections are beef and chicken and nothing more. The piece of bread was delicious. But still no worries, no complaints out of me, I chose Spice Girls this time because no matter what they can’t get me down. We get word that we’re arriving an hour plus early, which is great because I would have only had 50 minutes to make my connection. We land. And we sit. And sit. Turns out a plane took our gate and then decided to get fueled as well. But the fuel-er doesn’t come in until 5 and it was 430am. More sitting. Finally it is time to get off! …and the air bridge is stuck. More time just flies by sitting with the competing, screaming babies. Now its official, we can get off but I only have 15 minutes to maneuver an airport I’ve never been to before. I usually brag that I’m good at traveling, and I’d still like to say that I am, but the Dublin airport is the sketchiest one I’ve ever been to. Small narrow corridors that never end and signs that blend in with the wall. I run through as quickly as possible having many roadblocks: going through customs, security, slow people, lazy people, and passengers who probably just thought I was funny with my crazy ducking in and out of people skills. So after coming in at terminal A then heading to all these places then having to loop back to terminal A I finally see my gate, A9. A woman heads toward me to rush me on and at this point it’s about a minute and a half till departure. She tells me in her great accent, no worries and that there were people coming from Dublin who still weren’t on the plane. I board the plane looking absolutely fantastic and sink into my seat waiting for the flight that will bring to my final destination: MADRID!

Negative: Not having more time to scope out Irish boys.

Positive: Getting my passport stamped in Dublin which I will now count as me having been to Ireland.