Profe, I EAT MY FRIENDS!!

This week was great as usual, the kids, the food, the atmosphere, just about everything. The highlights:
My kids were excellent this week, I can really see their English improving at a steady rate. The test scores came back on their Science test and they were decent. A few kids always do better than others but in general I was impressed. One of the sweetest little boys, Felix, received a low grade and started crying. It was heart wrenching because I knew he was going to do poorly based on his questions during the exam. However, seeing him so upset with himself made me want to cry with him. (I didn't) One of the grasshopper twins was walking around the classroom, before I caught her, looking at the other kids' scores and saying "I did better than you." She irritates me, I couldn't snatch that paper from her any faster and yell at her to sit down. I would have told Mary to take away recreo but its useless seeing as all the girl does is sit up against the wall anyways. She and her sister are quite intelligent but their social behavior leaves much to be desired.
The third years have now moved on to senses. Carmen explain them to her students by discussing what can be smelled, seen, eaten, touched and heard. She put things on the board like apple, water, and music. When she said 'friend' we had just about finished when a student yelled out, "Profe, I eat my friends!" Carmen and I exchanged nervous glances and then the whole class started laughing. Probably another 'you had to be there' moments but equally amusing.

I had to teach two classes on my own this week; one of their teachers was sick so I went to class as usual to discover I had a substitute and one of the fourth grade teachers who doesn't speak English filling in. Good thing the classes were my beloved 1B and 1C! They listened to me very well and did exactly what I asked of them. Since Halloween is next week I had them make drawings for their parents about Halloween. I have become an excellent chalk artist so I made a pumpkin, skeleton, bat, ghost, Frankenstein, and a werewolf for them to copy. We went over colors as they drew and the kids listened enthusiastically. They are also very keen on getting my approval on everything so I had 25 kids at a time running up to me asking if I loved their drawings. I'm trying to teach them new 'congratulatory words'. My big one right now is excellent, which I wrote down for one of the boys who kept repeating it. The next thing I knew he was using all the tape in the world to put it on the back of his chair where everyone could see, it was adorable. Another popular thing this week was the "5 little pumpkin" poem. I was supposed to read them the story and show pictures, but that quickly turned into me acting it out. After repeating the story no less then 40 times, I have it memorized (obviously).

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate,
The first one said, 'Oh my, its getting late!'
The second one said, 'There are witches in the air!'
The third one said, 'But we don't care!'
The fourth one said, 'Let's run, Let's run!'
The fifth one said, 'Isn't Halloween fun?'
Then woooo went the wind,
and out went the lights!
And five little pumpkins rolled out of sight!

Picture me acting this out many many times and you'll have a great laugh. Anyways, point being having the 6 year olds by myself wasn't as scary as I thought.

My adult classes are going great but getting to a point of ridiculousness. We spend most of the time laughing because they ask me interesting questions or just because we're having a good time. Sometimes I think they try to embarrass me with their questions so I get red in the face a lot, or I'm at a loss for words. Funniest moment of this week came when I had class with only Joaquin on Wednesday. When I ask him about his weekend he always says "my girlfriend and I..." so I thought it was a safe subject to talk about (this is what literary people call a 'red herring'). So he was talking about his family and I asked him to tell me about his girlfriend {side note: he'd be perfect for my roommate so I have to try and find out his story}. He goes, "Pfftt, No more!" He then proceeds to tell me that they had dated for six years but as of this past Monday, they were done. I was horrified because I felt that I had brought up a horrible subject. Well, apparently not because at the end I asked if he had at least dumped her and, after explaining what 'to dump' meant, he said proudly " I dump her". Ridiculous.

Last comment, I am definitely crushing on Carlos in my Friday class. Yesterday we were just by ourselves in class because Eva didn't show up (maybe she reads my blogs?). We spent the whole time laughing and joking around. He told me about his house and how he's renovating it and everything. The first thing about that statement that's incredible is that people in Madrid don't have houses. They are too expensive and people don't have the resources. He's young and can afford to pay for one all by himself. Quite impressive. Secondly, the fact that he can also renovate it on his own is equally amazing. Really, he's just dreamy. We also discovered that his friend owns the bar across the street from my apartment. I told him I lived near Goya metro and he said his friend had a bar near there on General Pardinas, which is my street! After further discussion we found out the bar couldn't be any closer to my apartment without being below it. So let's recap: He used to train with Real Madrid, he has his own car and motorcycle, he coaches a futbol team, he has his own house (very close to me), he's attractive, and he asked me out for drinks. I see absolutely nothing wrong with this situation. He offered to help me with my Spanish whenever I wanted to get together. I will definitely take advantage of this not only for the obvious reasons but because it will also introduce me to more Spanish people. Excellent.

Loving life here in Madrid, per usual.

Negative: A certain young 3A boy's parents allowing him to leave the house with a whole bottle of cologne on.

Positive: Laughing until it hurt at the three troublemakers in 1B. Probably the most adorable 6 year olds ever, can't help but enjoy them as they run amok.

Tea-chair! Tea-CHAIR!!

I had a pretty fantastic day today, I have to admit. Easy time waking up this morning...although I'll skip over the part about reading a certain sport's score. Left the house and it was still dusk so the color of the sky was a great shade of dark blue with the street lights. They finally fixed the Red/2 line so I wasn't waiting for forever. When I arrived in Conde de Casal it was still a little dark above ground. A lot of this had to do with the impending look of rain, which never actually came. I made a friend in the bus line after the drive shut the door in our faces. Usually what happens is the driver drops off people and then shuts the doors and heads for a quick coffee. On his walk back to the bus he signals for the line of people that has formed at the bus depot to follow him to the bus. Well today when the people followed he shut the door right in their faces. I hadn't moved yet because I was much farther down the line so to me it was great. The guy next to me and I had a great chat about how ridiculous the driver is every morning. Let's just say he's not my favorite. Anyways, the sun rose as I took the bus ride listening to some Brett Dennen. Getting off in Rivas was quite chilly but I have a minute and a half walk to the school so I'll deal. Once inside I received an amazing compliment that started me off on the right foot. It is weird though because no matter how tired I am or how much I feel that its the start of a full week, as soon as I step inside that building everything goes away. I am immediately energized and excited.

What is happening to me?

Mondays are when I have a huge break before my first class so it gave me a lot of time to prepare for my adult class at night, which will come into play later. My first class was with Javi for Science 3B, they had a test. The kids were great all class though, quiet and content. I never realized how hard it would be to give a class a test. They are allowed to ask questions and it is so hard to not give them the answer. I know they know it because I walk around during regular classes asking them questions and discussing the chapter with them. But sometimes at test time the words aren't there, or in this exam for example, the style of the test was awkward. I did the best I could but I wanted to do more. They are all very smart, some just understand speaking more than reading. I have to find a balance between helping and giving them the answers (which i didn't do, but came close).

After lunch I had my 3A's as always. I recently realized I have them at least once a day, some days twice. I enjoy them because I know exactly what they are working on at all times. Today made my day though because as I was heading to class one of the little boys greeted me wicked enthusiastically. He put his arm on my waist (not surprisingly some of them are not much taller than me) and talked excitedly about heading to class. I was shocked because little Adrian is what I would call a trouble maker. He talks incessantly and just walks around. I usually spend class standing between him and Pablo trying to put the fear of god into them, not usually that successful. I had the impression that he thought I was a joke really because he's very good at mocking me. But today was different, he pronounced my name properly (all day long I hear "Sit Properly", it is starting to wear off) and waited for me when I had to run to the English room for something. He even wanted me to sit next to him in class. Which brings me to Beatriz, one of the smartest kids I know. Her grasp of English is impeccable and she is very pleasant. She also chose today to follow me around everywhere and do whatever I did. Actually not that annoying. The class went great; everyone listened, even Alex who at least sat silently in the back, and they learned question words. I went around the room as usual helping them, but they were all doing so great. In the first week I would check their work and they wouldn't pay attention. In the second week they would ask for my help and then after I told them it was perfect they would run to Mary and have her check it. Now they call "Teacher" (which in a Spanish accent sounds like Tea-Chair!) and Mary heads over to help, they turn her away and say "Tea-CHAIR Melanie (Melody, Melandy-take your pick). We both find it hysterical because it finally means that they understand me. They realize that I'm here to stay and not just an observer. I was really proud of their hard work today.
Following English I have Physical Education with Elena and this class. I love how excited they get heading to the gym, they can't control themselves. Beatriz was still on my heels so we waited for the two other girls to get their crap together and then went down together. When I got inside the gym they all wanted me to sit next to them in the circle. It's great to be so popular among eight year olds! The main game today had to do with hoops and they all wanted to show me how amazing they were. All I heard was my name echoing through the gym. I like how we are finally bonding as corny as that sounds. I'm going to be with this class six times a week for the next 7 months or so and I think it is important for them to actually like me. I spent most of my last 45 minutes at school laughing and I couldn't be happier.

Bus ride home was short and sweet in the great sunshine. I made it to my adult class by 5:30 so I did a little shopping. Good news/Bad news is that there is an H&M right off the metro in Nuevos Ministerios, pretty much heaven. I figured that since a certain team of mine was making me wait until April to see them I could do a little shopping therapy. The cost? A new shirt, wallet, and headband all under 20 euros. The headband is for ears that I will need for a Halloween skit Lisa, Steve and I are performing. Since my lesson plan was already done I had time to just wander about, pretty fantastic.
Class went smoothly, except that Tomas the oldest guy in the class is a class clown. I'm not bothered by it, well except for the whole Rhode Island spiel (I never knew that 'spiel' was spelled that way) that won't be repeated. They are still asking good questions so time flies and I'm home by 9:30. Maybe by December I can start talking at a normal speed again. Ah, who am I kidding, probably not.

Sidenote: I went to Alcala de Henares for the Cervantes festival on Sunday. Its in zone B3, so not that bad of a commute. Walked around the town for a while before finding the center. There was a protest of some sort for what looked the like construction of a chemical plant upwind from the town. People were none too happy. The main part of the festival was last week so all they had was a book fair. It was still nice to wander the booths and search through old books. I looked through some of the cookbooks but none of them had pictures so I figured it best to pass. Cooking in another language is hard enough, a different form of measurement even harder, but without knowing what the food was supposed to look like? Forget it! Mulletted protesters on the top, Book Fair on the bottom.





















Negative: Having both the "grasshopper twins" in my classes today.

Positive: An amazing paper airplane present from good Alex in 3A.

Three is always a crowd

Everyday I find more and more things to be amused by at school with my kids. My roommate mentioned that she felt school was becoming routine and that she didn't have much to say about it, but I think I disagree. The kids are never the same and always find a new way to entertain me. Take this week for example with my favorite (cough cough) 1B class. One little boy, Carlos, ran up to me on Wednesday inside the classroom almost in a panic. When I finally got him to slow down he explained to me why he was out on Tuesday, just in case I was wondering. He proceeded to tell me in detail, without leaving out anything, that he had spent all Monday night and Tuesday day vomiting. His tummy hurt all day and he made a mess of his room, and his mom had to stay awake with him all night (he continued to ramble on like so). He thought maybe I wondered where he was and wanted to bring me up to speed. I thanked him for his picturesque story and told him I was glad he was feeling better.
Oh this class! Unfortunately, they were able to bring down another teacher this week. As mentioned before I usually have physical education with Elena as the head teacher, however, for 1B I am supposed to have Ricardo. My first week of classes he hurt his ankle or something so the classes with him were canceled and the second week of classes there was a substitute who just let them do whatever they wanted. This was the third week and first time for Ricardo to have this class. His English is not that great so I translated for him most of the time. The only thing that makes it hard is that the games have different names, so he talks about them under another name and its not until they start to play that I realize I already know the game. Good example is that instead of playing 'Duck, Duck, Goose' they play the Lambs and the Wolf. Anyways, Ricardo had a nice couple of games set up for this class and I was hard at work explaining them to 1B in English. Except for one small problem, minor detail really; the class doesn't listen. Plain and simple. They were running all around the gym instead of sitting around the circle like every other class, they were climbing up the walls, and they were piling on each other. I found it quite normal because I see them about three times a week, so I'm used to their shenanigans. Ricardo was not. He was getting really flustered and finally decided to just yell at them in Castellano. He ended class early and we all went back into the classroom. As we were going up the stairs the other physical education teacher, Alicia, and Maria, the teacher I have them with for Science and Arts and Crafts were at the top. One look from Ricardo and they broke down into hysterics. I guess this probably doesn't sound that funny but it was a "you had to be there" moment. We all spent the next 10 minutes discussing the class and just how bad they act. Ricardo wants me to help him plan out a better system for dealing with them, I say shoot 'em up with horse tranquilizers.
Damage control for a 45 minute physical education class:
1 stolen face wash soap
2 falls from the climbing bars on the wall
5 hysterical pleas that he/she was lying about something
13 kids in tears at one point or another (1 of which was my anatomy conscious 6 year old boy, kar-ma)
and 1 child drenched in mud somehow, even though we had been inside the clean gym the entire class.

Very unproductive Friday much to my dismay. This week has had me on a tight schedule of waking every hour on the half hour so I'm a little off. I was finally able to get a decent night's sleep, it just took longer than I would have liked. I left early for my night class because I had nothing at all prepared. At class time I discovered a new woman was joining my class thus making it me, Carlos, and Eva...wonderful. Odd fact: we all wore the same color shirt. The first part of the class was for grammar, so I taught them the difference between the past simple and the present perfect. For those of you who don't know what that is don't feel ashamed, I feel like I was never taught that there were names for stuff like that either. Past simple is a closed action in the past. [I went to the post office this morning.] The present perfect is a continuous event in the past leading up to now. [I have missed all of the Sox games in Madrid since arriving.] They had a hard time with this so it looks like it will be on the lesson plan for next week too. The second part of the class is conversation, we're supposed to use stuff that was learned earlier in class. Big shocker coming up: I run out of things to talk about. It is harder than I thought to talk for an hour and a half straight with strangers. I don't think we are supposed to get too personal so certain questions can get a little uncomfortable. Take for example when I mentioned something about Pais Vasco and what was happening there (google it). Apparently Eva is from Bilbao and has a very different opinion than most people. I respect her for answering mine and Carlos's questions, because I could tell she was uncomfortable. I am not sure how we're going to keep this up until December. Oh and as always, Eva, three is a crowd!

This morning was a great little Saturday in the chilly Autumn air. Rushed off to the post office to finally mail my ballot. I have now officially voted. Be jealous. After that I decided to try out a new grocery store and found that so did every other person in Madrid. The store was crammed, people were waiting at the check out lines just to steal carts. I took awhile wandering each isle because I wasn't familiar with this particular one. Pretty successful trip so I'll probably use them from time to time for everything but vegetables and fruit. For that I head to my favorite little market on C/ Lagasca. One of these days I'll take pictures of just how great a place it is, but since I feel like they will think I'm a tourist I'm going to hold off. I have to assume that I'm the only one who shows up every Saturday morning at the same time wearing a Red Sox hat.

Speaking of the glorious little team that is the Red Sox, I am currently watching the game via Skype via Keith and Monique via TBS. Also, it is currently 345am here in Madrid and we're only in the fourth; we all know how well I do pulling all-nighters. I had no chance of catching this at a bar because Real Madrid was playing Atletico Madrid, obviously the two main teams of this city. My parents' laptop is sitting on the table in the tv room facing the screen and I can hear my parents in the background talking about the game. Thank goodness for webcams built in to new computers. Not a bad picture.
I will continue to watch with the same hope I have every year...Let's Go SOX!!

Negative: Finding a cigarette on our kitchen window ledge even though none of us smoke.

Positive: My new reusable grocery bag from Carrefour that I discovered can hold a small child, oh and it has a leaf on it, so that makes me excited about this time of year.

And then I was attacked by a posse of rollerbladers

I leave for work around eight am every morning. At this time in Spain the sun is not up yet. I have a very short walk before I hit the metro on Goya but this picture is what I see every morning. That street heads west towards the very center of the city and it is just amazing in the morning. There are usually a lot of taxis waiting at the corner to take people to work so the traffic is a little heavy. The Salamanca barrio is becoming the new hot spot in Madrid so there is an eclectic mix of people. Lots of business men heading to work and many kids heading off to school. Even though Madrid is starting its day, it is still very quiet. The street, even with all the cars, is peaceful. It is a great way to start the day. I enjoy not having to drive to work.

This is the front of my school, CEIP Hans Christian Andersen. Rivas-Vaciamadrid is what I would picture a western desert town to look like. The bus ride through the city is pretty interesting because all the houses are the same. Stucco outsides with no lawns and gates leading to the garages. I really like what I've seen of the town because it is so different from Madrid. My school is one of two bilingual schools in the town, but I'd like to think that it is the best. There are always parents at the school begging the principal to let their kids join. We have a great reputation for teaching the English language.

This is the patio that the children use for recreo (recess) and to line up when their parents pick them up and drop them off. In the background is the flat top for more running around. There are basketball hoops set up and of course soccer nets. Today, since a few teachers were in Bulgaria for a bilingual school conference, the end of the day consisted of 6 classes or so running around here like crazy. The teachers didn't feel like being in the classroom because it was so nice outside. I wasn't about to object. However, this is what I learned from my favorite little ones in 1B today, and remember that they are six years old:
1. My glasses are ugly.
2. I have the whitest skin they have ever seen.
and my personal favorite,
3. "Tiene tetas muy gordas!" (figure it out)
In fairness, the first one was spoken after 4 girls said they loved my glasses and necklace. One of the boys was being playful and wanted to make everyone laugh. The second was spoken by a girl not much darker than me and I think that is why she found it to be the most fascinating thing ever. The next few minutes consisted of giggles and comparisons to my skin. And the third, well that was actually spoken by one of my favorite kids in the classes. He's the most adorable thing but he clearly has a little devilish side. After this comment there were whispers and giggles between all the little boys. Some things never change.

This is a picture of a typical classroom at school, this particular one is of my most common class, 3A. In the beginning the desks were in groups but because the third years were talking too much and causing trouble they were put into rows. I am really starting to enjoy this class because I know all their names. The trouble makers now realize that I will take things from them or stand next to them if they talk so they behave fairly well for me. It's funny because most of them are very intelligent. They understand what I am telling them, they just like to be the class clown. I'm starting to learn their habits too which makes it easier to read them. I have this class for physical education, science and English many times throughout the week. Notice the rolling backpacks around the desks. They are literally hell on wheels. They hurt and take up too much room. I have to admit I was a little pleased when one boy tripped over his and went flying today. Not in a demented way, well maybe, but it was more for the fact that yesterday him and his little buddy tried to block the isles. During class I walk around making sure that everyone understands and they decided to block my path. I call it karma.

Finally, this is the cafeteria. The children have lunch in shifts since there are six grades plus three years of infantils. For this meal there are crazy women who are essentially lunch ladies. They are responsible for taking the kids from their classrooms to lunch and watching them. Then they take them outside to play and make sure they don't kill each other. These ladies are absolutely, without a doubt crazy. They scream at the smallest things and quite frankly they scare me. I am wicked surprised there aren't more tears during the day. The teachers also eat during recreo and lunch in this room, which is funny because as soon as the students spot them all you hear is "Hi teacher!" As previously stated the meals are very good and I can usually find my way around the meat. Well, except for the course of meatballs today. No one has asked me yet why I separate my food so I'm going to try to fly under the radar for a little longer. Today's meal was also a little crazy because the topic of the teachers' Christmas party was brought up. Apparently last years night was a little out of hand and all I need to know is that it involved lots of alcohol and confetti in precarious places. I'm wicked intrigued and can't wait for this years. Oh, also Spanish people are very dramatic so my meal consisted of me ducking and avoiding flying hands during wild gestures. I was also used as a demonstration dummy because I was in the middle of the table. Oh joy! Some things never go away: One of my 6 year olds stopped me in the hall and said "un besito?" (one kiss). My reply? "Really, is it necessary?" Kids here are very affectionate, which I blame on the culture, and I'm still adjusting.

Today Lisa, Steve, and I had our picture taken for the local magazine. I'm sure it was for an article about how great the school is and how fortunante they are to have native English speakers assistiting their full time teachers. I'm interested to see the finished copy.
Oh, also, on my way to the metro in Nuevos Ministerios I was almost trampled by a pack of rollerbladers-no joke! They came out of no where and I was stuck in their path, my life flashed before my eyes.
Extra side note that can't go unnoticed: one of my 3rd year students is fervently convinced that monkeys are responsible for all the pollution.

Negative: Having to listen to one of my adult students tell me that Rhode Island is not a state and then defend his opinion when I told him he was incorrect.

Positive: My new, large, purple bag that fits everything I need for a 14 hour day.

He's peeing! He's PEEING! Did you hear me say 'He's Peeing'?

Happy Spain Imperialism Day! We'd like to take this opportunity to thank Spain/the Catholic Church for reeking havoc on all of Latin America, some of the Caribbean Islands and bits and pieces of the the Pacific Islands as well. Today we celebrate Columbus Day in high fashion with a huge parade and enormous amounts of red and yellow apparel.


In all seriousness I missed the parade. Last night got a little out of hand (example being the random man on the street peeing on a car) and Liz, Meagan, and I did not wake up on time.
We headed down to Plaza de Colon where the royal family and distinguished guests sit. However, the road was blocked off a quarter mile around them in all directions so we have to go down farther to see the road. The extent of the parade for us was watching cars zoom past really fast as the crowd whistled and cheered. We assumed that these were all the royals and such. You'd think they'd carpool seeing as they were all going back to the Royal Palace...

We decided to walk towards the Palace and do a little sightseeing. Every Sunday there is a book fair between Colon and Cibeles. There are all types of books; some from 40 years ago, others in German, and of course popular books translated into Castellano. I like to look at the travel books from the 50's and see what has developed. The prices are flea market prices so no matter what you buy it is a good deal.

From there we headed up Gran Via to my old neighborhood. It was nice to back on the street and see the places that were so familar to me from last time. I noticed a ton of new stores and of course the old ones that I spent many afternoons wandering in and out of. However, as I rounded the corner to where my old street was I was at a loss for words. The buildings on the left side of the street were stripped down! It is just a massive hole of where these restaurants used to be. I still can not believe it! I walked down that street everyday for three months and now the buildings were gone. I'm going to have to ask Maribel, my host mother from 2 years ago, what happened and why they came down. Que raro!

By the time we got to the actual Palace we were starving so we quickly took a few pictures of the gardens and admired the hoards of military that had collected inside the gates. Everyone was there from the parade, including the military on horses. All the horses were tied to the back of the building in a straight line, it was quite a sight. There was a huge crowd of spectators in front of the Palace so we stuck around to watch a very weak changing of the guards, all two of them. We walked through Opera and found this amazing Turkish restaurant. The falafel was incredible and the apple tea reminded me so much of Istanbul. The three of us were very satisfied with the little hole in the wall place, we'll probably go back. From there we headed to Sol for a quick glance at the Spanish patriotism that was looming around the whole city. Lots of people were out and about which was a little surprising seeing as it was supposed to be a horrific weekend, weather wise. We made our way down Gran Via and hopped on the metro for home.

All in all it turned out to be a beautiful day; a nice walk through the city and I was able to revisit some of my old places.

Negative: Lots of horses, lots of messes in the street.

Positive: A new found appreciation for the colors red and yellow, together, and everywhere I look.

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.