Trick o Trato

Friday we celebrated Halloween at work with the kids! I taught my third-years how to properly remove pumpkin guts and carve a jack-o-lantern and in the afternoon attempted to manage a Halloween themed game of capture the flag with 130+ Spanish niños running around dressed up as witches, mummies, and goblins; talk about a great way to earn a paycheck.

Halloween isn't traditionally celebrated here, normally only in the bilingual schools where there are English teachers. Surprisingly, we had a few trick-or-treaters come to the door early in the evening and I selflessly distributed the last of my secret stash of chocolate so I didn't end up tainting The American reputation & Halloween. María doesn't know much English but I was impressed to hear her help me try to teach the trick or treaters 'Trick-or-treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat...." song. We definitely got weird looks from the witch and vampire but it was worth it.

Below are some of my first-year students and I after the capture the flag game.

I know I'm not supposed to have favorites but Iker (below) might be in my top 3.

Team Banshees: getting ready to dominate in capture the flag.

Three of my third-year students making their first Jack-o-Lantern:

My third-year class with their Jack-o-lantern:

Un beso, Rachel

Clothes lines and groceries

Day two at home. I am starting to feel a bit better but thought I would take my down time to try and explain how life around the apartment has been. Chores are completely different and have made me feel pretty pathetic when I used to complain about doing laundry back home.

I have been trying to do laundry, at the max, once a week. Our washing machine takes about an hour to wash a load but, like I found out the first time I did laundry, it’s imperative to use softener; If you skip on this, you’ll end up with super stiff shirts and socks. I have yet to see a piso with a dryer. All of my clothes dry on the line outside our window in our laundry room (more like a laundry corner). We had some rain about a week and a half ago which forced me to put together some very interesting outfits because I was lacking most of my jeans that were doing anything but drying on the line.

Grocery shopping is a cultural experience. At home I despise grocery shopping. Wal-mart overwhelms me and I almost always come out spending twice as much as I had planned to spend. Here in Madrid I don’t have the option to buy unneccassry things because I don’t have a car to put my purchases in – instead I wheel my grocery bag (pictured below) from my apartment to the supermercado, lock it in place at the front of the store with a refundable euro, and I fill my cart up.

There are two supermercados close to my piso, a smaller one across the street and a larger, two-story store, a few blocks away. I went to the latter about a week ago with my roommate. If you’re wondering how you push a cart up and down a two-story store, check it out:

Un beso, Rachel

El médico

Apparently my immune system can’t handle the hugs and kisses from 200 plus Spanish niños. Last week I was feeling a bit under the weather and, finally, this morning I woke up and with a terrible sore throat and felt like one of the metros ran over my head. I called in sick to work for the first time and made a few phone calls to figure out where exactly I could go to see a doctor and take full advantage of my all inclusive insurance here in Spain.

Turns out the Doctor’s office is a five minute walk from my apartment but the general doctor wasn’t in until 5:30 P.M. so I bummed around the apartment and caught up on some much needed sleep and drank enough tea to make me feel English.

Last time I was in Spain I didn’t have the pleasure of visiting a doctor. I left with my insurance card, ID, and stuffed up head on a mission to get some magic medicine to end my pain. The office is tucked into the side of a building surrounded by bancos, pastelerías, and tapa bars. There was a receptionist who took my information and then asked me to wait in the sala de espera (waiting room) until the doctor was ready.

I found a seat, took out my latest book that I have been reading (a short kids' novel that David gave me, complete with pictures) and looked around the room. I did my best to hid the book from the other Spaniards - El Principito probably wouldn't be the smoothest conversation starter. There were about 7 people waiting for their turn to see the doctor.There was no nurse to run initial tests – when a patient came out of the doctor’s office the next went in. Patients asked each other who was la próxima (the next patient) and waited for their turn.

After I had waited for about twenty minutes it was my turn to describe my symptoms to the doctor (God willing my Spanish allowed me to do this). I talked with her for a few minutes, telling her how I felt and where I had pain and just like that I walked out with a prescription for amoxicillin to treat my sinus infection. Across the street I gave my prescription to the pharmacist and two minutes later I was on my way home with a cure. Hopefully I will be well enough to be at work on Friday – I will be super bummed if I miss the Halloween fun.

Un beso, Rachel

Work Week

I’m trying my best to keep this blog up-dated weekly. Having busy weekends, full days of work, language exchanges, and my fair share of metro commuting it’s been hard to sit down to reflect as much as I would like.

I have officially been in Madrid for a month and a half now (exactly the same amount of time I spent studying in Toledo in 2007) and at the end of this week I will be done with my first full month of work! My routine has become much more regular and I don’t feel as out of place as I did seven weeks ago.

My four day work week has become much easier to manage and the commute hasn’t been as draining as it was the first few weeks. I leave my house around 7:50 A.M. to catch two trains and a metro so I can arrive to work by 9 A.M. when school starts. Luckily, the hour there gives me enough time to fully wakeup before being bombarded by 3^rd grade Spaniards. I pass the time on the train talking to my roommate María and reading the daily paper Qué - I’ve become a regular horoscope reader and have done my best to keep up with the drama of Spanish fútbol.

My work schedule changes daily - which has been a stressful adjustment. I work with a vairety of classes with students from first through sixth grade. The kids have been amazing and are adorable (except when there are 29 in a classroom screaming at the top of their lungs). I have my favorites (including the student who chucked a pencil at my face my first day of work). This week is Halloween and Friday we are going to use half of the day to let the students play Halloween games and have a little fiesta to celebrate!

Below is a picture of el colegio that I work at:

Un beso, Rachel

Estoy constipada

Well it’s Midnight on Friday in Madrid and I am too tired to leave my apartment. I know, living the crazy life. This past week has been filled with potluck dinners, traveling, work, a play, and a few inter-cambios. After all of this I have caught my first cold and am laying low tonight to recoup before my three-day weekend. To say your nose is stuffed up you would say 'Estoy constipado'. I thought a student was telling me he was constipated earlier this week; Estoy constipada.

Last weekend was my first holiday (weekend) in Spain. Instead of my usual three-day weekend I had 4 days off of work to enjoy Madrid and do a little traveling with some friends I have met throughout the past month. Friday night, following a week of work, I came home and embraced my first (of many I am sure) siesta.

After I recharged my batería I headed over to my coworker’s apartment for a potluck dinner. There I met her awesome roommates who are here from Italy, a few other Auxiliaries, and her friends from Brazil, France, and everywhere in between. The common language was Spanish and it was a great atmosphere to practice my conversational skills and meet some wonderful people. Around midnight, I attempted to meet up with a few other friends for a drink but fell short and went home to sleep – I haven’t been able to hack the smoke filled bars and regular outings that begin about 2 a.m. (ugh, and I feel super lame actually admitting this). NYC shouldn't be the only city referred to as "The City that Never Sleeps."

Un beso, Rachel

Language Exchange

So it’s been a month and I have finally found a few people to hold regular inter-cambios (language-exchanges) with! My two roommates both have Spanish friends who want to practice their English as much as I want to practice my Spanish so at least 3 times a week I will be meeting with Estie and David seperately to talk about our day and various topics while practicing my Spanish and their English.

Estie, who is a few years older than me, was one of the people who saw me make a fool out of myself salsa-ing my first week here. I think my lack of coordination and obvious embarrassment might help her to feel more comfortable speaking English with me. Our first session was Wednesday and we decided to split the two-hour session into an hour of only English followed by an hour of only Spanish. Each hour we will talk about our day in the Language of choice and then discuss vocabulary and sayings about our chosen topics.

David, a friend of María, came over to our apartment last night for dinner and to meet. He lives within walking distance so meeting will, thankfully, be convenient. Last night we cooked fish and David brought over wine for dinner. My roommates, David, and I all had a great time talking and getting to know each other better. David, who went to the U.S. last summer, is obsessed with America – and I love it. I have never seen such enthusiasm about a country (eh, maybe it’s comparable to my love for Spain actually) – it was so refreshing. In the time he was over for dinner I found out he loves California, knows Andy Roderick is from Nebraska (holla), his favorite clothes from the U.S. are Abercrombie and Holister (who would have thought?), he loves the T.V. series “How I Met Your Mother” and shares my love of Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz – I have a feeling our inter-cambios wont be boring. In exchange for my knowledge on American pop-culture we have talked about visiting museums around Madrid, traveling close to the city, and running together while we practice our Language of choice.

I’ll keep you updated on both of these inter-cambios and will hopefully have some new Spanish words to share with you!

Un beso, Rachel

Avenida Q

I went and saw Avenida Q (Avenue Q) tonight with some friends at el Teatro Nuevo Apolo. The play, which I think has been around since 2003 in the States, is more or less a politically incorrect adult version of Sesame Street. The protagonist, an optimistic college graduate who moves to New York City, attempts to realize his dreams (can anyone relate?). Before I went I read a short summary online to brief myself on the play. I was a bit apprehensive to buy my ticket because I thought I wouldn’t be able to understand some of the actors since they are actually puppets – talk about a communication barrier – but, after, I felt so happy I decided to go. I understood, and thoroughly enjoyed, the experience. It was crazy to see how the jokes and music were translated into Spanish but stayed true to the original English version. I got a kick out of entire production and for anyone who’s seen the English version I would LOVE to hear what you thought of it.

Un beso, Rachel

Salamanca

For the holiday weekend I took a short bus ride with some new friends to Salamanca, a city close to Portugal west of Madrid. We stayed one night at a cheap and comfortable hostal (Hostal Tormes – 15 euros per bed and highly recommended). Luckily I figured out a few new settings on my camera and spent a day and a half photographing the amazing arquitecture & meandering through the city. We had some pretty cold weather (for Spain) and some rain but, nevertheless, I had such an enjoyable time visiting the hot tourist spots and sampling new Spanish food with awesome company.

Un beso, Rachel

One and done

One week down and a year to go! I finished my first full week as an auxiliar on Friday. As soon as I made it through my apartment door I partook in my first siesta in Madrid – I am convinced teachers were huge lobbyist for Spain’s daily napping phenomenon. After a week of work I have learned a plethora of things about teaching, English, planning ahead, and Spain’s ‘12 and under’ population:

1. Kids hug their teacher no matter what age or country they are from – a sweaty, twelve-year old boy bear hugged me after an intense game of fútbol and I’m positive he left sweat stains on my shirt.

2. Rubbers = erases in British English.

3. Responding in English to questions asked in Spanish is enough to convince a first grader you don’t speak Spanish.

4. ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes’ is a classic world-wide.

5. Two hour lunch breaks are great in theory.

6. When hard boiling eggs make sure you take the right eggs with you to work. Salmonela kills.

7. Don’t correct a certain teacher’s English unless you can explain your suggestion with a number of specific grammar rules. Instead, let them continue to tell their students, "You are getting me crazy!"

8. All schools should include a 30 minute breakfast in their daily schedules.

9. Students in Spain love to outsmart their parents by talking only in English with their teachers.

10. Spanish kids pass notes in class, too.

This weekend is a holiday weekend and I’m going to Salamanca with some friends for a few days!

Un beso, Rachel

Home Sweet Home - Toledo

Last weekend before my first full week of work I went to Toledo where I had studied in 2007. Emily, who also studied in Toledo after I had, and I spent the day wandering the streets of the old city and checking out our old hot spots. With all of the winding, narrow streets that flow from Plaza Zocadover it was a comforting feeling finding my school and favorite places to drink tintos veranos without problems. We only spent one day in Toledo but it felt like home – if I ever get homesick while in Madrid I have a feeling I’ll catch a bus for less than five euros to Toledo and grab tapas and a drink at Enebro surrounded by the ancient walls of the city.

The beginning of La Ruta de Cervantes around Toledo.

Toledo, Spain

Emily and I in the Old City.

Un beso, Rachel

Reproduction and flying pencils

Friday, October 1^st, was the first day working as an auxiliar (English language assistant) in Madrid! After the last three weeks of searching for a home, settling in, and exploring Madrid I was more than ready to start some sort of a structured routine. My school is an hour commute from my apartment but from the sounds of it most auxiliares have a pretty comparable commute. I will save my ranting about the public transportation for another day but I have a feeling the 2 hours on metros and trains will take a toll on me.

9 a.m. I start work and am scheduled to be at the school until 4 p.m. I leave from my apartment at 8 a.m. and if all goes well will be walking in the door at 9. This Friday the English coordinator distributed our schedule and besides the fact that I am in a different class with a different teacher every hour every day I think it is going to be manageable! I have a 2 hour break for lunch so I am either going to need to find some serious good reading ASAP or make friends with the people across the street at the cafetería so I can score a free beverage now and then.

The first class I attended was a 6^th grade science class and, of course, Friday’s discussion was reproduction. I’m still not sure if I am mature enough to talk about the birds and the bees with a group 25 eleven-year olds so my morning obviously was off to a great start. After that the kids have recess for about half an hour while the teachers meet for a breakfast break. My next class was a 3^rd grade English class and the kids were learning how to tell me what they did “at the weekend” – I don’t think I will ever get used to the British English.

After we had a two-hour lunch break and then I was helping with a 1^st grade English class where I witnessed Spanish discipline in action. As I was displaying flashcards with vocabulary words (as I was directed by the teacher) I was pelted with a lead pencil - apparently the kid wasn’t digging the class as much as I was. From there the teacher yanked the kid, screamed at him, and continued to humiliate the poor first grader in front of the class. I really hope this isn’t something I have to get used to during my time here.

Other than that, work will be great! I think after about a week at my school I should have a better grip on how things will work and have some better stories to report. The teachers and auxiliares I am working with are all so great and welcoming and I am glad to report that I will be speaking Spanish with them during my breakfast break (and hopefully over the 2 hour lunch as well)!

Un beso, Rachel