Halloween is a fairly new tradition here in Spain. They normally celebrate All Souls Day more than Halloween. But as countries become more influenced by the US, Halloween seems to creep into the festivities. Several kids wore costumes to school and many teachers tried to do some version of trick or treating (since very few kids would actually participate in my favorite event ever!). Even if the kids weren't wearing an actually costume most of them had on some form of make-up, most of it being pretty elaborate as well. For a country that's pretty new to the Halloween thing, they sure have the make-up part down! Trick or treating with the first graders was hilarious because just saying trick or treat was near impossible! However, all the kids seemed to love it! But then again who doesn't like dressing up and then getting candy?!
The Spanish understand Halloween costumes as always being something scary. Which is actually what the original idea was when Halloween costumes began. However, as most Americans know, Halloween is no longer only for the frightening costumes. So I decided to be a ballerina. It was the cheapest costume I could think of since all I needed to buy was a tutu. But the first class I went into, when a kid asked what I was, the professor responded, "she's a ballerina, but a Halloween ballerina because she's in all black (with a pink tutu)." Really, I was in black because that was the color of clothing I already had (black tights and a black cami!).
I brought my camera with me to document all of the cuteness that attends San Fernando. Most of the kids loved getting their photos taken. My favorite part of the experience was when children would say "Natalie take my picture please!!!" and then they would pose and give me the facial expression of a mug shot, as if this was the most painful experience they had had that day! Take a look here to see some of the most precious kids ever and to view some fine examples of the requested mugshots!
That night, my friends and I dressed up (I was a ballerina again, the others were a scary skeleton, David Bowe, and America-she had an eagle shirt and a red, white, and blue afro). We tried to get into a club but the line was about a mile long so we eventually just headed home. However, being as it was Halloween the universe decided I had to be tricked somehow and my phone was stolen from me! Thankfully there was no roughness, I actually barely even noticed. But that's what happens when you forget to be vigilant in a crowded area and instead try to enjoy a beautiful Halloween night!
Monday, November 4, 2013
Strikes on Strikes on Strikes
Last week there was a huge educational protest in Madrid. Thousands of students, teachers, and parents marched the streets of Madrid to oppose the new Wert educational law that was supposed to go into effect. There are several things that come with this bill including higher fees for universities, allocating more funds to the private/public schools (they are a result of not having enough public schools for the population so the government now pays the salaries of some private school teachers who teach public school kids), even more harsh budget cuts for public schools, and making religion a bigger part of public education (right now students have the option of taking Catholic religion classes or opting for the alternative class, this new law would make it mandatory to take the religion class and it would count for a grade).
Being a foreigner in the protest, I felt a little guilty. I'm here in Spain teaching and being paid by the education department. The same department that has laid off a huge amount of teachers and cut the salaries of the teachers that remain. Since I was a little confused on everything that was being protested, I asked a professor, Ana, at my school about the strike. During our discussion, which helped me understand so much, Ana told me that last year (the education reforms have been going on since the recession) three teachers were let go but they gained an auxiliar (my job). After this Ana said something along these lines "so the government obviously has funds, they just aren't always allocating them to where most people think they should." This is largely where my guilt stemmed from. I know she wasn't saying that she thought there shouldn't be auxiliares, but it's also hard to look at the facts and see that I, a foreigner, am here while some actual Spanish citizens no longer have their teaching positions. However, I think that our positions as auxiliares are important considering many adults are trying to learn/improve their English to secure better jobs. These kids will already be a step ahead of the game if they successfully master English before their job search. And since I'm teaching such young children, I hope by the time they grow up there will no longer be the 25% unemployment rate and they will have a much brighter future. One can hope!
Participating in the protest was quite fun. At one point we were mixed with a huge group from a university who was shouting several chants, a few of which I eventually deciphered what they were saying. We also managed to walk next to a drum circle for a while. That was quite interesting and incredibly fun to sway along to. I heard rumors that there was a little violence eventually. But the whole time I was walking along, everyone was calm and barely seemed to acknowledge the police presence. I was glad I went. I've never participated in a protest that big. The streets were literally full from near my house all the way to the center of the city. One news source even had the title of "Thousands of teachers, and millions of students protest in Madrid." I'm not quite sure if the millions was a bad translation or if there really were millions (that seems highly unlikely considering Madrid's population is 3 million). But it sure felt like millions of people were marching!
The week after the education strike, there was a transportation strike. It wasn't all of the public transportation in Madrid (thank god), just the renfe employees. Renfe is a company that operates the longer distance trains in Madrid. So for me, that meant the train I take to school would be affected. The employees were demanding better wages and hours, I believe. The last three days of October were all day strikes and then when November began I believe they moved the strike to only the commuting hours with some fridays being full day strikes. I literally understand nothing about what's going on or how my train's schedule is being affected. All I know is that I need to be at the train station by 7:45 because sometimes the train leaves at 7:50 and sometimes it leaves as late as 8:05. So thankfully the strike hasn't really affected me. But who knows, next week it could change times again because the strike is no longer a whole day strike! I was also surprised to look at the renfe website where they announced the days and hours of the strike, to see that the strike would last the entire month of November! We shall see how my commute ends up going!
Being a foreigner in the protest, I felt a little guilty. I'm here in Spain teaching and being paid by the education department. The same department that has laid off a huge amount of teachers and cut the salaries of the teachers that remain. Since I was a little confused on everything that was being protested, I asked a professor, Ana, at my school about the strike. During our discussion, which helped me understand so much, Ana told me that last year (the education reforms have been going on since the recession) three teachers were let go but they gained an auxiliar (my job). After this Ana said something along these lines "so the government obviously has funds, they just aren't always allocating them to where most people think they should." This is largely where my guilt stemmed from. I know she wasn't saying that she thought there shouldn't be auxiliares, but it's also hard to look at the facts and see that I, a foreigner, am here while some actual Spanish citizens no longer have their teaching positions. However, I think that our positions as auxiliares are important considering many adults are trying to learn/improve their English to secure better jobs. These kids will already be a step ahead of the game if they successfully master English before their job search. And since I'm teaching such young children, I hope by the time they grow up there will no longer be the 25% unemployment rate and they will have a much brighter future. One can hope!
Participating in the protest was quite fun. At one point we were mixed with a huge group from a university who was shouting several chants, a few of which I eventually deciphered what they were saying. We also managed to walk next to a drum circle for a while. That was quite interesting and incredibly fun to sway along to. I heard rumors that there was a little violence eventually. But the whole time I was walking along, everyone was calm and barely seemed to acknowledge the police presence. I was glad I went. I've never participated in a protest that big. The streets were literally full from near my house all the way to the center of the city. One news source even had the title of "Thousands of teachers, and millions of students protest in Madrid." I'm not quite sure if the millions was a bad translation or if there really were millions (that seems highly unlikely considering Madrid's population is 3 million). But it sure felt like millions of people were marching!
The week after the education strike, there was a transportation strike. It wasn't all of the public transportation in Madrid (thank god), just the renfe employees. Renfe is a company that operates the longer distance trains in Madrid. So for me, that meant the train I take to school would be affected. The employees were demanding better wages and hours, I believe. The last three days of October were all day strikes and then when November began I believe they moved the strike to only the commuting hours with some fridays being full day strikes. I literally understand nothing about what's going on or how my train's schedule is being affected. All I know is that I need to be at the train station by 7:45 because sometimes the train leaves at 7:50 and sometimes it leaves as late as 8:05. So thankfully the strike hasn't really affected me. But who knows, next week it could change times again because the strike is no longer a whole day strike! I was also surprised to look at the renfe website where they announced the days and hours of the strike, to see that the strike would last the entire month of November! We shall see how my commute ends up going!
Segovia
On Saturday, Clark and I went to Segovia (a city located in Castilla de Leon). It is located about 60 miles outside of Madrid, so we took a high speed train! It was my first experience with a high speed train. The entire journey was over in 20 minutes! It felt just like a regular train, much to my disappointment. However, it was nice to only be on the train for such a short amount of time to get so far.
Segovia was extremely interesting and breathtakingly gorgeous. The city center is exactly what I picture when I think of Spain: old apartments lining the streets, cobblestone plazas, churches that look like they're about to crumble. Some areas of Madrid have their Old Spain moments, but Segovia looked as if it could be 400 years ago and the buildings wouldn't look that different (minus the electrical signs, etc.). I really enjoyed going and hope to maybe go back!
Here's a link to the photos!
Segovia was extremely interesting and breathtakingly gorgeous. The city center is exactly what I picture when I think of Spain: old apartments lining the streets, cobblestone plazas, churches that look like they're about to crumble. Some areas of Madrid have their Old Spain moments, but Segovia looked as if it could be 400 years ago and the buildings wouldn't look that different (minus the electrical signs, etc.). I really enjoyed going and hope to maybe go back!
Here's a link to the photos!
Thursday, October 17, 2013
A blog about my actual job (it's not all traveling and adventure for this girl)
It is my third week teaching and time is going by quite quickly; but I also feel as if I have been doing this job for forever. I love most of the kids and I am trying my hardest to learn all of their names. I have already memorized all the troublemakers' names though! My favorite class is one of the first grade classes I work with the most. The professor, Adriana, is one of my favorite professors at San Fernando. She also teaches a third grade class (all the bilingual professors teach 2 different grades or teach both Spanish and English classes) and they are a great class as well. There is a wide variety of levels within this class and I have my work cut out for me trying to keep everyone entertained and making sure they understand (I even had one of the smarter students, who finished way ahead of the class, write a story about my fish, Sinbad).
One first grade class is particularly troublesome. I believe it is a combo of both the teacher (it is her first year teaching and I think she hasn't exactly gotten the hang of classroom control) and the actual class being full of rabble rousers. Also this classroom is lacking any technology, whereas most of the rooms are equipped with smart boards. They are drastically behind the other first graders and since it is the professor's first year teaching I am not sure where the year will take them seeing as many of the activities require at least a CD player and preferably a smart board (fingers crossed the smartboard gets fixed soon!). I am planning on making sure the students actually work in the textbook and activity workbook so that while I am in the classroom they are catching up to their peers.
As far as the actual teaching part, it has been interesting seeing which teachers have me do what. Some professors have me basically teach the whole class, sometimes with a little bit of guidance as they watch and listen, other times they just have me figure something out for the students to do. Others have me teach the lesson as they work with students who are severely behind (many transfer students do not come from bilingual schools and have no prior experience with English, some are gypsies which means they may not even be up to their peers' level in Spanish let alone English, and others have slight learning disabilities) or we swap roles and I help with the students that are behind. I cannot imagine starting a new school where half my classes are in a language I do not even know or trying to read and write in another language when I can barely do those things in my native language! And some teachers basically run the whole class and have me interject randomly or lead some activities and they lead others. It is a nice mixture, both challenging and sometimes a little boring.
Also since the children are learning British English, I am learning new things as well. For instance, I would ask, "does she have dark hair?" but they learn it as "has she got dark hair?". One teacher has to remind me often of the 'correct' way to say things. Also some of their vocabulary is different, such as sweaters being called jumpers, pants being called trousers, erasers are rubbers, binders are files, and math class is simply called maths (this one I do not like, and it is also sometimes difficult for me to say with my slight lisp!). Sometimes they just pronounce things differently as well. When I come back to the US, I may sound more British, or at least have the grammar of a British person!
We will have to wait and see what the year brings!
One first grade class is particularly troublesome. I believe it is a combo of both the teacher (it is her first year teaching and I think she hasn't exactly gotten the hang of classroom control) and the actual class being full of rabble rousers. Also this classroom is lacking any technology, whereas most of the rooms are equipped with smart boards. They are drastically behind the other first graders and since it is the professor's first year teaching I am not sure where the year will take them seeing as many of the activities require at least a CD player and preferably a smart board (fingers crossed the smartboard gets fixed soon!). I am planning on making sure the students actually work in the textbook and activity workbook so that while I am in the classroom they are catching up to their peers.
As far as the actual teaching part, it has been interesting seeing which teachers have me do what. Some professors have me basically teach the whole class, sometimes with a little bit of guidance as they watch and listen, other times they just have me figure something out for the students to do. Others have me teach the lesson as they work with students who are severely behind (many transfer students do not come from bilingual schools and have no prior experience with English, some are gypsies which means they may not even be up to their peers' level in Spanish let alone English, and others have slight learning disabilities) or we swap roles and I help with the students that are behind. I cannot imagine starting a new school where half my classes are in a language I do not even know or trying to read and write in another language when I can barely do those things in my native language! And some teachers basically run the whole class and have me interject randomly or lead some activities and they lead others. It is a nice mixture, both challenging and sometimes a little boring.
Also since the children are learning British English, I am learning new things as well. For instance, I would ask, "does she have dark hair?" but they learn it as "has she got dark hair?". One teacher has to remind me often of the 'correct' way to say things. Also some of their vocabulary is different, such as sweaters being called jumpers, pants being called trousers, erasers are rubbers, binders are files, and math class is simply called maths (this one I do not like, and it is also sometimes difficult for me to say with my slight lisp!). Sometimes they just pronounce things differently as well. When I come back to the US, I may sound more British, or at least have the grammar of a British person!
We will have to wait and see what the year brings!
Cervantes Festival and Ecuadorian Food!
This weekend Clark and I returned to Alcala de Henares for a Cervantes festival. While there was only one real Cervantes reference that I saw (Don Quixote mustache croissants), it was an interesting experience. Rather than a Cervantes festival, I would call it a medieval fair. There was fresh food being cook in stalls all along the main streets. Some of the delicious items included crepes, loaves of bread, donuts, kebabs, plenty of sausages, and all kinds of sandwiches. There was a medieval ride section which featured a ferris wheel and a swinging boat. There was also donkey rides for children. We just meandered through the stalls that were also selling a plethora of items such as spices, jewelry, and olive wood cooking utensils. I thought it was really interesting to think about how back in Cervantes' time this is how people acquired things: going to town markets that had several stalls selling items they needed.
The night before the festival Clark and I decided to try an Ecuadorian restaurant (Ecuadorians are actually the largest group of immigrants in Spain I believe, so there were a few restaurants to choose from!). The restaurant, Casa Ecuatoriana, is about three blocks from my house! The food was delicious. Along with our drinks (batido/smoothie de guanabana), they gave us tostada and chifles, two foods I had been missing! Needless to say it was a great dinner filled with nostalgia! It made me miss all of my ecuadorian friends (those who are actually ecuadorian and the american friends I met there).
Once again this stupid site does not want to upload my photos! Click here to see my photos on flickr (and let me know if you can see them by shooting me an email)
The night before the festival Clark and I decided to try an Ecuadorian restaurant (Ecuadorians are actually the largest group of immigrants in Spain I believe, so there were a few restaurants to choose from!). The restaurant, Casa Ecuatoriana, is about three blocks from my house! The food was delicious. Along with our drinks (batido/smoothie de guanabana), they gave us tostada and chifles, two foods I had been missing! Needless to say it was a great dinner filled with nostalgia! It made me miss all of my ecuadorian friends (those who are actually ecuadorian and the american friends I met there).
Once again this stupid site does not want to upload my photos! Click here to see my photos on flickr (and let me know if you can see them by shooting me an email)
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
First Day of School
Today was my official first day of school! It went very well. I help teach mostly 1st graders but also 2nd and 3rd graders as well. The periods are 45 minutes and I get one break everyday except Fridays. I also get Mondays off which means I will get some four day weekends since most of the days off fall on Fridays! I start at 9am which means I have to leave around 7:30 if I want to get to school on time. Today I left at 7:10 just to make sure I did not miss either of my two trains, but I think I will be able to leave later as I get more accustomed to the commute. The other girl who teaches at my school is very nice and has actually taught so it will be nice to have her experience to help me! Since we are the English teachers, we are not allowed to speak any Spanish with the students. I found that a little frustrating today because I could tell that some of the kids could not understand my questions and I just wanted to tell them what I was asking in Spanish. But having the children think that I cannot speak Spanish will be to their advantage, forcing them to communicate with me in English.
During my first class I did not do too much other than help the professor and check to make sure the students were doing their work correctly. However in my second class, I was left to entertain the children for the first 20 minutes or so. That was quite an experience, trying to come up with childhood songs I could recall and reading some flashcards to the kids. The professor during my final period had the kids ask me questions about myself which was fun because they got to practice their English and find out information about me. One girl raised her hand, but instead of asking a question she told me that I was beautiful, which I appreciated and made me giggle. Most of the children are adorable and seem very eager to learn and are excited to have an American in the classroom. But as always there are a few trouble makers in the class. One of the professors even told me that the worst kid in the whole school is in one of my classes! I met him today, and I will say he is a bit of a menace!
Overall, I am very happy to be at this school. While the commute is a little longer than I was expecting when I applied to the program, all the teachers seem incredibly friendly and the town itself seems quite nice and beautiful!
During my first class I did not do too much other than help the professor and check to make sure the students were doing their work correctly. However in my second class, I was left to entertain the children for the first 20 minutes or so. That was quite an experience, trying to come up with childhood songs I could recall and reading some flashcards to the kids. The professor during my final period had the kids ask me questions about myself which was fun because they got to practice their English and find out information about me. One girl raised her hand, but instead of asking a question she told me that I was beautiful, which I appreciated and made me giggle. Most of the children are adorable and seem very eager to learn and are excited to have an American in the classroom. But as always there are a few trouble makers in the class. One of the professors even told me that the worst kid in the whole school is in one of my classes! I met him today, and I will say he is a bit of a menace!
Overall, I am very happy to be at this school. While the commute is a little longer than I was expecting when I applied to the program, all the teachers seem incredibly friendly and the town itself seems quite nice and beautiful!
Alcala de Henares
Over the weekend Clark and I went to Alcala de Henares, which is a small town outside of Madrid. It is also the birthplace of Miguel de Cervantes who wrote Don Quixote! We went inside his childhood home and saw what a typical 16-17th century home might have looked like. There was also an archeology museum which was quite fun, but also entirely in Spanish so it was a little challenging to understand everything! The town was very pretty, with lots of plazas and streets lined with restaurants and shops. Alcala de Henares is also known for their sweets, so Clark and I stopped in a shop. The treats were delicious! I'm having a hard time loading photos right now, so I'll just leave the link to my facebook album here for anyone who wants to look at the pictures! (Click on the "here" and you should arrive at the album)
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
El Escorial
As one of the last free days I have left before I start my job, I went to El Escorial. It is a castle and monastery located close to Madrid. We were originally trying to go to Sevilla, but we missed the train because the machines only took credit cards and the line to pay cash was pretty long. Then when we finally got to the window, the next train was twice as expensive. So we decided to go ahead and make a trip to el Escorial. It is a World Heritage Site that was built by Phillip II. It has several works of art, along with beautiful tapestries, and a library with many manuscripts and mathematical objects. The castle itself offered spectacular views of the surrounding countryside and a faraway view of Madrid. Within the castle are several crypts, so we got to see the burial places of some of the most famous royals in Spain. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take many pictures within the actual castle but I was finally able to use my new "fancy" camera. Here are some of the photos.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Settling into Madrileña life
So for the first time ever I had to search for an apartment. I feel this can be a daunting task no matter the circumstances, but since I was sans parents and in a foreign city I was pretty nervous and clueless. However, I got extremely lucky because the first place I saw ended up being the place I chose. I tried to see a few more, but one of the people didn't show up to our appointment and the other was definitely not the place for me. The apartment I chose is owned by a mother who lives there with her son so it's almost like I have a host family again! The building is a block from a metro station which is convenient considering my school is in a suburb that is about an hour away from my place. It's supposedly not too far from some of the best museums Madrid has to offer and one of the best parks in the city. It felt so nice to finally be able to take my things out of my suitcase, but it almost made me realize how few things I really have. Packing your life into one suitcase and a backpack doesn't leave you much space for anything. But minimalism is the name of the game and I think I did quite a good job getting everything I need, but I guess we'll see how well I did as the time passes!
So far I've been walking around the city a lot, just taking in the sites. I did visit el Prado, which is free for students! I also made the trip out to Aranjuez, the city I'll be teaching in, and it was quite beautiful. Other than that, no crazy stories to tell yet. We thought about trying to make it to Oktoberfest in Germany, but it is right as we start school and since it is so close the flights are kind of expensive. Looks like I'll just have to come back to Europe in the future!
Here are some photos from my time so far!
So far I've been walking around the city a lot, just taking in the sites. I did visit el Prado, which is free for students! I also made the trip out to Aranjuez, the city I'll be teaching in, and it was quite beautiful. Other than that, no crazy stories to tell yet. We thought about trying to make it to Oktoberfest in Germany, but it is right as we start school and since it is so close the flights are kind of expensive. Looks like I'll just have to come back to Europe in the future!
Here are some photos from my time so far!
The palace in the city where I teach
El Retiro, a royal garden that turned into a public park
Templo Debod, an Egyptian temple near the house I lived in for a week
Saturday, September 7, 2013
Packing, Packing, Packing
I leave for Madrid tomorrow! It is crazy to believe after all the planning and preparing I have done that the date is finally here. So far I have gotten almost everything divided into Yes, Maybe, and No piles (and by everything, I mean most of my clothes; my other things still need to be divided). I do not think I could have procrastinated any more. I have about 24 hours before I head to the airport and there is nothing in either my suitcase, nor my carry-on bag. But that is me and that is how I do things. I hope to arrive safely with all of my things and do not forget too many things back at home. I am also excited that I will have an hour layover in the country of my ancestors, Sweden. So as I close my very first post on this new blog, I am preparing to say "goodbye America, hola España!"
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