Packing with Oscar

This is obviously Oscar's way of telling me, "I'm not like the dogs, I actually DO  know who you are"

Or it's his way of telling me, "Take me with you Neeeekeeeee"

Or it's his way of telling me, "I'm going to miss you!!!"

Or he's just a cat who likes to sit in bags :(

The Dog Days of Summer

These days I spend most of my time incarcerated in the Arevalo residence with no mode of personal or even public transportation at my disposal.  My incarcerated companions include: Oscar, Charlotte, Shelby, and Cole....the largest weighing in at 19 lbs.  I leave the confines of my domain to get the mail, walk the dogs, go to the pool, or (if I'm lucky and its only 95 degrees) bike to the supermarket.  I've left the housing development 3 times in the past 20 days...to go to the library and see my friends in Chapel Hill.  And people wonder why I love Spain?



I've decided my goals for the upcoming año escolar in Spain.  I'll no longer be working as an auxiliar de conversación for the Ministry of Education.  I'm doing the Programa BEDA, or Bilingual English Development & Assesment Program, in the Catholic School System of Madrid.  I was placed in northern Alcorcón, which is amazing because it is zone B1 (ie. barely outside the city and on metro, renfe, and multiple bus lines) and I can live in Madrid!  I'll be working a full Monday through Friday schedule and taking a mandatory night course during the fall semester at the Universidad Pontificia de Comillas with other BEDA assistants.  

My plan? tutor Andrea & Alba two days a week, take a dance class two days a week, and take an Italian class one day a week, successfully filling my 5 day week.  The only problem? the night course may prove to be more energy zapping than I'm expecting, especially after a full day of working with kids.  Then again, my new school is Pre-K through 12th grade, so if I get older kids I might not be so exhausted after work.  

The reason I want to tutor Andrea & Alba (and no one else) is because I've become so close to their family that it wouldn't feel right to be in Spain and not see them.  I overdosed on the clases particulares last year, so this year I'm taking it easy.  I'm most looking forward to the Italian class though.  I took Italian for 3 semesters at UNC, but haven't actively practiced it since Fall 2008.  When I went to Rome in January, I realized after 3 days how easy it was picking it back up.  I'm hoping to be intermediate/fluent by 2012 because I want to travel through southern Italy either over Semana Santa or summer break.  Which leads me to my next set of goals....TRAVEL GOALS! I must, must, must see northern Spain, more of Andalucía, London (purely to go see Les Mis) and southern Italy.  I'm not coming home for the summer next year, so if schedules don't permit my last destination between September and June....looks like I'll be spending le mie vacanze estive di lavoro nella bella Italia :)







El Resumen

Andrea, Alba, Isa, and I

Well, it's over. 

I finished up work at Las Castañeras on June 31.  
My friend Carolyn had been staying with me for the week, and the very next day, we packed up my room, moved out of my apartment in Arroyomolinos, and headed to Paris. 

While she was here, Carolyn had a chance to meet my town mom, Isa.  We set aside a day to hang out with the girls by the pool and spend some time together before I left for the States.  Tears were shed (the ONLY tears I shed saying goodbye to someone in Spain) and probably because Isa, who is normally so expressive and loving, dropped us off, gave me a quick tight hug, and got back in her car before I could really see her being a llorona.

I'm storing a box of winter clothes, shoes, and teaching resources in a box in Isa's basement for the next few months, but I still had to buy a second suitcase before I came back to the States.  I stored my big bags in the taquillas at Barajas Airport while Carolyn and I were in France.  We spent July 1-4 in Paris and then split ways, so I could come back to Madrid and she could head north to see our friend Julien in Lille.

I've been back in the U.S.A. since July 6th, so let's chronicle the past year, shall we?

-Sept 2010: moved to Arroyomolinos, Madrid
-Oct 2010: Muriel's visit to Madrid
-Oct 2010: Barcelona
-Oct 2010: Claire's visit to Madrid
-Oct 2010: Toledo
-Nov 2010: Consuegra
-Nov 2010: Salamanca
-Dec 2010: Le Crotoy to spend Christmas with Muriel & one day in Paris
-Dec 2010: Jenn's visit to Madrid & Segovia
-Jan 2011: Rome
-Feb 2011: El Escorial
-Feb 2011: Cuenca
-Mar 2011: Topher's visit to Madrid
-Mar 2011: Valencia
-Apr 2011: Santiago de Compostela
-Apr 2011: North Carolina to see the family
-May 2011: Aranjuez
-May 2011: Córdoba
-June 2011: Fuengirola, Málaga
-June 2011: Carolyn's visit to Madrid - El Escorial again
-July 2011: Paris and Versailles
-July 2011: Madrid ---> back to the U.S.A.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it was the best year of my life (because I'm going back next year) but it was pretty amazing.  I made a new best friend, Lynn, who so happens to have to same exact birthday as my other best friend in New York (coincidence, I think not), I traveled whenever and wherever I wanted, I lived in a perpetual state of Spanish, and I was happy for the first time in a long time.  Sure, working with Montse in 1st and 2nd grade was enough to make me want to punch her in the uterus...but I wrote a lovely fairwell email to my coordinadora delineating how horrible she was (see excerpt below) and hopefully there will be some repercussions for her behavior.  Believe me, I'm not naive, and I know how things work in the Spanish public school system (ie. there will be no repercussions for her behavior) but a girl can dream, right?

>Trabajar en 1°A y 2°A durante este curso no ha sido nada facil. No te lo he
> dicho durante el curso porque no suelo quejarme de un choque de
> personalidades. Trato de no traer los problemas personales al ambiente
> profesional, pero trabajar con Montse era la cosa más difícil del año.
> Montse optaba por no hablar conmigo, pero cuando lo hacía, siempre era de
> una manera condescendiente. Tengo que suponer que ella no sabía que tengo
> varios años de experiencia trabajando con niños – de niñera, maestra, y en
> los Juegos Olímpicos Especiales – o que ella tuvo una experiencia mala con
> otro auxiliar pasado. Yo hice todo lo posible durante el primer trimestre
> para enseñarle que yo estaba aquí para ayudar, pero nada cambió. Finalmente
> (una vez en enero y otra en marzo) yo fui a casa para empacar mi maleta
> porque no podía aguantar la falta de respeto. Nunca he dejado un trabajo y
> me quedé porque me encantan mis estudiantes.
>
> No recomiendo que ella tenga un auxiliar el año que viene. Sería injusto
> para el auxiliar futuro, y es obvio que es algo que Montse preferiría,como
> me dejó claro este año. Yo sé que se puede aprender algo de cada
> experiencia en la vida. He aprendido que no podemos cambiar otra persona,
> sino como reaccionar a su comportamiento. También debemos mejorar las cosas
> por la gente que viene después de nosotros. Espero que esta carta haga eso.

Every city has a word

Elizabeth Gilbert's book Eat, Pray, Love wasn't the most intriguing read of all times (in fact it was one of the only books in my life that I couldn't finish reading) but it wasn't without its good points!  At one point in Italy, her friend Giulio tells her,

Every city has a single word that defines it, that identifies most people who live there. If you could read people’s thoughts as they were passing you on the streets of any given place, you will discover that most of them are thinking the same thought. Whatever that majority thought might be- that is the word of the city. And if your personal word does not match the word of the city, then you don’t really belong there.
            "What's Rome's word?" I asked.
            "SEX," he announced.
            "But isn't that a stereotype about Rome?"
             "No."
....Now if you are to believe Giulio, that little word - SEX - cobbles the streets beneath your feet in Rome, runs through the fountains here, fills the air like traffic noise. Thinking about it, dressing for it, seeking it, considering it, refusing it, making a sport and game out of it -- that's all anybody is doing."

If I had to give just ONE word to Madrid....I think it would be FIESTA.  I can guarantee that everyone on the streets of Madrid is either thinking about a celebration, tired from a previous celebration, dressing for / shopping for / preparing for an upcoming celebration, excited for a celebration, regretting too much celebration...the list goes on and on.  The "mañana mentality" of Spain?....blame it on the fiesta.

 

 

Favorite poem

My Dad has a collection of old and tattered poetry books from his college days, picked up at various second hand book stores and antique shops over the years.  As a kid I always loved the way they looked and smelled, but never opened them.  When I was 13, I finally opened one up.  It was a collection of poems by Tennyson. I read this poem and immediately copied it down onto some pretty Korean stationary.  It remained on that Korean stationary (in my 13-year-old self's handwriting) in the clear plastic front of my binder for most of high school.  I didn't realize that I had it memorized until I just started reciting it to myself recently.

The Flower
by Lord Alfred Tennyson

Once in a golden hour
I cast to earth a seed.
Up there came a flower,
The people said, a weed.

To and fro they went
Thro' my garden-bower,
And muttering discontent
Cursed me and my flower.

Then it grew so tall
It wore a crown of light,
But thieves from o'er the wall
Stole the seed by night.

Sow'd it far and wide
By every town and tower,
Till all the people cried
`Splendid is the flower.'

Read my little fable:
He that runs may read.
Most can raise the flowers now,
For all have got the seed.

And some are pretty enough,
And some are poor indeed;
And now again the people
Call it but a weed.

España, te amo

1. I love that when I go to the supermarket, I only have to choose between three types of cereal.

2. I love that when I walk around Arroyomolinos, I always run into at least 1 familiar face

3. I love that the 25 minute bus ride to Madrid stops right in front of my apartment.

4. I love that my Spanish moms have added me on Facebook and take me shopping.

5. I love that I can go to the pasta aisle in the Corte Ingles and overhear three gorgeous Italian girls arguing over spaghetti.
6. I love that Principe Pio looks like this at 9:30 at night.

7. I love that when I take a kid away from their parents, teachers, and peers, and just hang out with them, I realize how cool and smart they are.

8. I love that I can't go one weekend without meeting someone foreign, cool, and/or interesting.

9. I love that la marcha doesn't start until 1am and doesn't end until 6am.

10. I love that I can travel wherever I want, whenever I want.

11. I love when people can't tell I'm American.

12. I love enjoying Jesus' mojitos with friends at La Tarasca.

13. I love accidentally kissing strangers...and not so accidentally kissing strangers.
14. I love that an 8 year old asked me if I knew who Calle 13 were. 

15. I love the hippies in Valencia and the peregrinos in Santiago de Compostela.

16. I love my kids.
17. I love that it is totally acceptable to take 100 fifth and sixth graders on a bike ride (from Arroyomolinos to Mostoles)...with only 2 adults to supervise.
18. I love that my nails, hair, and jewelry are the most intriguing things about me to most 7 year olds.

In conclusion,.............España, te amo

Reflections on post-grad employment

I graduated from UNC in May 2010 and have ended and started a few jobs since then....

Whole Foods (September 2007 – May 2010)

Now that I'm 4,000 miles away from North Carolina I can say that, overall, working at Whole Foods was a positive experience.  Yes, it was mundane, mind-numbing, and full of unnecessary drama...but if it wasn't for that maldita tienda I wouldn't have made any friends in Chapel Hill or have been able to perfect my conversational spanish.  It also kept me motivated to not drop out of college because I saw the kind of work I would be limited to without any educational credentials.  I learned to appreciate what I have, become more outgoing and friendly, and become even more impressed by the incredibly hard work that Hispanic immigrants do in America every day.



last day babysitting Isabel

 Babysitting in Durham (August 2009 – September 2010)

I babysat two girls in Durham for most of their year in 2nd grade and the beginning of 3rd grade.  It was a great job.  The girls really clicked with me and didn't want me to go to Spain in September.  The only downside...exhaustion.  I could never be the kind of babysitter that sat the kids in front of the T.V. while I went on Facebook or texted my friends...so it was 2-4 hours of non-stop playing pretend, choreographing dances, going to the park, practicing piano, doing homework, and having girl time.

Camp Walden (Summer 2010)

Oh my god.  Worst job I've ever had in my life. WORST.


last day of camp



I went to Walden for the four summers when I was 11-14.  I met my best friend in the world there, and it was the only time of the year when I wasn't stressed out.  Back then, it had different owners who kept a pretty laissez-faire approach to the whole thing (as far as I could tell).  It was a typical upstate-New York co-ed sleepaway camp for priveleged Jewish kids....much like what you'd see in the movie Wet Hot American Summer.  I went back this year to work as a Group Leader, in charge of about 25 rising freshman girls and 5 co-counselors......You know your job is bad when the best part of your summer is living in an isolated bunk in the mountains with 25 teenage girls. If it wasn't for my girls, I would've quit by the end of June.  Under the new owners, the whole camp is centered around making everything appear to be made of gumdrops and lollipops and rainbows, making sure all the kids in your group are friends with eachother equally (impossible with 13 year olds), and living-breathing-eating unrealistic utopian goals.  To add to these unrealistic goals I was supposed to meet with a group of TEENAGE girls, I had one of my co-staff telling my manager I was doing things I wasn't.  The whole time that we were supposed to be teaching equality and friendship by example, the staff itself was in complete denial that we ourselves were divided into cliques. The whole thing was just ridiculous and stressful.  It reminded me of The Real World because of the isolation and drama. All I can say is that my girls were the best part of my summer.

Colegio las Castaneras (September 2010-now!)
Oh lordy. What can I say about Castaneras?  It doesn't challenge me intellectually, but it challenges my patience.  At every job I've ever had, I try to focus on the positive things to get me through the crappy parts.  At Castaneras, I soak up every moment I have in 3rd grade with Toni and every joke or funny moment I share with the amazing principal Eva. I love pretty much all of the moms and tutor 10 kids afterschool.  It's amazing to have become a part of this community over the past 5 months....(Have I convinced myself yet with all this positive stuff that its worth it? We'll see) The 1st and 2nd grade teacher I have to work with......she makes me not want to get up in the morning.  She infantilizes me, puts me to idiotic tasks like photocopying and alfabetizing exams that she proceeds to un-order 24 hours later.  She demeans the kids, doesn't have a basic command of the English language, and probably still thinks I'm from England.  No one ever knows where she is on the syllabus or if she even has a syllabus.  She single-handedly has made me want to quit and go back to America two seperate times this year.  I found out that last year she was on maternity leave until about January, her auxiliar worked with her for about 3 months and then went home for Spring Break and never came back. She is a horror.  I have to take this as a lesson.  I always tell my kids, "Suck it up, you're not going to get along with everyone in this life"...only 3 more months with this woman.