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.