I'll Be Seeing You...

Over the past nine months my blog has been about my reflections on Spain, so for this hasta luego (see you later, not goodbye) post I asked my Spanish friends to write reflections of me in Spain. Here’s what I got: 

Far in the distance I can hear somebody roaring with laughter and... I fall in love.

Ellie introduced herself grinning from ear to ear and her irrepressible hunger for learning: the best résumé ever.

After spending a whole school year with her, she is no longer the language assistant, but that friend we all adore and need, always ready, camera in hand; that friend who knows how to preserve the best of the American lifestyle, but has also appreciated everything that Adra offered. 

I am sure she will do her best in Washington DC and that she will change the world for the better, like she changed ours.

You’re not the language assistant, you're Ellie, you're one of us!

You are going to be very lucky wherever you go because you have a very positive attitude – it’s true, you’ll see!

Out for tapas with the teachers then another group of friends my last few nights in Adra. Even though both spoke a mile a minute in accents I couldn’t always decipher, nothing has made me happier than laughing with them, smiling with them and trying my very best to participate in their conversations and lives. 

On Thursday there was a flash mob, confetti and balloon filled dance party at the school during the first recess. I heard the music from the teachers’ office and wandered to the courtyard with my co-workers. I soon went outside to take photos with the school camera. I felt myself enveloped in this world, this madness, noise, color, laughter – a world that made no sense to me, but one that I tried to enjoy in nonetheless. After a few minutes of fire juggling, dance instruction and balloon throwing, the kids began a conga line. They started to pass me, waving and smiling as their heads fell back in laughter. My year in Spain has been one extended flash mob, confetti and balloon filled dance party. It has been spontaneous, it has been boisterous, it has been filled with hilarity, and, in the end, I am so happy I participated.

Crisis: Trying to cancel my Internet account without knowing my Spanish home phone number.

Success: After the conga line settled down post-flash mob, a few of my youngest students came up to me and said, “No te vayas Ellie!”, “You are incredible!”, “The most incredible!”, “In the magazine I write – Ellie is the best teacher!”

Key Spanish phrases/words: The continuing consequence of only taking a summer Spanish course before this year is my utter lack of necessary vocabulary. I can carry on a conversation involving past, present and future, but throw in a simple word or two and I may be lost. As I was writing hasta luego notes to all my co-workers and friends this week I discovered just how little of the basics I knew. This is embarrassing, but learning is all about failure and now I know these really key words: tan (so), suficiente (enough), te voy a echar de menos (the proper way to say “I will miss you” ), orgulloso (proud), te admiro (I admire you), agradecido (grateful), abildad (ability), comodo (comfortable), afortunado (lucky), inclusivo (inclusive), quedarse (stay), cuentame (tell me), aprecio (appreciate), illuminar (illuminate), casero (landlord, homemade, type of bubbly drink).

Super casera – last batch of homemade chocolate chip cookies one my very best friends helped me make for the teachers, the local bar and my favorite tapas restaurant in Adra. 

Smile because it happened...

Friday, May 25th: Less than one week remains until my last day working as an auxiliary this year. I’d like to think, or at least I hope, that I'll hear sometime throughout the next month that I will in fact be granted permission to repeat working in my same school next year. But that remains to be seen, and so for the time being I’ve decided the best way to approach my last week is to assume I won’t be returning, to say all my goodbyes, and as a coworker recently advised, hope to show up again in September with a big surprise smile across my face. If in the end I’m instead moved to a new school, of course there will be positive aspects to that fresh adventure. A new location, new coworkers, and new students definitely promise excitement; this is Spain we’re talking about after all…

But I’ve always been bad at goodbyes, and this week guarantees numerous goodbyes I wish I didn’t have to say. Regardless, instead of worrying about the upcoming adjustment that will come with closing this Teach in Spain chapter of our lives, I know we auxiliaries need to get in touch with that old proverb, the one that goes “Don't cry because it's over, smile because it happened.” Because with the state of the economy and the decisions that Spanish politicians are making in terms of public education, it’s uncertain how much longer this program will be around.

But no matter what happens next year, I know I’ll never forget the teaching, learning, and travel experiences I’ve had here during 2011-2012. I’ve listened to 4th graders singing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” at Halloween, worked as an MC at my school’s Mini-Olympics competition, marched in Cruz de Mayo processions with my 2nd graders, and danced at Feria with tutees and their families. I’ve witnessed national and regional Spanish elections, woken up to the sounds of both protestors shouting during the huelga general and bands marching during Semana Santa, survived a brutal, taxing heat wave during early May, and witnessed a torero win the prize of the bull’s ear during a fight just last week. Finally, I’ve had the good fortune of being able to spend Thanksgiving in Denmark, Valentine’s Day and St. Patrick’s Day in Spain, and Palm Sunday in The Netherlands.

Most importantly, I’ve learned so much from my students and if I’ve done my job correctly, they’ve learned from me. I could go on and on citing examples, but I think that from past posts my respect and care for these kids is pretty clear. No matter what the future brings, I’ve appreciated the opportunities that CIEE, CIEE’s Teach in Spain Program, the Spanish government, the wonderful people at my primary school in San José de la Rinconada, the wonderful people of Sevilla, my always-entertaining students, my tutees, and my friends here have all given me throughout these past eight months. And if I’m here again next year, hopefully I'll keep on blogging!

Until then…¡adioooos!

Snapshots from my last month in Sevilla

I can’t believe it’s been so many weeks since I last posted on this blog. Apologies all around! Things here have just been so busy since the end of Feria, and suddenly it’s already the end of my second to last week working in San José de la Rinconada.

How, how, how did the time fly by?

With all of the uncertainty regarding the future of the bilingual program in Spain, I still have not heard back from the government about whether or not I’ll be working in the same school again during the upcoming academic year. It seems that with all of the unpredictable and erratic changes that are occurring in this country, anything can happen. What I do know right now is that I have a placement as a Language and Culture Assistant in Andalucía for 2012-2013, and that’s certainly a positive.

Still, the prospect of saying goodbye to my students and coworkers next week is harrowing (I know, I know that sounds extreme…but such a dramatic word really is appropriate here!). In the mean time, for my second to last post, I thought I’d share some of my favorite photos from both school and outside-of-school during these past few weeks. The pictures are of the Bruce Springsteen concert in Sevilla that took place a few weeks ago, a bullfight I recently attended, the closest beach to Seville’s center (called Matalascañas), the gorgeous flowers blooming all over this city, the Plaza de España in all it’s glory, the gazpacho that every person here claims is all one can consume to survive the heat in Sevilla, and finally, pictures from the Cruz de Mayo celebration at my primary school (which just took place today!). Seeing bullfights and flowers in bloom, tasting the foods that the locals dine on, and dancing sevillanas…these are the experiences that count most in Sevilla during the late spring.

So take a look, and enjoy!

 

 

Now only one week, and one post, remains...so until then good luck surviving the heat!

Teachers and students strike to protest education budget cuts

“The unemployment rate in the United States is 25%” one student reads. We are doing a class activity about America in which I have written various facts and figures on cards. The students must determine whether these are true or false. Of the 40 students who participate in this activity, 100% believe this to be true. “False.” I tell them, “Do you think it’s higher or lower?” The students’ answer is spilt down the middle. “Lower.” I say, “And what about Spain? What do you think the unemployment rate is here?” They laugh and roll their eyes as they look around to their fellow classmates. “Much higher”, “100%”, and “Too high” echoes in the room.  I interrupt with what now seems like good news, “25% is the unemployment rate here in Spain,” I pause, “but for people under the age of 25 it’s over 50%.” They are not surprised. Unfortunately for students, those numbers are only expected to rise. The government has recently proposed huge cuts in education, which was the reason for yesterday's strike. The cuts would increase class sizes by 30-50%, cut critical educators from schools (as one student said, “our math teacher will also become our language teacher”) and reduce teachers’ salaries while increasing their hours (likely providing students with overworked, stressed out and resentful educators). How will these cuts refuel the economy and solve the crisis? The majority and teachers and students assert it won’t, as better, not worse, public education is the key to stimulating a country and an economy. As a sign read in a local protest yesterday “La educación no tiene precio, quien lo piense es todo un necio” (Education is priceless, he who thinks otherwise is a fool).

 

Almeria, Spain

For more information about the countrywide strike that took place yesterday (May 22^nd), go here.

Countdown.

My time here in Spain is wrapping up quickly with only two weeks until I leave the place I’ve called home for the last nine months. For the first time in my life “packing” means little more than throwing my things into a suitcase and calling it day. In the past moving has always involved lots of boxes, masking tape, screwdrivers, trips to goodwill and beers drunk out of stress. Last year I had an all day yard sale with my best-friend-house-mate that made us each a whopping 12 dollars. Without the anxiety of packing and no more trips, lesson planning, visitors or graduate school applications to complete, I have suddenly found myself with an abundance of free time.

I know I will look back at this time with complete and utter jealously in three short months when I enter my first semester of graduate school, but for now, I am searching for things to keep my brain stimulated. Here is a look into how I’ve been passing and marking my final days:

2 Number of kind yet fruitless attempts by Spaniards to teach me to roll my R’s with the saying: “El perro de San Roque no tiene rabo porque Ramon Rodriquiz se lo cortado” (The dog of San Roque has no tail because it was cut by Ramon Rodriquiz).

13 Episodes of Downton Abbey I watched last weekend

17 Jellyfish I avoided on the beach last Sunday

3 Restaurants in Adra that know my drink before I sit down

2 Versions of Fresh Prince theme song (probably more than 2 exist, but 2 is how many I heard sung as I was walking around with my Spanish friends after dinner the other night)

3 Shirts I saw at the local market that said “Living to return to the womb’s kingdom. Meet you there.”

2 Occurrences of hiccups (hipo) this weekend

1 Number of Frankenstein musicals I saw yesterday (or more accurately, the number I have seen in my entire life). 

11 Days until I leave Spain

Too many to count: Friends I’m going to miss when I leave this crazy world.

Crisis: 3 Wounds I got after a nasty fall over a rock during a run

Success: 4 Number of people who waved, yelled my name or honked at me to say hello on my way to the Frankenstein musical (Adra celeb status!)

Key Spanish Words/Phrases: cigaro (cigarette), puro (cigar), vago (lazy), cangrejo (crab), poner de pie (stand up), ovacion (ovation), aplaudir (clap), chasquear (“snap” – although I was told no one ever says the word snap, CRUCIAL information).

10 Things I Learned Chaperoning a Camping Trip in Spain

1. Chaperoning in Spain is legit.

I suppose I don’t really know what it is to chaperone an event in America, as I am a baby to the workforce and was usually trying to avoid such adults when I was an adolescent, but I surmise it may not be as relaxing as it was here. As a chaperone to sixty 12-year-olds on a three-day camping trip last week I was asked to do nothing, feed delicious food, given beer with lunch and dinner and I did not have to wash a dish. This is all thanks to the abundance of duendes (literally “elves”, but really helpers). These physical education teachers in training planned all the meals, activities and supervised the children while the teachers sat back in relaxed. I also got to choose to participate in the activities most interesting to me, which brings me to… 

2. Zip-lining is awesome. 

Last time I checked “school camping trip” is not synonymous with “zip-lining.” The only organized adventure I remember doing in Minnesota was plunging myself into a freezing cold lake via an ice hole. 

Cave exploring isn't bad either.

 

 Okay, I've done archary before, but still pretty sweet. 

3. Some Spanish campgrounds have bars and discos.

Enough said.

4. Campgrounds have money.

The bar/disco thing already pointed to that, but when I saw the main building of the grounds, I almost fainted. It was like a Swiss chalet with beautiful woodwork, stone tile and Hogwarts-eqsue wooden bunk beds. I asked why in the world we weren’t sleeping there and was told sleeping in tents builds character.

5. Sleeping bags were invented for a reason.

Despite asking everyone I know in Adra for a sleeping bag and having many people tell me they had one, that turned out to be false and instead I brought my blankets with me. I know I’m a kicker when I sleep as my blankets often fall to the ground at home and my mom refuses to share a hotel bed with me on vacations, but I have never felt the affects so harshly as I did when I awoke blanket-less in my subzero artic tent.

6. Spanish ants are on steroids.

Seriously. Things are huge.

7. They play “Red Light, Green Light” in Spain but it’s called “Uno, Dos, Tres, Pollito Inglés”.

Pollito means chick. Inglés means English. Thus, “English chick.” Besides the fact that tres rhymes with inglés, no one could provide an explanation for such a name.

8. Spain does scary things accurately.

As I learned from some terrifying costumes on Halloween, people get into being scary here in Spain. The night of terror on the last evening of our camping trip was no different. The duendes wore some of the most haunting masks I have ever seen and sneak attacked us as we walked around the pitch-black woods. It was like a corn maze except we were in public campgrounds filled with unsuspecting campers and the duendes had zero inhibitions about touching us. When I patted a 12-year-old’s back as he was literally shaking with fear the chuckie-bride-monster encircling our group quickly slapped my hand and then sniffed me head to toe. 

9. This trip was important to my students.

Despite being terrorized the night before they left, 90% of the students cried as the bus pulled away from the duendes and many ran off the bus to hug them one last time. As previously described, the students spent most of their time with these physical education teachers in training and, as I suppose I already knew, caring and cool adults have a huge impact on students, even when they only share three days.

Crisis: Shivering for three nights without a sleeping bag.

Success: Three straight sun-filled days outside finally provided my skin with some sort of color. My friends in Adra frequently refer to me as “blanca nuclear” – nuclear white.

10. I love colloquial words and when Spanish words are also English words.

Key Spanish Words/Phrases: tupper (tupper ware), camping (camping), mosquito, (mosquito), tienda (literally “store” but also “tent”), pilla-pilla (“tag”, the game), pringado (“doormat” or “sucker” - the teachers told lots of inappropriate jokes on the trip and this is the only new word I learned suitable to translate).

Snapshots from La Feria de Abril, continued…

Beautiful. 

 

The beginning of the end…or is it? Plus: ¡La Feria 2012!

Today is May 3^rd. Right now I’m sitting in the café across the street from my school in San José, a café that’s grown to be nearly as familiar to me as the halls of my colegio itself. Looking at a calendar, I just realized that May 3^rd marks the official seven-month anniversary of my first day of work back in October. Seven months. It seems like so much has happened since I first stepped foot off the bus here, and at the same time I can’t believe I only have sixteen official work days left. I know it's too often said, but time really does fly.

Because I was lucky enough to be placed in a school with a really positive environment and to be living in Sevilla, I decided back in January that I wanted to apply through the government to work in the same school again for another year. Simply put, it’s an opportunity to live here, improve my Spanish, and gain more experience teaching that I just don't want to give up. To date though, I still haven’t heard back from the government with any information regarding the 2012 – 2013 academic year; I’m told I’ll hear any day now. Unfortunately, this puts me in the tough position of counting as my workdays dwindle without actually knowing whether I’ll be back next year to see all of the familiar faces in San José or the amazing city that is Sevilla. I’ve listed a few, but there are so many more reasons I want to repeat this experience that if I were to relate them all it would make for too tedious and rambling a post. For now, I’ll focus on the most recent and one of the most memorable experiences of this year that definitely solidified my desire to remain in Sevilla for another year: ¡La Feria de Abril!

Last week, La Feria de Abril took place just a walk away from my apartment in the city. To define what exactly makes this event so special is pretty difficult. The week-long fair was originally started in the 19^th century and has become one of Sevilla’s most treasured and culturally significant celebrations, showcasing numerous Spanish traditions such as attending bullfights, horseback riding, riding horse-drawn carriages, dancing sevillanas, wearing flamenco dresses, dining on tapas, drinking “manzanilla” and “rebujito,” etc. The fair takes place in a huge open space near the barrio called Los Remedios, on the opposite side of the Guadalquivir River as Sevilla’s centro. After entering the fairgrounds through an immense, illuminated gate called the “portada,” sevillanos and tourists alike are able to see street after street lined with tents called “casetas,” each filled with families, friends, and groups of coworkers participating in the festivities. From the prospective of an outsider, this is the greatest showcase of all that is Spanish that one could ever ask for. And the rides! Dozens of rides that would make the most adventurous roller coaster enthusiast squeal are located in the fairgrounds as well.

In short, it’s a party not to be missed, as many Sevilla natives will tell you.

As for me, my personal experience attending the festivities spanned four days and was unforgettable due entirely to the generosity of the families and friends I’ve gotten to know through my position here this year. Throughout the week, I would ride the bus home from school and almost immediately head over to the fairgrounds to celebrate with the families of the students I tutor, the friends I’ve met through time spent as “intercambios,” and coworkers. Some of the most memorable moments of the week included:

• Eating homemade tortilla de patatas in a caseta with my seven year-old tutee Diego and his sisters Mercedes and Martina (all of whom were dressed in their very best traditional attire)
• Watching dozens of girls in flamenco dresses and young boys in fine suits spin endlessly on the most menacing and shriek-inspiring “atracción” I’ve ever seen
• Watching for hours as elegant men and women rode by on horses, with glasses of manzanilla in hand and passengers riding sidesaddle behind them (okay, this might not have been the safest activity ever)
• Attending a concert in one of the larger casetas with its own live band headed by one very energetic sevillanas and pop singer (trust me: he really wanted to channel his inner Lady Gaga…) 
• And finally, dancing sevillanas with my bilingual coordinator María (an entertaining sight for anyone near us, I'm assuming)

By the end of last week, I was completely exhausted and can only imagine how exhausted my coworkers were too. Going to Feria on a daily basis while simultaneously working normal hours was definitely a difficult task, but difficult in a good way without a doubt. I’ll miss the fair now that it’s over, and at this point I can only keep my fingers crossed as I wait to hear from the government about a repeat placement next year. When I do hear, I can hopefully begin looking forward to La Feria 2013 starting immediately. 

*Note: please see the next post for more Feria photos!

 

 

 

What's a girl like you doing in a place like Adra?

A few months ago on a taxi drive from the airport to the bus station, the driver asked me where I was headed. “Adra,” I replied. “Como? Que es una chica como tu haciendo en un ciudad como Adra?” Translation: What’s a girl like you doing in a city like that?

That’s a good question and one I get from most people when I tell them I’m living in Adra. So, to resolve the burning curiosity of all about what life is like for an American in Adra, Spain I give you the highlights from an average day:

9:09 Pass the cat colony. See Coco, a dog, who is seemingly convinced she is a cat. She only socializes with cats and does not like stepping beyond the five-foot radius of the auto mechanic shop – the place I perceive to be her home, but perhaps she has merely convinced herself of that as well.

Coco on the far left.

9:13 Arrive at school. Wait five minutes to be buzzed in through the school gate. Wonder why this happens every day and why there has to be a gate. Be late for class.

10:01 Play a conversation game where students must interview each other about the “egg of their dreams” (Easter lesson) to draw a monster-like egg with an abundance of eyes, legs, noses and mouths. Watch one student draw a egg with shapely legs and high-heeled shoes. Ask where that egg is supposed to be. Student answers, “strip club.”

10:19 Write next month’s lesson plans in English department office and watch week’s Glee music videos with fellow teachers. Mutually wish Blaine was real and in our office.

 

10:22 Health teacher walks into office. Points to a sentence on a piece of paper: Testes hang from ballsack. Asks “Hang. Is it correct?”

Recently a friend who works at the local bar told me “I live in a parallel universe. A parallel universe called Café Blacky.” I often feel the same way about Adra. This photo is from a recent traveling carnival that appeared in front of our school twice in a month.

11:36 See one of the students I privately tutor. Tell her I’ll be joining her and her class for their P.E. camping trip in May. Watch a smile come across her face as she jumps for joy and claps her hands.

1:04 Head to the local cafeteria for coffee and jamon serrano toastada while I write postcards to friends and family back home. Interrupted by teacher who asks me to remind him how to do the “loser, loser, double loser, get the picture, duh” hand motions. See pigeons walk into cafeteria. Remember pigeon attack dream from last night. Feel terrified.

Not a totally average day as this was from the local parade for the patron saint of Adra last Wednesday, but it’s not the first time a herd of animals has caused a traffic jam.

1:40 Go get greek yogurt, Coke Zero and tinto de verano at local grocery store. Rapidly bag my goods as line of four impatiently wait behind me. Curse Spanish bags for being so staticy and refusing to open.

2:19-5:00 Take a typical Ellie, not typical Spaniard, siesta. The other week I took a six-hour nap and told my Spanish friend about it. He replied “I took a six hour nap once – it was called sleep.”

5:02 Have private lessons with the two cutest and most rambunctious children in all of Adra. Play bingo, bananagrams and do crosswords. Watch them turn every activity into a cold-blooded competition.

7:46 Go for a run. Do lunges, squats and push-ups on the boardwalk. Confuse and mystify the people of Adra.

8:22 Put feet in Mediterranean. See baby and puppy playing in sand. Feel heart melt.

9:30 Meet Spanish friends for tapas. Learn an abundance of new words on bar napkins.

Usually these napkin lessons are to teach me Spanish, but occasionally I return the favor. Napkin lessons have become my absolute favorite thing.

11:35 Go to only bar in Adra – Café Blacky (in reality there is more than one, but this is the one where you are most likely to find people). Listen to American pop music. Watch friends make fun of my dance moves.

Despite being one of their best customers, I don’t usually get a cake and candles when I go to Café Blacky, but last Monday was my birthday and I did.

2:15 Come home. Check world clock to see if anyone from back home is off work yet. Victory. Talk until I fall asleep.

Success: A student stayed after class and told me, “Your class is funny. This is the best class in the high school. I love your class.”

Crisis: During the next week’s lesson, a boy gave me the finger.

Key Spanish words/phrases from the napkin lessons: me da igal (“I don’t care”), por la menos (“at least”), hay de todo (“there is everything”), abeja (“bumble bee”), oveja (“sheep”), cordero (“lamb”), ternera (“beef”), mente (“mind”), alma (“soul”), sin embargo (“however”), lo que sea (“whatever”), donde sea (“wherever”), como sea (“however”), me hace reír (“makes me laugh”), envidia (“envy”), malvado (“evil”), silbato (“whistle”), chocar (“crash”), mantenido (“trophy wife”), trago (“sip”/“gulp”), estrangular (“strangle”), flequillo (“bangs”), carabina (“third wheel”), creyente (“believer”), pastelazo (“sappy”), relación a distancia (“long distance relationship”), mote (“nickname”), cosquillas (“tickle”), enganar/ ser infiel (“cheat”).

Looking back, this is an interesting reflection of the things my friends and I talk about.

Semana Santa Part II: La exposición del colegio

After dedicating last week’s post to depicting Semana Santa “in pictures and words,” I realize I completely forgot to upload the most important images of all as related to the overlap between Sevilla’s celebrations and my experience as an auxiliar. Below are the photographs that I actually snapped at my school in San José while I helped the religion teachers decorate the school lobby. The teachers spent over a week putting up these Semana Santa decorations; you can see the artwork, crafts, snacks, and even the students dressed up as part of the “exposición” they constructed. It’s a good thing I remembered to keep my camera on hand all week…

Of course, it’s noteworthy that from the perspective of an American extranjera, the first time I saw these religious decorations I was surprised that in a public school they were so extensive. Back in December I had reacted the same way. Unlike at the public primary school I attended in New York, here in Sevilla I’ve noticed it’s common practice for Catholic holidays to be discussed and celebrated at school. Religion class is offered to all students, though they have the option of opting out if they or their parents decide they want to do so. Because of this, it’s generally accepted that a school like mine might set up an Exposición de Semana Santa in the school’s main lobby for a week.

And as you can see, we’re not just talking about a few drawings here...

The students and teachers worked hard to put together this exposition and the result was definitely a festive environment that I loved. I mean how could I not? All throughout the week leading up to Semana Santa, I could pop into the lobby to look around at the decorations, smell the burning incense, and snack on one…or two…or five (shh!) of the torrijas being given out to anyone who wanted to try. As I quickly learned, a torrija is a french-toast-like traditional Holy Week treat that’s saturated with honey. AND IT’S DELICIOUS. Thus with all this excitement, our school lobby was filled with parents, teachers, and students all week. In general, the exposition definitely increased the anticipation for Semana Santa. So take a look below to see how it went!