So Many Updates--So Little Time!

Quite a bit of time has passed since I last posted! While I feel like nothing too exciting has happened, I wanted to update you all so you know what's been going on in my life!

First, my last post was about my crazy experience with teachers not showing up to school. I still never really got the full story, but I've gathered bits and pieces of information. According to several teachers, the education system is seriously messed up because every time there is a new politician in charge, he/she changes the laws regarding education. This causes a lot of chaos and uncertainty come election time. The 6th grade teacher, who has been teaching for just over 30 years, has told me multiple times that he is exhausted of teaching. We had a really good conversation the other day; he told me everything that he thought was wrong with the education system, everything he thought was good about the education system, and stories from his previous years of teaching. He said, "You must understand, Taylor, that you are young and I am old. You are fresh, motivated, and excited to teach. I was like that once, but years and years of changing laws has worn me out. I don't want to come across as grumpy and totally negative, and I don't want to discourage you from teaching. That isn't my goal. I just want to be honest with you." I really appreciated our talk. It gave me a good look into the Spanish education system from a teacher's point of view.

Speaking of the 6th grade teacher, I have been with 6th grade for the past week! Anyone who knows me knows that I am not fond of the age group that encompasses 5th and 6th grade, but I tried really hard to go into this last week with an open heart and open mind. A lot of the 6th graders here are beginning to understand the economic crisis and the fact that they are only required to attend school until they are 16. That makes it very difficult for a good number of them to focus and put effort into school. During the first couple days with them I watched in disbelief as the teacher passed back tests. A little over half of the class failed, and those who didn't fail just barely passed. Apparently, this is not uncommon. (How these kids manage to advance grades each year is beyond me.) OH--I suppose I should explain how the grading is done here. In my placement in the States, I was told that letter grades begin at 3rd grade. Here, letter grades pretty much don't exist. Everything is based roughly on a 10/15/20 point scale. The teacher grades the assignment/quiz/test/whatever, puts the number out of the total points at the top, and the writes one of the following next to it: SB (which basically means they overachieved), B (meaning they did well), SU (meaning sufficient, or barely passed), or I (insufficient--they failed). I suppose it's similar to the S++, S+, S, S- system that I've seen in kindergartens around the States. So--anyway--I started teaching. The unit I got stuck with was "The Population in Spain." (Needless to say, I've been doing a lot of research for this unit since I know nothing about the population of Spain haha) I've actually been really pleased with the response that I've received from the kids! There have definitely been moments where I wanted to pull my hair out or straight up scream at some kid because he gave me attitude, but overall, I'm happy with this week.

Today is my last day of teaching here! It's so crazy to think about the fact that I arrived here in March--completely overwhelmed and fairly convinced that this was going to be the longest couple months of my life. But it has gone so much faster and so much better than I expected. It also amazes me at how quickly I figured my way around Avila. It's incredible how quickly you can figure out where things are in a city when you have to walk everywhere you go. Granted--Avila is a super small town and I don't know how to get everywhere, but I know how to get to the most important places, and that's what matters! I'm going to miss this town. It might be small, and there might not be a lot to do, but sometimes that has been nice. Most of the people that I have met have been incredibly kind and welcoming, and I'm going to miss every one of them--from the teachers at my school to the Froyo lady who is always working when we get a craving (which, let's be honest, is at least every other day).

Tomorrow we leave for Dublin. I AM SO EXCITED TO GO TO IRELAND! I've secretly always wanted to go there, and I wasn't sure if it was going to happen while I was here. BUT IT IS AND I'M MORE THAN READY!! Lots of packing to do :)

Before I go, I'm going to post some photos since I haven't done that in awhile!

Mother's Day sign in Madrid (by the way: Mother's Day is a week earlier in Spain!)

A fountain in a plaza in Madrid

Our school was featured in the newspaper--and they chose a picture with me in it!

The 5th and 6th graders visited the Avila newspaper/TV station-they loved it!

Craziness...

Sooo..interesting story.

 

Today, I get to school around 8:45, like I usually do, and as its getting closer and closer to 9, I realized that none of the teachers in my building were there yet. I went down to see if they were waiting by the door (like they sometimes are). Nope, no one there. But...all the kids are there, lined up, waiting to be let in. So, not knowing what to do, I let them in. Then I realize the worst thing I could have realized: all of the classrooms were locked and I dont have keys. So I'm standing in the hallway with the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes--you can image how crazy it was. 

 

Finally the headmistress came up and started to open classes, and she told me that only one of the 6th grade teachers and one of the 4th grade teachers were going to be there today. That meant that the teacher I'm working with, the 4th grade English teacher, and the other 6th grade teacher were not coming. Turns out that pretty much only 1 teacher from each grade showed up today. There's some kind of protest going on tonight because of some kind of legislation that just was passed about public schools here..I'm trying to look more into it but I haven't figured out exactly what it is yet. Apparently there was something else going on today related to it, and they just let the teachers not show up! At this school, there isn't really such thing as a substitute teacher, so the headmaster just decided that I could have the 5th grade class. All day. By myself. While this was huge because it shows that they trust me enough to do this, I was still scared to death. 

 

To make things worse, the 5th grade classroom was locked and there were no spare keys anywhere.  It was finally decided that we would use the 6th grade classroom. One problem, though: the kids didn't have their books since the class is locked. Oh, only one problem? No, here's another one: I had nothing planned because the teacher I'm working with told me that today would be her day to teach. Whats more, yesterday I wasn't at school because of a service learning project that we had to do--I had called my teacher to tell her about it and she said not to worry that it would be okay. She said nothing about not being here today and she didn't contact me this morning or last night either. It REALLY would have helped to know that I was going to be alone all day!

 

 Anyways...I finally had the kids sitting down and we were reviewing some of their science (thankfully they had their science books in their backpacks) because apparently they have an exam tomorrow (also news to me). Suddenly, the headmistress comes in and says, "What are you doing?!" So, I explain to her that we're reviewing because the students were told that they have a test tomorrow. She said, "Oh, well, good...good. After this, just let them rest for the remainder of the day, since there are a lot of kids missing today." I looked at my watch, and it was only 10 am. 10 AM. I smiled and said okay, but in my head I was like ITS ONLY 10 AM--WHAT AM I GOING TO DO FOR THE REST OF THE DAY WITH THEM!!?? I knew there was no way I could just let them sit around all day. I might be a new teacher, but I know better than that! So, we played some games and talked in English for a bit. Thankfully the gym teacher showed up and he took them for an hour. When it was finally  break, I Googled ESL games and found a bunch--they get back to class, we start playing, and then the headmistress comes in again and just takes them. Literally just tells them to line up and then leaves with them. I still have no idea where they went. They showed back up about 5 minutes before it was time to leave. 

 

Needless to say, it's been an interesting day. I never know what I will encounter each day here--what will tomorrow bring? I'll find out!

It was inevitable...

It was bound to happen. I knew that at some point on my European adventure, I would get sick. I've been very lucky thus far. I've been sick as a result of food twice, but nothing that ruined my life. But now I am developing a cold. And anyone who knows me well enough knows that I don't just get colds--I get a cold, which develops into a sinus infection, which lasts for way too long, and occasionally turns into an ear infection. (Or a double ear infection if I'm really lucky.) The great part (hint: this is sarcasm) is that the pharmacies here have even weirder hours than the other stores. So..we'll see if I'll be able to get medicine, or if I'll have to let my body battle this one out.

Okay-enough complaining right? Despite feeling bad, on Wednesday, Leslie, Amy, and I traveled to Salamanca. The weather there was much, much nicer than Avila! It was still chilly, but we were more than relieved to see the sun and a blue sky. :) Because it was a fiesta (national holiday), not many stores were open, but we wandered around and looked at some pretty plazas and cathedrals. While we were looking at one of the cathedrals, an older man came up to us and began chatting with us. What started as a casual conversation became a 2 hour private tour of Salamanca! This man, Juan, had to have been close to 70ish. He lives in Salamanca, and he said that he was just out for a walk and to go eat lunch, but that he likes to walk past the Cathedral every now and then. He was so sweet; he took us around to all of the major historical sites of Salamanca, giving us the stories and history behind each one. He told jokes and laughed and was just so happy! At the end of the time, he called us his "new granddaughters." It is sad to think that I will never have the pleasure of chatting with him again, but it was such an awesome experience.  

Today, the five of us girls are going to Madrid. We attempted to get tickets to a Real Madrid game (soccer), but we didn't realize that if you aren't a citizen of Spain (or the European Union?), it is impossible to buy tickets. So, we decided to just go enjoy Madrid and maybe find a pub where we can have some beers and watch the game on TV. I'm sure there will be plenty of stories and pictures to come! 
Our time is wrapping us so quickly! Jamie will be the first to leave--her family is coming to travel with her in a couple weeks. Then, Amy will leave, and Ali is going to travel with her brother for awhile, so we won't see her very much longer. It is going to be weird to be here with everyone else leaving, but Leslie and I are super excited for our trip to Dublin and London!! 

I hope everything is well in the States--I'm thinking about all of you all the time!! <3