SI SUEÑAS, LOTERÍAS.

Do you feel the new waves of energy already?? The people who won Spain's Lotería Nacional de Navidad or National Christmas Lottery do. Yesterday the drawing of the top prize called El Gordo, or the Fat one (worth € 720 million distributed among 180 winning tickets which are worth € 4 million each; its kind of complicated so you can read more about it here) was heard all over the radio and broadcasted all over television. And images of utter jubilation of the people who won the top five prizes was inescapable; dreams have come true for these people and during these mad times their joy is, I can only imagine, overwhelming. The winners were announced yesterday during the annual Christmas drawing where children draw the numbers and then sing them out loud. Its part of a tradition that has continued since 1763! My interest has been focused primarily on the advertising for it. There are posters in every metro station using the slogan Si sueñas, loterías, roughly translated as if you dream, then you lottery. Below is a video that was played on television and almost everytime I went to the movie theater this season. Its epic and could be a trailer for the Spanish version of A Miracle on 34th Street crossed with Harry Potter. Even the music is awesome. I guess it reflects how big the lottery is here. What do you think???

Thoughts On The End of the World and Other things.

I saw The Hobbit this past Friday night with some friends and it was pure awesome -not as dark or serious as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but light-hearted, and with wittier dialogue. Anywho, after leaving Teatro Ideal I walked down calle Carretas and along all the walls on both sides of the street were posters with the website address noeselfindelmundo.com So, when I got home I decided to see what all the fuss was about. Sure enough, its a Madrid-based blog trying to dispell the myth that the world ends this Friday. The blogger is called Mr. Currice and he is histerical!!

Check it out!

http://www.noeselfindelmundo.com/

Now, according to literature, articles, and people whom I've talked to over the past couple of years, the Mayans believe that we are going to enter a new era, a new cycle were human beings will be more receptive to the harmonic waves of nature, the cosmos, and human-interconnectedness (that to me is a nice thought). I also remember reading about how the lead up to December 21, 2012 would be plagued with natural disasters and catastrophic events brought about by man's disrespect towards himself and mother earth. And if you think about it, many of these things have happened. These supposedly are warning signs for us to become more receptive to harmonic waves.

Regardless of what you think, the idea of entering into a new cycle is the positive reinforcement that we need during these mad times. After all, we ARE living a global economic crisis, and to a lesser extent, an environmental crisis (that could accelerate). We could use a dose of this positive medicine regardless if we believe in the Mayan prophecy or not. The fact is we are living in a more inter-connected world and we need to use that to our advantage (is this what the Mayans were talking about??!!)

During my venture into the Mayan prophecy, I came across a fascinating figure: Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. His ideas about the noosphere are overwhelming, but mind-blowing. You can read up on him more by clicking on the link. I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes by him (perhaps not entirely related, but its great advice anyway) which talks about this hectic, fast-paced, and anxiety-inducing world that we live in and why we have nothing to worry about, especially this friday (here me out, quarter-life-crisis sufferers!).

Above all, trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages. We are impatient of being on the way to something unknown, something new. Yet it is the law of all progress that it made by passing through some stages of instability and that may take a long time. And so I think it is with you. Your ideas mature gradually. Let them grow. Let them shape themselves with undue haste. Do not try to force them on as though you could be today what time -that is to say, grace- and circumstances acting on your own goodwill will make you tomorrow.

-Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

La Lechera y Otras Cosas

I called home the day before Thanksgiving and my sister picked up. We caught up a little on life before she told me to hold on a second 'cause she had to do something. In the background I heard my Mom telling my brother, Alex, a story about a woman going to the market to buy milk. The story sounded eerily familiar. Then I remembered why. It was the same story that one of my colleagues had told me a few weeks earlier! When Tracee came back, I told her that I knew exactly what story Mom was telling Alex. Talk about a coincidence! And what's more, this proved that at one point the story had crossed the pond.

So, I will tell you a modified version: There once was a Milk maid walking to market in a city to sell her pot of milk. While wandering downhill, she daydreams about how she could sell the milk and buy a chicken, which then could lay lots of eggs, produce more chickens and sell more eggs to buy her own cow, pig, goat, etc. As she concentrates on her dream, she slips on a rock along the trail and spills her milk.

What's the moral of the story? Well, I guess, the moral is to be realistic, to pay attention to the here and now first, don't get caught up in dreaming. That has truth to it, but at the same time it discourages dreaming big. I like dreaming big. I wouldn't be in Spain if I hadn't dreamt it first. But I was also focused. Hasta luego.

"Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die

Life is a broken-winged bird, that cannot fly"-

-Langston Hughes

Puente y Gente

Again, its been a while since my last entry. I can't help it. Life gets in the way. Anyway, we had a long four day weekend (in Spanish this is called a puente, or bridge) this past weekend because of el Día de la Constitutión, or Constitution Day. That's self-explanatory. Anywho, its tradition to have public readings of the constitution all over Spain and I ran into one on calle Arenal (which connects Ópera and Sol) with my friend Catherine. Of course we were too busy to stop and listen to the dry and didactic verbage (that doesnt mean I dont consider it unimportant) and I was also feeling claustrophic because of the multidudes of people so we kept on moving towards Lavapiés. Sol is always overflowing with people during puentes.

We had just come from a Thai Restaurant where we had spent all afternoon eating and talking. Thats a very Spanish thing to do. And another very Spanish thing to do is to stand outside the entrance to the restaurant for at least 10 minutes in the freezing cold weather, deciding what you want to do next!! Its happened several times already so I have come to the conclusion that its a very Spanish thing to do.

Anywho, I ran into one of my students who was there with her family. After exchanging introductions, I made small talk and asked if they were here shopping as well. ¡Que va! ¿Con este crisis? I should have known better. The attitude all around town has been and is about pinching pennies. People go to Sol or Gran Vía not really to shop but to go window-shopping, or just pasear. I love the word, pasear. There really isn't a word in English that captures the essence of it. Hicimos un paseo. I might translate it as we went for a walk....close enough. Its one of my favorite things to do in Madrid.

The AAA Tour: Ávila, Alcalá, y Aranjuez

Its been a while since my last entry, so I think this time I´m going to talk about the three cities that I have visited in the past two months: Ávila, Alcalá de Henares, & Aranjuez. Oddly enough, they all start with the letter A and they are all less than an hour away from Madrid which is why in my opinion they make for perfect day-trips. They are also jam-packed with history. Two of them lay claim to giants of Spanish history: Alcalá de Henares is where Cervantes was born and Ávila is where the great Spanish mystic, St. Teresa of Ávila was born and where her hugely influential writings on prayer and The Divine came to fruition. Aranjuez's contribution, on the other hand, was musical as it served as the inspiration for Spanish composer Joaquin Rodrigo's most famous work, Concierto de Aranjuez, a composition for classical guitar and orchestra.

Out of all three cities, Ávila was probably the most monumental. Its no wonder because the old town is surrounded by the best preserved medieval walls in all of Europe, so you feel instantly transported to the Middle Ages. However, apart from visiting the St. Teresa of Ávila museum and eating lemon cakes, there wasn't that much to do. If you are looking for a nice quiet getaway from the busy capital then Ávila is your choice.

Alcalá, on the other hand, was bustling. Okay, I went to Alcalá with a group of other auxiliares during the Cervantes festival, but I feel it would still be a lively place even at other times because of the university and its reputation for superb tapas. Anyway, as we went during the Cervantes festival, Alcalá was a feast for the eyes. Renaissance booths lined the main streets and squares selling anything you could think of from home-made soap to teas for any type of ailment known to mankind to octopus dishes. People dressed up in renaissance clothing paraded around. Figurines of Cervantes and Sancho Panza of course abounded. Outdoor plays were performed. Cañas y tapas were plentiful.

Despite all of the above, it was a play I saw in Alcalá that impressed me the most. It was part of a series of plays called quijotadas which roughly translates as quixotians, obviously referencing Don Quixote de La Mancha. Yet, what made the play I saw particularly impactful was the fresh new perspective that was put on an old story. The theater troupe, Mirage Teatro, was made up of mostly African actors who related their stories of trying to conquer a new land (Spain) and the numerous obstacles along the way, in effect, mirroring Don Quixote's own adventure and reminding us that this work of literature is forever relevant and forever universal. The performance was so passionate and full of truth that I, along with the audience, laughed and cryed. I laughed during the parts that reflected the minutiae of everyday life and I cried during the last act when once of the actors vividly described his imprisionment and near subsequent deportation which was halted by the pilot who refused to transport someone against their will.

Now, Aranjuez is known for being one of the royal estates of the Spanish crown and since the 19th century it has been a popular spring residence for the royal family. Personally, I think the royals need to consider making it their autumn residence instead. The gardens next to the palace was a maze of trees with orange and yellow colored leaves dotted with marble sculptures. It was like a magic forest. Its no wonder Rodrigo found inspiration there. I mean the palace itself was beautiful and all, at least on the outside, but I was so consumed by the natural beauty of the gardens that I didn't care to go inside the palace (you also had to pay). Unfortunately (and I really mean it) I left my camera in Madrid that day, but I´m planning to go back soon to do some sketching with my art buddy, Sonia. I hope all the leaves will not have fallen by then. Hasta luego.

Verses and Voting

"Remember, remember the 5th of November, gunpowder treason and plot. I see no reason that the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot..."

That's a common rhyme heard today in England where it is Guy Fawkes day, a day to remember the failed plot to blow-up parliament and overthrow King James I of England in hopes of ending the intolerance against Catholics in the country. Interestingly, more people seem to remember the rhyme from the movie V for Vendetta instead. You know, now that I think about it, V´s alliterative introductory monologue upon meeting Evey would be a great way for my students to practice the /v/ sound which does not exist in Spanish.

Voilà! In view, a humble vaudevillian veteran, cast vicariously as both victim and villain by the vicissitudes of fate. This visage – no mere veneer of vanity – is a vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished. However, this valorous visitation of a bygone vexation stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin vanguarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition! The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one-day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honour to meet you and you may call me V.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACUpr5GvVsE

See what I mean? 

Anyhow, I excersized volition and voted absentee last week. Fortunately, North Carolina allows ballots to be scanned and emailed back because otherwise it probably would not have gotten back in time. Well, I guess we'll find out the results tomorrow. I´m sure the media will be voraciously vexing us with a vichyssoise of horse manure like a venue of vicious vultures. I just hope victory goes to the most virtuous one.

Hasta luego.

Protesters and Police Clash

Their is an uneasiness in the air again. On Tuesday protesters were out again protesting Spain´s austerity measures, but it wasn't the brawl bash that happened last time. In fact, its been a month since the notorious and notoriously down-played September 25th protests happened where Spaniards surrounded Parliament in order to make known their frustrations about the current economic situation and the ineptitude of politicians. Their frustrations where met with police brutality late in the night. Now, as I was newly arrived to Madrid, I hadn't really been aware that there had been protests scheduled for Sept. 25th. Someone had mentioned them in passing at choir practice that night. Still, I was unaware of the severity of the clash until I saw footage of it on the news the next day. Yet, even the main news oulet made it seem only like a tense confrontation. It wasn't until I saw more footage on a Dateline/Nightline/20/20-ish Spanish program when my whole body tensed up upon seeing the images. Of course, places like Syria have it tremendously worse off right now, but I guess the fact that I am living in the same city where this brutality occurred changed my reaction. Not to mention, several policemen had entered the Atocha metro station, which I frequent quite a bit, and opened fire in the inside of the station for no apparent reason other than to scare away protesters who were already leaving the area. And once inside, the police confused protesters with passengers. In the below video they blatantly harass civilians and break a journalist's camera. Talk about a disgusting abuse of power authority.

One interesting thing is how the NY Times got the number wrong on how many people had been hurt; 10 people arrested and 6 injured versus 26 arrested and 64 injured: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/26/world/europe/protests-continue-in-spain.html?ref=opinion&_r=0

Here is an article in Spanish with the accurate numbers and very detailed account of what happened: http://www.20minutos.es/noticia/1597579/0/25-S/directo/rodea-el-congreso/ 

Police in Atocha Metro Station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0QVqOIU7NEI&NR=1&feature=endscreen

More later.

In Spain, Again.

Life is good. It has also been a little bit on edge these days, but it is good. So far, I have been in Spain for three weeks and at work for two. I´m at the same instituto and I love it. Everybody was so happy to see me when I walked in there on October 1st. I felt like I was being inundated with hugs and kiss-the-air-next-to-your-cheeks kisses and words of welcome. One colleague in particular said of my clothes and slightly relapsed accent, "Noooo, after all that time we spent turning you Spanish, you´ve come back American!! Por favor, Charlie!!" The students were equally enthusiastic, especially the 1º ESO Students who I didn't have last year (their around 11 years old), so the over-all dynamic is going to be interesting this year because they have the attention span of a gold fish.
I started the first week of class with a powerpoint presentation of my Summer in North Carolina. There were many ooos and ahhhs, and eager questions concerning my family and American culture. Its amazing how visual supplements can change the vibe of an entire lesson, especially if they show insight into a teacher´s life outside of class. They always want to know that.
Another interesting lesson involved videos of Americans and Brits being interviewed about what they thought of each other. It was pretty hilarious and if your interested you can find the videos here: www.real-english.com The point was to get them to learn adjectives to describe people. In the end, I asked what they thought of themselves and they said among other things, fun-loving, lazy, and crazy at which point I didn´t know how to react. Then I told them what I thought about Spaniards and I said loud, eloquent, passionate, witty, realistic, quick-tempered, and very very blunt. They seemed to agree.

This year I have moved south to a neighborhood called Oporto. It is not as classy as my last neighborhood, but it has a lot more diversity. There are Spaniards, Latin Americans, Romanians, Gypsies, and Asians. There are a lot more convenience stores in this neighborhood called Alimentaciones, but Spaniards call them "Chinos" because all the owners are Asian. The supermarket chain Mercadona is right next door which has a greater variety of products at cheaper prices then their competitors, and literally underneath our apartment is a frutería which is a fruit and vegetable shop which sells them on the cheap. I suspect there it is a family business because I have never seen so many fruterías in the same neighborhood. Time to get healthy! Moreover, across the street from my apartment is an imposing Burger King which is, incredibly or not, the main landmark in my section of the neighborhood. Anywho, my new roomates are muy majos as well. One is from Seville, one is from the Canary Islands, and the other is from Ecuador. It should make for a very lively coexistence this year. Hasta luego.

Summer in NC

Boy, do I have a lot to say about my arrival to Madrid. If you've watched any kind of news lately, you'd know that trouble was a brewin' this past week. Unfortunately, you will just have to wait until my next entry. My first day of class is tomorrow and I am currently working on a powerpoint and Google is already pissing me off! Apparently I can't upload pictures onto the powerpoint presentation I´m working on unless I have already uploaded them to my google profile through blogger, picasa, or whatever. ARGGH. So, in the meantime here is an entry full of pictures from summer vacation in the states.

Te Dejo Madrid (por ahora)

Alas, I leave Madrid later this morning. Crazy how time flies. I´m posting the song "Te Dejo Madrid"
(I´m leaving you, Madrid) by Shakira because she can describe the feeling much more poetically than I can although its obvious that she´s not just talking about Madrid in the video, but whatever. ¡Madrid y mis amigos madrileños y amadrileñados, hasta la próxima!

-Charlie

The End of the Semester, Córdoba, and La Eurocopa

I officially finished classes last week, it was bittersweet. I said goodbye to all my students and most were eager to find out if I would be going back. Most likely I told them (I´m waiting on my confirmation letter to tell me if I am going to stay in the same school. To come to think of it, I don´t think I posted that I had been accepted for another year. Anyhow, I´m staying in la Comunidad de Madrid for another year!! Yay for me!!). Many wanted me to finally say something in Spanish, at least those who never caught me in the act. I only spoke to two classes in Spanish. The first one erupted in applause and the second one immediately began asking me what curse words I had learned, haha. Apparently to some students, I talk Spanish with a Mexican accent, go figure.

So, last friday I said my last goodbyes to those who had not showed up to the end-of-the-year dinner and picked up a letter of completion from the principal. That afternoon I boarded a bus to Córdoba with the choir. We had been invited to sing with our sister choir at the Festival Internacional de Música de Cine de Córdoba (The International Córdoba Film Music Festival). We had a blast. Córdoba was beautiful, and it ain´t everyday that you can say that you sung in said Festival at 2:00 AM in the morning in an open amphitheater (the whole festival was off schedule by a lot. Surprise?) 

We stayed there until Sunday afternoon and after visiting the Mezquita (it was absolutely mesmerizing) and eating salmorejo, a tomatoe pudding with eggs and jamon sprinkled on top, we left for Madrid. The bus ride there was one of the most fun times I´ve had so far in Spain. We sang songs and told jokes. Unfortunately, when we got to Madrid we had missed the first half of La Eurocopa final, but we made it in time for the second half at least. Seriously, with bookbags and luggages in hand we stormed the first not-totally-packed bar we came across. Spain played like a BEAST and completely SCHOOLED those franchutes (perdona que lo diga). Spain didn´t sleep that night nor the next because of the arrival of the Spanish national team. I went to see them at Cibeles plaza and It was like a sea of red; the energy, palpable. Everybody was a Spaniard that day. ¡Viva España y viva La Roja!

Hasta luego!

The Spanish Classroom Pt. 2

My second-year students (12-13 year olds) are rowdy, and with this recent heat wave, they have been rowdier. Personally, I don´t remember being inside such rowdy classrooms except for my Latin class in high school which was pretty bad. I remember feeling bad for the teacher because of the amount of back-talkers that she had to deal with on a daily basis. Now I think about it and wish that I had said something to all those ignoramuses, but when I was in high school being non-confrontational -rather, "fitting-in"- was usually at the top of every student´s priority list. Surprisingly, my experience here in Spain has been a little bit different.

First of all, I have never seen students talk back to teachers as much as I have seen here (again, to be fair, I am only refering to my second-year students and one of my fourth year classes, so fortunately it is the minority). And what´s even more shocking is the back-and-forth bickering between them and two colleagues that I have witnessed. Its not that I never saw this during middle school, but the decibel level that comes out of their mouths is surprising. This might have to do with the fact that Spaniards are naturally loud speakers. I hear them everyday in the teacher´s lounge, bars, restaurants, supermarkets, etc. You might even think that two people were arguing with each other when they´re just having a conversation, so when they are actually arguing it is amazing. But what I find even more amazing are the times I have witnessed students talk down other students for disrupting the class and preventing others and particularly themselves from learning. I can count on my hand the amount of times that I have witnessed this in the U.S., but here it has happened quite a bit. When it happens I almost want to high-five or applaud the student for sticking up for me and my colleague. And the amusing thing is that the insult is usually piercingly eloquent. The other kid is usually so dumbfounded that he may answer back with a word or two but is shut down with a final coup de grâce. I´ll save the topic of insulting in Spanish for another day because it would just take too long here.

Arguably, one of the main causes of this rebelliousness is also one of the best aspects of Spanish teachers in my opinion: approachableness. If teachers in America are distant (I´m talking about grade school, remember) then teachers in Spain are approachable and close. I wish my teachers had been as approachable when I was in high school. In fact, I found many to be intimidating back then. Maybe it had to do with the fact that I was shy, but here I feel that even the shy ones are not afraid to talk to their teachers about anything. Unfortunately, the trouble-makers look at this quality and see it as an opportunity to walk all over you. It´s a shame because if they used it to their advantage they would actually pass the class. But, the root of the problem it seems is out of the teacher´s control: home. I remember hearing a colleague talk about how she sent a note with a student so that the parents could know about the child´s recent outburst in class. According to the student, the parents had laughed when they read it. "Oh, well now I know where the problem is coming from, " she answered back. I hear scenarios like this all the time among my colleagues. Apparently, parents are no long on the teacher´s side anymore. 

Anyway, I realize in the education world this is an issue that never ends, but the best we can do at this level is what a fellow auxiliar told me: "be friendly, not their friend". That sounds like good advice.

Hasta luego.

La vida sin música es un error

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions and experiences. I feel that I have been busier than normal at work, and the fact that I now have three private lessons a week (one of them being quite demanding) probably adds to this feeling of hussle-and-bussle during the week. Its better to be busy than have nothing to do at least. However, every now and then I like to take it easy and unwind a little bit. Music helps me do that. 

Ever since January I have been singing with the Complutense University Choir (Coro de La Universidad Complutense) every tuesday (surprise!)....... it has been a great way to recharge my batteries after a hectic week, or weekend. The practices have been a little rough lately but thats because we have been practicing for our major concert tomorrow. Its going to be awesome. First of all, let me say that what I like about this choir is that its like no other choir that I have been a part of before. We are a singing version of the United Nations; the first time in the choir´s existence according to the diretcor.  There are three Americans including me, two Germans, two Venezuelans, two Brits, one Pole, and one Icelander. The rest, of course, are Spaniards. And we are singing severals songs from each country, and in their respective languages! No lie. If you think Spanish is a hard language, try Polish. I didn´t even know that many consonants could fit in one word!! Icelandic, which I had always assumed to be an ugly language is actually one of the most beautiful-sounding languages I have ever heard. Fortunately, German comes to me somewhat easily because I had studied it briefly at UNCW and during my time with the UNCW Chamber Singers we would often sing in German. My favorite song is Afton Water, a Scottish folksong that sounds like a cross between Ralph Vaugh Williams and Simon and Garfunkel. Speaking about them, we are also singing Scarborough Fair. From America, interestingly enough, we are singing the classic and perhaps over-sung folksong Shenandoah, and the African-American spiritual I Want Jesus. I´ve been helping them with pronunciation although many sing English quite well. Singing tends to hide accents anyway.

Another thing I love about the group is that its a mix of all ages and walks of life. Students, teachers, professors, airline employees, metro maintenance workers, and the unemployed are among those who make up the group. Its given me a chance to meet and interact with Madrileños away from work and in another setting. Also, since many university students are among the members I´ve gotten to hear stories about university life here.

ñññ

-Switching gears a little bit, but still related, about two weeks ago I went to Granada again. I just can´t seem to get away from that city. The reason this time was mostly to do some reflecting about someone I cared about in the UNCW community who passed away on May 17th: Father Al Dash. I did some praying while I was there for his family and friends and the UNCW Catholic Campus Ministry together with my friend Erika who I mentioned in the last post. 

I was giving an English lesson that Thursday when Erika called me and I felt inclined to answer. Then I found out that Father Al had passed away. I was in shock because even though I knew that he had been ill and in and out of the hospital for sometime it never registered with me that he would go so soon. Instinct and impulse told me to take a bus to Granada the next day and after talking with Erika about it I did. I wanted to be with someone that had known him, and perhaps us talking about him might help us deal with his passing. Now that I think about this, it reminds me of that bible verse: Matthew 18:20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them. 

To be honest, I feel like I never knew him well -that everyone else knew him better than I did. But at the same time I feel like I did know him. He did many things for us at the CCM that didn´t require talking much. He invited us to break bread with him at mass and at community nights. And I was always amazed by how he would get up so early just to make breakfast for us whiny college students on Tuesday mornings. When I did hear him talk it was usually during mass when he would give really thought-provoking sermons about faith while addressing important current events concerning racial prejudice, immigration, environmentalism, etc. They were always more interesting than the sermons I heard at local Catholic churches and they were always delivered eloquently and with a sense of urgency; I loved that. Now, his musical taste was no doubt something to reckon with. Before mass he would always come and talk with the choir and comment on what song needed to be thrown out or left in. The Lord of the Dance was one of his favorites I remember. 

Maybe he was there in Granada with us? Who knows. While we were eating lunch a flamenco band started to play in the square right next to us. The music was captivating as flamenco usually is, but the scene became incredibly intense when all of a sudden one of the waiters, unable to hold out any longer, joined the band and start singing lead with a tray still in his hands. He had a harsh, vibrating voice that was filled with so much passion and emotion that it was overwhelming. And as I wasn´t seated close by, I only caught bits and pieces of what he was singing about, but it was without a doubt about the joys and sorrows of life. 

R.I.P. Father Al

Hasta luego.

The Alhambra

During the second weekend of April I went to visit Erika in Granada. It´s a city of abounding sights and smells with the Alhambra as its crowning achievement. My words don´t really do justice to the majesty of it so here are some pictures that I took. Enjoy!

This is a view of the Alhambra from a popular look-out in the old neighborhood of Albaicín. The view would have been even more spectacular if there had been no clouds covering the breathtaking Sierra Nevada mountains behind it.

Processiones in Valladolidad & Madrid

¡Hola a todos! I know its been a while, but life in Spain is insane, haha. Anyway, I went to the city of Valladolidad during Holy week, the city where Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand were married in 1469, and where Cervantes began writing Don Quixote. It was a picturesque city, but smaller than Madrid and seemed to lack its vitality. I went with the intention of seeing the Holy Thursday and Good Friday processions, but because of the rain, only one procession came out, so I left early for Madrid. There I saw several intense processions with some very gaudy images. At times it felt wierd to see cloaked figures with pointed hats even though I knew that they were good guys. With that said, let it be clear that they are NOT the KKK! They are catholic brotherhoods which organize the processions. Anyway, I hope you had a Happy Easter! ¡Hasta luego!

Back in Madrid:

v

Semana Santa

Semana Santa means holy week in Spanish and it refers to the week-long processions and masses which commemorate the biblical events of the Last Supper and the Passion and death of Jesus Christ, ultimately culminating in the celebration of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ on Easter Sunday. Over the centuries, it has become an inseparable part of Spanish culture. And even for those who don´t consider themselves Christian, witnessing the passion of the people and the intense imagery of these processions can be quite impressive as one friend confessed.

All schools and universities have closed the friday before holy week, and until now many businesses have closed as well. Holy week began with Palm Sunday and I went to St. Isidore´s in the La Latina neighborhood. The palms were huge! Anyway, I´m planning on going to Valladolid on Thursday which has some of the most important holy week processions in Spain. Hasta luego!

The Spanish Classroom Pt. 1

I´ve been meaning to write about my observations at my school and education in general for a while now, so here I go. It´s been a very interesting few months here at the school to say the least. My experience with the students has been, in general, a good one. I hate to gloat, but sometimes I feel like a celebrity walking the hallways of my school when students shout, ¨Hello  Charlie!¨ with their cute accents. It was amusing at first, but now it kind of gets on my nerves. Can you say anything else besides "hello"?! I usually responded with a hello back, but now I´ve changed it up with hi, how´s it goin´, or what´s up? And some of them are finally changing it up too.

The thing is I am the first auxiliar that this school has ever had, so this is the first time that some of the students have been exposed to a real live American. Maybe thats why they are soooo enthused by my presence. I just wish that they would be as enthusiastic about learning English. Typical scenario: I enter a classroom and suddenly their is a wave of excitement that soon dies down after they open their books. Well, part of the reason is that Spanish students are incredibly timid when it comes to speaking out loud in a foreign language. A colleague told me that they´re so timid, in fact, that they´d prefer to get a zero on participation then say anything at all. Another reason, which I discovered during one of my mid-morning conversations with colleagues, is that less emphasis on conversation has to do with the way foreign languages have been taught in Spain for decades. Apparently, Spaniards have been drilled on reading and writing in English or French for years, but when it comes to practicing the language verbally there has hardly been any support. "We Spaniards are horrible at learning other languages; only the English are worse,"another colleague told me. He said that even the French can claim more linguistic savviness. So, several years ago the Spanish Ministry of Education got a clue about the embarrassing language situation in Spain and put together the program that I am now a part of.

In all seriousness, I feel that many students have made progress so far in terms of increase in vocabulary and responding to my questions with more complex sentences or phrases. Pronunciation has improved among them too. They are also less timid than before. Part of it is that they have warmed up to my presence and the other part, I like to think, is because of dialogues that we have read aloud in class which I prepare at home. Some of them still read like robots unfortuantely. I keep telling them to be natural, that intonation is important, but it goes out the other ear.

Motivation is also a key factor and the ones that are more motivated have improved the most. Interestingly, that motivation seems to vary according to class too. Apparently, at each grade level there is a specific class called diversificación which is made up of students who didn´t pass their final exams from the previous year, but who were allowed to advance because you only have to pass x number of classes to pass the entire grade. They tend to be the least motivated in English. Anyways, even after they explained it to me its still kind of fuzzy.

To continue, the way school years are divided up here are way different from the United States. First of all, a high school here in Spain is known as la ESO or Escuela Secundaria Obligatoria (Obligatory Secundary Education), colloquially known as el instituto. It caters to students ages 12 to 16 who are placed into grades 1 through 4, and its main focus is to prepare them for bachillerato, baccalaureate, or vocational training which is for two years and usually taken at the same high school. The bachillerato is essentially two years of college prep. The students who are preparing themselves for college tend to be the ones who are serious and motivated about learning, so its no surprise that my favorite class is my 1st year Bachillerato class. They actually put emotion into their dialogues and seem to enjoy it at the same time.

On a different note, if you know Spanish then you can understand this saying: De marzo no te fíes que es traidor, tan pronto frío como calor. This has been so true. 

Hasta luego.

Las Fallas

Last weekend I was in Valencia enjoying las fallas, one of the biggest festivals that you can find in Spain. I had never seen so many people come out for a festival before! The entire city was out in the streets, and they wouldn´t go to sleep!!! The term fallas refers to both the festival and to the giant papier-maché monuments that are constructed with such detail and craftmenship that they leaves you awe-struck. And you know what they do to them at the end? They burn ´em!! Except for the first-place winner. Its a pity. Many other traditions abound such as fireworks DURING THE DAY and night, eating world-famous paella, throwing rockets, drinking horchata, a sweet, milky drink made from chufas (earth almonds) unlike the popular mexican horchata that is made with rice,  or drinking agua valenciana, which is really a coctel drink. I had a great time with my friends Marlene, Lukas, Tom, Eva, and Carl. Below are a few pictures!