If I had to use one word to describe this past week if would have to be surreal. The events of this week, at times, made me feel as if I was in the Twilight Zone.  

I started my school week on Tuesday and on my way to school, a fellow teacher told me we would be without electricity. “And running water?” I asked. “Of course!” she reassured me. Fifteen minutes into the start of the school day, the power went out. After first period when I went to the bathroom (in the dark), I discovered there wasn’t any running water. The lack of these two commodities made for an interesting day.

On Wednesday, I went to the Parque de las Ciencias which is similar to the Museum of Science and Industry or Kohl’s Children’s Musuem in Chicago. My whole life I have despised science. It was my hardest class in school and I could hardly ever wrap my mind around the concepts. I went to the Parque de las Ciencias to meet a woman who works there and wants English classes. She gave me an abbreviated tour and I spent most of the time with my jaw on the floor. For the first time in my life, I was fascinated by science. I saw real organs from humans and other species and the most interesting was a whale's heart. Years ago, I would have cringed and run away, but now I just stand marvel. They also had an exhibit on puppets, which doesn't seem very scientific, but it was fascinating. I'll be giving the woman classes over the next few months in exchange for a 6 month pass to the museum. There's still so much left to explore: the butterfly garden, the friendly robot, the observatory, the look-out tower, plus all the permanent and seasonal exhibits. I'm so excited about this that I can hardly believe that I am the same person I was years ago. 

Thursday was a particularly difficult day at school. The whole education system in Spain, from the primary schools to the universities, went on strike. There is a new law that will require many cuts within the schools and clearly the teachers and students are not pleased. Students, as much as teachers, have the right to go on strike. On Thursday, a few teachers from my school were absent but there were even more students ‘on strike’. I imagine that most of them don’t know what they’re protesting and they just saw it as a day off. Well, I couldn’t teach my first class because there were just four students. The third class was also called off because it had only one student present. For the final class of the day, I was told to go ahead and teach the lesson although only five students were in attendance. Technically I am not supposed to be left alone with the students for liability reasons, but due to the lack of faculty, I was on my own, with five 13 year olds, teaching mathematics. It wasn’t easy but the students and I laughed as we both waited for the final bell to ring. In the end, I spent 5 hours at the school so I could teach 30 minutes of math. 

That night, Martina and I went for a drink near my house. We stood outside the bar just people watching and a couple stood on the other side of the door with their dog. One man, with a handlebar mustache and mutton chops, walked by, guitar in hand and began to serenade the dog. He got closer and closer, then got down at the dog's eye level and sang it a little song. We couldn't control our laughter.

Friday at school was nothing special. I filled in for an absent math teacher and accidentally assigned the wrong work. Nobody corrected me and all the students diligently copied down the assignment. Five minutes later, I looked at my schedule and I realized I had given them the other class's work, more advanced work, and we all laughed. I told them we'd start over entirely so I said "Hello! Good morning! How are you?" and proceeded with the correct lesson plan. 

Friday night we had a get-together at my house. My roommate Rafa had cleaned the cave and turned it into a nice sitting room. All the roommates invited a friend or two and we had snacks and drinks in the cave. Our landlord even joined the party at 1AM when he arrived home from Morocco. Rafa's girlfriend is a flamenco dancer and so is her brother. The two of them danced several numbers in the middle of our living room and I could not believe that there was a free flamenco show in my own house. It felt so Spanish! I thought about taking a picture/video but I couldn't be bothered to ruin the moment. 

Saturday evening I went out for tapas with a couple of friends. As the rest of the group planned to head out to the discotecas and bars, Martina and I planned our escape. We said our goodbyes and started heading down a busy street (even at 2AM) to return to our respective homes. Once again, we were approached by a random man. This guy was younger, drunker and accompanied by his girlfriend (I guess). He stopped us to ask if we liked his dancing and proceeded to act like drunk Elvis. We probably spoke with the couple for 15 minutes and at the end the girlfriend tried to convince us to come with them. Martina and I politely declined and scurried away. Either Granada is full of strange people or I just attract the few that reside here. 
On Sunday I was having a late lunch with friends at a restaurant. All of a sudden, a table of ten or so women next to us began to sing in harmony. I made my friends at the table stop talking so I could listen to them sing a song. In the end, it wasn't just A song... it was MULTIPLE songs. Then the old broads finished up their glasses of wine and beer and all took a shot of some dark looking liquor... at 3PM... on a Sunday. "Only in Spain..."
Today, my roommate Rafa and I took a day trip to the city of Malaga. We couldn't find parking and he had to pick someone up from the airport at a certain hour, so our time in the city was very limited. To be honest, we were probably there less than an hour. However, in that hour Rafa managed to find a mannequin in a dumpster. We already have mannequin legs in our window at home, dressed in blue jeans and tennis shoes, placed there to spook the tourists who have a tendency to peer into our home. Anyway, Rafa saw this mannequin and had to have it. So I followed behind him as he carried 'her' through the city and just watched the astonished looks on peoples' faces as they passed. 
After the airport pick-up, we made our way to the beach. We had a delicious paella for lunch and then a brief walk because once again we were pressed for time. I even swam in the sea despite its frigid cold temperature. I made the 6 o'clock bus home to Granada and now I'm preparing for tomorrow's classes. 
As it is the week of Halloween, I intend to wear my Halloween sweater (covered in candy corn, pumpkins and ghosts) for the next three days. School is out on Friday so I'm debating what to do with my extra long weekend. As always, it will fall into place. Until next time! 

As you know, I am working part-time at a bilingual school just outside of Granada. Things are going well there although my schedule is even more complicated now that a teacher is out on leave. In order to get enough hours a week, I've been tossed around like a hot potato and worked with a few new teachers this week. 
One English teacher I worked with asked me to conduct a lesson on chocolate. Delighted, I followed the textbook activity, but improvised quite a bit. I had to explain the word "spoonful" so that the students could understand how I consume Nutella on a daily basis. At the end of class they took a quiz that told them what level of chocoholic they are. They totaled their scores and I had the highest score of the whole class... Oops. 
The second English teacher that I worked with asked me to teach vocabulary and dialogue for ordering food in a restaurant. They've been learning British English so no one understood me when I said "Would you like fries with that?... French fries? ... No idea?? Oh, excuse me... chips." 
At the end of class the students had 5 minutes to ask questions. They were appalled at my ideal breakfast: eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, coffee & juice. For them that is a lot to stomach in the morning. Another student asked if I spoke Spanish. I said "Very little" and the teacher, who wasn't in on my plan to deceive the students and get them to speak only in English, said "That's not true! You speak great Spanish!" My cover was blown! All the students erupted in a collective "Ooooooh!" and I turned bright red. 
In addition to working at the school, I have taken on a few extra hours at a private academy. I had even less training for this position than I did for the first. I showed up 15 minutes before the lesson, was shown my room and then the first student arrived. 
The first class is a group of five 4 year old boys. They are darling but obviously have very limited English. We practice colors, body parts and animals. There is one boy who when asked "How are you?", nods and replies "Luis". There is another boy who pronounces the color red by rolling the 'r' at the beginning: "Rrrrrred!" I have those students for 90 minutes which is a long, long time for 4 year olds.
The second class is one-on-one with a teenage girl. She only comes once a week because the rest of the school days she has violin or basketball practice. I've noticed that Spanish parents often like to load their children down with lots of activities. I feel bad for those who don't even have time to be a kid. 
Finally, my third class is a group of six adults. They are all very good at English and very eager to learn. Before I went into the room, my boss told me that they are very picky, demanding and that they hated their last teacher so much that they wanted to walk out and get their money back. I was very freaked out, to say the least. Once we talked for 5 minutes, I realized that things would be okay. I think I am going to learn a lot from this group because they ask great questions that cause me to think. 
On top of the bilingual school and private academy, I have taken on one more lesson with a 5 year old named Carmen. She is a riot! I try to speak to her just in English but she makes the funniest face and says "¡¿QUÉ?!" and I end up translating. I showed her a world map to point out Spain, Africa and my parents' home. A while later she says, "So you're from Africa?" I laughed and told her no. "Well, it's just that, my parents said a girl was coming from Africa and that her name was Elefante." I could not fight back my laughter as I corrected her and said "I'm from America and my name is Ellie."
Later, I told Carmen I thought she was funny. With a confused look on her face she said, "Funny??" so I said "Ha! Ha! Ha!" "Funny??? Ha? Ha? Ha?" So I translated for her and she said "Oh! Well that's because, when I'm older, I want to be a clown." 

That's all, folks! 

Last week, my friend Martina and I were enjoying some ice cream on a park bench. When I looked up, I saw an old man coming towards me. I assumed he would ask for the time or a lighter. Instead, he looked me in the eye, reached out his hand and said "Hola, buenas tardes." (Hello, good afternoon). He repeated this twice and walked away. The old man didn't acknowledge Martina nor did he proceed to greet anyone else in the vicinity. He just shook my hand and walked away. I sat there a little bit befuddled, watched him weave through benches and people, and I just laughed.

A few days later, I was riding the bus back to my house while listening to music. An older man sat down in front of me and when I saw his lips moving, I took out my headphones to see what he was blabbering about. He gave me and the woman next to me a proper introduction by showing us his ID, shaking our hands and then kissing them. As he continued to chat, I noticed he was missing quite a few teeth. "Where I am from, I am very popular. And you two are very beautiful. So I bet that if you stick with me, you can be popular, too!" The lady beside me and I chuckled and thanked him. He said, "Well this is my stop." and got up. Well, it was not his stop just yet, so I listened to him greet all passengers near the doorway and start from the beginning.

Finally, the other day I was laying in my hammock outside of a park near my house. I noticed an old man on a bench and he had clearly noticed me. After an hour of baking in the sun while attempting to read, I took down my hammock and started to walk. The old man stood up and asked "Do you have the time?" "No," I replied "About 6:30, I'd say." And so, together we began to walk. "Where are you from? What do you do? When did you arrive? How long will you stay?"... The usual slew of questions. When he realized I had only been here a short while, he said "I am going to take you to a tower. Well, a castle. This way..." The man is an Italian who has lives in Granada for 20 years and is very knowledgable about the city and its history. He is also very animated when he talks so often times he would have to stop mid-sentence so he could fully explain himself and use a variety of gestures. Of the few Italians I know, I have noticed they talk a lot with their hands.

When we arrived to the castle, he said "Come here. You know, I work part time as a guide for Ellies who haven't been in Granada long." I followed him on to a ledge, worried that he was going to push me off, but he just pointed out a spectacular view and then we walked back down. He showed me a few churches in the distance and told me a number of stories. Then we said goodbye and went in opposite directions. 

I have been in Granada for about two weeks and the latter was the most difficult. Between a strong urge to be at home and issues in my apartment, I felt very unsettled. Last Saturday I started to look for a new apartment and committed to a room on Sunday. 
On Monday, I decided to go to the beach. The bus was to leave at 11 and after several minor delays, I missed that bus and had to wait for the next departure at 1PM. I walked around a very plain part of the city that I had never seen. I killed two hours drinking coffee, walking, and sitting on a park bench. The bus left the station a few minutes after 1 and arrived to the coastal town of Salobreña at 2. I walked 15 minutes from the bus stop to the shore of the Mediterranean Sea and found a quiet section of the beach where I spent afternoon. Two hours went by quickly as I listened to music, swam in the admittedly cold water and made towers of pebbles while collecting a few to bring home as souvenirs. 

Tuesday thru Friday I went to work at the school. They have finally given me my schedule and it's a bit of a doozy. That's to say, I don't think I'll ever memorize it. My coordinator had to make two separate schedules and I will have to alternate from week to week. Ideally, I would see every group of students in each of their subjects at least once a week for an hour. Unfortunately, some classes are cut in half so I can work with two groups of students in an hour's time. 
If you remember from an earlier blog, one group of students had to ask me a lot of questions and write an essay. I finally got to read them and they really crack me up. Here are a few gems from my biography written by :

• She's nickname is Ellie but her real name is Danielle.
  
• She doesn't like tomato and she hasn't got a boyfriend.
  
• She hates snow, the cold and tomatoes. / She heat the snow.
  
• Her hobits are run read writte.
  
• She likes coca-cola and water.
  
• She had very good marks at university.
  
• She has got two nephews. Nephews' ages are 15 and 10 years old. The nephew that is 15 years old, is a pilot. They live in Chio. / Alex is 15 years old. He can fly a plane and do skateboard. Ellie has got a niece too! her name is Taylor, and she is 10 years old.
  
• Her favourite place is Waderndo. / Her favourite place is Watermalz. / Her favourite place is Watemala. (They meant Guatemala)
  
• Her mother have an adwards.
  
• Her parents are separated and live in Virgen. (I did not say my parents were separated. I tried to explain the concept of a half-brother but I think some things got lost in translation)
  
• She loves pizza, paella, to swim in the ocean, her dog, brocoli, gourd and the beach. (By gourd, they mean zucchini)

Well, that was more than a few quotes, but they all made me laugh. I'll have to correct them later in the week and tell them that I don't have hobits, my parents aren't separated and I don't live in Virgen. 
This week I taught fractions, decimals, equations, planets & outerspace, muscles & joints, parts of a cell, and heterotrophic & autotrophic beings. I am going to learn more biology this year than I did as a student. 

So on Friday, I moved to a new apartment (well, it's more like a house) on the other side of town. Where I was previously living had a lot of noise from traffic, construction, and drunks. The new neighborhood is much more "tranquilo". The house is very spacious and well lit. It feels homey and I felt comfortable immediately. My roommates are a German girl who studies translation at the university and the other is a Spanish guy who is an artist and a writer. They are both very friendly and I enjoy their company. 
When it came time to move, most everyone who had offered to help me went off the grid for one legitimate reason or another. In the end, I carried all 8 bags (some suitcases, some small bags) to the elevator and got in a taxi which took me to the house which is up on a hill. The driver dropped me off around the corner from my house and in two trips I was able to get the bags to the door. I unpacked most everything on Friday, organized on Saturday and will work on decorating over the next few months. I sorely regret not bring any art or pictures. I'll have to print some pictures soon. 
Here's a picture of the sitting room in the new place:

Not only is it a great space, it's also in a great location. The view from just outside the house is spectacular. The sun sets behind the Sierra Nevada and Granda lights up just below the mountain ridge. Near the house is a place called Carmen de los Martires which is a public park of gardens. I've seen some over-fed ducks and have been told that there are also peacocks in the park. (The term for peacock in Spanish is "pavo real" which means royal turkey. It's always made me laugh.) Yesterday when I walked through the gardens I saw three different couples taking their wedding photos. It was quite an ordeal. Like going to the Botanic Gardens in Chicago during Spring/Summer, but in a significantly smaller space. A lot of the park looks enchanted and at one point you can see the Alhambra in the distance. 
There is another park just below the Carmen de los Martires. It has a fantastic photography exhibit of national parks worldwide and also cool animals and plants. Just walking down that path, I feel like I've traveled to many more countries. One of my favorites was a volcano in Russia (see below). 

Hope all of you are doing well! Hasta pronto!

Wait, that's not right. It's 80+ and sunny... and the school year has just begun in Spain. The kids have been in school for a few weeks now (without AC) but I just had my first day on Tuesday. After three days in the school and one long meeting with the other teaching assistants, I have a lot to share. 

Let's start with my first day of school:

On Tuesday morning, I rushed to the bus stop (I under-estimated the distance... damn kilometers!) and made it just in time. The walk took me about 20 minutes and I was even able to buy a coffee on the way. The bus ride took another 30 minutes. The first half was winding out of Granada and whizzing down the highway, but the second half was full of beautiful views of the Sierra Nevada mountains and countryside. I looked out the window and thought to myself, 'I could get used to this'. Once in the small town of Otura (pop. ~7,000), I typed the school into Google Maps and had another 5 minute walk. I zig zagged through town until I saw the school at the top of the small hill. I arrived in the middle of their second period and went straight to the English classroom. 
The school is a public school for students ages 12-16 of which there are about 300. They offer a bilingual track for the students (or parents) who want it and almost all choose to take their subjects in English. In addition to their core classes being taught in English, they also have supplementary English classes. I normally wont assist in the English class but rather in the geography, biology, math and physical education classes. I had 15 minutes to introduce myself to the first class, a group of almost thirty 13 year olds. They asked a few questions about where I'm from, my family and hobbies. Part of the gig requires me to pretend I don't speak any Spanish. Isabel, the teacher told them that I don't speak nor understand Spanish. One kid said, "She can't even say hello?!" Isabel said, "Do you know how to say hello?" and in the most American accent I said "Hola!" The kids erupted with laughter making fun of my (fake) accent. Just then the bell rang and they scurried off to their next class. Isabel and I also changed classrooms. I asked how long their passing period was and the teacher replied "Just enough time to get to the next room." In the States it is usually 5-10 minutes and the bell signals when students are officially late. Apparently, Spanish students aren't as likely to dilly-dally. 
At the start of the second class, Isabel led the students in a brief relaxation/meditation. She put on peaceful music and instructed them to sit up straight, close their eyes and focus on their breathing. This lasted about two minutes. A group of teachers have decided to try this meditation at the start of each class to help the students focus in on the task at hand. Each time I've witnessed this process I've also participated. I have also noticed that in every class there is always at least one girl, if not a few, that think they're too cool for meditation. They roll their eyes and laugh at the students who get really into it and start to nod off. 
For the next 58 minutes, the students asked me a whole rigamarole of questions. I wrote various names and places on the board. Again they asked about my hometown, family, friends, education, and pastimes. Due to the extra amount of time, the second group had to get a bit more creative with their questions. One kid raised his hand and said "Do you drink?" Taken aback, I said "... Coca Cola ?" and looked uncomfortably to the teacher. In the States, there is no discussion of personal drinking habits with your students. It's a taboo. The teacher then began to pry, "Beer? Wine?" Still feeling unsure, I said "No, not really. A little. I mean I'm little... so I drink a little... so, yeah." Five minutes passed and the same kid raised his hand "Do you like to party?" "Well, um, I like to dance... But, I like to go to bed early. So, no. No parties for me." (Later I asked Isabel if that was a normal question. She said that particular student was repeating that year and maybe he was into partying himself. Also, she said that Spanish people are more open about things that Americans may consider taboo.) At the end of the class, the students were assigned to write a composition about me. Unfortunately, I did not get to read these the next day. 
Following that class, the students had recess at 12:15. Like I mentioned in an earlier post, a typical Spanish lunch is at 2 or 3PM so during recess students eat a snack and wait until the end of the school day to eat a full meal. During this break, the teachers all congregate in a lounge with computers, a big table, a water fountain and lockers. It was interesting for me to see all the teachers and take note of their outfits. Maybe one out of 20 some teachers was dressed up. The rest were dressed casually, most in jeans and t-shirts. Unheard of! I wore jeans maybe twice in my semester teaching in Wilmington. I had to wear skirts longer than my knees, close-toed shoes, high necklines, no exposed shoulders, etc. If I wear jeans to school, I'll blend right in with the students!
At this point in the day I was introduced to every faculty member in the school. They all gave me a kiss on each cheek and enthusiastically welcomed me to the school. Most speak English but the ones who don't made it very clear that I should speak in Spanish. A few of the teachers even want private English lessons. After being introduced to all the teachers, the principal and even the lunch lady, I was told my day was done. The biology teacher gave me a ride back to Granada and dropped me fairly close to my house. 

The day of the meeting:

Usually, I am a very punctual person. I find a lot of the time, I'm waiting for the other person to show or the meeting to start because I've arrived either just on time or a few minutes early. Living in Latin America, I learned to be a bit more lenient with my time. The director of the language assistant program sent out an email saying that between 10 and 10:30AM we'd be picking up paper work. I left at 10, hoping to arrive at 10:15, thinking I'd still have time to socialize before the meeting. Well, I walked in the door, everyone was seated and the meeting had already begun. I sat down and within seconds everyone got up to go take the most disorganized group photo. There are 70 or so teaching assistants and we all gathered on a big staircase. No "short people to the front" or "squish together" or even "1, 2, 3... CHEESE!" We all just kind of congregated and FLASH! That was that. 
When we went back to the room, I moved closer to the front and sat on the edge of the row. The girl next to me struck up a conversation. Martina is 22 and from Ireland. We hit it off and spent the rest of the day chatting and giggling. Teaching assistants come from all English speaking countries, Germany or France. They spoke to us about how to get an ID card, but the circumstances are different for European citizens, people who have done this program before, etc. The microphone was muffled and the man spoke fast, heavily accented Spanish. I thought it was a shame I couldn't understand but I've already started this process so I just tuned out. One other girl was none too pleased. About 15 or 20 minutes into the speech a British girl raised her hand, then stood up and said in English "Excuse me, but some of us, like, don't understand you. Like, not at all." Fed up, she sat back down. A few more people spoke up in Spanish asking the man to turn the microphone or speak louder, but even after his varied efforts, it was still impossible to understand him. 
Another girl had asked at one point about receiving free Spanish lessons. During our break, I leaned across the aisle, thinking I knew a thing or two, and told her about some classes I had seen online. We got to talking and she asked in which school I was working. When I told her she said, "Oh, you're Danielle?!" She had worked in the same town last year (at a different school), had seen my name and the list and was going to give me some pointers. We went for a coffee together and exchanged numbers. Christina is an American woman from California married to a Spanish man. They have a gorgeous little girl named Violeta and when I ran into Christina on the sidewalk later that day, I got to meet her husband and daughter. 
When the meeting was over, they invited us to a free lunch. Martina and I agreed to go straight there because we are both bad with directions and wanted to leave room for error. Well, we arrived almost and hour early and ordered a drink to cool us down after roasting in the sun. The tapa we received was bread with cream cheese and an anchovy. We both cringed and I suggested we eat the just bread and feed the slimy, canned fish to the birds (although I just fed it to some hungry American guys when they arrived 30 minutes later). 
Most of the group showed up for lunch which consisted of a salad, a soupy paella (yellow rice with seafood & meat), and flan for dessert. They even gave each table a pitcher of beer and red wine. I sat at the head of the table and like the typical Leo I am, put on quite a show. A guy further down the table called me out and said "I'm sorry, do you need more attention?"  Sounds rude, but he was right. I hadn't realized how boisterous I had been (well, have been my whole life) and so I giggled, turned red and shut up for ten whole seconds. 
After lunch, we were offered a free tour of Granada. It wasn't very extensive but Martina and I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to learn a thing or two. We saw the cathedral (second biggest in Spain), an old marketplace, and a hotel were merchants used to bring their silk and spend a night or two. The guide was very knowledgeable and often looked at me when he was talking. I just smiled and nodded. 
 

Thursday and Friday:

The next few days at school went well. On Thursday I woke up around 7 so I could catch a ride at 8. I couldn't believe how dark it was and when I left the house it was raining. I got to school and went directly to a biology classroom. When I looked out the window the sky had cleared and this is what I saw:

After biology, I went to two geography classes. The teacher introduced me and told the students they were very lucky to have a native speaker as an English teacher. He asked them, "Did you know that a good English will open doors in the future? That you'll have more opportunities? So take advantage of Ellie. We are very lucky to have her." 
I spent most of the day reading off worksheets and textbooks and having students repeat after me. I had to correct their grammar and pronunciation. The teacher also asked me to correct his English so at the end of the class I gave him some pointers. (ex: It's proJect, not proYect.)
Thursday after school, while waiting for the bus, an old Spanish woman started mumbling nonsense at me. I couldn't understand a word so I would nod like I agreed with everything. She would blow her nose into a handkerchief then use that same cloth to shine her shoes. At one point, some kids were playing behind the bus stop and she made some angry comment about children and schools. All I understood was "They have all this homework and they make the parents do half of it anyway!" This woman had a lot to say... If only I could have understood.
Friday was another easy day at school. Again, I helped out with geography class in the morning and a more advanced biology class in the afternoon. The biology students had the entire class period to ask me questions but they used most of their time to talk with their friends. Like the earlier class, they asked about alcohol, cigarettes and drugs. I looked to the teacher and he did & said nothing. This group of student was the most rowdy. I tried everything to get them quiet (evil eyes, walking out of the classroom, etc.) but they really could care less. 

Friday after school:

In the evening, I met with a teacher from the school. She has an English exam next weekend and was looking for more practice. We spent two hours walking around the city while speaking in English. She told me about different hot spots in town and I gave her pointers on pronunciation. 

The rest of the weekend has been pretty low-key. Tomorrow I don't have school (seems like I'll have Mondays off) so I'm considering making a day trip to a beach that is just an hour away. It is supposed to be sunny and in the low 80's so I'll have to seize the day before winter comes.