April Showers Bring May Flowers

And another month begins. April Fools Day, Palm Sunday, Easter, Spring Break, youth conference, day trips, taxes, and signing up for classes. So much happens, yet so much of what happens matters little. And the things I do not list, those not listed on the calendar, those without particular dates or deadlines, are of course the most important affairs of all. Time spent with a friend, a special smile, a heartfelt hug, a run through the park as the weather continues to warm, prayers and time given, quality conversations held with acquaintances and friends, these are what I am looking forward to this month. So much more meaningful than my lists and calendar.

To be honest, I completely forgot about April Fool's Day, though it would have been a fun holiday to celebrate with the kids. The other assistant told her 3rd graders that they had a 10 page exam. Priceless. I did remember St. Patrick's Day. I wore a green t-shirt, since my "Kiss Me I'm Irish" pin is in the states, and told the kids a little bit about St. Patrick and our tradition of wearing green so you don't get pinched. Of course, they all got a soft pinch from me, since I was the sole person donning green clothes.

At school, I have been preparing the fourth graders for their oral exam in May. It's such a daunting task. I get each group once a week to try to make sure they're ready for these tests. Some of the grammar elements have not been introduced in class yet, so it's quite difficult for the students to remember how to use them. I've been teaching the present perfect, which takes time away from other needed vocabulary development. There's less pressure with the first graders, since they don't take the exams till next year. Thursday before spring break began, I made bunny masks with them and then we read "Little Bunny Foo Foo." They liked hopping with their masks and "bopping" the mice on the head.

Last weekend I went to Toledo with Isma. We seem to have bad luck with weather and travelling. Last time I went with him and Tamy to Aranjuez and Chinchón, it was misty as well. The morning was beautiful, a little overcast, but not too hot, which is good when you are constantly walking up and down hills. I'll show you some pictures. Though I don't believe we took that many. In the past, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim communities lived in the city together. Of course, during the Inquisition, all except the Christians were driven out. We visited the synagogue, which was beautifully adorned with carved scriptures in Hebrew, remniscent of a mosque. It was interesting to read the history of the Jews in Spain and see the many artifacts that were in the museum. After seeing an exhibit with some paintings by El Greco, we ran to the car, soaking ourselves in the rain. All in all, I did still enjoy it, even though (perhaps coincidentally) I got a horrible cough that evening and was wet from the rain. I won't forget the day!

This Friday I went with Kristen and Carmen to Aranjuez, a town about an hour south of the city of Madrid. The royal palace there was beautiful. My favorite rooms were the room decorated with a porcelain China motif and the room modeled after La Alhambra in Granada. We had a picnic in the garden beside the palace and then walked to the other garden by the river as well. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures to share since all three of us forgot our cameras. The area is famous for its strawberries, so we bought some strawberries with whipped cream at a restaurant to share. Mmmm.

Saturday I went into Madrid to see a free Indian art exhibit. I learned three things. (1) Krishna is blue, plays the flute, and sometimes looks like a woman, though he is eternally a prebuscent boy in stature. (2) Krishna and Radha are lovers. (3) Krishna is not very faithful, which makes Radha mad. I now feel educated. After lunch, I spent the rest of the afternoon in the park. So wonderful and peaceful and lovely. If I could have made the time with sunlight last longer, I would have. I think I walked 3 miles (probably slightly exaggerating), making the grand total this weekend quite a large number.

This week then, is spring break. I am determined to use it semi-well. So far I have stayed up until 2 am talking to Justine and Colin on the phone (time difference makes this possible for them), taken a mid-morning jog to the river, done cleaning and washing of clothes, listened to a sermon online, written an e-mail, written this blog, and this evening I'll spend with friends. Tuesday I'll be in Madrid for the afternoon with a friend from church, and Wednesday I believe I'll work on lesson plans. Thursday I leave for Huesca along with thousands of other young Christians from all around Spain for Misión Posible (a play off the movie Mission Impossible), a youth conference that runs from Thursday till Sunday, taking advantage of the vacations that even working young people should have. After the conference, I have one more day of vacation, Monday, which may be spent with visitors from the Canaries, babysitting, or recuperating from Misión Posible before going back to work Tuesday.

I hope that gets me caught up from the last time I wrote, awhile back. The pictures from Toledo are linked at the bottom of this post, along with any other stray photos.

Toledo and Churros