Shame on Us

Today Isma, Miki, Guille, and I went to eat at Cañas and Tapas in the mall near church. Pretty good food...croquettes, eggs with potatoes and peppers, and potatoes covered with sauces...but the best part was the waiter. By far. He practically bounced up to the table, told us how we could make our order better (which we were glad for the suggestion, not on the menu), and did it all with so much cheer that I couldn't help smiling. Some people grump about on the job, and what do they receive? A reflection of their attitude...a cycle that leaves them exhausted and grumpy at the end of the day. Our waiter, on the other hand, exuded energy and we gave it back. At the end of the meal, he brought us our "multa" or fine to pay. It's not traditional to leave tips here, but I think we left him about 3 euros.

After eating, we went over to VIPs to split two large cups of strawberries with ice cream and cream cheese between the four of us. We felt so bad about not ordering dessert at the first restaurant (remember, one-of-a-kind waiter), that we slunk around the long way to sneak unseen into the second restaurant. In all the four of us ate in three restaurants for one meal (Guille and Miki grabbed 1 euro burgers at McDonalds to finish filling up before dessert). Crazy. One of the best lunches I've had for awhile, not for the food, but rather for the companionship and fun.

Pet Peeves and Neat Treats

Classroom pet peeves:

= having no visual aids (if it's not my turn to bring them)
= when kids interrupt the explanation to say "I don't understand" angrily, when the teacher hasn't finished explaining
=when kids complain loudly about others' farting (and then blame the one whose stomach is upset on their inability to be quiet in class)
=when students walk to the front of the room to ask to go to the bathroom during a lesson
=moving desks
=students mocking others
=random standing up
="surprised" faces when they are scolded for talking
=incessant nose blowing at trash can

Here is a list of the good things I saw today:

=students helping others
=one of the compulsive talkers paying attention and participating
=a quiet boy who understands little English smiling and actively participating
=a good show-and-tell about pets
=talking with one of the 6th graders on way to school
=enthusiastic singing
=intelligent questions
=chocolate cake because of two teachers' birthdays. yum
=one of the girl's birthday...Happy birthday to you, you live in a zoo...

Let's just say that that was a rant about the day, and then the second list to remind me why I like teaching so much.

Say what?

I have a private class every Thursday with three friends, Rosa's girl, and two boys, all in second grade. They are slightly crazy, intelligent, and fun to be with when they're motivated...horrible when they're bored. Last week, like after each class, the four of us cleaned up the room. One erased the dry erase board, another put the chairs away, and the last put the game or flashcards in an envelope while I collected the books and the rest of my things.
A few seconds into this activity, I hear one of the boys say clearly, "Hey baby."
Surprised, I turned around and asked, "What did you say?"
"Hey baby," he repeated, and then continuing in Spanish said, "you know, when someone who speaks English has a baby boy or girl, sometimes they say to them, "Hey baby" instead of saying their name.
That made me laugh. Where do they get these ideas?

Youth Retreat

Two weekends ago we we went on a youth retreat, focusing on the parable of the Prodigal Son, focusing on each of the three persons in the parable. This is first time that I've gotten to see some of the inner riggings of doing a camp or retreat. A few weeks before the event, leadership from the two youth groups organizing the retreat met in Canillejas to discuss the schedule and assign jobs. Before that, the leaders from Canillejas had found the site for the camp, the dates, and had more or less planned out the structure. We had someone in charge of games, people from within the youth groups doing the three sermons, someone for transportation, someone to lead a skit, etc. My responsibilities were making creative prayer stations for use during free time, helping to lead a small group discussion after each sermon, and tending to the fire when we had worship down by the fire pit.

The small group was a good experience, if slightly frustrating. The group was 13/14 year olds, and they didn't have much they wanted to share. Sometimes I felt like we were pulling teeth. But there were some good moments as well, and I am glad that I could be there.

The best part, for me, about the retreat was being able to disconnect from my normal life and stresses (like looking for work next year) and relax in nature and with other people. During free time I played baseball (no one knew the rules except me!), walked to a Roman bridge with a large group of girls, and took time to relax mentally.

Isma was at missions conferences at his church, and it was strange to not have him there, since every time I'd been to the site before, he's been there. He was able to join us Sunday after breakfast with two high school girls from the youth group.

Sunday was an interesting day, a day where people shared what God had been pushing them toward during the weekend. From the sharing time, I can tell that is was a good weekend of deepening their relationship with God for the youth group. It was good to see their hearts and see the open doors for more work now.

Carabiner

This is a carabiner. In Spanish (I still haven't remembered...long live the dictionary) it is mosquetón (mos-kay-tone), the first syllable with a long-o, second long a, last long o.

Amazonia

Wednesday we went to Amazonia with the fourth graders. One-hour bus trip there, replete with the kids singing (if you call shouting singing) songs like "_______ peed in their sleeping bag" akin to "who stole the cookie from the cookie jar?" and one about elephants balancing on something...same effect as 99 bottles of beer on a wall...never ending. They're funny songs, but after an hour I was ready to be out of the bus full of 50 kids. Amazonia is a park in Cercedilla, in the mountains of Madrid, where you go on zip-lines, climb ropes, and cross precarious bridges while secured with ropes and a harness. I got to go up with the kids. It was a lot of fun playing in the trees. 

While we were there, one of the kids cried out, "Look teacher! This is like in our science class!" That made my day. There was granite covering every inch of the ground, and the kids remembered in English what it's called. I love that they could see that what we learn in science class really connects with the real world. The experience and their excitement also opened the door to learn other words about climbing and equipment. Now, if only I could remember the word for carabiner in Spanish...

On the way back, the bus was much quieter, as half of the kids fell asleep, exhausted from the day. I could see that it really helped some of the girls' self confidence. Wish we could go back soon!



Crazy Weather

It feels like summer is here, though it's technically spring. 85 in April...almost 90! Isma says that all that Madrid has is winter and summer...that Spain forgot about spring and fall. I'm starting to believe he might be right. I haven't been melting yet, but almost. The third story classroom heats up nicely and by the afternoon the kids are hard to motivate to do much. They say (you know..."they") that it will get a bit cooler, but we'll see. Either way, I have been enjoying the warmer evenings to go for walks without shivering and the sun. Who knows, maybe I'll spend enough time outside to get a slight tan.