HOY!!

Que bueno!  I caught my blog up to date!  So let me tell you about...TODAY: 23 de septiembre and life in Madrid in general.

First of all, it rained again late Sunday night and then yesterday though the Madrilenos keep describing it as "muy raro" (very rare).  Who knows?  It's probably about time I buy una paragua (an umbrella).  At school yesterday, I sorted a bookshelf in Chelo's room, helped Fatima's students with a colors worksheet, watched the infantiles during recreo, led a conversation group in Charo's class, and played Simon Says and sang "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" with year 1.  Worried that I would continue to feel bored and unfulfilled, I spoke to Paqui, our bilingual program coordinator, and requested a change to my schedule.  Since I am the only conversation auxiliary present at the time, the school allowed the change; however, I had to make a direct change with another auxiliar.  Paqui and I could not pick and choose my classes; therefore, I had to sacrifice my two hours with Charo's class (my favorite) in order to work primarily with year 3 instead of year 1.  Charo seemed disappointed, and I am as well, but the change will improve my time at the school tremendously.  I now will work mostly with Juani, who very much wants to take advantage of my eagerness to work!  She even has students with special needs in her class - right up my ally!  Already I felt more energized and positive at work today just knowing the change in store.  Also, Charo and Paloma have asked me to teach private English lessons to their children after school.  I'll start October 1st.

About Plaza de Chueca:  Always bustling, the plaza allures diners, botellones, dogs, and gay men and women at all hours of the day and night.  I love the constant buzz of chatter and the sporadic musicians playing for moneda.  A fire twirler frequents the plaza 3-4 times a week (see video).  People break glass more than once a day.  Opa!!

About my commute:  I spend an hour commuting each way.  The metro station sits at the footstep of my building!  I take it one stop, switch lines, and take it another 5 stops to arrive at the RENFE station.  I board my commuter train at about 8:05 and arrive Getafe in about 20-25 minutes.  Then I take the metro circular line 2 stops and walk about 5 minutes to my school.  In the morning, I eat my breakfast on the train and sometimes read 20minutos, a free newspaper.  In the afternoon, I sometimes stop at Alcampo before heading home.  I often fall asleep on the train, but I haven't missed my stop YET!

About recreo:  Teachers take a 40 minute break daily in addition to lunch.  During the break, teachers can leave school (we went to a nearby cafe last week), or we have the option of eating "snacks" in the teacher's cafeteria for 80 centamos a day.  Keep in mind, 80 centamos equals approximately $1.20 U.S.  Today's snacks included crab salad on sliced French bread, 2 variations of sweet croissant pastries, a cheesecake, a fruit basket, coffee and water.  Mind you, for 80 centamos, the teachers help themselves.  In Charo's words, "Vamos a gordar" (we are going to get fat).  Fortunately I am not getting fat though!  In fact, I have lost a fair amount of weight.  Of course some of it we have to attribute to the virus, but to my credit I walk all the time and climb many flights of stairs a day!  I wiggled out of a pair of shorts yesterday without unbuttoning them!  Woot.  

About Spain:  I remember for a long time looking back at my time in Salamanca and crediting it as the least stressful time of my life.  Between finding a piso and starting my new job with a raw intestinal track, I have endured a fair amount of stress since I moved.  But living here (and working only part-time), I feel the same relief that I felt five years ago.  We take a REAL break at school - not one where you scramble to make photocopies or write IEPs.  We walk in the most beautiful park 3-4 times a week - it's not a treadmill going nowhere.  I take a siesta in the afternoons.  I don't eat dinner till at least nine o'clock.  Though now that I actually do live here and am not just studying at the university for 2mos, I realize that all this relaxation compromises a lot of conveniences.  Banks close at 2:00pm.  Grocery stores are closed on Sundays.  There is NO WAL-MART.  In fact, good luck finding anything open 24 hours.  The stores that provide more convenience charge exponentially more for their products.  A sense of urgency is foreign to Spaniards.  My phone line still does not work, the trabajadores (workers) never returned to finish the plaster job on my wall, and I will probably wait indefinitely for my shower rod and detector de humo (smoke alarm) to be installed.  Every way of life has its pros and cons, and relaxation certainly has its hitches.