Today on the Metro to school I had my first real, deep, intense and almost painful pangs of sadness over the thought of having to leave this place once again.
Having to leave the Metro, the warmth, the buildings, the people, the streets, the way the city sounds, the accents, the language, the tourists, the stores, the schedules, the friends, the photos I have yet to take, the places to visit. And more and more and more and more.
I wanted to post back in February about how I realized it had really taken me until then to get settled from my arrival here in September, and now I realize all over again that it has truly and deeply taken me until NOW to get fully settled. And I'm sure if I give myself the chance sometime down the road, it will take me even longer to get so settled that I don't even try to remind myself of all of the things I have waiting for me to come home to in order to lessen the pain of thinking about saying adios in almost 2 months.
Sigh.
-c-
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
London (Feb. 5-7) 2010!
http://picasaweb.google.com/cefreedman/London2010#
I can't even remember the last time I was in London--spring break of 7th grade, 2000, I think. Or 2001, 8th grade?? Anyway, I remember staying near Kensington, because of the Tube stop. I don't remember feeling totally disappointed in the Tube stations or trains themselves--how tiny the cars are, so small you can only stand up straight in the central aisle, barely big enough for one person to shuffle down. How the upholstery on the "seats" is dark to begin with (and who chose fabric for a public train system, anyway??) and definitely stained and dirty from years of being sat on. How loud the clattering trains are, how confusing the stations and platforms are, how lines only have names and no numbers. How insanely expensive rides are if you're a tourist with no Oyster card or interest in an all-day or 2-day pass.
I remember cell phones everywhere, I remember mohawks and hair dye and piercings on people on the platform next to suited men. I remember the accent, one of the first things I loved (and continue to find insanely attractive) about the UK. I never once imagined returning there less than 10 (or barely 10) years later to meet up with my best friend and frequent roommate from college, now well-versed in the wide variety of accents the UK and even London itself have to offer. 10 years ago, I remember more about hoof and mouth disease, Mom and Dad's fear of driving on the other side of the road (esp. at roundabouts!), Stonehenge and 10 foot tall hedges on either side of the tiny roads than I do about London landmarks.
Harry Potter was barely a blip on my radar screen back then and this time around, Sammie and I squealed over and photographed and visited anything related to Charing Cross Road, St. Mungo's, Platform 9 3/4 (we chose our hostel based on its proximity to King's Cross Station!), and even a house I saw with "Dawlish" written on it.
This time around, I was impressed by the food selesction provided by the (to my Madrileña eyes) incredible array of restaurants, delis and cafés (local places, not just Don Jamón or Starbucks!). Any given street in London has (to me) more appealing eateries per square foot than most neighborhoods in Madrid (that being said, don't take me too far from my croquetas and patatas bravas!). Last time I definitely didn't eat vegetable risotto in the West End (nor did I notice or care that someone like Keira Knightley or Ian McKellen had an acting gig at theaters around there!) or drink Magner's Cider.
The second time around, even the landmarks that I remember from last time were completely changed. My brain had mapped them out one way and then time and years of travel and perhaps a changed angle or location or direction of approach this time around made me feel as though I almost hadn't even been to London before!!! This time we didn't make it into Westminster Abbey but we enjoyed the cloisters and artistic and literary and historic appeal of the many (incredibly old--some abbots from the 1020s!) graves scattered throughout.
This time, I knew what the gherkin building was and why it was called that, I had no interest in going on the London Eye and I knew what the Tower of London had to offer. I was more interested in discussing our takes on modern art with Sammie in a room full of Russian propaganda posters than the turbine hall at the Tate Modern, but just as excited by the sight of Big Ben.
This time, the Parliament buildings reminded me of "V for Vendetta" and Downing Street of "Love Actually." Last time, I don't remember worrying about the location of ATM machines or how to stay warm in such a chilly, damp air. Or how uncool I felt among chic young Londoners (Londonites?!).
I've always been somewhat awed and intimiated by London--perhaps it's an American thing--London/Britain seem to represent and embody true history, culture, hipness...the epitome of European differentness and therefore superiority, hence its appeal.
I wasn't necessarily disavowed of that notion this time around, merely (to my relief) able to see how much better it was for my growth as a person to study abroad somewhere like Spain, somewhere that didn't seem to condescend to me, somewhere where learning the language is a neverending battle but ultimately mastering it becomes an integral part of my happiness here.
London will probably continue to appeal to me for years to come, if only for the accents and history and connection to Harry Potter, but I'm glad I went back and was able to see the National Portrait Gallery and Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square and Carnaby Street and Regent Street (this time, excited about the Anthropologie Store!) and not wonder what my life could have been like if I'd followed up on my middle and high school fantasies of living life like an English girl.
All that said, it was delightful to re-connect with Sammie and enjoy bagels and Cadbury chocolate together and catch up (in person) on our lives since leaving Bowdoin. I have nothing against London and I hope to visit again and continue to discover its endless charms, but for now, I'm glad I don't live there!
(taken from my journal almost verbatim)
Love
-c-
I can't even remember the last time I was in London--spring break of 7th grade, 2000, I think. Or 2001, 8th grade?? Anyway, I remember staying near Kensington, because of the Tube stop. I don't remember feeling totally disappointed in the Tube stations or trains themselves--how tiny the cars are, so small you can only stand up straight in the central aisle, barely big enough for one person to shuffle down. How the upholstery on the "seats" is dark to begin with (and who chose fabric for a public train system, anyway??) and definitely stained and dirty from years of being sat on. How loud the clattering trains are, how confusing the stations and platforms are, how lines only have names and no numbers. How insanely expensive rides are if you're a tourist with no Oyster card or interest in an all-day or 2-day pass.
I remember cell phones everywhere, I remember mohawks and hair dye and piercings on people on the platform next to suited men. I remember the accent, one of the first things I loved (and continue to find insanely attractive) about the UK. I never once imagined returning there less than 10 (or barely 10) years later to meet up with my best friend and frequent roommate from college, now well-versed in the wide variety of accents the UK and even London itself have to offer. 10 years ago, I remember more about hoof and mouth disease, Mom and Dad's fear of driving on the other side of the road (esp. at roundabouts!), Stonehenge and 10 foot tall hedges on either side of the tiny roads than I do about London landmarks.
Harry Potter was barely a blip on my radar screen back then and this time around, Sammie and I squealed over and photographed and visited anything related to Charing Cross Road, St. Mungo's, Platform 9 3/4 (we chose our hostel based on its proximity to King's Cross Station!), and even a house I saw with "Dawlish" written on it.
This time around, I was impressed by the food selesction provided by the (to my Madrileña eyes) incredible array of restaurants, delis and cafés (local places, not just Don Jamón or Starbucks!). Any given street in London has (to me) more appealing eateries per square foot than most neighborhoods in Madrid (that being said, don't take me too far from my croquetas and patatas bravas!). Last time I definitely didn't eat vegetable risotto in the West End (nor did I notice or care that someone like Keira Knightley or Ian McKellen had an acting gig at theaters around there!) or drink Magner's Cider.
The second time around, even the landmarks that I remember from last time were completely changed. My brain had mapped them out one way and then time and years of travel and perhaps a changed angle or location or direction of approach this time around made me feel as though I almost hadn't even been to London before!!! This time we didn't make it into Westminster Abbey but we enjoyed the cloisters and artistic and literary and historic appeal of the many (incredibly old--some abbots from the 1020s!) graves scattered throughout.
This time, I knew what the gherkin building was and why it was called that, I had no interest in going on the London Eye and I knew what the Tower of London had to offer. I was more interested in discussing our takes on modern art with Sammie in a room full of Russian propaganda posters than the turbine hall at the Tate Modern, but just as excited by the sight of Big Ben.
This time, the Parliament buildings reminded me of "V for Vendetta" and Downing Street of "Love Actually." Last time, I don't remember worrying about the location of ATM machines or how to stay warm in such a chilly, damp air. Or how uncool I felt among chic young Londoners (Londonites?!).
I've always been somewhat awed and intimiated by London--perhaps it's an American thing--London/Britain seem to represent and embody true history, culture, hipness...the epitome of European differentness and therefore superiority, hence its appeal.
I wasn't necessarily disavowed of that notion this time around, merely (to my relief) able to see how much better it was for my growth as a person to study abroad somewhere like Spain, somewhere that didn't seem to condescend to me, somewhere where learning the language is a neverending battle but ultimately mastering it becomes an integral part of my happiness here.
London will probably continue to appeal to me for years to come, if only for the accents and history and connection to Harry Potter, but I'm glad I went back and was able to see the National Portrait Gallery and Piccadilly Circus and Buckingham Palace and Trafalgar Square and Carnaby Street and Regent Street (this time, excited about the Anthropologie Store!) and not wonder what my life could have been like if I'd followed up on my middle and high school fantasies of living life like an English girl.
All that said, it was delightful to re-connect with Sammie and enjoy bagels and Cadbury chocolate together and catch up (in person) on our lives since leaving Bowdoin. I have nothing against London and I hope to visit again and continue to discover its endless charms, but for now, I'm glad I don't live there!
(taken from my journal almost verbatim)
Love
-c-
Saturday, April 10, 2010
Just because I can...
While I quite miss my family and friends from home and have a countdown on my computer to the day I leave here, I have to note that it is epically uplifting to open the curtains in our living room/kitchen every morning to SUN SUN SUN SUN. Every day. No clouds. No shade. No gloom. No doom.
Thank you, Madrid and Spain, for finally getting your act together and embracing what it is you are truly good at: a sunny, Mediterranean climate! Work it!!!!!
Anyway, if there is anyone out there reading besides my mother and brother and father, thank you for your patience and interest in whatever it is I do here. I know I've been quite lackadaisical in posting and rather minimally verbose this year, but I hope to make up for it once I process for myself what all of my recent trips have been like and THEN get my act together to post about it for you guys.
Part of my problem is that I take too many photos and want to post too many here (I hate posts that are only writing!) and my server is full blah blah which makes it hard to write/post the posts I really want to do.
Enough excuses. Time to go enjoy the weather!
love
-c-
Thank you, Madrid and Spain, for finally getting your act together and embracing what it is you are truly good at: a sunny, Mediterranean climate! Work it!!!!!
Anyway, if there is anyone out there reading besides my mother and brother and father, thank you for your patience and interest in whatever it is I do here. I know I've been quite lackadaisical in posting and rather minimally verbose this year, but I hope to make up for it once I process for myself what all of my recent trips have been like and THEN get my act together to post about it for you guys.
Part of my problem is that I take too many photos and want to post too many here (I hate posts that are only writing!) and my server is full blah blah which makes it hard to write/post the posts I really want to do.
Enough excuses. Time to go enjoy the weather!
love
-c-
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Happy Spring!
Hi all!
Just wanted to check in and say that yes, I survived St. Patrick's Day. And no, that was not a reference to extracurricular bar-hopping activities, no, not at all, rather the experience of celebrating the holiday at my elementary school here in Madrid. Yes. Seriously. There are photos on Facebook, if you haven't seen them yet!
Also, it's SPRING finally which means my FAVORITE question to ask my first graders (What season is it?) will fiiiinallyyyyyyy have a DIFFERENT answer, which will be a relief to most of them but will confuse the heck out of those students who STILL haven't picked up on the theme even though it's been at least 6 weeks of the same question and same answer.
I feel as though I've forgotten how to write, forgotten how to tell my stories and forgotten how to maintain a blog. Forgive me if you actually read this thing and especially if you've been waiting this long to hear about London and Mallorca and all sorts of other things. I'm off to Edinburgh in a week!
Love love love,
-c-
Just wanted to check in and say that yes, I survived St. Patrick's Day. And no, that was not a reference to extracurricular bar-hopping activities, no, not at all, rather the experience of celebrating the holiday at my elementary school here in Madrid. Yes. Seriously. There are photos on Facebook, if you haven't seen them yet!
Also, it's SPRING finally which means my FAVORITE question to ask my first graders (What season is it?) will fiiiinallyyyyyyy have a DIFFERENT answer, which will be a relief to most of them but will confuse the heck out of those students who STILL haven't picked up on the theme even though it's been at least 6 weeks of the same question and same answer.
I feel as though I've forgotten how to write, forgotten how to tell my stories and forgotten how to maintain a blog. Forgive me if you actually read this thing and especially if you've been waiting this long to hear about London and Mallorca and all sorts of other things. I'm off to Edinburgh in a week!
Love love love,
-c-
Sunday, February 21, 2010
The good news is...
You'd be depressed too if this was your forecast:
No need to comment on how wrong I am if you live anywhere in the US and are currently suffering through a snowy snowy winter.
BUT I promised you good news. What? The sun rises only 30 minutes after I do!
Also, only 1 week left in February!
Also also, joined a gym for 3 months. First day is tomorrow and I get in through fingerprint detection technology. Worth it already? Yes.
Perhaps a substantive and real update soon. Certain people have requested to actually know about what is going on in my brain, especially in regards to certain trips I've taken. Working on it! Thanks for reading.
xoxo
-c-
No need to comment on how wrong I am if you live anywhere in the US and are currently suffering through a snowy snowy winter.
BUT I promised you good news. What? The sun rises only 30 minutes after I do!
Also, only 1 week left in February!
Also also, joined a gym for 3 months. First day is tomorrow and I get in through fingerprint detection technology. Worth it already? Yes.
Perhaps a substantive and real update soon. Certain people have requested to actually know about what is going on in my brain, especially in regards to certain trips I've taken. Working on it! Thanks for reading.
xoxo
-c-
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
101st post!
Hey all!
Time for more tidbits about my life.
Firstly, I'm in Starbucks again for the sole purpose of internet usage. Yes, that's right, I'm basically back where I was in September, except not stressed out of my mind about a million and one things. This morning our power went out again in our apartment and no, the fuse didn't blow because of our 3 heaters being plugged in (we know not to do that now), or 2 being plugged in with 1 roommate blowdrying her hair, no, not that. We're not sure why it did but what we do know is that our landlord won't be able to come until 10:30pm tonight to fix it. Wahn wahn. So here I am. Internetting.
The Goya awards (Spain's Oscars) were on Sunday (no, I haven't seen the winning Best Picture yet, but I'll get on that! It takes place in a prison and looked like a bit much for me although I really like the main actor [who won Best Male Actor, so there you go]) and one of the guys who won for Best Sound (incidentally ALSO for the Best Picture, "Cell 211") is the father of one of my 1st graders. (Check out Jaime Fernández under Mejor Sonido here: http://premiosgoya.academiadecine.com/24/ganadores/pelicula.php?m=ganadores&id=195) She herself is not particularly a standout kinda student, mostly on her own planet or gossiping or fighting with other girls, not much of a hard worker, but I guess her father knows what he's doing on the movie sound front! Har har. Kinda neat, though, no?
Today I was sitting at lunch in the teacher's room chatting with a few other teachers about how I'm amazed that given how rough all the students are with each other, none of them end up seriously hurt, thrown down the stairs, etc etc. AAAAAAND what happens next!? I see 3 of the painters running through the playground (they usually walk around meekly, trying to hide from everyone and just get their job done), one of them carrying a clearly injured child. Uhhhh, oops, me?! I think the kid just tripped and got a bad cut, but it was on his head and quite a bleeder so everyone was running around, one of the teachers in the teacher's room had to call an ambulance, etc etc etc. Good times all around but seriously, never again will I mention such a thing! I should have known better. Thankfully nobody held it against me. Well, TRULY thankfully, the kid is fine, but whoops anyway. Sheesh.
I am trying not to send hateful hateful thoughts and looks at every single Metro musician I see/hear, particularly the horrifyingly bad/cheesy saxophonist who OF COURSE always plays at the bottom of the double escalators (read: double height space, echo-y, enormous sound...unavoidable...) at the Metro stop where I live. AHHHHH can't stand him ONE. MORE. DAY.
Now for the good news! I found out today that I can go home after the last day of school on June 23rd, instead of June 30th (last day for teachers)!!!!!!!!!!!! Once electricity is back at home, I will be skyping STA to get my flight hoooooome. Cool!
3rd graders called the country "Wales" "Watermelon" when I told them (as a hint) that it started with "W." Would the Welsh appreciate that one? Not sure! (Wales is "Gales" in Spanish and I guess watermelon is a pretty memorable word, but still a bit dim of my silly students)
Aaaaaaaand yeah not much else to share. Except I'm SO done with February. Waste of a month, no offense to those of you with bdays in this blessedly short month. Sigh.
xoxo
Time for more tidbits about my life.
Firstly, I'm in Starbucks again for the sole purpose of internet usage. Yes, that's right, I'm basically back where I was in September, except not stressed out of my mind about a million and one things. This morning our power went out again in our apartment and no, the fuse didn't blow because of our 3 heaters being plugged in (we know not to do that now), or 2 being plugged in with 1 roommate blowdrying her hair, no, not that. We're not sure why it did but what we do know is that our landlord won't be able to come until 10:30pm tonight to fix it. Wahn wahn. So here I am. Internetting.
The Goya awards (Spain's Oscars) were on Sunday (no, I haven't seen the winning Best Picture yet, but I'll get on that! It takes place in a prison and looked like a bit much for me although I really like the main actor [who won Best Male Actor, so there you go]) and one of the guys who won for Best Sound (incidentally ALSO for the Best Picture, "Cell 211") is the father of one of my 1st graders. (Check out Jaime Fernández under Mejor Sonido here: http://premiosgoya.academiadecine.com/24/ganadores/pelicula.php?m=ganadores&id=195) She herself is not particularly a standout kinda student, mostly on her own planet or gossiping or fighting with other girls, not much of a hard worker, but I guess her father knows what he's doing on the movie sound front! Har har. Kinda neat, though, no?
Today I was sitting at lunch in the teacher's room chatting with a few other teachers about how I'm amazed that given how rough all the students are with each other, none of them end up seriously hurt, thrown down the stairs, etc etc. AAAAAAND what happens next!? I see 3 of the painters running through the playground (they usually walk around meekly, trying to hide from everyone and just get their job done), one of them carrying a clearly injured child. Uhhhh, oops, me?! I think the kid just tripped and got a bad cut, but it was on his head and quite a bleeder so everyone was running around, one of the teachers in the teacher's room had to call an ambulance, etc etc etc. Good times all around but seriously, never again will I mention such a thing! I should have known better. Thankfully nobody held it against me. Well, TRULY thankfully, the kid is fine, but whoops anyway. Sheesh.
I am trying not to send hateful hateful thoughts and looks at every single Metro musician I see/hear, particularly the horrifyingly bad/cheesy saxophonist who OF COURSE always plays at the bottom of the double escalators (read: double height space, echo-y, enormous sound...unavoidable...) at the Metro stop where I live. AHHHHH can't stand him ONE. MORE. DAY.
Now for the good news! I found out today that I can go home after the last day of school on June 23rd, instead of June 30th (last day for teachers)!!!!!!!!!!!! Once electricity is back at home, I will be skyping STA to get my flight hoooooome. Cool!
3rd graders called the country "Wales" "Watermelon" when I told them (as a hint) that it started with "W." Would the Welsh appreciate that one? Not sure! (Wales is "Gales" in Spanish and I guess watermelon is a pretty memorable word, but still a bit dim of my silly students)
Aaaaaaaand yeah not much else to share. Except I'm SO done with February. Waste of a month, no offense to those of you with bdays in this blessedly short month. Sigh.
xoxo
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Things You Will Now Know
Hello non-existent readers!
Today I made a 3rd grader cry. I know, right?! So the teacher and I were re-arranging desks and this particular student ended up in one of the back corners. He wears glasses and is kind of a chatty cathy and easily distracted and happened to be holding his glasses in his hands when he was telling the teacher and I that he was unhappy with his seat placement, along with most of the rest of the very vocal class.
So the teacher and I were like "come on, now, everyone, quiet down, you'll be fine, whatever" and this student kept being like "I can't see!" so I jokingly was like "put on your glasses!" har har har...and he did...and immediately burst into tears! He starts going "But I can't see! I no lie! I no lie! It's my eyes!" and I was like "oh my god, I'm SO sorry, it's NO problem, I know you're not just complaining, I didn't realize you needed to be closer to the front [HINT HINT TEACHER, YOU CAN SPEAK UP ANY TIME YOU WANT!], I didn't mean to make you feel bad about having alsses, we will move you back up front, it's no problem!" and he was SO upset and my heart broke. So we moved him up front and I think the harmony of the universe has been restored.
We are buddies again, now, thank god, because he's one of my all-time favorite students/people ever.
Today at the gym I saw a woman carrying a bright orange bag that said "Born 2 be Wild" and had a leopard-print sperm on it. What?!
I'm going to London this weekend to meet up with Sammie!!! And seriously debating getting a haircut (if there is anywhere that does walk-ins!) because the fear of things being lost in translation is significantly less. And yes, I know that bangs=fringe in the UK.
I use a monthly "abono" (pass) on the Metro here in Madrid that costs me 46 euro within zone A (I think the zones go all the way to C2, after B1, B2 and C1), which covers the vast majority of Madrid and gets me unlimited rides. It is glorious and perhaps one of my favorite things ever. Many Madrileños also use monthly abonos and either purchase them from Tabaco shops (they sell stamps, too!), automated machines in Metro stations, or tellers at the most convenient Metro station. Although I believe you can purchase your abono for the next month as early as the 20th of the current month, as you might imagine, on the 1st days of most months there tends to be a frustrated group of people (haha, they didn't plan ahead! I win!) queuing up at the entry to Metro stations. Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to see the lines of people both up to the teller and the automated machine when I got out of the Metro to head to school, my February abono in hand.
Today at the very Spanish pastelería (bakery!) between school and the Metro today we met a young guy who spent the first 12 years of his life in Houston, just a few miles away from where Marisa (one of my co-auxiliares) lives. He called the very Spanish woman who usually works there "suegra" which means mother-in-law...but then again maybe her name was Consuegra or something!? He seemed awful young and flirtatious to be married, but hey, what do I know?! I just wanted 2 small almond cookies.
Spaniards do not know or care or understand what Groundhog Day is, apart from the Bill Murray movie which I personally love but they apparently do not tend to feel the same way about.
Yesterday the girl who works with the classroom of 3-year-olds I have once a week was teaching them that you wear shoes and shocks and she was so enthusiastic I couldn't figure out how to correct her before she'd repeated it so many times that the 3-year-olds finally were able to repeat her. Oops. I have failed at my job!
Did I mention that our school is being painted? Because it's being painted (not done over winter break, because that would have meant some administrator would have had to give up a bit of their time to supervise and oh, I don't know, save us a few weeks of paint fume inhalation and freezing cold air whipping in through open windows when airing out painted spaces!?!?!).
Before--white walls with dark green accents (okay, from the ground up, a meter high continuously around all walls in the school is painted dark green). Now? SALMON! Or peach color, if you're being friendly. And I'm not. Dark salmon on the bottom and not white on top, no, but light salmon. EW. And I have mentally written about 8 blog posts about the Situation because BOY do I have opinions on how the whole thing could go smoother (oh, like letting teachers know when their classroom is likely to be painted and how long that will take? or letting the painters know when teachers tend to eat in the teachers lounge so we can find somewhere else to eat!?), but for now, let me just say that in the USA? There would have been a meeting, and then a handout and a schedule. A PLAN, is all I'm saying. All teachers are joking that the painters are going so slowly that they'll be around to June. And I'm terrified that it will turn out to be true!
I went to Mallorca this weekend!
Love,
-c-
Today I made a 3rd grader cry. I know, right?! So the teacher and I were re-arranging desks and this particular student ended up in one of the back corners. He wears glasses and is kind of a chatty cathy and easily distracted and happened to be holding his glasses in his hands when he was telling the teacher and I that he was unhappy with his seat placement, along with most of the rest of the very vocal class.
So the teacher and I were like "come on, now, everyone, quiet down, you'll be fine, whatever" and this student kept being like "I can't see!" so I jokingly was like "put on your glasses!" har har har...and he did...and immediately burst into tears! He starts going "But I can't see! I no lie! I no lie! It's my eyes!" and I was like "oh my god, I'm SO sorry, it's NO problem, I know you're not just complaining, I didn't realize you needed to be closer to the front [HINT HINT TEACHER, YOU CAN SPEAK UP ANY TIME YOU WANT!], I didn't mean to make you feel bad about having alsses, we will move you back up front, it's no problem!" and he was SO upset and my heart broke. So we moved him up front and I think the harmony of the universe has been restored.
We are buddies again, now, thank god, because he's one of my all-time favorite students/people ever.
Today at the gym I saw a woman carrying a bright orange bag that said "Born 2 be Wild" and had a leopard-print sperm on it. What?!
I'm going to London this weekend to meet up with Sammie!!! And seriously debating getting a haircut (if there is anywhere that does walk-ins!) because the fear of things being lost in translation is significantly less. And yes, I know that bangs=fringe in the UK.
I use a monthly "abono" (pass) on the Metro here in Madrid that costs me 46 euro within zone A (I think the zones go all the way to C2, after B1, B2 and C1), which covers the vast majority of Madrid and gets me unlimited rides. It is glorious and perhaps one of my favorite things ever. Many Madrileños also use monthly abonos and either purchase them from Tabaco shops (they sell stamps, too!), automated machines in Metro stations, or tellers at the most convenient Metro station. Although I believe you can purchase your abono for the next month as early as the 20th of the current month, as you might imagine, on the 1st days of most months there tends to be a frustrated group of people (haha, they didn't plan ahead! I win!) queuing up at the entry to Metro stations. Yesterday I was pleasantly surprised to see the lines of people both up to the teller and the automated machine when I got out of the Metro to head to school, my February abono in hand.
Today at the very Spanish pastelería (bakery!) between school and the Metro today we met a young guy who spent the first 12 years of his life in Houston, just a few miles away from where Marisa (one of my co-auxiliares) lives. He called the very Spanish woman who usually works there "suegra" which means mother-in-law...but then again maybe her name was Consuegra or something!? He seemed awful young and flirtatious to be married, but hey, what do I know?! I just wanted 2 small almond cookies.
Spaniards do not know or care or understand what Groundhog Day is, apart from the Bill Murray movie which I personally love but they apparently do not tend to feel the same way about.
Yesterday the girl who works with the classroom of 3-year-olds I have once a week was teaching them that you wear shoes and shocks and she was so enthusiastic I couldn't figure out how to correct her before she'd repeated it so many times that the 3-year-olds finally were able to repeat her. Oops. I have failed at my job!
Did I mention that our school is being painted? Because it's being painted (not done over winter break, because that would have meant some administrator would have had to give up a bit of their time to supervise and oh, I don't know, save us a few weeks of paint fume inhalation and freezing cold air whipping in through open windows when airing out painted spaces!?!?!).
Before--white walls with dark green accents (okay, from the ground up, a meter high continuously around all walls in the school is painted dark green). Now? SALMON! Or peach color, if you're being friendly. And I'm not. Dark salmon on the bottom and not white on top, no, but light salmon. EW. And I have mentally written about 8 blog posts about the Situation because BOY do I have opinions on how the whole thing could go smoother (oh, like letting teachers know when their classroom is likely to be painted and how long that will take? or letting the painters know when teachers tend to eat in the teachers lounge so we can find somewhere else to eat!?), but for now, let me just say that in the USA? There would have been a meeting, and then a handout and a schedule. A PLAN, is all I'm saying. All teachers are joking that the painters are going so slowly that they'll be around to June. And I'm terrified that it will turn out to be true!
I went to Mallorca this weekend!
Love,
-c-
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