Day 25: Cupcake Madrid

Week three and school's finally not a drag. I'm getting to know the teachers a little better, I'm getting less embarrassed to totally mess up in Spanish while talking to them (partly because they have to speak only English to me when kids are around and I know their English isn't perfect, either!), and I'm not wanting the kids to like me so much as wanting to teach them something - anything. Today, for example, I had 3rd year ESO - which is about the same age as high school Freshman. There are only seven of them, so they are totally timid and quiet and very annoying. I try to ask them a simple question (e.g. what's your favorite song!?) and they just stare at me. They understand, they just refuse to communicate. They're not even the type of class that will answer amongst themselves in Spanish and then not say it in English. They are pretty much just mutes.

Anyway, today I entered their room armed with an activity to make them simulate shopping on the streets of any English speaking city. I gave them the cards for the activity and explained it and told them to begin. And of course they just stared at me. Like, HELLOOO? The first graders are seriously way more clever than these people. After a five minute delay, they began the activity. It went ALRIGHT but it was pretty lackluster. So forgetting about the book exercises I'd been told they needed to prepare for their upcoming test, I told them this was ridiculous and nobody shops like that. I told them shopping in a foreign language is actually a little scary 'cause people come at you out of nowhere asking you questions that you can't understand.

My solution? I made them come up one at a time and pretend to enter my clothing store (their chapter was on clothes, so we SORTA covered what was to be on their test - haha). I was as animated as possible and talked as fast as I could to trip them up. They all actually handled it surprisingly well and laughed when I made a joke. The teacher in the room even looked amused and seemed to think it was a very good idea to make them actually try for a change.

There's this quote I found on Pinterest that says "It's not who you are that holds you back; it's who you think you aren't." This morning I was told that I was probably "making a much bigger impression than I might think." Hearing that made me wonder what would happen if instead of going to that school, thinking every morning how I had no idea what I was doing, but instead thinking to myself that I was actually pretty decent at this teaching business? I tried it today and it really seemed to work out. In the third grade class, I taught them the population of both Spain and America. I taught them the top five most visited states and what they have in them to visit and where they are on the map. I taught them how old America is compared to Spain. I taught them the weather differences in the Continental US. And afterwards, after I'd given them lots of time to color and just have fun with their maps, I quizzed them with the incentive of stickers. They could tell me more than I'd even taught them! It was totally impressive. I realized the other day there was that one psychological study showing that if you treat kids like they're smarter than you think they might actually be, often times they'll simply rise to your expectations. I need to keep that in mind.

Yesterday, with the two kids I tutor after school, I finally gave in and just let them play whatever game they wanted in their room. At the end, the girl came and played with the boy. They were playing lego soccer, or something like it, and every time the ball would switch sides, I'd grab it and have them go over all the soccer / game playing vocabulary. They got pretty good at it pretty quickly 'cause they wanted to keep playing and they wanted their ball back already. Haha!

Anyway, what really propelled me through the day was knowing that as soon as the school day was over, I would be taking myself into Madrid for the night! :) I got in my comfy Uggs and hoodie and made for the train station. On my journey I found Cupcake Madrid (It took me only one bite to realize I'd struck cupcake gold. OMG. I will be returning there WEEKLY!), continued my search for perfect fall/winter shoes/boots, bought a pair of olive chords, some nail polish and a really cute pink and mint umbrella (it's all rainy! what!?).

 

I finished the evening with my favorite pizza and a can of Fanta and was back on the train in no time. Tonight was the first night that I was in Madrid and just stopped and looked up and around me. All the beautiful buildings and lights and architecture and everything... it's just exquisite. Sometimes I feel like this adventure is way more overwhelming than I'd signed up for, but tonight I had a glint of that "omgimactuallylivingineurope" feeling of wonder, gratitude and incredulousness. I practically live for that feeling! <3

Still, so glad tomorrow's Friday, EVEN THOUGH:
1) I have 15 hours of classes between Friday and Saturday again.
2) My wart, since the doctor froze it on Tuesday, looks like the black plague, leprosy and a hint of herpes has simultaneously attacked it and left my nose a gothic version of Ruldolph. It's way gross. Poor students keep asking what happened to me. >_< Yuck. I'm so hoping that it falls off soon so I can go out and have fun with PEOPLE and not just by myself, telling myself that I'll never see these people again anyway, so who cares how petrifying I look.

XOXO