Day 257: Study Saturday - Hour by Hour!

Today I'm going to try something different: Every hour I'm going to write a mini installment about what I've been doing - partly in hopes of keeping myself on track!

12:00 - Woke up from a horrible dream in which J was living in Austin, TX and working at Jamba Juice in a trailer parky part of town... And she had a baby! >_< It was one of those dreams within a dream, and part of be kept trying to wake up from the horror of it, but when I'd wake up into the second layer of the dream, she was living in Portland, but the part about having a baby was still true. Man, it was a really awful dream! That'll teach me to watch shitty MTV shows before bed...

1:00 - Took one of those gloriously long showers, and then iced myself in lotion afterwards, as if I were a big cupcake. :) Dressed in my favorite hoodie from Amsterdam (the epic one with the big pink pot leaf) and some purple PINK sweatpants from Chicago. Finished the look off with my Havaianas on that H brought me back as a birthday present from Brazil. :-P

2:00 - Made a giant puffed pancake and doused it in that REAL MAPLE SYRUP I seriously splurged on the other day! Eating it while listening to my favorite morning time song - "Murmurio" by Casuarina.

3:00 - Camped out on the couch, reading articles about portfolios. Wheeee....

4:00 - Realized I don't want my thesis to just be on portfolios, but on Chelsea Version Portfolios. I wrote a quick reflection on exactly what I want my thesis to be about when it's all done.*

5:00 - I needed a break, so I made some cheese chips and shandy, then decided to see if any of my students had posted to their blogs today. Some of them read my blog for entertainment, but I don't think they fully understand that I read their blogs for entertainment, myself! :) Pineapple's was totally awesome and made me giggle when she said her dream job would be to be a Unicorn Groomer, and then included a pic of unicorn cupcakes. WIN. Another girl had written hers, and it was really funny, too. They all had to make rough CVs for this week, also, and one of them put their Twitter handle on it.

And so what have I spent the past half hour doing? STALKING all of my high schoolers on Twitter.  Either that makes me a seriously awesome person, or a really creepy teacher... I'm not really sure which. But man it was fun. :oP When you're a student, you often forget your teachers have real lives outside of the classroom, but as a teacher, you often forget your students have lives outside of the classroom, too!

Anyway, my conclusion from looking at their Twitters was that I was happy Twitter didn't exist when I was in high school. Myspace was crazy enough for me (man that sounds lame)... and this Twitter stuff is so ineloquent and impersonal, and yet takes up so much time. Sheesh. Aaaand now I sound old. Okay, gonna go back to my thesising...

6:00 - Roomies went to Madrid! I have the apartment all to myself for the night! Time to BLAST SOME MUSIC!!! :oD Anyway, currently organizing everything into an Outline. Just reread the guidelines for this paper, and it's pretty ridiculous. It's supposed to be more like a review of what we've learned, rather than a thesis from scratch. Not that you hear me complaining... if there's one thing I LOVE doing, it's reflecting on my experiences. HAHA!!! Seriously. Let's do this! I've been practicing for 257 days here, guys. Maybe I could just send her a link to my blog? ;)

7:00 - FIVE pages finished. Yep, you can call me Sir BAMFsalot! ;) (Tee hee - I came up with that the other day when I was getting off of the train... and, man, I was just so enchanted my creativity and awesomeness - hahaha.) Okay, to be fair, three of those were already written in my original rough draft submitted in November, but I had to do the work of finding them and rereading them and editing them. :) And then I added two pages expanding upon some parts. The important part is, currently 10% done, and I've only been working on it for five hours. SUCCESS. Roomies are going to be so ticked off when they get home and I tell them I'm 20% done after one intense afternoon of awesomeness. In my defense, writing IS one of my main passions in life, and langauges ARE my other main passion... so it only makes sense that I should be LOVING this paper right now! ;)

8:00 - After I got a few more pages done, I decided to go to my neighborhood Fruiteria to get some fruit for my shortcakes! I felt like the biggest rebel in the world for leaving the house in a hoodie, sweatpants and flipflops. The faces of all those I passed were in SHOCK. One simply does not wear sweats and flipflops in public here in Spain. I saw a police car go by and I honestly had an irrational milisecond of wondering if they were going to stop and talk to me! Haha. Seriously though, you just don't do that here. Ever.

The fruit shop guy, though, was way cool with it. That man has seen me on my hottest days and on my grossest days, and he always helps me with a cute little grin on his face. :) My kind of guy.

I thought strawberries were already out of season, but he had a few boxes of them today! Yay! And, actually, he didn't even have any peaches, so I got a bag 'o bries and am now feasting on some white chocolate strawberry shortcake while about to tackle the next part of my thesis.

My one fail of the past hour, though, was trying to make coffee in Marianna's fancy Italian coffee maker thingie. I totally FAILED the first time (I won't even tell you what I did). And the second time was a pretty unfortunate fail, too. I'm hoping third time is a charm, but the whole contraption is too hot for me to try again yet. Haha.

9:00 - Two more pages written, and other written but not sure where to put them yet. I will not be going to sleep until the first part is completed. There are four parts and each must be 10-15 pages long, so if I do one part today, one tomorrow, one next Saturday and one next Sunday, I'll be done five days before it's actually due! Haha. Man, I'm starting to feel antsy. I need a dance and coffee break...

10:00 - Marianna and her boyfriend came home at last! :) They've served as a nice distraction, as they're speaking half in English and half in Italian. With Marianna around, I've realized that I can still understand an alarming amount of Italian, but I cannot say a single thing besides "squirrel." >_< Che cazzo! (Or, well, okay, I guess I know three words...) But! Tonight her boyfriend taught me a new, and very useful word: "AUTOSCATTO." Translation? "Selfie." BAHAHA!!! Bamf. So Bamf. ^_^

11:00 - Aaaaand I did nothing. I showed Marianna my Tumblr. I stalked my students some more. And I watched movie trailers to decide which movie we should all watch tonight. Time for some dinner and an attempt at finishing this section TONIGHT...

12:00 - LITERALLY just had a moment where I noticed there was a red, squiggly line under a word I'd written, indicating it was spelled wrong, and I seriously could not figure out why. I right clicked on it to find a suitable correction, and there weren't any. I was seriously baffled by this point and typed it into an online dictionary. It took me a few more minutes to figure out the mystery... turned out, it was a SPANISH word - and one without a direct English translation. O_O I had translated it into what I thought was a nice English vocabulary word, and it turned out to not even exist. I don't know whether that was a FAIL or a WIN???

1:00 - ELEVEN PAGES DOWN.

2:00 - TWELVE PAGES. Final count. Not bad for one day, even though most of the text was taken from my two rough drafts and just edited and reformated and moved around. I did add a few parts, too. Anyway, I'm only lacking one part to have Section One complete, and I know I have that hidden in some folder on my computer, too... I just have to find it and edit it. Tomorrow I will do Section Two, while also writing the final draft of what I'm going to give the head mistress on Monday. EEK.

Night night!
XOXO


*"I want my thesis to reflect the interesting concepts I have learned in these classes. The parts that were really worth my time to read and that gave me a new perspective to things.

I also want my thesis to cover what I have observed and experienced at CISTA. I want it to show how much I have really thought and reflected about my experience.

The broader topic that this is meant to explain is the concept of portfolios for assessment, but it is not just another explanation of why it is a good and idea and how to make one. No, I want this to be more revolutionary than that. I want it to have creative, unique and innovative ideas in it. I want it to really show some interesting insight into the usual ho-hum manner of teaching.

I want this to come from the idea of “down the rabbit hole” and also from “The Little Prince.” I want this to be based on the idea that learning another language should be a magical experience and adults should quit ruining this experience for the children. I want this to come off as not just “a way of assessing,” but, instead “a way of creating a whimsical classroom environment to really give students the best possible shot at learning – both English and about themselves - and loving learning.”

The portfolio isn't just a lame ass collection of stuff at the end of the term. No, the portfolio is the ship that is carrying students from week to week, concept to concept. I don't believe in the idea of chapters and units and exams. I believe that learning should be a more inclusive and continuous adventure. Learning should be seen like “Supermarket Sweep,” where kids are let loose into a supermarket of knowledge (the classroom), and are free to grab all the knowledge they can and place it into their carts (portfolio). And not because they have to or are being graded on it or are scared into it – but because they genuinely are excited about it.

A small experience I've had with this – Pablo. I was teaching him about past simple and how to make it positive and negative. Instead of drilling it into his head, I wrote the words on his fingers and we did a puppet show with his Angry Bird stuffed animals. After 45 minutes of this, I had him redo the assignment he had failed, and he did it PERFECTLY, and with enthusiasm. Then, just as I was about to leave, he asked me how to make it about tomorrow. I didn't understand what he was asking, so I asked him to explain his question. “You know, we can talk about yesterday and today, but how do we talk about tomorrow?”

I was absolutely floored. What a freak'n BRILLIANT question. o_O And this is the kid whose mom hired me as their “last hope.” because he was going to fail English and was dyslexic and just didn't understand the most basic concepts!

I smiled, slyly and shook my head. “It's a secret!” I whispered. He laughed and said that he really, really wanted to know. “Okay, but you can't tell anybody you know it. It's something even 5^th graders don't know.” He nodded his head up and down, up and down, rapidly, clearly getting really eager.

I wrote down “will” and “won't” on the paper below the present and past verbs. I explained you used those words instead putting an ending on the main verb. And that's how you made it about the future.

He was perplexed for all of two seconds, and then grabbed the notebook from me and started writing. He wrote three sentences using this new concept I'd explained to him in literally 30 seconds – and he wrote them flawlessly, all the while a huge grin on his face.

THAT is what I want this thesis to argue for – I want it to argue for an enchanted, whimsical classroom with learning seen as an amazing adventure. And I want portfolios to be the vehicle for that journey. I want it to be the suitcase of that journey. The scrapbook of that journey. I want kids to take pride in their portfolio and see it as one of their most prized learning possessions.

Like I said, I think by making learning about units and chapters and exams, the average class day loses all significance and importance. But when you properly create a classroom driven by a portfolio and imagination, students come to class knowing they have something exciting to work on and add to. I want their portfolio to be like a treasure map to all of the pieces of gold they've learned throughout the year. I want them to know that class time is for them and their creation and their learning. I don't want to have a minute of our time together wasted. I want them to feel a sense of exigency and adventure. I want them to not even realize they're working and learning, when they are, in fact, working and learning. I want it to be very hands on and engaging. And I want it to be something that parents and other teachers and other students can see at the end of each term and admire.

And so, my thesis will be a roadmap of sorts into creating a classroom like this with portfolios at the forfront of it all. It will draw on articles and videos I've seen throughout my Master's classes, experiences I've had in the classroom, and my own personal thoughts and beliefs. I want this to be the one thesis the lady reads and really makes her think. I want this to be the kind of thing I can truly use in the future and inspire others to get into, as well."

Day 256: School, Fajitas, TV and Tumblr

I'm not sure why, but lately I've been getting that warm squishy feeling that my life is just how I want it to be. I'm only really lacking one thing, but I have faith that it'll come in time. But right now, I catch myself speaking to myself all the time walking between classes... or around Madrid... or on my way home. That happy squeak of pure contentment.

This week I had my high schoolers right their blog posts on their ultimate ridiculous fantasy dream job. Today one of them asked me what mine was, and I had to pause because although I know there are bigger, more exotic dreams I have for the future, I don't know how much happier I really could be in any other job right now.

I have 275 students that squeal my name every time I walk into their classroom - even if I'm just stopping by for a stapler! I have 275 tiny people whose eyes fill up with happiness when they see me, and they're always running up and hugging me and telling me about their lives - or, in the case of the older ones, giggling along with me at one of my random comments and inserting their own witty remarks into our conversations.

Most of my life I have felt like very few people understood me, and vice versa. I've never been the type to be social or to really be interested in many people at one time. I've always seen people in general to be pretty disappointing - either they felt too fake or seemed to shallow or had very different priorities than me... and I always felt like there must have been something wrong with me, because I just didn't fit in anywhere, really.

But I've finally found where I do fit in, and where I am appreciated (and even adored). I've finally found people I can relate to and be amazed by. I finally found real people in touch with themselves... and these people happen to be 6-17 years old.

The problem all along was I thought adults were the ones who had their shit together, but it's turned out it's just the opposite. Younger people are the ones who are still creative and imaginative and real. They're the ones that haven't been so shaped by society as to have lost their sense of self and their ability to see things from a unique perspective.

When I walk the halls of the school, I feel like some of those kids honestly really understand me and appreciate me for who I am - unlike almost any other adult ever has. and, in return, I feel like I really, truly understand and value them - again, probably unlike most any other adult has. We just have this connection where we "get it." It's something most adults can't see - and I don't know why - but we can.

I told my 10th graders how I'm really weird and not an average American, and so not to think everybody from my country was as strange as me. And one girl looked at me, confused, and said, "We don't think you're weird." I laughed and said thanks, but that it was okay with my I was weird. She pressed on, "No, you're not weird. You're just different - but, like, in a really cool way." I laughed again and tried to change her mind, figuring the class just didn't know me that well. I told them how I'd not know the lyrics to a song the other day and how I'd started meowing to the song instead, because it was just something J and I used to do. I told her how my roommates laughed at me and told me I was nuts. The class just smiled and thought it sounded like a really fun idea and that they would try meowing to a song in English they couldn't understand the next time they heard one!

^_^

^
(This is what I'm talking about. These students get me, and I think they're so awesome for it!)

See, I remember how lonely it could feel at some points being a kid and a teenager. I always said when I was younger that I wanted to be the kind of adult that UNDERSTOOD kids, because so few of them did. I wanted to be the kind of adult that would really LISTEN to kids and would believe they were big enough and smart enough to think for themselves and feel things just as intensely as adults.

I remember those few times that I would find an adult who really got me, and how safe and understood I would suddenly feel. Just to feel like I had somebody with a little amount of "adult power" on my side. Somebody who would be willing to fight for me and help me when nobody else would listen or understand.

I had a lot of teachers who recognized me for my intelligence and talent - Mrs. Block was the first teacher to tell me I was a good writer, and honestly her telling me that changed my entire life. I'd never thought twice about writing, but after getting the chance to write in our writers  notebook and her compliments and encouragement, I started to see myself as talented. Had I had any other 5th and 6th grade teacher, who knows what I'd be doing right now.

I had other teachers like that who changed the course of my life in little and big ways, and changed the ways I viewed myself and my abilities, too. There was Mrs. Kirschbaum who brought out the sassiness in me. There was Mrs. Whitnah who gave us that speech, crying, one day that her former student had just committed suicide and that if we ever felt lonely or overwhelmed to the point of killing ourselves, that we had to promise her first, and she would be there for us no matter what. That always made me feel like I had somebody on my side. There was Mrs. Hinchey who gave me the failing grade on my first Spanish test of 6th grade and really changed the course of my entire existence in doing so and sparked the moxie and sanguinity that are currently such dominant traits.

There was Sra. Duarte who put me in AP Spanish as a Freshman after accurately spotting my linguistic tenacity. There was Monseiur Olsen-Dufour who introduced me to "The Little Prince" - in French, no less! There was Mr. Blair Bear who really polished my writing and taught me it was okay to occasionally be a little brassy in the name of standing up for what I believed in. And then there was Ernesto who really recognized in me my potential the most, out of any teacher I've had. He saw that I wasn't like the rest of them and made me feel acknowledged for the unique person I was for the first time.

When I  began this adventure at my school, my lofty goal was to inspire some of the students to really fall in love with the language by finding out more about American culture and by making learning about it all fun. After the first two weeks, I wrote a blog saying how unfit to be a teacher I was and how much I disliked it. I had no idea that by the end of the year, I would have 275 fans, 275 kids who I had not only inspired a love of English and American culture, but whom I'd made feel authentically good about themselves and understood and adored, to boot.

Today I had maybe a 30 second conversation with one of my favorite sophomores, in which I quickly told him how I'd stuck my neck out for a few of them last Friday when everything had happened. He and the others sincerely (and I mean SINCERELY) thanked me for putting myself on the line for them - I get the feeling it's not something that's really happened to them before. I was honored to have been able to do it, too. After he told me not to worry what other people were thinking or saying, because, basically, they had nothing on me - not just in terms of reasoning, but in terms of awesomeness.

^_^

I know it was just a simple sentence or two from a sophomore guy, but it really translated into my life in general: "Don't worry about what people are saying behind your back - you're awesome and we - the ones who truly matter - all know it."

<3

Seriously. I know I risked it a little standing up for them, but that was nothing compared to that mini pearl of wisdom he gave me today - one that I've heard so many times, but one that meant so much more coming from an intelligent, younger person with perspective. <3

Anyway, this weekend I have a lot to accomplish. I have to finish one of my classes, I have to make serious headway on my Thesis and I have to figure out how to approach the head mistress about the possibility of teaching Primary or Secondary rather than Preschool/Kindergarten. I've begun my little book that I plan to fill with reasons, but I need to make them more pithy and from the heart.

Good thing I've stocked up on yummy food, 'cause I won't be leaving the house 'til Monday morning!!! :oP But as I write this, it's already 9:30 and I've accomplished NO studying. I HAVE eaten two fajitas with a clara (half beer half lemon soda), a strawberry white chocolate shortcake, and a pack of oreos with cream cheese and horchata. I HAVE watched four episodes between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men - but all in Spanish, and I understood most of the jokes, so really that was totally a studying experience. And, finally, I HAVE created my first tumblr, 'cause I'm newly slightly obsessed with it, and I've already practically made B wet his pants thanks to my creativity with gifs:

www.jetsetcupcake.tumblr.com

And now, a trabajar!! (Psshhh... yeah right...)

XOXO

Day 255: Grocery Shopping Spree!

The big excitement of my day was going grocery shopping. I'm not sure if I've ever gone grocery shopping and just bought the whole store, but that's exactly what I did today - and it felt great! I spent €40, which is THE MOST I have ever spent on groceries in this country in one fell swoop. Food here is so cheap that it's incredible. In America, $40 is probably the least I'd ever spent at the grocery store when I was really there to stock up on food!

I got tortellini and pesto; all the ingredients for homemade chicken fajitas; smoked salmon for homemade tapas; raw broccoli and mushrooms for a snack (I snack on whole, raw mushrooms like normal people snack on potato chips - thanks, Co-op, for making my roommates think I'm even weirder than they already did); all the ingredients for homemade strawberry white chocolate shortcake (my newest creation and total fave - also delicious as a sort of peach cobbler, now that strawberries are already going out of season and Spain doesn't import fruits year round like America does); horchata and double stuffed Oreos dipped in cream cheese (strangest guilty pleasure ever - it acts as a stand in for cupcakes, since there is only one good cupcake shop in Madrid and it's too far away to go to often); and... drumroll, please... I SPLURGED AND BOUGHT MAPLE SYRUP FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!!!!!!!!! The American store recently started selling buttermilk, and so I'm going to go all out and make myself buttermilk pancakes this weekend to kick off my study-fest!!!!!!! I have been craving Slappycakes or Mother's Bistro or Original House like CRAZY... So if I can't go to the pancakes, I'll bring the pancakes to me!!!! ^_^

And that was the exciting part of my day.

Food.

And I'm okay with that. I love food. And now that I'm not surrounded by a million amazing restaurants and I am forced to cook if I want good meals, I'm getting pretty good at it. Sure, I only have about six main courses I'm good at, and only three desserts... But those things I'm good at are freakin delicious and make me so happy! ^_^

The other bit of cheer of the day was that Katie got us all tickets to see Of Monsters and Men next month!!!! After seeing them on SNL a week ago, I'm totally obsessed. I know they're nothing new at all, but they remind me of Portland and J in a happy sort of a way, and I like that their lyrics are just ambiguous enough that I can read whatever I want into them. ^_^ The venue for the concert looks really cool and it'll be awesome to go to my first concert in Spain with my good friends!!!

So far June is looking like it is going to be the best month I've had here - no more school work, two friends visiting (one from London and one from America) on two separate weekends, and now a concert! AWESOME!!! ^_^

Now, to try to get this job and to crank out my thesis...
XOXO

Day 254: Day Off!

Today was a Madrid holiday, so I got the day off of work!! ^_^ I had good intentions to spend it working on my thesis, but of course, I didn't. I woke up at 2:30, lazed in bed for another three hours, and then finally got up to to showered and ready to meet a guy in Madrid for a language exchange.

This is the fourth time I've done this, and oddly every time I do it it's with late 20s guys who are computer programmers. O_o Coincidence. Though based on a small sample size, I'd have to conclude that computer programmers, though financially relatively well off, are fairly dull people - or, at least, dull conversationalists. It turns out that I spend the whole time talking, and when I try to ask them questions, they have two second responses. That being said, it's a amazing I can spend 2-5 hours with these people speaking in Spanish as if I were in an interminable monologue. >_< Don't get me wrong - it's fun. I have been introduced to cool cafes and restaurants thanks to this, as well as have been getting good Spanish practice in and building my foreign language confidence... But I was also really hoping to make some friends by doing this and, so far no go. I'm thinking I'm going to have to take a new approach; I need to join a class or a club or something. But what am I interested in that would yield the biggest amount of intriguing people? The next two weeks will be taken up by my thesis, and the two weeks after that by visits from John (he just told me yesterday that he's gonna visit me - yay!!!!) and Lili. And then I'll only have two weeks left and probably will be busy with figuring out my next step, honestly. But after I get resettled into my next life, I need to make a more conscious effort to make friends. Hopefully I can will some inspired idea of how to make them while I'm busy on the thesis and hanging out with visiting friends. :)

XOXO

Day 253: High School Graduation!!

Today was a big deal day at school. Today was graduation day for the Seniors.

All day long all of their teachers were running around, freaking out. I'm not sure why, exactly, but they were. For a week fellow lady teachers had been preparing me for the event by telling me that I had to dress, "As if I were going to a wedding." After the millionth teacher informed me of this, I started to wonder if I should feel insulted... Did they think I don't know how to dress up or what??... But they assured me they told all new teachers to dress up so that they wouldn't get there in their normal clothes and look way out of place.

I'd listened to the teachers planning for weeks what they were going to wear - lots of them, it seemed, had gone out to buy a new dress and heels for the occasion! Holy crap! So when it came to figuring out what I would wear, it wasn't hard. I picked the new dress that had been sitting in my closet for two months without anywhere to properly debut it. :) I also went with those amazing sparkling nude heels that had tortured my feet the first time I had worn them - but this time I was prepared with this strange clear stick of stuff that makes your feet indestructible (my dad brought it from America after I'd seen an ad for it - and man does that stuff work!!! I recommend it to every single high heel wearer in the world!).

I took a good 45 minutes getting ready - possibly the most amount of time I've spent getting ready in EVER - and carefully did my makeup (complete with bright red lipstick) and hair. By the time I was ready, I was unsure if anybody at school would even recognize me! I think I've worn makeup to school maybe five times all year - and dressed up once (I.e. the first day of school). I'm pretty sure that the people at school have no clue that I have the potential to be an attractive person at all - hence eight of them informing me that I had to REALLY LOOK NICE for this graduation. So, yes, I was pretty darned excited to have an opportunity to be the cute one for a change, instead of the awkward looking American who values sleep far above looks. ;)

Anyway, my favorite teacher picked me up to take me to school, and in no time we were there, standing outside with the other teachers, watching the kids in choir practice. :) All the teachers looked nice, but it wasn't anything too out of the ordinary, since they usually look pretty decent at school. I, on the other hand, kinda stood out. They all commented on how nice I looked, and I felt successful in my endeavor to show them I had the potential in me all along. Haha.

Five minutes of standing in the teachers' huddle later, thought, and I was over it. Don't get me wrong - I like the teachers I work with, I just don't really have much to say to them. First, I have to speak Spanish, and one-on-one that is no problem, but in a big group? Forget it. Second, I can't really relate to what they're talking about. They are adults, and accordingly, they take life and everything in it very seriously. And, let me be blunt: I am ALWAYS against that. Taking life seriously pretty much goes against everything I believe in. You can't be introspective when you do it, you can't see things from other perspectives when you do it, and it generally totally skews the intrinsic truth of any situation. To me, it's the biggest waste of time and energy. And so I just don't do it if I can help it.

I think it's safe to say that people who take themselves and life so seriously are one of my biggest pet peeves... Which is a problem, since it seems like that's how 98% of the world is conditioned to be. >_<

Anyway, I stood there rather awkwardly until the kids finally got done with choir practice, at which point they all ran up to me to marvel at my dress and tell me how beautiful and fashionable I looked.

^_^

They hugged me and touched my dress and oohed and ahhed over and over again. Basically, they made me feel like I was a real life princess and I felt so lucky and grateful. <3 We all chatted together for awhile, and I felt so happy I was hanging out with them instead of the adults. ;)

When it was time to head inside to prepare for the ceremony, I caught site of my Bachis!! The girls told me I looked beautiful and the boys stared at me, but quickly turned the other way. Haha. I had no idea why we were going inside first, but when I was called into a room, I quickly realized it was to get our teacher stoles!!!!

That's right - I got to wear a TEACHER STOLE!!!!!!!! Holy crap!!!!!!!!!! Coolest thing ever!!!!!!!!!!!! (And totally worthy of a selfie.)

And then, it was time! We all lined up and walked out very formally to our seats outside. ^_^ It was all so very official and so very adorable. All this fanfare for the ten high school seniors all of the teachers had been complaining about for weeks about their laziness and bad grades... But for this night, everything was centered around honoring them. Cute.

Introductions were made, the big deal senior gave a really good and funny speech full of cute allusions to his peers, and then it was time for their English teacher (my mentor)'s speech. It started just fine, but halfway through it, it began to rain. A few drops at first, and then some sprinkles, and then full fledged drizzle. I had been seated with the perfect view of Favorite student and as the rain began, we couldn't stop exchanged funny faces, which quickly turned into giggles we tried to suppress (sometimes even successfully!). Unequivocally, BEST part of the ceremony!!! ;)

Finally, after her speech was over, the director told us that we would be moving the ceremony inside. As the other teachers did the responsible thing and went to take the beautiful flower arrangements and pieces of furniture that would be ruined if they got too wet, I made a run for it. As I ran under the patio covering, the students in the choir ran up to me, giggling. :) I told them I was freezing and wet, wearing this darn dress, and they all attached themselves to me like really warm and adoring barnacles and told me they would keep me warm. ^_^ We walked like that all the way to the cafeteria, where the ceremony was to finish, giggling and chatting the whole way there! Man, I <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="" data-blogger-escaped-kids="" data-blogger-escaped-those="">
When we got inside, we had to wait for a few minutes while they got everything set up again, and so I went over to Pineapple to hang out while we waited! When I told her that my hair was looking so out of characteristically decent until it got all messed up by the rain, she assured me that I still looked cute and that all the boys in her class had been talking about it... haha. We talked a little more about her latest awesome blog post, and then it was time for the ceremony to continue.

The second part wasn't nearly as eventful, nor was I within range of exchanging silly glances with anybody talented in the art of exchanging silly glances, so I mostly tried to focus my attention on understanding all of the Spanish instead of letting my mind wander too far. The cutest part of the second half was definitely the choir (which I'm pretty sure they threw together the week before - but, considering, they did a great job) and were beyond adorable up there!! ^_^ It's a funny thing to feel proud of these little guys... I mean, I only really see them one hour per week, but somehow it feels like a lot more than that. :)

After the ceremony was over, it was time for a reception filled with refreshments- Spanish style! Yep, that meant tapas and... drumroll... beer and wine!!! That's right - I got to have a GLASS OF WINE AT SCHOOL, while surrounded by my students!!! Um, coolest thing ever. Man, I love some of the cultural differences here in Spain when it comes to education (of course, others I hate, but things hugging kids, getting to tell vocab that would be deemed too inappropriate in America and, now, THIS...!?!?! Seriously awesome.)!!!

Again, all the teachers huddled together in a little group to drink and eat and chat and take pictures. I hovered around them long enough to pose for a few pics, while secretly scanning the room to find my favorite students that had attended the graduation. ;)

Within minutes, I bolted from the pack of teachers, wine glass in hand, and found some of my 6th graders and... yep... my Bachis!!! ^_^ YAY!!! It was seriously weird drinking wine around my Bachis... mostly because it didn't feel that weird, which made it feel super way really weird. Thing is, in Spain, the drinking age is 18, and society seems to just accept that kids start drinking way before that, and nobody really seems to mind too much. They've told me stories about their parties, and so, for me, it's common knowledge that they drink, too. Which would be unheard of and totally taboo in the US. I certainly had never had a drink at their age!!

After hanging out with them for a little while and watching the Senior's video, I was informed that there would be a dinner for just the teachers who the Senior's had had that year and, being that I was technically one of them, I was invited. It was pitched as the type of invitation that was not socially acceptable to turn down, and so I smiled and went and told my teacher friend that she needn't drive me home. She made fun of me for caving, but I said if nothing else I could get a little Spanish practice in. >_< Haha.

Anyway, the dinner turned out to be a pretty cool experience, overall. One of the Bachis went, and I sat next to him, one of my favorite teachers and one of the Senior girls. Together, we giggled and they taught me some colloquial Spanish (cabrearse - to get pissed off = VERY IMPORTANT PHRASE - root, "cabra" which means "goat" - hahaha!!!). It was cool to sit with them, because I felt pretty free to be my strange self, rather than try to be teachery like I feel I should be around most of the other teachers and Seniors.

The dinner itself consisted of tons of tapas and then, for the main course, "carne a la piedra," which translates to, "meat on the rock." Haha. They serve you a plate of raw beef, and then a a plate with three or four sauces and a bowl of sea salt. Then, they bring a super hot stone slab to the table on wooden planks and you cook your meat on the stone then add whatever you want to it when it's ready. Think fondue, but instead of the pot of boiling water, you have a super hot rock. HAHA! ^_^ Let me just say - it was DELICIOUS!!! Seriously, amazing. Some of the best meat I've had in Spain for sure. And, the idea is not to cook it too much to keep the flavor intact. The strips are so thin that it's almost tricky not to cook the meat all the way through, but when you do it right, and then add some of that yummy sea salt... YUM!

As dinner was finishing (roughly three hours after it began - these Spanish people really take their time with their meals - especially when it's a celebration), the Seniors brought out a big bag of PRESENTS for their teachers!!! ^_^ WOW! Apparently that's a thing here - and I think it's awesome. Lots of the presents were sort of gag gifts based on inside jokes they'd developed with their teachers throughout the year, but others were more regular things like books and jewelery. I was sure they wouldn't get me a present, and I really didn't mind, because although we'd technically had two hours of class together per week, I'd pretty much seen them once or twice a month - and even then I think I heard them speak English twice all year. It was basically turned into their study hall, which didn't bother me at all. I mean, these people honestly look a good four years older than me, which makes it way awkward for me to try to impart knowledge to them! HA.

But anyway, just as I thought it was over, I was the last one to be handed a present! Yay! I was given a Spanish flag (I've seriously been wanting one, to put next to my Brazilian flag and Chelsea - England soccer scarf), an Alcala shot glass and and Spain snowglobe! Um, adorable!!!

After dinner all the teachers took a few Seniors in their cars and dropped them off in a neighborhood with bars to celebrate (so weird they can drink at 18 here), and then one of them drove me home. I didn't walk in my front door until 3:15am. Holy. Crap! Considering my other teacher friend had picked me up at 7pm, that was like EIGHT HOURS of graduation festivities - all in Spanish, too.

BAMF.

^_^

All in all, it was a lovely experience to have for my first Spanish high school graduation. ;)

XOXO

Day 252: >_<

Monday was Monday. On the bright side, I didn't get angry with my 7th graders - and, as we all know, that's reason to rejoice right there. I actually almost enjoyed them today, as a matter of fact. O_o Whoa. But just almost. ;)

On the not so bright side, after my cheery first hour with my Bachis, one of the teachers had a serious talk with me about all that went down last Friday. :-/ Apparently that one teacher in the whole school who I seriously dislike was eavesdropping on my conversations with students and misinterpreted everything I was telling them and went and told one of my favorite teachers that I was insulting and belittling her as a teacher - and then went and tried to report me to the head mistress!!!

>_<

I have a few choice words to write, but as I know my favorite Bachis read this, I'll do my best to refrain. But man, that really pissed me off. What an immature thing to do. If she thought she heard something, could she not come over and asked to speak to me outside, rather than unnecessarily screaming at the students I was talking to and then going and "tattling" on me behind my back??? Sometimes students seriously can be more mature than teachers... And I think I'm beginning to realize children in general can be more with-it than adults. That being said, I feel really lucky I get to be surrounded by more kids than adults, because I think they understand me better than the average adult, and, likewise, I think I understand them better than the average adult. Brother.

I <3 my students. I hope this whole thing doesn't come back to get me. I really wasn't meaning to say anything bad about one of my favorite teachers, but rather was trying to console the students about their silly vocab test they were freaking out about. I just don't understand why teachers have to have this front with students - like they're superior and stuff. I almost always had no respect for those kinds of teachers (except Blair Bear, of course). I always learned most from the teachers who were just real people with nothing to prove. And that's exactly how I try to be as a teacher. Why inspire fear and resentment in students when you can inspire adoration and enthusiasm?! Spain clearly hasn't come around to that epiphany yet... But, jeeze, I hope they figure it out soon. These poor tiny people... <3

XOXO

Day 251: "Don't be like the rest of them, Darling."

Today (after waking up at 2 pm and then going to the store and making WHITE CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE - OMG DELICOUS), I did school work for my Master's degree and finally finished a whole class a week early - a class that'd I'd consistantly been about a month behind the whole time! >_< Haha! That teacher's gonna be shocked when she sees all my posts are up to date, and even ahead of date on one assignment. Sheesh.

While working all day, I rerealized how... unique (weird?)... I am. Abby and Katie and Marianna sit in one spot and focus on nothing but their task at hand, stopping only to have a quick tea or coffee or water and check their Facebook. And they can be like this for hours and hours, days on end.

And then there's me.

I read an article.
Then I turn on a song and start dancing.
Then I read another article.
Then I start talking to the article while I'm reading it, as if the writer of the article can hear me. Usually I'm insulting them. Unless I'm not, in which case I'm telling them we should be friends, 'cause they're way more clever than the average person.do
Then I listen to another few songs and sing along (or meow along, if I can't understand the words).
Then I start to write my reflection, all while squeaking to some new music I just found.
Then I watch one of the assigned Youtube videos, while doing a jig in my chair and talking to the people in the movie.
Then I break for a few swigs of Moscatel.
Then I read half a page, before searching something really random and unrelated on Google.
Then I write a little more, and get really into it, and end up writing three times as much as was assigned.
Then I sing and dance again.
Then I start to day dream about something.
And then I watch another assigned Youtube video.
Which makes me remember something I wanted to journal about.
And then I IM a friend.
And then I skip around the house and get some food.
And then I write another four pages on accident.
And read a little.
And meow-sing some more to a Justin Bieber song or a Monsters and Men song or an Amy Winehouse song. Or all three. Once I tried two at the same time open in different windows. It didn't work out well.

I look crazy to Abby and Marianna and Katie. But the thing is, I'm enjoy the HELL out of myself. I'm giggling the whole time and random thoughts that cross my mind and commentary I'm giving aloud on what I'm reading and watching. I have conversations in my head with random people about what I'm learning and usually end up laughing about them, too. I'm just so HAPPY. It's ridiculous. And, by being so happy, I get an amazing amount done in the end, with much higher quality and thoughtfulness, than had I sat here fully focused on the task in front of me.

I don't know WHERE I learned to be like this from. I'm not this way when I'm actually at school as a student (but man I AM this way when I'm at school as a teacher - haha). I'm quite focused and not so ADHD in the classroom. But when left to my own devices? I'm all over the place - and happy as a clam about it.

The fruits of my studying today have produced the following:

An Adorable Bossa Nova Song (B sent me this song last night saying I'd "prolly like it," and boy was he right!! I've been listening to it all day long and it makes me feel like I'm in some crazy adventurous dream...)

16 Habits of Highly Creative People (I found this after Abby came in and looked at me weird and Katie asked why I was meowing. I wanted proof it was okay I was so weird. And, as it turns out, I found all the proof I needed. HA.)

TED Talk - i.e. What Makes Me Such a Unique Teacher (I found this yesterday when I was fooling around online and rediscovered my love for TED Talks while I was putting away laundry. This lady's talk literally made me cry, because I just agree so much with her, and see myself in what she was describing!!!)

Finland's Education System (I learned about this in the class I worked on today. What you don't hear in this mini introduction to it is how all the students take their shoes off when they get to school to create a relaxed environment and how their average school day is about four hours long, with a break between each class. I don't know how the brilliant person that came up with this got people to listen to him/her, but man do I salute them. It makes me wish I could create my own education system and try it out!!)

XOXO