Working and playing in Madrid

I'll start with the most recent happenings: this morning I rode my bike to the local park to watch a race. My fellow English teaching assistant Laura from Wisconsin invited me to come watch her and her roommate run in Spain's first Holi Run. I had never heard of this event before. Apparently it is a tradition originally from India that involves throwing colored dust on everyone as they run/walk/jump/dance. The website says the mission is just to have fun, and I was a witness to this mission accomplished! The entire event is more of a party than a race. I happily rode my bike alongside the participants, and yes, I got a little color, too. I posted all of my pics/videos, in case you want to see more!

The finish line/party

I find that people in Madrid are into exercise. Here is a yoga class in Plaza de Oriente.

Yes, you read correctly - I bought a bike! After attempting to buy one through Spain's version of Craig's List, Segundomano.es, I finally gave up and bought an extremely cheap mountain bike from Carrefour, the local superstore. So far I have gone on five happy rides on the bike trail next to my apartment. It is called el anillo verde (the green ring), because it makes a loop around the entire city of Madrid. I have not been brave enough to attempt to commute anywhere in the city, as the streets of Madrid are not very bike-friendly. Most madrileños use their bikes for purely recreational purposes.

I don't have any need to commute by bike to work, as I live only an 8-minute walk from the bilingual elementary school where I teach. It is a very good, small school, with two classes of 25 students in each grade level (1-6). I am working with the fifth and sixth graders. Each grade level has a Spanish-speaking teacher and an English-speaking teacher. The students learn math and Spanish in Spanish (obviously), and science, art and English in English. I only work with the English-speaking teachers, assisting with English, science and art.

The school strikes me as much less formal than schools in the U.S. Students and teachers dress alike in jeans, t-shirts, tennis shoes and casual wear. Students call the teachers by their first names! On the other hand, the classroom discipline is generally much more strict than I am used to in schools in the U.S.

I asked that my students call me "Miss Molly" as a cultural lesson, so that they would be aware that in English-speaking countries, teachers are called by a title (and I explained that we go by our surnames, as well).

A poster I created for the 5th graders to introduce myself

The students' English level is surprisingly good. In fact, they really don't know that I speak Spanish; at orientation the administrators made a special point of asking us to play dumb. This encourages the students to speak only English with us and to take more risks than they otherwise would. When a student asks me, "How do you say torro in English?" I respond, "I don't know. Can you use other words you know to describe it to me?"

The school day is relaxed and spread out. Coming from the American school system, it is a shocking change. School begins at 9:00 a.m. Students have two subjects before 11:00, when they have a half-hour recess. Meanwhile, the teachers who aren't on recess duty that day go the teacher's lounge and enjoy free baked goods, coffee, tea and fresh fruit catered by the company that provides the school lunches. They socialize and relax for 30 minutes!! Inconceivable. The tables are set with tablecloths and glass dishes, and the caterers clean up the dishes at the end of the break.

Next we teach one more hour of class, then have a two-hour descanso (break) from 12:30 - 2:30 for lunch. Most students stay, play on the playground and then eat the school lunch in the cafeteria. The full-time teachers have an hour of lesson prep time and then take the second hour to enjoy a leisurely meal in the staff lounge, again with glass dishes, silver water pitchers, forks and knives. Finally, there are two more class periods between 2:30 - 4:00. I haven't taken any pictures at school, but you can see some pictures on the school website.

This is where the students eat. Can you believe it?!

There are four English language and culture assistants at my school. We are all from the U.S. Here's a photo:

Tony from Indiana, Laura from Wisconsin, Yanalte from California, and me representing Washington!

We have a rivalry going - mid-West versus the West Coast. :)

They are all very sweet people and good teachers. Last week I hosted a dinner party at my apartment with all of them, their friends and roommates, my roommate Teresa, and one random CouchSurfer from France who was staying with Yanalte. We had a Mexican-food themed dinner, as Yanalte and her friends are Mexican-American. It was very difficult to find the appropriate ingredients. I made guacamole with a lemon and pimientos de padron instead of lime and jalapenos. Everyone loved it, still! I also made an apple crisp, which was very popular with the ex-pats, in particular.

My busy kitchen!

Fellow English/Culture teachers Tony, Laura, Yanalte

Mexican food - yippee! Chicken enchiladas, rice, salad

The cook taking a well-deserved break on the terrace. Yep, that's my bike!

Elyssa from Florida, CouchSurfer from France, Laura, Jake from Michigan

Hector from Mexico, Priscila and Yanalte from California

Jake and Kegan from Michigan, Tony from Indiana

Besides hosting a dinner party, I also got to attend a surprise birthday party for my roommate's cousin. The theme was cheese, bread, and pate. I have never tasted a more delicious array of cheese in my life. I was the only foreigner there. What a great group! Four of them are biologists, interestingly.

And I will end on a sweet note, as usual. (It's all about dessert.) I finally went to the famous Chocolateria San Gines, which serves drinking chocolate and churros to Spaniards and tourists 24-hours a day. On my way, I noticed a Japanese woman looking lost and having locals tell her, "Lo siento, no hablo ingles." I asked if she needed help, and she pointed to a picture of San Gines in her guidebook! I told her I also happened to be headed there, so we walked together and enjoyed the churros with company. She had just arrived in Madrid the day before and didn't speak any Spanish. She wanted to come to Spain because she takes Flamenco dancing lessons in Tokyo. She told me about a place to watch Flamenco dancing, which her dance instructor recommended as the best in Madrid. I am hoping to check it out soon.