So last week was Thanksgiving and for the first time since I’ve been abroad I decided to celebrate it. My first year I remember I had Indian food for lunch and called that feast well, ironic and better than turkey. Thanksgiving definitely isn’t my favorite holiday. I don’t enjoy teaching it too much either but I tried to switch it up this year. In simply mentioning the holiday I made it an event among my girlfriend’s family and I’m okay with that.
I was going to get simple slices but everything was taken up a level. We had turkey legs (I know nothing about cooking a turkey at all so I had to read up on it to answer questions. We ended up putting them in the crockpot.) We had green beans, as a fun fact they have two different kinds of green beans here. There’s the round kind that I think most Americans think of and then a flat version like empty pea pods, I just googled they’re ‘romano beans.’ I heavily prefer the round ones (that’s how they refer to them here.) Again I was just going to use the frozen ones we have and that also wasn’t sufficent so they bought fresh ones. Green bean casserole is a bit difficult because the second most important ingredient, cream of mushroom soup, is likely hard to find. They do have french-fried onions which is a little surprising. They picked up some canned cranberry sauce (from the store Taste of America) because I couldn’t resist after my work group chat informed me where they were in time. I thought it wouldn’t be that great but honestly it was amazing, my favorite part hands down. I shouldn’t be too surprised knowing my deep love of sauce but it was far from my favorite dish before. We’re having my favorite dish, mashed potatoes, I was going to do the box type (it’s fine) but again they wanted to go the extra mile. It was kind of gummy but my motto is still you can’t really mess up potatoes. I tried to talk them into ‘pigs in a blanket’ because Spaniards seem to love both croissants and hotdogs. I found out they have them here. I am also seeking to find the most American pie that I can find to fit the bill, I had to make due with a blueberry cheesecake.
My work situation is quite different this year. It all started with a zoom call meeting we had to be in at 5pm on a weekday in the summer. We were given an opportunity to try this new pilot program. I was intrigued given that it’s my third year and I like to switch it up. There were three of my future bosses on there as well as most of my future coworkers.
My "main base" is a center in a place called ‘scholar city.’ It's in the northwest of Madrid, far enough out to have a non-paved parking lot. It’s next to an old folks home. There are lots of trees and ducks. There are students there that live there and some just temporarily so there are lots of dorms. They also have animals like cats and guinea pigs and sheep. Lucky for me I get to make use of their indoor pool, I go once a week. It takes me a pretty long time to get there, two buses and two metros. I've been going a different way lately and taking a train and a bus (after a ride most of the way to the train station.) At home base I plan for all my lessons two days a week. This is very different because all the rest of teachers basically have to build their prep time in between other classes. It’s also where one of my main bosses works, who has many bosses herself. She’s a funny well-dressed Spanish grandma. Most people her age ( like all of them basically) don't speak English and sometimes she switches back and forth seemingly subconsciously. She’s a big ideas lady but has the habit of throwing a little too much at people. She doesn’t usually answer very direct questions easily but she’s very supportive.
This year I have lots of coworkers. There was supposed to be ten of us. I have funny nicknames for them. The clown, nickels, Idaho, Pennsylvania, Jam, the assassin, the nun, halfblood. They’re not the most classy nicknames but I amuse myself. Idaho is new, her first two weeks she shadowed us all which sounds like a fun opportunity. It’s an interesting group. Before. I never really let myself be surrounded by Americans so often but after two years it’s kind of nice. I still feel really different from them but not as different as Spaniards.
I also have two schools again, both elementary. The first is three buildings surrounded by playground. There's clear signs indicating where each grade goes on the many doors. At the bottom there’s a preschool and the youngest kids at 3rd grade they go upstairs until grade 6. The first grade class is pretty small, maybe less than twenty and the teacher is a sweet 40-year-old man. The second grade class is almost double the students and the teacher seems a bit uptight. The third grade is better than the fourth grade for whatever reason. They have the same teacher, a guy with a beard, that I'm not particularly fond of. The fourth graders are always drawing and have some sass in the way of English, they're a bit whiny. I love fifth grade, they’re my favorite. The teacher is great, she’s they type that dances and helps me without being asked. I also enjoy sixth grade but they have a bit more secondary school vibes of being "cool." Their teacher is my coordinator but she barely talks to me. She was supposed to show me around my first day but she never did and I never see her except in her class.
I have four classes every Tuesday, I rotate about one class per month with the youngest 1st-3rd. I’m suppose to socialize on the playground half of recess which is a bit awkward. Most boys play soccer and they’re really good, a few girls play and it is nice to watch. Unfortunately basketball isn’t very popular, something I think I can adequately play. Lots of kids eat and run which they’ve always kind of warned us against as a choking hazard. Sometimes kids offer me food and talk to me a little so I guess they’re warming up to me. I feel like there are rather consistent types of kids that seems to jive with me. The foreign kids, the ones that will likely grow up to be queer, pretty fitting stuff for me.
My second school is a bit nicer over all. The building itself is a several stories split my half staircases. There’s only two hallways that can get you to each side of the building. It's very confusing and I still get lost. I'm friends with the secretary and she practices her English with me. She told me she’s considered moving to the U.S. Her husband works in the military and they have three children, the oldest is fifteen. They had me working with preschoolers which was an experience I can't say I particularly loved. You get a new sense of the culture. For example I’d say a word in English and a kid would say it back in Spanish repeatedly in a kind of angry way as if I’m wrong and he’s right. I also found it very odd that when given a coloring page they asked what color to draw everything and constant checks for approval. I found it kind of sad. I learned that first graders don't know their birthdays. It’s very awkward working with people who don't know any English when I’m not allowed to speak Spanish. I have a shorter 3rd grade class but they’re fun. Fourth grade is also crazy and it’s a big class. I think my second school is more diverse. For fifth grade I work with my coordinator, an older lady who also seems a bit uptight. She asks me if everything's alright a lot though and seems a little quirky. The sixth grade has the same "cool" vibe and I work with the head English teacher. I like her but sometimes she goes on tangents which i don't really appreciate.
Most of the teachers make a fair amount of English mistakes. It's awkward whether knowing to correct them. It's generally an unpleasant dynamic going into a teacher's classroom and taking over. A lot of them "check out" which is not what they’re supposed to do and often leads to disciplinary problems. I don't want to tell them what to do because if anything they’re a bit more of the boss of me. I want them to appreciate my lessons at least but usually this is only with the people higher up in the food chain. People fundamentally know the benefits of native speakers but in practice something gets lost. I don't know exactly what it is but I've always felt it there between me and the teachers I work with. There's also always an older lady that says she'll practice her English after stopping for a long time but you never have more than a 2 minute conversation. Then there's the staff that pretty clearly state "don't speak English with me" in the words sometimes exactly.
It’s hard to build relationships especially with the teachers for whatever reason. I am there a very short amount of time. Adults rarely want to practice their English with me which I think largely reflects the culture. It makes me a bit angry and frustrated but I know deep down it’s not me. It’s just a bit cold, walking through the school, doing my thing and going out, feeling a bit shunned.
Unfortunately I am still awaiting my paperwork. That means I have to file more paperwork to be able to go home and get permission. I feel like I should have some good karma stored up for my patience last year when I basically was pending legal stuff except March-June. It is complete bullshit. They don't tell you that once you've been around the block you have to wait, ‘renewals.’ Newbies get instant gratification and can't even appreciate it. It’s getting really difficult to stay patient.
On the bright side, if you haven’t heard or seen via Instagram I now have a cat! She’s a three year old Sphynx from Barcelona. She’s very funny, she likes to jump on our backs and shoulders now. Her favorite toy is a stuffed bear she immediately claimed. She has two sweaters and doesn’t like collars which is okay because she has a chip. She enjoys sunbathing and yogurt. I think she’s quite beautiful. If you’ve never pet a naked cat it feels like suede. She’s growing some fur on her nose and ears.
I’m really excited to go home this time around. I really don’t have long but it will be nice to have a minute to adjust before work starts in the new year. I miss my family a lot. The general familiarity really is a breath of fresh air. This is one of my more chaotic posts, sorry I couldn’t quite pull off ‘well-written’ but we’re all friends here. I’ll be working on blogging a little more often in the new year
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