The Rain in Spain is not only on the Plains

Buenos Dias! It is a very rainy day here in Madrid, and rain is forecasted for most of the week. Time to bust out the rain jackets! Yesterday marked our 3-week anniversary here in Spain; we’re almost halfway through our time here. Stay tuned for details on the next countries we plan to visit… we are very busy scanning through our options and making big plans. This week though we are focusing on planning our next weekend trip for the first week of October. Yes, the poll chose correctly- we’re going to Seville, combined with a visit to Granada to see the Alhambra. (Cousin Cara, with you just being there this summer, I look forward to hearing all your tips and “must-sees!”) Now that we know our work schedules and are comfortable there, we’re able to figure out what days we can take off to make the most out of these weekend trips. Reserving multiple train trips, bus trips, and accommodations can be quite exhausting (and expensive!), but nonetheless exciting. Yesterday Travis and I brought the laptop to our favorite park and sat for 2 ½ hours (enjoying someone’s free wi-fi network) comparing prices and plans. To plan a trip with hopes of it running smoothly, it’s necessary to plan well! Too bad not all the websites are in English. Try figuring out a train schedule with military times and Spanish language.

Out first weeks of work ended quite well. Instead of teaching one class of English, I’m now teaching 3, so that’s 6 classes a week. When I realized the differences among the speaking levels of my students, there was NO way I could teach them all together in one group. With Edith speaking almost fluently, Diego speaking in just the present tense, and Luis, Yolanda and Eduard speaking no more than what they learned last week (“Good morning! How are you? I am fine. My name is Luis. I am from Bolivia. What is your name? Nice to meet you.”), it was a necessary change of plans. My beginner class is by far the most difficult. With my nominal Spanish ability, I have to teach without providing explanations, and instead teach by modeling, repetition and pictures. For instance, I’d like to teach the verb “to be” (am, is, are) this week. In Spanish, there are two verbs for “to be” – estar and ser. (This is one of the most confusing things for Travis and me- there are tons of rules and exceptions as to when to use each one.) I have to explain, without using Spanish, how to use this verb in English and it’s importance. But keep in mind, they know no other vocabulary to accompany the verb. Everything is new to them! So, to teach, “I am a teacher,” I also have teach what “a teacher” is, etc… It’s quite challenging. At the same time, it’s quite enjoyable. I laugh a lot, they laugh a lot. My silly drawings and acting displays can be rather ridiculous. But in the end, when I see them up front of the class role-playing a greeting situation and speaking about 4 different sentences in English, it’s extremely rewarding! Wow- if they ran across an English-speaking person on the metro, they’d be able to greet them, ask their name, where they’re from, and how they’re doing. That is exciting.

For my other two students, Diego and Edith, I am teaching them each one-on-one with a conversational style of learning. I’ve narrowed down the vocabulary and grammar they need to improve, and I integrate this into our lessons through activities and every-day situational role-play. This type of teaching is very interesting to me as I’ve had the opportunity to ask these students about their backgrounds of living in Peru and Ecuador (two places I’d love to visit), and why they’ve come to Spain. Why do so many immigrants from Latin and South America come to Spain? Well, obviously the first reason is the shared language. Second, up until a few years ago, Spain was trying to up its population and work force and it was quite easy for them to come here legally with work contracts. With the promise of a job and help getting settled, there was not much to keep them in their native countries. Now, the border is tighter because of the low-employment rate among Spanish natives. We’ve noticed a lot of press about many recent college graduates needing to move back home with their parents after school because they cannot find employment and support themselves (just like home). With these new problems and the addition of immigrants trying to cross over illegally from Africa, the government is firmly narrowing in on the laws. I don’t yet know all the details surrounding these aspects of immigration, but I am curious to find out much more in my next 5 weeks working at Centro Hispano-Ecuatoriano.

On to our weekend… we stayed in town but took another day trip out to the beautiful monastery town called El Escorial. A quick 50-minute bus ride brought us to the foot of the mountains, lending us a delightful backdrop to the dainty village streets. As is our tradition when entering a new town, we gathered our bearings by exploring on foot, and watching then following where the locals go. We opted for a picnic lunch rather than the usual menu of the day. A plate of paella followed by breaded fish and french fries just wasn’t causing our mouths to water this time. We gathered our picnic fixings from local shops and found a good spot to enjoy the shade and take in the scene. One fun shopping aspect of Spain I’ve particularly enjoyed are the many little “Fruteria” or “Alimencion” stores that offer everything from warm bread baked fresh several times a day, fresh produce, canned goods and even specialty items like home-made empanadas or pastries. We have one of these stores around the corner from our apartment and we stop in there just about every day. The owner knows us now and always greets us with a very warm “Hola!” This store is especially helpful when we don’t feel like walking a mile and carrying our bags from our larger grocery store. We’ve come up with some very creative dinners just using the ingredients from her selection of goods- like black bean soup, veggie/ham omelets, traditional “Espanol” tuna salad, etc… the fruit is especially fresh and delicious.

Back to the El Escorial. The Monasterio de San Lorenzo was built in the 1,500’s by King Phillip II. It was a symbol of power rather than elegance as this extremely Catholic King ruled his empire and directed the Inquisition from here. For years after, the royal family traveled here from Madrid as a “vacation home” of sorts, and it provides the resting place for 26 kings and queens of the Spanish monarchy in the Royal Pantheon (which we toured- a little eerie I’d say…). Today, parts of it are still a working and active monastery, school and hospital. We took the tour and splurged this time as the site is highly regarded and so vast in size. Walking up and down the echoey staircases and through the cold hallways gave us a feel for what the royalty experienced back then. The painted walls and ceilings were marvelous to stare at, as were the interesting portraits showing the results of the common practice of “inbreeding” among the royal families. Hmm… I’ll leave that to your imagination.

As for the rest of our weekend, we enjoyed walking our local neighborhoods, caught up on correspondence, and did travel planning. We also treated ourselves to renting two American DVD’s and enjoyed the sound of the English language streaming through the speakers of the laptop as we watched. No worries though, we haven’t given up on our Spanish learning. We continue to blunder our way through every conversation!