My Guilty American Conscience

I have missed two days of work because I have the flu (or a cold or Gripe A). I feel HORRIBLE for missing work. Even though I only get paid $250 Euros a week, I feel awful. Why? Because as an American, I am supposed to miss work ONLY if I am one step away from dead.

I just asked my landlady, our resident abuelita, who came to pick up the laundry and check on me, if it is ok to miss work in Spain. She said it's fine, but I should get a doctor's note if I can. When I called the principal at my school this morning, she said "Don't worry! If you are sick tomorrow, it's ok, don't worry, but try to come tomorrow because it's Halloween!" Coming from a culture where people work even when they take a sick day, it's a little hard to swallow. I still feel the guilt in my chest (you know, that one spot where the anxiety goes), but hopefully it will go away once I successfully tell my guilty American conscience to f*** off. After all, I need to be healthy, the kids need their American parrot back!

A Little Bit About My Living Situation

Renting a room is like going back to college. Let me say that patience is still an important virtue.

One of my favorite things about living in Madrid is the fact that on my block alone, we've got two fruterias (fruit and veggie stands), two supermarkets (one directly across the street), and a pasteleria (bakery) next door. I feel very fortunate to have all of these places at my fingertips as I visit them frequently. Sharing the refrigerator with three people means I have one shelf for all my food (plus a cabinet for dry goods). That translates to at least five or so trips to the store a week. Good thing I like grocery shopping!

My Name is Pencil Case Pink

Over the weekend, I had the stomach flu or food poisoning, not sure which. I got to school today and discovered that two other teachers and lots of kids (9 from one of my first grade classes alone) were sick and/or absent. 'Tis the season as they say.

While sitting in my first class of the morning doing my best not to concentrate on the nasty feeling in my stomach and my general disgustingness, one of the cute little 6-year-old girls said to me, "Que guapa eres" ("How pretty you are"). It was definitely a heart warmer. Maybe 3 days with very little food, no make-up, and greasy hair is a good look for me. Compared to last week's "You look like my mom," I think I'm moving up in the world.

I've discovered first graders are kind of like cats and dogs - they seem to know when something is wrong and they want to make you feel better! I got lots of hugs and kisses today (which will probably contribute to future illness..but oh well) and my very first picture (from Diana in the second grade), all of which made me feel very well-loved. Tomorrow, with some luck, I'll be dancing on the patio to Lady GaGa, Katy Perry and Beyonce with all the little ladies (and one little gent).

***Photo is of first graders from a summer program I worked at in June. Pics of my classes will be a little delayed because I left my camera USB in San Jose. WHOOOPPPSSSS!!!!!

"Can I Have the Rubber, Please? Can I Have the Rubber, Please?"

One of the joys of teaching English in Spain is the kids learn British English. I don't know anything about British English. Kind of like I don't know anything about Castellano...I'm only familiar with a little something we in the Western Hemisphere like to call Spanish (or español). Be warned - in Spain, they don't speak Spanish, they speak Castellano. Therein lies the root of one of the many problems I have when it comes to learning Spanish a la los Españoles...I've been learning 'Mexican' style or maybe 'New Mexican' style Spanish the whole time. Damn.

As I may have mentioned previously, I spend Tuesday through Friday singing songs with first graders. One of the songs is titled "Can I have the rubber, please?" obviously referring to an eraser. I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a good laugh every time I have to sing the song since a rubber in American English refers to something quite inappropriate for 6-year-olds. This little ditty about 'rubbers' in addition to constant farting, nose picking and the inability to sit still for more than 2 minutes, gives you a good idea of what a typical day is like for me. My 'work'days are highly entertaining to say the least.

VivAmerica! Corrida de Toros! A New Roommate!

I could really get used to having three day weekends all the time : ) During this, my second three day weekend, I did my best to perfect the "art of doing nothing." I didn't study Spanish, I sort of unpacked my room, and I couldn't go to the grocery store because they were all closed Sunday (as usual) and Monday for the 12 de Octubre (essentially Columbus Day) holiday.

Last night, Tim, Danielle, Farren, Nona and I went to VivAmerica, a massive parade of people from all over Latin America celebrating their beautiful cultures. We were thoroughly enjoying ourselves as spectators, but when the Dominican group came around, a hot guy pulled Danielle out of the crowd and the rest of us followed. Lucky for us, Nona is half-Dominican, so we felt like we belonged - we jumped and screamed and shouted like we did anyway.

It was so much fun to be part of a group of people who are so proud to represent their country even though they are thousands of miles from home. We all came to the conclusion that there is no way North Americans (i.e. the USA and probably Canada) would represent the way the Latin folks did. It'd definitely be a lot less fun : )

Other weekend activities included a Corrida de Toros (bullfight), lots of tapas, pastries, and tinto de verano. I also met my new roommate from Slovenia who rounds out the group nicely - Slovenia totally fits in with an American (me, the boring one), an Austrian, and a half-Japanese/half Spanish guy (in his case, an attractive mix)...

***See above for example of a hot Dominican man

A Busy Week Comes to an End

I started off the week in yet another hostel, this time in Puerta del Sol, which is considered the center of Madrid. On Monday morning, I woke up feeling like s*** but dragged myself to an appointment to look at a room. Luckily, that room turned out to be the one I'm now living in. As I mentioned before, I have a 3 day weekend every week, so the rest of Monday was spent trying to figure out how to download Glee for free. I was unsuccessful and ended up paying for it on iTunes. It's definitely worth it.

Tuesday started off my 'work' week which basically consists of 16 hours (total) working in the classroom. The rest of the time I am at school, I read in the library to preserve my sanity. A typical day goes like this: 9:30 a.m. arrive at school, two hours of class, 11:30 a.m. to noon 'recreo' which is coffee time for teachers and recess for the kids. Noon to 1 p.m. is another class and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. is lunch time. After lunch, we have two 45 minute classes and then the day is over. I am home by 5:15 p.m. That's my schedule for Thursday and Friday. The first two Tuesdays of every month, I show up at 3 p.m. and work for an hour and a half and then go home. Wednesday is still sort of TBD but I'll likely have an hour or so added to my already two-hour long lunch. Viva la vida Española!

I Have a Home!

Thank the good Lord, I have a home! After two weeks of looking all over Madrid, Farren and I finally have a place to call our own. Well, mostly our own...

While in Madrid, I'll be sharing a piso (apartment) with 3 other people (two girls, one guy). It's not the place I'd imagined for myself (I was hoping to rent an apartment and have 1 to 2 roommates), but I'm happy with the one I've found. Visitors are allowed (yay!) and the roommates are all young. Farren is going to live in the apartment below mine - even though we're not in the same piso, we're in the same building. Retiro Park is within walking distance, so I can go running and/or just read a book in the park whenever I feel like it. I'm totally exhausted/feel like crap and am not as elated as I should be, but at least the piso hunt is OVER!

Had a Cry, Drank a Margarita and Still Need a Piso

I'm not sure how to describe this week; it's been a roller coaster to say the least. I've done a lot, but haven't made as much progress as I'd hoped. In short, I had orientation on Monday and Tuesday, which proved to be WAY more organized than anticipated. My first day of school was on Thursday. The commute isn't bad, the teachers are really nice, and everyone seems to be genuinely excited that we are there. I have a mix of first through fifth graders and have already decided NOT to be a first grade teacher due to the babysitting factor. I have every Monday off which is awesome for traveling purposes.

As far as the piso hunting goes, we continued to look at rooms all week (Farren and I have decided to split if necessary), but haven't found 'the one' yet. I am really disappointed that it's taken this long for multiple reasons, chief among them being that I can't unpack or relax yet (relaxation will come with unpacking, thank you OCD). I am doing my best to stay positive, but am feeling mostly bummed. Please send positive juju our way!

***Photo is of Katie, Daria, and I at Xochimilco in Mexico City in July 2006. Decided to throw it up here because we ate Mexican food for dinner and it made me feel so much better : )