Well this week is my first and last full week of school. So far, I have mostly been working one on one with students. I have been grading them on their speaking and reading skills. Today was my first real test. My teacher was not at school until after lunch today, so I was on my own all morning. I had an English and a science class to teach. Luckily, I have the sweetest fourth grade girls in my class! First in English, we talked about when to use "any" and when to use "some". Since they teach the British English here, some of the examples in the book were confusing to me and I found a way to explain the usage of these words in my own way. The girls wrote in the notebooks and completed the exercise for the lesson. They then wrote penpal letters to my fifth grade students back at home. I am very excited to deliever these letters to then upon my return and to explain the differences between school at home and school here in Spain. I also taught a science class about matter and materials. My classroom teacher was able to return to school halfway through this lesson, but she sat in the back of the room and participated in my lesson alongside the kids. It was fun to explain these concepts to the girls, and I love how engaged they are when I am teaching. After asking a question, every girl in the class wants to answer which is a big difference from home. Although it gets a little loud and crazy sometimes, I love the girls here and their desire to learn!
As my time in Paris comes to an end, I can truthfully say I have seen everything here. The past two days we have been taking a bus tour around the city which consisted of 4 different bus routes. We successfully rode the entirety of each route in addition to walking around a lot of the city. Yesterday we spent the entire morning at the Eiffle Tower. We waited in a long line to walk the 600 something stairs to the top of the tower, and I can say it was worth the wait. Even though it was a cloudy, rainy day, the view was amazing. It felt like I was on top of the world. Unfortunately, the very top level of the tower was closed because of the windy weather conditions. After walking down the stairs, we began the journey to find food. We ended up walking in a huge circle! Paris streets are so confusing! We finally got to eat and then got back on our bus to see the Arc de Triomphe. It was so crowed, but a beautiful piece of architecture! Then, we took a rickshaw ride back to the Eiffle Tower. Our goal was to see it lit up in the night sky. The rickshaw was an experience! We even saw an Egyptian protest as we were towed down the street. Upon returning to the tower, we waited for the sun to set. The view was georgous! The tower finally lit up, and the wait was worth it. We then attempted to ride the metro back to our hotel. We figured out the confusing routes and rode the subway one stop until a voice came over the speaker saying something in French. Everyone proceeded to exit the train. We heard someone say it was the last stop and that we should head to the bus. This was quite an experience!! The bus took us to another metro stop which we eventually were able to ride home. Luckily the people on the bus were nice enough to help us out and explain that only a few stops on the train were closed for the day. Finally we made it back safely! Today, we began our day by riding the bus around part of the city which we hadn't seen yet. We walked around the Luxembourg Garden which was absolutely beautiful. The sun was shining, and it was a perfect last day in Paris. We then rode another bus to the love lock bridge. I was able to decorate a love lock to put on the bridge. I had seen this bridge in pictures, but it was so pretty up close! There are so many different locks which make the bridge glisten in the sunlight. I threw the key to my lock in the water and it will now be locked there forever! This is supposed to be a symbol of lasting love so it was decorated with mine and Austin's names and the date. We then got back on a bus and unexpectedly rode it for close to 2 hours. By the time we reached our destination, we were so happy to get off! We ate dinner and walked back to our hotel. I had a great time in Paris, but I am ready to return to Barcelona where the streets are familiar! Well after a rough start last night, we made it through the first day, and it was a great one! We started out by finding a map and a bank to replace all the money we spent on the taxi last night. We then began the walk to the center of Paris. We first saw a makeshift market selling all sorts of foods and clothing. We found our first landmark which was a statue of Juliet. Then, using our map began the walk to Notre Dame. It was a slow journey because of the pouring rain. By the time we arrived, I was soaked from head to toe. (an umbrella doesn't help much when the wind is strong!) Then after waiting in a very very very long line, we finally got to enter the Notre Dame cathedral. Is was beautiful. The high ceilings, stained glass windows, and various statues made the long, wet walk so worth it. Upon entering the building, we had to be silent which make the experience so much more special. After we left, we walked around the outside of the entire cathedral taking many pictures along the way. We then explored some more of the city. We saw a lot of awesome architecture and beautiful buildings. After seeing many things, we began to find the way back to the hotel. We had walked quite a long way! We were so happy to see our hotel so we could rest and get dry after a long, rainy day. The sights around the city were so beautiful, even through the rain, and it's still hard to evolve that I'm actually in Paris. Tonight we found a much cheaper route back to the airport and we will be taking a bus tour of the city tomorrow! I am so excited to see the Eiffel Tower!!! Well we finally made it to Paris thanks to a really nice cab driver! Our ride should have cost somewhere around 260 euros but we only had 200 and he happily accepted it. If only we had known the city is an hour away from the airport...We found our hotel, which is small, but nice, and a market right down the street. Eating chili flavored chips and yogurt without a spoon wasn't exactly in the plans, but it's working for now! I am excited to be able to explore the city first thing in the morning!! But first, we must find a map and a bank! What a busy weekend this has been! After school on Friday we went to the city center again. We ate at a Mexican restaraunt and shopped around a little bit. We also saw a beautiful church and the street with many famous designer stores. It was fun exploring the city! On Saturday, I went to the beach. It was so pretty! We ate lunch and relaxed on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea! The sand here is much more coarse than any sand I've ever seen before, and there were so many people trying to sell stuff as you sat on the beach. Vendors were constantly approaching us which became a little frustrating after a while. We then met some friends in the city center for dinner. Today was a busy day also! We started early this morning by finding Park Guell. It is a beautiful place with great views of the city and many mosaics. The hike up to the hill was an experience! The hill was so steep they had built escalators in the middle of the road to assist you frequently. Once we finally got to the top, we entered the park and could see the whole city of Barcelona! We walked up and down the huge park and saw some pretty sites. We then ate lunch before leaving the area. After lunch we headed back to the city center and walked down La Ramblas. There were many shops and we even saw some human statues! At the bottom of the street was a port and a huge statue of Christopher Columbus. After seeing this we headed up to the very top of the mountain to Tibidabo. We took a cable car halfway and another cabled train the rest of the way. The view at the top was breathtaking. We could see the entire city and there was a beautiful church at the top. We went inside and walked all around outside while taking plenty of pictures! We walked back down the mountain, and finally made it home. It has been a very tiring but exciting weekend! Today was my first regular day at school! We had a very busy day. I started by meeting my fourth grade class with which I will be working often. They presented me with a book of pictures that they had made when they were waiting for me to arrive. It was so cute!! My teacher said they were really worried about if I was tall and what color hair I had so I would look right in their pictures! They then each introduced themselves and told me something about them. It is so hard to understand and remember their names!! During this time I was also able to help a girl who is very far behind in English label random things around the room. This was fun, and the student is so sweet - she kept hugging and kissing me the whole time! I was also able to work with several other groups of kids during the English enrichment classes. During these times the only goal is to get the students to talk fluently in English. We played games, told stories, and asked each other questions. It was so laid back! It is also laid back in the regular classroom. The students call out often and are constantly interrupting the teacher. Since my teacher teaches only in English, I found the girls translating for each other a lot during science and history class. Even though it is very different here, I am enjoying my experience so far! At home today I watched Aladdin in Spanish with my kids. I also made a craft with the littlest girl. She is 6 and is trying to learn English better. She does really well, but sometimes gets confused and says some Spanish words. It was fun working and talking with her today. I also learned more about their holiday traditions here. When someone looses a tooth, there is no fairy, but instead a mouse comes to leave a present. The mouse takes the tooth and builds a huge castle out of all of the children's teeth!! They also believe that the three kings deliver presents on Christmas. I loved hearing about these things and was able to share some American traditions as well! Today was my first regular day at school! We had a very busy day. I started by meeting my fourth grade class with shock I will be working often. They presented me with a book of pictures that they had made when they were waiting for me to arrive. It was so cute!! My teacher said they were really worried about if I was tall and what color hair I had so I would look right in their pictures! They then each introduced themselves and told me something about them. It is so hard to understand and remember their names!! During this time I was also able to help a girl who is very far behind in English label random things around the room. This was fun, and the student is so sweet - she kept hugging and kissing me the whole time! I was also able to work with several other groups of kids during the English enrichment classes. During these times the only goal is to get the students to talk fluently in English. We played games, told stories, and asked each other questions. It was so laid back! It is also laid back in the regular classroom. The students call out often and are constantly interrupting the teacher. Since my teacher teaches only in English, I found the girls translating for each other a lot during science and history class. Even though it is very different here, I am enjoying my experience so far! At home today I watched Aladdin in Spanish with my kids. I also made a craft with the littlest girl. She is 6 and is trying to learn English better. She does really well, but sometimes gets confused and says some Spanish words. It was fun working and talking with her today. I also learned more about their holiday traditions here. When someone looses a tooth, there is no fairy, but instead a mouse comes to leave a present. The mouse takes the tooth and builds a huge castle out of all of the children's teeth!! They also believe that the three kings deliver presents on Christmas. I loved hearing about these things and was able to share some American traditions as well! Today was Sant Jordi which means Saint George's Day. It is a festival in Barcelona similar to Valentine's Day in America. The tradition here is that the boys give girls a rose and girls give boys a book. There were people everywhere on the street selling roses and books!! At school there were no regular classes. Most of my classes today involved making paper flowers to give to the younger children at the school as well as painting their faces during the festival time. The older kids also had games to play with the younger ones to involve them in the festivities. Even though school was crazy, my teacher is awesome! She speaks English all of the time in the classroom, and she is originally from Atlanta! We teach english, science, and art. I did get to see an art class today, and the girls were learning the proportions to draw a human face. Once the instruction had been given and they started to work, there seemed to be no structure. It is not like at home where everyone sits in their desk and works in silence. The girls were very loud, up moving around, singing songs, and constantly coming up to talk to the teacher. I experienced many other cultural difference at school as well! The boys and girls are always separate during class and only interact with each other during recess and lunch. Also, there are no lines in the hallways and the children are allowed to talk whenever they are walking to their classrooms. I kept waiting for someone to tell them no taking in the hall, but no one did!! For lunch, we were out of school for an hour and a half. I went out with two other girls from school, and it was an experience for sure! The waiters were laughing at us because our Spanish was not the next, and one girl never even got her food!! Also, they never brought us a check. We had to get back to school, so on our way out they sat our check on the counter by the door. We have been told that waiters here do not expect tips, and that Spanish people take a long time when eating. They like to sit and relax after meals, so checks are not brought to the table quickly. It will be something to get used to!! After school, I went to the city center with a few other girls. It was so crowded down there!! There were people everywhere as well as vendors and stages for the holiday. It was a great first experience in the city! We rode the metro for the first time and were able to find many buildings and special places in Barcelona. We never even had to ask for help! (Just were constantly checking our map!) For dinner we ate at a pizza place. They had a separate floor on which we had to sit to get service in English. The food portions are so big here! My meal came with two courses and I couldn't finish either one! It was very good though. I had tried some traditional Spanish foods and they have been good so far! I'm looking forward to seeing a more normal school day tomorrow! I'm so glad to say I survived the plane ride and made it to Barcelona. The city is beautiful, but I am so overwhelmed. My mom just dropped me off at my home for the next three weeks and now it's up to me to walk back to school alone in an hour... I'm so nervous about finding my way through the city! On our walk home, my mom kept warning me about people who were staring because they could tell I'm not from here. The house is so pretty, but is it very small. They also have a housekeeper who speaks no English. It will be interesting trying to communicate with her while I am home alone! Most of all, I am so tired. It's all I can to keep my eyes open as I type this. Bedtime tonight cannot come soon enough, and I hope this jetlag goes away soon! Today is the day I finally step onto the plane to begin my journey to Spain. As I lay in bed thinking of what this day holds, I become more excited - but also more nervous! In about 5 hours I will face my biggest fear of getting on plane - something I swore I would never do again after my last trip. While this is a scary thought, I know I cannot live life afraid. It is because of this that I decided to participate in this program anyway! I want to live a life full of adventure, fun, and love - not one of fear!! As I sat in church yesterday on Easter, the words of a song really struck home. "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone." I know that God will be by my side through this entire adventure, and while maybe not ALL my fear is gone, I can certainly live each day knowing this is exactly what I am supposed to be doing. Now it's time to go make sure I have everything packed and in it's place as I begin my adventure of a lifetime!! Reality is setting in that I leave in less than 48 hours. Leaving my fifth graders yesterday was hard, but I know I will see then again soon! They gave me a list of things to find out while I am in Spain, and I am excited to share this experience with them. I received an email from my teacher in Spain today!! She let me know that she teaches 4th grade - not 6th grade like I had originally thought. I am so excited! I have worked with fourth graders before, and I absolutely love this age. She said I will be able to work with the students in developing their oral language skills. This is definitely going to be an experience of a life time! |