No, I haven't started smoking or become a coal miner. But it's possible that everyone else in this city has. Smoking, that is. Not coal mining, as far as I know. It's impossible to go almost anywhere in this city without smelling like an ashtray. I had to find a new place to hang my towel because it was hanging next to my scarves, which of course smell like smoke. Yuck. The sad inevitable day finally came: the end of my first month of teaching. And the end of the month means time to switch schedules with the other assistant, Jen. Now I'm working with Inma and first-grade groups A & B. They are fine, but I miss my other classes! The worst/best part about the switch is that my old students always give me hugs and shout my name every time they see me outside or in the hallways. It really makes my day when they start the sports-style cheer: Shaaa-na! Shaaa-na! Shaaa-na!
So, what have I been up to lately? I've started going to a conversation hour type of thing in which we all speak thirty minutes or so in Spanish before switching to English for thirty minutes, and back and forth for about two hours. After last week's session, a group of us went to the Feria de la Cerveza that was held inside the Plaza de Toros. They tried to set it up like Oktoberfest, with long rows of tables and giant beer mugs that hold a full liter!There was also a variety of different types of sausage for sale, but to me they just tasted like hot dogs and breakfast sausage.
I guess that's how it goes when you're trying to eat German food in Spain. Speaking of which, Jen and I are going to Germany in December! We have a long weekend, or puente, at the beginning of the month so we spent an evening looking at cheap flights all around Europe and found some cheap ones to and from Düsseldorf and Frankfurt, but our itinerary between the two stops is currently undetermined, so please send suggestions! We are hoping to see Berlin, Dresden, and Munich, but I am still very open to suggestions. Also, Mom booked her flight to Madrid for Christmas, so we will probably travel for a few days before or after New Year's Eve, which I have decided we must spend here to be a part of the NYE tradition in Puerta del Sol, where the madrileños eat twelve grapes at midnight--one for each chime of the clock.
Yesterday I had my first session teaching the teachers at my school! As part of my program, the school can choose to have the English assistants help with teaching English to the other teachers. On Wednesdays, they meet with an actual English teacher, but on Monday afternoons they meet with Jen and me and we split into two groups for an hour of conversation. Jen has had some experience teaching before and, well, she tends to talk a bit faster than I do, so she has a group of six teachers who already know a bit of English. I have a group of fourteen (!!!) teachers who know less English, but their levels range from a few who really don't know any English to a few who will probably move up to the second class once they feel more comfortable speaking English. One of the teachers in my class, María (not to be confused with the first-grade English teacher María), lives near me and we've gotten the chance to talk on the bus to and from school nearly every day, so it's nice to have a friend in my group to help me relax! The teachers have all told me that they're very nervous and embarrassed to speak English, but yesterday I was extremely nervous to teach them! The class went well and was mostly me getting to know them and answering their questions more than I was asking them questions. Jen and I will be meeting with the Wednesday afternoon English teacher sometime this week to discuss her lesson plans so we can sort of echo what she teaches and reinforce the ideas in practice. Listen to me, all teachery.
This weekend was known as "MTV Week" because the European Music Awards (EMAs) were held in Madrid this year. What does this mean? Parties, concerts, and more parties going on all week, all sponsored by MTV and all free! Well, sort of. A big stage was set up in the city center at Puerta de Alcalá where a bunch of Spanish artists played a show on Saturday, and on Sunday, during the actual EMAs, Katy Perry, Linkin Park, and 30 Seconds to Mars performed. Of course, Kanye West had to show up and do a song in the middle of one of the performances, and Jackass came out and crowdsurfed. My roommate managed to see Snooki and Pauly D from Jersey Shore at a hotel downtown, while I was out and about all weekend and managed to not see anyone. Such is my life. My friend Josh and I tried to go to the EMA afterparty that was held in Parque Retiro, but much to our dismay the doorman told us it was invitation-only, and since it was late on a Sunday night we couldn't stick around to see the celebs arriving.
Aside from celebrity-stalking, I spent most of my weekend with some people from the conversation hour, going out to lunch, visiting the Sunday morning market aka El Rastro, tapas-crawling on Cava Baja and around La Latina, and generally wandering around the city and speaking lots of Spanish. It's just so incredible how much better my Spanish has gotten, not that it was bad before, but I'm not nearly as afraid to use it as I used to be. At times I really miss my family, my friends, and my old routine... I am especially missing Raleigh's fantastic breweries. I haven't found anything to compare to Sweet Josie Brown, and the recent return of Aces & Ates has me feeling extremely nostalgic for tasty beers. But I guess that's why I'm going to Germany!
To be fair, what Spain lacks in amazing wintry brews, it certainly makes up for in fantastic food. I've recently become obsessed with Pimientos de Padrón, a dish of fried peppers from Galicia in the Northwest of Spain. There is a saying about the dish in the local language, Galego: Os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non, which means: Padrón peppers, some are spicy and some are not. Padrón is a town in the community of Galicia where the dish originated. Usually, it tastes like sweet fried peppers, but sometimes you'll get a spicy one. I had some at a small bar near the Plaza Mayor a few weeks ago and have been crazy about them ever since. If you have the means, I highly suggest picking one up.
I have added lots more pictures to my albums online. Click here to see them, and until next time, un beso!