This week we are doing "My Animal Book" in science class with the cycle 1 children. They have learned about carnivores, herbivores, reproduction (viviparous versus oviparous) and so on. In their little book, they are supposed to write what each animal is, what it eats, how it reproduces and what it does. Well, unfortunately for everyone involved, a frog jumps. "Hops" was an option I considered, until I realized that it was even harder to pronounce and understand for them. So the teacher, Sandra, and I worked for 45 minutes attempting to explain to them how to spell jump (even though it was on the board the whole time.)
Besides spelling with the younger children, I work with older kids too. Their problem, however, usually lies in the pronunciation of words. Even "pronunciation" is hard to pronounce! A dios mio. So, for Spaniards, I have learned that every word beginning in "s" is pronounced as if it is spelled beginning with an "e." For example: "I speak eh-Spanish good. Ingles, no. Jajaja!"
What have I learned this week? REPETITION. What have I learned this week? PATIENCE. Repetition. Patience. Bien? Bien.
Luckily, Wednesday was an early day. We got off around 2 or 2:30 and went home for lunch. A fellow teacher, Isabel, is staying with us for a few days. Her home is Salamanca. She is a wonderful cook and I love having her here. They decided that while the weather was "warm" that they should take me to see the nearby sights. So Isabel, Ana, Barbara and I took a trip to the cañon. On the way we ran into a herd of sheep. Yes, sheep. I'm going to petition for a "sheep crossing" sign. The canyon is in a national park, called Parque Natural Cañon Del Rio Lobos. The river Lobos runs through this canyon, and at the bottom is a huge cave and an old church. The weather was perfect and the scenery was beautiful. We stood at the top looking down, and then ventured into the canyon for a closer look. It was magnificent.
The view from the top
The church from inside the cave
The ladies are fantastic. Isabel is great company and her cooking is fantastic. Ana is very warm, welcoming, and inviting. They make my meals and even bought me some gloves because I'm always shivering. Barbara is young, fun, very caring and funny. Time with them always provides for a great day.
Thursday comes and everything is running smoothly thus far. The children behaved well and we worked on the same activities as before. After work, the three of us went for a long, brisk walk around Navaleno. What did I see? Trees. Pine trees. Maybe a little snow. And then some more pine trees. We stopped and had some chocolate at Barbara's house before we went home. (My friends in Spain love chocolate as much as me!) All is well.. until we get home.
Finally I am able to unlock the door. First it was, "The door is bad." Then it turned into, "No, no, you doing it wrong," and then finally we decided that it was the key's fault. So now, with a new key, I can get in the front door. However, this ability is useless when the inside is just as cold as the outside..
Yes, the heater broke.
Yes, I almost cried.
Long story short, Barbara invited me to sleep at her place, with her hot water, working radiators and coveted wifi. What a good friend, no?
Me and my new friend Barbara at the National Park of the River Lobos
Ah, it occurs to me that I have not explained my situation very well. I will be teaching at three different campuses/satellites (?) of the same school, CRA Pinar Grande. I am based out of Navaleno, where I live, which is the biggest school (about 84 students and 10 teachers.) The smallest school is in Abejar, which has 1 teacher and 5 students. Cabrejas del Pinar has 12 students, and the teachers are my dear friends Soraya and Barbara. They live in Navaleno as well. As of yet, I only spend 45 minutes at Abejar and Cabrejas per week, and the rest of my time is in Navaleno. (I haven't been to Abejar yet.)
Now I will catch up. Today is Friday. Now I am really starting to get involved in my classes. I played a game with the fifth cycle students, did an entire presentation by myself in a second cycle science class, and now I must go read an English story to the 5 year olds! I met with the Inspector (I think inspector is a bad translation-- superintendent, maybe?) of the school today too. He was very generous, accommodating, and kind... I have yet to meet a Spaniard that I didn't like.
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