4 Weeks down, 37 to Go!

So... 4 weeks down, 37 to go. Wow! I've been here for a month, and it is starting to feel much longer. They (who ever "they" are...) say that culture shock comes in waves, but I think the same thing can be said for homesickness. When I first got here the only thing I really missed was my dog, Stella (That's her in the picture. My mom took the photo this weekend. Isn't she precious?). Laugh all you want, but she and I spent a good deal of time together over the summer and I really enjoy her company. Now I am starting to miss the people from home also. Of course my parents are top on the list, next come the friends.

I think most of this homesickness is because of a lot of free time. I only work 4 days a week and am home by 5 pm every night. So I spend a good deal of time entertaining myself. Both of my roommates have other things after school and Tony is in class many evenings. I need to find a second job, not only for monetary reasons, but also as a good distraction. Sure, I would wander the shops around my apartment, but the city of Madrid doesn't pay that well. My neighborhood shops are expensive; I saw a pair of shoes in a window, on sale, for more than my rent!

It is also surprisingly difficult to make Spanish friends. Yes, the people at my school are super nice, but that doesn't mean we are going to hang out... yet. I've heard Elena talk about things she did with her last assistant outside of school, so maybe as time passes we'll become friends. Or at least occasionally hang out. I did make good progress in speaking Spanish the other day. Several of the teachers also take the same bus back to Madrid city center, and Thursday while waiting for the bus I had a brief conversation with Lucia, the 5th & 6th grade English teacher. While she does speak English really well, she also recognizes our need to practice.

You probably noticed that one thing I haven't been doing with my free time is blogging. Honestly, my life hasn't been that thrilling and school is becoming more and more routine. I'm still working on figuring out Eduardo. He seems like a very nice person, outside of the classroom. He will ask how I am doing and seems to honestly care, he even asked if I was having any problems with my apartment or other non-school things. But once class starts he becomes a ridiculous disciplinarian. I sometimes wonder if he thinks I am weak or soft. I can tell he wants the kids to fall in line, and I know he sees that I'm not going to yell at them.

He has talked to me about the importance of pushing them, but I don't know if he has grasped the difference between challenging them and pushing them around. It is probably a cultural difference causing this conflict (one that mostly takes place in my head) since when I worked with kids before we were schooled in guiding children and redirecting bad behavior rather than out and out yelling. Elena did mention that the practice of yelling at kids is from the Franco era. Obviously, during the dictatorship using severe discipline was common, in and outside of schools. I am surprised that this type of classroom control has remained, given that on the streets jovenes (young people) are basically given the run of things. Many of the current parents were very young at the end of the Franco dictatorship, and they ardently believe "kids will be kids".

I would prefer that some of the older generation would regain control of the youth! Today, I went on a walk around my neighborhood, just to get some air. When I returned to my street there were two separate groups of kids hanging out, blocking the sidewalks. These groups of kids were about 10 deep, mixed gender and just really annoying. While they could easily see me coming none of them made an attempt to clear any kind of path, in fact one girl took a step directly in my way. What is weird about this encounter is that it went better than one last week. Last week one group of kids were hanging out directly in front of the local store. They were just sitting on someone's car, drinking out of (more than likely spiked) soda bottles. I went in to the store really quick, and the kids wouldn't move. They also wouldn't move when I came out. When I kind of had to push my way though, while muttering excuse me in Spanish, they began to yell it back at me. I don't know why they were yelling, but I sure didn't like it.

Yeah, so we've reached a rough patch. But I will survive, don't worry. Maybe next time I'll wait 'til I'm not in a funky mood to post... oh well, this whole year is one big learning process!