Colegio El Encinar

This is the view of my bus station at 8:30 am

Every Monday-Thursday I travel on the 612 bus at 8:30 am to get to Colegio El Encinar (the school of the oak grove) by 9 am sharp, where I either work with 3rd or 4th grade depending on the day.  I thought I'd update you all about what it's like now that I know a few more things.  The third grade teacher I assist, Gonzalo, is a very handsom George Clooney looking guy whose English is perfect because he attended Cal State Dominguez Hills for his Masters in Bilingual Education back in his 20s.  He's got a lot of energy and always keeps me busy with lessons for the kids.  Usually, he sends me out to an empty classroom with half the class and an activity book to run through things like

A view of Madrid city center in the distance from the
freeway bridge I walk across every day to get to my
school in Torrelodones

pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, or reading stories in English.  A particularly funny anecdote was when I asked a group of his students what the difference between "run" and "run away" is, as we had encountered this phrase in a story about dancing puppets (pronounced "poopets").  One kid raised his hand and in perfect English without hesitation says, "yeah I know what 'run away' means, it's what my dad did to my mom."  Uhhh..... Does anyone know the meaning of awkward!?!?  I have learned that kids do in fact, say the darndest things.  Gonzalo tells of a funny personal story that I'm sure he won't know or mind that I regale you all with right now too.  The Spanish word for "eraser" is "goma" or, "rubber," and so when he was at Cal State he once asked a girl if he could borrow a rubber, only to be slapped in the face.  He learned that   lesson pretty quickly.

Every week is English week, that sign has been there forever

Recess

José Enrique is the 4th grade teacher I assist, and he is way laid back and hilarious.  He gives all his lessons seated and hates to stand up.  He takes away recess from at least 3 students within the first 20 minutes of class every day.  He prays to God every night that God takes his ex-wife so that he doesn't have to give up half his paycheck every month so that he can go skiing and buy better wine.  He swears his seafood rice is the best in Spain.  He complains about administration every day and has been promising to leave this school since he started working there 10 years ago.  He gives me tips on what olive oil I should be cooking with.  He bikes 50 kilometers every week, and in the winter he climbs frozen waterfalls.  He used to be on the Andalucian Judo team and competed nationwide.  He tells me the best way to live is with no savings.  He and I have a bet over a round of cañas to see who can lose the most weight by Christmas.  He teaches me Spanish slang and I teach him words like "high roller" and "wtf."  I rarely work with the 4th graders themselves, we are just too busy chatting.

Lunchtime

I'm beginning to get to know the staff and faculty a little better now.  At 11 am every day there is a 30 minute coffee and snack break in the teacher's lounge, and that's when I get to use my Spanish and weave my way into conversations.  The P.E. teacher insists that he speak in English while I speak in Spanish, which I really like.  He likes to know everything about America.  He's asked my opinions about Obama, what it's like to live in California, what are my views about gun control, how do I feel about abortion, literally anything.  I've learned to heat up my coffee in the microwave because it's always served luke warm at best.  I stuff as many apples as I can fit into my bag so I don't have to shop for fruit these days.  I always thank the kitchen staff because their job is the worst - all the students from preschool to 6th grade are served school lunches and it's the kitchen staff who has to clean up after them, yikes.

La biblioteca

El Encinar, despite its somewhat far away location, is really ideal.  The other language assistants and I get along well and it's nice to have some people my age around.  Danny is the veteran, he's been at this school for 2 years already and he's from Puerto Rico but his English is flawless.  Sarah is from Seattle and Siobhan (pronounced "Chivonne") is from London.  Our lunchbreaks are spent swapping stories about the kids or discussing weekend plans.  Oh and, like a pedophile, I have snapped a few pics of the kids at my school, so I hope you enjoy seeing what it looks like.