...until I go home! I've made it through all my classes without losing it, and gotten some pretty awesome goodbye cards and presents from my classes. I even got my first "teacher pen" from Ana so that I can remember her, but there's no way I can forget her, or this year. I've had some amazing teachers, and some not-so-amazing teachers, one of whom told me that I wouldn't be able to give kids the same grade if I was an actual teacher. (That's a whole other post, but I am so frustrated with how she ignored my explanation of why and tried to tell me I couldn't do that if I was a teacher. I've tried, and succeeded with never saying things like that to teachers here because I understand there's a difference in how we teach, and she apparently doesn't get that.)
6th grade bilingual science
I've gotten to know some really awesome teachers and staff who care about my life outside of school and Spain, so I can't wait to keep in touch with them and keep updated on what's going on in Las Marinas. Hopefully I'll be able to send them some good job news, and they're all excited about seeing wedding pictures.
First grade art class. How precious are they?
I finally got my very own Indalo today! It's a symbol that was found in a prehistoric cave, and is now the symbol of the Almeria region. He brings you luck, prosperity and happiness if he's given as a gift, and I got one from my teachers!! So excited, and I hope he brings me lots of luck with everything I've got going on. I also got a sweet card from them, a memory book of the classes/school, and a card from the secretary, Elli, for her daughter's class. I love it!!
I taught my first grade English the words and motions to We're Going on a Bear Hunt, and it took them a while to get used to it, but they like it. I think they mostly like watching me make a fool out of myself, but I'm fine with that if they love it. This would be such a fun unit to do in preschool, especially if you start off with the book like we did!
To go along with it, their teacher found some awesome activities, including a time line that they can use as we tell the story! I definitely want to do this in my classroom- now I just need a learning skill to match with it!
The beautiful example I made. I love my bear- he's so cute and not scary!
Maestra Ana, my first grade teacher, y yo at my goodbye lunch.
Today was my last day with my 6th grade science class. When I started here, I wasn't really thrilled about having lots of classes with the sixth graders since I have no experience with them, but I am so glad that I got the chance to get to know all of them. I've been to the Sierra Nevadas with them, toured their instituto (high school) with them, and practiced pronunciation of so many new vocabulary words that I'm sure they're tired of hearing me talk. But they have been so much fun. They're definitely not afraid to say what they think, which can be hilarious, especially with the questions they have for me.
Love these kids, and their teacher. I've learned so much from them, and I'm pretty sure they've learned something from me...even if it is just how to pronounce vocabulary.
My second grade science class had their last class with me, and I think they've been the class that's taken it the hardest. I'm not sure what it is about this class, but they really do not want me to leave. I've been getting mobbed for the past few weeks with group hugs, which is both awesome and terrifying since I'm worried someone will get hurt. But they blew me away with the cards they made me. They wrote and drew whatever they wanted, and the cards are the best ego boost I could ever get.
"Becca you are the best in the world and I am going to miss you. With hugs."
"You are my best teacher in the world."
"Thank you for teaching us so many things. We are going to miss you. With love, Blanca"
"Becca is a star." I should frame this somewhere I'll always see it so I can't have a bad day.
"Calendar: I love you a lot. You are my best teacher in the world."
I have quite a few cards of swans with hearts for my future wedding (I think) and they're all from my boys in the class. I love them. New wedding decorations?
"Teacher, you're crying!" I'll admit, I teared up quite a bit today during my classes. My first third grade class was super sad to see me go, especially after I gave them candy as a goodbye gift (yes, I'm bribing them to miss me, and yes it's working.), so after lots of hugs, I left them and went to my other third grade class. This class, and teacher, are awesome, and the kids had all made drawings or cards for me. They came up one by one to give me them, and they obviously spent a ton of time and effort on them, which means more to me then anything. When I started reading them, that's when I started tearing up. All of them, including the boys, which is adorable, said they loved me and were going to miss me, and there were pictures of me with them. What really touched me were the ones who made cards for my wedding. It's just awesome that they cared enough to make a card for something in the future.
Me in my wedding dress with some of my students.
Tom and I flying with geese. So cute.
Best marriage advice ever. I have such smart kids.
Later, my first class of third graders came and surprised me with pictures they'd drawn for me, and most of them had written notes on the back of them. So adorable, especially the one who begged me to move my wedding to Las Marinas and to not leave them.
"Seno (short for senorita), no te vayas por fa (por favor). porque no celebras la boda aqui en esta ciudad por fa casarte aqui con Tomas." (Miss, don't go please. Why can't you celebrate the wedding in this city? Please get married here with Tom. And a whole bunch more I need to translate....reading kid writing in Spanish is super hard.)
"For you Rebecca. I love you. You are a best teacher! And you are going to be a GREAT TEACHER! I will miss you!" (Also, I love that we're snorkeling together...I love this girl.)
So, here are some of the cards, mostly the wedding related ones, with one that just makes me laugh because it's from one of my boys who I was unware of having a crush on me. Wonder how Tom will feel about it?
From Jose. "Good bye, have a good trip", and on the inside, another heart exactly like it.
I guess I should add the pictures of my classes huh? I love that there's always a mad scramble to be standing next to me. Poor Joel really wanted to be right next to me, but he's too short to be in the back, so he got pushed to the front. I feel so loved today.
Third graders are silly, and adorable, and awesome.
I'm leaving Spain for good in eight days! I've been counting down to this for a long time, and now that it's here, I wish it would all just slow down and I could have more time with the students here. Preparing my kids for me leaving has been tough. To them, I may be American, but I live in Spain. Why would I want to go back to the States? We've explained that I've got my family there, and I'm getting married, but then they want to know when I'm coming back. I must be soft-hearted, because I am incapable of telling my sweet little kids that I don't forsee me coming back to Spain to live anytime soon, if ever. So I just tell them I won't be back next year.
I think my favorite has been Loles, a first grader, who kept asking questions about it. I told her I was going to be a teacher, and that I hoped I'd be teaching first grade. She thought about that, and then asked if I'd be teaching in English and was shocked that I said yes. I explained, again, that we speak English in the States, which was mind-blowing to her. She processed that, thought about it, and then wanted to know if my boyfriend (they say novio here for boyfriend/fiance, so it's not like they don't know that I'm getting married) spoke English. She was astonished that he could. So Tom is super cool now, which I'm sure he loves...being discussed by unknown first graders.
Today, in another first grade class, we explained that I was leaving, and where I was going and why, which was enough for most of them. Hugo, who is always thinking/participating/involved, had a question. I heard it in Spanish, but didn't think I'd heard it right, but the teacher translated, and he wanted to know if I knew Scooby Doo, because he loves Scooby Doo. I said yes, I knew the show, and then he wanted to know if it was in English in the States. I love what they associate with me and the States, especially when it seems so random.
My 6th grade English class had a treasure hunt today for something special since it was my last day with them, and they loved it! They got to run around outside, find tickets and redeem tickets for candy- who doesn't love that? Afterwards, when we told them it was my goodbye "present" for them, I got a huge round of applause, led by some the boys. I'm alternately exasperated and pleased with those boys, but I know we've made a connection because they'll always stop and say hi in the halls, and aren't too cool for that, even if they're with friends, so it meant a lot to me. It kept going, and the whole class was applauding, which was both awesome and awkward. I'm not sure if they're applauding because of me and the work I did with them or because I brought them candy today, but I'll take it either way.
I'm so lucky to have made such good relationships with the teachers and students here, and I'm grateful that I've gotten to do more then just teach from books, and have been able to put my interests and personality into the activities, because those are what are the most fun for us. I can't wait to do that for a full-time job in the States! But mostly, I'm so thankful that my kids are so hilarious, smart, adorable, fun, sweet and awesome. I've gotten to spend this year with the coolest kids ever, and they're all going to do great next year! Wish I could be there to see them graduate and move on to the next grade!
....I present my first grade art class singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider. They just learned it, so they aren't great with the words, but they're getting the motions! Also, please ignore my terrible voice! I had a sore throat last week, and they don't know the words well enough to do it without me!
This might be my favorite class. These boys have crushes on me, and they are so adorable. They want to say hi to me all the time. The whole class, especially those boys, loves to tell me how pretty I look that day...I'll miss that! I look forward to their classes every week because I get to talk to them as they work, so we know each other pretty well.
Tom: This is Abi, Yulan, Carlos, Alex and Jose's class....the boys who I always have stories about!!
I know, I haven't written about the rest of my trips, including Morocco and Granada, but I'm just not going to be a travel blogger. I can't stay interested in uploading pictures, which takes forever for some reason, and then write exciting things about what I did. I'd rather update you guys on life!
I will be flying home in exactly FOURTEEN DAYS. It's so surreal. I'm thrilled, but at the same time, I'm so sad to leave my school, kids and teachers. We've officially started the goodbyes, and it's no fun. I got mobbed by 10 third graders asking me to come back next year, and when I told them I couldn't because I was getting married in November, they asked their teacher for a party in honor of me on that day. Cutest kids ever! I also taught them the Bear Hunt chant, which was hilariously awesome. They were super into it, and I got to be over the top, so I loved it. I'm teaching it to my first graders next week!
Speaking of my first graders, Ana's class gave me a picture frame with a class picture in it! I'm even in the picture! So cute, and I'm going to miss them, and Ana, so much. I help her out with projects a lot, so I think her kids feel possessive of me, and they're sad that I'm leaving already. We're learning about pets for the current English unit, and one of the skills is talking about what animals have tails, fins, ears, wings, or legs. Ana and I made a game to help practice the words, and played it like Simon Says. We gave each word a motion, and they have to do the correct motion when we say the word. We played 3 games since they weren't happy with just playing 1, and Ana and I could barely see what they were doing we were laughing so hard. I'm going to get a video next week, because watching little kids make fins, tails, and whiskers with their hands is awesome.
In real life news, I'm officially on the schedule for Summer Camp! I always get nervous that I won't get invited back, or that I won't get weeks, but I got the email about orientation, so I'll be at my favorite place in the world for at least part of the summer. It's almost Summer Camp Season! This basically sums up my feelings about this time of year, minus the purple hearts and free drinks.
In better real life news, I'm in the process of scheduling my first interview for a teaching job! It's for 3 positions at a school between OKC and Norman, and could be a really good fit for me. Sorry I'm being vague, but since it's not official, and since I still have to interview, I'm keeping details off the internet. If you want to know more, let me know and I'll tell you! I'm really excited, but nervous that it won't work out and I won't get more interviews since I'm still completing certification, so if you could keep your fingers crossed for me, that would be awesome! I'm holding out hope that there's a perfect job for me that would give me a chance to keep working on my Spanish and teach K or 1st, and is a school with a good spirit and joy like I had for my student teaching. It's a lot, but I'm hopeful!
**UPDATE- I'm not getting an interview with the school anytime soon because they'll be on summer vacation by the time. I'll be in the States. So that's that.
Wedding planning is so laid back right now, but it stresses me out because I feel like I should be doing something. We had some drama with people in the wedding or helping us prepare, but it's pretty much all settled now, so hopefully we've moved past the big drama. Although invitations haven't gone out, so I guess we're in for some more when that happens.
Love you all tons and tons and I can't wait to see you very, very soon! In honor of me being terrible with posts, here's a picture of me on a camel. And one of me petting a baby camel.
Precious little baby. We were all fans.
Coolest and scariest moment of the entire trip.
PS- Did you know camels get up and down in stages and that you are either feeling like you'll fall forward off the camel or feeling like you'll fall off backwards? But I did ride without my hands at one point!
I'm on spring break! I'm currently sitting in my hostel room in Malaga because I left a day earlier then I wanted to. Spain is having a national strike tomorrow, and there's a pretty good chance buses won't be running, and if I missed a bus tomorrow, I couldn't make my flight from Malaga to Munich on Friday. So, I get a bonus free day to hang out in Malaga, but I am missing some school, which is depressing.
I love my kids. Today was apparently the day to ask me questions about the States in 6th grade science/history. They're learning about the history of Spain and today was about the 19th century (government and culture). I shocked them all when I said that we learned about Picasso's Guernica painting since it's an important piece. 2 of the girls LOVE to say hi to me, and today they copied every move I made. It was both hilarious and weird. If I folded my hands, they did. If I crossed my legs, they did. I'm not sure I love being this kind of role model, but they're sweet and they don't mean anything by it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery right? One of them wanted to know if people in the States spoke Spanish. When I told her that some did, she wanted to know what people spoke in the UK. The teacher stopped class and made sure everybody remembered where I was from and how far apart the US and the UK are. Apparently I'm the expert on English-speaking culture everywhere! They do love hearing random facts about life here, so I'm hoping I can do a presentation on the States before I leave!
My little kids are just awesome. I'm the rockstar of first and 2nd grades. In Ana's class, we did an Easter egg hunt, and it was hilarious. I hid them all over the room, and they took their little baskets they made and went hunting. They loved seeing where everyone found eggs, and since they had so much fun, we're already planning a pirate one for the Treasure unit! Yay!! I still get told I'm beautiful almost everyday, and it's so sincere every time...they really mean it, so I can't get annoyed with hearing it. I also got kisses blown at me from my first grade art class since I won't see them until after Semana Santa. They're so cute...their teacher is awesome about making a great classroom community, and it shows!
Can't wait to see Tom on Friday! Get ready for an overload of pictures of us in awesome places!
And yes, I do think of that show every time I go on a field trip. Xplorations camp, you've ruined me with watching episodes at every lunch!
Anyway, I got to take a field trip to the Sierra Nevada with the 6th grade at my school. I was really excited because 1) I got to go someplace new that had snow! 2) I've gotten to know most of the 6th graders between all of my classes and 3) Who doesn't love field trips??
We had to be at the school by 7am, so one of the teachers offered to pick me up at 6:30am. Apparently, Wednesday was the only day I didn't wake up on time. Either my alarm didn't go off, or I slept through it. Waking up late on the one day I needed to be out early sucked. Luckily, I live on the main road to Almeria and the highway, so the bus was able to stop at the bus stop in front of my house and pick me up after it left the school. It was one of the weirdest moments in life, and I am so thankful for the relaxed Spanish culture- none of the teachers minded, they just teased me about it and then it was done.
The Sierra Nevadas were AMAZING. I'm pretty sure we were close to Mulhacen, which is part of the Sierra Nevadas, which are part of the Penibaetic Chain of mountains. It's also the tallest mountain in the Iberian Peninsula, and the 2nd tallest in Spain. The first is in the Balearic Islands. See how well I retained that knowledge from class after getting to put a location to a name?
We started off with snowshoeing through a forest, which was totally fun since I've never snowshoed before, and most of the kids hadn't either. I got to help about half of them put on their snowshoes, and now I know what it's like to be a parent and take your child somewhere with snow gear- a huge hassle to even get them ready to go. But the kids loved getting to be in the snow and it was so much fun to watch them play. Some of them even decided to get me covered in snow, so I've officially been accepted by them.
Afterwards, we headed to go sledding. I'm pretty sure most of the kids had never sledded before, and I'm somewhat of an expert, so I was thrilled that I got to go sledding with some of them. I love getting to be a kid! Watching them wipe out and laugh and have the time of their lives was so funny- these kids were the most excited I've ever seen them.
Once we'd all had our fill, we headed down into the ski resort town to have lunch and then go tubing and ride ski bikes I got to have a hot lunch with the teachers since the school was paying for all of us, which was exactly what I needed. I was so thrilled to go tubing with the kids, since it's my favorite thing about winter next to Christmas and snow angels, and the kids loved having the teachers hang out with them. I also tried the ski bikes, which are bikes without pedals and wheels and with skis instead. I am not a fan. Too much work, but I tried them since the kids wanted me to and they thought it was HILARIOUS. Note: most of my pictures are the kids waiting in line. It's hard to take pictures while tubing, or good action shots from behind a mesh fence.
We finally got home at about 8:30pm, so it was one of the longest teaching days of my life, but so cool. I love getting to experience new things, and a day in the Sierra Nevadas was something I didn't think would be possible. I even got to try new winter sports- now I just need to try snowboarding and I can be well-rounded with my winter sport attempts!
Tuesday, February 28th is Andalucia Day which is the day they celebrate our autonomous region. (Here's what I understand about this: Spain has autonomous regions, which are made up of provinces. I live in the Almeria province in Andalucia. Sevilla, Granada, Jaen, Almeria, Cordoba, Helva, Cadiz, and Malaga are the provinces of Andalucia.) Anyway, it's kinda like a statehood day where they celebrate the things that Andalucia is known for.
flags of Roquetas de Mar, Andalucia, Spain, and European Union
Raising the Andalucia flag while the anthem played
The kids had been working on art projects for the past week or so, but I forgot to take pictures of most of them. (This is what happens when you leave your camera at home.) I did get pictures of the plates the first and second graders made, and they're so cool! Love the creativity...and that it seems like parents did it with their kids. I'm all for an activity the whole family can help with.
Picture's upside down so the projects are right side up.
Sadly, I missed the school market because the buses were on a weird schedule where 3 came right before I walked out my door and then none (that were in service) came for 40 minutes. So lame. But, I did get to have the typical Andalusian breakfast of bread with olive oil (aceite de oliva) or tomato (tomate). I'm sure none of you are shocked to learn that I chose olive oil. I'm not a fan of tomato, especially in the morning. The whole school got breakfast, and they loved it! Some of the kids were running around with seconds and thirds.
My first grade teacher, Ana, had made us both tissue paper roses for our hair, so I got to look like a Sevillana, which the kids, and the teachers, totally loved. It was big, and sat right over my right ear, and all of my little kids kept coming up and telling me how beautiful I was that day. It's the little things in life! But it did make me feel more like a participant in the celebrations, and not just a bystander, so it was awesome!
Each grade performed a poem about Andalucia, and we had some girls from the older grades dance in between, and the first grade also had some girls perform a Sevillana, which is a type of dance from Andalucia. Ana and I want to take flamenco lessons now- it is SUCH a cool type of dance, and I love all the precision of hands and feet.
Some of my first grade girls.
The group.
The rest of the first graders.
The poems were good, but I loved the little preschooler who messed up his line, then caught himself and started over. He wasn't even bothered by it- so typical of little kids. I was pretty excited that I could understand one of the jokes one student told. It had nothing to do with Andalucia, but I understood all of it!
One of the preschool classes.
English recap: A teacher asks his students to tell him a word that starts with S. (D in the original joke). A student says "yesterday" ("ayer" in Spanish). The teacher says that the word doesn't start with an S (D) and the student says it does because yesterday was Sunday (Domingo)!
3 of my 3rd graders.
....I know....little kid humor. But I think it's funny, and the kids telling the jokes thought it was HILARIOUS.
Some of my 6th graders.
3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th grade girls dancing.
Overall, it was a fun day, and I got to learn about the different regions of Andalucia. There's a fiesta at the school on Tuesday, so if I'm around, I'll probably stop by that!
