First day(s) of school!

Waiiiiiiiiiit, I came here to work?!?! Oh yeah! With all this hanging about and trying to get settled, I almost forgot that I had work responsibilities! Here's a brief recount of my first day(s) of school...

Monday

According to Fulbright, Monday was my first day of work. But when I e-mailed my coordinator, he decided it would be better for me to just come in for a tour. So while many of my peers were fighting the even heavier than usual morning commuter traffic (the Metro workers were striking during commute hours by only running half of the trains), I went for a run and lollygagged over to school to be there at 11:00. After a brief tour and a café, I was sent home and told not to come in the next day on account of my coordinator not having time to make me a schedule.

Tuesday

My job was a walk in the park. But literally... since I didn't have to go to work I took a very long walk in Parque de Buen Retiro (Park of the Pleasant Retreat). This park was once a private green space for the Royal Family, but is now one of the biggest and most popular parks in Madrid. I didn't know much about the history or features of the park until I googled it; here's the Madrid website where you can read a brief historical account if you like! Or you can just check out a few of my pictures...

 

 "The Galápagos fountain was created to honour the birth of Isabel II, and is also one of the more notable artistic works in the park. Built in 1832 by José de Mariategui, it consists of three different tiers decorated with water plants and equipped with water spouts that jet from Galapagos tortoises and frogs. Four small angels, with dolphins and a snail surmount the ensemble and adorn the top of the fountain. The structure has symbolic meaning which all sought to emphasise well-wishing on the occasion of the birth of the queen, so there are allegories of long life, fertility, and the upholding of traditional values such as wisdom and rectitude." (Source: www.esmadrid.com)

 Monument to King Alfonso XII, surrounded by a large artificial pond.

 One of the many statues in El Paseo de la Argentina (or as some call it, "El Paseo de las Estatuas"). This one in particular honors Alfonso I; I'm not sure who the head belongs to.

The site of the following akward conversation...

Enter Amber, sitting on a park bench reading The Poisonwood Bible. After a few moments, she looks up to see a guy on a bike (dressed in exercise clothing) stopped right in front of her, looking around. As soon as she looks up, he looks down at her as if he hadn't noticed he was 2 feet away from her. They make eye contact and the conversation begins... (English translation has been provided for your convenience).

Biker: Good afternoon.

Amber: Hello. Looks back down at book.

Biker: How are you doing?

Amber: Good. Again, looks down at book.

Biker: Good. Are you having a nice day at the park?

Amber: Yep, it's a really nice day. Wonders what the heck this guy is doing.

Biker: Yes, it is. Soooo, you are not from here, are you?

Amber: No (duh).

Biker: You are living here though?

Amber: Yep... Back to the book...

Biker: Where do you come from?

Amber: I'm from the U.S.

Biker: Ohhhh, good. So you speak English. Tries to impress her by saying a few things in English and telling her about his degree in languages.

Amber: Cool. Okay, buddy. Goodbye...

Biker: So you are working here?

Amber: Yes. I am a Conversation Assistant at a high school. Is reminding herself not to mention her school or neighborhood... and back to the book. Isn't he getting the hint?

Biker: Oh, great! Soooo... do you want to go get something to eat or drink?

Amber: Ummm, sorry. I'm waiting for some friends. This is actually true.

Biker: Oh, bummer. Well maybe some other day.

Amber: Smiles, saying nothing that could infer that she has any plans of ever going out with this man.

Biker: When we run into each other.

Amber: Okayyyyyyy. Bye! Thinks to herself, "As if I'm ever going to run into this guy/recognize him again..."
Biker: Okay, bye... Bikes away.
Amber returns to her book, wishing somebody else had been there to witness this bizarre interaction. END SCENE.

 Palacio de Cristal, which showcases exhibitions of modern art.

Picture in from the huge rose garden which was constructed in honor of one of the Chief Gardeners.

Looking out onto the pathway that leads to El Prado.

This monument, Puerta de la Álcala, was constructed in 1764 because King Carlos didn't think the previous gate was big enough to mark the Eastern boarder of the city. The national monument was moved to its current location, outside of Retiro Park, in the 19th century.

And last but not least, I visited El Campo del Moro with some friends from church. This is the park right outside of the Palace and it's filled with peacocks!

Wednesday & Thursday

After my late start, the past two days consisted of getting myself integrated into the classes. I won't bore you with the details but here are a few highlights:

My lovely powerpoint introduction was useless since none of the classes had computers or projects. Oh wait, two did... but the one computer was locked and the other wasn't even plugged in. I was happy I had with me a map of the U.S. (Thanks Dad and Jen!) and, since I hadn't moved in to my apartment yet, a few pictures of Hershey, Holland, and family!

One English class teacher decided that some of the kids were losing interest in my self-introduction, so he decided I would impersonate a famous singer from the U.S. Thus, I spent about 15 minutes answering (incorrectly) questions as if I were Lady Gaga. Some favorites included: How many times have you dyed your hair? Who is Alejandro? What do your parents think about your clothes? I said ridiculous things and got some laughs, but I was totally wishing I had Molly Rivera's knowledge about Lady Gaga.

On the way to the technology class, my cooperating teacher told me I would be introducing myself. After I explained that I had already introduced myself to the class during their English period (the classes don't change here... the students are together all day and the teachers travel to the students' rooms), he stopped me and asked, "What should we do then?" Ummmmm, not sure. I sure don't know Spain's technology curriculcum. After deciding that we would have a discussion about what life would be like without technology, we entered the classroom about 10 minutes late. He introduced me, the topic, and then motioned for me to take over and said he would be my scribe. Awesome.

Another technology class got out of an entire class by asking me questions. Every time they seemed to be finished the teacher would say, "Well if that is it, we will start boring technology...", to which the students responded by raising their hands with an obscure question about a city in the U.S. or my opinions about Spain.

My Global Classrooms teacher (who I spend most of my time with) is awesome! She has high expectations for the students and is very engaging. She also does this awesome spin thing when she decides she needs to change attitudes or start over... what a character! I'll explain more about the Global Classrooms bit later, but if you are too excited to wait, you can read a little bit about it here.

Okay, that's it! Tomorrow I leave to do part of El Camino de Santiago, from Logroño to Santo Domingo, with some friends from church! We are just going for two days, but it should be a fun introduction to the Camino!

Much love, as always.
Amber

Disclaimer: This blog records my personal thoughts and reflections; it is not reflective of the positions held by the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

"And what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?" - Romans 8:31

During my senior year at Hope I started to keep records of sermons in a notebook. After a while, I began to also take note of songs that resonated with me particularly strongly at that point in my life. Without a doubt, the most frequent lyrics noted in my black notebook are, "And if our God is for us, then who can ever stop us? And if our God is with us, then what can stand against?"

As I flip through I can remember it's encouragement on October 30th at Calvary,  November 6th at Dimnent, February 5th at Dimnent. Then I was reminded of it once again, in a note from my dear sister that she left on the car seat after our last visit together before I left.

When I was applying for the Fulbright, I was left in a waiting game for almost a year and a half. I was constantly wondering: "Will I get chosen? What would it be like? Should I be applying for jobs? When should I tell prospective employers about the grant possibility? Wherever, whenver, I move, who will be my friends?" Slowly, through the help of family and friends, I realized that as I walked into an uncertain future, I had to believe Romans 8:31 in the core of my being. I had to realize that God was above all and if he wanted me to be in Spain, I would be there. I had done my part, writing a hundred revisions of the same two one-page essays. The sense of peace had to come from trusting the God who provides.

Now, being in this wonderful city of Madrid, I am challenged to live up to what God desires for my life. In a James study that I did with Miss Natalie Daché this summer, I was struck by the reality of James 4:15, "Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" It finally dawned on me that our lives are truly but "a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes." (James 4:14). My car accident this summer could have easily have been more traumatic than it was. A walk home alone from the metro stop will always have a risk associated with it. I am here, I am alive, because God has plans for me. It's my responsibility to live up to them during my time here.

"So," you may now ask, "What grand adventures are you having across the big pond?" To be honest, life here is not as exciting as you would think. I'm not on some tourist trip, touring all of the big attractions and staying up late every night with the plan of sleeping on the plane ride home. I'm slowly (but surely) making a life for myself here that is not too far off of what I would be doing at home. In fact, it may be slightly less interesting given that I haven't formed a group of close knit friends and I'm still living out of a suitcase. However, there are tiny moments of adventure which are enough to make my current homelessness situation worth it :) Here are some updates...

Okay, so this one isn't a foreign experience. But there are some things that make Saturday mornings perfect no matter what country you are in.

For those of you following my food consumption, here are a few of my current staples. Kiwi yogurt, addicting cookies, and Emergen-C (brought from the U.S.). I went running the other day and ended up with a sore throat. I guess I wasn't dressed warm enough for the 8:30 am temperatures (60 degrees... is my body already adjusted to the climate change?!?!).

 Speaking of running, there is a wonderful path through the park next door to my current apartment. I can run 40 minutes without seeing a single stop light! However, it's made my sneakers super dusty. I don't think this picture does it justice but if you look closely at the differences between the blackish part and the crevices, that is the change that happens when I wiped the dust off. I don't know that it competes with the dust on Ali's sneakers from Africa, but still...

Groupon Madrid! I get e-mails every day. I'm definitely planning on using some of these to my advantage...

 I met my nephew, for the first time! Granted he probably didn't get the whole person in the computer thing but whatevs. Josh and Tami have adopted B from Ethiopia and will return to the U.S on Thursday.

Then, of course I had to check in with my adorable niece (and adorable mother!)...

 And last night I took advantage of Euromanía at 100 Montaditos with Napala (fellow Fulbrighter) and Erica (fellow Michigander... who knew I would find someone in Madrid who has dutch danced?). 100 Montaditos a fabulous chain restaurant that has a menu of 100 little sandwiches (montaditos). They range on price depending on the ingredients, but on Wednesdays and Sundays, everything is 1 euro. It's basically amazing.

Sunday morning I checked out the Bundy's church, Hermanos en Cristo. Not knowing how long it would take me to get there, I left about an hour ahead of the service time and arrived about 10 minutes early. I walked in, knowing I would be early but hoping to slip in somewhat unnoticed, only to find that it was a classroom size room with about 40 chairs. The only people there were the two who would be doing the worship music and a few looking over powerpoint slides on the computer. Very inconspicuous, Amber. You blend right in.

The service was wonderful though; it was very similar to what I had experienced in Sevilla. When people wanted to speak up or pray, they did. In the middle of the service, they had new comers stand up and introduce themselves. (Public speaking in Spanish?!?) It was obvious it is a very tight-knit community. Afterwards, I talked to a bunch of people and went out to lunch with a young couple (from Miami) who had been living in Madrid for the past year while they do their Masters. Very exciting prospects!

AND last but not least... my first day of school! Here are a few tidbits of information about my school:

1. The staircases are marble.
2. The paintings on the wall are registered copies of masterpieces (as in registered in El Prado. Real life...).
3. The school is filled with children of government and various embassy officials. (No wonder the guy at the bank down the street was so impressed with my placement...)
4. From what I can understand of their sports leagues, the basketball team is the best in the region and leads into their equivalent of NBA teams.
5. The (beautiful) theater was painted on the dime of the future Queen of Spain since she went to the school when she was in colegio. No big deal.

The sign for the school, which is actually not on the school building. The school is behind a gym (this building) and an elementary school. Of course I walked into the wrong building first but I'm getting accustomed to this. Side note: Being behind the elementary school means I get to see countless cute small Spanish children every day without having to teach them!

So yeah, it's basically the same as Hershey High School or Black River. Jaja NOT. But to be serious, a beautiful building doesn't mean they have it all together. The education system is crazy; strikes are already being planned. Teachers have been fired and class sizes are soaring. (Sound familiar?) Check out this great article recommended to by my Uncle Jack!

Anyway, my coordinator is so overwhelmed with scheduling and balancing his three jobs in the school (Bilingual coordinator, Head of the technology department, and teacher) that I was sent home after an hour and a half chat/tour and told not to come in tomorrow. Guess that means laundry day? I can't avoid these tiny machines forever. Yes, I'm looking forward to having a schedule, but I'm getting to practice the virtue of patience on so many fronts that it is becoming much more natural.

Well, now I'm off to read some of my book and write some e-mails before going to house church tonight!
Much love,
Amber

P.S. Just one more thought from little A-Rog's card...